Alessio Leone's Perspective
I stood by the side wall of the room, stunned by what I was seeing.
It was true that, in the reports that circulated through the forums in my past life, no one ever knew exactly how many magical items had been found here.
The player who made the discovery never specified quantities, nor described the quality of what he'd obtained in any detail.
What I did know — and knew with absolute certainty — was that there had been only one magical item in this place.
A single treasure that justified all the risk and would allow me to move forward with my plans.
That was the only reliable piece of information I had.
Everything else was just speculation and legend.
But now, right in front of my eyes, reality surpassed every assumption.
It wasn't just one item.
Not even two.
There were five.
Five artifacts lined up against the wall, without a trace of glow, resting silently as if they had been forgotten there for centuries.
And yet, it was impossible not to recognize their value.
The craftsmanship was flawless.
Every detail seemed born from refined work — from hands that mastered not only forging or carpentry, but the art of intertwining magic and matter. The lines were precise, the finish solid, with no unnecessary adornments. No embellishments meant to impress.
Their majesty came from their simplicity — from a perfect form that defied time itself.
Those five items were, without a doubt, magical.
And more than that — far beyond what I could have imagined.
What had once been a risky search through a maze of horrors now revealed itself as an opportunity beyond any expectation.
I carefully raised my hand and touched the first one.
Immediately, a notification flared before my eyes, the letters floating in bluish green light — as if the system itself was revealing its hidden secret.
[Rare Item]
Bow – "Whisper of the Crescent Moon"
Attributes: +15% Agility, +12% Intelligence
Description: A silverwood bow strung with ethereal threads. When drawn, it emits a faint sound — like a whisper in the wind, as though the moon itself were guiding the arrow.
Skill: Lunar Arrow – fires an arrow that explodes in light upon impact, dealing area damage equal to 2x the user's Intelligence and blinding enemies for 2 seconds.
(Cooldown: 1 minute)
I set the bow back in its corner and stepped forward. The soft, flexible leather of the next item seemed almost to move beneath my fingers.
[Rare Item]
Leather Armor – "Skin of the Shadow Serpent"
Attributes: +18% Vitality, +11% Agility
Description: Made from the hide of a magical serpent — supple yet resilient, with greenish hues that shift under the light.
Skill: Serpent's Evasion – when struck from a blind spot, the user gains a 10x Agility boost for 3 seconds.
(Cooldown: 45 seconds)
Then my gaze fell upon the sword. The blade seemed to dance between gold and crimson, as if the very sunset had been trapped inside the metal.
[Rare Item]
Sword – "Twilight Blade"
Attributes: +20% Strength, +14% Agility
Description: A long sword whose blade reflects the golden-red light of dusk. Lighter than it looks, allowing for swift and precise strikes.
Skill: Dusk Strike – a special attack that consumes part of the user's energy, delivering an arcing slash that hits multiple enemies ahead for 5x Strength.
(Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds)
I then turned to the heavy armor. Its metallic scales, woven with almost organic patterns, radiated a faint warmth — as if a heartbeat pulsed within.
[Rare Item]
Metal Armor – "Breastplate of the Sleeping Dragon"
Attributes: +17% Strength, +13% Vitality
Description: A heavy scale armor reinforced with draconic energy. Even at rest, it emits a gentle heat, as if the heart of a dragon beat within.
Skill: Draconic Endurance – reduces incoming damage by 50% for the next 60 seconds.
(Cooldown: 4 minutes)
And finally — the one that drew my attention the most. The shield.
Colossal.
Black.
Etched with ancient runes that thrummed like contained thunder. The moment my hand brushed its surface, a wave of ancestral weight spread through my arm.
[Epic Item]
Shield – "Bulwark of the Titans"
Attributes: +40% Vitality, +35% Strength
Description: A colossal black-metal shield engraved with ancient runes. Every impact on it resounds like thunder — a testament to the unyielding might of the titans.
Skills:
Titan Charge – the bearer rushes forward in a straight line, trampling enemies and knocking them down, dealing damage equal to 2x Strength. (Cooldown: 1 minute)
Immovable Wall – creates a magical barrier for 5 seconds, reducing all incoming damage to allies behind it by 60%. (Cooldown: 2 minutes)
Titanic Retaliation – when blocking an attack, there's a 30% chance to counter automatically with a shockwave that pushes enemies back. (Cooldown: 30 seconds)
I read through each description carefully, absorbing every detail.
There was an epic item in this dungeon.
That changed everything.
As my eyes lingered on the floating description of the Bulwark of the Titans, my breathing grew heavier.
It wasn't just another shield.
Not just another high-value rare item.
It was epic.
And I remembered exactly what that meant.
In my past life, I had never even touched an epic item. Not once.
These artifacts were living legends — symbols of power that shaped the fate of entire guilds.
The first epic item to appear publicly in the Black Tower, in the previous timeline, wouldn't emerge for another two years.
Two years.
The fact that a shield of this caliber stood before me now — on the third day of the game — was so absurd that my mind struggled to process it.
Even if I gathered all the gold scattered around the room — every coin, every gemstone.
Even if I added the value of the other four rare items, each of them of extraordinary quality —
all of that combined wouldn't reach even half the worth of this epic shield.
It was like holding an entire fortress in a single hand.
And there was more.
It wasn't a bow.
It wasn't a blade.
It wasn't some ordinary armor.
It was a shield.
The perfect item for me.
The key that would let me tackle dungeons at outrageously higher levels.
The piece that could turn impossible battles into achievable victories.
Bosses that once required dozens of players and weeks of preparation could now be faced by smaller teams.
Unbreakable defense lines that once seemed like distant dreams were now within my grasp.
So much power — so many possibilities — that for a moment, I felt almost dizzy.
With this, all my plans would need to be redrawn.
Rebuilt.
Recalculated from the ground up.
I still couldn't quite believe it — that on the third day of the game, I had found an item that, in my past life, wouldn't have appeared publicly for years.
And it was mine.
I tightened my grip on the shield, feeling its true weight in my hand, then called out:
"Freya, you'll want to see this."
She approached curiously, her eyes bright — unaware of the true magnitude of what she was seeing.
The shield would be mine. That much was certain.
There was no room for debate.
But for the sake of fairness — and because I had no desire to be unjust — our loot would be divided properly.
Which meant Freya was about to become a rich woman.
A ridiculously rich woman.
Rich on a level she couldn't even imagine yet.
She was probably still clueless about the new exchange rate that would be announced in just a week — the official link between the Tower's gold and the real-world economy.
When that happened, what Freya was about to receive here today wouldn't just change her game…
It would change her life.
And I knew that better than anyone.