Chapter 522: Hunter’s Trade, Lord of Souls’ Items

Leon understood what the man was trying to do.

An item might look ordinary but possess an extraordinary ability, while something that appeared powerful could turn out to be far less useful than expected.

Without knowing their descriptions, Leon would have to rely on his instincts and whatever clues he could gather from their appearance.

The Hunter seemed to find the arrangement amusing.

He reached into his backpack and began taking out the items one by one, placing each on the ground at a considerable distance from Leon.

As the collection grew, the variety of objects made it increasingly difficult to guess what kinds of abilities they might possess.

Leon watched carefully, trying to identify anything that might reveal their value.

However, once the Hunter had placed all nine items on the ground, he stepped back and raised his hand.

"No need to waste your time trying to inspect them," he said casually. "I’ve already activated one of my abilities."

"...?"

Eye of Truth!

He focused on the nearest object but...

[Something seems to block you.]

Leon tried again with another item, only to receive the same result.

’Just how prepared is that guy?!’

Leon had no choice but to follow the rules of the trade.

He turned his attention toward the nine objects scattered across the ground, carefully examining their appearances in an attempt to determine which one might be the most valuable.

The first item was a long black staff topped with a floating purple orb.

The second was a black ring with a thick band and a dark blue crystal embedded in its center.

The third item was a pair of silver gauntlets decorated with overlapping scales.

The fourth was a pale white crystal shaped like a teardrop, suspended inside a transparent sphere.

The fifth item was a dark green cloak that seemed to absorb the light aroun it.

The sixth was a small golden lantern with a transparent glass chamber.

The seventh item was a bracelet with several small stones embedded around its circumference.

The eighth was a small metallic cube covered in countless tiny symbols.

And the ninth was a dark red pendant shaped like a broken heart.

After examining all nine items, Leon slowly straightened his back.

Every object looked unusual, and several seemed to radiate enough energy to suggest that they were far from ordinary equipment.

Leon was not about to waste the opportunity.

"Alright, human!" the Hunter announced, spreading his arms wide as he stood beside his backpack. "Choose one!"

He needed to make the right choice.

Leon continued examining the nine items for several minutes, trying to figure out what they could possibly do.

Without access to his [Eye of Truth], he had no reliable way to identify their abilities or determine which one was the most valuable.

"By the way, five of these items are Ascendant-rank, three are Divine-rank, and only one is above Divine-rank," the Hunter suddenly said. "Just felt like telling you."

Leon immediately felt more pressure on his shoulders. If he managed to obtain the item above Divine-rank, his strength would undoubtedly increase by a considerable amount.

However, after looking at the nine objects again, he realized that there was no way to identify the highest-ranked one through appearance alone.

The black staff with its floating purple orb could be the Immortal-rank item, but so could the metallic cube or the golden lantern.

For all he knew, the highest-ranked treasure could even be the broken pendant.

Since he had no useful information to work with, Leon decided to trust his instincts and reached for the item that had attracted his attention the most.

"The pendant, huh?" The Hunter nodded. "Good choice."

He quickly returned the remaining items to his backpack before taking the [Lord of Souls Head (Trophy)] from Leon, completing their trade.

Then, just as suddenly as he had appeared, the Hunter vanished from the group’s sight.

"What does it do?" Emilia asked as she approached Leon. "I think I would have chosen the cube. It looked interesting."

"I would have taken the golden lantern. It seemed powerful!" Celeste added.

"The lantern might just be related to light or darkness," Violet remarked. "I thought the white crystal was the most interesting one."

Their choices were all reasonable, but Leon had already made his decision.

He activated his [Eye of Truth] and examined the pendant in his hand.

[Pendant of the Broken (Divine): Grants slight resistance to divine suppression, curses, and abilities that manipulate fate. Can be used to refuse a soul within one second of its shattering, but the pendant will break.]

’Holy shit!’

Leon was extremely satisfied with the result. Although he had not obtained the only item above Divine-rank, the pendant was still one of the three Divine-rank treasures the Hunter had carried.

