Chapter 168: Enchanted Rune Stone
The contents of the box were unremarkable, just an irregularly shaped stone slab the size of a fist.
[Enchanted Rune Stone]
[Accessory – Gem – Rare (Purple)]
[One of the shards separated from the same object, existing as a symbol and proof. It is said that the mysteries it contains have yet to be deciphered.]
[Enchant: Can recharge an equipment or item with a quality no higher than Rare. The cooldown depends on the item being recharged.]
Is that it?
Li Wen only had these two words in his heart.
Enchanting was a magic that reset the cooldown of an item’s abilities. It seemed powerful, but if it was limited to equipment below purple rarity, it wasn’t that impressive. After all, Tier Three Mana Excitation and Tier Four Enchantment could achieve the same effect. The function displayed by this stone might not even be worthy of its rarity.
If it weren’t for the information revealed in the item description, Li Wen would have thought someone had secretly swapped the item – could this thing be a family heirloom?
Li Wen picked it up. This Enchanted Rune Stone was less than half a finger thick and exceptionally light, barely registering any weight in his hand. Engraved on it was a symbol resembling the capital letter “B.” It was a runic character, which Li Wen recognized. It meant “birch,” and also carried the meanings of new life or growth.
Looking it over from all angles, Li Wen couldn’t find any clues to the “mysteries it contains” mentioned in the description. This wasn’t surprising. If she could easily unravel a mystery that the Cavendish family had been unable to solve for countless years, then all the Cavendish Dukes throughout history would have been useless.
It was best to hand it over to the Sorcery Anomalies Hand Association as soon as possible.
“But before that, I might as well take advantage of a little benefit…”
Li Wen took out the Shattered Eye of the Transcendent from his pocket. This item possessed extremely powerful and rare teleportation abilities and had helped her escape dangerous situations several times. However, due to its excessively long cooldown, it was still recharging since her last battle with the demon in Ark Town. Now that she had an item that could help with recharging, and the Eye of the Transcendent coincidentally didn’t exceed the “Rare” rarity, using it on that item seemed exceptionally fitting.
Of course, Li Wen’s other life-saving equipment, the Emerald Star Cloak, was similar, but since she would need the Eye of the Transcendent later, enchanting it was the most suitable choice.
Silently, Li Wen activated the Enchanted Rune Stone with his mana. After a flash of thin, invisible light, the Eye of the Transcendent regained its luster.
After confirming there were no issues, the girl placed the Enchanted Rune Stone back into the box. The cipher on the outside of the box had been broken, and Li Wen couldn’t restore it. Even if she could, she believed the guild leader of the Sorcery Anomalies Hand would see through it at a glance. Since she had already done so, she had no intention of hiding anything.
“The next thing is to head to the Sorcery Anomalies Hand Association, and then prepare to advance to Stage Two of the Path of Light Chasing.”
*
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in a maze of scorched houses and bodies strewn across the ground, the blonde girl still held her umbrella, even though not a single drop of water had fallen from the gloomy sky for a while.
She disliked this city, mainly because of the rain, and the pervasive, lingering gloom that enveloped the hearts of everyone in it.
Did the people living here constantly hear the city’s silent, heart-wrenching sobs and whimpers? Victoria couldn’t quite figure it out.
“But compared to the royal palace, even this sad atmosphere is bearable. You think so too, Lance.”
The fully armored knight responded only with silence. Such an attitude would undoubtedly provoke dissatisfaction in others, but Victoria didn’t mind. She was simply waiting patiently.
Before long, the cold, hard footsteps of leather military boots treading on dried blood approached from a distance, accompanied by a low, hoarse voice: “But if you were asked to abandon your identity and exchange lives with those common folk, I’m sure you wouldn’t agree, my dear little princess.”
“Of course not, Teacher Marshall.” The princess turned her head and saw the old soldier, wearing a military uniform and covered in scars, walking towards her. “After all, there are things I must do, and only I can do them. Until then, I won’t easily give up the name ‘Victoria’.”
“Then maintain your resolve. One day, it will become your strength,” the old soldier murmured.
“Ah, I forgot to congratulate you, teacher.” The blonde girl tilted her head, revealing a breathtaking smile. “Stage Five of the Wild Hunt Path, seems to be the Winter Envoy, right? No, that’s a normal class… Teacher is an Aberration Hunter. The abilities you gain are closely related to the Aberration blood used during your promotion. I wonder what kind of powerful and marvelous abilities you’ve obtained.”
“It’s a Frost Giant,” Marshall explained. He raised his hand, and ice crystals formed between his old, wrinkled skin, instantly dropping the surrounding temperature to freezing. “Unparalleled strength, the ability to control monsters, and the power of frost that can create blizzards and icebergs. Even if I claim to be the Winter Envoy, no one would doubt it.”
“Mmm, you’re always thinking ahead, teacher.” Victoria, feeling the cold, retracted her hands and nodded obediently.
“Of course, all of this is due to you, my dear Princess.” Marshall retracted his power, fearing that the frost might harm the girl, though he knew it was unlikely. “Without the contract and ritual you provided, I wouldn’t have reached this point when my Path had already been cut off.”
“We are just taking what we need. It’s all for our shared vision, isn’t it?” Victoria smiled faintly, clearly not wanting to dwell on the topic.
The old officer sighed, and a hint of regret tinged his tone. “It’s a pity I couldn’t help the princess obtain the Sage Ovum Sheath, which goes against Your Highness’s trust.”
“I don’t think so,” the blonde princess blinked her eyes. “Since my mother sent me to bring it back, it means this matter was impossible to complete from the start. She should know the whole truth. The so-called trial was just an excuse to get me away from the royal palace, heh.”
Marshall would never dare to say what Victoria did. He lowered his head, tried to clear his mind, and desperately attempted to cast aside the previous sentence from his thoughts.
After a while, he murmured, “What are your thoughts on that group, Princess?”
“Those people who call themselves ‘Players’?” The little princess lightly tapped her lips with her fair fingers, appearing to think, but her mind pictured the Witch with amber eyes beheading a giant Werewolf. “Hmm, a very interesting group of people. Chaotic, disordered, and full of potential. They seem born to make the world more chaotic. They would fit in seamlessly as enemies, as servants, or even as companions.”
