Newly unlocked information unfolded beneath the notification.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Spirit Vein Ring>
[Grade] Hero
[Classification] Mana recovery support artifact
[Wear Restriction] Lv.1 or above
[Status] Normal
[Effect]
- Absorbs surrounding mana and assists the wearer’s mana recovery.
[Growth Trait]
- Grows by one stage once the absorbed mana exceeds a certain amount.
Sang-hyeok’s gaze stayed on the final two lines.
One of the reasons the <Spirit Vein Ring> had become famous before his regression was precisely this growth function.
After passing into Japan, the <Spirit Vein Ring> had grown stronger at restoring mana the more mana it accumulated.
Taeseong had spent years failing to remove its curse, classified it as a failed item, and handed it to Sang-hyeok as part of the broken-engagement settlement.
The agreement clearly stated that Taeseong could not demand the <Spirit Vein Ring> back even if its condition or value changed.
Even if Taeseong later discovered the artifact’s true performance, there would be no way to reclaim it.
As compensation for ending the engagement, Sang-hyeok had completely secured the Hero Grade artifact he needed most right now.
Now it was time to test the function he had restored.
Sang-hyeok withdrew <Demon Dragon’s Eye> and picked up the silver ring.
Not a single dark-red stain remained.
Even when he brought his hand close, he no longer felt the force that had drained his mana.
Sang-hyeok immediately brought the <Spirit Vein Ring> to his left wrist.
Clack.
The interlocked silver ring opened to both sides and wrapped around his wrist.
The loose ring then shrank until it fit him perfectly.
VMMMM.
Blue light bloomed from the inner edge.
A cool energy wrapped around his wrist before seeping into his body.
[<Spirit Vein Ring> absorbs surrounding mana.]
[Mana recovery speed increases.]
The mana he had spent erasing the curse moments ago began returning rapidly.
Sang-hyeok closed his eyes and estimated the recovery rate.
Mana naturally recovered little by little even while resting, but this was different from the very speed itself.
After only a few breaths, the amount he had consumed had visibly recovered.
He could determine the exact effect by spending mana himself.
‘<Demon Dragon’s Eye>.’
Heat spread inside both eyes, and the colors of the room faded.
He could see faint mana drifting through the room being drawn into the <Spirit Vein Ring> on his wrist.
Sang-hyeok opened his right hand.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy bloomed over his palm.
Using both Authorities at the same time rapidly consumed the mana inside his body.
In response, the blue glow of the <Spirit Vein Ring> brightened further.
Mana in the room gathered toward the silver ring.
That power entered through his wrist, visibly slowing the rate at which his mana was decreasing.
Sang-hyeok poured more mana into <Extinction Devouring>.
VMMMMMM!
The black energy expanded beyond his palm until it nearly reached his forearm.
His consumption was still faster than the recovery, so the mana inside him continued to fall.
Even so, the <Spirit Vein Ring> steadily replenished it, allowing him to maintain the same output longer than before.
Sang-hyeok dismissed <Extinction Devouring> while keeping only <Demon Dragon’s Eye> active.
The moment the black energy disappeared from his palm, the mana that had been falling began to rise rapidly again.
“Hoo.”
Sang-hyeok let out a long breath.
After only four or five breaths, enough mana had returned to use <Extinction Devouring> again.
He immediately opened his right hand.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy of the same size as before bloomed again.
Sang-hyeok kept the Authority active while counting to ten in his head.
During that time, the <Spirit Vein Ring> continuously drew in surrounding mana and replenished his consumption, while the black energy remained dense and stable until the end.
When Sang-hyeok finished counting and clenched his fist, the black energy disappeared.
Even after using his Authorities in succession, his breathing remained steady.
That made him remember the battle on the 4th Floor.
Back then, his mana had eventually run dry while fighting the endless swarm of magical beasts.
If he had not managed to make the Pack Mother crash into the nest, he would have been forced to give up the complete clear.
Now, merely catching his breath for a moment between attacks would let him use <Extinction Devouring> several more times.
And unlike a mana recovery potion, the <Spirit Vein Ring> was not a consumable that disappeared after one use.
As long as there was mana in the surroundings for it to draw from, it would continue assisting his recovery.
