Saharan Successor

Vol. 1 - Chapter 8 - Ancient Weapon, Ragnius

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After checking [Raven's Movement] description and the other basic skills such as [Basic Guards] that conferred him with the three basic guards [Upper] [Middle], [Lower Guard].

The [Basic Spear Control] was a passive skill that granted him a 1% accuracy rate in his attacks and 1% attack speed, while the [Basic Spear Attacks] was a general passive skill that granted him the basic attacks of thrusting and striking.

[Basic Spear Attacks] - Lv.1

Grants the general knowledge of spear, unlocking the [Thrust] and [Strike] attacks.

Depending on the spots attacked, the [Thrust] will deal more than 2% [Critical Damage] and has a chance to proc the 'Bleed' abnormal status. [Strikes] deal damage according to how much attack power the user has, with a 1% chance of dealing [Critical Damage]

Skill Type: Passive

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Reading the descriptions of those simple skills, he took a bit more to read the [Sweep Thrust] skill and [Piercing Rain], which were Active Skills, that were combo attacks.

[Sweep Thrust] - Lv.1

One of the basic attacks of a spearman that shows your efficiency in using the spear. A diamond-shaped sweep movement that has an AOE range attack that deals 60% of your physical attack power and the thrust that deals 100% of your physical attack power.

Skill Mana Cost: 35 MP

Skill Cooldown Time: 25 seconds

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After Mathias ended reading the description for [Sweep Thrust] from where he was seated, supported by the large tree he said with a satisfied tone.

"This skill has an AOE effect? Pretty good, and even a finishing sequence with the thrust. Man, I doubt other newbies who just entered the game, like me got lucky to get an entire series of skills. Hah, I even got one gold coin from this quest chain."

The [Piercing Rain] was also a decent skill that allowed him to strike the enemy with a three-attack combo in rapid succession dealing  91% of his physical attack power for each strike.

"Piercing Rain is also a good skill, for only 40 MP to be able to do a rapid combo like the ones Corvus was showing. I have no complaints about this quest chain. I'll not even argue if it gets me killed since I will not die for good anyway."

Ending saying that he stood there, without moving for two minutes, enough time for him to figure out a battle strategy with his new skills. Gradually he felt his stamina recover, and the tiredness leave his body.

Raising himself on his feet, he opened the map interface and began walking toward the blacksmith like some cripple forcing his steps forward.

The people in the streets turned their attention to Mathias whispering some things he couldn't hear. But those weren't the only ones who took notice of Mathias, the lowly thieves and bandits of Titan didn't care how much money he had on him, but seeing his rugs specific to the cursed ones who appeared today, they chose to ignore him.

'Hmph, it's not like I care about what you think of me. This is all Corvus' fault that I walk like a cripple. I haven't told him to strike me so hard that I couldn't walk properly now. Tsk, I hope this problem is solved once my stamina is fully regenerated together with my health.' thought  Mathias while walking on Titan's periphery roads that were as dirty as some alleys from the provinces badly developed in his country.

'Hmm, even those guys who look like bandits stopped looking at me? I

Am I some scourge, or do they pity me for just starting this game and looking like some beggar?'

Mathias' thoughts went in split directions when looking at the people staring weirdly at him, but his mind cleared when he arrived in front of the blacksmith shop.

This place looked exactly like he expected, a decently sized building that released a lot of fire smoke from the forge inside, and with a slightly burned exterior, signaling to Mathias that it suffered quite some burns.,

Entering the shop's door, the first thing that he felt was the hot temperature blasting on his face, making him feel a bit awkward. After the first heat blast, he heard the voice of an annoyed guy saying to a 12 years old boy seated at the counter of the shop.

"Boy, go already and tell your father I want to buy a weapon from his shop. Now, boy, now. I've already wasted so much time waiting around for him to finish his weapon. I will lose my ranking soon in this way."

Mathias looked sharply at the guy who screamed at the young boy and noticed that he was a player like him, someone with a white name template, [Samuel].

