Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: I Must Hatch the Egg (2)
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My heart pounded fiercely.
Infinite Inventory.
From the moment he entered this DAT world, it was the item Regin carried around in bracelet form.
‘An item I’d never seen even once while playing the game...’
If he had known it existed, he would have gone after it back during his gaming days.
An inventory that could store items infinitely.
It would have lowered the play difficulty by several times over.
‘But I’d never seen it in the game. I only obtained it after entering DAT... and even I don’t know how I got it or what it really is.’
All he knew was that it stayed in bracelet form normally and opened as an inventory when used.
It was truly an item shrouded in mystery.
Regin himself wanted to research this bracelet.
‘I’d been frustrated, scouring the library endlessly but finding not even a trace.’
That Greg had noticed the uniqueness of Regin’s bracelet.
“Something you received from someone?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I did think the bracelet was a bit unusual. Hard to tell for sure, but it doesn’t feel like iron or mithril.”
Greg continued, gazing at the bracelet.
“In other words, it’s something even I’d need to examine closely to understand. I’ve never seen or worked with that kind of material before.”
“Would you take a look?”
Swoosh.
Greg took the bracelet, tapping it and feeling its surface before letting out a hollow laugh.
“I don’t even sense any mana in it. So it’s not adamantium or anything like that either. What’s its purpose?”
“That’s hard for me to say.”
“Hmm.”
Greg handed the bracelet back and continued.
“If you head back to the kingdom, could you stop by my smithy? It’s ten minutes from Middle Street.”
His face was full of curiosity and intrigue as he spoke.
“I’d like to analyze it properly with my smithy’s tools.”
Just looking at it, Greg couldn’t tell what it was or exactly what kind of item it was.
Regin slipped the bracelet back on and nodded.
“Sounds good.”
He had to go refine the black mana stone anyway.
‘Ketchup thief.’
He couldn’t tell Greg everything honestly, but with the right tools, he could learn a bit more about it.
‘Just wait. I’ll figure out what you are... what you really are... I’ll take a closer look.’
* * *
They were just wrapping up their brief but hearty drinking session.
“Are you two planning to head straight back to the kingdom?”
Seria, who had returned after scouting the perimeter, asked Regin and Greg.
“That seems to be the plan.”
In Regin’s view, Greg’s upper body was completely bare.
The armor he’d been wearing nonstop was ruined by the explosion’s aftermath.
That alone made it impossible for Greg to go any higher.
“Greg needs repairs too. And I need to make some new scrolls.”
Regin also needed to restock his scrolls.
‘From the rabbit burrow to this battle with Kaluan... I used way more scrolls than expected.’
He’d used a total of twenty-four scrolls in the rabbit burrow alone.
In the fight with Kaluan, he’d burned through nearly all the remaining thirty.
Flame Ball, Magic Arrow... all kinds of elemental magic scrolls. He was out of the ones he’d brought.
“As regrettable as it is, heading back to the kingdom makes sense.”
He’d gotten caught up in a massive fight while trying to obtain the Saint’s Sword.
It had been a while since he’d made a choice like this.
‘Mid-run withdrawal.’
Leaving the tower without fully achieving your goals was commonly called a mid-run withdrawal.
It was a decision you’d make countless times while playing DAT.
‘Loglike game, after all. If you don’t want to lose everything in one go, you have to climb the tower carefully.’
When things deviated from the plan, you’d exit the tower first and regroup your character.
It was one pattern even DAT masters couldn’t avoid.
And this time, it wasn’t a game character—it was him in person.
‘This expedition ends here.’
He had no choice but to play it safe.
‘Even in DAT, I never pushed too far without a save scroll.’
Regin only made bold choices when he had save scrolls.
The item that reverted your character to a designated point upon death.
He remembered using five or more when clearing the game.
‘...Save scroll.’
Suddenly, Regin wondered how save scrolls would work in his current situation.
He could check next expedition.
“Even if they’re just skeletons, fighting bare-handed is too much. This expedition’s over for me.”
“Hmm.”
While Regin was lost in thought, Greg nodded in agreement.
Seria, listening to them both, spoke up bluntly.
“So, you’re both leaving together?”
“Yes. As I said, we need to regroup.”
“...Can I come with you?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, we go out together...”
Regin kept his expression neutral and replied calmly.
“And then come back in together afterward?”
“...Yes.”
Her face showed how much she’d agonized over bringing this up.
“As you know, I’m skilled at solving gimmicks.”
“I’m no slouch there either. Greg might not know, but... I can teach him.”
“...Dual dagger arts aren’t bad either.”
“Lacks power. She barely pierced Kaluan’s skin earlier.”
“...But she spots weaknesses well.”
“Though she exposes openings in midair.”
Coldly put, that was the reality of this battle.
She had great future potential, which was why he’d wanted to save her.
But her skills still fell short of Kaluan’s.
How many near-death moments had there been?
“I want to climb the tower with you at least once.”
“...”
