The atmosphere in the room darkened significantly as Lila got up, her concerned gaze flickering to the door. "I'll return shortly," she said, her voice strained with unspoken worry. "My horse needs attention. She's been tied outside for quite a while, and she's quite skittish with age. I don't want her to get anxious. Make yourself comfortable while I'm away, explore the room if you want. There's some food in the crate over there, and if you wish, you can start a fire in the hearth. Just be careful not to smoke out the room."
Pulling on a weather-beaten coat, Lila looked over at Arden, her gaze falling on his bare legs. "It's getting chilly out there," she muttered, adjusting the hood over her head. With a final glance back, she pushed the heavy door open and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Arden to his own devices. The door creaked shut, leaving him alone in the dimly lit room.
The chill bit at his exposed skin, as he stood in the room, his makeshift poncho providing negligible warmth. He found himself in what seemed to be a subterranean chamber of sorts. Although finely crafted stonework lined the floors, the lack of windows and the low, echoing ambiance of the room hinted at its below-ground location.
However, instead of the dull greys typically associated with a basement, the chamber was swathed in hues of pale cream and warm beige. The walls, crafted from meticulously fitted stones, were painted a pleasant light color that made the space seem more inviting than its subterranean nature suggested.
His gaze methodically swept the sparsely furnished space, lingering on a solitary shelf, artfully carved and embedded into the stone wall. It held only a few items — a couple of worn books and primitive writing utensils. Saddlebags and a backpack lay clustered in a corner near a crate, all beside a cold, unused fireplace.
As Arden acclimated to the chamber, a peculiar sensation wormed its way into his consciousness. A strange energy seemed to permeate the room, thrumming in the very air he breathed. It was a soft, electric zing that tingled his senses, not painful but subtly unsettling, instilling an uncanny sense of anticipation.
The room itself felt as though it held more than just the visible stone and mortar as if it bore secrets hidden from the naked eye. This unexpected mystique drew him in, and he found himself even more intrigued by his current predicament.
In the dim light, his eyes fell upon an elaborate carving on one wall - an intricate, beautiful frame etched directly into the stone. Its craftsmanship was superb, with minute details visible upon closer inspection. The design was complex, with no obvious latches or hinges to suggest it was a door. Yet, something about its distinct shape and intricate details hinted at a possibility.
Within this frame, a strange mark glowed faintly, pulsing in sync with the peculiar sensation he had been experiencing. The mark was alien to him, a bizarre insignia that seemed to resonate with the room's hidden energy.
He couldn't resist. A strange magnetic pull drew his hand towards the glowing symbol as if he was destined to touch it. As his fingertips grazed the strange mark, a surge of tingling energy shot up his arm, making him shudder.
Suddenly, the wall gave way, a portion sliding aside to reveal a hidden passage. Darkness yawned back at him, and he strained his eyes to make out the dim shapes of a weapons rack and a closet filled with clothes.
As Arden cautiously stepped into the concealed room, he found himself standing in front of a small armory. A single dagger and a sword hung neatly on the rack, while the closet was packed with clothes of all sorts—undergarments, pants, shirts, boots, and even a surcoat of fine quality.
His gaze lingered over the neatly folded clothes, the question of why Lila would choose to hide these essential items nagging at the back of his mind. However, the cold and the need for appropriate clothes overruled any other doubts, and he quickly picked out a set of clothes that would fit him.
The surcoat was an impressive piece, its deep green color perfect for blending into the wilderness. The fabric was rich and soft, hugging his body comfortably. As he dressed, his eyes fell upon the sword that was hung next to the surcoat. When he tried to pick it up a notification popped up, startling him. As he dismissed it, a sudden bout of intense pain slammed into his head, causing him to black out.
\\\
Lila returned, the door creaking shut behind her as a gust of cold wind chased her into the basement. Her gaze swept over the room, coming to an abrupt halt on the glowing symbol and the passage now revealed in the wall. A jolt of surprise and confusion shot through her as she rushed towards it. It was the ancient chamber—the one she'd spent countless hours trying to unlock to no avail, and it was now laid bare before her eyes. The sudden revelation left her breathless and confused.
Stepping into the chamber, a pang of alarm coursed through her as she found Arden lying on the floor, unconscious. Rushing to his side, she checked his pulse, finding it steady but weak. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips.
Her gaze drifted across the room, lingering on the lone sword hanging on the weapon rack—an artifact she recognized from her time with the Tower of Enlightenment, a protected artifact of the Ancients. Dangerous, forbidden, untouchable. A shiver of dread traced her spine. Arden must have tried to touch it.
