Chapter 384: The Egg
[EPIC FLOOR REWARD CHEST]
Kael rubbed his hands together as he studied the notification.
Andre’s concern deepened. "Why do ya look like that?"
"I enjoy opening reward chests." He said.
"The way ya said that made it sound criminal."
"For how hard that shit was to get, it better sound like that."
Kael lifted the lid.
Golden light poured into the workshop, reflecting from every metal surface and filling the room for several seconds. Kael leaned forward while Andre moved close enough to look over his shoulder. When the light faded, they both stared into the chest.
"That’s it?" Andre asked.
"Apparently."
Kael reached inside and removed an amulet. A thin dark-silver chain held a skull no larger than the end of his thumb. The craftsmanship was exceptional. Its polished surface reflected the forge light, while deliberate shadows had been worked into the silver around the jaw and temples. Two tiny emeralds rested inside the eye sockets, each giving off a faint green glow.
Kael held it between two fingers and turned it toward Andre. "It certainly committed to the Death Knight theme."
"Aye. Subtle as a graveyard."
Kael activated Inspect.
[ ITEM STATUS SCREEN ]
𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
====================================================
ITEM NAME: Ossuary’s Emerald Vigil
RARITY: Epic
CATEGORY: Amulet / Magical Accessory
[ PASSIVE ATTRIBUTES ]
[Undying Vitality]
Health Regeneration increased by 12%.
[Relentless March]
Stamina Regeneration increased by 15%.
[Gravewell]
Mana Regeneration increased by 15%.
[Graveborn Affinity]
The wearer gains increased understanding, control, and proficiency when utilizing Dark Magic, Necromancy, Death Magic, and spells associated with Undeath.
Learning and stabilizing magic belonging to these disciplines becomes significantly easier.
[ FINAL ECHO]
Passive Ability.
After the wearer has gone sixty seconds without casting a spell in combat, the next offensive spell cast is empowered.
Empowered Spell Damage: 200% of normal output.
This effect cannot amplify spells exceeding the item’s capacity.
Maximum Supported Spell Tier: Sixth Tier.
The effect resets sixty seconds after the empowered spell is cast.
[ ITEM LORE ]
It does not ask the dead to rise.
It merely reminds them that lying down was optional.
======================================================================
Kael read the entire description before returning to the beginning and reading it again. Andre watched his initial excitement flatten into quiet annoyance.
"Well?" the dwarf asked. "Is it useful, or did the Tower give ya expensive rubbish?"
"This might be one of the best rewards I’ve ever received," Kael said, holding up the amulet. "Unfortunately, most of its abilities were designed for someone else."
Andre leaned closer to the window. "How so?"
"It grants percentage-based Mana Regeneration, and I don’t have mana. Graveborn Affinity improves several schools of magic I’ve never used, while Final Echo doubles the strength of an offensive spell after a minute of inactivity in combat. Basically a necromancer’s dream as they hide behind their minions powering up stronger spells."
"That sounds powerful."
"It’s absurdly powerful for a mage. I’ve never cast a spell. But..."
Andre’s eyes moved toward the word Necromancy.
Kael noticed immediately. "No."
"I didn’t say anything."
"Your face suggested necromancy."
"My face suggested ya should consider all available crafting materials."
"I am not raising corpses because I found an amulet that makes it easier."
Andre smiled into his beard. "Shame. Ya already have the personality for it."
Kael returned his attention to the item description. Final Echo alone would make the amulet incredibly valuable. A mage who built an entire strategy around one overwhelming opening attack could wait sixty seconds and unleash a spell at twice its usual strength. Depending on the mage, someone might genuinely kill to possess it.
Gravewell would drive the price even higher. Percentage-based Mana Regeneration was exceptionally rare, as Kael had learned after selling the Ring of Returning Tides on Earth. Wealthy Climbers had pushed the price of that ring high enough to leave him with more money than most people would earn across several lifetimes.
Ossuary’s Emerald Vigil belonged to an entirely different category. It was an Epic accessory carrying three regeneration bonuses, a specialized magical affinity, and a devastating spell amplification passive. Even with its Sixth Tier limitation, the right buyer would offer a fortune.
Kael let out a low whistle. "This would sell for more than the Ring of Returning Tides."
"Then sell it," Andre said. "Problem solved."
Kael almost agreed. Then he read the first two attributes again.
