"...The Map of the World." Luo Ming muttered, dazed, silver eyes blinking repeatedly as if unable to believe what stood before him.
He’d initially wondered if he was mistaken, but the sight before him could only be one thing: the Map of the world, Pengu.
"Heaven’s Breath, this is far beyond what I expected." He said, his lips trembling as a smile threatened to split his beautiful face.
He approached the Map with unsteady steps, noticing first that the numerous continents and islands formed a shape resembling a snake.
"Or maybe a dragon?" He guessed.
It was hard to tell.
Once close enough, he stopped to examine it more closely. First, he noticed multiple colors glowing across the map, though only within a limited range.
Looking closer, Luo Ming realized the colors appeared only over the Evergreen Continent, the same continent his own Three Cities Kingdom belonged to.
Everywhere else remained colorless. All he could make out there were the names of continents and islands. Nothing more.
"I’m limited to my own continent, it seems." He murmured to himself, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Why? Is it because I’m on this continent? Would I need to travel to other continents to unlock these colors?"
That question led him to investigate what the colors actually meant. Fortunately, along the far right edge of the Map was a legend explaining some of them.
Not all, he suspected. But the most common ones.
He began reading. Again, the language was neither Earth’s nor this world’s native tongue.
Something else entirely, and yet he understood it perfectly.
’...I wonder why?’
He set the thought aside briefly and studied the colors.
Green marked places with good resources.
Orange indicated an Opportunity.
Red marked dangerous zones, home to spirit beasts or other unnatural phenomena and creatures.
The intensity of each color reflected the severity of what it represented.
"I see." Luo Ming murmured, unable to stop smiling, his silver eyes fixed on the human figure marking his own position on the Map.
He was in the Three Cities Kingdom, more precisely in Wei City.
When Luo Ming focused on the city, the Map zoomed in, revealing a scattering of green and red around it.
Not only that.
There was also a single orange marker. And it sat in the exact same location as a red one.
The meaning was clear.
"An opportunity and a danger." He guessed, "But the red isn’t too intense. So it should be manageable. And this location is..."
Luo Ming let out a dry chuckle, lips twitching as he read the location’s name clearly displayed on the Map.
"...the Wei Clan’s household?"
The only opportunity in all of Wei City sat inside a tricky place. It made sense, Luo Ming supposed, but that didn’t make it any less stressful.
A Chosen Clan wasn’t something anyone could casually cross.
Especially not one harboring a regressor who didn’t seem the type to forgive anyone who wronged her.
And when he checked the other Chosen cities — Lin City, Bai City — the danger there ran even deeper.
Given that the danger scaled relative to his own strength and abilities, Luo Ming realized he’d only be able to truly benefit from this incredible ability once he grew strong enough.
He wondered what his clan would think, knowing they’d been sleeping atop the greatest treasure imaginable, all along.
"How did this thing even come to be?" Luo Ming asked no one in particular, "Who created it?"
The ring was called the Lost Ring of Pengu. And the world itself bore the name Pengu.
Luo Ming’s brows furrowed slightly, "Is Pengu...a real being?"
He couldn’t be sure, but he hoped this treasure wouldn’t bring him troubles.
After observing a bit longer, and realizing the Map wouldn’t tell him what he’d face or gain in any given spot, Luo Ming decided to withdraw, memorizing a few of the green zones in Wei City first.
"Red is everywhere. Even inside the green zones." He concluded, then blinked, returning his consciousness to the real world.
He lowered his head, looking again at the pupil-less eye tattoo on his chest, and smiled with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
"Don’t screw me over. I suffered a lot to get you."
Piercing one’s own heart was no small thing, after all. He still shuddered at the mere memory of it.
"Either way, this is good news." He said, turning his attention to the bed, eyeing the black snake-marked box, "With the Map, I’ll know where resources and opportunities lie. Now it’s up to me to decide what to do with that information."
He could use it for himself, or, if he wished, sell the information outright.
But only after he knew what was actually there.
He wasn’t about to give away something valuable, was he?
All told, Luo Ming was thoroughly pleased with the Map of Pengu. As a former CEO, he’d always valued information. It was always an asset.
Always.
"Now let’s see what you are." He stretched out his hand and grasped the black box, "If you’re even half as good as the Map, I’ll be satisfied."
But before opening it, he decided to use Soul Record on the box first.
Light flashed at his intention, and a panel appeared before him.
[Records of Insight (First Part)]
[Artifact Rank: Unknown (Power too low)]
[Description: The Second Prophecy — the Prophecy of Wisdom — was an immortal young man, wiser than most, who took pleasure in recording his knowledge across creation. The proper way to open this Box is to have someone romantically bound to you bitten by a Rank Two Bloodspirit Snake, then use their poisoned blood, mixed with your own, on the box.]
Luo Ming paused, reading the words over and over, trying to fully grasp what he was seeing. Then slowly, he wet his lips, a hidden shudder running through him.
"...well, damn."
—End of Chapter 17—