Battered and burned, her body lay unmoving as she stared up at the ceiling. The crackling of the fading embers filled the air as her heart faintly pulsed, each beat sending a wave of pain through her body. While every breath brought a sharp pain to her chest along with blood rising to her mouth.
For some reason, the sight of the scorched stone brought a sense of calm as her eyes slowly closed upon themselves.
“Rin! Are you okay?!”
A piercing cry tore into the air which was immediately followed by the echoing of hurried footsteps. Each step reverberating loudly against the stone as the elf rushed to the girl’s still body.
"Please wake up!”
The ranger knelt down, clutching the girl’s arm as another set of footsteps approached the two.
It was the rest of the party.
“Why did you fight it yourself?!”
The elf’s clenched her fists, nails digging into flesh and drawing blood.
“Why didn’t you just wait for us!”
A single tear dripped to the stone, mixing with the fresh blood.
“Hey, uhh... Merial? I don’t think she’s dead...” Cole said as the elf whipped her head back.
“Shut up!” she spat.
“No, really. She’s staring right at you,” Cole repeated.
Meanwhile, Rin’s eyes were moving erratically. Fixed not on the elf but rather something else before her eyes.
“Heh.”
Name: Rin
Equipped Titles:
Mana Core Connoisseur: (Ability to eat Mana Cores)
Irregular (lvl - 2): (Gain 500 stat points in all attributes)
Exorcist: (Increases effectiveness of Wisdom and Vitality by 300%)
Race: Hum-{Error}
Class: Heiress of Ice, Seraphim of the Night
Level: 25 -> 29
HP: 1,572/26,750 (True Value 53,500)
MP: 2,727/40,000 (True Value 80,000)
[Attribute Multipliers: Protection of Ice (Effectiveness of All stats Doubled)]
(Base Stats + Equipment + Title) * Modifiers
Strength: (10 + 0 + 500) * 2
Endurance: (40 + 0 + 500) * 2
Vitality: (35 + 0 + 500) * 5
Wisdom: (300 + 0 + 500) * 5
Intelligence: (225 + 0 + 500) * 2
Agility: (200 + 40 + 500) * 2
Unassigned stat points: 200
Current Status Effects:
[Unholy Convergence – END]
[Wolf’s Rage – Reduces All Stats In half – 1:59 Hours Remaining]
Available Skills:
Seraphim of the Night: [Locked]
Heiress of Ice: [Collapsed]
Equipment:
[Warning: 6 Items Destroyed]
[Howling Wolf Ring - (lvl 10 Uncommon Quality) + 10 AGI
[Howling Wolf Pauldrons - ( lvl- 10 Uncommon Quality) + 5 VIT, +5 END
[Boreas Greaves - (lvl 20 Uncommon Quality) + 10 VIT, + 10 END
[Boreas Breastplate - (lvl 20 Uncommon Quality) + 10 VIT, + 10 END
[Fang of Boreas – (lvl 20 Rare Quality - Short Sword)] + 10 AGI, + 25 Strength
[Boreas’ Anger – (lvl 20 Rare Quality – Earrings)] + 20 INT + 20 WIS
[Boreas Hornguards - (lvl 20 Rare Quality) - Armguards]
Crafter: Cole
Defense: 85 Durability: 70%
Agility: + 40
Current Status Effects:
[Unholy Convergence – END]
[Wolf’s Rage: Reduces All Stats In half – 1:59 Hours Remaining]
Looking at the translucent screen. She noticed that her health was dangerously low, but her focus wasn’t on that particular bit of information. She already knew it was so from the dull pain coursing through her being.
What was more important was the rest of her status.
The fight had changed a lot of things. First, the items that she had worn were almost completely destroyed, save the bracers she had received from Cole before the dungeon.
Everything else from the Ice Forest dungeon had either burned away or shattered. Regardless, the net gain in stats far surpassed the losses. Somehow, her title had increased in level once again. Granting her the base stats of a person nearing level 50. And this was without any of her modifiers. With the same amount of buffs—she thought she could take on even a level 60.
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a sharp pain to her forehead.
“Ow,” Rin muttered.
