Chapter 129

То bе hоnest, I didn’t just give аwау thе trеasure chеst fоr nothing.

What kind оf fool wоuld just givе it аwау?

Кhan had sаved the аdvеnturers оf Аilее’s Рartу from а near-dеаth situаtiоn.

He intеnded tо ask them for а fаvor in return, but honestlу, thаt alone felt a bit insuffiсiеnt.

‘People аrе inherentlу ficklе bу nаturе.’

Even though Ailеe, Kаrеl, аnd Drazeоn, hаving nаrrowly еscaрed death, werе nоw exрrеssing their grаtitude and shоuting thanks to Khаn, all thаt wоuld fade away in а few dауs.

Нow сould he mаkе this fеeling of grаtitude lаst lоngеr in thеir mеmoriеs?

‘Ву crеаting an event memorable enough for that purpose.’

That’s why Khan had nonchalantly given away the wooden chest obtained from defeating the Wolf King to the adventurers of Ailee’s Party.

Khan approached Ailee’s group.

“I’m really glad you got the item you wanted! Congratulations!”

“Thanks. By the way… there’s something else I’d like to ask of you.”

“Ah! Right, you mentioned earlier that you had a request for us. What is it? Whatever it is, if it’s something we can do, we’ll definitely help!”

Ailee shouted as if eager for him to ask something quickly.

“That’s right! For me, even if Sir Khan told me to smash my head on the ground and die here right now, I could do it! So please, just tell us what to do!”

“Haha, I can do anything except die.”

Honestly, the loot from the wooden chest was completely unnecessary for Khan.

At best, the Mana Efficiency Ring that Sharin got was somewhat useful, but even that wasn’t really needed.

He could get a better ring later anyway.

‘They’re all overflowing with loyalty.’

By giving away things he didn’t need, Khan had gained immense loyalty from three people.

“What I’m asking of you isn’t as difficult as you might think. However, it might take a bit of time. I’d like you to gather some materials for an item I want to craft.”

What Khan wanted were the materials needed to craft an item called the ‘Mana Reset Ring’.

The ‘Mana Reset Ring’ was a ring Khan wore until the very end while playing the Mage class in <Geo Arc>, and its performance alone deserved recognition.

‘The Mana Reset Ring doesn’t have options that increase Mana or anything, but it’s an absurdly overpowered ring that, once a day, completely restores all depleted Mana in one go.’

The recipe for the Mana Reset Ring originally had to be obtained separately, but as a veteran of <Geo Arc>, Khan had memorized all the required materials listed in the recipe.

“What kind of item are you talking about, Sir Khan?”

“It’s an item called the Mana Reset Ring.”

“The Mana Reset Ring…?”

“Yes. I know the recipe, so you just need to gather the materials I tell you. The timeframe… the sooner, the better, preferably. First, 100 scales of a Phantom Serpent and 100 blobs of Mana Slime mucus, the heart of a Spirit Wolf and 200 essences of an Ether Ghost……”

Khan listed the crafting materials for the Mana Reset Ring one by one from memory.

But strangely, Ailee’s expression listening to him looked a bit odd.

Then, Ailee cautiously interrupted Khan and spoke up.

“Um, by any chance… is the ring you’re talking about this one?”

“……!”

Khan was surprised by the ring Ailee presented, but thanks to the ‘Sage’s Heart’, it didn’t show on his face.

‘Why does she have this?’

The Mana Reset Ring was an incredibly rare item unless one knew the recipe.

Moreover, gathering the materials required hunting Monsters day and night for a month, making just obtaining the materials a very difficult task.

“How do you have this?”

“Ah… actually, I’m a Mage from the Indigo Magic Tower. I sort of ended up getting it at the Indigo Magic Tower…”

Seeing that she didn’t explain in detail, it seemed there was some unspoken circumstance.

“…I see.”

Part of him wanted to just take Ailee’s Mana Reset Ring, but that wouldn’t be right.

‘No matter what, taking it isn’t the way.’

Anyway, if the adventurers of Ailee’s Party worked hard for about a month to bring the materials, making a Mana Reset Ring would be possible.

He wouldn’t even need to go to a separate Blacksmith or Alchemist with the materials; Khan could easily craft it himself by imbuing a bit of Mana.

Still, if he could get the Mana Reset Ring right now, his chances of winning the upcoming Underground Arena Tournament starting in a few days would increase.

‘No, if I get the Mana Reset Ring right now… it’s practically a guaranteed win.’

Ailee, who had been observing Khan’s reaction, spoke up again.

“I knew this ring was a really good ring… but Sir Khan, can you make a ring like mine?”

“Yes, of course it’s possible if I have the materials.”

“And you need this ring?”

“Yes.”

If Khan had known Ailee possessed the Mana Reset Ring, he would have simply asked for it as a condition for saving their lives from the start.

