Chapter Five: Elegance

Since it was a partnership, both sides had to show their sincerity. First, they needed a general understanding of each other's strength—in simple terms, show off their skills, reveal their gear, so both would know what sort of weight the other carried.

But somehow, what should have been a calm exchange became a contest, each trying to outdo the other.

The one who initiated the partnership, Cup of Wine Grows Stronger, was the first to showcase her prized weapon.

...

[Enhanced Crossbow] (Light/Basic)
Weapon Quality: Excellent (2 remaining enhancements)
Attack Range: Very far
Attack Level: Weak (8)
Equipment Effect: Accuracy Enhancement (increases arrow hit rate)
Enhancement Effect One: Attack Enhancement (damage increased by 50%)
Enhancement Effect Two: Attack Enhancement (damage increased by 50%)
Inlay: Basic Strong Attack Stone (damage +1)
Requirements: Strength level 3, Agility level 2
Description: This crossbow once accompanied your instructor through her novice days. Now, she passes her past to you, hoping you too can harness its power and stride toward a brighter future. The fusion of two sturdy spider threads greatly strengthens the bowstring’s resilience and tension, making your arrows more powerful.

...

“The three thousand two hundred credit points I earned in my last trial, I poured almost all into it.”

Cup of Wine Grows Stronger cradled her crossbow, pride shining in her eyes. Seeing her look as if she’d never seen quality gear before, Ash smirked and, without hesitation, revealed his own enhanced, powered, telescopic baton. Instantly, Cup of Wine Grows Stronger's lips parted, her eyes expressing utter disbelief.

“The first enhancement costs a thousand, the second doubles, thunder-struck hardwood five hundred, weapon energy stone a thousand, that inlay is at least another thousand. Wow! Your weapon alone is almost worth my entire fortune…” Cup of Wine Grows Stronger was genuinely envious. She had lasted until the end in her last trial too, but only managed an excellent rating, and her credit points were half of Ash’s, leaving her rather frustrated.

But that wasn’t the end. Ash then displayed his Direwolf Gauntlets, making Cup of Wine Grows Stronger fully understand what it meant to be a “rich dog.”

Unwilling to admit defeat, her eyes darted around, instantly figuring out how to regain her footing.

...

Skill Name: [Crossbow Mastery]
Type: Passive
Cost: None
Effect: When using crossbow weapons, damage increased by 50%
Requirement: Agility level 2
Description: You’ve learned how to further unleash the power of the crossbow.

...

Skill Name: [Archery: Critical Strike]
Type: Active
Cost: 20% stamina
Cooldown: 4 seconds
Effect: When attacking vital points with a crossbow, damage increased by 150%
Requirement: Agility level 3
Description: A must-have skill for crossbow users—hit the vital spot, slay the enemy, as simple as that.

...

Now, it was Ash who was stunned. To this day, his only attack skill was [Baton Technique: Headshot], and its damage boost was hardly as straightforward or brutal as [Archery: Critical Strike]. The effect of Crossbow Mastery also made him wish for a similar passive skill for baton techniques.

The discussion group had long since established that skill bonuses were calculated independently. That meant Cup of Wine Grows Stronger could inflict 300% damage using Archery: Critical Strike.

“Envious, aren’t you?”

Seeing Ash’s expression, Cup of Wine Grows Stronger’s brows danced with delight. The recent fight had shown her that her damage ceiling surpassed Ash’s. Sure enough, laying out her skills left him speechless, affirming her pursuit of maximum output as the wisest path.

“Envious? What’s there to envy?” Ash retorted, flashing his [Active Biochemical Soft Suit].

As it turned out, anomalous equipment carried real weight—its face-slapping effect was instant, immediately shifting the balance back to Ash. For a moment, Cup of Wine Grows Stronger opened her eyes wide, utterly shocked that this infuriating fellow actually possessed anomalous gear—and its effects were so dominant! Resurrection? My god! Even if he tried to kill himself, he’d need several swings!

She’d seen one of her chat group sisters show off her anomalous gear, sparking wild envy among everyone. Even after two trials, the number of anomalous items was pitifully low—and now, one stood before her.

Thus, Ash earned another nickname besides “rich dog”—

Damn European.

Cup of Wine Grows Stronger’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Determined to play to her strengths, she proceeded to display the enhancement effects of her other equipment: the [Bloodvine Ring] increased damage by 50%, and the [Student ID] added another 50%.

