42
On the way out after the auction, nestled in my arms was a black box, ‘Roderick’s Riddle Box.’
Eungaye clicked her tongue.
“If it’s got nothing in it, why did you even buy it?”
“Just curious. Sometimes you want to open something like this. Maybe gain an ability.”
“Pfft, if it’s got nothing. Try making a wish after floating it in water, see what comes out.”
Seeing Eungaye’s more puzzled reaction than usual, I couldn’t help but ask.
“Wait, did you actually buy this?”
“······.”
…She fell for it.
As I looked at Eungaye avoiding eye contact in disbelief, I chuckled.
It was because I remembered the sight of Eungaye, hesitantly excited, floating the box and eagerly opening it.
“Well, you could buy one if you’re curious.”
“True, that’s a possibility.”
At the sudden change in attitude, I laughed again, making Eungaye frown.
“Anyway, don’t get your hopes up since it’s got nothing in it.”
“That’s exactly why I’m more intrigued.”
I want to open it right away to see what’s inside. But it’s a rule to open things like this at home. Nevertheless.
“Are you really going to consume that?”
Looking at the contents in the transparent vial held by Eungaye, I asked in astonishment.
Indeed, what Eungaye vehemently claimed to be ‘Awakening Potion’ was actually ‘Magic Stone.’
Well, it’s said that they refined it into ‘edible’ form so that it could be consumed at the Magician’s Guild, but since the concept of magic stones is inherently far from being edible, to the observer, it just looked like chewing on a rock.
The awakening potion consumed only by a tiny fraction of the maniac community was none other than the edible magic stone.
Why did they insist on the Magician’s Guild auction house? It was all for these reasons.
Edible magic stones were items that could not be obtained anywhere else but at the Magician’s Guild.
“Of course, you don’t just eat it as is. You grind it and sprinkle it on food to eat.”
“···Oh, I see.”
Honestly, I don’t understand.
What kind of gold dust is this? Grinding it to sprinkle and eat.
Cheon Woo-jin made a fuss about what he was eating, but this side was not any easier. If it enhances magic, he’s ready to chew on iron. As I nodded inwardly, my empty stomach growled.
“Let’s go eat. But do they have Korean food here?”
There was no need to hear the answer.
Because of the charming Korean signs densely packed in a medieval European castle-like building.
“Seriously, there’s no end to the surprises.”
What’s with Korean signs in a European castle? It’s absurd, yet seeing no sense of incongruity, I let out a wry smile as Eun Ga-ye spoke.
“Do you want Hanwoo beef?”
“If it’s expensive, let’s go.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Then let’s go, they’re pretty good here.”
I followed Eun Ga-ye as she led the way.
***
After getting meat from Eun Ga-ye and returning to the dormitory, it was past 11 p.m.
“It was a close call with curfew.”
If I had been just 5 minutes late, I would have had to sleep outside and come in. Eternity locks the doors after 11 p.m.
“······Oh, I’m dead.”
After running around the market on the first floor and overeating Hanwoo beef, I felt so bloated that I wanted to jump straight into bed.
Especially after the severe side effects of using the gram for warping.
Originally, with no magic, my body was not recognized for warping, but forcing it to be recognized with the gram was too much of a burden on my physical ‘4’ stamina.
Well, Hans Seul is diligently making medicine, so there’s nothing to worry about.
“······I should at least wash up.”
I headed straight to the shower with a zombie-like gait, and after washing up, I felt a bit more awake.
I changed into fresh clothes, sat on the bed, and opened my smartphone.
During that time, I had received 3 messages from Eun Ga-ye. In addition to the 8 messages I had read during the day.
“Where are you, come quickly, or I’ll die,” I scrolled down, ignoring the threatening messages.
[Thanks for looking at the runes today. (Emoji of a rabbit bowing its head)]
[And hurry up and come. I almost went thinking you weren’t coming.]
[Ah ㅋㅋ And by the way, if you open that sucker box, I’ll ask for a review.]
“No way.”
I looked at the ‘Roderick’s Riddle Box’ placed on the table.
“Something good better come out.”
The riddle box is a one-time limited box for players. Once it’s opened, that’s the end of it.
However, since the items coming out of the box had no expiration date, it was possible to have an unbelievably deceptive ability, but on the other hand, there could also be the ability to refuse even when given. That’s why the Riddle Box was also called the “Lotto Box.”
However, since the probability of getting something good was also like winning the lottery, there wasn’t really anything to expect.
When it came to the grades of abilities, only D to B-grade abilities came out, and to get anything higher, you literally had to win the lottery.
By the way, the ability I got from scratching the riddle box in the game was +2 Stamina.
At that time, I complained about how useless it was, but…
“Please just give me +2 Stamina.”
I was genuinely confident that I would gratefully accept just that.
If it was +2 Stamina, it was an enormous amount equivalent to half of the stamina I possessed.
Do I really have to beg like this, as if begging for water, as Eunga said?
“Hmm.”
Putting away unnecessary thoughts, I immediately opened the box.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding…
“…Huh?”
Like coins rolling, a continuous sound of coins spreading. Did this sound effect come from the Riddle Box? Hearing a long sound I had never heard before, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Is this also a difference from the game?”
The coin sound that seemed like it would continue endlessly finally stopped.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a limited gift, “The Dilemma of a Mortal.”]
Gift: “The Dilemma of a Mortal”
– A mortal who wanted to avoid death thought, “If I become one with a deity, maybe I won’t die?”
