Chương 119: Chapter 118: Spoils of War

"That sure changes things, don't you think?" Gaul asked.

"Yes," Alice agreed.

"I do."

"Let's go through the stuff one by one, decide which Guild gets it, and then we can sort the rest internally," the Paladin pondered loudly.

"As for some of the more… valuable items, we'll deal with them as we go."

"Alright." Alice opened the loot interface, and every item materialized in the shared display visible to the nine survivors, and any of the raid members who managed to get back from the temple. We gathered around the Spriggan's massive corpse in a loose semicircle, and nobody spoke as the list populated. There were twelve pieces lying on the ground, including equipment and other sorts of items.

"No one touches anything until we've seen the full list and agreed on distribution," Alice repeated, and Gaul nodded. The first two items were Rare drops, solid equipment befitting a level 25 Field Boss but nothing that would make anyone gasp.

[Greenveil Mantle] Rare Level 25 Light armor Defense: 34 Agility: +10 Movement Speed: +10% in forests 10% resistance to Nature damage Restriction: none [Greenveil Warplate] Rare Level 25 Heavy armor Defense: 102 Strength: +8 Vitality: +10 10% resistance to Nature damage Attack speed: -10% Movement speed: -10% Restriction: Art of Might Good items, both of them, but we barely glanced at them. We were all looking at the purple borders beneath.

"Here come the Epics," Gaul said, and I could hear the anticipation in his voice despite the exhaustion. The first Epic weapon appeared. [Greenveil Viper] Epic Level 25 Spear Attack Power: 140 Strength: +10 Agility: +8 Basic attacks have a 4% chance to apply Nature's Venom, dealing 2% of the target's maximum health as damage every second for 4 seconds, and decreasing healing received by 25%.

Weapon Skill: Serpent's Lunge Dash forward 8 meters, piercing all enemies in the path, dealing 200% of your attack power as Nature damage. Enemies hit are afflicted with Nature's Venom. Cooldown: 120 seconds Restriction: Spearfighter The spear was sleek, and longer than any lance I'd seen so far, with faint green paint resembling the underbush of a forest covering it all except the tip, which was longer than an ordinary spear tip, and slightly curved, looking like a snake that's ready to attack.

"That's a monster of a lance," Halla said quietly, her eyes fixed on the stats. As a Spearfighter herself, she understood the weapon better than anyone present. The second Epic made me stand up straight. [Greenveil Shrouded Mask] Epic Level 25 Light Armor Defense: 35 Agility: +10 Dexterity: +5 Armor Skill: Mistveil Become invisible for 6 seconds. The first attack from this state deals 50% bonus damage. Taking damage or using a skill ends the effect.

Cooldown: 120 seconds Armor Set: Greenveil's Shroud [1/4] Restriction: Art of Finesse A hood with 35 defense was already impressive for light armor, but the real value was in the stats: fifteen total attribute points in Agility and Dexterity, both of which were my bread and butter. The armor skill was essentially a worse version of the Rogue skill Vanish, but for an archer to have access to something like that would mean serious business.

It was perfect for repositioning during a fight or setting up a devastating opener. And it was part of a set. Greenveil's Shroud. If there was a full set of this caliber, it could define my build for the foreseeable future. But the set tag raised a question: if it only dropped from the Spriggan, I'd need to farm this boss multiple times to complete it, and by the time I had all the pieces, I might have outleveled them. Unless other mobs in the Greenveil drop the rest of the set. That was worth investigating.

The third Epic was a brutal piece of work as well. [Spriggan's Rage] Epic Level 25 Attack Power: 168 Strength: +14 Vitality: +8 Basic attacks have a 5% chance to root the target for 1. 5 seconds. Weapon Skill: Timber! A devastating overhead swing that deals 250% of your attack power. If the target is rooted, damage is doubled to 500%. Cooldown: 90 seconds Restriction: Berserker One hundred and sixty-eight attack power on a two-handed weapon, with a conditional 500% skill.

A Berserker wielding this with decent stats could one-shot most players in PvP with a well-timed root combo, and the fact that its basics had a chance to meet the conditions for it made it quite a menace. Verdugo would love it. The axe had two blades on each side of the shaft, and it was covered in green runes. Not your typical woodcutter's axe, although the skill name 'Timber!' got a chuckle out of me.

