Now, only the white key with the white bear design remained.
'It was… cute.'
Cute enough that even Ekant— who had already muttered that it was cute once— felt slightly embarrassed acknowledging it again.
He picked up the key.
This time, he didn't immediately look at the floating information panel.
Instead, he stared at the key itself.
It was Small and Smooth. Warm to the touch.
The tiny bear engraving looked oddly comforting.
"…I hope," he murmured softly, "you won't disappoint me either."
His expression turned serious.
Unusually serious.
He slowly raised his head and finally looked at the floating screen.
〈White Bear Key〉
Rank: ???
Classification: Key
Owner: Locked
Requirement:
Say "Thank you for waiting so long" to become its owner.
[Description:
A key of unknown origin.
First discovered in the First Era — The Great Era of Beginning.
Cannot be sold.
Cannot be given to anyone.]
Ekant froze.
Joy surged through him— sharp and sudden.
'A key… from the First Era?'
That alone sounded absurdly important.
But that joy was quickly followed by confusion.
He didn't know where to use it.
He couldn't sell it.
And it had no visible rank.
"…What a beautiful lottery," he said aloud, half-laughing. "I really hope I'll find its use soon."
Then his brows furrowed.
"It doesn't even have a rank," he muttered. "Just question marks."
He thought for a moment.
"Legacy had exclamation marks at least… this one has none."
That realization sent a chill down his spine.
This wasn't the system hiding information.
This was the key hiding itself.
As if it had its own will.
"…That's unsettling," Ekant admitted quietly.
Then his eyes flicked back to the requirement.
"Oh right," he said. "I can become its owner too."
He stared at the line again.
"..."
"…If I had to say this in front of an NPC," Ekant muttered, "I'd probably die of embarrassment."
He glanced around the empty forest.
"Thankfully, no one's here."
He cleared his throat.
"Thank you… for waiting so long."
The air shifted.
〈White Bear Key has heard your response〉
〈You are attempting to become the owner of the White Bear Key〉
〈White Bear Key has accepted your response〉
〈Congratulations! You have become the owner of the White Bear Key〉
Ekant let out a long breath.
"Thank God," he said sincerely. "I thought it might require at least a realm breakthrough or something."
He looked at the key again.
New information surfaced.
〈White Bear Key〉
Rank: ?????
Classification: Key
Quality: Yet to Discover (0/?)
Owner: NoName
Description:
A key of unknown origin.
First discovered in the First Era — The Great Era of Beginning.
Can only be wielded by its sole owner, Player NoName.
If others attempt to touch it, they shall be cursed.
"…Excuse me?"
Ekant stared.
The word cursed echoed in his mind.
"That escalated quickly."
He focused on the Quality section.
"0/?" he murmured. "I understand that zero means I haven't discovered anything yet…"
He paused.
"…But what does the question mark represent?"
Unlimited?
Hidden?
Or something far worse?
He sighed.
"Well, I've already seen my stats," he said dryly. "This doesn't disappoint me nearly as much as those."
He slipped the key into his hand—
And suddenly noticed something else.
The Black Spatial Ring had changed.
The dark marble at its center was no longer black.
It was white.
The description, capacity, and rank remained the same.
"…Huh," Ekant muttered. "That's new."
He shrugged it off.
For now.
He stored all five items back into the ring and stood up.
Stretching slightly, he looked around.
"I'm in the Beginner Forest," he said aloud, "but I haven't seen a single monster yet."
The system responded immediately.
Too immediately.
〈You are currently in a Safe Zone〉
〈Safe Zone Radius: 500 meters〉
〈Increase your level before leaving〉
〈You do not possess a weapon. Proceed with caution〉
"..."
Ekant blinked.
"…Why does it feel like the system is spying on me like a perverted fan?"
The rapid notifications made his head spin slightly, but he steadied himself.
Well, it was his first experience. In his previous VR games, the system had never offered active like this.
The system was not wrong. Even EKant agreed with advice..
He had no weapon.
No combat ability.
No defense.
Leaving the safe zone right now would be the equivalent of volunteering for a tutorial death.
"I should study the Mana Gathering Guide first," he decided firmly.
He sat down in a lotus position again, holding the thin book carefully.
"I'll survive first," Ekant said quietly.
Meanwhile—
Deep within the dense forest.
Far beyond the safe zone.
A massive rock, large enough to resemble a dining table, lay half-buried in the earth.
On its surface—
A key-shaped engraving began to glow.
First it glowed white then in an blink of an eye it glowed Black.
Cracks spread across the stone like veins.
A distorted laugh echoed through the forest.
"So…"
A voice whispered, ancient and cruel.
"…you have finally come."