'Open.'
The Aiz's Chest began unlocking.
[Blueprint obtained: 'Laser Pistol'.]
[Laser Pistol]
A lightweight firearm crafted from alloy, powered by a glowing energy battery serving as its power source. A side control button adjusts the shot's intensity between lethal and non-lethal (stun) modes.
Specifications:
High-Frequency Laser Beams:
Damage: 100
Can pierce up to 10 cm of steel.
Effective range: 500 meters.
Stun Mode:
Fires a non-lethal electric pulse to immobilize enemies.
Rechargeable Battery:
Each charge allows for 20 shots.
Charge capacity: 30EP.
'So, it's like a shield, then.'
There were two types of energy shields available in the store. One functioned on a rechargeable system, requiring a portion of CyborgHeart's energy to operate. Once broken, it could be recharged for reuse. The other type came pre-charged when crafted, but couldn't be refueled after depletion. Naturally, Vio had chosen the second type due to its lower cost.
The Laser Pistol worked the same way. It had to be charged before use—a fact that was both an advantage and a drawback.
The advantage: It was like carrying an external battery. If internal energy ran low, he could rely on the pistol.
The downside: Where would he get the extra energy to charge it?
Convert it into coins or craft it?
Resources required: 22 Plastic, 28 Metal, 36 Steel
The resources were available, but that wasn't the main concern. The real question was whether crafting it was the best decision at the moment.
Setting the thought aside, Vio focused on the other chests first.
Starting with the newly appeared one—the Coins Chest.
A glow burst from within, revealing four floating cards, each marked with a different number.
In total, received 56,000,000.
Ignored the drool slipping from the corner of his mouth, once again marveling at the system's strange methodology.
'System, why didn't you just generate a single card with the total amount?'
[Chests are influenced by the hero's luck. Luck determines the number of cards and their classification.]
'What do you mean by classification?'
[Clarifying…]
[When opening a chest (X), a random number of cards (X) is generated. Afterward, each card is assigned a classification.]
[For example, a Coins Card might be classified as a 100,000,000 Coins Card or a 200,000 Coins Card.]
Vio glanced at the four cards. One was 1 million, another 5 million, and the last two were 25 million each.
'What's the highest classification a Coins Card can have? And what's the maximum number of cards that can drop from a single chest?'
[The minimum number of cards from one chest is one. As for the highest classification... the hero must discover that for himself.]
Half of the answers were completely useless. Ignoring it, he moved on to the Resource Chest.
Light shimmered as multiple orbs floated upward—five in total—before falling into Vio's hands and instantly vanishing.
[Obtained: '234 Gold,' '24 Nano-Materials,' '187 Plastic,' '95 Metal,' '38 Steel'.]
Immediately merged into the resource screen.
[Resources]
Plastic: 386
Metal: 918
Steel: 158
Gold: 234
Nano-Materials: 24
Plenty of familiar and unknown ones—some seemed rare. No matter how much he searched the store, he hadn't found a single blueprint that required Nano-Materials or gold for crafting.
The Resource Chest had been one of the rewards offered in the 'Conquer Death' mission. Back then, he thought it was pointless—why would anyone choose coins or resources after surviving a deadly situation? But now, it made perfect sense why the system included them.
At that moment, after nearly dying, a survivor would be in desperate need of something—whether it was XP to level up, coins to buy life-saving gear, or resources for crafting one.
And he still had no idea what the other two chests in that mission—Mind Chest and Save Chest—contained.
But if there was one thing Vio learned about the system, it was that nothing was random.
Next, 'Alam' Chests. These chests usually contained the most valuable rewards.
[Obtained: 'Level-Up Card'.]
A lifesaving item. With a grin, Vio stored it immediately.
[Obtained: 'Eye Teleport'.]
Even better. Gratefully, he sent it into inventory as well.
[Obtained: 'Electro-Energy Frequency Attack'.]
Vio's expression froze.
A holographic cylindrical disk materialized before him. And that was it.
Tried to touch it, his hand passed right through.
'What is this?'
[Attack: As the name suggests, an attack that the hero can activate.]
[Electro-Energy Frequency Attack]
Releases an electro-energy pulse that disturbs all energy sources in the area.
Range: 100 meters
Effect: Disables all energy sources.
Activation Cost: 1 BP.
Usage Limit: 1.
[Note: recommended the hero only uses it after acquiring 'The Unseen Eye That Sees All'.]
Vio's brows furrowed.
'Disables all energy sources? Does that include me?'
[Of course.]
He vaguely recalled seeing BP somewhere, but couldn't remember exactly where it was. No matter how hard he tried to recall, nothing.
'Remind me where I saw BP.'
[Please check the Believers screen.]
'Ah, right.'
[Believers]
Name: Shama, daughter of Uzair
Title: ???
Age: 13 years
Entity: Valuable Soul
Influence Center: Zeer Village
Production Rate: 1 BP, 1 Coin, 1 Plastic, 1 Metal, 1 Steel per 10 years.
Name: Zeer Village
Title: Hero's Supporters
Location: Aiz Mountains
Influence Center: Aiz Mountains
Influence Rate: 1%
Production Rate: 1 BP, 1 Coin, 1 Plastic, 1 Metal, 1 Steel per year.
'Anyway, what exactly is BP?'
[BP: Belief Points. These are gathered when others recognize you and view you as an icon.]
[It is recommended that the hero works hard to earn the faith of others.]
A sarcastic hum escaped Vio's lips. Getting close to others wasn't his thing. Of course, understood the importance of external image, but from what he'd seen, gaining their faith required heroic acts and caring more about what others thought—something exhausting if one dwelled on it too much.
His gaze dropped to his available BP—1.
Could activate the ability now, but the system's warning was clear. Better to wait.
Focusing back on his loot, checked the map and decided to craft the Laser Pistol.
The blueprint glowed, and moments later, a sleek black pistol took shape. The surface had metallic tubes connecting to the grip.
As soon as he held it, he felt rough granules touching his fingers.
'Can I…?'
Commanded, and small openings formed on his palm, gripping the granules tightly. This way, even if there was sudden interference, the pistol wouldn't slip from his grasp.
'Good… Leaving something like this behind would be a problem.'
More than that, this setup allowed for automatic charging without needing to manually recharge it.
Lifting his arm, aimed the pistol.
No need for deep focus—his experience with firearms made the process instinctive.
A finger tightened on the trigger. The metallic tubes pulsed with energy, glowing for less than a second before a laser blast erupted from the barrel.
"Zzzzzew!"
The laser's speed was blinding. Less than a second after pulling the trigger, the laser pierced through the tree as if it were butter, leaving behind a glowing-edged hole.
A grin formed.
Lowering the weapon, he resumed the journey—running.
Only one village remained before the mountain's borders. Once past that, his escape would be complete.
Not much time left.
Something would definitely get in his way.
There was no avoiding it.
[Mission #1: 'The Hero Must Survive']
Type: Story Mission
Requirements: Activate story mode.
Restrictions: 2 days.
Description:
The hero awakens to find himself in a hostile place. Since the hero is still weak and pathetic, he must do what pathetic people do: run away.
Objective:
Save your skin, boy—or should I say, save your metal.
Rewards for Mission Completion:
1,000,000 XP
220 Plastic
200 Metal
50 Steel
Item: The Unseen Eye That Sees All.
Side Missions and Their Rewards:
1 point for every life taken by the hero.
2 XP for every 1% of battery recharged.
Penalty for Failure:
Moderate punishment: The hero will see what he does not wish to see.