Of course, the amount it could recover had limits.
If he used both Authorities at full power, consumption would still exceed recovery, and its effect would decrease in places where surrounding mana was scarce.
Even so, the waiting time before he could use his Authorities again had unquestionably shortened.
And as the <Spirit Vein Ring> grew, even those current limitations would gradually diminish.
‘At least I won’t have to worry as much about running out of mana like I did on the 4th Floor.’
Sang-hyeok was looking down at the <Spirit Vein Ring> in satisfaction when it happened.
The blue light around his wrist suddenly flashed brightly.
The mana drawn in by the <Spirit Vein Ring> passed through his wrist and surged into his chest.
THUD.
The moment that mana reached his chest, the <Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon> beat heavily.
Sang-hyeok placed his right hand over his chest.
The mana that passed through the heart blended naturally with Sang-hyeok’s own mana and spread throughout his body.
He felt neither pain nor any sense of foreignness.
‘Does it accept mana absorbed from outside too?’
No new notification appeared.
After one heavy beat, the heart returned to its usual silence.
Sang-hyeok looked back and forth between the <Spirit Vein Ring> on his wrist and his chest.
He did not know why the <Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon> had reacted to the mana from the <Spirit Vein Ring>.
He would need more clues to learn the exact reason.
For now, he decided to preserve a record of how the <Spirit Vein Ring> drew in mana.
He took the <Demon Eye Record Stone> from his inventory and placed his hand on the stone slab engraved with the closed-eye pattern.
In his mind, he recalled the scene from moments ago, when surrounding mana had gathered toward his wrist.
Ssssk.
The closed-eye pattern opened.
A clear image of the blue-glowing <Spirit Vein Ring> appeared on the black slab.
Two descriptions appeared beside it.
[Surrounding mana absorption]
[Wearer mana recovery]
Faint light gathered around the <Spirit Vein Ring> depicted on the stone slab.
The operation he had just confirmed was being reproduced exactly.
It was more than enough material for Kim Seo-yoon and the researchers to examine later.
While Sang-hyeok finalized the record, more than half the mana he had spent during the experiment had already recovered.
After confirming even his recovery state, he returned the Record Stone to his inventory.
At that moment, the <Spirit Vein Ring> on his wrist flashed briefly, and a new notification appeared.
[Mana required for growth accumulates in <Spirit Vein Ring>.]
[Current Growth: 0.01%]
Sang-hyeok’s eyes narrowed.
He had drawn in a considerable amount of mana while testing two Authorities, yet the growth rate was only 0.01 percent.
At this rate, absorbing ambient mana in an ordinary location would take far too long to reach the next growth stage.
‘I need a place rich in mana.’
A short while later, once his mana had completely recovered, Sang-hyeok rose from his seat.
He had obtained a means to compensate for his mana shortage.
Now it was time to test its performance in actual combat inside the Tower.
Sang-hyeok checked the <Spirit Vein Ring> around his wrist once, then moved his will.
「Enter the Infinite Tower?」
‘Enter.’
FLASH!
White light surged from beneath his feet and wrapped around his body.
His vision turned pure white, and the sensation of the floor beneath him disappeared.
Tap.
A moment later, his feet touched solid ground again.
When the white light faded, his room in reality was gone. A circular white space spread around him.
「You have entered the 5th Floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「The 5th Floor proceeds as a selection-type trial.」
VMMMM.
The empty wall ahead split into three sections, and three doors appeared side by side.
「Select the trial to challenge.」
Trial information appeared above each door.
[Trial 1: Defeat]
[Trial 2: Guard]
[Trial 3: Survival]
All three were ordinary low-floor trials.
The current Sang-hyeok could clear any of them without much difficulty.
He headed directly toward Defeat, which could be finished fastest.
Just as he stopped before the first door and was about to reach out, the <Spirit Vein Ring> on his wrist vibrated faintly.
Vmmm.
Sang-hyeok stopped his hand and looked down at his wrist.
A faint blue light was spreading from the <Spirit Vein Ring>.
At the same time, new notifications overlapped the existing trial information.
「Checking player’s special qualifications.」
[Held Achievement]
[The One Who Achieved the Impossible]
「Eligibility to challenge a trial outside the regular path confirmed.」
「Searching held artifacts for a target satisfying special-trial conditions.」
As the search began, the blue light of the <Spirit Vein Ring> intensified.
