The Power of Items

"Artifact!"

Alfred couldn't help himself and ended up shouting in his room from his shock. He didn't think that the artifacts would come with skills. Just how rare were skills? Apart from his pitiful "Observation lvl1" that he assumed everyone has, he hadn't seen another skill.

Phew!

Alfred took a deep breath and looked at the pair of boots again.

'Is the difference really that great? Its quality is even lower than the pair of gloves...', he didn't really understand the finer details of the grade classification system. But from what he could see, the stats that the boots provide were the same as the gloves. The only exception would have to be that the skill is quite valuable when compared to the set bonus.

'It's best I leave these problems for the craftsmen to solve' Alfred gave up.

'Charge 120m and ignore crowd control? Reduced collision damage? This skill is so versatile. Couldn't I also use this to escape?' Alfred looked at the "Stampede" skill carefully. Not only could he give chase to fleeing enemies, but he could also escape himself, or use it to dodge cc.

'System, how do I use this skill?'

...

[First of all, you need to have the item equipped]

...

'Obviously...' Alfred frowned lightly. The system was really becoming snarky.

...

[When the item is equipped, you will naturally feel a mental connection to the skill or skills available for use. This also includes future skills owned by you]

...

The system's reply was a bit unexpected. He thought he would have to shout, or at least chant the skill he wanted to use, just like in those web novels.

'Thankfully, I don't have to go around shouting all my moves like some chuuni.' Alfred sighed in relief.

'Damn, ever since this system activated I have been sighing way too much!'

...

[Whenever you want to stop sighing, I can immediately deactivate]

...

Alfred's lips twitched. In such a case, the best course of action would be to play mute. To solve this, he took out the belt and checked its stats.

---

[Name: Grounded Tactical Belt]

[Type: Belt (Accessory)]

[Grade: Black (Mechanical)]

[Properties: VIT +7, STR +7, PER +7, CHA +7]

[Durability: 130/130]

[Description: A technical belt made from the skin of a Longhorn Kui, and outfitted with carbon steel compartments. It features 6 small compartments that are well hidden and perfect to launch an ambush. The leatherwork is also very exquisite and can pull in the ladies. Frequent usage of the mechanical compartments will rapidly reduce the upper limit of this item's durability]

[Remark: Short-term gains bring long-term pains. Stop wasting resources]

---

Alfred had complex feelings about this item. For one, it gave the most stats growth he had ever seen. Yet its durability was the worst, apart from the blue and white grade gear he chose earlier. He didn't think that this would be the result of using high-grade materials to make mechanical items.

'No.'

Alfred shook his head.

'It's impossible for all mechanical and technological items to be like this.' This didn't make sense. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a market for high-end mechanical gear at all.

...

[Not all of them]

[Some materials and minerals can form very strong alloys that can withstand the harsh conditions of space or even survive blackholes. Unfortunately, most gear made with mechanical or technological means will have various limitations. Like that belt for example]

[You can think of it as overclocking the properties of the materials to provide high performance in the short term]

[In the universe, there is nothing wrong with that as resources are abundant. But in this closed-off world...]

...

Alfred was listening intently to the explanation of the system when he heard the end of its statement.

'Closed off-world? What does that mean?' Alfred was confused. But the system fell silent and refused to answer.

Since he couldn't get an answer, he tossed it into the back of his mind and checked his stats.

---

[Status]

[Host: Alfred Gibbs]

[Title: NIL]

[Class: NIL]

[Sub-class: NIL]

[Level: 0]

[Exp: 50/100]

[Attributes]

[Attribute points: 0]

[Strength: 2]

[Vitality: 4] [Endurance: 2]

[Agility: 1] [Dexterity: 1]

[Intelligence: 6] [Perception: 7]

[Charisma: 5]

[HP: 46] [EP: 0]

[ATK: 20] [MATK: 120]

[DEF: 26] [MDEF: 38]

[STA: 22] [Fatigue: 0/22]

[ACC: 15]

[SPD: 2.7 ms]

[SCT: 1.4 m]

[Currency: 10 silver. 0 credits]

[Skills: NIL]

[Abilities: NIL]

[Auxiliary Skills: Observation LVL1]

---

Looking at his stats, Alfred smiled wryly. Last night when he awakened, his stats looked so awesome. He felt like he was on top of the world. But after seeing those black and silver grade gear, he felt like his current stats weren't worth shit.

He didn't hesitate. He had been holding back for so long, now he can finally watch his stats blossom. He started putting on his gear one by one, then he looked at his status screen in expectation.

...

---

[Status]

[Host: Alfred Gibbs]

[Title: NIL]

[Class: NIL]

[Sub-class: NIL]

[Level: 0]

[Exp: 50/100]

[Attributes]

[Attribute points: 0]

[Strength: 2 + (61)]

[Vitality: 4 + (20)] [Endurance: 2 + (10)]

[Agility: 1 + (32)] [Dexterity: 1 + (60)]

[Intelligence: 6 + (0)] [Perception: 7 + (7)]

[Charisma: 5 + (7)]

[HP: 556] [EP: 0]

[ATK: 713 + 6%(43)] [MATK: 120]

[DEF: 759] [MDEF: 138]

[STA: 236] [Fatigue: 0/236]

[ACC: 35 m]

[SPD: 13.3 ms + 0.3%(0.1)]

[SCT: 2.8 m]

[Currency: 10 silver. 0 credits]

[Skills: NIL]

[Abilities: NIL]

[Auxiliary Skills: Observation LVL1]

[Item Skills: Stampede]

---

When he saw his stats, Alfred was shocked. He went from single-digit stats to having some of his stats surpass 30. Especially his agility.

As he looked at his movement speed, he could feel the strength welling up inside him. He wanted to run around so badly.

'I-I-I, I need to hold back!' He constantly warned himself.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Whoosh!

He ran around like a gyroscope!

Thankfully, his room was over 40 square meters large. Which gave him ample space to vent his feelings.

...

In the end, he just couldn't help himself.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"This feeling? So this is the power of items!"

He was ecstatic.

...

[The quality of those items are quite poor, you'd be lucky if you could defeat a stage 2 Ferocious Beast. At most, it won't be able to harm you, because of the already high defense of the stage 5 Longhorn Kui. It's likely that you can't break their defense either]

[But I must say, those gloves and boots aren't half bad. Their improvement to your agility is your biggest takeaway]

...

Alfred ran for a while until he finally calmed his racing heart. When he heard the system's evaluation, he agreed readily.

'Indeed, with this high defense and such a fast speed, I can flee as soon as I can't break their defense. A tanky assassin! HAHAHAHA!'