‘I thought it was just an ordinary Mana-related ring, who would have guessed it was the Mana Reset Ring…’

It was regrettable, but it was already in the past, so nothing could be done.

“Then, I’ll lend you mine for now…! We’ll gather all the materials you mentioned later, so please make a new one then and return it!”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course! Actually, I should just give it to you… but this is a ring I truly cherish. So when I bring the materials, please return this ring to me then! For now, I’ll lend it to you.”

“Alright. Understood. First, write down the materials.”

Khan continued listing the materials needed to craft the Mana Reset Ring.

Ailee took out a notebook from her Spatial Pocket and wrote them down.

“Wow, but it needs a lot of materials. Actually, this ring is a keepsake from my late mother.”

“Was your mother also from the Indigo Magic Tower?”

“Yes, I can’t go into details… but my mother passed away after getting caught up in factional strife within the Indigo Magic Tower.”

“I see…”

Usually, there are two or three factions within a Magic Tower, and the competition between them is fierce, with emotions running high, often leading to deaths.

As the atmosphere grew heavy, Khan quickly spoke up again.

“Anyway, I’ll borrow this ring for a while and use it well. Since it’s your mother’s keepsake, I’ll use it carefully.”

“Ah… no! You can use it comfortably!”

Khan took the ring Ailee handed over and immediately checked it.

[Item: Mana Reset Ring]

• Item Rank: Rare

• Level Restriction: 30

• Mana: X

• Mana Control: X

• Item Description: When the item is equipped, once per day, all Mana used can be fully recovered.

Upon checking the Mana Reset Ring’s information, it was identical to what Khan knew.

‘Its Item Rank is only Rare, and it doesn’t increase Mana or Mana Control at all, but its performance alone is outstanding.’

In the case of rings, up to five can be worn.

As one’s Level increases and better rings are obtained later, the worn rings need to be replaced.

However, even when Khan obtained rings of much higher ranks than Unique Rank while playing <Geo Arc>, he wore this Rare Rank Mana Reset Ring until the very end.

‘No matter how high the rank of a ring, it can’t be better than this.’

Moreover, the reason this Mana Reset Ring is overpowered is that its efficiency increases even more as the wearer’s Level and Mana rise.

For example, Khan’s Mana is currently around ten thousand. If he uses all his Mana and then uses the Mana Reset Ring, he recovers ten thousand Mana.

But what if Khan’s Mana were one hundred thousand? Or far beyond that, one million?

Then he would recover one million Mana at once.

‘This is what you’d call an endgame item I’ll carry until the very end.’

By obtaining this Mana Reset Ring now, Khan’s effective Mana pool had essentially doubled.

“Anyway, gather all the materials and come find me. Roughly how long do you think it will take?”

“Hmm… fortunately, they’re all Monsters we can hunt, so I think it’ll take about 4 weeks?”

“4 weeks, hmm…”

Khan also needed to continue adventuring, so staying in Erindel for 4 weeks was impossible.

‘Wait a minute… these guys are members of the Adventurer’s Association, right?’

Then he remembered that Ailee’s Party belonged to the Adventurer’s Association.

The Adventurer’s Association was originally a guild that didn’t exist when Khan played <Geo Arc>.

Moreover, it was said to be the Adventurer’s Association that even changed the name of what was originally called a ‘Dungeon’ to ‘Gate’.

‘The changed worldview was all because of the Adventurer’s Association. I had been thinking of going there someday anyway.’

The Adventurer’s Association was definitely said to be in Arcana.

According to Rio, whom he had met at a Gate before, Arcana was a quite developed city.

‘In this world now, Arcana might be the center of the kingdom.’

Moreover, there seemed to be quite a big problem with the Kingdom of Sinsiniel itself that Khan wasn’t aware of.

He had never seen a Kingdom Knight Order or Kingdom Mage until now, and according to Rio’s story, the kingdom was collapsing.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Khan spoke to Ailee.

“Ailee, so the place you’re settled in is Arcana?”

“Huh? How did you know?”

“I heard that adventurers usually settle a lot in Arcana.”

“That’s right. Actually, not just adventurers, but even Mages and Knights from the kingdom are all gathering in Arcana these days.”

“Kingdom Mages and Knights are gathering?”

“Yes, rumors say the kingdom is collapsing. I don’t know the details though…”

“I understand for now. Then let’s meet in Arcana exactly one month from now.”

“Huh? You’ll come yourself?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry about this…”

“It’s fine. Let’s stop talking now. Let’s head back, Sharin.”

Khan cut off Ailee’s words and told Sharin they should head back.

The Gate leading outside had opened at some point.

Khan and Sharin threw themselves into the Gate without hesitation.

Now it was time to go clear the Quest.