Justin approached the massive chest, which seemed to be made of pure crystal.
The others gathered behind him as he reached for the latch and popped it open with an ethereal hum.
Justin first noted five golden crystals, similar in size to the one he had found in the drake's hoard. The magic of the Vault supplied the necessary information:
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Ascension Crystal
Purity: Gold
Description: This is a fleeting item. Upon touching this crystal, select one enchanted item of silver or lower quality already cored to your character. It will upgrade the selected item by one tier, up to a maximum of gold quality, enhancing its base properties or adding new effects.
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"Those will be useful," Justin said.
"We need to wait to touch those," Eldrin cautioned. "We may want to see what our new silver-tier artifacts do first."
Besides this, there were five other items. The first was a crimson ring, called the Bloodletter's Band, that would boost Kargan's Endurance by +2 while boosting his Life Force regeneration by 50% when in a critical state.
Ryak received an amulet called the Infernal Talisman, which boosted his resistance to the Fire Element by 75% while boosting his Endurance by 2.
Eldrin received something called a Wayfinder's Compass. Besides performing the usual functions of a compass, there was an additional band that promised to point the way to hidden passages, escape routes, or hidden treasures, so long as it was close enough.
Lila received a silver headpiece called the Muse's Diadem, which would enhance the power and duration of any buffs given by 10%.
Last of all, Justin opened a small case and looked inside. He just had to laugh at what he found. But as he read the description, his mind raced with possibilities.
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Artifact: The Monocle of Insight
Tier: Silver
Core Restriction: Intellect, Charisma
Enhanced Insight: When worn, this lens pierces the veil of the Ether Realm, revealing details hidden from mortal sight. Through its enchanted gaze, you perceive the names of races, creatures, monsters, and enchanted items, along with their attendant classes, roles, or general uses.
Inherent Insight: You may view the full details of any item already cored to your character without accessing your Ethereal Interface, allowing seamless awareness of your inventory and equipment capabilities.
Silver Veil: None can detect the magic of this artifact unless they have gold-tier scrying abilities.
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Justin's eyes widened at this. For something of silver-tier, this was an absolute game changer. Information was power, and even knowing the name of something and its general qualities would give him more information on how to act.
It didn't reveal as much as his scryer's lens, but the fact that he could wear the monocle made it much more convenient. The scryer's lens was bulky and not practical in everyday situations.
"Amazing," he said.
"That's a nice piece of loot," Lila said, somewhat jealous. "You have all the luck!"
Justin had the feeling she was right. "It's no luck. It's got to be this new cologne I'm wearing."
And maybe even his Prismatic Core, though he kept that thought to himself.
Immediately, Justin donned the monocle over his right eye, never minding that he would look like the Monopoly Man while wearing it.
[Do you wish to bind the Monocle of Insight to your core?]
Justin immediately willed it to be so. Instantly, the race names and classes of all his party members floated above their heads. And strangely, despite the fact that it was a monocle, he could see the information with his left eye, too. He could turn it on and off with just a thought.
He was worried the monocle would fall off easily. To test this, he leaned his head, but like all enchanted items, it remained affixed to his person. He could wear it into battle without missing a beat.
"Whoa," he said.
Furthermore, when focusing on each of their new loot acquisitions, he could see floating text that said it was an artifact. Or for their weapons, it was a weapon. It wasn't earth-shattering information, but it would highlight any enchanted items at a glance that he wasn't familiar with. And that was definitely useful.
"Far out," he said.
Lila giggled. "You look ridiculous wearing that."
"Ridiculous? I think the word you're looking for is 'dashing.'"
Eldrin had already reached for his Ascension Crystal, and a golden light surrounded his boots. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Got yourself a nice boost there?" Justin asked.
The Ranger nodded. "My trusty Shadowstep Boots, earned all the way back in the Guardians' Pass."
Justin nodded approvingly. "What do they do now?"
"They grant me +2 to Endurance, and they have upgraded it to make me completely invisible when the shadows are deep enough."
The others murmured appreciatively.
In turn, they all used their gold crystals. Lila used hers on her Ring of Eagle Strike, earned way back in the Highcliff Catacombs. It upgraded her throwing knife speed from 20% to 30% while she also gained +2 to Coordination.
