Outer Gods invade, stuff them all into your equipment inventory.

Sean began searching the area around the corpse of the elite Fallen for his own loot.

Hopefully, the dropped items will make up for this "loss" of experience points.

"Only one item? That's incredibly stingy!"

"The drop rate is really low."

"However, it still has a blue glow and is a ring."

This gave him some comfort.

Accessories are the rarest type of equipment for warriors, let alone a blue-quality accessory.

If measured by market selling price, its value might far exceed that of two or more blue weapons and equipment.

Many adventurers have reached level 10 or higher, yet they still haven't had the chance to obtain even a basic ring or similar accessory.

He carefully reached out his hand, his fingertips touching the ring.

It feels slightly cool to the touch, and the material is neither gold nor iron.

"An unidentified blue-quality ring?"

That makes people even more excited.

Ordinary blank equipment doesn't need to be identified at all; you can see its specific attributes as soon as you get it.

If it is green or blue equipment, some of it needs to be appraised by an appraiser or an appraisal scroll before it can be equipped.

Identifying unidentified equipment often involves an element of gambling.

An unidentified green or blue item is not necessarily more valuable than an unidentified item of the same quality; it's not uncommon to find junk items.

However, most unidentified equipment, especially blue-quality equipment, usually has better attributes after identification than ordinary blue equipment that does not require identification.

"Appraiser, I am not, and I do not have the scroll for appraisal."

But this didn't stump him.

Sean removed the frosted-handle meat cleaver and then tried to put the unidentified ring into his equipment slot.

"Yes! It's done!"

A peculiar, subtle sense of resonance resonated within my consciousness.

The ring was obediently placed into that equipment slot.

Information about the ring's properties appeared on his retina.

【Name: Growth Pact - Power Emblem Ring】

[Type: Jewelry/Ring]

[Quality: Blue (Excellent)]

[Equipment Requirements: Level 3, Strength 5]

[Basic Attributes]

Strength+5

Damage reduction +6

Physical damage +1.5%

It slightly enhances the wearer's physical resistance to impact.

Growth Bond: This ring provides an additional +1 Strength for each Hero Level gained.

[Note] This is a strange metal ring that resonates with its owner as they grow. Beneath its rough exterior, a power yet to be awakened surges.

Sean looked at this attribute and felt a mix of emotions.

Well, it's not that this attribute is bad.

On the contrary, it's almost unrealistically good.

Even with just the +5 Strength attribute, it's already worth the blue equipment quality of this ring.

It's common knowledge that the attribute values ​​provided by accessories are usually lower than those of weapons and armor of the same quality.

But what about this one? It has four basic attributes, each more powerful and valuable than the last:

Even just looking at these four basic attributes, many top-quality purple or even gold rings can't compare to it.

What's more, it also has the super-value attribute of Growth Contract.

For every hero level gained, this ring provides an additional +1 Strength!

This is not a static property.

This is a living, growing, and top-tier attribute that can accompany a brave warrior to the ends of the earth!

Its value cannot be measured by simply adding 1 or 2; its value lies in the future.

The terrifying power that accumulates after ten, twenty, or fifty levels.

For any power-based warrior, this ring is a divine artifact.

Such overpowered and unbalanced equipment attributes would never have existed without the empowerment effects of the equipment slots.

"But……"

"For me right now, this attribute isn't as practical as a meat cleaver with a fine-grit handle..."

Without skill bonuses, although it provides more attributes, the combat power boost at low levels is not particularly outstanding.

At lower levels, a powerful skill often provides a much greater boost than a few points in attributes.

"Once I reach a higher level and my attributes accumulate, the growth benefits of this ring will indeed become incredibly powerful..."

"But when that time comes, will I still find this appealing?"

"Utterly useless! Utterly useless!"

Sean shook his head.

Although it has some Versailles-esque elements, this equipment is indeed useless to him.

It's tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw it away.

"It would be great if there were more equipment slots..."

"I wonder if there's any way to increase the number of equipment slots."

Sean put the frosted-handle meat cleaver back into his inventory.

A blue-quality ring appeared in his hand.

"Huh, the ring's properties have changed..."

"The 'Growth Pact' attribute has disappeared, but everything else remains unchanged."

"It seems that the extra attributes gained from enchanting equipment through the equipment slot will disappear after the equipment is removed from the equipment slot."

But this is not bad.

Even without the "Growth Bond", the base attributes of this [Power Emblem Ring] are still quite good.

Without hesitation, Sean casually put the cool metal ring on the index finger of his left hand.

It's the perfect size, fitting together seamlessly, as if it were custom-made.

The moment he put it on, he immediately felt a warm, powerful sensation surge into the ring and quickly spread throughout his body.

Even the muscles and skin on his body have become much firmer.