We barely finished reading the tooltip of the berserker weapon, but Alice's eyes were already lingering on the fourth item. [Staff of the Sanctuary] Epic Level 25 Attack Power: 85 Intelligence: +8 Wisdom: +12 Healing output increased by 15% Weapon Skill: Sanctuary's Embrace Create a healing zone with a 5-meter radius that restores 3% of maximum HP per second to all allies within for 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 480 seconds Restriction: Art of Magic The skill and the stats were both great, don't get me wrong, but 15% flat healing increase?! Despite the simplicity, that line on a piece of equipment was borderline OP, and I absolutely understood why the Vice-Guild Leader of King's Glade was eyeing it with such thirst. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The fifth item was heavy armor, and it was magnificent.

Slightly green, similar to the paint on the Viper, but this one looked like it was made from a strange alloy between steel and the forest itself, with bark-like shoulder pads and etchings all along the breast-part. [Greenveil Bulwark Plate] Epic Level 25 Heavy Armor Defense: 118 Strength: +10 Vitality: +12 5% damage reduction from all sources Armor Skill: Ironbark Harden your armor with living wood for 8 seconds, reducing all incoming damage by 25% and reflecting 10% of blocked damage back to the attacker.

Cooldown: 150 seconds Armor Set: Greenveil Plate [1/4] Restriction: Guardian, Paladin A whopping hundred-and-eighteen defense! That, combined with 22 attribute points and a flat damage reduction passive, not to mention an active skill that turned its wearer into a walking fortress for eight seconds made it into the best heavy armor piece in the whole county. And it was also a set item. The sixth Epic was a wicked-looking claw made from the Spriggan's own thorns.

[Spriggan's Claw] Epic Level 25 Attack Power: 106 Strength: +8 Agility: +10 Leeching: heal yourself for 2% of damage done Attack Speed: +12% Weapon Skill: Feral Rend Unleash a flurry of 6 rapid strikes, each dealing 60% of your attack power. If all six hit the same target, the last hit applies a Stun for 1. 4 seconds, a Silence for 1. 8 seconds, a Disorient for 2 seconds, and a Knockback. Cooldown: 90 seconds Restriction: Brawler Any Brawler using this would become a CC machine, I thought.

It was a scary weapon to go up against. The last Epic drop was a skill rune, and when the tooltip expanded, Alice leaned forward. [Skill Rune (epic)] Skill: Greenveil's Revenge (epic) For 45 seconds, attacks apply Nature's Mark on hit. At 5 stacks, the target is rooted for 2 seconds and takes a burst of Nature damage equal to 200% of your attack power. The root and burst can only trigger once per target. Cooldown: 360 seconds Mana: 50 Restriction: Art of Might, Art of Finesse That…

If someone was fast enough, during those 45 seconds they could potentially go through an entire battalion of enemies, rooting and nuking them as they went. As perfect as a skill like that would have been for me, I had serious doubts in my mind that either Guild leaders would let me have it. With that, we got to the end of the Rare and Epic items dropped by the Field Boss, except the one that I already knew had a chance to drop. [Spriggan's Echo] Rare (Growth) Its function is unknown.

I recognized the format instantly. Same as the Woe's Echo and the Voidwalker's Echo sitting in my inventory. A third Echo, from a third Field Boss. The eleventh and twelfth items, however, were the ones that had made everyone hold their breath. [Guild Creation Seal] This item allows the holder to officially register a Guild within their respective Kingdom. Bring this seal to any regional capital's Guild Registry to complete the process. A Guild Creation Seal.

The single most sought-after item in the game right now, the key to founding a guild, and only the second one I knew of to have dropped in Silverwing.

"There it is," Gaul said quietly.

"There it is," Alice nodded.

"But let's address the last drop first." She pointed at the item with a red, glowing border. The tooltip appeared, and the clearing went silent. [Spriggan's Will] Unique Level 25 (Growth: can be upgraded to level 40) Longbow Attack Power: 185 Dexterity: +15 Magnify: +10 Adaptive Growth: For every 30 seconds of continuous combat, the bow's attack power increases by 3% (stacks up to 5 times, max +15%). Basic attacks and ranged skills have a 5% chance to apply Entangle, rooting the target for 1. 2 seconds.

Weapon Skill: Verdant Arrow Fire a projectile that passes through all enemies in a line, dealing 250% of your attack power as Nature damage and Entangling every enemy hit for 1. 2 seconds. The arrow leaves a trail of living vines along its flight path that persists for 8 seconds. Enemies crossing the trail are slowed by 50% and take 2% of their maximum health as damage per second. Cooldown: 240 seconds. Restriction: Ranger Note: Dropped for player 'Orion' as an MVP bonus.

