"..."
I stared at the sword while feeling anxious.
A well-tempered silver sword with beautiful calligraphy of the 'R' letter was carved on its lower blade, which could make a swordmaster think that it was just for a display.
A window screen popped up above the sword.
[Retro] [Bounded to Zio Varrez]
Type: Artifact - Sword
Rank: S
"A sword artifact, and an S-rank artifact at that?! Lucky!"
With a happy heart, I picked up the sword from the ground and swung it. At first, it felt heavy and uncomfortable but then, like magic, the sword shrunk to fit my hand. "Oh? This is good, but…"
"What is the effect of this sword?"
My Clairvoyance skill, even though it provided me with a bit more information after it leveled up, still didn't tell me any useful data.
"Hmm…"
The only way to check its full information, I need someone who had high-level appraisal skills. An appraiser was definitely a place I need to go, but, there were a lot of scammers. Most of them always tricked their client by telling them that their item was junk and they should just sell them to the appraiser with a "high" price, but in reality, the claimed-to-be junk item was actually a high-grade item. Of course, the victim won't know that.
"If it's an appraiser, I think I know one trustworthy fellow."
Yes, in fact, with the knowledge I have as the author, looking for an exceptional individual in this world was a piece of cake.
I cut some thin vines in the room and turned them into a strap so I could hang the sword around my back.
It's time for the main dish!
Walking toward the center of the room, I found myself standing near the flat stone. Before, it was surrounded by great 8 statues. Now, it was only two statues left. Judging by the face, one statue was a girl but the other was unknown–their face and features hidden behind the hood.
I was not some sort of detective or a fan of sculpturing, so I just took a look at it for a while and decided to focus my attention on the white blank mask, without an eye socket, on the flat stone before me.
[Avatar Mask]
Type: Artifact - Accessories
Rank: B
"So, this is the avatar mask… Not so eye-catching, eh? Unlike the sword…"
It was stated that the artifact was a B-rank. Not so high for an artifact that was referred to as an overpowered artifact. But, you know, not all overpowered skills or items were needed to have a high rank.
The avatar mask was an artifact that could transform its user into a different shape–a different appearance without any restriction. The disguise couldn't be detected by all means, even if someone had a high-rank detection skill or whatever, they couldn't ever find out the true identity of someone behind the disguise of Avatar Mask.
But, it has a limitation in that it functioned the same as a character slot in games. The user couldn't disguise or transform into whatever appearance they wanted infinitely. instead, they could only transform into four appearances that they had saved in the slots.
Instead of copying appearances like some other transformation skills or items. The Avatar Mask, which has the same feature as game character slots, could only create an avatar or appearance.
Anyway, it was OP because it couldn't be detected by any means. Imagine tricking the thunder emperor by posing as his late grandson…
"Not that I will do it unless he's on his deathbed and starts hallucinating," I said with a shrug.
I grabbed the mask. I felt a magic shock in the air as my skin touched the mask's surface. When I lifted it, the scenery of the dim room glitched and eventually I was back in the forest with the great magical-looking tree and magic formation.
"Amazing…" I said, too exhausted to scream my amazement.
Excitement built up the longer I look at the mask in my hand. I wanted to try it immediately but it would take a long time to create an avatar, also I'd rather do it under a safe roof than in this dark forest.
But, if I didn't use it, how was I supposed to hide this from the others? Especially Jin, who originally would be the owner of the artifact.
"I should have looted the corpses for a dimensional bag…"
The choice was given, there were two. Use the artifact, or wait here until the countdown is over.
If I decided to stay here then I won't need to use the artifact and wait until the countdown was over. But, I would like to know what happened to the rest of the group. I didn't know what would happen to them and Jin since I got the mask first, would they survive or would it follow the story in which only Jin and a few heroes survived? Or the worst part was, they would all be dead without me knowing the reason, and since I was the holder of the artifact this time, I might be a replacer for Jin and the others as the only survivor of the dungeon.
