***
Skyscrapers stretched toward the heavens.
Teleport gates connected every corner of the city.
Sky fortresses overlooked the urban sprawl below.
Supersonic mana-powered trains and airships ferried goods back and forth.
This was the world of Rondel, a place where magic had advanced to the point that it rivaled science fiction.
Spanning four continents and twenty nations, Rondel was home to humans, elves, dwarves, and a host of other races, each forming their own societies and carving out a place for themselves.
Having passed through the Mythic Age and the Age of Swords, the current era was known as the Mana Age. Humanity called it their Golden Age.
—December 29, 1999, Mana Era.
On the cusp of a new millennium.
The world erupted in chaos when the last words of a great archmage were revealed.
"Power, knowledge, wealth. I have hidden it all somewhere in this world."
"Crave it. The unclaimed fortune might belong to you."
The mage's name was Manuel Lucas.
A pioneer who had ushered in the Golden Age of the Mana Era, he was the Grand Duke of the Bringham Empire and one of only three mages in all of history to reach the 9th Circle.
Obsessed with magic to the end, he had lived as a bachelor with no children and had never even taken on an apprentice amid his ceaseless research.
*In other words, whoever finds his hidden fortune becomes his official heir.*
Estimates placed Grand Duke Lucas's wealth on par with the Bringham Empire's national budget.
But more valuable than the riches were the "fortune" containing his knowledge and power.
The Bringham Empire's status as the world's strongest nation, along with its reputation as the leader in magitech, could all be attributed to Grand Duke Lucas's influence.
As a result, intelligence agencies from every nation—regardless of race—and countless private organizations launched searches for his fortune.
*'Manuel Lucas's dungeon exists in the barren Dragon Lands.'*
*'His wealth is hidden in the Elisian Federation, infamous for tax havens.'*
*'His sky fortress is anchored in the Storm Sea, the eye of the world.'*
Rumors about the fortune spread like wildfire.
But most were mere speculation, no more substantial than novels. No one found it, and despite countless investigations into Manuel Lucas, not even a clue turned up.
Twenty years passed like that.
[You have acquired Manuel Lucas's fortune.]
"Finally..."
Just as treasure hunters who had scoured the world were dropping out from exhaustion.
A young man claimed the great archmage's fortune.