Chapter 96: Chapter 96: A Forbidden Upgrade

Dante didn’t leave Ironhold immediately.

He had mounted the Griffon on the highest tower of the Lord’s Keep. He fully intended to fly straight to the Sky Demon Forest and bait the three allied armies into a massive confrontation.

But as the Griffon banked over the sprawling commercial district of the city, the hyper-optimized combat logic of Dante forced him to reconsider his immediate loadout.

He was Level 58.

He possessed the SSS-grade [Chrono-Shift] talent, the primordial [Voidsever], and a massive 9,130 health pool.

He was an absolute monster in 1v1 engagements or localized boss fights.

But fighting three coordinated guild armies of thousands of players simultaneously was entirely different.

They wouldn’t fight fair.

They would use suppression arrays, massive synchronized magical bombardments, and endless waves of disposable frontline tanks to grind him down.

Even with zero cooldowns, his Zenith-tier skills had animation times. If he was caught in a massive stun-lock rotation, he could still die.

He needed to maximize his raw unmitigated damage output before engaging them.

He needed to socket the [Celestial Strike Pearl].

"Take us down," Dante ordered the Griffon and pulled back on the heavy leather reins.

The massive armored beast shrieked in compliance. It banked sharply and dove toward a wide open plaza near the eastern edge of the commercial district.

The Griffon landed heavily on the cobblestones. Its powerful talons cracked the stone.

Dante slid off the saddle. "Wait here."

He navigated the busy streets and headed directly for the loud rhythmic clanging of heavy hammers hitting anvils.

He was looking for Blacksmith Tang. Tang was the premier armorer in Ironhold.

He found the forge easily. It was a massive open-air pavilion radiating intense heat.

The walls were lined with thousands of glowing weapons and heavy iron shields.

Standing behind a massive glowing hot anvil was Blacksmith Tang.

The NPC was a towering and heavily muscled man with a thick black beard. He wore a heavy leather apron that was completely impervious to the localized heat of the forge.

Dante walked up to the counter. He ignored the line of low-level players waiting to repair their rusty swords.

"I need an enhancement socketed," Dante said.

He placed the heavy dark purple plating of the [Carapace of the Void-Devourer] and the pitch-black [Mantle of the Void-Dragon] onto the wooden counter.

Tang didn’t look up from the sword he was hammering. "There is a queue, Outworlder. Take a number and wait your turn."

Dante didn’t argue. He just reached into his inventory and pulled out the blindingly bright white [Celestial Strike Pearl].

He set it gently on the counter next to the armor.

The moment the Divine-tier enhancement gem touched the wood, the ambient heat of the entire forge vanished.

The intense celestial light completely overpowered the glow of the magma-fueled furnaces.

Tang stopped hammering. The heavy iron hammer froze mid-air.

The NPC slowly lowered his weapon and looked at the pearl. His artificial eyes widened in absolute unfiltered shock.

"A Celestial Strike Pearl," Tang whispered. His voice lost its gruff scripted edge.

"A fragment of pure and unadulterated localized divine authority. Where did you acquire this, Outworlder?"

"The City Lord gave it to me," Dante said. "Can you socket it or not?"

The eyes of Tang dragged themselves away from the glowing pearl and finally looked directly at Dante.

The gaze of the blacksmith immediately locked onto the small intricate insignia etched into the shoulder of the underlying gold armor of Dante.

The [Zenith Epaulet].

The posture of Tang instantly shifted.

The gruff and dismissive attitude of a standard NPC merchant completely evaporated. It was replaced by the rigid and respectful stance of a seasoned veteran.

"The mark of the Abyss," Tang said softly and bowed his head slightly.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Champion. I did not recognize your cosmic weight." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Dante sighed. "It is fine. Just put the pearl in the cloak. I have a war to get to."

"Of course," Tang nodded eagerly. He picked up the heavy starry fabric of the [Mantle of the Void-Dragon] and carefully inspected the weave.

"This is a Divine Emperor-tier cloak. The structural integrity is flawless. I can integrate the pearl seamlessly without risking a localized digital fracture."

