Chapter 4: The Silver Key and the First Whispers (Part 1)
Location: The Hay Loft, Royal Arken Stables.
Time: Late Afternoon.
Current State: Exhausted (Mana Depletion).
The loft was quiet, save for the rhythmic cooing of pigeons nesting in the rafters. Dust motes danced in the shafts of orange sunlight cutting through the gaps in the roof.
Ren sat cross-legged in the center of his hidden nest. He had pulled the ladder up. If anyone wanted to come up, they would have to climb the wooden post, giving him ample warning.
His heart was beating against his ribs like a trapped bird.
A Silver Chest, he thought. The probability of a Silver Chest dropping from a hidden quest is less than 0.05% according to the Manual's footnotes. I have struck gold in a pile of manure.
He closed his eyes.
"Enter Archive."
The world dissolved. The smell of hay was replaced by the smell of ozone and parchment. The infinite shelves of the Bibliotheca of Infinity stretched out before him.
Ren stood on the obsidian floor. But this time, the environment had changed slightly.
Previously, the library was dead silent. Now, there was a faint, low hum—the sound of the 55 Mana points he had unlocked circulating through the structure. It wasn't much, but it was the difference between a tomb and a sleeping machine.
Floating in front of him, on a pedestal made of white marble, sat the chest.
It was exquisite. Unlike the rusty wooden box he had opened first, this one was crafted from polished silver. Engraved on the lid were intricate carvings of vines that looked like they were strangling each other. The lock was shaped like a weeping skull.
[ Item: Silver Pandora Chest (Type: Greed) ]
[ Origin: The 4th Hidden Continent - The Golden Hells of Mammon. ]
[ Description: A chest containing treasures stolen from the hoard of the Demon King of Greed. ]
[ Warning: Opening high-tier chests releases trace amounts of Miasma. Prepare mental defenses. ]
Ren stiffened. Greed. Mammon.
The names meant nothing to the general public of Oakhaven. They knew of the "Demon Lord" in fairytales, but specific names like Mammon were lost knowledge. Yet, here they were, categorized in his library.
"The world is bigger than the map shows," Ren whispered.
He reached out. His hand trembled slightly.
He flipped the latch.
CLICK.
The skull on the lock opened its mouth. A hiss of yellow gas—Miasma—escaped.
Ren held his breath, stepping back. The gas dissipated into the grey mist of the library, neutralized by the Archive's defenses.
[ Miasma Neutralized by Archive Protocols. ]
[ Opening... ]
The lid swung open. A brilliant, golden light flooded the library, blinding him for a moment.
[ Congratulations! ]
[ You have obtained: ]
1. [ Artifact: Ring of the False Null (Grade: C) ]
2. [ Skill Book: Dagger Art - 'Viper's Strike' (Rank E) ]
3. [ Consumable: Drop of the Golden Lake (Elixir) ]
4. [ Lore Fragment: Diary of the 4th Keeper (Page 12) ]
Ren stared at the floating items.
"Grade C Artifact..."
In this world, artifacts were graded F to S. A C-Grade artifact was something a Knight Captain or a wealthy merchant would kill for. And he had one at Level 1.
He grabbed the ring first. It was a simple band of dull iron, unadorned.
[ Ring of the False Null ]
[ Effect 1: Hides the user's Mana Core from external scans. To the outside world, you appear as a 'Null' or a civilian. ]
[ Effect 2: Mana Regeneration +10% ]
[ Restriction: Cannot hide mana while actively casting high-tier spells. ]
"Perfect," Ren breathed.
This was exactly what he needed. If the Duke or the Mage found out he had unlocked his core, they would either drag him back to the experiments or kill him as an anomaly. This ring was his life insurance.
He slipped it onto his finger. It shrank instantly to fit his small, malnourished hand, then turned invisible.
Next, the Skill Book.
[ Viper's Strike ]
[ Type: Dagger / Unarmed ]
[ Description: A sudden, accelerating thrust targeting vital points. Deals 200% damage if hitting a weak point. ]
[ Cost: 10 Mana. ]
Ren crushed the book. The knowledge flowed into his brain—muscle memory of stance, grip, and the specific burst of speed needed to pierce a throat.
Then, the Elixir. A tiny vial containing a single drop of gold liquid.
[ Drop of the Golden Lake ]
[ Effect: Permanently increases Mana Capacity by +100. ]
[ Effect: Cleanses impurities from the body (Painful). ]
Ren hesitated. Painful.
He looked at the time in the real world. The sun was setting. The stable hands would be leaving for dinner soon. He would be alone in the loft until morning.
"Now is the best time," Ren decided.
He grabbed the vial.
Finally, the Lore Fragment. A jagged piece of parchment.
Text:
"They call it a myth. They say the Continent of Gold sank beneath the ocean a thousand years ago. Fools. It didn't sink. It was folded. The space itself was folded by the Constellation 'The Hoarding Serpent'. I have seen the edges of the fold near the Shattered Coast. The sky there tastes like copper. If you listen closely, you can hear the coins screaming."
— Keeper Solas, Year 402.
Ren frowned. Folded space. Constellations.
The world building was terrifying. The continents weren't just "hidden" by fog; they were dimensionally sealed by god-like entities.
"One mystery at a time," Ren told himself.
He exited the Archive.
Back in the loft, the light was fading to a deep purple.
Ren took a deep breath. He held the Drop of the Golden Lake in his hand.
"Bottoms up," he whispered.
