Chapter 6
The Secret of the Artifact
Standing there before us was the same female captain we had seen yesterday.
âSkye, this lady says she wants to speak with you,â
said the village chief.
âSorry for coming unannounced. Iâm Reina, captain of the Ruvinas, Third Fleet of the Rivelia Navy.â
âAh, Iâm Skye,â I replied quickly.
âOhâwere you in the middle of a meal? My apologies.â
âNo, I was just finishing up. Please, come in.â
âThanks. Iâll take you up on that, then.â
âIâll leave you to it,â the village chief said, returning to his home.
I offered Captain Reina a chair.
âAnd you are? His sister, perhaps?â
âOh, no. Iâm Skyeâs childhood friendâMile.â
âI see. Itâs nice to see such close friends.â
Mileâs eyes sparkled; she looked delighted to be talking with her idol.
âSo, Captain, what did you want to ask me?â
âRight, Iâll get straight to the point. Are you the one who sold this?â
From her bag, Reina pulled out the relic I had sold to the traveling merchant.
âAhâyes, thatâs right. Was⊠that a problem?â
âNo, not at all. Ancient ruins donât belong to anyone. Selling what you find there isnât against the law.â
âReally? Thatâs a reliefâŠâ
I let out a breath I hadnât realized I was holding.
If it had been illegal, our plan to buy an airship would have been ruined.
âNow then, what I really want to ask isâdid you find anything inside that relic?â
â!?â
Captain Reinaâs gaze sharpened as she studied me closely.
Then I rememberedâNocty had mentioned that she âpossessed a Star Ring.â
ââŠFor example, that ring on your right hand.â
âSo you do know about this ring, Captain?â
âYes. I have one too.â
She lifted her right hand, showing me the same kind of ring on her index finger.
âYou can come out now.â
âItâs a pleasure to meet you. I am the spirit Misty.â
Before us appeared a spirit with soft pink fur and emerald-green eyesâshe looked a lot like Nocty, only a bit more mature.
âMisty assists me in various ways. Would you introduce your spirit as well?â
âSure. Nocty, come out.â
âFwaaah⊠I am the Great Spirit Nocty!â
Apparently, he had been dozing off in the ring after breakfast; his grand entrance was punctuated by a yawn.
âOh my, a Great Spirit? Thatâs a bold claim for such a little one.â
âL-little one!? How dare you!â
âMisty, thatâs enough,â Reina scolded gently.
âHmph. My apologies,â Misty sniffed, clearly unconvinced.
Nocty looked ready to pounce, flailing in Mileâs tight grip while she kept him from flying off.
âForgive Mistyâshe isnât usually like this.â
âNo, I should apologize too.â
Reinaâs expression turned serious.
âNow, to the main pointâhow much do you know about your spirit and that ring?â
âWell, Nocty told me itâs called the Star Ring of the Warden.â
âThatâs right. Then do you know what it can do?â
âNo, not exactly. Something like⊠âLibr⊠something?ââ
âLibrary. Thatâs it. The Library function can enhance or swap a Classâs abilities. In other wordsâitâs an Artifact.â
âWhat!?â
The word hit me like a shock.
Even Mile, holding Nocty beside me, gasped.
âThis is top-secret information known only to a few in the military. But since youâve already bonded with a spirit, itâs best you know.â
âOf course, I trust youâll keep it confidential.â
âYes, absolutely.â
âFor details, ask your spirit. He should understand.â
âAlso, Iâll have to report this to headquarters. At some point, you may be summoned to the main command centerâbut donât worry. If anything happens, you can count on me.â
âThank you, Captain.â
âOne last thingâthe merchant said he bought several relics from you. Were there any other rings?â
âNo. That was the only one we found.â
I explained where and how weâd discovered it.
âI see. I didnât expect ruins to remain in such a place.â
âUm, about the relicsâcan we keep selling them?â
âYes. Weâll send a team to inspect the site, but unless something unusual turns up, youâre free to continue.â
âAhh, goodâŠâ
âYouâre saving up to buy an airship, arenât you?â
âThatâs right. My dream is to ride the skies and become the best flyer in the world.â
âThatâs a fine dream.â
âWith me around, itâs practically guaranteed!â Nocty boasted.
âHa ha ha, a dependable partner indeed,â Reina laughed.
Seeing Nocty puff out his chest proudly made me a little embarrassed.
âWell thenâI have duties to attend to. Thank you for your time.â
We stood and escorted her to the door.
âBy the way, Captain, did you come here just to ask about the ring?â
âThat was one reason, yes. But officially, Iâm here investigating reports of a large Deepcloud Beast nearby. Itâs also a test run for the Ruvinas.â
âI seeâŠâ
âWell, take care. Iâm sure weâll meet again someday.â
And with that, Captain Reina left.
Afterward, we asked Nocty about the functions sheâd mentioned.
âââ
âAlright! Listen well, and Iâll tell you just how amazing I am!â
âNocty, I meant the ring, not you.â
âSame thing! You canât use it without me anyway!â
Hereâs what I gathered from his explanation:
[About Class Change]
- The âClass Changeâ function allows you to switch your class.
- It requires class data, just like enhancement.
[About Class Enhancement]
- You can enhance your class using data stored in the Library.
- Each class requires its own corresponding data.
[About Airship Enhancement]
- Nocty can synchronize with an airship to strengthen it.
Apparently, itâs all based on the same principles as our Starfall Ceremony.
âSo where do we get this class data?â I asked.
âSome dataâs already stored in the Library. But if you want new ones, youâll need to access ruin terminals or Star Crystals that have data downloaded onto them. Rarely, you can also find them in Star Crystals swallowed by Deep Beasts or Deepcloud Beasts.â
âThatâs the gist of it,â he concluded smugly.
An Artifact, huhâŠ
Listening to Noctyâs explanation, I finally realized what an incredible thing Iâd stumbled upon.
âââ
The next day, the village was back to normal.
A traveling merchant had come by for the first time in a month, so we headed to the square.
âWelcome, welcome!â
As usual, I sold the relics Iâd found to the merchant.
âBy the way, mister, do you know Captain Reina?â
âSure do. Sheâs one of my best customersâbeen doing business with her for years.â
âWhen she asked about the relics, I couldnât refuse to tell her. Sorry about that.â
âNo, it actually helped a lot. I learned more because of it.â
âGlad to hear it.â
The merchant gave a sheepish smile.
âOh, rightâyouâre saving up for an airship, arenât you? As an apology, Iâll introduce you to a factory I know.â
He handed me a letter of introduction.
âTell them Hans the merchant sent youâtheyâll treat you well.â
I thanked him and left the square.