Sang-hyeok looked at Yoon Chae-rin.
“Tell me.”
“There are two conditions.”
Yoon Chae-rin opened her mouth to state the first one.
Knock, knock.
At the sound, she stopped and turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
At Yoon Chae-rin’s reply, the door opened and employees entered carrying the food they had ordered.
They placed the dishes in front of the two and refilled the empty glasses with water.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
After the employees withdrew, the door closed again.
Steam rose from the freshly served food, but neither of them touched their utensils.
Yoon Chae-rin resumed where she had stopped and raised one finger.
“Even if you suffer any kind of harm from using the <Spirit Vein Ring>, Taeseong cannot be held responsible.”
The <Spirit Vein Ring> was cursed to drain all the mana from whoever wore it.
If a player’s mana was completely exhausted, even their life could be at risk.
Yoon Chae-rin watched Sang-hyeok as though confirming that he properly understood the condition.
Sang-hyeok answered without hesitation.
“Fine.”
“That means you won’t hold Taeseong responsible even if you die.”
“I asked for it knowing that.”
Yoon Chae-rin did not ask anything further. She raised another finger.
“The second condition is that you do not disclose anything discussed today regarding Director Kang to anyone outside.”
“I accept that too.”
Both conditions were within the range Sang-hyeok had expected, so he immediately continued.
“But I have a condition of my own.”
This time, Yoon Chae-rin waited for him to speak.
“Transfer complete ownership and disposal rights for the <Spirit Vein Ring> to me.”
“We already agreed to transfer it as compensation.”
“Make it impossible to demand it back later, even if the condition or value of the <Spirit Vein Ring> changes.”
Yoon Chae-rin’s gaze fixed on Sang-hyeok.
“Do you think the value of the <Spirit Vein Ring> could change?”
“I’m taking that possibility along with the item.”
“Do you have some way to remove the curse?”
“That’s for me to find out.”
Sang-hyeok continued calmly.
“Taeseong takes no responsibility for any harm caused by the <Spirit Vein Ring>. In return, even if it later gains value, Taeseong cannot ask for it back. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
Yoon Chae-rin could not immediately object.
Everything he said was reasonable.
Besides, Taeseong had spent no small amount of money over several years trying and failing to remove the curse from the <Spirit Vein Ring>.
In the end, it had been declared unusable and sealed in a warehouse.
The transfer itself had already been approved.
However, Yoon Chae-rin did not have the authority to independently approve a clause completely abandoning all rights to any future increase in value.
“I’ll have to confirm that clause again.”
“Do that.”
Yoon Chae-rin picked up her mobile phone and sent a short message.
Not long afterward, the phone vibrated briefly.
After checking the reply, she took a tablet from her bag.
“It’s approved.”
Yoon Chae-rin opened the draft agreement and added what they had just settled.
A moment later, the revised document appeared on the screen.
[Confidential Agreement for Dissolution of Engagement]
[Public Reason: Mutual agreement due to personality differences]
[Internal Reason: Cause attributable to Yoon Chae-rin]
[Compensation: In-kind transfer of artifact <Spirit Vein Ring>]
[All responsibility arising from use after transfer belongs to Kim Sang-hyeok]
[Ownership and disposal rights for <Spirit Vein Ring> are finalized to Kim Sang-hyeok]
[Return cannot be requested regardless of changes in the condition or value of <Spirit Vein Ring>]
[Private information confirmed during the agreement process will not be disclosed externally]
Sang-hyeok read the agreement from beginning to end to make sure everything he had requested was included.
Once he finished checking, he immediately picked up the electronic pen and wrote his name in the signature field.
Scratch.
[Kim Sang-hyeok]
Sang-hyeok pushed the tablet toward Yoon Chae-rin.
But she did not immediately pick up the pen.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Sang-hyeok’s signature and the engagement ring lying between them.
She had arranged today’s meeting to find out why Sang-hyeok had changed.
She had intended to confirm what trait he had awakened and how deeply he had been involved in repairing Ilseong’s equipment.
If Sang-hyeok still had feelings for her, she could even have used their engagement to keep him close and observe him.
Yet in the end, the only thing she had learned was that Sang-hyeok had awakened.
