The Acknowledgment - Volume One

A Long Way Up From Here

                The bodies of the undead lay in piles on top of the battlefield, destroyed and mangled. The lich lay dead and in several pieces on the dirt.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Defeated The [Soul Shepherd, Metus],"}>it rang<~

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Obtained [Items: Spring Water From The Forest of Echoes], [EXP: +200,000], [Demon Souls: +220],"}>it displayed<~

~>System<{" The [Player] Has [Leveled Up] {x2}!"}>It rang again<~

                 "What a shame these monsters can't become Shadow Soldiers," Winter sat on a pile of bones. Looking down at Metus' lifeless body.

~>System<{" The [Mana] of These [Targets] is [Contaminated]. [Skill: Shadow Extraction] Cannot be [Used] on These [Targets],"}>it displayed above the demon corpses<~

                "Strange," He mumbled. "At least I got another part of the set," Winter thought, looking at a necklace.

~>System<{" The [Item: Demon King's Necklace]. [Rank: S]. [Type: Accessory]. Grants [+20 Agility] And [+20 Intelligence]. [Effect 1: +5 Ability Points in All Stats],"}>it displayed over the necklace<~

                "Nice! I'm that much more powerful now," Winter thought, smiling as he saw the bonus effects, "Still only one set item left, meaning we have another boss to kill," he smiled. "Great, now can we get it done and over with?" Ultima asks, annoyed. "I suppose, but I already completed the quest," Winter thought, looking to his left.

~>System<{" [Demon Souls Collected: 10,001/10,000],"}>it displayed<~

                "I think we reached our limit. If we advance further, we might get one shot," Ultima explained, shivering metaphorically.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Completed The [Quest: Collect The Demon Souls, Part 1],"}>it rang<~

~>System<{" The [Player] Will Receive These Following [Rewards: 1. Choose Any Item From The Shop, 2. Bonus +20 Ability Points, And 3. an Undisclosed Rewards],"}>it displayed<~

                "Accept Reward One," Winter watched the shop open up automatically, "Should I choose an expensive item? One of those would be great to feed to my daggers, but I can always obtain items in the dungeons that could better increase its stats. Not to mention the shop updates every day," he decided, "If I make a decision too quickly, I might just end up reselling it, Something I need later," Winter added in thought, looking through the weapons. Finally, he found one that caught his eye.

~>System<{" [Please], [Select] an Item The [Player] Would Like to [Receive] From The [Shop],"}>it rang<~

                "Executioner's Calling," Winter opened his hand to receive the item.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Received The [Item: Executioner's Calling],"}>it rang, forming the long sword in his hand<~

                "I may need to counter someone with powerful healing, and this should help," he looked at the stats.

~>System<{" The [Item: Executioner's Calling]. [Rank: A]. [Type: Sword]. This Sword Holds a Powerful Curse. [Effect 1: Grievous Wounds] The Effectiveness of Healing Reduces by [90%] When in Effect,"}>it displayed<~

                "How do you know?" Ultima asks, a little annoyed. "Just a hunch," he replied, "Accept Reward Two," Winter moved on quickly

~>System<{" [Ability Points: +20],"}>it displayed under his ability stats<~

                "These are best spent in my intelligence. The stat has been lacking for a while," Winter thought. "Now, Accept Reward 3," he continued to the next reward.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Been Gifted The [Items: Cursed, Random Loot Box And a Blueprint],"}>it rang<~

                "One at a time," he explained. Winter opens the cursed, random loot box. Watching a black key form in his hand.

~>System<{" The [Item: ???]. [Rank: ???]. [Type: Key],"}>it displayed<~

                "Huh? Why is there no information? Is this a glitched item?" Winter thought, looking at the key confused. "Oh well, to my inventory with you," he watched it fade away. "Now. For the 'blueprint,' it seems unimportant, though," Winter thought, watching a piece of paper form in his hand.

~>System<{" [Blueprint: Holy Water of Life]. [Rank: S]. [Type: Learnable],"}>it displayed<~