Leo began observing the terrain with a pleasant mood. The Cold Plains was a plateau situated halfway up the mountains; its area was much smaller than the Blood Moor, estimated at only about one-third the size. It was covered with large stretches of coniferous forests and alpine meadows, and the ecological environment appeared much better than the Blood Moor. Unfortunately, most of the plants were lifeless, exuding an aura of decline.
To the east, at the edge of his vision, stood a mesa with a cluster of buildings. It was too far to see clearly, and he wondered if that was the Burial Grounds.
Kyoko found Leo while he was admiring the scenery. "Lad, to reward your merit, once the outpost's Waypoint is constructed, you will be granted the authority to use it."
"Then I thank you, Lady Kyoko. My companions and I truly need to head back and recuperate." Now that there were plenty of "tools" to clear the battlefield, it was time for him to go back and rest.
Leo tore open a Town Portal scroll, and the four of them returned to the Rogue Encampment in turn. Back at the residence, he didn't even have the strength to clean the filth off his body; Leo simply fell onto his bed and slept.
"Lord Leo, are you awake? We've brought the battle spoils to you."
Hearing someone calling from outside the tent in his daze, Leo scrambled up. His body was covered in the fishy stench of dried blood; forget it, there was no time to tidy up, and being impolite couldn't be helped.
Stepping out of the tent, he realized the sky had already turned dark. A squad of twelve Rogues had arrived, everyone carrying a large pack, and the leader was a familiar face.
"Hi, Daibi. When did you start speaking so politely?" He hadn't expected the ice-cold Daibi to be so courteous.
Daibi gave a solemn salute. "Milord, I apologize for my previous attitude. You are a true warrior."
Leo feared people being polite to him most of all; seeing the beauty in front of him acting this way made him quite embarrassed. "Daibi, no need for formalities. Just call me by my name from now on. You came here for a reason, right?"
Daibi nodded and signaled the twelve Rogues to place the backpacks they were carrying on the ground.
After the Rogues set down the packs, they all sized Leo up curiously. Compared to most male class members, he wasn't particularly tall. He looked very humble and easy to get along with; the blood and damaged equipment on his body fully explained how difficult the previous battle had been—though his bald head was a bit strange.
"Warrior Leo, the outpost has been established. If your group needs to use the Waypoint, come directly to the barracks. Since gems are strategic wartime supplies, we have converted all the gems and White equipment into gold, totaling 120,000. Inside the packs are the gold coins and some Magic equipment."
Speaking to this point, Daibi sniffed the air, her face looking somewhat awkward. "It seems Milord has many matters to attend to; we shall take our leave now."
Leo was a bit confused—no runes? He didn't know if the Rogue Encampment understood such things. He stored the items in his inventory; he was too dirty to go to the bathhouse. He walked directly to the moat and jumped in to scrub himself. He hadn't expected the water to be as cold as ice water, likely melted snow from the mountains. He turned on Resist Cold, and the water temperature became much milder.
After cleaning himself up and repairing his equipment, he bought some dinner and returned to the tent. Just then, both women had woken up. Leo brought out the dinner, and they chatted while eating.
"Majesty, Gerdie, the Rogues have delivered the spoils. Later, we'll go to Master Cain's place, find Incest, and distribute those spoils. We have to continue to the Cold Plains tomorrow to finish the mission."
Neither woman had any objections. The group found Cain's residence just as Incest was practicing her swordplay.
Seeing everyone present, Leo first brought out three Unique items.