Kargan used his crystal on his new Bloodletter's Band. The upgrade gave him a 50% boost to his health regeneration, regardless of whether his health was critical or not.
Ryak used his on his new Infernal Talisman. In addition to the +2 Endurance, he gained full immunity to fire-based damage.
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Which left Justin to decide just what to use his crystal for.
He could use it on his Coat of Highcliff's Elegance. Right now, it provided a modest +1 boost to Coordination and Endurance both, and held two utility enchantments, one of feather weight and one for warmth. There was his Cane of Valoria, too, resting in his pack, which he thought would be wasted since he already had a platinum-tier Cane of the Drake. He had a Squire's Armlet, too, but it was bronze-tier and it would only go up to silver. His boots were bronze, so the crystal would be similarly wasted on it. His Top Hat of Mental Clarity and Amulet of Equilibrium were both platinum quality, so they could not be upgraded.
That left his newest acquisition, the monocle, and his coat, the only silver-tier items he had. The coat would be nice, likely giving him a bit extra defense.
And yet he had to wonder what the effects would be on the monocle.
He reached for the crystal and felt its power enter his body.
[You have absorbed a Gold Ascension Crystal! Please select one enchanted item of silver quality or less.]
Then, a minute timer began ticking down.
Justin didn't need even a few seconds. He immediately willed it to go toward the monocle.
[Your Monocle of Insight has been upgraded to gold quality!]
Text appeared in his interface, alerting him to the changes.
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Artifact: The Monocle of Insight
Tier: Gold
Core Restriction: Intellect, Charisma
Deeper Insight: When worn, this lens pierces the veil of the Ether Realm, revealing details hidden from mortal sight. Through its enchanted gaze, you perceive the names of races, creatures, monsters, and enchanted items, along with their attendant classes, roles, or general uses. In addition, you perceive the levels of various classes, creatures, and monsters, along with the quality of enchanted items.
Inherent Insight: You may view the full details of any item already cored to your character without accessing your Ethereal Interface, allowing seamless awareness of your inventory and equipment capabilities.
Golden Veil: None can detect the magic of this artifact unless they have platinum-tier scrying abilities.
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Justin's eyes widened. He did not regret his decision in the least.
With the gold upgrade, there was no room for doubt. He not only had all the same information as the silver-tier. He could also see levels and the the quality of enchanted items at a glance. He was particularly excited about the level addition. He would now know just much of a threat a potential enemy could be.
"Well?" Lila asked. "Don't keep us in suspense."
Justin explained the changes.
"That's even better than my Ranger's Insight," Eldrin said. "That skill lets me see classes and levels lower than mine, and it has a cooldown. If I'm reading it right, that monocle lets you see anyone's class and level, even if they are higher than yours." He looked at him seriously. "Be careful when wearing that. People might kill you for it."
"Thankfully, people can't tell it's enchanted unless they have platinum scrying," Justin said. "That's got to be even rarer."
"True enough," Eldrin allowed. "But you might be surprised. If we ever go to larger cities, there will definitely be people with high levels and abilities. It's said that the High Priest of Arion is Level 40, as high as you can go without a Prismatic Core."
Justin nodded, but kept his thoughts to himself. Maybe he was being paranoid, but maybe even a High Priest might be overcome with greed after learning what Justin had. He wasn't sure if "High Priest" was a title or an advanced class.
With the loot chest emptied, it faded away. To Justin's surprise, so did the oppressive heat of the chamber in which they found themselves. The fires and lava faded, revealing instead glittering ice and ether crystals. The layout was exactly the same; it just went from a lava-ridden vision of hell to an enchanted northern cave.
"All that was just an illusion," Lila said.
"No, it was very real," Ryak said. "But with the Vault gone, it's now back to how it was. But the mystery remains of how the Fyrspawn were able to gather here in the first place, and in such numbers. Your Baron can't have had anything to do with it."
"He's not my Baron," Lila said.
Justin was about to add his own thoughts when he noticed something strange. Something was glowing blue against his chest, right through his white linen shirt.
He lifted the Star of Elara, his eyes widening as it glowed faintly.
"What does that mean?" Lila asked.