“Why did you ignore me?”
“What?”
Tilting her head upwards, she found that the rest of the party had gathered around her, and that the elf’s face was right in front of hers.
“I thought you were dead...”
Scowling, the girl pushed the elf aside with a block of ice before sitting up, bones creaking as a mouthful of blood burst from her mouth.
“Lie back down,” a gentle voice came from the side which Rin recognized as Alana.
Nodding, the girl did as told and the healer’s hands lit up with a warm glow.
Soon, the scabs and blisters that covered her body were replaced by her usual tender skin as soon as the light passed over the wounds. While her ribs shifted back into place, and her punctured lung was healed. Allowing her to breathe without any issue. And finally, her hair that had melted from standing within the wyrm’s body was restored. Returning to its original luster of silky, waist length hair.
“Thanks,” she said, the healer nodding in turn.
[Healer – lvl 50]
Rin noticed that the healer had leveled up to fifty, but her eyes didn’t seem to show a lot of excitement. Infact, they seemed almost cynical.
‘Maybe the requirements to advance her class are too hard,’ she thought.
Instead of voicing it, she pushed herself off the ground and stood at her feet. Rotating her shoulder as the feeling of natural strength pumped through her blood. It was intoxicating, to say the least.
‘We're getting there...’ she murmured, a content smile on her lips.
“Nice work,” Jamie said, his voice coming from behind.
Turning around to thank the man, she instead saw something that only brought a single thought to mind.
‘Cute.’
The man’s body was leaning against the boy’s as they both supported each other’s weight. It looked as if they were brothers.
“Is it true she fought it alone?” The boy asked, excitement filling his voice.
With a slight smile, the man turned towards Rin as she replied with a tiny nod. The girl panned her gaze over to the wyrm and focused on the lance embedded deep into its body.
Following her gaze, Cole’s eyes steadied on the ice as they widened in shock. He looked up at the girl, then the ice, eyes alternating between the two rapidly. Suddenly, he paused, before descending into a super mega sulk.
“Why did it have to knock me out...” he grumbled, kicking the ground with his toe.
Jamie met Rin’s eyes, sharing a chuckle with the girl before his hand moved behind the boy’s back to comfort him.
“I’m sure we’ll see more one day. For now, let’s see what we got.”
“Okay...”
Tearing her attention from the two, Rin looked over at the wyrm. It was time to see the loot...
****
“Alright, how do we want to do this.”
The voice was of the elf’s. Merial had her hands on her hips as she stood before the massive corpse, her gaze appraising the creature’s worth.
“Same thing with the golems. We’ll cut it into pieces, extract its claws and teeth and see if we can find anything good on the inside of its carcass,” Jamie said.
“Great!” The elf exclaimed, reaching down to retrieve a dagger from her boot. “I’m going to cut this thing that it’s going to wish it was dead!”
“But it’s already dead...”
****
The party worked efficiently. The wyrm’s two dissected limbs along with its tail were placed on the side. While its teeth and claws were extracted and placed on a frigid table along with a large number of scales.
The only thing left to do was extricate its bones and search for any items within its carcass.
“Rin, can you remove the uh... magic,” Jamie asked, looking at the weapon protruding out of the wyrm with an odd expression on his face.
Nodding, she waved her hand and the lance dissipated into mana. Immediately, the wyrm’s body rolled over and collapsed on itself once the supporting material had disappeared. Cold blood pooled around its body, seeping out of the massive puncture wound as the party took a step back.
“It didn’t stink too bad in there, right?” Merial asked, glancing at the mage.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“She went inside it?” Cole gasped as the elf nodded sagely.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen it. She went inside and something exploded then it died,” Merial explained.
“Ugh,” Cole groaned. “Why did I miss everything...”
Rin shook her head, seeing the two goofballs.
“What’s so funny?” Merial asked. “Does it stink or not?”
Rin sighed, “It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad, she says,” The ranger muttered to herself. “We’ll see about that...”
She then looked over at Jamie, “Open ‘er up would ya!”
