Chapter 54: Escape & Rescue Operation II

The group stared in confusion for a moment at the bronze rings, but as they each picked up one ring, the use of the rings was directly transmitted into their minds.

Damon, as well as the others, wore the ring, and with a thought, a reddish hue shimmered temporarily around their form before dissipating. There were no other changes, but according to the transmitted use, the body armor was already in effect.

"Phew. Good thing I don’t have to weather around those gaudy combat gears. Would have been really inconvenient." Hazel intoned jokingly.

Half the preparation was done; now it was time for them to be armed with weapons. For this, weapons at the origin store were simply too expensive, and Damon only had eighteen thousand four hundred crystals left. He still needed most of it to invest in his skill. And everyone more or less had gotten good at combat, so he directly purchased one of the cheapest and most affordable weapons in the store—

[T-0 Electric Baton]

[Functionality: Good for smashing in skulls and delivering a lethal electric charge to the brain]

[Durability: 20/20]

[Cost: 100 oc]

This time, Damon bought only six of them. One for himself, one each for Nick, Sage, Hazel, Kora, and Tessa. Mildred and Harvey would be getting special purchases.

As the transaction went through, six Batons appeared on the table in front of Damon; everyone’s expression was one of awe, seeing Damon just spam-buying things like it was nothing.

Everyone quickly grabbed their own Baton except for Harvey and Mildred; the way to use it was directly imprinted in their minds; and though it only had an average weight, it was quite heavy for Damon; he could only see himself probably swinging that twice before tiring out.

Just as described by his curse, whenever Damon tried to improve his stats, the origin crystals were consumed, and he it does show that his stat value had been raised, but a minus the raised value appear next to it. As for the mentality stat, he saw no point in trying to raise it when he can’t even see the value.

[AWAKENER STATUS]

[DAMON EINSTEIN]

ALIAS: WHITE DEMON

RACE: AWAKENED HUMAN

TIER: 0

MENTALITY: ???

PHYSIQUE: 6.5 (-5)

CLASS: RICH MAN [ UNIQUE HIDDEN (???) ]

[CLASS SKILL 0: RICH MAN’S BANK (PASSIVE) ]

[CLASS SKILL 1: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 2: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 3: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 4: LOCKED ]

[CLASS SKILL 5: LOCKED ]

[??? ]

AFFLICTION: CURSE OF FRAILTY [UNIQUE (ORIGIN) ]

[CURSE OF FRAILTY [UNIQUE (ORIGIN)

FOR YOU WHO TILTED THE BALANCE; THE ’ORIGIN WILL’ GIFTS A UNIQUE CURSE.

EFFECT 1: IMPOSSIBLE TO INCREASE PHYSIQUE STAT.

EFFECT 2: RANDOM LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

EFFECT 2: RANDOM FULL-BODY OR PARTIAL PARALYSIS.]

The curse was active, and he was just as weak as he had ever been. But it was fun seeing the values raise; he would be improving it more in the future just for the fun of it.

As for the random full-body paralysis and fainting spells, at least those have never taken effect; it was probably something that would very rarely happen. At least there’s that.

The extra body armor and baton were, of course, set aside from Tessa. What was left was getting Mildred and Harvey their weapons since they were the main damage dealers even though they were only mortals.

Nick’s positive was defensive; Hazel and Sage were supportive dealers; Kora was on guard duty and an escape specialist with a unique skill that can temporarily get Damon to safety. Even though Harvey and Mildred are very skilled, the stronger these mutants get, the less effective their ordinary strength becomes.

For this, Damon had found a unique solution catered to both their most lethal displayed special skills.

[T-0 CP319 Tactical Rifle]

[Functionality: Deals Close- to medium-range damage to threats under T-1 ]

[Fire Rounds: 1000/1000]

[Durability: 20/20]

[Cost: 2000 oc]

It was incredibly expensive, but this was just perfect for Harvy. Damon wasn’t sure how that durability would be consumed or if this rifle would work when guns are said to have stopped working completely, but he was positive the system wouldn’t leave such a misleading description just to dupe people into buying. Or maybe it would.

His mind was made up; Damon initiated the purchase, and his balance dwindled to exactly fifteen thousand eight hundred origin crystals. At the same time, a compact rifle appeared on the table in front of Damon. This rifle was showy black with indecipherable etchings all over its frame; its color was luminous, and it looked made from intricately interwoven carbon-fibers; a composite material that was foreign even to Harvey, who had presumably handled quite a few weapons.

Damon passed the weapon over to Harvey, who grabbed hold of it with his one hand and slowly accustomed himself to the feel. This good thing about the pistol was that there doesn’t seem to be a slot for ammunition, and just like the durability can be reset using origin crystals; the fire rounds could also directly be reset after consumption. It was quite convenient for Harvey, who’s one-handed.

When Damon purchased the rifle, Sage and the others could instinctively tell just how expensive that thing was; and with Damon spending so freely when he still needed to invest in his class skill for a fifty percent return, they were visibly becoming worried.

But they didn’t know that Damon’s returns were at one hundred percent, and he had more crystals than they realized; and before he even started buying, he had set his mind on the sum he would be investing. There were just two more items left to buy, and those were Mildred’s weapon and emergency health injectors.

[T-0 CP319 Tactical Combat Twin Knives]

[Functionality: Deals Close- to medium-range damage to threats under T-1 ]

[Durability: 20/20]

[Cost: 700 oc]

These two were expensive, but when they came out, Mildred was literally glowing at their lethal futuristic designs, made from blades that easily tear through concrete as she twirled the large knives in her hand.

One thing about the system is that all the products are top-notch. With everyone geared up. Damon purchased a bunch of health injectors and distributed them amongst everyone. Now there was only one thing left to do before starting the operation—

"Time to Invest."