'Interesting, let's see who this guy is to whine about his progression. 'Rankings'.' thought Mathias to himself while opening the ranking list and searching at the top rankers for the guy in front of him. Only after a brief search, he spotted that he was decently high on the list, being level 16 himself.

While walking toward the shop counter, and seeing the boy's features with his green nameplate  [Ralph]. The boy had heavily tanned skin, with short black hair and brown eyes. He had a serious expression while staring at the player yelling at him.

"Sir, my father is busy with the forge. Even if I go there to tell him you are here and want to talk with him, he will not care. You either tell me what you want or go to another shop."

'Well done boy, stand your ground in the face of bullies and don't give them a chance to react.' thought Mathias when hearing the boy say that while walking to a section of the shop that had spear-type weapons.

"You little shit, you'll regret it." said Samuel while staring at Ralph with furious eyes.

"Shut up you moron. This is how you behave outside of your safety bubble?"

Samuel, someone who was quite tall, standing at 1,87 meters, with a tanned skin similar to latin americans, quickly turned to where Mathias was standing, to the spear section, and shifted his fury to him.

"What's your problem, you scumbag? You are still in the rugs those developers threw at us to insult us? And you have the guts to talk shit to me? Be careful that you are not hunted down in the city for talking when not being asked."

Mathias ignored those threats, feeling this guy's attempt at scaring him pathetic. He, who had quite the experience with the gypsies who dealt with drugs and all sorts of illegal things could only find it funny and that was visible on his face.

"That was a good try, not going to lie. Now turn your head and mind your own business and piss off after getting your weapon without bothering the server boy."

Samuel, hearing this from Mathias, tried to use a skill he acquired while leveling outside of the city, but was denied by the system, with a simple notification warning infront of his face.

[Fighting isn't allowed inside Nelmon Blacksmith Shop]

'Tsk, stupid game. I could kill this newbie in one strike and that would teach him a good lesson. Fuck, I'm wasting time with this stupid NPC and that big mouth. I'll never get to the top 10 rankings in this way.'

"Kid, show me your swords. Something around the range of 30-80 silvers."

The boy complied with the request, visibly angry at how this person talked with him, and disdainfully he took some swords and placed them in Samuel's view.

"These are the swords you are looking for."

Samuel took a look at the swords, and after finding a sword his level, and seeing the price tag directly in the interface, he took 70 silver coins and placed them on the counter.

"Here little shit. This sword will do its job."

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[Sharp Beast Sword]

Rating: Normal

Durability: 120/120 | Attack Power: 15-35

Accuracy Hit: 1%

User Restriction: Level 15 or higher. More than 60 strength. More than 35 agility. Basic Sword Mastery Level 1 or higher.

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Taking the money from the counter the young boy looked hatefully at Samuel, who scoffed and spit in Mathias' direction while saying.

"I will remember you, big mouth. Don't think that opening your mouth doesn't have consequences."

Yet Mathias just ignored him and by the time Samuel was at the door he flickered a middle finger, as a sign he couldn't care less about this idiot who created a ruckus in a shop. When Samuel was out of the shop, the boy breathed out relieved and said to himself.

"I thought that guy would punch me in the face."

"He can't do such a thing inside the shop, so don't worry about your safety." replied Mathias while searching around the spears put on display.

"It was still scary. Can I help you with something big brother?" asked the boy from behind the counter, while moving toward Mathias who was searching with a pondering expression.

"Not really. But if you got a better spear and something even a newbie like me could use, I would appreciate it a lot."

Ralph got to where Mathias was and began touching the spears and looking at them carefully while saying to himself. "Spear for newbies. Spear for newbies. I doubt father even bothered making one for newbies."

"Big brother, can I ask how much money you have on you? Each weapon here has a price tag, but I also need more details so I know what to search for."

Nodding his head at the boy next to him, Mathias spoke with an awkward tone, like he didn't know how much his money was worth. "I only got 1 gold coin and 50 bronze coins on me."

"That's plenty enough for a spear since they are cheaper to make compared to swords. Can you wait for a bit? I will go to the warehouse and look for the work my father has accumulated."