Tang didn’t charge him a fee. He didn’t ask for gold.

He simply placed the cloak onto the massive anvil, picked up the glowing white pearl, and began chanting a localized high-frequency incantation that vibrated the air in the forge.

Dante watched as Tang carefully pressed the pearl into the heavy silver clasp of the cloak.

The white light flared violently, then completely sank into the metal. It integrated its localized code into the baseline stats of the item.

"It is done," Tang said and handed the cloak back.

Dante equipped it immediately. The system interface flashed.

[Item Enhancement Complete.]

[Passive Applied: +30% Flat Critical Hit Chance.]

"Thanks," Dante said.

Before he could turn away, Tang leaned over the counter.

The eyes of the NPC darted around the crowded plaza to ensure no one else was listening.

"Champion," Tang whispered. His voice dropped to a serious register. "I saw the server announcements. You are marching against the Void in the Sky Demon Forest."

"I am," Dante confirmed.

Tang reached under his heavy leather apron and pulled out a small and incredibly dark piece of refined metal.

It didn’t glow. It looked like a localized void in reality that actively devoured the light around it.

"The system restricts what I can sell to the standard Outworlders," Tang explained and slid the dark metal across the counter.

"But you are not standard. You are the Vanguard. This is a fragment of [Holy-Forbidden Star-Iron]. It is a material from the First War."

"The system algorithms explicitly ban me from integrating this into gear. It breaks the scaling math."

Dante stared at the dark metal. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because if the Demon King mobilizes that army, Ironhold will fall," Tang said grimly. "And I am too old to fight another war. Let me upgrade your gauntlets."

Dante didn’t hesitate. He placed his heavy dark purple gauntlets on the counter.

Tang took the [Holy-Forbidden Star-Iron] and struck it with his hammer.

The dark metal didn’t shatter. It instantly melted into a localized pitch-black liquid that flowed rapidly over the gauntlets of Dante.

It completely coated them in a secondary layer of indestructible armor.

[System Override: Unauthorized Material Detected.]

[Item Upgraded: Void-Devourer Gauntlets (Awakened)]

[Base Physical Attack Power increased by +2,000.]

Dante flexed his fingers.

The gauntlets felt incredibly heavy, but the localized kinetic force he could generate with them was astronomical.

An extra 2,000 flat attack power completely bypassed his weapon stats.

"I will not forget this, Tang," Dante said seriously.

"Just kill the Demon King," Tang replied. He returned to his anvil and resumed his standard gruff NPC hammering animation.

Dante didn’t waste any more time.

He still needed to appraise the massive pile of Dark Demon materials he had harvested from Gluttony.

He didn’t want to carry un-appraised high-tier loot into a massive guild war.

If he died to a localized wipe mechanic, the system would drop unequipped items from his inventory.

He practically sprinted down the street and headed straight for Master Sun’s Antiquities.

He burst through the heavy wooden doors of the appraisal shop.

Master Sun was sitting behind his mahogany counter and polishing his glowing blue monocle.

The heavy-set NPC looked up. His artificial eyes widened in absolute horror as he recognized Dante.

"No," Master Sun said immediately and held up both hands. "No. Absolutely not. Get out."

"I need an appraisal," Dante said and walked right up to the counter.

"I am closed!" Master Sun insisted. He frantically tried to hide the small brightly colored spinning wheel behind a stack of books. "The promotional mechanic is under localized maintenance!"

"I am not here to spin the wheel," Dante promised and leaned against the counter. "I am paying cash. Real localized gold. But I want a discount."

Master Sun narrowed his eyes. "What kind of discount?"

"Sixty percent off," Dante demanded smoothly.

"Sixty percent?!" Master Sun roared. His professional demeanor shattered. "Do you have any idea how much localized mana I burn decrypting high-tier assets? Sixty percent is highway robbery!"

Dante didn’t argue. He just tapped his dark purple gauntlet against the mahogany counter.

The newly integrated [Holy-Forbidden Star-Iron] clinked loudly.

