Chapter 31: Breaking the Curse, Overwhelming Stats

"Why aren't you putting the armor on?" Alice asked as they emerged from [Temple], heading toward Dawn City, which they could see from here.

"It's cursed," Alex replied, "If I put it on I'm dead."

Alice blinked in surprise, her eyes widening, she hadn't expected that, "Cursed? You mean... like... really cursed?"

Alex nodded, his gaze steady as he recalled the notifications from the system:

[Cursed Awakener's Set; Includes boots, pants, armor and helmet; but is currently cursed by the 'Undead King'.]

[To remove the curse: either kill the 'Undead King' or find an exorcist strong enough to dispel it, or try to dispel it yourself using your 'spirit', though failure will strengthen the curse.]

"One more reason I need Tolkien's help," Alex muttered.

The legendary blacksmith had the strength and power to break this curse.

With their path set, the two began the journey back toward Dawn City.

As they neared the gates, a group of armored figures in black and red robes stood waiting—members of the Dawn Church.

Their insignias gleamed in the morning light, their presence imposing.

They formed a semicircle, blocking the main road, as if waiting for someone.

One of the guards, a tall man with a square jaw and piercing blue eyes, stepped forward.

His gaze fell on Alex, and his eyes widened, looks like he found the person, "You there," he called out, voice stern and authoritative, "You've been summoned by the leader of the Dawn Church. He requests an audience with you."

Alex's eyes narrowed.

He didn't trust the Dawn Church.

They had their own agenda, and in his past life, they allied themselves with the gods.

"I'm not interested," Alex said flatly, his hand tightening on the hilt of his dagger, "I've got other business to attend to."

The guard's expression darkened, "Refusing a direct request from the Dawn Church is not a good decision, are you sure?"

[Reputation: 50/100]

Alex's jaw tightened, but he didn't hesitate, "Yeah, I'm sure."

[-25 reputation with the Dawn Church]

"Very well," the guard replied, his tone laced with a hint of menace, "But remember this—there will be consequences for your actions."

Alex didn't even flinch as he walked past the guard, not even looking behind.

This made his reputation go down, but who cares anyway, Alex had made his choice already: he didn't want to associate with the dawn church members, no matter what.

"Was that really a good idea?" Alice asked once they were out of earshot, "They seemed... serious."

"Doesn't matter," Alex replied, "I don't need the church's help, and I certainly don't want their attention, I'm getting to that door with or without their blessing."

'That door…?' Alice titled her head, but didn't ask.

As they entered the bustling streets of Dawn City, Alex immediately went to the blacksmith shop.

Inside, Tolkien was hammering away at a glowing blade, his large frame hunched over the anvil.

"Oh!" his eyes lit up as he saw the boy arrive, "Did you...?"

Alex nodded and placed the cursed [Awakener's Set] on the table between them.

The blacksmith's eyes gleamed with admiration as he examined the intricate armor, its dark, ominous energy still pulsing faintly.

"MAGNIFICENT!" Tolkien laughed, his voice booming through the shop.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his hammer and infused it with a powerful holy exorcist aura.

The hammer began to glow with a bright golden light, crackling with energy as he raised it high.

"Stand back!" he warned.

Alex stepped back as Tolkien brought the hammer down with a resounding crash, the force of the blow reverberating through the air.

To Alex's surprise, the moment the hammer struck the armor, the cursed aura vanished, dissipating like smoke in the wind.

There was no struggle, no ritual or whatever, just one decisive strike.

"Done," Tolkien declared with a satisfied grin, placing his hammer back on the anvil, "What did you expect, boy? They don't call me the legendary blacksmith for nothing!"

Alex blinked, momentarily stunned.

He had known Tolkien was strong, but to dispel a curse as powerful as that with a single strike?

"Thank you," Alex said, genuinely impressed.

Tolkien waved a hand dismissively, "Bah, don't mention it, it was an honor to lay my hammer on such fine equipment."

Ding!

[You have received the 'Awakener's Set'.]

[Your reputation with Tolkien has been maxed. You can now request his help if needed.]

[You have completed the S-Level Secret Quest!]

Alex smiled, his heart racing with excitement as he grabbed the 'Awakener's Set'.

This was it—the armor he had been striving for!

[Do you want to equip the 'Awakener's Set'?]

Yes!

The armor materialized onto his body, fitting him perfectly.

It was sleek, dark, and powerful, each piece gleaming with energy.

[Awakener's Set (Legendary): +1000 Physical Resistance, +1000 Magic Resistance, +750 Strength, +500 Agility.]

"W-Wow!" Alice's eyes sparkled as she rushed forward, touching Alex's armored arms, "You look so cool!"

Alex couldn't help but smirk, "Thanks."

With this armor, he was nearly untouchable by monsters in the early areas.

His physical and magical resistance was off the charts, and the added strength and agility made him a deadly force.

His dagger felt more powerful in his hand, and with his new speed, he knew he could take down enemies in mere seconds.

"Thank you, Tolkien," Alex said, bowing respectfully to the blacksmith.

Tolkien grinned, already returning to his work, "Go, boy. Use that armor wisely."

As Alex and Alice stepped outside the shop, a familiar ding echoed in the air three times.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Player 'FateBreaker' has acquired the unique 'Awakener's Set', he has been granted 3 prestige points!]

At this point, players were getting used to it: every single global announcement had been about 'FateBreaker', so who cares at this point.

But before he could take another step outside, a familiar figure approached him: Richard Stardust, known as RichDad in the game, and Alice's father.

"Oh," Alex said, blinking in surprise, "Hello there, sir."

Richard smiled elegantly, his posture as refined as ever, "Don't be so formal, Alex. We've already added each other as friends."

"Right," Alex scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Just a habit."

Richard chuckled, turning his attention to Alice, who stood beside him.,"And look who's with THE Shopkeeper," he teased, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Dad," Alice groaned, pushing his hand away, "I already told you, I'm doing fine! I'm level 17 now!"

"Oh really?" Richard raised an eyebrow, glancing at Alex. "You've been helping her, I see."

Alex shrugged, "She's been pulling her weight."

Richard's expression shifted slightly, a more serious tone in his voice as he looked at Alex while walking away, "Make sure to protect her, boy. Or else..."

The aura around Richard suddenly became oppressive, and Alex nodded, feeling the weight of the man's words, "I will."

With that, Richard smiled once more and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"Your dad's... intense," Alex muttered.

Alice laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, you get used to it."

…

Meanwhile, far from Dawn City, in the novice village, Daniel respawned after his hour-long cooldown (30 minutes in the real world), fury burning in his chest.

His guild co-leader, Vex, stood beside him.

"No more waiting around," Daniel snarled, "We're leveling up to 10 and heading to the city. Then we find FateBreaker."

"On it, boss," Vex replied, and the two of them dashed toward the forest to grind levels.

Daniel wasn't going to give up.

He had already placed a bounty on Alex's head, and soon, the entire game would be hunting him.

'FateBreaker' was strong, Daniel couldn't deny it, but in front of thousands of players, even a demon could crumble.

At least, that is what Daniel told himself, as he didn't realize that in 'Universal Descent', there were entities capable of taking on millions of players by themselves.

Alex wasn't currently one of them, but surely a thousand player could be taken care of.