The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 96: Loot Check

Aiwas, bypassing his wheelchair, steps onto the clean carpet in his pajamas, praising the Shadow Demon for leaving no blood or mess. As he stands, his contract with the demon activates, deepening his shadow into an inky, cat-like form. The room darkens as shadow tendrils block the morning light, creating a dim, pre-dawn ambiance. Aiwas remarks it’s too dark but lets it slide, surprised the Shadow Demon preserved Chloe’s gear so meticulously, even her undergarments, which he finds oddly logical to avoid suspicion.Inspecting the loot, Aiwas identifies the standout item: four [Eagle Feather] throwing knives, light purple supernatural weapons designed for assassination. Handleless and silent when poisoned, they’re ideal for stealth attacks, though Aiwas lacks the technique to use them properly. He considers adding handles to make them standard daggers, preserving their poison-enhancing traits. Two nearly unused poison lipsticks accompany them: [Love’s Intent], causing gradual fatigue and sudden death, and [Moon’s Mist], rapidly corroding organs, used in a prior assassination. Though Aiwas can’t use them as lipstick, they’re viable as solid poison. A dark mana-activated signal badge, for alerting or suicide, shows Chloe died too fast to use it.

The biggest surprise is the [Stalker in the Shadows] corset, a purple-rarity piece of the rare “Shadow Eagle” set, boosting stealth and granting +1 Advantage (Shadows) for sneak attacks (Adaptation path only). In this world, “energy levels” determine ability priority, with higher levels prevailing in conflicts. This armor’s +1 Advantage gives assassins a temporary level boost, invaluable in version 1.0, where such gear is scarce. Aiwas notes its game rarity—only three pieces were typically obtainable, the fourth requiring special means.

He estimates Gordon at level 39, stalled before fifth-tier advancement due to repeated failures, which risk soul damage or death. Chloe, likely level 38-39, matched Gordon without sneaking, fitting Eagle Eye’s strategy of deploying fourth-tier assassins abroad. Against fifth-tier elites, her stealth would fail, underscoring the rigid “energy level” hierarchy. The armor’s ability to bypass defenses makes it a game-changer.

Aiwas reflects on the game’s sixth tier—level 50—nearly unattainable now, requiring nine level-49 superhumans and risking death. The Eternal Pope, temporarily level 50, reverts to 49 post-tenure. Fallen Celestials, version 3.0’s toughest foes, demand max level and gear. Upper-tier phantoms, like apostles, outrank regular phantoms with +1 Advantage (Divinity), explaining the Rose Cross Society’s defeat. The Paradox Flame Butterfly, a low-level but high-status phantom, was the first upper-tier phantom players defeated, mistaken as standard.

This makes +1 Advantage gear critical, held by top factions like Eagle Eye or Avalon’s Arbitration Hall. Avalon’s strongest, Great Arbiter Meg, wields three +1 priority items (Barrier, Revelation, Resistance), nearing sixth-tier strength with the Queen’s Scepter. Her presence stabilizes Avalon’s chaotic politics, but her failed advancement next summer leads to her death, triggering the “Cruel Autumn” three months later.

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