"Arden?" She shook his shoulder gently, an urgency seeping into her voice. "Arden, wake up."
When Arden regained consciousness, he found himself lying on the cold, stone floor, the world around him a hazy blur. Pushing himself up, he stumbled to his feet, his temples pounding. He turned to see Lila's startled and defensive stance. Her voice, mixed with anger and confusion, echoed in the chamber. "What did you do?"
"I touched the symbol," Arden replied, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "But why were all these clothes hidden here?"
"I wasn't aware of this room," Lila confessed, her voice laced with genuine confusion.
"All this time, you never noticed the symbol on your wall?" Arden asked, skepticism creeping into his voice.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Lila's disbelief mirrored his own, and Arden realized he needed to convince her. He lifted the medallion the wolf had given him, his gaze meeting hers. " I suspect that this medallion is connected to the room."
As Lila inspected the medallion, she fell silent, her eyes darting between it and the open ancient chamber. After a while, she looked up at him with a complex mix of emotions, a frown of consternation settled on her features. The room was silent except for the occasional crackling of the fireplace, the unspoken questions hanging heavily in the air.
"This medallion…" she began, her voice low as if speaking the words aloud would give them more weight. "It's an artifact of the Ancients. They were distributed to the most revered members of their society, acting as symbols of their power and status."
As she said this, her mind started to travel back in time. She remembered the stories she had heard about the Ancient Rangers and their symbol, the one she saw every time she opened the door to the basement and now engraved on the medallion.
Her gaze switched to Arden, and there was a newfound intensity in her eyes. "According to the identification, it belongs to the First Ranger. But I can't determine its mana capacity. It's... impossible."
Her fingers traced the symbols on the medallion, her mind reeling. Why hadn't she examined this medallion when Arden was unconscious? The answer surprised her. She hadn't felt the need to. She hadn't deemed it important at the time, hadn't seen the urgency. It hadn't occurred to her to question the origins of the medallion, to consider its significance or why the wolf would gift it to Arden. It seemed so strange now, and yet, at the time, it had seemed logical to focus on Arden rather than the medallion. Now, with the evidence of the opened ancient chamber before her, it all seemed so strange.
She looked at Arden, her brow furrowed in confusion, and in her eyes, Arden saw a mixture of puzzlement and regret. "I didn't think to examine it before," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was more concerned about your well-being. The medallion... it just didn't seem important at the time."
The words hung in the air, a testament to the mystery that had suddenly woven itself into their lives. Now, looking back, it all seemed so bizarre, so unlikely that she'd overlooked something so crucial. It was as if some unseen force had kept her from delving into the enigma of the artifact.
Arden was sitting in an uncomfortable silence, his thoughts swirling around the mysteries of the medallion, the symbol, and the hidden room. A sense of unease prickled at him, but it was equally matched by a sense of wonder. There was a sense of purpose, of connection, that he couldn't ignore.
Lila broke the silence, her voice cutting through his introspection. "Arden," she began, her gaze still on the medallion in her hand, "do you have the [Identify] skill?"
Arden snapped out of his thoughts and gave her a puzzled look. Following her instruction, he mentally summoned the system interface, which materialized as a translucent screen before his eyes. A labyrinth of menus and submenus floated in front of him, but his attention was drawn to one labeled 'Skills'. He tapped on it and was greeted with two distinct sections: 'Mastered Skills' and 'Active Skills'.
In the 'Active Skills' section, he saw two entries - '[Mana Sight]' and '[Mental Focus]'. These were the skills Lila had taught him, he realized. Though they were not yet fully mastered, they were usable and had been placed in his active slots.
Next, he navigated to 'Mastered Skills'. These were skills that he had completely learned and could use with precision. Here he found the skill '[Identify]'. Its presence surprised him as he had no recollection of learning it. However, its existence suggested that it must be a skill he had acquired before his memory lapse. Beside it, there was an empty slot, ready for him to fill with a mastered skill when the opportunity arose.
"I...I do have it," Arden confirmed, pulling his gaze away from the floating interface to meet Lila's eyes. His voice held a note of uncertainty, his confusion was evident in his furrowed brows. "But I don't remember learning it."
Lila nodded, setting the medallion on the table between them. "Yes, everyone does. It's a common skill everyone learns when they start interacting with the world. It allows us to examine objects, artifacts, and sometimes even people, revealing details about them that are not visible to the naked eye. It's like... reading the history of an object, understanding its purpose, and identifying any magical properties it might possess."
