Chapter 7: The Strength Staff Test

“No way, right? This has got to be a joke? This is that insanely fun, isn’t it?”

His pupils trembled.

Even though Revan had no friends to turn to, he looked around nervously as if he were always the victim.

But there was no way something like that would exist in Revan’s build.

Revan rubbed his eyes several times like someone with conjunctivitis and double-checked the staff’s options again.

Yet the staff’s options remained unchanged.

Ughhhh! This damn trash-tier legendary weapon is such a pain!

…… Eventually, Revan’s blood pressure exploded.

“How is this even possible?!”

His body trembled with frustration.

Though he wanted to smash the keyboard with a shotgun-like rage, this was a virtual reality game world.

There was no such thing as a physical keyboard here.

So he grudgingly grabbed the staff and slammed it onto the ground, but unfortunately, Revan’s Strength stat was only 24.

Because his Strength value was just slightly too low, Revan couldn’t swing the staff freely, only managing a few shaky movements as he shifted it on the floor.

“Huff, huff.”

Still, using some effort calmed him down a bit.

Now it was time to face reality coolly.

Revan swept his hair back and stared at the screen with unwavering focus.

“It’s a staff, right? What kind of staff requires Strength as a condition for a mage to equip it? And why does the staff’s core have no magic attached, only water?”

But this staff demanded Strength.

Revan was so confused by the unfamiliar option that he ruffled his hair and finally decided to come to terms with reality.

Because he had already reset his character, there was no choice but to follow the path of the War Mage, whether he liked it or not.

“Yeah. There are even weirder classes than this, so I have to put up with it. But still…”

Actually, Revan’s frustration wasn’t about that much.

He had thought a mage could invest in Strength a bit, or a warrior could put points into Intelligence.

But when he first checked the War Mage’s info, more than being impressed by its merit as a mage class, Revan was overjoyed by the fact that he wouldn’t have to fight monsters on the dungeon’s front lines anymore.

Because as his level went up and the enemies got stronger, he needed specs that could withstand hits, or else it would just hurt too much.

“I thought I wouldn’t have to keep getting beaten up just to play the game anymore…”

He expected to live a noble life, standing protected by the healers and tanks in the rear of the party, just casting a few spells elegantly.

But seeing growth cubes that kept demanding Strength and staffs that restricted Strength, Revan began to suspect this character’s future might be just as rough.

He sighed and raised his Strength stat.

[Strength has increased by 1.]

[Strength has increased by 1.]

Thanks to levelling up twice through hunting and quests, he earned two bonus slots as well.

So to meet the staff’s equip requirements, and since he had already increased Strength, he decided to invest the remaining stat points into Strength as well.

“Now this should do it.”

Buzz buzz—

Once he met the required Strength value, Revan was finally able to swing the staff properly.

Then, to spend the remaining growth cube he had been saving for the final push, he pulled it out.

But at that moment—

“Help! Please!”

A sharp scream from a female user echoed.

“What’s that?”

In the Village of Beginnings, screams were far more common than elsewhere.

Most of the screams in this area came from users hunting Bubat.

Because aside from Bubat, there were only ordinary rabbits, and no one would scream at cute, harmless bunnies.

Hmm—

Revan thought carefully.

After some deliberation, he put the growth cube away.

“Alright. Let me do a good deed before I go.”

Buzz buzz—

Putting the growth cube away, Revan flexed his staff in a familiar way to warm up.

It wasn’t because she was a woman that he wanted to help.

Most of the time when users screamed, the party was on the brink of destruction and the boss’s health was low, so it was simply easier to help.

“Anyway, I needed to test the staff’s damage output at least once.”

So Revan decided this was a perfect opportunity.

He rushed toward the source of the scream.

~

“Wow, why is it so strong…”

Yuna, the healer user, was in despair.

Because they lacked a tank, they had to bring three DPS, one tank, and two healers—aka a 3-1-2 composition—to hunt Bubat.

But it seemed the tank shortage was fatal.

As soon as their only tank died, the party was quickly shredded by Bubat.

Bubat was strong.

After killing the tank, Bubat quickly dispatched one healer and hunted down the remaining damage dealers.

And now, Yuna—the only survivor—trembled in terror before the snarling Bubat, barely able to wait for the moment of death.

“Grrraaaaargh!”

The furious cry of the enraged rabbit king.

Bubat raised its hind legs for a deadly stomp.