A Unique-rated longbow with my name written on it. The Emberwood Longbow had been my signature weapon since level 20. It had carried me through a dungeon, a civil war, and anything Serendine had me so far, but Spriggan's Will was on another level entirely. The stats were a massive, massive upgrade, and while the skill lacked the devastating single-target burst of Arrow of Ash&Flames, it had something I lacked: Area of Effect. The damage could potentially rise to over 210, and it gave 25 attributes, too.

"MVP bonus," Alice read.

"I tanked that thing for an hour, but of course a DPS is the MVP," Gaul said with a grin.

"Just kidding, you earned it." I stared at the bow for a long moment, then took it. It was long, longer than all my previous weapons, and intricate. Both ends resembled wings, and to my surprise, the string was so incredibly thin it looked like it wasn't even there, yet when I grabbed it, it hummed to power with a subtle green light. This was the first time I felt like I was holding a bow that stepped right out of a fantasy novel.

"Alright," Alice said, not letting me take the moment in completely.

"Distribution."

"Let's do this." Gaul crossed his arms.

"No auction. We talk it out."

"Here's what I see," Alice began.

"The Viper is a Spearfighter weapon. Halla fought until the end."

"If I may, Commander," the Spearfighter said.

"One of Vanguard's lancers had saved me twice during the raid, sacrificing himself in the end. He had also shown me quite a few tricks during the raid. It should go to him." Gaul looked at Halla.

"His name is Leroy. Are you sure?" The Spearfighter nodded.

"I'd rather earn it." Alice looked surprised, but didn't second guess her fellow guild member.

"Alright, then. The Shrouded Mask," Alice continued.

"As much as it pains me to say, Vanguard has a better Finesse line-up in the county."

"We'll take it," Gaul mumbled.

"Although it might go up for auction."

"Actually," I said, "I'd like to buy that one." The Black Warg set was past its prime, and a headpiece like that was the perfect replacement for the hood I was using. The Paladin looked at me.

"I could use an upgrade." I opened my trade interface.

"My offer is 30 gold coins. Fair price for an Epic, last time I checked there were two or three pieces of similar level on the market." Gaul considered it for about two seconds.

"Sold." The trade went through, and I placed the Shrouded Mask in my inventory.

"That's settled, then," Alice nodded. Greenveil's Shroud, 1 out of 4. The set might only drop from the Spriggan, in which case I'd need multiple kills to complete it before leveling past it. But if other Greenveil mobs dropped set pieces too, the path got a lot shorter.

"Spriggan's Rage," Alice moved on.

"Our Berserker in the Second Division has been using a level 15 Rare axe for quite a while. He's desperate for an upgrade. I'd like this one for King's Glade."

"Take it," Gaul said.

"And I'm assuming you'd like to have the staff, too?"

"The Staff." Alice paused.

"Yes. For Desirae." Gaul didn't say anything for a while, and I wasn't surprised. A staff like that alone could be the difference between a wipe and a clear.

"Desirae kept the whole raid together," he finally sighed.

"Alright, Alice. But you owe me one."

"I do." She nodded before turning to her main tank.

"Denxy, you give this to her." He nodded, storing the weapon in his inventory.

"Shroudplate goes to Vanguard," Alice said, looking at Gaul.

"118 defense and Ironbark. You'd be scary with this, Gaul." The Guild Leader took the breastplate and examined it.

"I'll wear it myself, then."

"The Claw…"

"We need that." Gaul was quick to decide with the Brawler weapon. Alice nodded.

"For Selene, right?"

"Yeah. With this, she's a strong contender for top 10 in the region."

"I agree," Denxy chimed in.

"That chick's scary." Gaul laughed.

"That, she is."

"That leaves the skill rune," Alice said.

"Greenveil's Revenge." Gaul looked at her.

"How much would KG be willing to pay for a rune like that?" Alice, to my surprise, already had an answer, and a scary one at that.

"200 gold." The Paladin whistled.

"Take it, then, rich girl. Tell Phantom to send the cash my way." She smiled.

"I can pay you myself." And with that, she traded the man two hundred gold coins.

"Wow, life really is good in King's Glade." One of the Vanguard survivors said, but quickly straightened when Gaul shot a glance his way. The clearing went quiet. The two Rares had been set aside with little discussion; the Mantle to Vanguard's armory, the Warplate to one of their Guardians.

"Then let's talk about the Seal." Gaul planted his warhammer and leaned on it, thinking.