Obliging, Jamie summoned a glaive into his hand and ran it along the length of the wyrm. Immediately, organs and blood along with the built-up gas exploded from the cut.
“Not that bad?!” Merial shouted, keeling over and retching from the stench.
Alana and Cole also had the same reaction while even Jamie seemed a little perturbed.
“Yeah,” Rin shrugged.
The elf stared at the girl as if she was crazy before letting out a grumble.
“...Let’s just get this over with.”
Again, the party got to work. The elf would create precise incisions within the flesh as Jamie and Cole would carry the bones out. While Rin and Alana would hand out refreshments to the hard-working trio.
“Finally, we’re done,” Merial said, stretching her arms out into the air as she looked at the stripped carcass of the wyrm.
“Yup,” Jamie agreed. “We should be getting a good amount of money for this. Great work everyone.”
All in all, they had received quite a number of materials. Three tons of bone, several hundred scales, a little bit of exotic meat for the braver buyers and one infernal core. And that wasn’t even including the stuff they had received from the golems.
Rin didn’t quite know the values of anything in this new life new, much less food. But she knew that the amount of raw resources they had at level 40 would be nothing to scoff at. Especially in a city filled with low-leveled people like Rellea.
As for items, the wyrm hadn’t skimped out on those provisions either.
Inside the creature’s heart, they had found seven orbs. Each swirled with power—just ready to be seized. Some were dimmer, while some shone a brilliant hue according to their colour.
“2 greens, 4 blues and 1 purple,” Jamie listed.
The wyrm had definitely shifted from a fearsome foe to a bundle of blessings for the party.
“An epic item?!” Merial exclaimed, her face lighting up. “Is it a bow?”
Jamie released a sigh, “Even if it was, it’s up to Rin to decide.”
Flickers of the fight between the wyrm and the mage flashed before her eyes.
“Right, sorry...” the elf said, a guilty look on her face.
“Anyways, there is a bow... but it’s rare quality,” Jamie said then turned his gaze over to Rin. “Here, I know you’re a mage, but I think a sword might serve you better than a staff.”
He handed the orb over to the girl as Rin activated her identification skill.
Immediately, a sword brimming with infernal energy was summoned into her hand.
[Sunscorcher – (lvl – 40 Epic Quality)]
Durability: 100%
Attack Power: 400-800
Agility: + 200 when equipped
Strength: + 200 when equipped
Skills [Locked]
Inspecting the weapon, she saw that its attacking power was quite an improvement even if the extra stats and skills were locked due to her level. While the blade itself was of a crimson color, lighting up with a warm orange hue.
Brandishing the weapon, her hand easily snuggled itself between the handle and the cross-guard as she held the blade with one arm. Its length was double her arm’s while its balance was stable. It was comfortable, that was for sure.
‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought.
Stepping forward, she slashed forward, her blade slicing through the air as if the weapon was an extension of her body. Rin advanced once more, lunging forward with a stab before leaping into the air and swinging down all within a single graceful motion.
The weapon smashed into the stone, driving itself a few inches into the ground as the stone started to melt from the internal heat of the weapon.
‘It’s definitely powerful,’ she thought. ‘But...’
The weapon was a little too thick for her liking, far from the thin blades she could conjure with her ice. Besides that, its weight was quite a bit on the heavy side. It would’ve been fine if she was planning to place more of her future points into the strength attribute. However, it would be inefficient to have points in anything other than wisdom and intelligence as a mage. She wasn’t a swordswoman after all.
Rin sighed, ‘It’ll do for now...’
Regardless, the girl didn’t complain further since the weapon was of an epic quality and it was her only remaining weapon. It would serve well its due purpose.
“Everyone ready to go?”
The voice was Jamie’s. He stood at the back of the throne room, just in front of a magic circle engraved into the ground. The exit.
“Mhm,” Merial replied. “Let’s get outta here.”
Walking alongside the elf, the party reached the exit just as Jamie activated the circle. A bright light surrounded the party as they were whisked out of the dungeon, re-appearing in front of the door to the magma castle.
The Groundraken along with the carriage were waiting for the party and was quickly prepared. Soon, they were off to the city of Rellea.
