I noticed that I'm collecting artifacts by defeating the dragons on every 10th level. I get that this is some kind of goal for the game (collect 5 artifacts in a single playthrough). The collected artifacts seem to persist in my character select screen and across playthroughs for that class.
As the swordsman, I have a starting artifact (some kind of banner, what does this do?) and four empty slots. There's also a Reset button. I'm assuming that's to reset my collected artifacts.
That leads me to think that there's more than 5 unique artifacts and that there might be some reason to collect different sets of artifacts? Is that so?
Best Answer
Post-game edit: Just finished the game and I can conclude that the starting/subsequent artifacts have no effect on your game whatsover. Also, it is possible to finish the game with a level one character (I just did).
I have no idea what the starting banner's effect on the gameplay is, but it's on every character you start with. It's called the 'Ashes of Life', and story-wise, in King Boldof's request, he mentionsThe other four slots are for your artifacts. You can get more artifacts by defeating the dragon every 10 floors.
When you defeat a dragon, you get a random +1 to your attack or durability.
The reset button is translated from "Give up" in Japanese, so if you press that (and the confirmation button), you'll be returned to the main menu with your gold / levels intact. It's probably better to give up than to die to an enemy, I guess.
Source: Me. Downloaded the game and trying it out in Japanese now.