The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: The Mysterious Artifact

They had been hunting for quite some time.

The D-rank dungeon was considerably more dangerous than the E-rank dungeon they had entered the previous day, but for Ares, the difference was barely noticeable.

Most of the creatures inside had been defeated before they could even properly react.

Ji Won, meanwhile, had spent most of the time carrying the luggage and collecting the magic stones Ares left behind.

By the time they decided to return, he was staring at the small bag in his hands with an expression of disbelief.

"This is unbelievable."

Ares glanced at him.

"What?"

Ji Won opened the bag and counted the stones again.

"How many magic stones do we have now?"

"Twelve Giant Ants and eleven Dire Wolves."

Ji Won stared at him.

"Twelve Giant Ants and eleven Dire Wolves..."

He looked down at the stones again.

The magic stones from the Giant Ants were slightly larger than the ones they had collected from Goblins the previous day. Their surfaces were a dull amber color with faint brown lines running through them, while the Dire Wolf magic stones were larger still, possessing a dark blue-gray color that seemed almost black under certain angles of light.

Unlike Goblin stones, which were small and relatively easy to distinguish by their dull green color, the stones from D-rank creatures contained considerably more concentrated mana.

Ji Won shook his head.

"Even if you’re a Martial Artist, there’s no way someone should be this strong."

Ares raised an eyebrow.

"Is that unusual?"

"Of course it is."

Ji Won looked at him as though he still couldn’t understand what he was seeing.

"Normally, a group would need at least two E-rank Awakeners working together to deal with weaker creatures in a D-rank dungeon, and for the stronger monsters, you’d usually want five or more D-rank Awakeners."

He pointed toward the dungeon behind them.

"D-rank dungeons are extremely dangerous for low-rank Awakeners. That’s why the guilds allow people to hunt inside them for money, but they also monitor the dungeon closely."

"What happens if things become dangerous?"

"If the dungeon starts approaching a critical state, the guild sends a larger party inside to clear the monsters before the dungeon becomes unstable."

Ji Won sighed.

"That’s why these places are good for making money, but they’re also dangerous enough that one mistake can get someone killed."

Ares nodded.

"I see."

He glanced at the bag.

"More importantly, how much can we earn from these?"

Ji Won immediately became interested.

"Giant Ant magic stones usually sell for around ten thousand won each."

"Really? that’s quite a lot, what about the Dire Wolves?"

"About eleven thousand won each."

Ares considered the numbers.

"That’s quite a lot compared to Goblins."

"Yes."

Ji Won nodded.

"D-rank monsters are much more dangerous, so their magic stones are worth more. The stronger the monster, the more concentrated the mana inside its magic stone."

He looked at Ares again.

"Although..."

"What?"

"I honestly don’t know what to make of you."

Ji Won scratched his cheek.

"Are you perhaps a secret B-rank Awakener?"

Ares smiled faintly.

"Probably."

"You’re not even denying it?"

"I don’t see a reason to."

Ji Won laughed awkwardly.

"You’re really strange, Tae Ho."

The two eventually left the dungeon.

After returning to the city, they headed toward the Awakener equipment shop where Ji Won had previously sold their magic stones.

The moment they entered, the woman working behind the counter looked up.

Her expression immediately changed when she saw Ji Won.

"Oh."

She blinked.

"Ji Won?"

Ji Won smiled awkwardly.

"Hello."

She looked at him for several seconds.

"You’re back already?"

"Yeah."

"Did you actually find something this time?"

Ji Won placed the bag on the counter.

"Something like that."

The woman opened it.

Then froze.

"...What?"

She looked inside again.

"Twelve Giant Ant magic stones?"

Ji Won nodded.

"And eleven Dire Wolf stones."

The woman looked at Ji Won.

Then at the bag.

Then back at Ji Won.

"Are you sure these are yours?"

Ji Won laughed nervously.

"Of course."

"You normally bring me two or three stones..."

She picked up one of the larger stones.

"And half the time, they’re damaged enough that I have to lower the price."

Ji Won scratched the back of his head.

"Ahahaha..."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"What happened?"

Ji Won immediately pointed toward Ares.

"Ah, I don’t really do much. It’s all thanks to Tae Ho here."

The woman turned toward Ares.

She looked him up and down.

Then back at Ji Won.

"You?"

Ares nodded.

The woman seemed even more confused.

"Well..."

She sighed and began processing the stones.

"Let’s see."

She counted them carefully before entering the information into the system.

"Twelve Giant Ant magic stones..."

Her fingers moved across the keyboard.

"That’s one hundred and twenty thousand won."

She continued.

"Eleven Dire Wolf magic stones..."

Another calculation.

"That’s one hundred and twenty-one thousand won."

She looked at the final amount.

"Your total is two hundred and forty-one thousand won."

Ji Won’s eyes widened.

"Two hundred and forty-one thousand?"

The woman nodded.

"Yes."

Ji Won looked at Ares.

"That’s more than I expected."

Ares remained calm.

The woman completed the transaction.

"Here."

She handed the payment over.

"Come back anytime."

Ji Won accepted it.

"Thank you."

As they left the shop, Ji Won continued looking at the money in his hands.

"This is already more than I usually make from several hunts."

---

Later that evening, the two stopped at a small restaurant.

The place wasn’t particularly fancy, but it was warm, quiet, and inexpensive enough that neither of them had any reason to complain.

