Chapter 44 : I Can be Myself Here!

Ding!

Hidden Set unlocked! Shadow Wolf Set.

The Shadow Wolf's Cape released an aura that belonged only to the Shadow Wolf which Ragna had fought yesterday. It was a combination of a baleful and vicious aura. The aura transformed all of the Black Wolf's Set Ragna wore. It made them grow increasingly darker. If the color was jet black with a hint of shiny luster before, now it became more shadowy with a hint of crimson hidden within. It was as if the equipment had gone through countless bloody battles.

Ragna felt a sudden increase in his own strength. He could feel that the transformation brought him an immense increase of power. It didn't just increase his strength and agility. He felt like he was being strengthened as a whole.

The transformation finally ended after all the equipment shared the same color. A darker than black color with a hint of bloody-like crimson hue.

Your Black Wolf's Set has transformed into Shadow Wolf's Set

Shadow Wolf's Boots (U+) : Defense +15, Movement Speed +1

Shadow Wolf's Leather Armor (U+) : Defense +20, Strength +5, Agility +5

Shadow Wolf's Leather Pants (U) : Defense +15, Agility +5

Shadow Wolf's Wrist Guard (U) : Defense +10, Strength +5

Shadow Wolf's Cape ® : Defense +35, Movement Speed +10%

Set Bonus effect :

Two types of equipment : Movement Speed +1

Three types of equipment : Physical Damage +10

Four Types of equipment : Agility and Strength +5

Five Types of equipment : All Stats +5

The transformation made Ragna speechless. Then his expression changed into one of utter happiness!

All of his equipment experienced a raise in their rank, gaining another +20 Defense and an extra special option which could increase +5 points to all stats!

His equipment had broken through a whole realm! It was now comparable to one that was being used by elite players. Combined with his abnormal stats, he could now fight on equal ground with them despite having a disadvantage in level.

Happiness! Excitement!

Ragna had a huge grin plastered on his face. He hadn't felt this kind of feeling for a long time. He really felt that Maya was different from other games he had played before.

He could feel that he was acting a bit different in Maya. Normally, he was distant and cold. Indifferent toward other except for few people whom he really cared about. His personality was developed from the tragic accident he had been through.

His relatives who brought him first made him understand that not everyone could be believed. It was the first time he, as a mere child, knew that he had to be careful in this world. He kept his past self inside his heart. He knew that didn't need that kind of naive personality from then on.

Then, the problem he caused when he beat up his senior upperclassman made him realize that his action could bring harm to other. He didn't want anyone to be complicated into his own problem. That's why he chose to endure everything.

He tried hard to not fight even when someone pissed him off and crossed his bottom line. He silently endured everything, afraid that his family and friends would once again be put into his own problems.

He used to be mischievous, carefree, and a bit reckless. But ever since his parents died, he couldn't be the person he had been before. Slowly, he forgot his past self. He had to.

He was already used to everything. To his own facade.

But now, he realized that he could be anyone he wanted to be in Maya!

He could be reckless. He could be carefree. And no one would be complicated into his own trouble.

The most important thing was that he could finally be happy!

When he first received the Helmet Set, he only thought Maya as a normal game. He didn't believe that it could bring him a second life. He thought that it was a joke.

Never had he known that everything was true. Ragna was his second life. It was something more than just a game!

'I can play to my heart's content', Ragna muttered inwardly. To others, it might sound a bit simple. But to him, it was equivalent to an enlightenment.

"Status Screen!"

Ding!

