Chapter 106 (1/2)
Chapter 106 – Red Dragon’s Lair (12)
Ariane lifted her hands up and said
“Summon”
And on her palm was a small ring. She handed it over to Sungjin. Sungjin examined the strange ring.
The ring was transparent, and a mysterious blue material floated within. The material moved unpredictably. It sometimes bundled up together, separated, or flowed like water.
While Sungjin was watching the material, Ariane said
“It’s an item containing the power of the strongest Wizard in human history, Anatol of the Blue Sky.”
Sungjin tilted his head when he heard this. He had heard the name ‘Blue Sky Wizard’ before. But Soldamyr next to him replied
“My goodness, this object contains that wizard’s power?”
Sungjin stared at him. Now that he thought of it, Soldamyr mentioned it before.
‘There are several famous wizards in history, but among them, Wizard of the Black Flames, Wizard of Purple Light, and Firmament Wizard are the most famous. Since I am a blue magician myself, I respected and studied the Wizard of the Blue Sky Anatol the most…’
Sungjin held the ring above his head. But instead of an information screen, he heard the Operator say
[Unclaimed item.]
Sungjin frowned. Even if he found something in a raid, if the Operator did not officially grant the item to him, he couldn’t check any info nor use it.
‘Just what kind of item is it…?’
He thought when Ariane told him
“Put it on.”
Sungjin replied to her
“But I can’t equip nor use it right now.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
Sungjin tapped on his cube and said
“Without the Cube’s permission, even if I have an item like this I can’t use it. Probably once the raid is over, I will be granted the item as part of the normal raid reward process. And once it’s been officially awarded to me, I’ll probably be able to use it.”
“Hmm really?”
Ariane walked up to him and snatched the cube out of the air. It was the second time he saw it happen, but it was still amazing. She could grab other’s cube. Ariane said as she took a look at the cube.
“This really does… look like an item related to…”
Sungjin opened his eyes wide.
“You know who made it?”
Sungjin never even imagined that the cube hid clues as to its maker. He immediately asked
“This… I mean you know someone that made the Operator?”
Ariane gave Sungjin a look as she replied
“I don’t know for sure… but an item has a creator of some sort, right?”
The ‘Operator’ was a tool for progressing the Raid system. If there was a maker of the system, then it meant he was the architect who planned the whole thing.
“Just who…”
“…I can’t tell you any more than that… Mother warned me not to get involved with it.”
“Mother?”
Seeing his surprise, she replied in a ‘matter of fact’ manner.
“What? Every living being has a mother, right?”
She was right. Sungjin was abandoned and orphaned as a child, but someone must have given birth to him. What had surprised him was the fact that she also had a mother who was taking care of her.
Ariane was plenty strong on her own. He couldn’t even imagine how powerful her mother must be. Sungjin said to her
“Couldn’t you give me the smallest hint about it? Who planned and carried out this raid system?”
Ariana looked off to the side for a moment before replying.
“It’s not exactly correct to say the raids were planned and carried out per se… how to say this… More like the raids are being watched and recorded… since there’s meaning in doing so.”
She said something he couldn’t quite comprehend. Sungjin thought of using ‘Jeremiah’s eye’ to find out more. If he could read her surface thoughts (if it was possible), he might find out something more profound, but unfortunately, it was on cooldown.
“Well… if it’s just hint”
She raised her hands once more
“Summon.”
She had summoned a pen. She handed it over to Sungjin and said
“Try using this. I don’t know if this will give you a hint though.”
Sungjin accepted the pen. The pen looked very ordinary. Its exterior looked like it could be found in any regular stationary shop. When Sungjin was busy looking at the pen, Ariane suddenly said her farewell.
“It was fun, Human. I hope that my presents will help you escape your tragic fate.”
Sungjin looked at her. He had so many questions for her, but it didn’t seem like she would tell him any more than what she already did.
“Thank you very much.”
Sungjin lowered his head to express his gratitude.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
When he looked back up, she was already gone. The only thing remaining was the ring and the pen she had left behind. Although it wasn’t officially awarded to him, it was still something he had earned.
Sungjin was about to place the items into his pocket, but he noticed a piercing gaze. Soldamyr was tilting his head to see the item in Sungjin’s hands. Sungjin handed the ring to him.
Soldamyr was overwhelmed that it was offered to him, and carefully received the ring with both of his hands.
“Ohhh… this is the…”
Sungjin wasn’t sure yet, but it was apparently an amazing item. Sungjin asked him
“So what is it?”
“I don’t know… Just… there is an incredible amount of Mana contained within.”
Sungjin took the Ring back. The material within was still moving strangely.
‘If I want to find out what’s in it… I need to quickly get to distribution.’
All he had to do was use the Trollseeker marble. But he couldn’t use it here yet. If he were to use it here, he might have to spend quite an effort and time to get to where the trolls might be.
Dimensional transfer was best used where the boss was located. Sungjin moved back to the Lava fall and said
“Soldamyr, give me flight.”
“Power to defy Gravity, Levitation!”
Sungjin left the cave with the treasure with Soldamyr. Once they were out of the spacious cavern, he could see the hunters in the distance. The hunters were shocked to see Sungjin again.
“A…Alive…”
“Did you succeed?”
Sungjin moved between them and said