After ordering their food, Ji Won looked across the table at Ares.

"Are you really okay with partying with me, Tae Ho?"

Ares looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"As you can see, I can’t really help you during the hunt."

Ji Won gave an embarrassed smile.

"You’re the one doing almost everything."

Ares shook his head.

"Don’t worry too much about it."

He picked up his chopsticks.

"I’m staying at your place, aren’t I?"

Ji Won blinked.

"That’s not what i mean?"

"It’s only right that I repay you somehow."

Ares looked at him calmly.

"If it weren’t for you, I would’ve had a much harder time after arriving here."

Ji Won smiled.

"Then I suppose we’re even."

Ares didn’t answer.

Ares looked at the rings for a moment.

Draven has plenty of relics and artifacts.

He probably wouldn’t care if I gave one away.

His thoughts shifted.

Besides, Ji Won has been helping me.

Ares looked toward him.

"By the way, do magical artifacts exist in this world?"

Ji Won immediately nodded.

"Yeah."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"But they’re extremely expensive."

"How expensive?"

"I’ve seen some before."

Ji Won shook his head.

"Even the lowest-grade magical artifacts can cost around two hundred and fifty million won."

Ares raised an eyebrow.

"That expensive?"

"Of course."

Ji Won began explaining.

"Artifacts aren’t something ordinary people can make. Most of them are recovered from high-rank dungeons or created from materials taken from powerful monsters."

He paused.

"The stronger the monster, the better the material. Some high-rank monsters possess special abilities that remain within their bodies even after death, and those materials can be turned into weapons, armor, accessories, and other artifacts."

"So they’re rare."

"Extremely rare."

Ji Won nodded.

"That’s why even a low-grade artifact can cost hundreds of millions of won. The stronger ones can cost billions, and some aren’t even available on the normal market."

Ares nodded.

"I see."

He raised one hand.

A ring appeared between his fingers.

Ji Won froze.

"W-where did that come from?"

He stared at the ring.

"Spatial magic?"

Ares held it between two fingers.

The ring was simple in appearance, with a dark crimson surface and a faint pattern running around its outer edge.

"Here."

Ares extended it toward him.

"This is called the Crimson Oath Ring."

Ji Won stared at it.

"A magical artifact?"

"Yes."

"You’ll understand its effects once you wear it."

Ji Won didn’t take it immediately.

His expression became serious.

"I can’t accept this."

Ares looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because something like this is worth more money than I’ll probably ever see in my entire life."

Ji Won shook his head.

"Even if I hunted every day for the rest of my life, there’s no way I’d be able to repay you for it."

"It’s fine."

Ares remained calm.

"Consider it a gift."

Ji Won still hesitated.

"No."

He pushed the ring back slightly.

"Seriously, Tae Ho. You’ve already done more than enough for me."

Ares looked at the ring.

Then at Ji Won.

"That’s unfortunate."

Ji Won blinked.

"If you don’t want it, I’ll just give it to another Awakener."

Ares smiled.

Ji Won’s expression immediately changed.

"Wait."

Ares raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Ji Won stared at the ring.

"You’d really give it to someone else?"

"Why not?"

"Then..."

Ji Won hesitated.

He looked at the ring again.

Then sighed.

"Fine."

He slowly reached for it.

"But I’ll pay you back."

Ares smiled.

"You don’t have to."

"I mean it."

Ji Won’s expression became determined.

"I’ll work hard. I’ll hunt, save money, and eventually repay you somehow."

Ares shook his head.

"Don’t worry about it."

He pushed the ring toward him.

"Now wear it."

Ji Won stared at the artifact for another few seconds.

Then he carefully placed the Crimson Oath Ring around his finger.

Nothing happened at first.

Only a faint crimson glow that lasted for less than a second before disappearing completely.

Ji Won looked at the ring.

Then his expression changed.

His eyes widened.

His body suddenly stiffened.

"W-what..."

Ares watched him carefully.

Ji Won’s breathing became heavier.

Something was surging through his body.

It wasn’t painful.

It was overwhelming.

Power flowed through his muscles, his limbs, and even his mana pathways, filling his body with a strength he had never experienced before.

His senses became sharper.

His breathing became easier.

Even the mana inside his body felt completely different.

Ji Won stared at his hands.

"This..."

He clenched his fist.

The air around his fingers trembled slightly.

"What just happened...?"

Ares smiled faintly.

"Seems like it works."

Ji Won looked at him.

"Do you feel it?"

"Y-yes."

He swallowed.

"It feels like everything inside me has changed."

He looked down at his body.

"I feel stronger."

Ares nodded.

"Good."

Ji Won looked at the ring again.

"Are you really giving this to me?"

"Yes."

"What about you?"

Ares shook his head.

"I don’t need it."

Ji Won stared at him.

"You don’t?"

"No."

Ares smiled.

"You’ll make better use of it."

Ji Won remained silent for a moment.

"Then let’s test it tomorrow."

"At the dungeon?"

"Yes."

Ji Won nodded.

"Alright."

Ares leaned back in his chair.

The Crimson Oath Ring had been one of Draven’s gifts.

Considering Ares’ current strength, an artifact of this level was almost insignificant to him.

Still, it had been a precious gift.

And now it had found someone who could actually make use of it.

Ares glanced toward Ji Won.

For the first time since arriving in this world, the young Awakener seemed to have gained something that could genuinely change his future.

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