Its ability was particularly impressive, as it could prevent a soul from being shattered, potentially saving someone who would otherwise have died.

The resistance it granted against divine suppression, curses, and fate-manipulating abilities was also useful, even if those effects were not its main attraction.

"Doesn’t that mean you’re able to revive yourself even if your soul is shattered?!" Emilia exclaimed after reading the description. "Isn’t that too strong?!"

"No," Violet replied, shaking her head as she noticed an important detail. "The description says it can be used to refuse a soul within one second of its shattering, but it doesn’t say anything about the wearer using it on themselves. I think it only works on another person."

"Yep," Leon agreed. "If my soul shatters, I’ll be dead too fast to be able to use it. It would only work on someone else."

Even with that limitation, the pendant could prove invaluable.

If one of the girls suffered a soul-shattering attack, Leon might be able to save her by activating it before the one-second window passed.

Of course, that short time limit was a significant drawback, since he would need to react almost immediately.

’Well, I still have [Time Stop], so it should be fine.’

Leon removed the [Shadowscale Amulet] from around his neck and handed it to Emilia before equipping the new pendant.

[Shadowscale Amulet (Legendary): +30,000 Spirit, +25,000 Constitution. An amulet crafted from the heart of the Shadowscale Serpent.]

Although the amulet was only Legendary-rank, its stat bonuses were still considerable, making it a worthwhile piece of equipment for Emilia.

As soon as she equipped it, her combat power increased by 850,000.

’Emilia’s [Star Robe +2] and [Undead Lich Scepter] are already decent equipment for her level, but I should find her better pieces, especially accessories that increase Spirit or Constitution.’

With a stronger set of equipment, Emilia could likely reach fifteen million combat power or even higher without too much difficulty.

After finishing the exchange, Leon finally turned his attention to the items dropped by the Lord of Souls.

[Lord of Souls Essence: Consuming this essence will increase all stats by 50,000 and boost soul-related skills/abilities.]

[Lord of Souls Armor (Divine): +500,000 Constitution, +300,000 Spirit. Heavily boosts all soul-related abilities while wearing.]

[Soul Gauntlets (Ascendant): +80,000 Constitution, +50,000 Agility.]

[Soulflame Spear (Divine): +500,000 Attack Power, +150,000 Spirit, +150,000 Strength, +50,000 Agility. Any flame-related ability the user has will automatically be enhanced.]

[Sub-Talent Scroll: Soul Protection (S-Level), Supreme Spirit Enhancement (S+-Level), Supreme Strength Enhancement (S+-Level), Supreme Agility Enhancement (S+-Level)]

[Enhanced Soul Fragment (Ascendant): fusing with this fragment will slightly increase the power of your soul.]

"Ten items," Leon said with a satisfied nod. "This’ll be useful."

He began distributing the rewards according to what would benefit each person the most.

First, he handed Celeste the [Soulflame Spear], [Lord of Souls Armor], and [Enhanced Soul Fragment].

"Are you sure?" Celeste asked, looking at the three items. "I’m pretty sure I can already max out my soul using my embers."

"Yes," Leon replied. "But I believe your abilities will still become stronger as your soul grows."

"Alright~"

Celeste accepted the rewards with a smile.

The [Soulflame Spear] was particularly suitable for her because it enhanced flame-related abilities, while the Divine-rank armor provided enormous bonuses to Constitution and Spirit.

The soul fragment would also help strengthen her soul further.

Leon kept the [Lord of Souls Essence] and [Soul Gauntlets] for himself, leaving the sub-talents for his companions.

He gave Violet [Soul Protection (S-Level)], [Supreme Strength Enhancement (S+-Level)], and [Supreme Agility Enhancement (S+-Level)].

Emilia received the remaining [Supreme Spirit Enhancement (S+-Level)].

Although she only obtained one item, its effects were already terrifying when combined with her multiplier, making it a considerable improvement to her strength.

With the rewards distributed, everyone now had something valuable to help them grow stronger.