[/tr]

Status Screen Name Ragna Level 20 Class Ancient Blood Mage Title Brave Challenger (25%) HP 760 MP 540 Soul 104 Magic

Attack 211-215 Attack 248-252 Defence 169 Strength 82 (+40) (+20) Endurance 34 (+39) (+5) Agility 29(+40) (+20) Dexterity 29(+35) (+5) Intelligence 86 (+35) (+5) Wisdom 25 (+35) (+5) Skills :

Essence Mastery (Innate)

Stone Blood (Passive) : Beginner level 5

Blood Orbs (Active) : Beginner level 4

Soul Strike (Active) : Beginner level 6

Essence Manipulation (Active) : Beginner level 3

Earth Mastery (Passive) : Beginner level 4

Hand-to-Hand Combat Mastery (Passive) : Beginner level 6

Magic Combat Mastery (Passive) : Beginner level 5

Crimson Claw Strike (Active) : Beginner level 2

Non-Combat Related Skill :

Blacksmithing (Passive) : Level 4

Blood Essence Refinement (Active) : Level 4

Equipment Related Skill :

Vanishing Step

After killing the Lizardmen, Ragna had refined three essences from their corpses. He was able to do so because there was quite an amount of blood inside their body. He absorbed the first essence, giving him a permanent three point increase in Endurance.

He nodded in satisfaction when he saw his status screen. The most noticeable improvement was his defense. Now that he had his defense doubled, he could now receive more hits when facing BOSSes in the future.

The way defense worked in Maya was quite simple. Every time an attack hits, the damage would be reduced by the player's defense stats. After that, the defending player's HP would be subtracted from that amount. Of course, defensive stance could increase the player's defense and by hitting a weak spot, the damage would be increased. There were a lot of ways to exploit it, just like in real life.

If Ragna faced himself, He could last for about ten hits. Naturally, that didn't include his critical strikes and him hitting weak spots. Also, that obviously didn't include him using Soul Strike. The special effect to completely ignore defense was too great of a factor after all.

His next biggest improvement was his movement speed. Because of the Black Wolf Set, he gained a significant amount of speed. The set was actually suited for Thieves and its related class, but Ragna had worn it anyway, resulting in his abnormal stats.

Of course, it wasn't actually a bad thing. An increase in movement speed meant that he could move faster inside or outside of battle. The effect would be quite immense if the person was retreating or chasing after another player.

Ragna closed the status screen. He then looked at the strange ruin's direction. He had done a bit of search there and found a strange gem embedded on one of its walls. After touching it, a notification screen appeared, asking him if he wanted to enter it or not. It seemed to be a trial ground. He thought inwardly that maybe the strange ruin was the place that the army had been looking for.

As for now, he had no intention of telling them about his discovery. He wanted to try entering it by himself. He wasn't scared or anything, he just wanted to strengthen himself first before truly entering it.

Now that he had hit level 20 and had experienced a leap in his combat ability, he had no reason to hesitate. He decided to enter the place tomorrow because his time was already over for today.

Ragna threw a last glance toward the ruin. He would DEFINITELY conquer it!

...

Ragna exited the portal and found himself at the Prawk City's Field. He had deliberately entered the base at the last moment to avoid other players. He was among the last group of players to enter the portal.

He quickly looked at his surrounding to find Lily. He wanted to sell his loots and equipment to her. Ragna could sell his items to other merchants and get a slightly higher price, but he still decided to sell them to Lily. After seeing her being accepted into an Alchemist Guild, Ragna instantly decided to maintain his good relationship toward her. Who knows that what realm she could achieve in the future? Naturally, Lily too gave him a warm attitude in response. She was somewhat grateful toward him because of his action.

Ragna spotted Lily at a glance. There were no other people who wore huge spectacles such as her. Unfortunately, right before he could call to her, a cold voice interrupted him from behind.

"Halt"

---

Author Note : This chapter took me more time than I had predicted.

We have broken through 500 followers and it's still increasing by now. I hope I could get more ratings and review instead of one that only consists of a score.

Anyway, I noticed something strange. Before, I had 28 ratings submitted with the score of 4.14. But now it has reduced into 27 ratings but the score increased into 4.28.

Maybe someone gave me a bad rating before, but as the story progressed he had a change in opinion and decided to un-rate me. That made me quite happy because it means that my story is becoming better and better as the story progresses.

Enough the talk, let's enjoy the chaps!