The force from those jumping legs would multiply with gravity to unleash a terrifying destructive power, and Yuna would soon see the gray screen like her fallen comrades.

“If only we had one more tank…”

Were those words a curse? Yuna squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

And soon, Bubat leapt into the air.

Overkill!

That would probably be the last sound she heard.

But the noise that followed was… something entirely different.

Thwack!

It was a perfect hit.

“Nice shot.”

A strange voice followed.

Yuna barely opened her eyes wider at the unbelievable scene before her.

On the ground lay Bubat, collapsed and groaning, while a strange man approached calmly, wearing a satisfied smile.

“Grrraaaaargh!”

Bubat suddenly roared again.

It wasn’t dead.

Yuna, who had assumed it was, was so startled she fell backward.

But that was all.

Because Bubat still lay motionless on the floor, as if dead.

It was a strange sight.

But Revan hummed a tune, unfazed by Yuna’s surprise, and began fitting the cube.

“I guess it’s because of the strap. Matching cubes is definitely easier.”

Before, whenever Revan had fitted cubes, he had to wear an armguard on one arm, which was cumbersome but allowed him to use both hands freely.

So there was a slight inconvenience.

But the Strength Staff was a War Mage-exclusive item, and it provided exactly the convenience Revan needed.

Namely, a strap attached to the handle.

Revan looped the strap around his wrist and casually began fitting cubes.

Countdown at 3-second intervals.

Revan walked leisurely, continuing to fit cubes.

And each time he fitted a cube, he used Hold on Bubat.

“Grrraaaaargh!”

Bubat thrashed in desperation.

It definitely thought victory was in its grasp, but suddenly losing control of its body left it confused.

Revan thought as he fitted cubes.

“Let’s see. Bubat’s at about half health, and the backstab from jumping and landing applies extra damage, plus the back of its head is a weak spot, so factoring in guaranteed Critical…”

Perfect.

After completing the cube, Revan used Hold once more and said,

“The staff’s attack power is 25. If I’m lucky, this might be a one-shot kill.”

“Grrraaaaargh!”

“Shut up. I’m about to experiment on your skull now.”

After finishing his calculations, Revan took position.

He used Hold to bind Bubat again and took the staff, which hung on his wrist, into his hand.

[Ready.]

Buzz!

His jump power with a total Strength of 26 was higher than expected.

Of course, this benchmark was based on characters under level 10, but considering Bubat was in the early 10s, Revan’s jump power was quite high.

He rushed forward.

Then he swung the staff’s tip at Bubat’s back head.

Overkill!

A sharp thud echoed.

But unlike the hollow thud, Revan smiled with a single gleaming tooth.

Because—
[You have successfully hunted Bubat.]

[You have gained experience points.]

According to Revan’s calculations, Bubat had been instantly killed.

The huge Bubat shivered violently and then collapsed.

Revan retrieved the staff from its shattered skull and muttered,

“Wow, this really works.”

Honestly, he hadn’t expected it.

No matter how many additional damage calculations were done, even if Bubat was down to half health, it was still a field boss monster.

But Bubat was dead.

Revan attributed his one-shot kill to the staff’s immense attack power.

Staff attack power is a whopping 25… Definitely on the high side. Considering the equip requirement is Strength 25, this weapon must be for warriors of at least level 15. And the normal one-handed sword at level 15 only has about 15 attack power, so…”

The Strength Staff was truly a “Strength Staff.”

“Man, I really am a walking club this time.”

Revan gave a bitter smile as he hung the staff back on his wrist.

Then, as he placed his hand on Bubat’s corpse to collect loot—

* Oh right.

He almost forgot.

Revan turned his head to Yuna, who was still dazed, and asked,

“Hey, since I killed this, can I take the loot?”

“Uh, yes?”

“I said, can I take it?”

“Oh, of course!”

Etiquette

Of course, the right belonged to the one who defeated Bubat.

But even so, Revan asked Yuna out of courtesy.

“Item looting.”

[You have obtained the Leather of Bubat.]

“Oh, the hide is super valuable.”

Having gathered his loot, Revan stood and headed toward the Village of Beginnings.

But then, Yuna, who had been quietly watching the scene, finally regained her composure and called out urgently.

“Uh, hey.”

Revan turned toward her calmly.

She was probably about to thank him, so despite knowing this, he feigned indifference.

Just as expected, Yuna bowed her waist and offered heartfelt thanks.

“Thank you so much for your help, Warrior!”

“Ah…”

Revan couldn’t deny her gratitude.

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