“…A gift? Really?”
Surprised, at the moment I widened my eyes, a sensation as if my whole body was burning engulfed me. No, it wasn’t a sensation. I was truly burning.
Whoosh!
A blue flame engulfing me, devouring my body. The room was quickly wrapped in flames.
It was a grand flame that seemed like it would melt away without leaving a trace.
Strangely, it wasn’t hot.
The flames didn’t spread to my school uniform, the desk, or the bed.
– aaah!
In an instant, a bird’s cry echoed in my ears. As I turned my head to the side, my eyes widened.
“…A bird?”
Above my burning shoulder, a small blue bird was standing, staring at me with curiosity.
As our eyes met, an alert window popped up.
Ding!
[Avian of Extinction. Encounter with a Phoenix.]
[Deity, the Phoenix, alights on Player Haesol Lee.]
[However, the Phoenix is currently dormant. To awaken the slumbering Phoenix, suitable nourishment is required.]
Whoosh…
The flames in the room were all sucked into the Phoenix. Subsequently, the fiery Phoenix seeped into my shoulder. Gradually, the pattern of a blue bird was engraved on my shoulder.
——–
Gift: “The Dilemma of a Mortal”
▶ Fusion with Deity
Phoenix
——–
“······Huh.”
As if wondering when it happened, the room was devoid of flames. Sitting on the bed, I absentmindedly opened my mouth.
I must have received an incredibly powerful gift, though I’m not sure what it is.
“Whose mortal concerns?”
It was a gift I had never heard of before.
In Eternity’s game, the number of abilities that exist is ‘infinite (∞)’. Abilities are randomly generated as long as they meet the system’s conditions, not limited to predetermined ones.
Especially with gifts from the riddle box, this was even more pronounced.
It was meant to align with the idea of providing players with an unknown ‘riddle’.
‘Whose mortal concerns’ fell into the same category. However, it was definitely not the D to B-grade gift I was expecting.
Phoenix. The divine being of immortality belonged to the top tier of the revival category.
Even though it was a fledgling, that Phoenix was now within me.
I had never heard of a divine being merging with a human body.
This went beyond the concept of merely parasitizing a human body as a ‘host’, it was a case of ‘fusion’.
It was an attempt to bring about the immortality of the Phoenix beyond mortality.
However, this attempt towards immortality was not complete.
▶ Fusion Divine Being
+ Phoenix
[Regeneration Count: 1/5]
Phoenix’s satiety: 0%
*To fill the regeneration count, you must feed Phoenix with high-quality food until it is satisfied.
When Phoenix’s satiety reaches 100%, the regeneration count increases.
Here, regeneration meant exactly what it said: the regeneration of the body. Phoenix symbolized regeneration.
“Filling that satiety must be quite a challenge.”
I had no idea what exactly the ‘high-quality food’ that Phoenix desired was.
I had no choice but to feed it various things to find out. I could only hope its taste wasn’t too picky.
Still, just having the regeneration count filled once was a huge advantage. Unlike others, my life was worth ‘2’, so to speak.
A gift as remarkable as this couldn’t possibly be just a D to B-grade. I cautiously opened the gift’s +window. The grade that came to mind.
▶ [Whose mortal concerns] Grade A
“I hit the jackpot for real······”
It was an A-grade, but what I had acquired was a Phoenix fledgling. This meant there was ample room for grade advancement in the future.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
***
······The Wednesday morning after visiting the black market.
“I devoured it all in the blink of an eye.”
Excluding one magical stone consumed in combining crimson elixirs, I had devoured all 23 magical stones in a single moment.
Of course, what I consumed was the ‘Phoenix.’
[Phoenix’s satiety: 0.01%]
“Can you fill this up?”
Embarrassed by the mere thought, I straightened my head in the neatly worn school uniform and left the room.
It was time to go to class.
***
“Hey, did you open it?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Eun-ga, who was nervously fidgeting in her seat, seemed to be hoping I’d be disappointed with the ‘sucker box’.
Unfortunately, it was quite the opposite.
“What came out of it?”
“A phoenix.”
“Pff! What? A, a phoenix?”
“Yeah.”
“So where is it then?”
“Inside me.”
Well, it got stuck in the pattern on my shoulder, so it must be inside me. Eun-ga, who couldn’t believe a word of it, pretended to laugh it off while holding her stomach, but then turned back to her seat at my lukewarm response.
Following her, with a sudden turn of the head, was the blonde-haired girl.
“You went to the black market?”
It was Amelia.
“Yeah, yesterday.”
“If you were going, you should’ve told me. I could have guided you well.”
Amelia, showing a hint of disappointment, changed the subject.
“By the way, have you decided who you’ll have your career counseling with?”
“Career counseling? Oh.”
Come to think of it, today was scheduled for external lecturers to come in.
It was under the guise of providing career counseling to students, but in reality, it was for ‘scouting purposes’.
The Holy See, Guardians of Dawn, Association of Extraordinary Beings, Association of Sorcerers, and so on…
High-ranking officials from prominent organizations were coming to provide one-on-one counseling to students.
The reason Amelia came to me was obvious.
She probably wanted counseling from their guild, the ‘Holy See’.
“Yeah, I’ve decided where I’ll go.”
“Where?”
Amelia looked expectant, her eyes sparkling.
“Guardians of Dawn.”
I disappointed her expectation.
Sorry, but I also need to consider the Guardians of Dawn.