One week later:
POV ???:
A richly dressed man sat in a small, dark room, wearing a black doublet embroidered with golden thread. He was sitting in a small chair, staring with his dull eyes at a small wooden box with a single golden ring.
‘Let’s see if it is another scam or finally a jackpot. Hopefully, it is not just a lie.’
He was old, his remaining time quickly vanishing right in front of his eyes, ‘I am rich, powerful, and influential, but in front of the old age, it is all nothing but a worthless trinket.’
He looked at a letter next to the box, his eyes scanning through the lines, looking for any sign of deceit.
||After years of research, we members of the immortality seekers have finally made a breakthrough in our research. We hereby bestow you our prototype of a life-prolonging ring as payment for the years of your sponsorship. With respect, the Grandmaster of the Order, Lady A.||
The old man carefully grabbed the ring with doubt in his eyes, ‘I was scammed so many times. But maybe, just maybe, this time, I will hit the jackpot.’
He didn’t regret it, considering every coin he spent on seeking ways to prolong his life to be worth it.
With his old, trembling hand covered in wrinkles reached for the ring and put it on his finger.
A blazing hot aura surged out, the blood flowing in his veins turning hot. He felt the energy slowly move from his hand, spreading through every nook and cranny of his old body.
The tiredness of the years vanished, the pain in his knees and muscles vanishing as if it had never even existed.
Finally, the heat reached his heart, a bright golden light lighting up in his eyes. His hands and arms both trembled, with immense power erupting from his heart.
“It worked! It worked!” I can already feel the vitality within my bones. I can feel the power surge within my bones! Hahaha, they called me a fool for wasting a family fortune, but now I have succeeded.”
For a moment, the man froze, feeling as if some invisible presence loomed over him, the light of the candles turning chaotic, rapidly flickering. The next moment, the lord moved as if nothing had happened, leaving the hidden chamber with hasty steps.
POV Vesuvius:
The dragon stirred, the whole valley shaking as his massive body moved. He felt a new connection, far within the neighboring empire, forming within his soul.
It was weak and unsteady, but it was slowly, very slowly, stabilizing and becoming stronger.
The young elven girl stood on top of the tall cliff, facing him with a joyful and proud expression, her eyes shining like those of a child that had just shown her good grades to her parents.
“Is it working, master?”
“Yes, it is, my minion. You have done a great job. With this, I can silently turn enemies into allies. I can encroach on the mortal kingdoms without even needing to lift my claw. They will all fight without knowing that they are fighting for nothing but a chance to become my minions!”
Vesuvius felt like laughing, already feeling that he was becoming more and more like some villain from some fantasy novel, ‘I have a volcano, and I used to have a tower before.’
His eyes looked at the ring containing lots of his treasures, ‘I also have the ring that is important to me, and now I am distributing rings giving power to kings and nobles while quietly brainwashing them.’
Ding!
//
Analyze result:
Name: Ring of Youth
Hidden name: Draconification Ring𝔬𝓋𝔩𝒩xt.𝑐𝑶𝑀
Category: Magical Draconic Accessory
Grade: S
Item level: 40
Effects: Gives eternal youth to a wearer while also increasing their stats by a large margin. The gained stat boost increases with the time that the ring is on a finger.
Hidden Effects: This item links the wearer’s soul with the dragon lord Vesuvius, turning the wearer into his loyal servant. The link will get stronger with time. Eventually, the wearer will turn into a dragonkin.
//
Alesia spoke with passion, her voice trembling with pride as she spoke about her creation as if it was her own child, “Master, it is a ring forged out of a metal treated by your draconic blood. Its core is made of your bone marrow, and it is fully enchanted to infuse its wearer with the power of the materials used through complex arcane and runic enchantments!”
‘Ohhh! So it is using the natural power of these materials while still keeping them out of the body! Of course, the effects will be reduced, but at the same time, they will not even be nearly as visible and invasive! No one will probably notice it before the wearer turns into my loyal minion.’
“Hahaha!” the dragon burst into maniacal laughter, the whole valley shaking under the powerful, mana-charged soundwaves.
“Well done, my minion. The mortals will not even know what happened, and then suddenly, important figures will turn into traitors! All the chaos and distrust will cause their lines to collapse. It will be perfect. They will grow weaker while we will grow stronger!”
He calmed down, looking at the elf staring at him with her mouth open in shock at seeing the dragon act like that, “You deserve a reward. Ask what you wish?”
“Ehmm, I-I wish to finish what I started! I wish to finish the enchantments on your body! I know that it will be hard. But please allow me to finish my greatest work. Slowly, scale by scale… I-it makes me angry, your Majesty. I hate leaving my projects unfinished… It infuriates…”
She shut her mouth, feeling like she had crossed some boundary, as she fell on her knees, “I am sorry, your Majesty, please forgive me.”
Vesuvius remained quiet for a few moments before finally speaking in his deep voice, “Do as you wish, enchant my armor, and redraw runes on my horns, claws, and wings.”
‘Is it even possible? My body is huge. No, huge is a weak word to describe it. But if she really succeeds, then I will get another power boost.’
He had his runic body ability, making his runes part of his body, meaning that even if his armor was damaged and then regenerated, the runes would regenerate together with it.
In the meantime, somewhere on the earth:
POV ???:
A man in a black suit stood in a dark room with walls, ceiling, and even the floor battered in metallic sheets. His finger nervously hung on the trigger of his large caliber gun, his facial features hidden by the darkness.
“This wasn’t our deal!” He shouted in fury and anger, staring into the dark corner of the room.
A distorted yet weak-sounding voice came out, bouncing between the metallic walls, “Yes, it was! You wanted access to other worlds to advance humankind and I gave it to you…”
“But not in this way.”
“I know, you wanted knowledge and technology from other worlds. Something that you could control and keep a monopoly on. Instead, I gave you more than just that. Yet you have worded it wrongly, giving me the freedom to twist it.”
The man’s anger was getting stronger and stronger. He hated the being hiding within the shadows. He hated that he was deceived and tricked.
The being just kept mocking him, its voice becoming more and more distorted, “Are you scared now? Billions of humans were trampled on by these powerful and rich people. Now, I have shaken the world. A new ruling class will arise, and you will either grab the opportunity or fade into relevance.”
He raised his gun, his eyes almost glowing in a fury. His finger moved, a loud metallic clang resounding through the room as he disabled the safety lock.
“W-wait! You can’t do that. I have upheld my part of the deal. That means that you…” For the first time, the being spoke with panic in its voice.
An animalistic joy awakened deep within the man’s heart as he carefully pointed the gun into the darkness, his hand trembling in excitement as he was ready to end the source of headaches that had tortured him for years.
“Shut up! You may twist words, but we humans can do even better. We can break deals and promises.”
Something about the being’s voice changed, some invisible energy giving each word a terrifying power, “If you do it, you will be forever marked as a dealbreaker. You will suffer for it after your death. It will not matter if you end up in hell or heaven. Each of our five races is different, but we all hate dealbreakers! Do it, and your soul will never find a piece! You will burn and suffer for eternity!”
The atmosphere in the room tensed, the darkness itself deepening with all of the sounds dampening. He stood there, sweat pouring down his skin. He felt as if he was suddenly thrown into the middle of an ocean.
His finger on the trigger trembled, he wanted to press it and end it all, but his heart was beating in fear, something within the words of the monster breaking his will.
Finally, he lowered his gun and silently walked towards the doors, his shoes tapping on the metallic floor.