Chapter 5: The Rune Factor

After easing the tension from his first kill in life, Zhou Yan stood up and began to tally his spoils. He opened his personal panel. At this moment, the “Spirituality” value, which had been at zero before, now clearly read “12.”

Killing an opponent could earn him spirituality...

Zhou Yan glanced at his Fategear’s durability. It had dropped from “99” to “96”—only three points consumed.

He pondered this for a moment. During the earlier struggle, though he’d struck first by ambush, even in that brief contact he could roughly gauge that the enemy he’d slain—at least in terms of physical prowess—was no more than an ordinary person. Against such an opponent, even without the element of surprise, he was confident that, equipped with Fategear and proper weapons, he could win in a straight fight.

In other words, as long as he didn’t act foolishly, the durability spent on his Fategear could generally be offset by the spirituality he earned.

His anxiety eased somewhat.

Next, Zhou Yan looked at another piece of loot.

[Miniature Spirituality Essence: Use to gain 100 Spirituality.]

Ah! Here it is at last!

Seeing the effect, Zhou Yan immediately chose to use the Spirituality Essence.

[Spirituality: 12→112.]

Spirituality meant Fategear durability. Durability meant endurance, and endurance meant eventual victory!

A sense of security surged, flooding him with confidence.

Good, I’m gradually coming to understand everything!

A faint smile curled at Zhou Yan’s lips. Then, out of the corner of his left eye, he caught sight of the corpse and raised his brows.

He nearly forgot about this...

He crouched down and forcefully pulled the axe, concealed behind the body, from the dead man’s grasp. Though the “Armed One” was dead, his fingers clung tightly to the hatchet. As Zhou Yan wrenched it free, he noticed blood-red threads connecting the man’s palm to the haft, as if man and weapon had become a single entity.

It was a bit disgusting.

Once he had the hatchet in hand, its information surfaced:

[Dangerous Short-Handled Axe]
[Type: Weapon (Tool)]
[Description: Object tainted by Calamity. Ordinary people holding it will be influenced by the Calamity (except for Calamity Walkers), attacking any uncorrupted creature in a frenzy.]
[Rating: 0-Star, Rank 0]
[Note: Huff... I’m itching to chop something.]
[Tip: Tainted by Calamity, cannot be taken out of the Calamity Realm.]

Chop addiction, seriously?

Zhou Yan twitched his lips, about to comment.

Suddenly, a message popped up:

[Detected a suitable chaotic item. Would you like to record it as a material for the talent “Ultra Fusion”?]

What!?

Zhou Yan’s spirits lifted. He looked at the unremarkable hatchet in his hand.

This thing actually qualified as a material for his fusion talent?

The claw hammer he’d found earlier had almost identical information to this axe. Why did the axe qualify, but not the hammer?

Zhou Yan set the hatchet on the ground, then brought over the claw hammer and placed them side by side. Examining them closely, he noticed a subtle difference.

Both were described as “tainted by Calamity,” but the hammer he’d found gleamed as if new, indistinguishable from an ordinary hammer, while the hatchet’s blade and handle were caked with thick, congealed black-red blood. Moreover, when he’d pulled the hatchet from the corpse’s hand, there had been those strange threads of blood.

Perhaps it was because this axe had actually “infected” a human?

Zhou Yan reasoned simply.

As for the prompt suggesting he could add the hatchet as a fusion material, after a moment’s thought, he declined.

From the talent’s notes, he knew he could only record one material per Calamity Walk. This axe, in every respect, was just a disposable weapon for small fry. He wasn’t about to waste his chance.

He tucked the claw hammer into a side pocket of his trench coat, then picked up the hatchet.

Opening the security door, he carefully checked outside, then slipped out of the room without a sound.

The hallway outside was empty. The lights flickered, casting an eerie atmosphere.

*

Zhou Yan walked slowly down the corridor. His left arm was braced with a wooden shield, right hand gripping the hatchet, and he wore multiple layers of thick clothing. Even so, fully armed as he was, he advanced cautiously along the wall.

Every time he passed a door, he gently tugged it open just enough, wary of being ambushed by an enemy bursting out from behind.

Such caution was well warranted. Though he’d just killed an Armed One, it had been a near-silent ambush, a one-shot kill to the head. He hadn’t actually faced any enemy in direct combat yet.

Until he truly tested his foes’ strength, he would not drop his guard.

Persistence is rewarded.

On his third attempt to open a door, before he could pull it open fully, someone inside shoved the security door hard!

The next instant, a tall and thin figure lunged out, wielding a cleaver with both hands, swinging it forcefully at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan, already alert, immediately raised his left arm.

Thud!

A muffled crash—the thick cleaver struck the wooden shield he’d lifted. The blade sank halfway into the wood, but failed to break through.

His attacker showed no disappointment. Bloodshot eyes glaring, silent, he pressed forward against Zhou Yan’s shield, trying to topple him.

The face that appeared over the shield was twisted and cruel.

Feeling the full weight and force of his opponent, Zhou Yan instinctively assessed the man’s combat ability. The attack was ferocious, but the actual strength was unremarkable...

In the next second, Zhou Yan stepped back with his right foot, firmly anchoring himself, then shoved hard—slamming the shield into the man’s chest and flipping him to the ground.

The man, barely seated, brandished the cleaver, attempting to rise.

Zhou Yan was already upon him. Using the hatchet as a sword, he instinctively executed a lunging cleave, swinging his right hand in a broad arc and burying the blade deep in his foe’s forehead.

Scarlet liquid sprayed everywhere.

[You killed “Armed One,” gained 13 Spirituality.]
[You obtained “Rune Factor: Physique.”]

A drop!?

Such a high drop rate?

Staring at the flashing message, Zhou Yan quickly yanked the hatchet from his opponent’s skull and began to inspect the newly acquired item.

[Rune Factor: Physique]
[Rating: 0-Star, Rank 1]
[Effect: Can be attached to Fategear, increasing its Physique bonus by 1 point.]
[Note: Power!]

What a treasure!

Zhou Yan’s eyes shone with excitement.

With his own body and Fategear combined, his “Physique” was only 12. But after killing just his second minor enemy, he’d gotten an item that could increase his Physique by 1? If he managed to collect ten of these, wouldn’t his physical abilities nearly double?

He set the hatchet down and immediately withdrew the so-called “Rune Factor” from his inventory.

In the next instant, a translucent rune, a few centimeters wide and glowing with red light, appeared hovering and quivering above his right palm.