"A very noticeable improvement."

Sean stretched and adjusted to the new energy.

"I was originally planning to sell the ring."

"But now..."

"Anyone who sells is a fool."

Sean searched through the items dropped by the other monsters.

Apart from a few gold coins, all that remained was a long, hard wooden stick.

It was about four feet long, with a rough body and dark red dried bloodstains remaining at one end.

【Name: The Fallen One's Hardwood Stick】

Type: Weapon/Polearm

Quality: White (Standard)

Equipment requirements: Level 2, Strength 4

Basic attributes

Physical attack power +1~2

Attack speed -5%

Note: A simple weapon commonly used by Fallen Ones; apart from being sturdy, it has nothing special about it.

"What junk? It's better than nothing, I guess..."

Sean prepared to put it in his equipment slot to see its attributes after it was empowered.

"This thing can't be any worse than a rusted fire axe, can it?"

He muttered to himself.

He had previously discarded his rusty fire axe and strike ball baseball bat to lighten his load.

Putting aside his baseball bat for a strike, he was really adept at using the rusted fire axe.

However, he is currently quite far from that broken wall, and it wouldn't be worthwhile to go back and retrieve it.

"It's a piece of equipment for heroes, after all; its stats after being empowered must be pretty good..."

Speaking of stick fighting techniques, Sean did learn a set of military stick fighting techniques during his school military training in his previous life.

No matter what, I do have some basic knowledge.

"The frosted handle meat cleaver is a good piece of equipment, but its output relies entirely on releasing skills, which consumes too much stamina."

"To level up quickly, you'll need a handy melee weapon."

Just now, during the time he was repeatedly grappling with the elite Fallen Demon, the situation on the dimensional battlefield changed once again.

The number of heroes appearing on the dimensional battlefield has increased significantly, and their strength has also greatly improved.

The dimensional battlefield, which had been expanding outwards continuously, has now stopped expanding.

This means that the battle in this dimensional battlefield has reached a turning point.

"We just need to find the monster's lair hidden deep within the dimensional battlefield, and then send out powerful warriors to conquer it."

"This temporary dimensional battlefield is about to end."

"I don't have much time left."

"I need to level up to level 10 as soon as possible..."

Sean doesn't believe that this temporary dimensional battlefield will become completely solidified and transformed into a permanent dimensional battlefield due to not being conquered for a long time.

Sean is currently in the 13th settlement under the jurisdiction of New Chang'an, the 261st megacity in the eastern region of the Gaia Federation. Although it is not among the largest settlements in terms of scale.

However, due to its long history and important location, it is not lacking in high-level warriors who stay in the settlement.

Any one or two of those big shots could easily take down this dimensional battlefield.

"After all, the location of this dimensional battlefield is near the core commercial area of ​​the settlement."

"If we can't handle this, the Hero Association of the Gathering Zone will be slapped in the face."

Sean held the Fallen's hardwood club in his hand, just about to put it into his inventory.

But as his gaze casually swept over the corpse of that elite Fallen, a flash of inspiration struck him from the depths of his mind—

"I remember the equipment inventory requirements state that the weight of a single item must be within the range that the host can lift..."

"In other words, I can equip anything I can carry."

"It's not limited to the scope of standard equipment..."

"So..."

"Could this thing... be a piece of equipment?"

His eyes were fixed on the corpse of the elite Fallen, and his heart was pounding faster than usual.

"Yeah, why isn't this considered equipment?"

Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly like weeds, and there was no way to suppress it.

"How about... we give it a try?"

Sean bent down and tried to touch the corpse of the elite Fallen, his mind constantly sending commands to add the corpse to his inventory.

However, no matter how focused he was or how he imagined the scene of successfully "collecting" the body, the corpse remained in place, and the equipment slots remained unresponsive.

"Is it not possible? So monster corpses really can't be equipped in the equipment slots?"

Sean released his grip, a strong sense of regret welling up inside him.

"Wait... could it be because this corpse is too heavy? It's beyond my ability to lift?"

Undeterred, Sean simply added the few remaining free attribute points to his strength.

With a thought, the Strength attribute on the attribute panel jumped from 10 to 11.

With the five points of strength boost from the Power Ring, his strength attribute reached 16 points.

"Again!"

He took a deep breath, bent down again, and clasped the Fallen's corpse with both hands.

"Get in! Go inside!"

He exerted force with both hands and simultaneously frantically activated the equipment slots with his mind.

However, his intentions were like a stone sinking into the sea.

The cold body remained motionless on the ground.

"Still not working?"

"Still not enough strength?"

Sean shook his head, looking at the corpse on the ground, feeling regretful but having no choice but to give up.

"No, I can do it like this..."