Tracing back to what happened in the camp that night, I was sure it was an attack of the demon or at least their minion–the human that sold their soul to them in exchange for power. Then, the brutal massacre of Herman's group in the depth of the forest…
"Ah, shit…"
I wore the mask and my vision went dark for a moment until there was a light that slowly engulfed me. My vision returned, and in front of me was a floating mirror with some UIs on them, just like a character creation panel in games.
"I don't want to waste my time on perfecting my avatar appearance. But, I don't want to have a bad-looking avatar either…"
"So, I will have a look at the presets then slightly change it."
There were dozens even hundreds of presets of different genders. Male and female. A sudden, useless thought came into my mind as I was looking for the nicest preset.
What was I in my previous life? The only thing I remembered was that I played games and wrote a novel. Other than that, everything was forgotten. My name, my family, was I handsome or pretty…
Well, judging by the fact that I didn't feel uncomfortable in this body, it seemed like I was male in my previous life too.
After contemplating for like 5 minutes which preset I was going to choose, I ended up choosing a portrait of a young adult with an attractive face. A bit of rework on here and there and voila…
A window appeared after I pressed the confirm button.
===
>>[Avatar Profile]<<
Name: Ian Crow
Age: 25
Gender: Male
—> About
He was born and grew up in a fairly rich family in a broken village, he lived free of trouble until he was about 10 years old, but at that point, life changed drastically.
He lost his siblings in the dragon incident 15 years ago and was forgotten by everybody. With no friends and relatives, he had to survive by himself. But with his wisdom and determination, he managed to train to perfection and remain out of reach of danger.
Still plagued by the past, he now works a small job with low pay. By doing so, he hopes to find a place to call home and finally find the tranquility he has never had.
===
[Do you want to continue with this setting? Yes/No.]
"Seems good. Although his backstory looks interesting and believable, it's just a made-up story that didn't actually happen."
Feeling satisfied, I pressed the [Yes] option on the window screen. Instantly, my appearance had changed in less than a second.
Looking at the floating mirror, I saw a handsome gentleman in a black noble-like suit and a magician-like hat. His black hair was as messy as mine, his sharp blue eyes staring unblinkingly as we looked at each other, the black line under his eyes indeed described someone who has experienced a lot of bitterness in his life, he was tired but remained firm in his goals. But his smile and constant positive expression were a facade he used to hide that darkness of his past.
"I feel like looking at the adult version of myself but without the blue eyes."
I loosened the tie around my neck and tightened the gloves on my hand. "Let's go back."
As I was about to leave the area, the sound of the bushes led me to a girl around my age–Zio's age–sitting under the tree just across from me, separated by the magical-looking tree.
How could I not notice her?
She was just sitting there, staring blankly at me with her ruby-like eyes. Her long straight black hair framed her face.
Did she see me transform?!
I cleared my throat. "Hello there… How long have you been there?"
"I just arrived here." She still locked her eyes with me as she answered me. Her voice sounded calm and cold, like someone who had lost their motivation or was even soulless.
"Oh yeah?"
She nodded slowly. Her eyes looked ahead, deep into the large trees behind me.
"Are you a part of the group?"
She nodded again, her attention still unmoved.
"Which group? Herman's or Jin's?"
ραпdα nᴏνa| сom She turned her head at me slowly. "Yours."
"Mine? So, it's Jin's group?" I paused for a moment and realized something. "Wait. Do you even know me?"
She shook her head. "No."
'Hah? What is wrong with that girl?' I thought.
"The monster attacked the camp. I ran here alone. It's safe here," she said as she stared at me expectantly.
The camp got attacked? Could it be that it was the truth behind the hero's banishment? The incident of the incompetent heroes, letting all of the civilians be killed in the dungeon.
"Can you tell me the details?"
"You will see it for yourself. Just run forward," she said, her finger pointing at the forest behind me.
I turned and looked at the forest, it was dark because the sun didn't reach this place, but flickering light from the glowing mushroom could be seen along the path.
"Then, I'll go…"
As I turned back and wanted to ask the weird girl before I go, she was not there anymore.
"Huh? Where is she going?"
Even with my clairvoyance skill I still couldn't find her trace. Shaking my head, I head into the forest immediately after praying for the girl's safety.
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