Health Regeneration increased by twelve percent.
Stamina Regeneration increased by fifteen percent.
Those abilities remained useful to him. His Nine Yang Destruction Body, Demon Fist, Wonderlusting Demons, and the physical strain imposed by his fetters placed constant demands upon his body. Faster Stamina recovery would help during prolonged fights and reduce the time he needed between training sessions.
The Health Regeneration was even harder to dismiss. Kael had developed a habit of breaking his own body, sometimes through miscalculation and sometimes deliberately. Twelve percent faster recovery might decide whether he remained standing long enough to win his next fight.
He sighed.
Andre folded his arms. "What’s wrong now?"
"The useful parts are valuable enough that selling it immediately would be stupid. I would be giving up two strong regeneration effects simply because the rest of the item doesn’t suit me."
"A tragic burden," Andre said. "If it helps ya stay alive, wear it until ya find something better. Sell it afterward."
Kael looked up at him. "That was annoyingly reasonable."
"I can try saying it again with more insults."
"That won’t be necessary."
Kael placed the amulet around his neck. The silver skull settled against his chest, and a faint warmth spread beneath it. The effect arrived gently. His breathing eased after several seconds, and the fatigue left by days of crafting began receding more quickly.
He nodded. "All right. That’s useful."
Andre smiled. "Congratulations. Ya killed a Death Knight and earned a very expensive necklace."
"It’s an amulet."
"It hangs around yer neck and has pretty green stones in it. That makes it jewelry."
"The distinction matters."
"So did the distinction between trousers and pants, according to ya."
Kael frowned. "You’ve been waiting to use that against me."
"Aye."
Kael dismissed the item window and turned back to his inventory before Andre could enjoy himself further. The amulet had not been the only neglected reward buried inside. Something else had remained there even longer, repeatedly noticed and forgotten whenever a new disaster demanded his attention.
He reached into the inventory again.
Andre picked up his cup. "What else have ya forgotten?"
"I genuinely have no idea."
Kael pulled out an egg.
The dwarf slowly lowered his drink.
It was far too large to belong to any ordinary bird. Kael needed both hands to hold it comfortably, and its shell appeared almost completely black beneath the forge light. Faint purple lines ran through the surface like veins trapped beneath dark glass. The shell radiated a steady warmth against his palms, subtle yet unmistakably alive.
Kael studied it until the memory finally returned.
"The Dark Beast."
Andre frowned. "What Dark Beast?"
"The one I went back to kill after it nearly tore me apart."
"That description applies to more creatures than it should."
"It was some mess back on the Desert floor, a hidden boss.... Got a nice title once I beat it. Almost lost my life though."
Andre stared at him for a moment. "Ya deliberately went back?"
"It had already tried to kill me once."
"That doesn’t answer the question."
"It answers enough of it."
"For ya, perhaps."
Kael turned the egg carefully. It had been one of the rewards connected to the Dark Beast, yet he had deposited it inside his inventory after the battle and never properly investigated it. Given everything that had happened since, the oversight felt understandable. Andre’s expression suggested another word for it.
Kael activated Inspect before the dwarf could provide one.
The system responded with a remarkably short window.
[ FAMILIAR STATUS ]
====================================
Mutated Dark Beast Familiar
State: Unhatched
====================================
Kael waited for the rest of the information to appear. The window remained unchanged.
"That’s it?"
Andre moved closer. "What does it say?"
Kael shifted the display so the dwarf could read it. Andre studied the two available lines, then looked at the egg and finally at Kael.
"A familiar," Andre said. "Since when do ya have a familiar?"
"Since the Dark Beast fight, apparently."
"What kind of creature is inside?"
"According to the Tower, a Mutated Dark Beast."
"That tells me absolutely nothing."
"It has also told me absolutely nothing."
The purple veins beneath the shell pulsed.
Both of them fell silent.
The egg shifted in Kael’s hands, moving so faintly that he might have mistaken it for the result of his breathing if Andre had not noticed it too.
"Oh," Kael said.
Andre took one careful step backward.
Kael looked up from the egg. "Why are you retreating?"
"Experience. Strange things tend to become dangerous whenever ya start holding them."
"That seems unfair."
"It also keeps being true."
The egg twitched again in Kael’s hands. This time, the movement came with a distinct knock from inside the shell, as though whatever waited within had heard them and decided to answer.