Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] Chapter 52: 1.52 Call Me Rusty Shackleford

Read chapter 52 of Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

1.52 Call Me Rusty Shackleford Chapter 52 “A proper weapon?” “Yes.” “My current weapon isn’t… proper?” “No.” “No?” “Yes.” It took a lot of effort to stop me from rolling my eyes at Death, but I restrained myself, thinking such an action might be detrimental to my, well, life. Instead, I took a deep breath and relaxed. “What is wrong with my current weapon, then?” Lady Death stepped forward and waved her hand at me in a typical “give it here” sort of motion. I mentally pulled my new staff from my inventory and handed it over to her. The dark Umbralwood weapon seemed slight and fragile in her hands, inadequate compared to the menacing scythe that stood next to her. Regardless, she rolled the item in her hand as if testing its weight before tapping the shaft lightly. Silvery energy pulsed through the item, and she held it back out to me. I took the item and looked it over in turn, finding that the silvery energy had collected in an almost imperceptible line threading the surface. “What is it?” “They… are cracks,” she says simply, “the item is breaking apart.” “What?!” I look at the item again, seeing the silvery line now in a different way. There were two of the long, thin cracks on the item. It seemed they were just so thin it was hard to see in the grain of the wood. I frowned at this. The staff was practically brand new, and it was an Epic grade item, meaning it wasn’t cheap. “They will be in your sword as well, and that item is more than likely much worse, given its lower quality, and that it isn’t suited at all for soul essence.” Lady Death tapped the shaft of her scythe, causing it to vibrate with a high-pitched hum, the charms hanging from the top shaking in resonance. “Soul essence?” I asked the question, but I was already realizing the answer. It was my [Soul Strike] skill. The skill channeled soul essence through the weapon, and that seemed to be damaging the weapon when I used it. Even the staff, with its quality and attunement to souls and spirit magic, didn’t seem to be immune. I hadn’t used my sword since killing the Karlac, and it felt like I had somehow managed to avoid a horrible and catastrophic accident. “Yes, you seem to understand the long and short of it. Raw soul essence, even the little bit you’ve managed to harness, is potent. It gets worse when you couple that with the skill you have, which is not like a typical skill. It comes from your class, something I'm sure you’ve surmised is beyond the Legendary Tier. It is a skill that is much too powerful for such simple items.” Death spoke as she pulled a charm from her scythe, a simple-looking glass bead contained in black metal bands. I listened intently, not at all losing sight of the fact that this might have been the most in-depth explanation she had given me for something so far. “This one will do. And how fitting that it was blessed by Wisdom. Now, you still don’t know what sort of weapon best fits you so…” She seemed lost in thought a moment. Then another. And another. Nearly a minute went by. I coughed lightly. “Yes, I know. Wait just a bit, child.” She tapped the charm and it flashed with a blinding display of energy. When I blinked away the stars dancing on my retinas, I found Death now holding a simple black hilt made from what looked to be stark black wrought iron. I took the item from her, looking it over carefully. [Item: Thanatarch’s Edge - ??? - (+100 Dex, +25 Vit) Description: This weapon was crafted to fit the pinnacle of slaughter. Adaptive and resilient, any user may change its form at will. As it contains a fragment of crystalized essence at its core, this weapon is a perfect conduit of soul energy. Additional information is unknown at this time.] A whistle tried to escape my lips, but I bit down on it to stop myself. The item was good, very good, practically amazing. It was better than the legendary mask item in stats alone, and I couldn’t imagine what other secrets it held. Even the system description said there was more to discover, but