Sean suddenly touched the Power Ring and used his mind to transfer it into his inventory, replacing the razor-handled meat cleaver.

Through the empowerment effect of the equipment slot, the Power Emblem Ring has been further optimized into the Growth Contract Power Emblem Ring.

Growth Bond: This ring provides an additional +1 Strength for each Hero Level gained.

The reappearance of the trait boosted Sean's power once again, bringing it to twenty-two points in one go.

"Take it!"

This time, as soon as Sean's hand touched the corpse of the elite Fallen, a subtle "connection" appeared.

The corpse of the elite Fallen Demon vanished from his sight and appeared in the center of his equipment slot, replacing the Growth Bond - Power Emblem Ring.

【Name: Elite Fallen Demon Body】

[Type: Special/Bodily Remains]

[Quality: Blue (Excellent)]

[Equipment Requirements: Level 6, Constitution 10, Strength 8]

[Basic Attributes]

Strength+14

Constitution +10

Agility+9

Intelligence +5

Roar Command: Unleash a roar to command two Fallen creatures of level no higher than yourself to fight for you.

Sinking into Flesh and Blood: Increases life recovery rate by 80% for half an hour after consuming meat.

Extra Strength: Immediately restores 25% of maximum health upon activation and grants the "Strong" status (increased strength by 30%, reduced physical damage taken by 10%) for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Elite Fury: When health drops below 30%, triggers an area-of-effect blast that deals physical damage based on Strength to surrounding enemies and temporarily slows them. Cooldown: 90 seconds.

[Note] The corpse of this elite Fallen still retains the rage it felt before its death, and the life force remaining in its flesh has not yet dissipated.

"It really works!"

"The equipment was successfully acquired."

This was based on his experience playing Diablo back in the day, when he couldn't equip many items because their stats weren't high enough.

In order to equip those items, players devised a technique called "equipment glitch".

The specific method is to first equip another piece of equipment of the same type so that your total attributes meet the requirements of that piece of equipment.

Then equip the target gear and replace the transitional gear.

This way, even if the attributes no longer meet the requirements, the equipped item will not automatically unequip itself, essentially creating a bug.

However, this technique was basically fixed in later versions.

With a try-it-out attitude, Sean tried to get the equipment, but to his surprise, he succeeded on the first try.

"This is incredible! These stats!"

Looking at the attributes of the Elite Fallen Body in his equipment inventory, he couldn't help but gasp.

The total increase in attribute value across the four attributes reached 38 points.

Many level 10 warriors don't even have 38 attribute points in total, and this is just the least valuable attribute among the elite Fallen Body equipment.

The [Roar Command] that could summon minions caught his eye.

"This is an amazing starting skill! It's like having two extra helpers. Whether it's pulling monsters, sharing damage, or exploring, it's incredibly useful."

Although this skill only works on Fallen monsters, Fallen monsters are the most abundant type of monster in the wilderness area near Settlement Thirteen.

The three skills, Fallen Flesh, Extra Strength, and Elite Fury, are even more powerful.

Especially the skill "Extra Strength".

"High attribute bonus, low cooldown time, and a relatively long duration, plus no negative effects."

It can definitely be used as a standard skill.

"【Sinking Flesh and Blood】 greatly improves my survivability. Combined with the explosive recovery and status boost from 【Extra Strength】, my survivability has been raised to a whole new level. As long as I'm not instantly killed, I can recover quickly."

"As for [Elite Fury]..."

A slight smile curved his lips.

"That's a god-tier skill for turning the tide when low on health. The slowing effect is great for both chasing and creating distance."

Combined with [Extra Strength], it's practically a perfect "lock-in" counter-attack combo.

Several combined application plans for these skills had already appeared in his mind.

"As expected, monster corpses are much more cost-effective. Compared to them, all that equipment is utterly pathetic!"

"However... since monster corpses can be equipped,"

"If it were the corpse of a hero..."

Sean's expression changed, forcing himself to end his thoughts on the issue.

Don't overthink it; one should still have some bottom line.

He needs power, but he won't resort to any means to obtain it, nor will he cross that line.

Equipping monster remains is about the hunter's relationship with loot; it's about utilizing available resources.

But to regard one's own kind, and the corpse of a hero, as "equipment"...

That means that "people" are also objectified as consumable resources.

Once this thought takes root, it's like opening Pandora's box, causing people to lose their true nature in the pursuit of power and ultimately become a complete monster.

Sean knew very well that in this cruel world, losing one's principles was often more fatal than lacking strength.

"Of course, I will uphold my moral principles, but only if you don't cross them..."

"If you really cross my bottom line, I can also stop being a human being."

Holding a stick in one hand, Sean ran towards the horde of Fallen monsters that were faintly visible in the mist in the distance.

Time is running out for him.