Free Web NovelChapter 18: Uncommon Loot Box
{Quest Complete} Uncommon Grade loot box granted.
{Quest Assignment Reward} 30 System Points. Current total 272
The boxes appeared in everyone’s hands, or in front of them if their hands were full. For a moment, Kalli saw the temptation to grab a box from the ones who were injured and immobile.
But they resisted, and the awakened students all opened their boxes.
Kalli inspected the drops that she had received. The first was an Uncommon Grade dress that was bright white with blue trim.
[Robe of Fortune] Uncommon Grade. Grants 10 luck, 20 maximum mana.
She didn’t know how useful that was going to be, but the second item seemed like the more valuable one.
[Common Grade Skill Book of Mage Barrier] Learn now?
{Skill learned} [Force Barrier] absorbs up to 20 damage per level done to the caster or a chosen target within 10 metres.
Well, that was better than nothing. It would stop a bullet, or a single sword attack. It was also her first active skill. Her class wasn’t an offensive one to begin with, so it would help if she could at least defend herself, so others didn’t have to.
The final item was a bit of a bust.
[Short Sword] Common Grade. Deals 20 damage when wielded by Heroes.
Reggie cheered as he pulled an Uncommon Grade broadsword out of his box. It added 5 points of strength, and dealt 40 base damage, twice what his previous sword did. It was a good bit larger, but still a one-handed weapon, so he wouldn’t have to change his fighting style.
Exactly what he needed.
Kalli noticed that Sergeant Sanchez silently slid an item that looked like a magazine for his rifle into his storage, and then put the two common grade armour pieces he had received into his backpack.
The magazine must be his Uncommon Grade drop, and he didn’t want anyone else seeing it just yet.
"Everyone get their drops?"
Kalli nodded. "Yep. A new set of robes that are thicker cloth than the old ones, and a short sword."
Nobody would want to steal either of those from her. There were other girls in the group, but Kalli couldn’t see any of them volunteering to go fighting in a full-length dress any time soon. Plus, she had the leather pants from the rat demon.
"Oh, and these leather pants. Can’t forget about them. They’re not great, but they’re leather armour."
The Sergeant gave her a conspiratorial smile. He knew that she had only revealed the good stuff because nobody would try to take it from her. The soldiers might not object to an ankle length flak jacket, but that one appeared to be nothing more than a costume outfit, cut in a ladies style.
Not something that others would covet.
That was why he had hidden the good drop.
Whenever there were shortages, those with authority would try to take as much as possible to maintain their power. That was the position that the Commander was in now that the supplies they had brought were rapidly running out.
With everyone mobile again, to some extent, they returned to the inside of the compound, where the Commander had predictably assembled a group of soldiers to collect their drops.
"We will sort the items by need. If you can turn them over, we will make sure that they make it to the ones who need it," the Commander insisted.
Kalli quickly donned her new robes to replace the first drop that she had received, an action that only took a thought.
"I got a replacement armour piece. It’s better than the first set of cloth armour that I got. That’s more of a tunic dress. This protects my legs from the evening chill, so I will trade the old one to you instead if someone wants it."
The Commander simply shrugged and waved off her offer. It was better to get the item that the men on his team could use and let her keep the ladies wear.
"We got a radio transmission while you were away on the clearance mission. The fast response force is needed, along with any skilled combatants we can muster. There is an evacuation force assembling at the docks to remove high-value targets from the city.
We will leave one team here to protect the heroes while we take the others to safety.
Who will volunteer their team?"
Sergeant Sanchez raised his hand. "Team One will remain here with the students. I made a map of all the places you’re likely to find survivors on the west and north sides of the Academy.
Best of luck, Commander, we will be waiting for your return."
The cops looked relieved, while most of the students looked concerned. They were being left here to defend the Academy with only one squad of special forces operators.
The teams packed up as the students returned to their dorms to wash up. They were all bloody and exhausted, but everything else could wait until after they were clean.
So, other than Kalli and Sergeant Sanchez, who already had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen, none of them realized that the Commander had already packed up everything except a small kitchen unit and two cases of rations before he had allowed the other teams back into the compound.
She took a cold shower, courtesy of a whole class washing at once, and equipped her new armour drop, which was more of a three layered folded robe made of thick cloth. It was quite warm, and more than a little flashy. freёweɓnovel.com
The student uniforms were fancy, but she looked like she belonged in a period drama.
Sanchez was smoking in a chair next to the kitchen tent when she came back outside.
"So, what are the odds that he comes back?" She asked.
"Fuck all.
If you hadn’t noticed, he also took the radio with him. However, I’m getting nothing but static on mine. In my professional opinion, he didn’t receive any message at all. I’m reasonably sure that he ran the numbers, determined that he couldn’t hold this position and retreated to the carrier group in the harbour.
What I don’t know is why he didn’t want to take the students. You’re the reason we were out here to begin with."
"So, it’s just us here now. That’s fine. Fewer mouths to feed. Do you know if they determined whether those boars were edible?" Kalli asked, doing her best not to think of all the other reasons that they might have been abandoned here.
Sanchez held up a paper. "Yeah, they’re edible. Actually, very close to domesticated pigs. Only, ten times the size. The metal armour appears to be part of their skin."
"Then, we have lots to eat. Just send the team to grab the ones outside the walls, and we can pack them in the freezers of the canteen."
"According to my team, he cleared that out as well. I sent a man down to check if the cafeteria was active, and it’s completely empty. There was damage to the dining hall, but none to the kitchens. They were locked down during the invasion, and were only opened after we arrived.
He’s been playing us from the start."
Kalli sighed. "What do we tell the others? They’re not going to take it well.
I suppose that it’s time I reveal a bit about my class and give them some hope."
"You triggered the quests, didn’t you?" Sanchez asked.
"Yeah, that was me. And I can keep triggering them, as long as we can keep clearing them. And I can get some extra rewards when the team clears them. I haven’t picked anything yet, but I can at least offer another case of ammunition and some food supplies."
Sanchez took out the item he had put into his storage.
{Self Reloading Magazine} Uncommon Grade. 1 hour cooldown. Contains up to 50 rounds of Common Grade ammunition.
"Well now, that’s a wonderful drop. It might not be perfect, but it’s enough for small battles. Keep it in reserve, and I will bring out a case of ammunition to reload all your other weapons."
