Alex and Alice continued to fight the [Blood Monsters] coming out of the Blood Moon Portals, but the experience gain was so little that it wasn’t even worth it in Alex’s eyes.
[You have slain x12 Blood Wolves, gained 1,374 experience points!]
[You have slain x38 Blood Spiders, gained 3,219 experience points!]
He also gained around 250 points for each of his attributes in the process.
And after two hours of slaying endless hordes, Alex finally managed to collect the required fragments.
[You have obtained a “Blood Fragment”]
[30/10 Blood Fragments needed to open shop!]
[You have reached the limit of fragments you can obtain.]
He’d intentionally waited to gather all possible fragments before even opening the shop, preferring to have the full selection available in one go.
Alice, with her luck, had also managed to collect 12 [Blood Fragments] despite killing far fewer monsters.
She would also be able to get an item thanks to that, and of course, Alex was planning to help her in the selection.
“Open shop!” Alex commanded, and a crimson panel appeared before him.
[Blood Moon Shop]
But before he could take a closer look, Alice’s shout cut through the air.
“Alex, watch out-” Alice tried to warn him, but it was too late: one of the [Blood Spiders] jumped and struck his head with its sharp legs.
-1!
But Alex wasn’t even bothered.
“…!?” the spider, after realizing it did no damage to the human whatsoever, shrieked back, then tried to run away.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Alex grinned, turning to the panicked creature and cutting it in half with a swift slash from his [Whispers of Shadows] dagger. freewēbnoveℓ.com
With a smirk, he turned to Alice, offering his hand. “We should head back.”
Alice blushed, grasping his hand as they teleported back to the entrance of [Bell City] thanks to the [World Map], arriving in the secure and bustling zone.
Alex knew he could probably fend off these monsters indefinitely, but his main concern was Alice’s safety.
Her current armor wouldn’t hold up long against some of the more dangerous creatures.
Back in the city, Alex refocused and opened the shop panel once more.
[Blood Moon Shop]
Finally, he could check out the items without interruption.
The crimson panel appeared in front of him again, displaying all the items he could acquire, each one of them priced at [10 Blood Fragments].
“Hm.”
The interesting part with the shop was that you couldn’t see the descriptions of the items, only the names and images.
Meaning that even the greatest items, meaning those at [Artifact] level couldn’t known.
At least, that was what Alex believed.
Because once he focused on the items, a panel appeared before him.
[“Cursed Eyes of the King” activated]
And as a result, above each item appeared a small description.
“!!!” even Alex was startled.
Just how good were those eyes of his? He would need to thank the [Undead King] more.
Here’s what appeared:
…
[Blood-Soaked Armor Set – Cost: 10 Blood Fragments]
[A full set of armor imbued with the essence of Blood Moon monsters. Boosts HP by 5,000 and provides 25% physical resistance to all attacks.]
…
[Soul-Shard Amulet – Cost: 10 Blood Fragments]
[Allows the user to store the souls of defeated enemies, healing the wearer for 1% of max HP for each soul stored. Maximum of 50 souls.]
…
[Blood Moon Shield – Cost: 10 Blood Fragments]
[A robust shield that absorbs 2,000 points of damage and reflects 10% of all damage received back at the attacker.]
And many more, obviously, since there were 50 available items.
Alex carefully read through each item’s description.
He had 30 fragments and could only buy three items, so he needed to make wise choices.
First, he decided to pick the [Blood-Soaked Armor Set].
It would be a gift for Alice.
[Purchase Successful: Blood-Soaked Armor Set.]
But from there on, the following items would be those Alex needed for his real final objective in this event.
He actually did not know what those items were before, only trying to remember them from the name, but the fact they now had descriptions made it so much easier.
And those two items were those that looked the least interesting of them all:
The [Blood Valley Token], which was just a coin, and the [Blood Art Scroll], which was a scroll.
You precisely needed both of these items to be able to trigger what Alex wanted to do, as getting one individually wouldn’t yield the maximum results.
[Purchase Successful: Blood Valley Token.]
[Purchase Successful: Blood Art Scroll.]
Alex let out a satisfied breath as the items materialized in his inventory.
The first part of the plan was successful.
Beside him, Alice was gazing at the shop screen.
She had accumulated 12 fragments, so she could buy one item.
Alex leaned over her shoulder, helping her assess the options.
“I’d suggest the [Blood Arrows Creation Perk],” he advised. “You can create arrows after making monsters bleed, and they’re extremely strong, though they do cost blood to create.”
Alice nodded and selected them without hesitation, trusting Alex’s judgment, as he could see things she couldn’t.
“Thanks, Alex. I would’ve probably gone for something flashy instead of practical,” she admitted with a small laugh.
“And take this,” he handed over the [Blood-Soaked Armor Set] to Alice, who blushed at the sight and immediately equipped it.
[A full set of armor imbued with the essence of Blood Moon monsters. Boosts HP by 5,000 and provides 25% physical resistance to all attacks.]
The armor felt surprisingly light to her, and the design was very… unique to say the least, mostly dark with strands of crimson pulsing light.
It wasn’t as good-looking as Alex’s, but it was still great nonetheless.
“Alright,” Alex said, rolling his shoulders, “I did everything I wanted to do, do you want to go back to get more fragments for you?”
Alice thought for a few seconds, but in the end, she shook her head, “Would take too long, and I’m already happy with the items I got.”
“Great,” Alex expected such an answer, and even though he planned to help Alice if she said yes, he was more excited about what he was about to do next.
[Blood Valley Token] and [Blood Arts Scroll] were both Artifact-level items.
And it was thanks to their descriptions that Alex figured out it was the items he was seeking.
[Blood Valley Token: Activate to enter the “Blood Valley” Secret Realm, Infernal Difficulty.]
There were many interesting things inside that secret realm, including the boss of the SSS-Level Hidden Quest he needed to complete.
But the thing he truly sought was at the end of it.
And to gain those powers, he would need the [Blood Arts Scroll].
[Blood Arts Scroll: Grants the ability to learn the “Blood Arts” under very specific conditions, if you try to learn it and fail, the scroll will disintegrate.]
In his past life, he had heard that the guy who got it had been stupid enough to instantly use it, and as he wasn’t eligible, he lost it. Experience new tales on
It was only but later in the game that people realized just how powerful [Arts] were, and so Alex planned to take advantage of his knowledge to acquire one early.
He wasn’t 100% sure, but using everything he knew, it was the best solution he could come up with.
“Alright,” he grinned as he took the [Blood Valley Token] in hand, “Let’s do this.”