「Growth-capable mana artifact confirmed.」
[Target Artifact: <Spirit Vein Ring>]
[Current State: Normal]
[Current Growth: 0.01%]
‘The <Spirit Vein Ring> is a condition for opening a special trial?’
RUMBLE.
At the same time, the wall to the right of the three doors split from the center and moved apart.
An old stone door was revealed behind it.
Its surface was engraved with a pattern of a silver ring submerged in dark-red mist.
Soon, information for a fourth trial appeared above the door.
[Trial 4: <Contaminated Spirit Vein Corridor>]
[Classification: Hidden Trial]
[Entry Conditions: Impossible Achievement holder / Growth-capable mana artifact equipped]
[Complete-Clear Reward: Equipped artifact grows by 1 stage]
Sang-hyeok’s gaze stopped on the final line.
It was a chance to raise the artifact by one entire growth stage at once—something that could take an unknown amount of time in an ordinary place.
Then the warnings appeared.
[Equipped artifact cannot be removed during the trial.]
[The corridor’s contaminated mana accumulates in the equipped artifact.]
[If contamination reaches 100%, the artifact will cease functioning.]
[After the trial is completed, you will return to the 5th Floor room of choice.]
Sang-hyeok checked the warnings one by one.
After finishing the Hidden Trial, he could return to the 5th Floor room of choice.
If he then completed a regular trial, he could still climb one floor today.
It would not interfere with his goal of one floor per day.
The problem was contamination.
If it reached 100 percent, the <Spirit Vein Ring> he had only just restored would lose its function again.
If he wanted safety, he could abandon the Hidden Trial and enter a regular trial instead.
But Sang-hyeok’s gaze returned to the reward promising one full growth stage.
If he intended to keep climbing one floor every day, he needed to strengthen his mana-recovery ability whenever he had the opportunity.
‘Let’s do it.’
Having decided, Sang-hyeok approached the dark-red stone door and placed his palm on it.
「Entering Hidden Trial <Contaminated Spirit Vein Corridor>.」
RUMBLE!
The stone door opened inward.
Dark-red mist poured from the gap and wrapped around Sang-hyeok’s ankles.
The cold, sticky energy tried to crawl up his trousers.
Just as Sang-hyeok raised his right hand to use <Extinction Devouring>, an invisible force from beyond the doorway pulled at his body.
FLASH!
Dark-red light covered his vision, and the ground disappeared beneath his feet.
Tap.
A moment later, his feet touched a damp stone floor.
When the dark-red light faded, a long corridor stretched ahead.
Dark-red mist filled the passage, and black, rotten-looking stains spread across the walls and floor.
The farther inward the corridor went, the denser the mist became.
[Hidden Trial: <Contaminated Spirit Vein Corridor>]
[Objective: Reach the end of the corridor.]
[Contaminated mana continuously accumulates in the equipped artifact.]
[If contamination reaches 100%, the trial fails.]
Sang-hyeok took his first step.
Ssssss.
The surrounding dark-red mist moved rapidly and gathered around his wrist.
The <Spirit Vein Ring>, which absorbed surrounding mana, was drawing in even the contaminated mana mixed into the mist.
Dark-red stains spread over the silver ring that had been shining cleanly moments ago.
[Contaminated mana accumulates in <Spirit Vein Ring>.]
[Current Contamination: 1%]
Before he could even take another step, the number rose again.
[Current Contamination: 2%]
The corridor was so long that its end could not be seen.
At this rate, contamination would reach 100 percent before he even made it halfway.
Sang-hyeok looked down at the dark-red stains spreading across the <Spirit Vein Ring>.
Even now, the corridor’s mist was seeping into it and widening the stains.
The mist contained both pure mana that could grow the <Spirit Vein Ring> and contaminated mana mixed together.
‘Then……’
Sang-hyeok’s eyes flashed.
‘I only have to erase the contaminated mana as it comes in.’
Then only pure mana would accumulate in the <Spirit Vein Ring>.
Sang-hyeok covered the <Spirit Vein Ring> on his left wrist with his right hand.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’