Instead, Sang-hyeok had discovered her relationship with Kang Tae-oh, informed her that the engagement was over, and was now about to take the <Spirit Vein Ring> as compensation.
Yoon Chae-rin’s gaze stayed on the compensation clause.
She still could not understand why he insisted so strongly on a cursed failed item.
“Sang-hyeok.”
She looked away from the agreement and raised her eyes to him.
“Are you really planning to use the <Spirit Vein Ring> yourself?”
“If I had no intention of using it, I wouldn’t have asked for it.”
“If you wear it without removing the curse, it will drain all your mana. Taeseong has already had several mana-exhaustion accidents because of it.”
Sang-hyeok looked into her eyes.
“That isn’t something you need to worry about anymore.”
Yoon Chae-rin’s lips pressed tightly together.
After looking at Sang-hyeok for a moment, she lowered her gaze to the agreement and picked up the electronic pen.
The tip hovered over the signature field for a moment.
Scratch.
[Yoon Chae-rin]
The moment the final signature was entered, a completion notice appeared on the screen.
[Confidential agreement signatures complete.]
[Agreement will be transmitted to the legal representatives of both families.]
[Beginning ownership-transfer procedure for artifact <Spirit Vein Ring>.]
The dissolution of the engagement and the transfer of compensation were confirmed at the same time.
Sang-hyeok rose from his seat.
“Send the <Spirit Vein Ring> today.”
“It will arrive today.”
“Then that’s enough.”
Sang-hyeok left the engagement ring lying on the table and turned away.
The food neither of them had touched was also cooling untouched on the table.
Without hesitation, he opened the door and left the room.
Click.
Even after the door closed, Yoon Chae-rin could not take her eyes off the direction in which Sang-hyeok had disappeared.
He had not looked back even once, right to the end.
Until now, Sang-hyeok had always been the one to contact her first and wait for her.
Even if Yoon Chae-rin gave only a short reply or rejected a meeting because she was busy, he would contact her again without showing disappointment.
Because of that, she had naturally assumed his feelings would never change.
Even when she had been the one to suggest a meal at the verification site and told him today that she wanted to work on their relationship, she had never imagined he would reject her.
But the moment Sang-hyeok removed his engagement ring first and told her it was over, that certainty shattered.
Yoon Chae-rin’s gaze lowered to her own left hand.
The engagement ring was still on her finger.
She rested a hand over it for a long while before slowly removing it.
Tap.
The two engagement rings lay side by side.
Sang-hyeok had removed his during the conversation, while Yoon Chae-rin only removed hers after every procedure was finished and he had already left.
She had always assumed that she would be the one to end this relationship.
At least until she met Sang-hyeok today.
The finger left bare by the ring felt strangely unfamiliar.
BZZZZ.
The mobile phone on the table vibrated.
[Kang Tae-oh: Hand over the <Spirit Vein Ring>.]
[Kang Tae-oh: Instead, confirm all of Kim Sang-hyeok’s movements after his awakening.]
Reading the instruction to investigate Sang-hyeok reminded her of the clause added to the agreement moments ago.
Instead of replying, Yoon Chae-rin opened the agreement again.
[Return cannot be requested regardless of changes in the condition or value of <Spirit Vein Ring>.]
She slowly reread the sentence.
Taeseong had failed for years to remove the curse from the <Spirit Vein Ring> and had declared it unusable.
Even Taeseong had given up on the artifact, yet Sang-hyeok had looked ahead to the possibility that it might gain value later.
She remembered the face he had worn when he refused to answer her questions.
‘Can he really remove the curse?’
Yoon Chae-rin closed the agreement and returned to Kang Tae-oh’s message.
[Please widen the investigation range to before Ilseong’s verification.]
***
As Sang-hyeok left the hotel, a notification arrived on his mobile phone.
[Item: <Spirit Vein Ring>]
[Ownership transfer complete.]
[Secure transport commencing.]
Sang-hyeok checked the screen and put the phone into his pocket.
The Hero Grade artifact Taeseong had discarded was now his.
That evening.
A transport employee placed a black metal case on Sang-hyeok’s desk.