"Here's what I see," he said slowly.

"You got the Rage, the Staff, the Rune, and your Ranger got the Unique bow. That's four items to KG's side, and the Rune alone is arguably worth more than any single piece we're getting."

"Orion is independent."

"Well, I didn't bring him, did I?" It was hard to argue with that. Alice shuddered.

"And you got the Viper, the Mask, the Claw, the Shroudplate, and both Rares," Alice countered.

"In terms of raw item count, Vanguard's ahead."

"Item count isn't the same as item value, and you know it." Alice didn't disagree. The Rune and the Unique bow were the crown jewels, and they'd both gone to King's Glade's side of the ledger, even though the latter was mine and not the Guild's.

"So here's my offer," Gaul said.

"Give me the Echo and the farming rights." Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Farming rights?"

"I want priority on the level 25 Field Bosses in Serendine. Not exclusive, of course. I'm not unreasonable. But primary. Vanguard gets first crack at respawns. And in exchange for that, and the Echo, the Seal is yours." He wasn't done.

"But," Gaul added, raising a finger, "King's Glade helps us keep other guilds off these bosses. No Crimson Court, no random raiders from other counties swooping in to steal kills. We work together to secure the spawns." I watched Alice process the offer. The Seal was everything King's Glade needed to officially register, putting them ahead of every guild in Silverwing. The farming rights were a concession, but not a crippling one; King's Glade's main strength was in Silverwing's capital, not Serendine.

And the Echo... I wasn't sure these people knew how valuable Echoes were, although they must have known at least a little about them.

"Deal," Alice said. Gaul extended his hand, and she shook it. I would have taken the deal, too. The Epic skill was only going to get better as time goes on, and the Guild Creation Seal was the most sought after item in the game right now. Alice stepped away from the group and opened her message interface. Alice: We have a Seal. Phantom's reply came in under five seconds. Phantom: Outstanding. Bring it to Silverwing. I'll handle the rest.

With the loot distributed, Denxy moved to the Spriggan's corpse and began harvesting. His hands moved with the efficiency of a person who understood materials at a fundamental level. He worked the bark first, peeling away the outer layers to reveal the dense inner wood, dark green with veins of jade energy still faintly glowing even in death. He separated the root-wood from the heartwood, the crystallized sap from the raw fluid, and the hardened thorns from the softer growth.

The crafting materials that emerged were impressive. Spriggan Heartwood, Jadebark Plates, Living Sap Vials, Greenveil Thorns, Rootweave Fiber. Each one was marked as Exquisite quality, the highest tier I'd seen for crafting materials. Denxy split everything evenly with Gaul's Vanguard members, counting each piece with fairness.

"There's one more thing," I said, once the mats were sorted. Denxy looked up.

"Lightsworn Beansprouts. They should be somewhere in the body, growing from the Spriggan itself." He frowned, then returned to the corpse and examined the inner cavity more carefully. After a minute of searching, he pulled out a cluster of small, luminous sprouts, each one glowing with a soft white-gold light.

"These?" He held them up. They looked like tiny bean shoots, but they radiated warmth.

"That's them," I confirmed.

"What do you need them for?" Alice asked, curious.

"I need to cook a fish." She gave me a look that said 'you're weird', and I imagined she had given me the same when I told her the same thing via the message menu.

"Can he take them, Commander?" Denxy asked, already tossing me the cluster.

"After what he did in that fight, I'd feel bad asking for money." Alice pouted, then she smiled at me.

"Alright, sure."

"Thank you. Thank you all," I bowed slightly.

"I have to go back to the city, but hit me up if you get stuck on a boss again." Gaul laughed.

"You're alright, Ranger," he said.

"If you ever get tired of being a lone wolf, Vanguard's door is open."

"You're not so bad yourself," I said politely.

"I'll keep that in mind." Alice rolled her eyes.

"Don't poach my allies, Gaul."

"Oh, so now he's not 'independent', is he?" I left them to their bickering and started walking south, toward the city, summoning Lune for a bit of company. She appeared at my side, looked up at me, tail swishing, and I reached down to scratch behind her ears.

"We did good, girl." In my inventory, the Lightsworn Beansprouts glowed faintly beside the Moonpetal Herbs and the Dusk King Carp. I had all the ingredients for Petra's masterpiece now. The road back to Serendine was warm, the sun filtering through the canopy. As crazy as the previous battle was, the day had barely started. There was still a fish to cook, a level to hit, and later down the line, a coded journal to decipher.