Chương 30: The Shadow Ring

Ch 30 - The Shadow Ring Zeph lifted the treasure chest's lid the rest of the way. A burst of light spilled out, bathing him for a brief moment before slowly fading away, revealing several items resting inside. The others quickly leaned in to take a look. A sword lay across the bottom of the chest. Beside it was what looked like a wide bracelet, while a small black ring rested off to one side. There were also two monster cores.

"I was honestly hoping for something a little more impressive. Something flashier than this," Brann said after taking a look inside. Zeph lowered his head and reached for the item that had caught his attention. He lifted it up and showed it to the others. It was a black ring covered in strange patterns that looked like drifting smoke.

"How are we supposed to figure out what kind of ring this is?" he muttered.

"Well, usually you just activate it and find out," Brann replied.

"Or we can wait until we get out of here and ask an appraiser to identify it and estimate how much it's worth."

"Just put it on, Zeph. It's only a ring," Koka said.

"Maybe it'll boost your strength, your speed, or something like that."

"Zeph!" Madou quickly cut in.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to equip something from this rift without knowing what it does. This place is full of undead, curses, and who knows what else." But by that point, Zeph had already slipped the ring onto the ring finger of his left hand. Madou let out a quiet sigh as he watched. Then again, this was supposed to be a reward from the rift. It should have been safe... at least in theory. The very next moment, the ring sprouted tiny barbed tendrils.

They pierced into Zeph's finger and wrapped tightly around it, locking themselves in place. He winced as thin streams of blood trickled down his hand.

"The ring's alive!" Koka shouted in surprise.

"Zeph, your finger!" Lena said.

"I don't think he's in that much pain," Madou said as he watched him closely.

"It hurts, but not that much," Zeph replied, trying to pull the ring off.

"I can't take it off. Do I have to cut off my finger to remove it?"

"You reckless kids really love playing with death, don't you?" Brann sighed.

"I just barely survived back there. I don't need this kind of nonsense already. This is officially my last rift expedition."

"Yeah, we're basically normal humans now. What did you expect, Brann?" Koka replied with a laugh. They stayed where they were, their eyes fixed on the ring now wrapped around Zeph's finger as they tried to figure out what it actually did.

"Try running. Or jumping," Koka suggested. Zeph nodded and moved a few steps away from the others. He jumped once. But nothing happened.

"Channel your mana into the ring, you idiot," Brann said.

"Haven't you ever used a mana-based item before?"

"Oh, sorry. I've never used one before."

"It's no different from your Awakener Device," Brann added. Zeph nodded and focused his mana into the ring. The moment he did, a sharp pain shot through the finger wearing it, as though the ring were resisting before slowly accepting the flow of mana.

"What do you feel?" Brann asked.

"Not sure. Just pain in this finger," Zeph answered, continuing to feed mana into it. Nothing happened. Then he turned toward Madou.

"Madou, toss me the sword." The boy nodded. He picked up the sword from the chest, and threw it over. It was heavier than Zeph had expected, forcing him to dip his body as he nearly fumbled the catch. Holding the sword in his right hand, he activated the ring once more. A stream of energy flowed out from the ring and wrapped around the sword. In the next instant, the weapon vanished from everyone's sight.

"No way..." Brann muttered, his eyes widening.

"Is that what I think it is?" Koka asked. [Tier 3 Rare Shadow Storage Ring has successfully stored: Darksteel Sword (Tier 3 Rare).] Zeph nodded, unable to hide the grin spreading across his face.

"A dimensional storage ring," he said. It was one of the items he had always wanted but never expected to actually find. He gave the ring another mental command. The same energy flowed out once more, and the sword instantly reappeared in his hand. [Tier 3 Rare Shadow Storage Ring has successfully retrieved: Darksteel Sword (Tier 3 Rare).] Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"The best part is that I can use this ring to identify the other items," Zeph said with a smile.

"Including this sword."

"Well, lucky you, kid," Brann said.

"Your job now is to figure out how much space that thing has. The value of a dimensional storage ring usually depends on its storage capacity. Later, just keep storing random items inside and estimate the space yourself." Koka nodded in agreement.

"We've still got the sword, the bracelet, and the monster cores. I think you're more than happy with that ring anyway, Zeph. Besides, it's not like you can take it off anymore." Zeph nodded.

"Yeah. If everyone agrees, I'll keep the ring. Sorry that it ended up binding itself to me." The rules for dividing the rewards from a rift expedition were fairly straightforward. Equipment, weapons, and similar items were usually given priority to the expedition member who could make the best use of them. For example, if the reward was a sword and there were three swordsmen in the party, the group would decide who needed it most.

They would consider things like whose current weapon was worse, who would benefit the most from the upgrade, and other similar factors. Any remaining items would be sold, with the profits divided among the members who did not receive equipment. As for the monster cores gathered throughout the expedition, they were typically sold as well, and the earnings were shared among those who had not received a reward from the final treasure chest. Zeph then held the sword out toward Lena.

She was the only sword user among the five of them. As for Zeph himself, he already had a sword he could summon through his own Sigil, and the dimensional storage ring already counted as his share of the expedition's rewards, so he had no reason to keep another weapon.

"This is a Tier 3 Rare Darksteel Sword, Lena. I'm sure you'll be able to make good use of it."