As Rin once again sat atop the carriage, she noticed that this time the sun was against her back. It seemed that the dungeon raid had taken more time than expected.
Lying down, she stared up at the orange sky through the gaps in the forest. She simply laid there for several minutes, enjoying the gentle breeze which calmly flowed against her skin.
“Status,” she murmured.
Rin wanted to make some changes as she still hadn’t spent her skill points, because last time—she rubbed her forehead, she was so rudely interrupted.
Name: Rin
Equipped Titles:
Mana Core Connoisseur: (Ability to eat Mana Cores)
Irregular (lvl - 2): (Gain 500 stat points in all attributes)
Exorcist: (Increases effectiveness of Wisdom and Vitality by 300%)
Race: Hum-{Error}
Class: Heiress of Ice, Seraphim of the Night
Level: 25 -> 29
HP: 26,750/26,750 (True Value 53,500)
MP: 40,000/40,000 (True Value 80,000)
[Attribute Multipliers: Protection of Ice (Effectiveness of All stats Doubled)]
(Base Stats + Equipment + Title) * Modifiers
Strength: (10 + 0 + 500) * 2
Endurance: (40 + 0 + 500) * 2
Vitality: (35 + 0 + 500) * 5
Wisdom: (300 + 0 + 500) * 5
Intelligence: (225 + 0 + 500) * 2
Agility: (200 + 40 + 500) * 2
Unassigned stat points: 200
There was only one obvious choice.
‘All wisdom,’ she smiled.
Doing this would achieve her first 1000 stat attribute, but it would also bring her mana pool to six digits.
Confirming the allocation of stats, she once again looked at her status.
MP: 50,000/50,000 (True Value 100,000)
Wisdom: (500 + 0 + 500) * 5
Looking at the number, she couldn’t help but release a light laugh.
‘Two seconds,’ she thought. ‘Pitiful.’
With the mana she currently had available, it would only be able to fuel the weakest ability of her second class for a total of two seconds. Yet, she still had plenty of time to reach the point of level fifty. Assuming that nothing would happen to the class of course.
As the carriage continued onwards, Rin peacefully listened to the elf’s rendition of her fight against the wyrm. Along with Cole’s occasional burst of surprise or excitement to the story.
Yet the elf might have been exaggerating a little.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen it! The wyrm created a massive portal in the air and summoned a gazillion monsters. But Rin just snapped her fingers and BAM! Everything was dead!”
Hearing a groan and a chuckle from down below, Rin couldn’t help but smile. The light atmosphere of the carriage was something that she hadn't ever experienced. But being in a party like this–
“It isn’t bad at all,” Rin murmured.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise from below as the carriage window swung open and an elf appeared beside her.
“Wow, it really is nice up here,” she said, lying down beside the girl.
By now, the carriage had left the forest and was travelling across a gravel road surrounded by a vast farmland. While Rellea, although far, its walls were in sight.
“Mhm,” Rin agreed. “It’s nice and quiet up here.”
“But isn’t it too quiet?” Merial asked. “Why don’t you come down and share an ale or two.
“I’m fine,” she said.
Rin reached out into the air and grasped for a glass. But when her hands closed around nothing but air, a frown appeared on her face.
‘Huh?’
Opening her inventory, she quickly looked over everything. All was fine until her eyes landed on the slot where her ciders should’ve been. It was blank.
‘Empty?’
Re-opening the tab, she checked once again. The slot still contained nothing.
“You drank all of them?” Merial asked, an incredulous look in her eyes.
“I...” Rin said, scratching her head. “I don’t know.”
“It’s been like three days!”
“...”
“Anyways,” the elf stretched her arms outwards before lifting herself to a seated position. “There’s a tournament.”
Hearing this, Rin’s mind was immediately swept away from the topic of her drink as she mirrored the elf’s position and sat up.
While Merial let out a chuckle, seeing how the girl instantly perked up.
“Don’t get too excited, the festival won’t start until the first dawn of the month of Gold,” the elf said. “Which is two weeks later.”
“It’s a festival?”
