In an instant, the mental energy in Vega's body was almost completely drained.In his hand appeared a small sword, barely the size of a palm and looking flimsy—almost like it was made of plastic.
Although Vega had some expectations, seeing the plastic-like evil-spirited sword left him momentarily speechless.This form of the haunted item was too stretched out, too fragile—almost no different from a child's toy sword.
He swung it casually a couple of times, but the impact was negligible.It really felt like he was holding a toy sword made of plastic, with no real lethality at all.
"Let's strengthen it with the system!" Vega shook his head, focusing his mind, and instantly a message flashed in his thoughts:
Haunted by demons: The only effect of a manifested mental device at this stage is that it can only serve as a child's toy.
Vega ignored the sneering message and concentrated deeply to "strengthen" the sword.
Immediately, a ghostly light enveloped the demon-haunted sword, making it hard to look at directly, as a powerful energy surged into it continuously.
"Boom."A strange sound echoed in Vega's ears—like the beating of a heart.
The thumping grew louder, and Vega looked at the sword with shock.The sword itself felt hot, pulsing with a rhythmic beat, as if the evil spirit inside was coming to life.
A chill ran down Vega's spine. Could it be that the system was actually reviving the evil spirit as it strengthened the sword?
After all, the imperial tools haunted by evil spirits were known to contain super-dangerous creatures from the Crimson Pupil realm—ancient dragons that remained alive even after being turned into imperial spirits, able to corrode and consume even the protagonist Tazmi.
Now, the sword's heartbeat grew stronger. Countless glimmers radiated around it. Vega saw silver-white and countless dark stripes cover the blade, with a purple orb embedded at the center of the hilt, glowing with ghostly light.
Compared to the toy-like sword before, this was a completely different level—clearly a magic weapon.
Vega's excitement surged, and he prepared to strengthen it further.
But when he checked his system, the experience points he once had—almost seven hundred—were down to just five hundred and fifteen.
"What?!" Vega was stunned. He was sure of what he saw; it was impossible to be mistaken.
How could one strengthening consume so many experience points?
Previously, enhancing the Ghost Mask by +1 only cost 10 experience points, and although higher upgrades cost more, it was nowhere near this drastic!
This upgrade cost about ten times more than before!
After investigating the system, a message appeared:
The stronger and more powerful the item, the more experience points it consumes.Additionally, the more abilities an item possesses—such as defense, attack, stealth—the more experience points are required compared to simpler items like the Ghost Mask that summons a single shadow warrior.
Sighing, Vega realized it was a matter of equivalent exchange.
He had planned to strengthen the demonic haunt to +10, then figure out how to gather enough experience points to upgrade it to the first order.
But with this rate, it would take about 3,000 experience points just to reach +10—and advancing to the next order might cost as much as 30,000 experience points.
Clearly, the advanced plan wouldn't happen anytime soon.
"Still," Vega looked at the demonic sword in his hand, "let's see how powerful it is after spending so many experience points."
Suddenly, countless ghosts swirled around Vega's body, and armor materialized behind him out of thin air.
In an instant, the evil spirit armor fused with his body, and an endless power surged through him.
A protective aura enveloped him like a shield.
Vega eyed a one-meter-thick stone pillar in the ruins nearby and swung the sword in a casual slash.
With ease, the stone pillar split into two sections.
"That's powerful," Vega raised his eyebrows in surprise, realizing he hadn't used much force.
The sword easily cut through stone, and he felt no shock recoil—the armor had completely absorbed the impact.
"Now, let's test the defense!"
He ordered one of the Shadow Warriors to fire a pistol at his forearm.
Bang!
The bullet fell to the ground, leaving no mark on the armor.
As expected of an imperial tool, this defense was well worth the experience points spent.
A satisfied smile crossed Vega's face as he appreciated the armor's power.
But after a moment, his expression tightened.
He noticed his physical strength had dropped significantly during the attack and when the bullet hit.
It seemed that both offense and defense using the demonic armor drained his stamina quickly.
"The enchantment's effect is amazing—far beyond what I expected, both offensively and defensively," Vega thought.
"But it consumes a lot of stamina, and that cost increases with every attack and defense."
Secretly, Vega calculated his stamina reserves and estimated that with this consumption, he could only last a bit over an hour in battle.
Without improving his stamina limit, prolonged combat using the demonic haunt wouldn't be possible.
Still, each upgrade would increase stamina consumption, but the power gain was worth it—if he could quickly end fights, endurance wouldn't be a problem.
With his mind made up, Vega spent a large amount of experience points to strengthen the demonic haunt to +4.
Just then, his phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Vega raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Coming?"