"But the effectiveness of [Identify] can vary from person to person. It depends on the person's mana capacity, their affinity with the magical elements, and their understanding of the world around them," she explained, her eyes meeting Arden's. "The skill can reveal only the information that the user is capable of understanding."
She gestured towards the medallion. "Which is why I want you to use [Identify] on this medallion. Your connection with it, and the fact that you were able to unlock the room that even I couldn't see, suggests that you might be able to uncover more about this artifact than I can."
Feeling a strange mix of unease and anticipation, Arden reached for the medallion. On instinct, he channeled his newfound mana, subtly influencing it in a way that felt right. As he did so, the [Identify] skill activated.
[ Identify ] Name: Medallion of the First Ranger Owner: First Ranger Arden Thompson (soul-bound) Mana Storage 134/500 Mana Generation 120/day
As he read out the results, he watched Lila grapple with the impossible: a soul-bound artifact. The revelation left her with a strange mix of unease and wonder. The symbol he had touched, the hidden room, and now this medallion—everything seemed interconnected.
"What do you mean ‘Mana Generation 120/day?" she asked, her voice wavering. "How are you charging it?"
"I'm not doing anything," Arden replied, a sense of uneasiness creeping in. "Look, I'm just seeing what the interface shows me. 'Mana Storage 35/500, Mana Generation 120/day.' So, why is it such a big deal?"
The shock on Lila's face deepened as she grappled with this new information. She fell silent for a moment, her eyes unfocused as if lost in thought. When she finally spoke, her voice was slow and measured.
"There's only one known source of mana in the world," she explained. "Living things. The older and more intelligent the being, the larger its mana pool. Vegetation has a minuscule pool, while humans have a large one. Some Ancient texts mention other ways of generating mana, and it's known that the Ancients had an excess of mana. But a medallion that can generate mana... That's unheard of."
Arden frowned, struggling to grasp what Lila was saying. "So, you're saying that this medallion can't generate its own mana, right?"
"Yes!" Lila exclaimed. "But one thing's for sure: this medallion is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Firstly, it's soul-bound to you. Now, this usually requires the intervention of Elves, as they are the only ones currently known to perform binding rituals. There are a few humans who possess soul-bonded artifacts, but that's because they've had the Elves do the binding for them. Secondly, if it's true, which is hard for me to believe, it can generate mana. You don't understand how groundbreaking that is. We need to handle it with care, and you better keep that aspect to yourself."
The revelation left Arden with a strange mix of unease and wonder. The symbol he had touched, the hidden room, and now this medallion—everything seemed interconnected, leading him on a path he didn't quite understand. It was as though the medallion was guiding him, unveiling secrets that were meant for him to uncover.
"I can see why you would say that," Arden conceded, his voice betraying a tinge of skepticism he hadn't intended. "But I'm curious... this 'First Ranger'—do you know anything about it?"
"The First Ranger was a position of power and leadership amongst the Rangers. They supposedly outlived the Ancients, but the last account of them vanished into the mists of time centuries ago," Lila said, her voice growing somber. "The Rangers were warriors who protected the Ancient kingdom from internal and external threats. They were scattered across the land, watchful guardians in every corner of the kingdom. The First Ranger... they led them all. This room we're in now," she added, glancing around the chamber, "it used to belong to the Rangers. It's ironic, really... in a way, you could think of it as 'your' room now."
Arden nodded, his mind churning with the information. "That's... something. But what now?" he asked, his voice heavy with uncertainty.
"All right, here's what I'm thinking," Lila began, her eyes filled with resolve. "I have a couple of books that may contain information about the Ancients. We can start there. And we need to find out more about these Rangers, especially this First Ranger. I have a... contact who is well-versed in local history. They might be able to provide some insights. You should also practice using your new skills and learn to control the medallion's mana. Above all, we must keep the medallion's existence a secret."
"Understood," Arden said, a sense of unease gnawing at the edge of his consciousness. His stomach grumbled, reminding him of his hunger. "Before we dive into ancient history though, I could do with some food," he added, his tone betraying his hunger.
"Go ahead," Lila said, her voice lighter now. "I'll see if there's anything else lurking in that secret closet of yours."
As he moved to grab some food, Arden couldn't shake off a creeping feeling of distrust. Something told him Lila knew more than she was letting on. This predicament was far from resolved, and Arden had a hunch it was only going to become more intricate.