"Okay, take your time." replied Mathias in a casual manner, nevertheless before seeing the young boy off, he asked. "Do you mind if I use your counter to write something?"

"Write? Sure, I don't mind it. Just don't steal anything. I warn you, dad has a contract with the thugs in the district to watch over the shop. In case any thief would try to steal from the shop."

"Huh? Protection fees?"

"What?" asked back the boy confused by what Mathias just said.

"Ahh, nothing. It is just me thinking out loud. Go on, search for my spear."

The young man nodded his head and walked to the backside of the shop, while Mathias took some paper from the inventory, a feature he learned to use along the way that proved to be quite handy in travels.

'Sigh, I should have checked the inventory feature earlier so I wouldn't have lost my chapter like an idiot. At least it had someone enjoyed reading it.'

While thinking that to himself, he took the inkwell and quill, along with one sheet of paper, and after some minutes of thinking, accompanied by the sound of a hammer hitting metal, he started writing down some ideas, until he got caught in the process and even forgot about the boy who went to look for a spear.

After 20 minutes the young boy came back to the main part of the shop holding a spear in his hand that was longer than himself. Its shape was a mix between glaive and spear and could be simply described as something too difficult for a new spear wielder to use., yet this boy came along bringing that spear with some difficulty walking around with it.

"Argh, this heavy spear is annoying to move around. I don't even know why father keeps this lame spear in the warehouse."

Mathias stopped what he was doing, placing the equipment for writing back into his inventory, he later moved his eyes to the spear the boy was holding.

The first thing he noticed was the dark red color of the spear blade that was shaped similar to Poseidon's Trident, while the shaft of the weapon was made out of a material similar to wood, only that it was fully black.

"You've come back at last. That spear is for sale?" asked Mathias carefully while admiring the spear from a distance.

Ralph the blacksmith's son, got to the counter and placed the spear on it with some effort for Mathias to look at.

"That's right. This spear has been sitting in the warehouse collecting dust for no reason. I don't see anything special about this spear aside from the pointy tip that looks more like an ornament."

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Just as Ralph said that while pointing at the spear, Mathias touched the spear, and instantly the information of the weapon appeared in his vision which gave him a scare.

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[Ragnius]

Rating: Normal(Growth)

Durability: 450/450

Attack Power: 100-240 | Critical Chance: +2% Attack Speed: +2%

Defense: 15

* 2% increase in physical attack power.

* 5% increase in maximum health.

* Attack speed will increase by 0.5% for every attack that connects.

* There is a very low chance of the spear releasing the skill "???"

A spear forgotten from the annals of history, yet it still gives off small fragments of its splendor and glory.

A spear that was once thought to be the sole weapon of a saint brought to the status of a scrap weapon ignored by everyone and looked down upon, however without the rightful master, the spear will never break off from its past.

It will be the symbol of fear to the enemy and a symbol of protection to its master.

Conditions of Use: Chosen by Ragnius' slumbering ego.

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Reading the spear description carefully, he could feel his hand going cold for a bit as if something reacted to his grasp, but there was no notification from the system about him suffering any abnormal status.

He quickly released his grasp, but he found that he couldn't let go of the spear, as if someone was holding on to him.

'What is going on?? I am dreaming right now? There is something inside the spear? Ego? Arghh, let go of me spear, I don't want to spook this kid.' thought Mathias while trying to drop Ragnius on the counter.

"Big brother, is something wrong? You don't like the spear? Hah, and I spent so much time looking around the warehouse." said the boy with a disappointed voice, and a sad expression.

"No, no. You are wrong kid, I actually like this spear quite a lot, but I don't think my money is enough for this spear."

"What do you mean? This spear is sold for one gold coin." replied the boy with a relieved expression, which made Mathias feel even more awkward.  Or the spear costs one gold

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, big brother. Does my face look like that of a fool? I have already been selling my father's weapons for one year."

'Fine, I'll buy it. It is not like I have another choice because of this cursed spear. Let go, already!" thought Mathias while looking at Ragnius in his hand.

