Former Ranker's Newbie Life

Chapter 123

The turmoil of the day finally passed, and night settled over the village. After wrapping up his meeting with the chieftain, Do-Jin sat in the small lodging the villagers had offered him.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged dwarf sat opposite him, his face swollen and purple with bruises, half-drunk and sniffling into his mug. “I don’t even know how to thank you, kid...”

God, kill me now, Do-Jin thought.

He should’ve kicked the bastard out the moment he showed up with a bottle in hand. Apparently, Maglo had been drinking with the other dwarves to celebrate and decided to drop by because he’d suddenly “thought of him.” He really should’ve just stayed and drank there.

Do-Jin wanted to sleep early. The chieftain had promised to show him Silvermoon’s treasury at dawn, and the sooner he slept, the sooner he’d get this over with.

“Hey, you’re drunk as hell, aren’t you?” Do-Jin asked Maglo.

“I’m not drunk, dammit! You think a dwarf gets wasted off this weak crap?”

“You’re definitely drunk.”

“I... I told everyone in the tavern what a good, handsome bastard you are, you know that? Hours, kid. I went on for hours!”

Do-Jin stopped responding. Either he wasn’t listening, or he just couldn’t anymore.

“You’re my brother now! You hear me? My life’s yours, kid! If you want it, I’ll fucking hand it over!” Maglo shouted, then conked out on the table.

“I don’t want that shit, old man...” A drunken dwarf’s fiery declaration of brotherhood wasn’t exactly the kind of treasure Do-Jin was looking for in this life, or any of them.

[You have formed a bond with Maglo Lloyd, the “Prodigal Son of Steelpeak.”]

[Maglo Lloyd’s Affection level has increased to 70.]

Apparently, the system had already accepted the sentiment, whether he liked it or not.

***

The next morning, Do-Jin followed Chief Murr Aigg to the vault. The place was hidden deep within the dwarves’ underground caverns, so far back that no one could’ve found it without being shown the way.

“This is the vault we built,” Murr said. “We made it for storage, to keep our finest work safe. But once that bastard Rockel found out about it, he started using it as his personal stash, keeping his precious box here like it was some holy relic.”

“Did you say Rockel kept his box here?” Do-Jin asked.

Murr nodded and pulled out two keys, one large and one smaller. “The big one opens the vault. The small one we found on Rockel’s corpse. Given how much he doted on that box, I’d bet it’s the key to it. He used to polish the damn thing like it was his lover. Must’ve kept something valuable inside.”

“You’re really fine with me taking this?”

“The Steelpeak Dwarves don’t forget their debts,” Murr said, his deep voice steady. “We’ll remember you as a friend for life. What’s in there is both our thanks and our respect.”

[Achievement Unlocked: Hero of Steelpeak]

[Reward: All Stats +3]

[You have become a Friend of the Steelpeak Dwarves.]

[The Steelpeak Dwarves will now revere you as a hero.]

[Your reputation with the Steelpeak Dwarf tribe has greatly increased.]

The notifications rolled across Do-Jin’s vision. He hadn’t just built a personal relationship, but a reputation with an entire faction.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked again.

“Of course. Take the whole vault if you want. I’ve got work to do back in the village,” Murr said and strode off.

Now alone, Do-Jin looked at the massive structure before him. It was three times larger than any standard storage container, more like a small building than a chest. He took a step forward and unlocked it.

The inside was practically empty. All that remained at the center was a single leather pouch and a black box. If he hadn’t taken down Rockel, those two items wouldn’t even exist. They were the rewards for his Fate Quest. Do-Jin picked up the leather pouch first.

[You have received 25,000 Gold as a combined quest reward.]

That was a massive payout. Of course, it was two quests’ worth of gold, the Fate Quest and a hidden one combined. For all his trouble, though, it was definitely justified.

Still, the main prize isn’t the gold...

It was obviously the black box. With its strange design, it practically screamed spatial container. He took Rockel’s smaller key and unlocked it.

[The Box of Desires has been opened.]

[The Scales of Desire peer into your longing.]

Do-Jin’s assumption that it was a subspace for items turned out to be wrong. Or rather, it might have been true once. It could have originally been the kind of storage Rockel used to stash his hoarded treasures. Now, as a reward for the Fate Quest, the black box had been transformed into something that granted whatever type of reward the opener needed most.

[The Scales of Desire are adjusting the value of your reward.]

[The reward has been determined.]

A swirl of black energy gathered around Do-Jin’s hand, or rather, around the gauntlet he wore.

[The Power of Fate weakens the seal on the Sealed Rune Gauntlet.]

[The Sealed Rune Gauntlet has been renamed to Weakened Rune Gauntlet.]

[Weakened Rune Gauntlet]

Grade: Relic

Requirements: None

A gauntlet engraved with ancient runes. Its seals have weakened, allowing a fraction of its original power to return. The remaining seals must be undone to unleash its full potential.