“My entire gear set and skills are all for attack. My normal attack damage reaches eighteen, and critical strikes double that!” Cup of Wine Grows Stronger stubbornly clung to her last shred of pride. “So what if you have anomalous equipment? Only damage gets you anywhere!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Ash raised a brow, then revealed his first anomalous item and the [Bloodvine Bracelet], confidently stating, “Honestly, if we fought for real, I wouldn’t let you fire a third arrow.”

...

[Voracious Appetite of the Active Soft Body] (Basic-level Anomalous Equipment)
Equipment Type: Token
Fused Equipment: Backpack

Requirements: Life level 4, Will level 3
Effect One: Increases backpack slots by two, expands backpack space, and grants two additional “special slots.”
Effect Two: If a weapon is placed in a special slot for ten seconds, it gains a “weak” slow effect—target’s speed reduced by 20%, lasts five seconds, and only targets with agility level 3 or higher can ignore it. After thirty seconds, the slow effect rises to “average,” with speed reduced by 25%, duration unchanged, and only targets with agility level 5 or higher can ignore it.
Description: The active soft body loves to eat. Anything it consumes tends to become favored, and it leaves behind some sticky, unidentified fluid.
[Active Soft Body Set (2/4): Token “Voracious Appetite of the Active Soft Body” receives certain effect bonuses.]

...

Anomalous equipment!

Again with the anomalous equipment!

Cup of Wine Grows Stronger was silent, confusion clouding her gaze: “Why don’t I have a single anomalous item, while he’s got two? I mean, one ordinary perfect and one difficult excellent rating—mine weren’t much worse! Why can’t I get anomalous gear?”

“Young lady, you must remain calm.”

Ash regarded Cup of Wine Grows Stronger’s complex expression, speaking earnestly: “No matter what difficulties you face, always meet them with a smile! The best way to overcome hardship is to face it head-on—and then you’ll realize your luck is so rotten it’s beyond remedy.”

Cup of Wine Grows Stronger was infuriated by Ash. She had hoped to regain her confidence through her maximum output, but ended up getting thoroughly shown up. With a pout, she muttered, “Hmph! It’s just anomalous gear, what’s so special?”

Her pout was so pronounced it could hang an oil bottle. Seeing this, Ash decided not to provoke her further and instead asked a question that genuinely concerned him: “Aren’t you worried about pushing your output so far? After all, you have to survive to deal damage.”

“That’s true, my instructor and I both agree. But we have another saying we believe in even more.”

Hearing this, Cup of Wine Grows Stronger perked up, glanced at Ash, and said coldly, “Just kill the enemy first, and that’s that.”

“Instructor?”

“Yep! All my skills are taught by my instructor! My organization is the [University], which specializes in arcane techniques, but the instructor was seconded from the Scavengers. So, while I know some arcane arts, everything ultimately serves the crossbow.” Cup of Wine Grows Stronger replied, somewhat puzzled, “Your trial ratings are so good—how come you haven’t learned many skills? In my first trial, after getting a perfect rating, my instructor gave me this crossbow, and taught me the [Guidance Technique] for accuracy. This time, I learned two attack skills, and their damage rivals skill plugins.”

“That’s because... I didn’t have such a good teacher...” Ash said helplessly, recalling the Control Center Director’s stern face—always buried in data or deep in thought, expressionless except when interacting with Ash.

Still, thinking it over, the Director had been pretty good to him. He’d paid out-of-pocket for baton repairs and inlays—about a thousand points—plus two free bottles of basic healing spray, another thousand, and his pre-trip purchase advice had spared Ash much worry. Without the Director’s support, Ash wouldn’t have made it this far.

“Sigh, forget it, I’ll forgive him.”

Ash waved the matter aside, no longer dwelling on it. After this mutual show-off, they had a rough measure of each other's combat strength. Though they grumbled, deep down they were honest: Ash felt he’d found an excellent gunner, and Cup of Wine Grows Stronger was glad she’d secured a competent tank. Together, their strength far surpassed the two-man team of the Wasteland.

Thanks to this exchange, Ash’s lost blood from the earlier battle had already recovered. He promptly took out the “Forbidden Zone Map,” confirmed their current location, then selected the exploration route, first checking the safe passage leading directly to the “Central Ring” area.