Game Difficulty
Is Insane
Chapter 20
A quiet room.
Glen stared at the blue system message floating in the air with troubled eyes.
《You have overcome a Lunatic element.》
《Special reward will be granted.》
《All stats increase by 2.》
《Lunatic Special Reward》
§ Watcher’s Eye
§ Duelist’s Blood
§ Ring of Release
《Please select one. The rewards included in the selected item will be granted immediately.》
‘This is hard to choose.’
Perhaps because he had overcome a powerful enemy like Penelope, the rewards listed were all quite good.
First, the effect of Watcher’s Eye—it was a player authority that allowed him to view the opponent’s status window.
‘It’s useful since you can check the stats or unique latent abilities of opponents who are the same level as you or lower.’
Of course, Glen already had detailed knowledge in his head about most of the characters that appeared in the world of Gray Eden.
He already knew their level and unique latent abilities, so one might think Watcher’s Eye wasn’t really necessary.
‘But it’s still better to have it.’
Watcher’s Eye was an authority that grew along with the player.
As the player grew, it became possible to check not only the opponent’s strength and unique latent abilities, but even their emotions and condition.
‘Considering the variables of Lunatic difficulty, it’s a reward that gives a lot of stability.’
Still, he couldn’t choose it easily because the other rewards kept catching his eye.
‘Duelist’s Blood is insane too.’
As the name suggested, Duelist’s Blood was a unique latent ability that activated in one-on-one combat, increasing all stats by about 15%. It was a skill specialized purely for duels.
‘They say 15%, but if your health stat is 100, that’s a boost of 15. That’s huge.’
Just raising stats alone could narrow the gap between rings, so the effect was enormous.
And thinking about Glen’s past—his one-on-one fights with Perenold in the turquoise bath, and with Meldborne this time as well—
Considering how often he ended up in duels, it was clearly a very useful ability.
But then there was the artifact listed as the last Lunatic reward.
The Ring of Release.
‘How am I not supposed to be confused…’
The Ring of Release was exactly what the name implied—an artifact that removed specific status effects applied to the wearer.
As mentioned before, there were dozens of different status effects in Gray Eden, and each required the proper item to remove.
Using herbs to cure poison, bandages to stop bleeding, and so on.
However, the Ring of Release could nullify one specific type of status effect chosen by the user, once per day.
Of course, since there were dozens of status effects in the world and danger could strike at any time, it might seem lacking in versatility. But—
‘That’s only for newbies.’
Now that the scenario had begun.
As a veteran of Gray Eden, Glen knew exactly what kinds of dangers awaited him.
So if knowledge close to foresight was combined with the Ring of Release, at the very least, he would never be ruined by a status effect.
“Haah… damn it.”
With the three rewards before him, Glen repeatedly rubbed his dry face.
‘If only the other two were trash I didn’t even have to consider…’
In the end, Glen could only choose one of the three rewards.
So he had to pick the one that would help his journey the most.
‘The next destination is Veronia.’
A medium-sized territory northeast of Warsworth. Glen planned to take the next step of his growth there.
“If I’m going to Veronia, then the Ring of Release is probably the right choice.”
Considering the dangers he would face there, the Ring of Release was the correct answer.
And since his stage was expanding from Warsworth to the entire Papal States, he needed solid countermeasures against status effects.
‘Watcher’s Eye and Duelist’s Blood are great, but… it can’t be helped.’
Closing his eyes tightly in regret, Glen finally made his choice after long consideration.
《Reward selected.》
《Lunatic special reward granted.》
《You have obtained the artifact 『Ring of Release』.》
Along with the softly floating blue message, a ring appeared before his eyes.
Saaaa—
A mysterious chill flowed from the transparent gem embedded in the silver ring.
“Good choice.”
Glen shrugged.
The choice had been difficult, but once the reward was in his hand, his regret over the other two disappeared completely.
To check its performance, Glen slipped the ring onto his right index finger.
Then he lightly wished for the status effect he wanted resistance against.
‘Bleeding.’
At once, the transparent gem embedded in the ring turned red.
“Ohhh…”
Glen let out a short exclamation.
Seeing the effect he had only seen in the original game right before his eyes felt strangely mystical.
For the next 24 hours, the Ring of Release would maintain this red color.
‘You can only designate a new status effect once per day.’
With a satisfied expression, Glen raised the corner of his mouth.
‘As expected of a Lunatic reward. It even gives me something this hard to obtain.’
Recalling the horrific process required to craft the Ring of Release in the original work, a chill ran up his arm.
In any case, having obtained such a useful artifact through the Lunatic reward, achieving his goals at the next destination wouldn’t be too difficult.
After putting the organized papers into his inventory, Glen stretched.
Two months from now.
The full-scale war would begin between humanity—having completed preparations for the holy war—and the demons led by the eight legion commanders.
‘And if I’m recognized as a player on the human side, the war will definitely tilt in favor of the Papal States’ defeat.’
To make the Papal States, plagued with problems both inside and out, emerge victorious, the next two months would be extremely busy.
‘So steel yourself.’
A sharp light shone in his ash-gray eyes as Glen clenched his fist.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
Someone was knocking on the door.
Thinking it might be Romina and about to joke around, he heard a voice.
“Glen Warsworth. Are you inside?”
It was a familiar woman’s low voice.
“Yes. I’m inside.”
“This is Bishop Katrin of the Inquisition. I have business with you.”
‘Why Bishop Katrin…? Ah.’
Now that he thought about it, there had been a promise he made to her at the mansion.
‘But why the sudden formal speech…’
Sensing an all-too-familiar aura of fanatic devotion leaking through the door, Glen pressed his forehead with a troubled expression.
Glen’s private room in Ovenyu Fortress.
Sitting across a reception desk, Glen and Katrin faced each other.
A brief silence passed.
Naturally, it was Bishop Katrin who spoke first.