THUD.
Taeseong Group’s secure-transport mark was stamped on the top.
When Sang-hyeok placed his hand on the receiver terminal the employee held out, a short confirmation tone sounded.
Beep.
[Recipient biometric information matched]
[Ownership transfer confirmed]
The transport employee left the case behind and exited the room.
Once the door closed, Sang-hyeok placed his hand on the locks.
Click.
All four locks released at once.
Sang-hyeok slowly lifted the lid.
A single silver bracelet rested on the black cushioning material.
It was a round ring large enough to encircle a wrist.
Dark-red stains like dried blood clung to the silver surface in several places.
A Taeseong sealing record was attached inside the case.
[Curse Removal Attempts: 19]
[Successful: 0]
[Mana Exhaustion Incidents: 5]
[Final Judgment: Unusable]
The result had remained the same even after high-level purification-type players were deployed.
The more power they poured into removing the curse, the more mana the <Spirit Vein Ring> drained.
Only after five people lost consciousness did Taeseong stop all attempts to remove it.
The object no one had dared touch for years now lay before Sang-hyeok.
As he brought his hand closer, the dark-red stains twitched faintly.
Before touching the bracelet, Sang-hyeok checked its item information.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Spirit Vein Ring>
[Grade] Hero
[Classification] Mana recovery support artifact
[Wear Restriction] Lv.1 or above
[Status] Powerful Curse
[Curse Effect] Continuously absorbs the wearer’s mana.
[Original Effect] Sealed due to curse.
[Warning] Wearing may cause complete mana loss.
Before his regression, the curse-free <Spirit Vein Ring> had revealed outstanding mana-recovery ability.
That power should still be sleeping inside it even now.
What Sang-hyeok needed to identify was the curse suppressing its original function.
He placed the <Spirit Vein Ring> on the desk.
‘<Demon Dragon’s Eye>.’
Heat spread through the inside of both eyes.
The colors of the room faded, leaving only the dark-red energy covering the <Spirit Vein Ring> in sharp relief.
The energy clung to the entire ring, pressing down on the silver surface.
A faint blue light barely leaked out through the gaps.
When Sang-hyeok focused on the dark-red energy, short descriptions appeared.
[Curse dwelling in <Spirit Vein Ring>]
[Absorbs the target’s mana and suppresses the artifact’s original function.]
‘That’s it.’
There was only one thing Sang-hyeok needed to target—the curse Taeseong had failed to remove for years.
He raised his right hand.
He did not need a curse-removal method.
He only had to erase the curse itself completely.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
VMMMM!
Black energy gathered over his palm.
As if reacting to that power, the <Spirit Vein Ring> trembled faintly.
WOOOOOM!
The curse covering the ring writhed and swelled violently.
Layers of dark-red energy gathered together and wrapped the <Spirit Vein Ring> even more thickly.
Sang-hyeok did not hesitate. He placed his palm directly over the ring.
HISSSSSS!
Starting where his hand touched, the dark-red energy began burning black.
A patch the size of his palm dispersed like smoke, exposing the silver surface beneath it.
The black energy rapidly spread along the revealed metal and into the surrounding stains.
「The curse is being annihilated by an unidentified method.」
The <Spirit Vein Ring> shook violently.
The remaining curse gathered toward the inside of the ring and resisted to the very end.
But Sang-hyeok pressed down harder and poured more mana into <Extinction Devouring>.
HISSSSS!
Black energy spread across the entire ring.
The dark-red stains rapidly shrank until only a single speck remained.
FSSSS!
Even the final stain turned into black smoke and scattered through the air.
Once all the dark-red energy had disappeared, the silver ring hidden beneath it was fully revealed.
The blue light that had barely been leaking from inside rapidly brightened as well.
FLASH!
At last, blue light burst between Sang-hyeok’s fingers and filled the room.
The violently trembling <Spirit Vein Ring> went still, and every trace of the curse covering it vanished completely.
A moment later, new notifications appeared.
「The curse dwelling in <Spirit Vein Ring> has been completely annihilated.」
「No curse remains to be removed.」
「The sealed original function is unlocked.」
[Status changes.]
[Powerful Curse → Normal]