"…"
"..."
"..."
Everyone leaves the bank with a weird expression. Nobody is saying much, so Alex decides to start talking to ease the atmosphere around him.
"What a nice lady," Alex mutters as they walk away from the 'bank' and head toward the Ranking-up facility. "At least she was refreshingly obvious in her bad intentions. I think I'm gonna have some scary dreams tonight—and surprisingly, they won't be about the Coven, but about that little green devil."
"Not too sure if it's gonna be a nightmare or a wet dream, Alex," Menchi teases. "You seemed kind of excited by her. Almost smitten, even. You might say otherwise, but clearly she had some kind of effect on you."
"Either I'm sick and twisted—which, fair, could be true—or she has absurdly high CHA," Alex admits. "I mean, I've already fallen in love with you three as well, so… Anyway, I have to admit, I was smitten by that goblin-girl, despite my dislike of goblins. I couldn't stop staring at her. I was rude as hell, and she still saw right through me. She is someone of importance… just my LUK that we were welcomed by her."
Tereza hugs Alex from behind as they walk. "Just be careful. I feel like she's trouble. Sure, she might be helpful now—and maybe even later—but she might also be someone with really bad intentions."
Jewel agrees! That goblin is dangerous. Special. But still dangerous.
"I promise I'll be careful," Alex replies, sighing. "You know I struggle sometimes, but I haven't majorly fucked up yet. Okay, maybe aside from telling Roja about my grenades—which that coven member taunted me about. But hey, if she thinks that's all my innate skill does, she's in for a rude awakening. Anyway, if we ever need help from Glimmerwhisk again, we might as well bring Rishi with us. He's twice as scary as she is.…"
Alex pauses. "Come to think of it, why the hell hasn't that idiot responded yet? Happily writing names in his little notebook? I hope he snaps out of it."
They finally arrive at a wide, flat building that almost looks like a giant supermarket. It's only a single story tall, but the structure sprawls out impressively. As they step inside, Alex notices something odd—there are no visible workers.
Only endless rows of identical-looking rooms are visible.
"Are there no workers around?" Tereza asks, annoyed. "I want explanations!"
[Welcome, players. Please enter a cabin if you require instructions.]
"Fully system-run, huh?" Alex says, stepping forward. "Let's go."
[Welcome, players. Since this is your first visit, please allow me to briefly explain this facility. Upon reaching level 5, you have earned the opportunity to rank-up items. Ranking up increases their power—as well as their usage requirements—by roughly 20%. The exact effects vary based on the item. Some may gain only minor stat boosts, while others may unlock entirely new abilities. Players at your level may only rank up items to Rank 2. Further ranking becomes available at level 10. Do you comprehend this basic premise? Shall I proceed?]
"Yes, we do," Alex says. "I like you, system. You're nice, respectful, and not scary. Please keep up the good work."
[Praise is not needed. Please note: once ranked up, an item can no longer be traded. Ranking up permanently binds an item to its user. However, if the user has insurance, ranked items will revert to Rank 1 upon death and may be reclaimed by your beneficiary.]
"How… assuring," Alex responds sarcastically.
[Sarcasm is not needed either. To rank up an item, you will need a special currency called Fantasy Shards. These shards are obtained by disenchanting eligible items. This is the function of this room.]
"How… original. Fantasy Shards, huh?" Alex mutters, his mouth on autopilot.
Tereza and Menchi snort, barely suppressing their laughter.
[Mockery is also not needed. If you have questions, please ask.]
"I guess if we need to spend these Shards, we should be able to see how many we actually need, right? And how many we get from disenchanting items?" Alex asks.
Menchi and Tereza nod along, clearly satisfied with that question.
[Please refer to the following list. Only equippable items, like Weapons, Armor, and Trinkets, can be disenchanted. The first number indicates how many Shards you receive when disenchanting an item. The second number is the cost to rank-up an item of that type.
Ranking-up begins at Light-Green quality.
Items that have already been ranked up can be disenchanted for 80% of their total ranking-up Fantasy Shard cost.
This feature exists as a salvage option, since ranked items become bound to the player. Please also note: Fantasy Shards cannot be traded. Ranking-up an item additionally costs 2,000 FC per current rank.]
Gray & Unranked: X/X
White: 1/X
Light-Green: 2/4
Green: 3/6
Deep–Green: 4/8
Light-Blue 7/14
Blue: 10/20
Deep-Blue: 15/30
Light-Purple: 25/50
Purple: 40/80
Deep-Purple: 60/120
Light-Gold: 100/200
Gold: 150/300
Deep-Gold 200/400
"So to rank up an item, we basically need to sacrifice two items of the same rarity? For a mere 20% increase in stats?" Alex says, raising an eyebrow. "That's… expensive."
"TOO expensive!" Tereza grumbles. "Until we're fully geared up, ranking up seems like a trap. Sure, 20% is nice, but I'd rather have two Gold-ranked items than upgrade one to Rank 2."
"This seems best suited for players who've found the perfect item for their playstyle and want to keep using it," Menchi reasons. "It also rewards players who use lower-ranked items early on, since the cost is significantly cheaper. Plus, the fact that you get 80% of the upgrade cost back if you disenchant the item… That makes experimenting more viable. You don't lose everything if you find something better later."
"The more interesting takeaway," Alex notes, "is how this essentially sets the market price of items. A Deep-Blue item is worth 15 shards, while a Light-Purple one is worth 25. That gives us a reference point for smarter trades."
"Right," he says, running the numbers in his head. "And on the extreme end, a Deep-Gold item is worth 200 shards, while a Light-Green one is only worth 2. That's a 100x price difference."
"Interesting observation, Alex. You're actually kinda good at trading, huh?" Tereza teases, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
Soulmate smart. ❤️
Jewel… you're smarter than me and you know it. You act all cute, but I know what you're capable of. To quote the system from earlier: "Flattery is not needed."
Princess Jewel is merely expressing her deep admiration for her beloved Soulmate. She is so proud of him for arriving at the correct conclusions.
...Now I feel humiliated if you treat me like a small child.
Used to the system only revealing what's barely necessary, Alex decides to dig deeper. "Anything else we should know? Explain the remaining functions. That can't be everything. We've been told that upgrading the rank of an item requires another item of the same slot and type, right?"
[You can use one item that shares the same item slot and general type during the upgrade. This item will contribute the same amount of shards it would normally yield through disenchanting, plus an additional 50%.]
"I see… So if I want to upgrade a sword, and I use another sword in the process, that sword gives me the usual shards plus 50% extra?" Alex confirms. "Like… if I use my [Goblin Sword] to rank up my [Enchanted Runeblade], I'd normally get 4 shards from disenchanting it—but if I use it in an upgrade, it gives 6, right?"
[Player is correct and has proven that he possesses at least basic intelligence.]
"…Sarcasm and insults are not needed," Alex mutters, looking wounded. "Especially from you."
[Excuse this system. A minor glitch occurred. However, the player is indeed correct. This concludes the basic instructions. Further details will be revealed upon reaching level 10.]
"Fine! Geez, this Realm is messed up on so many levels…" Alex sighs.
Tereza and Menchi smile, clearly enjoying the system's passive-aggressive commentary far more than Alex is.
❤️❤️❤️
Alex rolls his eyes and ignores them, pulling out his [Rank Upgrade Token (Gold) R2] from his inventory.
"Might as well use it, huh?" he mutters.
[Rank Upgrade Token (Gold) R2]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: Gold
Effect: Raises the rank of a weapon/equipment type item by 1. Limited to Rank 1 Gold Items and below.
Note: Can't be traded!
Note: Can only be used on base-rank items
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