There was another sword inside , also with inscriptions . But this one had a far more normal size compared to its monstrous brother . There were some random tools , a water bottle and a flagon made in silver in one corner . The flagon seemed to have similar fractals as the water bottle , albeit a bit more intricate .
There was also a large reserve of luxurious dishes and fruits in another corner .
More surprisingly there was an actual table , a parasol , a rug , and two ornate chair in the space . Zac dumbly stared at the furniture , not knowing how to react . Was the demon invading another world , or was he out on a picnic?
He didn’t dare take any of the food , as he had no idea whether the food demons ate was edible for humans . While it looked perfectly normal , who knew if they used cyanide as a spice?
The final items in the corner were a few books and a small pile of crystals . Each crystal was uniform in shape and roughly the size of his palm . He couldn’t understand the language in the books at all , and could only put them aside for now .
The crystals were more interesting , and he tried mentally extract it from the pouch . Suddenly the crystal appeared next to the pouch . Zac grabbed it in the air and started to examine it . It wasn’t translucent , but rather a milky white , and cool to the touch . It seemed to emit a faint white light as well .
More interestingly , Zac could feel that the small stone was packed with cosmic energy . It was as if his senses were telling him that he wasn’t holding a small shiny crystal , but a shining sun of energy .
He remembered that his quests had something called Nexus Crystals as a reward for completing , and guessed he was holding one right now . More impressively he had roughly 100 of them in his pouch .
Of course , Zac knew that there was a distinct possibility that this was an F-Grade Nexus Crystal , rather than an E-Grade crystal like the ones that the quests rewarded . It would be odd if he got 100 crystals from just one enemy , if he only got 10 for conquering a whole incursion by himself .
He tried absorbing some energy from the crystal , and a pure stream of energy quickly entered his body and energized him . His slightly depleted body was quickly energized , and he was happy to notice that the absorption continued even after his body was - satiated - . That meant that absorbing the crystals would work toward gaining levels , and not only be a tool for recuperating after a draining battle .
Zac sat and absorbed the crystal for roughly 30 minutes before he stopped . After scrutinizing the crystal it seemed that he had absorber roughly a quarter of the stored energy . So completely absorbing it would take roughly two hours . Furthermore , absorbing just one crystal seemed equivalent of killing roughly 10 barghests and absorbing their energy .
That meant if he only sat down and used these stones to cultivate it would actually be more effective compared to running all over the island killing demon dogs with all his might .
Of course , he wouldn’t get any Nexus Coins , but still .
These crystals would be a huge asset for him . There were always time he couldn’t be killing beasts . Like when cooking , chopping wood and even moving between the demons while out hunting . If he could keep absorbing these crystals during all this down-time he could double his leveling speed .
Next he walked over to the great sword and tried infusing it with cosmic power as well . However , it was as though the energy was blocked when trying to enter , which stumped Zac . After a brief hesitation he cut his finger and dripped a few drops of blood on the runes before trying again . He had remembered the pouch absorbing his blood , and could only try the same method again .
This time he felt no resistance , as the blood was absorbed into the sword . Information once again entered his mind , this time the usage of the sword . It seemed that the sword could increase and decrease its weight , albeit the effect was quite limited . That might have explained why he slammed into the ground so helplessly in the first clash between him and the leader , he might have maximized the weight for the overhead swing .
Next he did the same procedure on his axe . Infusing it with energy had no earth-shattering effect . It had a weak auto-repair and sharpen feature . As long as he infused some cosmic energy into it , it would gradually fix nicks in the edge and re-sharpen .
It didn’t improve the lethality , but it was convenient for him who didn’t have proper facilities for weapons maintenance .
He finally turned to his last inscribed gear , and with the same procedure tried to activate the bracers he had nabbed from the leader . To his surprise , nothing happened when he tried activating them .
Chapter 32 - Vanity