"This badge," Nyx muttered, coming closer to the pile of items. "Isn't this the same thing you got from my nest? The one that upgraded your cloak?"

Leo hummed, grabbing the tiny badge and flipping it in his palm. "Not exactly. It's very similar, but the one you are talking about was blue. This one is much better."

Free Advancement Token (Epic):

A simple yet powerful token created by the System. It allows the User to advance any item of Epic or lower rarity to a higher tier. The User has no impact on the outcome of this process. Please note that this token will work only for the one who received it. Additionally, this item will self-destroy after six hours if not used, and it cannot be replicated. Activates with Essence.

Yeah, much better. He grinned. Only six hours this time around, but that's not a problem anyway. There's only one thing I can use it on.

He reached into his soul and summoned the Cloak of True Night into his other hand. While personally, he didn't think he needed any more help with stealth, maybe this item could become more than that with another upgrade.

And it can only be improved with a System token. Not using it would be the definition of stupidity. With that thought in mind, Leo pushed a bit of Essence into the yellow badge.

Free Advancement Token activated. Please connect it with the item you want to upgrade.

He did just that and placed the token on the cloak. Similar to the last time, it ignited in blinding golden flames that gradually consumed the entire alien fabric. Within a few seconds, he held a cloth of fire instead of his trusty cloak.

More time ticked by as the flames began to dwindle, their golden brilliance fading to a soft red. Slowly, the dark fabric came back into sight, making Leo frown. It looked the same as it had before the upgrade, with the same darkness oozing off its surface.

Wait. There's something…

He squinted as the last flames vanished, running a single claw along the alien fabric, tracing one of the many dark violet lines now etched into the cloak. In the low light of this layer, they almost blended into the darkness of the entire item.

Leo tried to find any patterns created by those lines, but there were none. No runes, no mysterious symbols, nothing. At first glance, it didn't seem like there was anything special about those new additions to his cloak.

Let's see if that's really the case.

Shadow's Veil (Radiant):

A piece of clothing created by the System's Advancement Token. It's made of pure darkness and special material available only to the System. This item can be changed into anything the user wishes, be it a cloak, pants, shirt, etc. The fit will always be perfect and comfortable and will be repaired after being damaged. While worn in the dark, the user will become practically invisible to the average senses. Additionally, it enhances the user's connection to darkness and offers an above-average level of protection against Essence attacks.

Notice: This item can only be upgraded with the System's Advancement Tokens.

I honestly have no idea if I should be happy or disappointed. Leo furrowed his brow, spreading the Shadow's Veil between his arms. For now, it looked like a weird blanket. I won't lie, I expected a bit more from a Radiant quality item, though maybe I shouldn't have… Item qualities sure are confusing.

Yet, when he set aside his unreasonable expectations, the new cloak was still a significant improvement over the old one. It should finally make him undetectable to normal means in the dark, and the added protection was always a welcome bonus.

"But what should you become?" Leo scratched his chin. "Any ideas, Nyx?"

The feline shrugged. "Don't ask me. Armor and clothing are the least of my worries."

Yeah… He sighed, partially expecting such an answer. Some protection for my head would be nice, but I don't really fancy wearing a helmet or stuff like that. A cowl or a hood should be fine, though, as long as it doesn't block my sight. Hmm… Maybe if I do this…

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The blanket of darkness landed upon his shoulders and slowly started expanding, adapting to his form. All it needed was a spark of Essence and some intent from him.

At first, it covered his front—down to his waist—and back while still leaving some openings for his floaters. From there, it crawled onto his arms, forming long sleeves that partially hid even the blades on his forearms. However, when he extended them, the darkness retreated to reveal them fully.

"Neat," he commented as the final part of clothing formed—the cowl.

It enveloped his long and thick neck before moving onto his head. At first, he thought it would stop at his eyes, leaving them uncovered, but he was wrong. The darkness kept going and left only the tip of his snout peaking out of the now fully-formed cowl.

Yet, somehow, by means he couldn't understand, Leo had no problem seeing through the dark material. He knew it was right there in front of his eyes, but it still didn't block his vision.

Scratch that. This thing is great. He grinned and tried to make it extend over his legs with another command to the Shadow's Veil.

It didn't work. Apparently, the item had reached its limit.

Oh well, you can't have everything.

With the process finished, Leo scanned his new creation. It looked like a strange cross between a hoodie and a jacket. Darkness still oozed off its surface, and now the violet lines were far more visible, accentuating the oddness of the entire design.

He glanced at Nyx. "I look like an idiot, don't I?"

The feline tilted her head. "Maybe a bit? I'm really not the person to ask about stuff like that, Leo."

His shoulders slumped. "Ah, whatever… Who cares anyway… It's a bit more protection. That's all that matters."

Nonetheless, he still removed the cowl for the time being. Even if he could still see, wearing something over his eyes felt weird. Not uncomfortable, but weird. The design definitely needed some adjusting.

Later, he decided and turned to the rest of the items. First, he fired off an Identify at the massive crystal.

Superior Shattered Core (D):

A small shard of a D rank Supercluster core. A part of its power remains dormant within, waiting to be awakened. This item can be used as a powerful power source. Additionally, it is a crucial material needed for Safe Zone upgrades.

Leo nodded. All of that sounded quite simple. Only the lack of regular quality ranking confused him a bit. Yet another thing to ask Naz'Tor about.

After returning the Shattered Core to his soul, he settled before the large metal crate and unlocked it. Once Nyx sat down next to him, he popped up the lid.

"I will be damned," he muttered, his eyes wide as he took in the items inside. "Weaponized Ether indeed…"

There were flares, dozens stacked on the crate's left side. Leo grabbed the one at the top and checked it with Identify.

Only an uncommon quality. Still not bad. Five minutes of life time is more than enough to save someone's life. He summed up. Now, what else do we have here…

He returned the flare to its previous position and opened the cloth bag that took up most of the space inside the crate. He reached inside, only to pause when his claws touched a very familiar item.

Hold up.

Leo pulled his hand out and chuckled once he spotted the object in his grasp. Those chuckles soon turned to full-blown laughter. In his humble opinion, it was a reasonable reaction, seeing as the System decided to gift him with a few dozen Inferior Ether Grenades.

"Oh, we're eating good tonight," he mumbled once his laughter died down.

Nyx snorted and slapped the back of his head with her tail. "I get you're excited, but get on with it. You still have to call Lily, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. It's just…" He shook his head with another chuckle. "Anyway, last one."

He grabbed a much smaller metal box from the crate and cracked its lock. Considering what he just got, he went in without any expectations. And yet, when the lip popped up, he almost dropped the box.

"A gun?"

Or, more precisely, a sleek, futuristic handgun lay before him. Its black surface was layered with golden power lines that pulsed faintly as they channeled energy toward the barrel.

Leo gently took it into his large hands and activated Identify.

Inferior Etherpulse (Uncommon):

A weapon created by the System to help the survivors against the unending hordes of Nightmares. As an Inferior version, this handgun has limited ammunition of 500 and cannot be recharged. A skilled marksman can use this weapon to kill most of the F and E rank Voidlings with a single bullet. Its efficiency against D rank monsters is slightly worse but still noticeable. The System advises against using it on stronger creatures.

"Oh, the people back on Earth will love you…"