SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God-Chapter 701: Legendary item?
Damon immediately stood up and looked for the three blacksmiths. They were out training in the wilderness, but that wasn’t a problem at all. A few concise messages sent through the system were enough to bring them in front of him in less than ten minutes.
Their bodies were scarred, their auras were dense and steady, and their hands were calloused despite the natural regeneration their bodies possessed. Anyone who looked at them would instantly develop an immense respect for them.
"My lord." They all greeted him together, bowing deeply.
The old ghost immediately popped out. "Look at my disciples. No one can beat them in hard work and dedication!" he said proudly, translucent beard fluttering as if caught in a nonexistent wind. His hollow eyes swept over the three men with unmistakable satisfaction.
The three blacksmiths stiffened for half a heartbeat before relaxing, clearly used to their master’s... timing. One of them coughed politely. Another pretended very hard not to get embarrassed, while the third simply bowed again, deeper this time. "Master," he said respectfully. "This lowly disciple greets you."
Damon watched the exchange with mild amusement before raising a hand. "That’s enough. I am short on time at the moment, so we can introduce ourselves properly sometime later. Today, I called you all back because I need something and I need it now."
Damon took out a mask from his inventory. This was the mask he had retrieved from Viola’s corpse when he had killed the woman. When she equipped the item, it definitely had a legendary glow, but after it dropped, it became somewhat dormant and went back to an unidentifiable state.
Damon wanted to equip it. He was pretty sure that would make it reveal more things. However, it was not good to randomly mess with legendary items willy-nilly, especially one that was not his to begin with.
Especially legendary item, previously bound to another player, could have some inbuilt traps. First of all, it was not easy to obtain legendary items this early in the game. For example, all the potential legendary items he had in his possession were incomplete and had limited usage.
Even though the superguilds were probably ahead of him and had better reach and power, he still doubted that they would have managed to get their hands on a fully completed legendary item. If he was not wrong, then there should definitely be some sort of flaw or a trap in the item itself.
Or the other party could have even planted something in the legendary item, already expecting Viola to drop it on her death. He would be an idiot not to be paranoid about this.
Damon turned the mask slowly in his hand, a golden sheen briefly reflecting off its dull, seemingly unremarkable surface. At first glance, it looked inert, almost mundane. But experience told him better. Legendary items never truly went dormant. They simply waited.
"This," Damon said calmly, holding it up, "was taken from a woman after I killed her."
The three blacksmiths straightened, their earlier embarrassment vanishing. Their eyes locked onto the mask, not with greed, but with genuine curiosity. Even the old ghost’s grin faded, his expression turning serious.
"A legendary," the ghost muttered, drifting closer. "This is actually a legendary grade item."
Damon nodded. "When she wore it, it shone like a completed piece. After I took it, it reverted to an unidentifiable state." He tightened his grip slightly. "I want to equip it. But not before I know exactly what I’m dealing with."
"That’s wise," the ghost replied absent-mindedly.
"So can you four do something about it? Think of it as a small test from my end to become my followers." Damon smiled.
The group immediately got to work with the old ghost barking orders at his disciples. A few minutes later, they came back with requests for some items, metal ores, gemstones, and even herbs. Though these were quite rare, coincidentally, Damon had all of them in his possession.
Between his multiple raids of auction houses, his huge collection of player drops from all the armies he had slaughtered, and all the wares he had amassed from the demon lands for dirt-cheap cost, he actually had everything they asked of him.
The three then began setting up some sort of array. Damon did not disturb them. Instead, he went back to the wilderness to grind for some more time. He called his blood clone back and sent him to grind as well.
After a couple of hours, he finally received the message he was expecting. Just like he expected, the legendary item was not a broken or incomplete one. If this were the case, the three blacksmiths, no matter how heaven-defying their talent was, wouldn’t have been able to come back to him in such a short time.
Since this was not the case, his other assumption was probably true. The legendary item must have some sort of flaw.
"There is a lingering consciousness in the mask." The old ghost said grimly.
Leonel stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow. "My lord, this consciousness is not strong enough to seize control on its own. But the moment you equip the mask, it would attempt to take over, slowly, subtly. You wouldn’t notice at first. It wouldn’t dominate you directly. That would be impossible. But it would trap your mind and soul when you are at your weakest."
Damon stepped closer to the array and looked down at the mask. Even now, it appeared lifeless, dull, harmless. He wouldn’t have guessed that it had a huge drawback like this. Probably someone like Blood Reign was inside, except their intentions were not good.
"Can it be removed?" Damon asked.
"Yes," Leonel replied. "But not without consequences. Stripping the consciousness completely would destabilize the item’s legendary structure. It would drop a tier."
"And if we leave it?" Damon pressed.
The ghost’s eyes gleamed. "Then we cage it. We can isolate the consciousness and eventually strip it completely from the mask. Though that needs time and a lot more preparation. I suggest that you don’t use this item for the time being, but if you must, do it with caution."