“Only by seeing how far you go can I set my own goal.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Everything. I’ve already promised to save you two twice.”
Seria continued with a serious expression.
“I need to know your capacity. Then I can set a goal that matches it.”
She wanted to gauge what level of person would get two saves from her.
At her following words, Regin simply nodded.
“Alright.”
It was what he wanted anyway.
‘The flaws I mentioned can all be fixed with levels and experience.’
And if she stuck by his side, Regin was the perfect person to pick out and provide exactly what she needed.
‘She’s just an unhatched egg right now.’
But he could hatch her.
He was confident he could make her spread her wings and soar.
His experience raising NPCs told him so.
“By the way, Seria.”
“Yeah?”
“I have a quick stop to make right now. Mind coming along?”
“A stop?”
“It’s not far from the escape portal.”
Regin recalled the item he’d pulled from his inventory while looting earlier.
Something from the tower that he’d need on the 6th floor.
‘Come to think of it, this is an egg too.’
Regin chuckled softly and continued.
“There’s this item called Flexys’s Egg. I’m planning to open it here.”
This egg, he intended to hatch today.
* * *
Flexys’s Egg.
The item he’d gone through hell in the black market to obtain.
‘One of the items created by the wizard Flexys, who used to live in the past.’
A wizard famous for leaving behind many bizarre items.
Among them, Flexys’s Egg was fairly well-known among explorers, or so he’d heard.
‘You can’t help but be curious. The item inside is random.’
The egg contained one of Flexys’s many items at random.
The gacha-style item you couldn’t miss in an RPG.
‘The funny thing is, it might not be completely random.’
Any gamer who’d played would have heard tales like this.
Open a gacha box on a rocky mountain, and you’re guaranteed a flame sword.
Open one in the ocean, and you get a trident.
‘Flexys’s Egg was the item with the most such rumors.’
Open it on the 1st floor, get a necklace.
Open it on the 2nd floor, get a ring.
There were tons of rumors, some verified, others dismissed as nonsense.
“They say Flexys’s Egg can yield different items based on where you open it.”
Even the NPC explorers in DAT believed that.
When even non-players—the explorers—said it, Regin had to test it himself.
He’d decided while bringing the egg into the tower.
‘If so, to get what I need right now, I should open it on the 6th floor.’
He’d wanted to try earlier, but variables arose.
After that, he’d planned to open it before leaving the 6th floor, so now was the time.
“Where are you thinking of opening it? Does location matter? I’ve hardly ever opened one myself.”
“I’ve heard location doesn’t matter much.”
Regin replied to Greg.
A familiar spot from his DAT days flashed in his mind.
‘But if I’m opening it anyway... better at a place most related to the item I want.’
Superstition or probability.
“You never know. Location might influence it.”
If it helped survival, he’d try everything.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed one of the places we stopped.”
“I’d planned to open it right away once a safer spot was confirmed. But meeting Kaluan delayed things.”
The place they arrived at was none other than the ruined cathedral.
The spot he’d eyed as a base before encountering Kaluan.
“Seria, any monsters or people nearby?”
“No. Unless someone’s specifically hiding... no one else around.”
“Got it.”
Regin carefully took out the egg.
A blue egg emitting a soft glow.
About ostrich-egg sized, with patches of transparent glass embedded.
Greg and Seria watched the egg with intrigued eyes.
“Haven’t seen one in ages.”
“You’ve opened one?”
“Just once... gave it to my daughter as a gift when she begged for it.”
“...”
‘...Damn.’
He’d have to steer conversations away from her daughter.
Regin shut his mouth at Greg’s sad eyes.
Scritch—
Then he gripped the egg firmly.
‘Opening method is simple.’
Inject mana.
Regin’s mana began seeping inside bit by bit.
Crack—
With the sound of the egg cracking, a faint light leaked from within.
“...Ha.”
A reflexive chuckle escaped.
“Flexys’s Cloak.”
The exact item he wanted, on the first try.
* * *
A long cloak large enough to cover the whole body popped out of the egg.
‘Shrunk with magic, maybe.’
Its outer appearance and size gave no hint of the contents.
‘...But if it’s just shrinkage magic, the location influence is suspicious.’
The name Flexys lingered in his mind.
Worth researching now that he was in DAT.
“Flexys’s Cloak. The item that applies a mana shield.”
“Correct.”
It formed a shield matching the user’s mana level upon activation.
It had a cooldown, but that alone boosted survival nicely.
It also regulated body temperature, making it practical for daily use.
“Perfect item for you.”
“Yeah. Now I can use bombs freely without mana shield scrolls.”
He’d make other scrolls too, with his higher level.
But with current scroll firepower, bombs were still his strongest move.
An item providing a shield to withstand that explosion was exactly what Regin needed.
‘I’ll be able to fight even more freely from now on.’
Regin gazed at it contentedly and continued.
“Alright, let’s head out. Time to find the escape portal.”
It was time to wrap up the 6th-floor expedition.