“Yeah, it’s a part of the city’s tradition as you know the saying. ‘Rellea, City of the Free.’ Basically, it’s just to celebrate how the city has no ties to any of the other kingdoms and that anyone has the freedom to do as they please,” she said before leading into a laugh. “Within reasonable limits of course. We can’t have murders happening left and right.”
“I see,” Rin said before lying back down. “What’s a festival like?”
Twisting around to face the girl, Merial stared at her silently before she realized something.
“Right...” she stressed, drawing out the word. “Lost memories. Like I’ll believe that.”
Rin only shrugged.
“Well, if you want to know what a festival is like. It’s definitely a lot of things. Fun for sure,” Merial said as she explained. “Last year, we had the tournament of course, but there was also a parade going on. Oh, and the food, there's sooo much.”
“Mhm, can’t go wrong with food,” Rin agreed.
“But yeah, that’s pretty much it other than the mage association’s sorcery show—” the elf suddenly paused, “Hey, can’t you do that? Isn’t your control over your magic nearly perfect?”
Hearing the sudden compliment was a bit surprising, but a show of magic sounded like something she could enjoy.
“Maybe, I'll think about it for now,” Rin replied.
If she wound up doing a performance, it would be a little complicated as her reservoir of skills was quite limited. But something that she had in mind was to create snowflakes with her ice to simulate the effects of the winter’s snow.
“Well, I’ll love to see it,” the elf said with a smile.
Preparing to head back down into the carriage, the elf dangled her legs off the side. But suddenly, the sun glinted against something worn by the girl. It looked like a ring.
“Hey, what’s that?” Merial pointed at Rin’s left hand.
“What’s what?” Rin tilted her head.
“The ring.”
Rin glanced down towards her hand. Wrapped around her ring finger was a slender band of silver. It gleamed against the light of the sun as Rin traced her fingers over the metal.
[Twlight Rose]
There was nothing special about the item except for the extremely intricate engraving of a rose etched upon the surface. Taking a closer look, Rin could see that each petal was crafted to perfection.
Most importantly, it was the item within the black box given to her by Bob. However, thinking about that man caused another thought to come to mind.
‘Bob... did he take my drinks?’
There were only two people she suspected had the ability to tamper with a person’s inventory. And those were Malkorn and Bob. Each of them made her feel uneasy, but she knew Malkorn was above something like this. Which left only one culprit left.
The strange man within the dungeon seemed to enjoy the taste of the drinks, while his strength was much too high for her to measure accurately. Which meant that he could have taken them from her inventory using some sort of ability or skill without her even noticing.
‘That brat.'
Knowing she could do nothing about it, she only released a sigh.
“Well?” Merial pressed. “I left you alone for one day and you got yourself courted already?”
“...What?”
“Engaged~”
Rin groaned, “Ugh... No, what are you saying. I just got it from somewhere...”
“Hmm...” she narrowed her eyes. “Okay. Do introduce me to him or her, will you?”
The elf ended with a teasing smile before swinging down below while Rin could only stare at the spot where the elf once was. A mixture of emotions in her mind. Depression from the loss of her drinks, confusion from the elf, and a little bit of anger towards Bob.
Taking her mind off the recent conversation, she brought her hand to her eyes and looked at the ring.
[Twilight Rose]
For what purpose dost thou seek? Astera.
‘For what purpose...’
Ever since she had opened the box in her room, the item only brought confusion to mind. Who was Astera? What was the ring for? But none of that mattered. The ring, for some reason, just felt right to wear.
****
After some time, the carriage pulled into Rellea’s southern gate as they once again entered the city square. Jamie parked the carriage at its designated location and handed the reins of the Groundraken off to an attendant while the rest hopped out of the vehicle.
“What a day...” Alana said, stretching her arms out.
“Yeah, it’s been quite something. But it still isn’t over,” Jamie said. “We still have to sell the items off.”
“At the auction, right?” Cole asked.
“Yeah, preferably,” Jamie replied. “Rin? Would you like to join us?”
Thinking about it for a moment, Rin quickly nodded. It would be a good idea to visit a place of trade. There even might be a replacement weapon for her there.
“Alright it’s settled.”
