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Finishing the appraisal of the gear, I pulled everything back into the ring, then pulled the sword back out into my hand, feeling the familiar weight before slipping it back in. Out, in—again.
I repeated the action, over and over, letting the summoning feel as natural as reaching into my own pocket. Thirty times, at least, in and out of storage. By the end, I felt that faint, insistent strain in the back of my mind, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
Alright, thirty is about the limit for now.
With a sigh, I noted the time it took: two full seconds. Two precious, brutal seconds–an eternity if I’m caught in close combat.
The sword in my hand felt right, solid, but every time I tried to picture it appearing perfectly, it still wavered. At best, it dropped an inch off-center–close enough, maybe, but not good enough. Summoning wasn’t just about the mental image, Even the smallest lapse in concentration, and the weapon would be just far enough away to leave me scrambling.
I muttered under my breath, the familiar rasp of my own voice keeping me grounded, “Good luck, Lexi… better shave off that time, or this sword’s going to be the death of me, not the monsters.”
A thought flickered through my mind, unbidden and unpleasant—Or maybe I won’t even get that chance.
I leaned back against the cold stone, eyes closed, letting my mind drift to El and his group. The image of them as he portrayed them, once whole, equipped, prepared, slowly pieced itself together.
Each of them should have been outfitted with decent gear, every weapon enchanted, every piece meticulously maintained. For a party of five, they were well-prepared and I would have to be even more vigilant…can’t no won’t go into a fight which I’m 100% sure of.
No more 50-50.
I looked down at the ring on my hand, feeling its cold metal bite against my skin. Here I was, still breathing, still holding on, while they were nothing but dust and bloodstains.
Maybe I’m just too damn stubborn to die.
Maybe it’s a type advantage. Maybe I’m just barely scraping by because of my Exira and I have to admit even what broken Exira I’m using still outclasses the monsters.
What a cheat skill.
The thought wasn’t entirely comforting, but it was true. Exira felt almost like a cheat sometimes, something that kept me one inch above the void. The power that surged through me, making my reflexes sharp and instincts keener than they had any right to be, had its own rhythm. It was like holding onto a thin thread above a pit, feeling the strength run out each time I reached for it. I couldn’t rely on it forever.
“Can’t really be banking on this,” I muttered, pressing the edge of my thumb into my palm. “If I meet something really really damn strong or worse… Well, it’s over, isn’t it?”
My voice echoed against the stone walls, hollow and small in the vast space. But saying it out loud kept me steady, a faint tether to sanity. I’ve seen things with power far greater than anything Exira could offer me. Some creatures, monsters from whispered myths and half-forgotten nightmares, could crush me without even seeing me as a threat.
Sighing as I channeled Exira into the ring along with my thoughts as the enchant on it worked and a new updated list appeared in my mind.
El's RING
[FOOD and Rations]
Dried strips of meat x 25 and Bread x 10
Raw meat chunks x 5 ~ 3 kg each
Water canteen x 2 [E] ~10L each
Spices (assortment)
Bundles box
[Items]
Diary
Insignia
Map I
Pocket watch
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Photos
Spare Clothes
Spare Leather Armour
keys
[Key Items]
Energy Crystals x5
Trusty Spyglass
LongBow [E]
Arrowsx240 quiver loaded
Ropes
Sewing kit
Cloaks
Longsword
Expanding Shield [E]
Expanding Spear
Revealing Monocle [E]
With Exira flowing through me, I glanced back inside the ring, assessing its contents but there, at the edge of my awareness, something odd lingered.
It was faint, almost hidden behind the familiar list, a strange shadow that didn’t match anything I’d put in there. I felt a pull, a tingling awareness running down my spine.
“What the… that’s definitely suspicious,” I muttered, focusing harder.
It wasn’t showing up in the ring’s usual inventory; even the enchantments on the ring weren’t detecting it. But I felt it, the barest outline of something, like it was caught in the fold of another plane. I tried to dig deeper, focusing Exira around it, my awareness wrapping through the storage dimension, prodding against its edge.
