Clash of Titans!

Hye me friends, here it is, sorry for the wait

There will be one more chapter today!

Also, make sure to take a look at the end notes, they have a few useful things.

With that in mind, I hope you liked this chapter, it took a bit of time to make it.

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"?"

'What is he doing?'

As Dale approached Muddan, collecting the loot on his way, he couldn't help but noticed the peculiar behavior coming from the green giant.

Muddan was kneeling on the floor, grasping the bloodstained, clenching the broken earth with his two hands…

"Grr… Akk-A-Ir…"

He mumbled something in a low tone that even seemed to contain a bit of respect.

The Karkavan may appear to outsiders as a bunch of secluded forest barbarians, but their history goes on for thousands of years and their rituals and way of honoring the living and dead are just as glorious if not more respectful than most Human settlements.

This was a ritual to be performed after the fight, to honor those that fought and fell, regardless of race and intent.

So that their souls may return to the earth and rise once more in the form of mighty trees...

Normally, the bodies of the fallen would be properly taken care of... But Muddan didn't mind that they turned to ashes and vanished, taking it as a peculiarity of this race he just met for the first time today.

/A few minutes later.../

"..."

Dale patiently waited for the warrior to rise again, not interrupting his… Whatever he was doing.

Instead, he took this chance to collect all of the fallen loot, it was the perfect opportunity since all players in the Field had been killed, and those that came after couldn't enter it due to a barrier.

Players are, after all, limited by the rules of the System… Not the case for the other kind of players...

However, Hardcore players aren't easy to come by, especially in a place like Resko where every single player had already experienced death at least twice, and those that died less than 5 times could be counted on one hand.

Resko simply wasn't a place for Hardcore players to start, but it surely was a place for them to gather towards… But that was for the future.

Some had tried, but none prevailed, Dale was the only Hardcore player over Level 20 in Resko, all others that somehow persevered did so by doing menial quests in the Village for the past 2 weeks, slowly gathering XP so that one day, they may have the qualifications to raid outside.

There is one kind of special player though... The ones that are hard carried by their friends, but those are few and far in between.

...

/Tremble.../

The minutes passed, and Muddan rose from the ground, clenching his mighty cleaver and using it to balance his massive body.

He turned around, gazing at Dale, a fire in his eyes like none before.

"You don't look full yet." Dale said with a small smile

/Exhale!/

Muddan did not reply, not because he didn't understand, but because there was no need to.

Instead, he exhaled turbid air at a speed so fast the grass beneath him was flattened for a moment!

"... Sigh."

Dale couldn't help but let out a small sigh as he looked at the ground, scratching his neck.

"Man…"

/FWOOSH!/

/BAM!/

But in the blink of an eye, Dale kicked the ground, sending a punch straight into Muddan's stomach!

/Crack!/

/Smoke…/

"Ho… You blocked that?"

'I only wanted to test his reflexes… But he's a tad faster and stronger than I thought.'

'Now now, don't call me a coward for 'ambushing' him, that guy was begging me to punch him, he didn't say it, but he wanted a fight…'

'And since we can't communicate, why not just let our fists do the talking? He was looking straight at me, so it can't be said to be an ambush…'

Just as Dale observed him, the giant warrior stared down at Dale with his red eyes…

His right palm was smoking slightly, and in the middle of it, a blue bruise slowly formed.

The warrior was tall, but that was also a disadvantage.

Dale's power was contained within a smaller frame, while he was spread out in his hulking form.

He may have more muscle and prowess, but a mosquito will still pierce his skin and draw his blood…

"We don't have all day."

"Raise your cleaver."

/ROAR!/

/BOOM!/

Muddan roared with a might incomparable to what he showed before as he stomped the ground!

[DING]

[Your quest has updated]

[... *Optional* Challenge Muddan into a Ritual fight and win ?/1…]

/Fwoosh!/

Muddan grabbed his cleaver and cut the ground with it as he rushed forward like an unstoppable train!

Just by the way the ground trembled and cracked with each of his steps, Dale could tell this would be the strongest enemy he faced ever since he came to this world.

Stronger than the Devils he hunted with his bare hands at the brink of death in the forest…

Maybe even stronger than the strange creature he killed in the Catacombs when he freed David…

However, he was confident in taking it down!

'Even if I didn't have these new Acessories… But just like me, he's wearing some equipment, so it wouldn't be fair to not try my best aye?'

'The glimmer in that Cleaver... The quality of the leather he is wearing... Those bracelets in his arms... The black earrings on his ears!'

'How can I stay behind?'

With some impure thoughts, Dale equipped all of his Accessories!

[Player: DareDevil (Dale Houston)

Attainments: Body Reformation; Eclipsed; Massacre of 100; Culling Blade; Forged Heart amidst desperation; Minor Enlightenment; Heart Gate Open

Level:39 (92.8%)

Class: Alma Conqueror 1.7%

Character Status:

Strength: 128(311 -> 342); Constitution: 138(320 -> 384); Dexterity: 128(311 -> 420); Mental Power: 103(265); Reflexes: 103(255); Mana: 128(308 -> 616)

Soul Power: 10(70)

Prime Origin: 38(93)

Skills:

Slot 1-> Spear Technique 5-Star (Neutral)/ Mana Conduction 4.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 2-> Close quarters Combat 3.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 3-> Stable Emotions 3-Star (Passive)

Slot 4-> Spatial Awareness 1.5-Star (Passive)

Slot 5-> Fighting Spirit 4-Star (Active)