"Ooh, a Tier 3 sword, and Rare grade too. That's a tasty reward," Koka said with a grin. Lena didn't reach for it. Instead, she hesitated.

"I can't take that sword," she said.

"Let Koka or Brann have it."

"Tch." Brann clicked his tongue.

"You stubborn kid. You know I won't be fighting anymore after this, right? My mana core is gone. Honestly, it's a blessing in disguise. Just give me one of the monster cores so I can sell it. The sword belongs to you." He gestured toward the sword in Zeph's hand.

"The sword belongs to you. You need it. Yours was destroyed, wasn't it? It's Tier 3, so it'll serve you well for at least another year or two, probably until you reach Rank 4 Champion and need something better. So stop arguing and take it." Lena remained silent for another moment before looking at Koka and Brann.

"Take it, Lena," Koka said.

"I'm already satisfied just making it out of this rift alive. As for me, I'm done with fighting. I don't plan on picking up another weapon for the rest of my life." After a brief pause, Lena finally nodded and accepted the sword from Zeph. After that, Zeph examined the bracelet. It was long enough to cover almost the entire forearm, its dark metal surface engraved with sturdy geometric patterns that gave it a solid, defensive appearance.

When he identified it, he found that it was also a Tier 3 item, though only of Common grade. Tier 3 Common Duelist's Bracer. From its name alone, it seemed clear that the bracer's primary purpose was defense. It was designed for blocking and parrying incoming attacks rather than increasing offensive power. There was only one person in the group who could truly make good use of something like that. And it was Madou. As for the remaining items, the monster cores proved disappointing.

No matter how many times Zeph tried, the ring refused to identify any monster cores stored inside his dimensional storage. It was a shame. At first, he had thought the ring would be able to analyze every item placed within it. With everything settled, the expedition finally came to an end. They returned to the cave to collect the belongings they had left behind, while Zeph simply stored his backpack and the rest of the items he had obtained from the rift inside his dimensional storage ring.

Normally, all the monster cores obtained from monsters someone hunted alone belonged entirely to that person. None of the others objected, as it was one of the standard rules followed during rift expeditions. Before stepping through the swirling portal vortex, they looked back one last time at the massive Undead Knight's body. Its armor had begun to crumble into brittle fragments, slowly breaking apart before turning into gray dust that scattered across the ground.

"Tch. Talk about bad luck. The boss just had to be undead," Brann muttered. Madou nodded.

"Undead have mana cores. But they're much less stable than the cores of other monsters. Most of the time, they shatter along with the undead's body when it's destroyed. So... no extra monster cores for us." Zeph nodded in understanding. Considering the sheer number of undead they had defeated, they could have earned a small fortune if those monsters had left intact cores behind.

Normally, once a rift was successfully conquered, every remaining monster trapped inside it would disappear as the dimensional space collapsed. But what actually happened to the rift itself? To that isolated world? No one had ever been able to answer that question. The group walked toward the swirling portal vortex.

"See you on the other side," Koka said before jumping through. Brann followed. Then Madou. Only Lena and Zeph remained. The girl stood there quietly, hesitating for a moment.

"Lena? Is something on your mind?" She glanced back one last time, as if something was still on her mind. Then she turned to Zeph with a gentle smile.

"No. It's okay. Let's go, Zeph." She reached for his left hand and gently pulled him along.

"Let's leave together, okay? I was worried you'd decide to stay inside this rift forever." Zeph smiled as she tugged him toward the portal.

"I think you're the one who was considering that."

"Huh? What makes you think that? I'm not that crazy."

"After everything you did in this rift, I'm not so sure." Lena let out a soft laugh. Then, hand in hand, they leaped into the swirling portal vortex together. Darkness swallowed them whole. A few moments later, Zeph's feet hit solid ground. He instinctively flinched as a blinding light struck his eyes the instant he emerged from the portal. Squinting, he raised a hand to shield his face while his eyes slowly adjusted.

It was still nighttime, and the harsh beams were coming from the headlights mounted on several vehicles, all aimed directly at them.

"We made it!" Brann shouted toward the people waiting outside.

"These are the only survivors from our expedition team!" The lights were lowered a moment later, giving them a chance to finally see their surroundings. Several vehicles had been parked around the rift entrance, surrounded by groups of Hunters. There were dozens of them. It looked like they had been stationed here as a precaution, ready to contain the situation if a rift break had occurred and the expedition team had failed to clear the dungeon.

A man with neatly combed brown hair, dressed in a tailored suit, calmly stepped forward to greet them.

"Five survivors out of the original ten," the man said.

"That's a remarkable outcome, considering the Tier 1 rift evolved into a Tier 2 rift immediately after your team entered." Hearing that, Zeph and the others exchanged stunned looks. Even so, none of them were truly surprised. So that was what had happened.

"Half of us didn't make it." Brann muttered.

"Still... surviving that was nothing short of a miracle." The brown-haired man raised his left hand, giving a silent signal. Two people immediately stepped forward from either side. Zeph's instincts screamed. He tensed the moment they approached, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. The two Hunters grabbed him by both arms at the same time, firmly restraining him.

"What the hell is this?!" Brann shouted, his voice filled with anger.

"We'll return to the city," the suited man replied calmly.

"As for the boy, I'll be taking him in for questioning."