> Hellplague (Long Sword)
> * One-Hand Damage: 5-34
> * Required Level: 22
> * Required Strength: 55
> * Required Dexterity: 39
> * Durability: 44
> * Range: 2
> * Attack Speed: Very Fast
> * +80% Enhanced Damage
> * +2 to Fire Skills
> * +25-75 Fire Damage
> * +28-56 Poison Damage over 6 seconds
> * 5% Life Stolen Per Hit
> * 5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
>
> The Pelta Lunata (Buckler)
> * Defense: 58
> * Required Level: 17
> * Required Strength: 47
> * Durability: 50
> * Chance to Block: 63% (Paladin)
> * Smite Damage: 2-5
> * +100% Enhanced Defense
> * +20 Defense
> * +25% Increased Chance of Blocking
> * +20% Faster Block Rate
> * All Resistances +15
> * +1 to Paladin Skills
> * +3 to Light Radius
> * Damage Reduced by 3
>
> Chance Guards (Chain Gloves)
> * Defense: 28
> * Required Level: 15
> * Required Strength: 25
> * Durability: 16
> * +30% Enhanced Defense
> * +15 Defense
> * +25 to Attack Rating
> * +40% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
> * +200% Extra Gold from Monsters
> * +2 to Light Radius
>
The women's faces lit up upon seeing three top-tier Unique items, but how to divide three Uniques among four people?
Seeing the girls worrying, Leo spoke the distribution plan he had prepared: "Since we have a temporary teammate, our old 'as-needed' distribution is a bit inappropriate. Now, the four of us will toss dice. The person with the highest roll picks one Unique item first. The person with the lowest roll gets priority in the next round for Set items, plus a piece of Magic equipment as compensation. The same applies to Set and Rare items. To ensure fairness, everyone can only choose equipment suitable for themselves; you cannot pick for someone else."
The women felt this was acceptable and nodded in agreement.
Leo brought out two prepared dice and rolled first. It seemed "African blood" could be inherited—he rolled a 3. It looked like he could wait for the next round.
Majesty rolled next, and her luck wasn't great either—a 5. Gerdie rolled an 8. Incest's luck was exceptionally good, rolling a near-maximum 10.
Incest looked at the Hellplague with some hesitation. Two people here needed this weapon, and Leo's contribution in the battle was significantly greater than hers.
"Take it if you want it. Accept the bet, accept the loss. Besides, I'm only level 20; I can't use this weapon yet." Looking at Incest's expression, Leo couldn't help but smile; people in the Diablo world were too pure and kind.
Incest took the Hellplague, stroking the slender, dark-red blade with affection. This sword added a large amount of elemental damage, making it perfect for a basic-attack style warrior.
Gerdie directly picked up the Chance Guards; increasing the chances of finding equipment and gold would make her Find Item twice as effective in the future.
Left behind, Majesty was a bit conflicted. This Unique shield was more suitable for her brother. "Can I pass on this opportunity? I want priority in the next round."
Seeing no objections, Leo picked up the shield. A Buckler allowed for faster block and smite; he handed his level-boosting Set shield to Majesty to improve his sister's magic output.
Immediately after, he brought out two Set items.
> Civerb's Icon (Amulet)
> * Replenish Life +4
> * Regenerate Mana 40%
>
> Deaths' Guard (Sash)
> * Defense: 22
> * Durability: 12
> * Required Level: 6
> * 8 Slots
> * +20 Defense
> * Cannot Be Frozen
>
The group rolled the dice again. This time, Leo's luck finally turned, and he got the highest roll.
Majesty, feeling her mana was increasingly insufficient, chose the mana regeneration amulet. She rummaged through the Magic equipment and found a Cestus that added +1 to Trap Skills, equipping it immediately—her trap output was now even higher. With a melee weapon, the Gull dagger was no longer useful to her, so she handed it to Gerdie to increase the efficiency of Find Item.
Leo picked up Deaths' Guard, wanting to analyze the "Cannot Be Frozen" attribute from the belt once he got back.
After finishing the division of Rare items, Magic items, and gold, it was getting late. The three bid farewell to Cain, Incest, and Leah.
"Leo, Sister Majesty, I still need to prepare some daily supplies and browse the market while I'm at it. You two go back and rest first." Gerdie smiled at them and left first.
Leo gave a casual response and rushed excitedly toward the tent; such a large pile of equipment was waiting to be analyzed. His strength was about to increase again.
Majesty watched Gerdie leave thoughtfully. Since returning to camp, Gerdie seemed to be coming home late quite often.