Upon returning ho, Gin wasted no ti.
He carefully opened the box he had received from Andrella Willex and retrieved its contents—a large crystal orb.
"What is this?" he murmured, his heartbeat quickening.
Though uncertain of the artifact's purpose, he knew he would unravel its secrets in ti. Tucked within the box was a handwritten note—its delicate, elegant script suggested it had likely been penned by Andrella herself.
The instructions were simple: by channeling mana into the crystal, the orb would reveal the elental nature of the mana through a spectrum of colors.
The note listed various elental affinities and their corresponding hues, offering Gin a roadmap for experintation.
Curiosity stirring, Gin infused the orb with mana.
A faint gray glow erged, signifying the absence of any elental attribute. He assud that most mages would see the sa neutral color unless they intentionally altered their mana's affinity.
Testing further, he imbued the mana with elental characteristics.
As indicated on the note, the orb shimred sky-blue when infused with lightning and glowed crimson when charged with fire.
After cycling through all the listed elents, Gin decided to push the boundaries by testing less conventional affinities.
He tried "piercing" as an attribute, and the orb displayed a pale, diluted version of the sky-blue hue associated with lightning.
Ti slipped away unnoticed as Gin watched the orb shift colors in srizing patterns.
"This is oddly addictive," he muttered, caught in the artifact's hypnotic allure.
Eventually, his scientific mind demanded more.
He wondered if the orb could react not just to elental attributes but also to mana wave frequencies.
Adjusting mana frequencies was second nature to him, so he decided to experint.
At first, the orb remained indifferent. Regardless of how much he varied the waves, the orb continued to emit its dull gray light.
However, just as he was about to give up, a particular frequency crossed his mind—one he had encountered before.
He adjusted his mana accordingly.
"Ugh!"
A pulse of magical energy surged from the orb in concentric ripples, flooding the room with a chilling presence.
The wave was unlike anything Gin had experienced.
It was eerie, almost invasive, and he reflexively shielded himself with a burst of defensive mana.
Regaining his composure, he assessed his body for any abnormalities.
Fortunately, there were none.
'What the hell was that? There's no way a mage of this world wouldn't have noticed sothing like this.'
Determined to understand the artifact's true nature, Gin fortified his defenses and repeated the process.
This ti, he recognized the mana signature—it was identical to the one emitted by portal detection devices.
"Is this related to portals?" he whispered in astonishnt.
Yet this artifact was far more sophisticated than any portal detector. Layers of magical security surrounded it, each more complex than the last. Gin narrowed his eyes.
Whatever this artifact was, it wasn't ordinary. He would have to break through the security if he wanted answers.
The first layer of security proved challenging but not insurmountable. Tae-soo's extensive experience in dismantling magical defenses helped him overco it after hours of ticulous work.
However, as soon as the first layer fell, a new obstacle erged—ancient runic symbols began to glow across the orb's surface.
Gin groaned softly.
"Of course. Double-layered security."
These runes were eerily similar to those he had encountered on the enchanted firearm Owen Frieden had given him—a security system that required a specific activation code. Gin instinctively searched for the five characters he had seen at a previous excavation site. They were present, just as he suspected.
Carefully, he channeled mana into the symbols.
The runes folded in on themselves and vanished, as if acknowledging his command. It was the sa phenonon he had witnessed with the firearm.
'Are these runes so kind of universal key for deactivating ancient artifacts?' he pondered.
With the security dispelled, Gin delved into the artifact's core structure.
What he found left him stunned.
The crystal was inscribed with layers upon layers of interwoven spell arrays. Each array operated within its own dinsional frawork, continuously influencing and reshaping one another in an endless cycle of creation and dissolution.
"This is... insane," he muttered.
Despite the overwhelming complexity, Gin wasn't deterred. He believed that through perseverance and constant effort, even the most intricate mysteries could be unraveled.
He worked tirelessly through the night, pushing his mind and mana to their limits.
By dawn, exhaustion clung to him like a shadow. His eyes were bleary, and his movents sluggish. Jay, his longti companion, greeted him with a mischievous grin as he entered the room.
"Wow. You look like hell. Had a good ti, huh?" Jay teased, his voice dripping with innuendo.
Gin waved him off weakly, too drained to offer a retort. The gesture was clear enough: Shut up.
Of course, Jay ignored the warning entirely.
"Co on, man. You should've paced yourself. Too much excitent in one night will wear you out."
With a heavy sigh, Gin finally spoke.
"I wasn't partying. I was up all night researching magic. Why are you even here?"
Jay's expression twisted in disbelief.
"Wait... You're telling you spent the entire night analyzing that artifact? Seriously?"
"Yeah. And it's more complicated than I expected," Gin admitted.
"You idiot. That's not the point! What about Andrella Willex? Did you two... you know, hit it off?"
"What are you talking about? I got the artifact and ca straight ho."
"And that's it? You didn't... do anything?" Jay's voice was incredulous.
"Nothing happened," Gin replied flatly.
Jay sighed in exasperation.
"Unbelievable. With your face and physique, you've got an unfair advantage. You're wasting it."
"Not everyone thinks like you. Now, if you don't have anything useful to say, leave."
Jay sobered, his expression turning serious.
"Actually, I do have news. The city governnt has launched a crackdown on the underground workshops."
"Underground workshops? Why?" Gin asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Because those bastards nearly caused a disaster during the artifact competition.
They've been smuggling forbidden techniques and need to be dealt with."
"Fair enough. They've earned their punishnt."
"It's more than that," Jay continued grimly. "These workshops aren't just rogue operations. They're part of a larger syndicate—one that won't hesitate to use violence to protect its interests."
Gin's eyes narrowed.
"So this is more than just a cleanup effort."
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