Walking through the city, the party soon arrived at the base of a large building. The auction house.
The building, although smaller than the guild, stood at a height of 15 floors and was made from the same wood and stone that the guild was made from. However, to say that the building was impressive was an understatement.
It certainly was smaller than the guild, but everything about the exterior seemed to be made with absolute quality in mind. Inside, Rin thought it would look even better.
“Pretty right,” Merial said.
“Mm,” Rin agreed.
Entering the building, Rin could immediately tell that she wasn’t wrong. The first thing she saw was a massive chandelier, adorned with crystal prisms as its enchantments lit up the room with a soft, warm glow. While rows of plush, leathery chairs lined the walls of the building. But funnily enough, the most eye-catching thing in the room were the posters of the upcoming festivals hung up on the walls.
The atmosphere was also abuzz, prospective buyers as well as the average adventurer stood everywhere. Some haggled over prices, while others simply tried to make an honest living. It wasn’t surprising as it was an adventuring city after all.
“I’ll go with Alana to sell the things. You three can look around if you’d like,” Jamie said.
In mere moments, the pair disappeared into the crowd as Rin turned to the elf.
“Do you know where the equipment is?” Rin asked.
"Should be the fourth floor,” Merial said. “Elevator’s right over there.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll come too,” Cole added as Rin turned to the voice. “I have some items to sell.”
“Fine with me,” Rin said, turning back to the elf. “But, what about you?”
“Eh... I guess I can just come with you guys,” Merial replied.
Heading to the elevator, the trio arrived at the fourth floor of the auction. Rows, and shelves of sheer equipment lined the floor while people were seen queuing up behind counters. Likely discussing trades or commissions of some sort.
“I’ll be in line,” Cole said as he pulled out a bag.
“Alright,” Merial smiled. “Good luck kiddo.”
The boy departed with a nod as Rin was left with the Merial.
“Whatcha lookin for?”
“Nothing much. Maybe a sword or a staff,” Rin said. “We’ll see.”
Setting off for a nearby shelf, Rin inspected several displayed swords.
[Level 30 – Swords (Uncommon Quality)]
Ruined Claymore - lvl 30 (uncommon quality) - 30 Silvers
Cutthroat’s Blade - lvl 30 (uncommon quality) - 24 Silvers
Wasp’s Stinger - lvl 30 (uncommon quality) - 31 Silvers
Rin frowned as she looked at the weapons. Sure, their level and quality were alright. But the price for something this weak wasn’t something that she could understand. After all, all she had was the 29 silvers she had taken from the creep at the bar.
“Hey,” she called, garnering the attention of the elf. “Why is everything so expensive.”
“Hm?” Merial leaned in, examining the price. “Wow, they really are expensive.”
The elf then picked up one of the swords to take a closer look before placing it back down.
“I’m guessing it’s because of the festival coming up. You probably don’t know, but so many more people entered the city just this past week,” Merial explained. “That’s probably why the prices are so crazy. Some kinda inflation type shit.”
Looking further down the shelf, Rin was met with the same problem.
[Level 30 – Swords (Rare quality)]
Lithic Blade – lvl 30 (rare quality) - 1 Gold 43 Silvers
Blackcliff Claymore – lvl 30 (rare quality) - 1 Gold 57 Silvers
Wolf’s Bane – lvl 30 (rare quality) - 1 Gold 48 Silvers
“Damn, this bad huh,” Merial muttered. “I wonder what that sword will sell for.”
“This?”
Rin pulled out the Sunscorcher.
“Yeah, you could probably buy the entire shelf with that.”
“I see...”
Continuing to look through rows and shelves, the pair passed a glass display of a legendary quality bow. Moments later, Rin noticed that Merial’s steps were starting to drag, while a barely audible whisper could be heard from the elf’s lips.
“It really sucks to be poor...”
But the ranger’s lamentations only brought an idea to mind. With the harvest and tournament coming up, the prices of equipment would surely continue to rise. Then all that she had to do was farm the dungeons for equipment. It would be easy, especially with her class and capabilities.
“It really wouldn’t suck to be rich.”