Justin recalled one of the enchantments, Gatekeeper's Call. In fact, upon looking at the Star of Elara, the requested information was populated before him: what seemed to be responsive HUD capabilities, an effect of his monocle's Inherent Insight enchantment.
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Gatekeeper's Call: The Sapphire Star's wielder and their party may activate and pass through World Gates. The Star glows brighter as you near an accessible gate.
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Chills ran across Justin's skin at the implications.
"What?" Lila asked, reading his reaction.
"We're near a World Gate," Justin said. "The Star glows brighter as we get closer." He turned to Ryak. "Did you know anything about this?"
Ryak watched him thoughtfully. "There are...legends. It's said that long ago, in the time of the Godswar, the Gnomish Kingdom existed in the deepest reaches of the Aurora Caverns. None have verified its existence, though. The monsters down there are extremely dangerous.
"Gnomes," Lila said with a shudder. "Eldrin and I had to deal with a gnomish mage once. Never again."
"They are said to be masters of Earth and Chaos Magic," Ryak said. "And their knowledge of machines was said to be even greater than that of the dwarves, who came later. Gnomes are said to be quite rare, possibly even extinct. But if you saw and even fought one, then this might not be the case."
"Either way, it's probably not a good idea to find a World Gate," Eldrin said. "Who's to say what will be on the other side?"
Justin frowned as he thought about it. "Remember those alchemy ingredients from other worlds in Drakendir? What if they had been using this gate to travel between worlds somehow?"
"Drakendir is quite a distance from here," Ryak said. "But if that's true, it would hardly be the only World Gate on Eyrth."
"Where are the others?" Justin asked.
Ryak hesitated. “There are said to be five true World Gates, each connecting to a different planet. Their locations have mostly been lost to history. The most famous is the Gate of Cassian Vale, far to the east of Atelinar. And of course, none of them work unless you have a piece of equipment with the right enchantment. The others…well, they’re only whispers now.”
"Atelinar?" Justin asked.
"The continent south of Serenthel," Lila explained. "About as far as possible from here."
"But that means one of these lost gates must be here," Justin said. "Otherwise, the Star wouldn't be glowing, right?"
"Possible, but not likely," Ryak said. "There is another kind of gate, called a Waygate. These simply bridge two points on Eyrth itself." Ryak nodded toward the Sapphire Star. "It's quite possible your artifact is equipped to handle finding both World Gates and Waygates. The magic powering both is the same. And of course, while it will glow brighter, it won't give us exact directions. Either way, it makes sense that the Gnomish Kingdom was once considered important enough to have its own Waygate, but I doubt it would have held one of the five World Gates. Even Salinuk, grander than the Gnomish capital of yore, only had a Waygate."
"But the Sapphire Star didn't glow when we were close to Salinuk," Justin said. "That means it doesn't detect Waygates."
"Or, it means we are closer than we would guess, of that the original Waygate was broken somehow," Eldrin said. "I might guess, from the point you first wielded the Star, Salinuk was ten miles away or so. That would mean this gate would be closer than even that."
"This could be our chance to lose Valdrik for good!" Lila said.
"The risk isn't worth it," Ryak said. "The passages of the Aurora Caverns are vast, and more than that, they are deep. We could search for years, potentially, and never find it."
It was at this point that Eldrin produced his new Wayfinder's Compass. "Maybe this would do the trick."
Everyone gathered around, and indeed, the golden enchanted needle seemed to be pointing directly ahead, where a passage continued on from their current chamber.
"That's the way we need to go, anyway," Ryak said. "The passage will be difficult enough without trying to find a Waygate. I advise against it because, like Eldrin said, we don't know what's on the other side. It's said that in the days of the Godswar, there were great cities that even floated on the waves. And when their magic failed after the Godswar, the gates would have sunk with them. That's just one possibility of what could await us on the other side."
"There is time to think about it," Eldrin said. "How long will it take to get through the caverns?"
"Two days of hard walking," Ryak said. "The main passage is well-marked, but in these days, it's no longer guarded. It's hard to say just what we will find. We should proceed with the utmost caution."
"After you, Ryak," Justin said.
The Iceborne nodded. "Try to stay close. There's a good chance there are more Fyrspawn up ahead."