It radiated an intense localized cosmic pressure that made the glass display cases in the shop vibrate.

Master Sun froze. The NPC stared at the gauntlets.

"Where did you get that metal?" Master Sun whispered.

The anger instantly drained from his face and was replaced by the same reverent shock Tang had displayed.

"I have friends in high places," Dante said.

Master Sun slowly looked up at the face of Dante, then looked at the [Zenith Epaulet] on his shoulder.

The appraiser didn’t sigh or complain. He slowly adjusted his silk cuffs and placed his monocle back over his right eye.

"The system restricts us from directly assisting the Vanguard," Master Sun said quietly. His voice carried a heavy ancient weight.

"But the system is flawed. The Void is a far greater threat than a economic imbalance. If you are marching south to face the Demon King, I will not hinder you with petty gold fees."

Master Sun reached under the counter.

He didn’t pull out an appraisal lens. He pulled out a small intricate glass vial filled with a swirling golden liquid.

"I cannot fight," Master Sun explained and slid the vial across the counter. "I am a scholar. But I have hoarded materials from the First War just as fiercely as the blacksmiths."

Dante picked up the vial.

[Item Appraised: Tears of the Sun-God]

[Tier: Holy-Forbidden]

[Type: Consumable (Armor Enhancement)]

[Description: A highly restricted and unlisted material. When applied to armor, it permanently increases the defensive mitigation of the item by 40% and grants a passive localized aura that burns nearby ’Corrupted’ entities.]

"Apply it to your Cuirass," Master Sun instructed.

Dante didn’t ask questions. He popped the cork and poured the golden liquid directly over his chest piece.

The [Sun-Forged Cuirass] hissed violently, and the gold plating absorbed the liquid instantly.

The armor didn’t change shape, but it began to glow with a blinding localized intensity that actually hurt to look at.

[Item Upgraded: Sun-Forged Cuirass (Awakened)]

[Physical/Magical Mitigation increased by 40%.]

Dante was completely stunned.

He had walked into the commercial district looking to socket a pearl and appraise some materials.

Instead, the two premier merchants of Ironhold had just completely shattered the scaling limits of the game to secretly upgrade his gear with forbidden unlisted lore items.

"Why are you guys doing this?" Dante asked and looked at the appraiser.

"Because we remember the First War," Master Sun said softly and his artificial eyes dimmed slightly.

"We remember what happens when the Void breaks through the localized seals. The system thinks it can manage the threat by throwing fresh recruits at it. We know better."

"The Demon King in the south is not a standard boss. It is an executioner."

Master Sun leaned heavily on the counter.

"You are the only anomaly capable of surviving the encounter," the appraiser said.

"Now give me your un-appraised loot. I will process it instantly and free of charge. You have an army to slaughter."

Dante didn’t hesitate. He dumped the massive pile of Dark Demon materials harvested from Gluttony onto the counter.

Master Sun processed the entire pile in seconds.

He confirmed the materials were high-tier crafting reagents that Dante couldn’t utilize without a master-level crafting class.

Dante vacuumed them back into his infinite inventory to be ready to sell them to Seraphina later.

He was completely optimized.

His Zenith-tier skills had zero cooldowns. His attack power was massively inflated by the forbidden star-iron.

His defense was functionally impenetrable.

He had a 30% flat critical hit chance, and his [Max Luck] stat guaranteed his passives would trigger flawlessly.

Dante turned and walked out of the appraisal shop.

He didn’t run back to the Griffon immediately.

He opened his system interface and pulled up the global map. He zoomed in on the Demon Forest.

The region was completely swarming with thousands of aggressive red player markers.

The three allied armies had finally stopped marching and were aggressively setting up a massive highly coordinated perimeter deep within the trees.

They were waiting for him.

Dante closed the interface. A cold absolute calm settled over his avatar.

He walked back to the open plaza, mounted the armored Griffon, and grabbed the heavy leather reins.

"Let us go," Dante ordered the beast.

The Griffon launched into the sky. It carried the ultimate anomaly directly into the teeth of the largest player-driven war the Zenith Protocol had ever seen.