He swallowed the drop.
It didn't taste like gold. It tasted like molten lava.
"Gah!"
Ren clamped his hand over his mouth to stifle the scream.
Fire rushed through his veins. It felt like his blood was boiling. He fell onto his side, curling into a fetal position in the hay. His skin turned red, steam rising from his pores.
[ System Alert ]
[ Impurity Cleansing Initiated. ]
[ Warning: Pain threshold exceeded. ]
Ren convulsed. Black sludge began to ooze from his pores—the accumulated toxins of twelve years of malnutrition, bad water, and slum sickness. The elixir was burning it all away, rebuilding his meridians, widening his mana channels.
He bit down on his leather tunic sleeve to keep from screaming. Tears leaked from his eyes, but he didn't pass out. He refused to pass out.
Endure, he chanted in his mind. Pain is temporary. Power is eternal.
The process lasted for an hour. It felt like a century.
When it finally stopped, Ren lay panting in a pool of sweat and foul-smelling black tar.
He felt... light.
Incredibly light.
He sat up. The chronic ache in his joints was gone. The heaviness in his chest was gone. The world seemed brighter, the sounds sharper.
He checked his status.
[ Name: Ren Arken ]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Mana: 155 / 155 ]
[ Mana Regeneration: Increased ]
He had tripled his mana pool in one second.
"Worth it," Ren rasped, his throat dry.
He used the last of the water in his bucket to wash the black sludge off his skin. Underneath, his skin was still pale, but it looked healthier, tougher.
He felt a rumble in his stomach. A ferocious hunger.
"I need food. Real food."
He put on his tunic. He looked at his hand. The invisible ring hummed.
He climbed down the ladder.
The stables were quiet. Most of the hands were in the mess hall or the barracks. The horses were dozing.
Ren walked past Stall 44. The Abyssal Warhorse was standing there, its leg bandaged (likely by the farrier who had arrived late).
When the horse saw Ren, it didn't bare its teeth. It let out a soft, low whinny.
Ren paused. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the last crumb of the jerky. He tossed it to the horse.
"Rest," Ren said. "We both need it."
He slipped out into the cool night air.
He headed not for the servant's mess, but for the Waste Disposal behind the Main Kitchens.
He knew the routine. The nobles dined on feasts. The leftovers—huge cuts of roast beef, half-eaten pheasants, untouched loaves of white bread—were thrown out for the pigs or the dogs.
Ren wasn't above eating dog food. Not if it gave him the calories to level up.
He moved through the shadows. Viper's Strike wasn't just an attack; the knowledge came with footwork. He walked silently, rolling his feet from heel to toe, making no sound on the gravel.
He reached the back of the kitchens. The smell of roasted garlic and rosemary was intoxicating.
Two maids were standing by the back door, smoking pipes and gossiping. Ren hid behind a stack of crates, waiting for them to leave.
"Did you hear?" one maid whispered. "About the stable boy?"
"The Null?" the other laughed. "Yeah. Gable was ranting about it. Said the boy used black magic to calm the beast."
"Black magic? A Null?"
"That's what makes it scary. Alfred is furious. He thinks the boy is hiding something. I heard Caelum smashed a vase when he found out the horse didn't kill him."
"Shh! Don't say the Young Master's name so loud."
"Anyway, Alfred said he's going to put the boy on 'Night Watch' starting tomorrow."
Ren's eyes narrowed in the dark.
Night Watch.
That wasn't a job. That was a death sentence. The Night Watch patrolled the perimeter of the estate, near the Dark Forest. Wolves, goblins, and stray monsters frequently tested the fence line. Usually, armed guards did it. Sending an unarmed stable boy was just a complicated way of executing him.
"They are accelerating the timeline," Ren analyzed. "Caelum is impatient."
The maids finished their smoke and went back inside.
Ren moved.
He darted to the waste bin. He found a half-eaten leg of lamb wrapped in a linen napkin. It was still warm.
He grabbed it and vanished back into the darkness.
He sat on the roof of the kennel, eating the lamb with savage efficiency. He tore the meat from the bone, swallowing it almost whole.
[ Vitality Recovering. ]
[ Satiety: 100% ]
He wiped his mouth.
"Night Watch," Ren whispered to the moon.
If they wanted him to walk the edge of the Dark Forest, he would.
The forest was dangerous, yes. But the forest was also where the monsters were.
And where there were monsters, there was XP.
Ren stood up. He pulled out the crude wooden shiv he had used to kill the rat. He looked at it, then threw it away.
He needed a real weapon.
He looked toward the Smithy. The Blacksmith, a dwarf named Borin, usually threw out scrap metal.
"Time to craft," Ren said.
He had the Analytical Eye. He had Mana Control. He could find a piece of scrap metal and sharpen it better than any human.
Ren Arken wasn't going to the Night Watch to die. He was going to the Night Watch to hunt.
End of Chapter 4 - Part 1
Summary of Events:
The Chest: Ren opens the Silver Chest (Greed Type).
The Loot: Gains the Ring of the False Null (stealth), Viper's Strike (skill), and a Golden Elixir. Also finds a Lore Fragment about the "Folded Continent of Greed".
The Upgrade: Ren consumes the Elixir. It is excruciating but triples his Mana (155) and cleanses his body.
Intel: Ren overhears that Caelum and Alfred are planning to send him on "Night Watch" near the Dark Forest to get him killed.
Reaction: Ren decides to use this death sentence as a grinding opportunity.