Slot 6-> Anomalous Status Resistance 1-Star (Passive)

Slot 7-> Vital Heart 1-Star (Active)

Slot 8-> Confluence 0.5-Star (Neutral)

Slot 9-> Prime Source 1-Star (Neutral)

Temporary Skills: None

Current Effects:

Aspect of Might -> All Stats +15

Physical Training -> Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity +3

Molded Heart -> Mana Ratio = 2

Heart Gate -> Mana +50

Fused Tripodial Mark -> Strengthening of the Fallen (Minor) All Stats +5*2=10

Body Reformation -> Natural Healing and Stamina recovery speed have been greatly increased

Blessed by Ju-Arkesios -> Constitution +10 while within a 5Km radius of any of his Temples

Well Done steak -> + Muscle Tension and Compression limits (32 minutes…)

Southern Imperial Corps Elite Squad Captain Set -> +20 All basic Stats

Strength Ratio -> 1 -> 1.1

Constitution Ratio 1 -> 1.2

Accessories effects:

2 Rings -> +60 to all Basic Stats; +30 to Soul Power and Primal Origin

2 Bracelets -> +45 to all Basic Stats; Dexterity Ratio = 1.35

2 Earrings -> +40 to all Basic Stats

1 Colar -> +10 to Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Reflexes, and Mana; +20 to Mental Power

+5 Soul power

Inventory (+)

]

(I thought a lot before making this, I'll show all Accessories soon enough)

Dale knew exactly what to wear and in what order, he had already thought of this before.

As he equipped his rings, he felt a sudden rush of power flow into his body, his armor, something he didn't have the requirements to wear was finally showing its effects!

So much power, so many Skills... But in the end, it was not his...

However, even if it was not his, Dale would still make use of it.

"!"

Dale almost felt overwhelmed by this, but he had no time to as a green monster raised its mighty cleaver and jumped into the air!

Dale blinked slowly, with his high Reflexes, the world around him seemed so slow...

He raised his head, staring at the warrior as he rose into the sky, thinking:

'There is no problem with wearing items in an RPG game, that is how you play, and that was how it was meant to be... It's through them that players have fun.'

'Grinding many hours for a single set of gear to show off or just to grind something else...'

'However, what I seek is something else... And I won't hesitate to use these to achieve it, such as increasing my Skills ratings... They seem awfully low for what I can currently do.'

'When I got all of these Accessories, I thought my stats would rise, but not so much...'

'With this, I should finally be able to use Caladgolg to some degree, right?'

[Caladgolg (Legendary Armament)

Rating: ???

The stronger your conviction, the stronger the Sword gets, giving you +1 to all Stats up to ???

The stronger your conviction, the stronger the bond with the Sword gets, allowing you to call it from longer distances and control it without touching it.

???

…

Gives you the temporary Skill, Refracted Starlight 9-Star, Horizontal Slash 9-Star, ??? 9.5-Star…

Requirements: 300 Strength, 370 Constitution, ?90 Mental Power, ??00 Mana

Soul Power: ???

???

*The stronger your conviction the lower the requirements.

Description: ??? creation.

Little is known about this, but in the ancient past, there used to be a strong glowing Star in the sky, enough to rival the moon during the night, but always overshadowed by the brilliance of the sun...

However, no matter how long you waste staring at the night sky, no traces of such an astral body can be seen...

???

]

As time passed and he became stronger, more and more information was revealed to him about this mysterious object as if his qualifications had become a bit better as if his he was now a bit more worthy of seeing its magnificence...

Yet, even so, he was still far from wielding it, the sword was still heavy in his grip, despite his Strength is much higher than necessary.

Something seemed to be missing, he was not yet worthy of it.

But perhaps, the time he could claim it as he wasn't so far off.

"HUFF!"

Clearing his head of unnecessary thoughts, and putting all of his weight on his left foot, Dale swung his sword in an upward motion, intercepting Muddan's cleaver!

/Glimmer.../

His sword started to glow in faint light...

With a large smile, Dale activated the sword's Skill...

And the world was covered in white light.

...

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Notes

Phew, this chapter was a bit rough to make, allow me to explain why.

His Status may look massive and broken because they technically are, but I made them after careful consideration.

Dale is pretty much geared with End gear stuff, and for a very long time, he won't be changing it, so for the next 50 perhaps even 100 chapters, he'll only train and get some more Level ups.

Of course, I'll likely make it interesting and add some other things in the meantime, but it's unlikely he'll be finding other items that can substitute for his current loadout.

I'll be posting the specifics for each item soon, trust me, I have them ready already, each item, the 2 rings, the 2 bracelets, the 2 earings, and the collar.

In case you are interested in making your own items, here is the template:

[Name (Grade/Rarety)

Stat effects? Not required

Special effect? Not required (Normally only appears as a Set effect in Gear, or in Accessories, but Caladgold does have a few)

Does it give any temporary Skill to be used? Not required (But at least one of the above needs to be present otherwise it's a useless item XD)

Requirements: Not required, the item can be worn regardless of your condition, could be pretty cool

Description: Be creative!

]

Apart from that, there isn't much to talk about, this chapter had to be cut in the middle because it was getting too big for me, so hopefully, your questions will be answered next chapters, such as:

Since Dale is a Hardcore player, can't he just equip 8 more rings, one for each finger?

Why do you think this is not the case? Or why do you think it's a local explanation for this to be possible?

Also, do you think the warrior can somewhat face Dale? Or will he be trashed?

See ya!