At first, the strange object didn’t budge, resisting, holding firm in some pocket of space like it wasn’t meant to be found. But the sensation was there. As I tuned up Exira to level one, the object finally seemed to respond, stirring in that hidden space until it moved slowly, pulling free of its confines and landing in my hand.
The strange resistance registered at the same moment that knowledge slipped into my awareness: a hidden compartment. Cleverly enchanted and masked, it was woven seamlessly into the ring’s space, a trapdoor inside a trapdoor. I chuckled softly, more in admiration than disbelief.
“Now that’s an impressive enchantment,” I murmured, feeling the weight of it in my hand. “Most wouldn’t even have the means to pick up on it… unless they’re tapped into some kind of mental, soul, or spiritual power.”
Shaking my head, I shifted my focus to the object resting in my palm. To anyone else, it would look like a simple piece of junk metal—plain, dull, even slightly corroded along the edges. But with Exira still running through my senses, I could feel the dense, intricate magic radiating from it, layered upon layer, until it nearly overwhelmed my vision. The enchantments seemed to be burning right into my mind, sending faint tremors up my arm.
I blinked and turned my gaze aside, cutting off Exira abruptly. The sheer force of the enchantments was disorienting.
This isn’t just any regular fragment… It’s easily over mortal-tier. Maybe even immortal-tier.
“Damn,” I muttered, unable to stop the grin from spreading across my face.
“Aunt Nora’s lessons always come through.” Her words on appraising enchanted items ran through my mind as I studied the artifact again. There was no mistaking it–this wasn’t complete.
Even now, I could sense the gaps in its power, like there were three more pieces to this relic that I’d need to bring it fully to life. Whatever this was, I’d stumbled onto something big.
A treasure and, if I were honest, a headache of a quest.
With a low chuckle, I slipped the fragment back into the hidden compartment, patting the ring lightly. “Alright, ‘Runic Fragment,’ you’ll stay safe here for now.”
But then, as the cold settled back over me, my eyes drifted down to the pendant resting against my chest. My fingers found it, tracing its familiar edges. It had been with me as long as I could remember–an heirloom passed down through the generations in House Drakesier.
My father’s… no, our House’s pride.
I let Exira flow through my hand and into the pendant, feeling its cool surface warm slightly under my touch. But nothing happened. It didn’t respond, not even a glimmer. I’d tried dozens of times before, pushing my energy into it, hoping to unlock the divine-tier enchantments woven into its design. But it remained stubbornly silent, a beautiful, silent thing with no intention of revealing itself.
I know you’re real, I thought, frustration bubbling up, but why won’t you acknowledge me?
I narrowed my focus, willing Exira to pulse just a bit harder. It was a technique Aunt Nora had drilled into me–sometimes enchantments required patience, finesse, and persistence. But no matter how carefully I channeled my energy, the pendant’s response was nothing but cold silence, as if it rejected me.
The prince of Drakesier, shut out by his own heirloom.
My teeth clenched. I could feel my thoughts pushing in tighter, narrowing, burning with a single-minded focus. Just one hint–one flash of acknowledgment–and I’d be closer to unlocking the power I knew it contained. The divine-tier enchantment lay dormant, locked within its depths, just waiting for a touch to bring it to life. I felt my pulse quicken as if I were teetering on the edge of something—
—and then my thoughts slipped, scattering away from the pendant like a sudden gust had swept them aside. I blinked, my focus jolting back to the dark, damp cave walls as if I’d just woken from a strange trance.
Why was I…?
My gaze drifted back to the ring, the weight of the fragment still lingering in my hand’s memory. I shook my head, a strange haze lifting.
“Yeah… alright. Focus on what’s important, Alexis.” I muttered, brushing the pendant back under my shirt and clenching my hands into fists to steady them.
But as I moved away, the strange feeling of being cut off from the pendant lingered something which I could put more focus on for some reason.
Huh…where was I..?
.
.
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