+200 Magic Attack

+200 Physical Defense

+200 Magic Defense

Active Runes: Ultimate Rune, Destruction Rune

Do-Jin’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”

He had long since written off the Rune Gauntlet, whose seal even the Grimoire of Truth couldn’t break, as untouchable. Now that it finally loosened, he immediately checked the newly unlocked rune’s details.

[Destruction Ruin]

Converts all physical and magical damage dealt to the enemy into energy, which is stored within the Rune Gauntlet.

The stored energy can then be released to infuse the wearer’s attacks with destructive power.

“Holy fuck.” The words slipped out before he could stop them. Do-Jin stared at the text for a moment, then let out a slow breath.

It wasn’t just the doubled stats. The new Destruction Rune was insane, allowing him to stockpile all the damage he dealt and unleash it in a single devastating strike. For a mage built entirely around offense, that kind of charge-and-release ability was flat-out broken.

Alright... let’s call everything up to this point the reward from the Fate Quest for killing Rockel.

Next up was the legacy Silvermoon had left behind. The vault was completely empty now. Other than the leather pouch and the black box he had just opened, there was nothing left. However, Do-Jin had learned his lesson from before.

“There’s no way that’s it... Grimoire of Truth.”

But nothing happened. Even when he used Silent Night, the result was the same.

“It’s well hidden, I see,” he muttered, scanning the silent chamber.

Then it clicked. Oh right, there was a map.

This wasn’t just any map, but a magical one that made sense as a trigger. He opened his inventory and pulled out the Map of Secret Base of the Abandoned Land he’d looted earlier. Soon after, the parchment began to vibrate, then crumbled into dust. The vault shuddered in response.

“So it wasn’t sealed magic, but unfinished magic,” he realized.

The map had been the missing piece, the punctuation mark that completed the spell hidden inside the vault. The air distorted. Space stretched and rippled until the chamber around him transformed into something new. When the motion stopped, Do-Jin found himself standing in what looked like a massive museum.

He glanced around, taking it all in. I guess these are the treasures Silvermoon supposedly stole.

Each exhibit and artifact that filled the hall was famous in its own right.

“The Spear of Agetra. The Coffin of Kata. The Saint’s Letter,” he muttered.

They were all artifacts of immense value, but there was one problem. All of these were supposedly returned. Which means these are fakes.

He reached out to touch one, and as expected, his hand passed right through it. Everything here was an illusion.

“You didn’t go through all this just to show me some projections. You might as well come out already.” Do-Jin spoke toward the empty air.

He knew Silvermoon too well. The man had left fragments of himself even in that dungeon beneath the well. There was no way he hadn’t done the same here, at the end of his grand treasure hunt.

“You’ve got a good eye for a junior,” a playful voice said. Then, a man in a silver mask stepped out from behind a floating portrait.

“Silvermoon,” Do-Jin said.

“A memory of him, to be exact. This is a thought-form born from accumulated recollections.”

“I truly don’t care what you are. I’m not here for a history lesson, and I couldn’t care less about your illusion-filled exhibit. I came for what’s mine.” Do-Jin pulled out a fragment of the engraved schematic from his inventory.

Silvermoon sighed behind the mask. “Of all people, the one to pass my test and make it here had to be an impatient junior. I suppose that’s my fault for designing the test to prioritize skill over character.”

“Yeah, you’re the last person who should be lecturing me about character.”

“Come on. Even the most entertaining game needs an ending, doesn’t it? Now, why don’t you follow me this way?”

Do-Jin followed him up the stairs. As they ascended, the first floor vanished, replaced by another space identical to the previous one, except this time, only one item was on display. A single book was floating in the center of the room, and Silvermoon gestured dramatically toward it like a stage actor.

“I devoted my life to leaving my mark on things of value. Even a brief touch, a momentary borrowing, left my name on them forever.”

Do-Jin moved to grab the book, but a transparent barrier stopped him. “You’re out of your damn mind.”

This crazy bastard really built a wall just to monologue...

“I am,” Silvermoon said with a chuckle. “But what can I say? When I see something beautiful, I can’t help but leave my art on it. Steal it elegantly, return it tenderly. That act itself was my art.”

Do-Jin stared, unimpressed.

“But one day, I realized something...” Silvermoon continued. “I’d left my mark on great works, yes, but they were still the creations of others. I was just a parasite on their genius. So I decided to create something truly mine.”

“Could you skip to the damn point?”

“I abandoned the artist and returned to the mage I once was, to create my own masterpiece. And I did.” He stretched out his hand. The book floating in the air shot toward him, landing neatly in his grip. He held it up to show Do-Jin the cover.

[Unique Magic System: Psychokinetic Artistry Chapter]

“This,” he said, his voice brimming with pride, “is the culmination of everything that made me a magician and the world’s greatest thief and treasure hunter. A complete codex of my art, my Psychokinetic Artistry Chapter.” He tilted his head, eyes gleaming behind the mask. “So, my impatient junior, is this treasure enough for you?”