Legendary Item!

In the world of Gloria Saga, the only person who'd ever laid eyes on a Legendary item was Vulcan himself—and here it was, buried in the basement of a mere level 180 dungeon.

"Holy shit. A Legendary item...?"

Some entity had crafted it and left it slumbering underground. Vulcan quickly scanned the surroundings, wondering if a guardian might pop up, but nothing appeared. It might trigger when he touched the item, but for now, it was clear.

—So this is it.

"You know this item?"

—Of course. I made it.

"...?"

Vulcan stared in disbelief at Tud's casual revelation as the little dragon inspected it first. Tud made it himself? That explained the Legendary grade. He was probably the only being capable of crafting one.

"You made it, Tud?"

But that didn't answer everything. Why was a Legendary item crafted by Tud lying here? Who had brought it to this bizarre dungeon called the Cave of Lamentations, and why? And was this really the source of the curse? The term "curse" made him wonder if some unknown malediction clung to the item.

—What're you doing? Gonna pray to it or something?

Tud's snide remark snapped him out of it. Right—even if it was cursed, he couldn't pass up a Legendary. He had Item Master and the Ash Blessing anyway; he'd manage. Steeling himself, Vulcan reached out and grabbed it, eyes gleaming as he checked the info.

"...The power of time?"

It was an item that manipulated time itself—accelerating or rewinding a target's timeline. His current rank limited him to reversal only, max 10 seconds, but the potential was insane.

'It scales with the user's rank... So higher levels mean more uses, longer reversals, other targets?'

Endless possibilities. He'd have to test it, but even from the description, it was god-tier. No extra stats, but it was worth one of his two bracelet slots.

—Yeah, it's got unlimited potential. Made from the Time Stone, infused with the world's laws. I crafted it to squeeze out every extra second... but why the hell's it here?

"Maybe... this?"

Vulcan pointed to the faint remnants beside the bracelet—bleached bones with no rotting flesh left. Likely the corpse's owner had carried it through the tunnels before dying here.

—An Earthworm?

Not many clues, but easy to guess. Few things could dig tunnels this size. Earthworms: massive worms, level 300+ bosses needing full parties. They devoured earth, sand, and rock, swimming underground like fish, often in deserts—but not exclusively.

—Looks like the dumbass swallowed it and wandered around till it croaked here.

Simple: it ate the bracelet somewhere, roamed, and died. Case closed.

"Can't track it back, huh?"

—Too much time's passed.

"Tch."

If he knew the origin, maybe more of Tud's items awaited. Vulcan smacked his lips in regret, but the tunnels had collapsed and filled with dirt long ago—no backtracking.

He'd settle for scoring a Legendary.

"Uh... something's off, though."

—What?

"Timeline doesn't match, right? Demon King War was before the Age of Divine Swords."

Tud's era came after the war. How could his item create this dungeon then?

—What's weird about that?

"The timing. The grudge ghosts were trapped decades or centuries later."

Tud shrugged it off like it was obvious.

—You think that power's limited to scraps like a few seconds? With proper rank and mana, it's trivial. Plus, it held some of my infused energy. Tch, can't even see that?

"?!"

This was that powerful? Rewind an entire dungeon's time by centuries?

—Obviously. Legendary means twisting and rewriting world laws.

"Then... Myth grade?"

—Shatter or recreate them. That's my take.

Vulcan had no retort from the creator himself. He scratched his head, glancing between bracelet and Tud, then headed out.

"...Whoa?"

Back on the surface, the hidden quest cleared, granting the long-awaited Epic title: Soul Liberator. Its meaning was vague, effects unclear, but one thing was sure.

All stats +2. Meager for 217 souls (1 per 100), but scale it to 10k, 100k, a million? Insane. Higher-rank souls might boost more.

'No souls that big, but free stats are free.'

Limits unknown, but refugees here numbered thousands—only 217 lingered as ghosts. Still, free stats were rare outside quests/titles. Pure win.

"Skills too?"

Temp soul skills from their lives. One-use only, but Vulcan lacked attack skills—perfect. Surprise factor too.

Another hidden quest. Curse lifted with bracelet, but ghosts had one request.

"Accept."

"Oh, nice?"

Avenger specialized vs. demon kin/beasts—great effects, one issue.

"...Where do I find demon kin or beasts?"

None on the continent now. Post-war, their blood diluted; most were normal monsters. Would it apply? Epic title, so he pocketed it gratefully.

"Eh, bound to be useful someday."

No downside holding it. Might tie into main scenario quests; Demon King Army join ban was irrelevant anyway.

"Wait, that means...?"

It implied a future choice: Demon King Army or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humans. Predictable from main quests, but seeing proof hit different. Brain buzzing.

"...Gotta sort 'em early."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

—Yeah. Demon collaborators always pop up.

When choice time came, weed out Demon Army sympathizers among NPCs. Users might pick greed or war state, but NPCs had tells.

—Now what? This place is done.

"Level up first. Test Time Reversal too. Planned to grind here, but dungeon's gone. Nearby fields suck, but with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this gear..."

His level was too low for high NPCs to care, let alone alliances. Curse lift nuked the dungeon—no reuse. Other spots nearby for EXP, undead-free but decent. Adjust plan. Item power crushed anything anyway.

—No plan? How 'bout this?

"...?"

Tud upended the plan again with a proposal.