Placing his hands in his pocket, he activated the inventory feature and took all his money and placed it on the counter, and before taking off with Ragnius he told the boy.

"Young Ralph, I will come back to give you more money. Right, does your father also repair weapons?"

Taking the money placed by Mathias with a smile, the young boy nodded his head and said with an advertising tone. "That's right big brother. Father can make weapons, armors, and even repair them."

"I see. Good to know, it means we will see each other plenty of times."

"Haha, big brother if dad makes any interesting armor I will tell you."

Mathias just smiled and extended his hand to ruffle Ralph's hair, before with Ragnius grasped in one hand he walked out of the shop.

As he did that, another notification appeared infront of his face, which made him slightly confused.

[Ragnius's ego looked inside of you and is pleased by what he observed. He will bind himself to you.]

[Item 'Ragnius' is bound to you. You can't share ownership of the item or lose it in death.]

'Are you for real? I did nothing to be haunted by ghosts at this age.' thought Mathias felt this situation even more creepy than the one with Rebecca's statue, and along the way, he felt the spear shaft tremble a bit before turning silent.

'Go sleep. If you are really are what I think you are, a ghost inside a weapon. We'll be able to talk when you recover, all I need to do is to build you up to your former status.'

This time he didn't receive any signals from Ragnius, and to not attract the attention of unwanted eyes, he placed the spear in his inventory.

Mathias chooses to move out of the blacksmith shop zone and check out the location of Fayrene's shop, the last check before moving out of the city, and start hunting some monsters.

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Inside the blacksmith shop, some minutes since Mathias left, a man with a strong body, with black hair that had some white hairs, along with a long black beard, walked to the warehouse of the shop to get some materials for his work.

While searching, he also looked to the location where some spears were stored in a vertical position.

As he looked around the spears carefully, his expression immediately got restless and he called out to Ralph.

"Ralph, do you know what happened with one of the spears inside my collection in the warehouse?"

"I sold it to a nice big brother." replied Ralph from where he was at the counter.

Instantly he heard that answer he got to the front of the shop and looked with shock at his son.

"Do you even know what that spear was? Tell me how long has it been since you've sold the spear?"

"Huh, why are you so nervous dad? It's been about 10 minutes I think. Why? Have I done something wrong? You told me that when customers don't like what's in the front shop I can check your warehouse for weapons."

"Arghhh, I did say that, but I never thought you would actually check on that spear. Come tell me how this guy you sell the spear to looks like?"

"Calm down father, that big brother told me he would come back to repair the spear."

"Sigh, I hope you are right son. Otherwise, I will make you forge so many weapons that you will only dream about hitting metals."

"What? Dad, did you eat something bad this morning? Shouldn't we be glad we still got customers to sell our weapons to?"

"Tsk, you don't get it, son, that spear is a bit more special. The material and craftsmanship is something unworldly, I've never seen such materials or manner of crafting a weapon, combining art with utility. I don't even know who made it or how the weapon is called. Yet you quickly decided to sell it. Shouldn't I be angry at you, Ralph?"

"No? I did nothing wrong. You should have told me and I wouldn't even touch that spear. It felt so damn heavy and cold, just like raising a boulder, yet that big brother picked it up so smoothly from the counter."

"What did you just say? He picked it up smoothly? He didn't express any difficulty at picking it or coldness on his hands?"

"No, he seemed to try to put the spear down, but whenever he would do that, his grasp on the spear would tighten."

The man who had his nameplate in gold color, with the name 'Nelmon' stared with astonishment at his son, and walked back to his workstation, while his mind was conflicted by what he just heard.

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'The dwarf masters from Talima tried their best to find who the maker of the spear is, search all their vast history on the weapon shape and form, yet they found nothing. There are also many deaths on that spear, of craftsman who tried to smelt the weapon. They got blasted apart the instant they tried to smelt the weapon. Yet now you tell me someone managed to pick it up and use it?'

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A/N: Badum. What do you think the ego inside the spear is?