[STT] Chapter 76: I'm an indecisive man (Patreon)

He had already read through the first two options, which were the author signed [Mana Shell] construct blueprint and a memory shard from the Tier 3 Guardian. So he only had the last two unknowns left to consider.

And he hoped they were good. So when he read the third line, he felt his eyebrows creep up his forehead.

- [Guardian Core] (Crafting Material)

A core?

Frowning, he tried to guess what he was supposed to do with that. He didn't know the first thing about crafting, and building gear sounded like a massive undertaking for him right now, maybe in the future? So all he could do was maybe have someone craft it into something. Still, it was a boss drop, so some rich guild would probably pay a small fortune to take it off his hands.

Moving his eyes down to the final choice, he forgot about selling things as it gave him a surprise.

- [Hidden Rift Key: Tier 2] (Single Use)

Staring, he read the words three times just to be absolutely sure his brain wasn't hallucinating. A hidden rift key? And a Tier 2 one at that… That had to be stupidly valuable, no? He didn't know what a hidden rift was, but from the name alone, it sounded a lot like opportunity and rewards if he could take them.

A key to just pop into a rift whenever he wanted sounded nice.

Blinking away the surprise, he dropped his gaze to the flashing warning text right below the list.

[Please select one reward.]

He sighed and slumped into his pillow. The system really loved to twist the knife. Giving him four amazing options and forcing him to throw three of them into a fire was just obnoxious.

Let's just go over the options.

Starting from the top, he looked at the [Mana Shell] blueprint again. And it was incredibly tempting, mostly because he badly needed a way to not die. At the moment, his only real strategy for surviving a hit was just hoping he lived long enough to heal afterward once he was out of healing bombs.

So having an actual defense sounded amazing. He didn't really know what the author-signed tag meant, but he guessed someone much better than him left some helpful notes inside it.

Moving down the screen, his eyes lingered on the memory shard. It came from the strongest thing he had ever fought. Which meant this one could easily give him something huge.

But it was also a massive gamble, because he knew it could just as easily give him nothing at all.

Skipping to the guardian core, he frowned at the crafting material tag. It was obviously extremely valuable. But since he didn't know the first thing about crafting, it was basically just a really expensive rock to him.

So unless he found someone who could actually use it, it would just sit in his bag doing nothing.

Last but not the least was the key.

He didn't know rifts could reward keys to other rifts, but now he knew. It wasn't technically a reward to be honest. It could supposedly open the door to a rift he knew nothing about. But that could also mean a ridiculous amount of opportunities and rewards.

Looking up and down the options, he went around in circles a few times, wondering which one to pick, and he could admit that he got nowhere.

Every single option was good in their own way, and that was kind of the problem, honestly.

Rubbing his temples, he felt annoyance at his own brain for being stuck on a choice between four good things. He really hated having to throw three of them away.

He stared blankly at the ceiling.

What can I do... I'm an indecisive man.

###

"You are looking at this all wrong, Ben. The Guardian Core is the only logical choice here. The usefulness of a guardian core made into something outstrips a basic [Mana Shell] blueprint any day of the week." Ethan said. "Though I would be tempted by the rift key."

"Are you actually crazy? A Tier 2 hidden rift is practically a death sentence for him right now. He needs reliable defense. And that [Mana Shell] blueprint gives him exactly that. Plus, it has an author signature on it." Alice said.

"Which literally just means it's like [Learning Model]. Uh, Ben, author signature basically means the original creator left behind their personal construct notes for students to learn from. But you don't need this."

"And who is exactly going to forge that core for him out here? The blueprint gives him defense right out of the box. The notes inside it will teach him how to form the shell step by step. If he walks into a Tier 2 rift with just his current skills, the monsters will just paste him to the walls!"

"He can sell the core to a high-ranking guild, then. They will eagerly trade him usable gear for it. Defense, offense, whatever, if he negotiates right."

"Relying on guild handouts is a fantastic way to get scammed and end up dead in a ditch. He needs the construct so he can protect himself."

Listening to their endless back and forth, Ben kept his mouth shut and let them argue. They knew more than him, and he needed their knowledge to understand if the choice he was making was good. And their little conversation was actually giving him a lot of great information to work with.

Leaning back against his pillows, he realized he already had a way to defend himself. Or more accurately, he had the plans and a solid theory on how to develop a way.

He clearly recalled the bespectacled man had made hexagonal shields to block incoming attacks. The guy had formed them so slowly, almost deliberately so, as if he was trying to show Ben exactly how they were made.

I want to learn that.

Actually, I am definitely going to learn that.

So having that specific goal completely eliminated his need for the [Mana Shell] construct. But Ethan's passing comment confirming the author signature being like [Learning Model] changed the situation a bit.

Is that knowledge worth giving up the other options?

Getting his hands on a master's notes regarding mana manipulation and construct creation might be what he needed.

"The construct itself is out. I already have a theory for a defense skill I want to develop on my own. But that author signature thing makes it incredibly tempting just for the knowledge alone."

Both of them snapped their mouths shut and stared at Ben when he finally spoke up.

"As for the core, it's the exact same problem. I obviously can't use a crafting material myself. But I could definitely hire a crafter to make something out of it for me. A magic staff, maybe? Or some kind of armor. Or a weapon. Or an item with defensive enchantments, but then why not just pick [Mana Shell] over it if that's the case? Basically anything goes with the core as far as I understand you, Ethan. And you also said you can help me connect with a crafter so I can probably learn crafting as well if I decide to go with this one."

He tapped his chin, looking back at the glowing system screen hovering in front of him.

"And then there's the memory shard. Which is just a massive gamble. I could get a great skill from the guardian, or I could get absolutely nothing of value at all."

Which would really suck.

"Then there's the rift key. It's dangerous, obviously. But it offers a lot of rewards and basically lets me do this entire loot grab all over again. Sounds pretty nice to me. But I can't use it any time soon so it would be useless to me right now. Which is why you're hesitant. You two believe I should choose something immediately useful. Did I get your talking points right?"

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AN: I'm hungry but I don't have any more calorie budget for the day. This is a sad day and I am in shambles, I must drink (water) away my sorrows. You can maybe make me feel better if you post pet pics in the chat ;]

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