The air around me had turned cold.
Cryomancy.
He was likely a descendant of the noble Elven race—judging by his stature.
Tall, thin but muscular, pale, and with slightly elongated ears.
Too bad he wasn't full-blooded.
"ICE SPEAR!"
The air froze around his fingertip.
Mana pulsed outward, swirling into the shape of a crystalline spear.
Zrrrk.
I stepped aside, narrowly dodging it.
A formidable attack for my newly awakened body, yes—but what I lacked in strength, I more than made up for in knowledge and experience.
"It won't work. Give up."
He glared at me, anger distorting his pale features. I didn't want to fight—not before acquiring the relics.
"I don't care if it works or not! I AM THE ONE WHO'S CHOSEN, NOT YO—"
"Ice Spear."
I interrupted him with his own spell.
Everyone knew basic elemental manipulation—it wasn't rare. Some simply had greater affinity than others, just like how he had greater affinity for ice.
Zrrrk.
The small shard of ice cut through the air, sharp and swift—a missile of pure intent.
"What the f*ck!"
He stumbled back, clutching his shoulder, blood soaking through his sleeve.
"Why can you use the same skill I can? Who the hell are you?"
I didn't bother answering. I didn't need to.
I turned and walked past him, toward my destination.
He wouldn't follow. He couldn't.
His body was already trembling—the mark of one who overestimated his worth and met someone far beyond it.
*
I reached the far end of the exhibition hall.
White marble statues of forgotten rulers loomed over me, their faces cold and judgmental.
Tall pillars surrounded the chamber, bathed in the sterile glow of ceiling lights.
And there—resting on a velvet display—was the dagger.
The blade that stabbed the man who defied death itself.
The weapon that ended Julius Caesar.
It wasn't supposed to exist.
But after countless resets, it had found its way here—an anomaly born of my endless deaths.
—
[Dagger]
[Ability: ???]
You do not possess enough mana to view the item's abilities.
—
Even its sight demanded my respect. Merely holding it required an immense amount of mana,
which was why I needed the second item.
Beside the dagger lay a plain silver ring, almost invisible among the grand displays.
A relic of a nameless priest. Ordinary in form. Divine in function.
—
[Priest's Ring]
[Abilities: Hidden Moves, Mana Breath, ???]
—
It could conceal my mana as ambient air and allow me to breathe in mana naturally—a high-level skill I wouldn't be able to obtain through normal means.
The third ability remained sealed from my knowledge.
I slipped both items into my coat and walked out of the museum.
The night air greeted me. It was cold, biting, and alive with inevitability.
Tomorrow, they would arrive.
And I would be ready.