Under the glow of the luminescent moss, the gleaming object flickered with a faint pale-blue light amid the ashes of the water ghoul. Lucian walked over and carefully fished it out with his dagger, discovering it was a silver-white ring.
Its band featured a simple filigree pattern, understated yet radiating a metallic luster, and set into its front was an unknown light-blue gemstone roughly half the size of a little finger.
"Was this the ring the water ghoul was wearing on its finger?" Lucian mused as he bent down to pick it up, running his finger along the inner surface of the band.
A cold metallic touch met his skin, and as expected, a line of text was carved into the inner ring. After careful examination, Lucian found it was written in the Common Language:
"Hearts are often more frigid than ice and snow."
The ring looked utterly unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, the pale-blue glow seemed to flow and shift with an air of mysterious depth.
With a tentative mindset, Lucian steadied his soul—still suffering from the arcane backlash—and slowly extended his depleted spiritual energy toward the ring.
The moment his spiritual energy made contact with the pale-blue gemstone, Lucian's already-injured soul lurched violently. He could feel wind and snow swirling inside the gem, and hidden within that storm was a spell structure far more complex than any informal magic he had encountered.
Lucian let out a soft exclamation, a blend of joy and mild relief: "It really is a magic ring. I'm not sure what grade it belongs to, but it feels even a little more complex than Benjamin's Emblem of Truth. Perhaps this is why the water ghoul mutated?"
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Lucian withdrew his nearly spent spiritual energy. In his current state, there was no way he could analyze the ring's approximate magical structure, let alone carve his Spiritual Mark into the magic circle's core to command it. He would have to wait until his spiritual energy recovered before attempting any analysis.
Had Lucian already become a formal arcanist and learned the first-circle spell "Identify," he could have directly appraised all first-tier magic items. With a bit more accumulated knowledge, he could even appraise second- or third-tier items. That way, without needing to slowly unravel a magic item's structure, he could cast the spell to learn its properties—and, in cases where no prior Spiritual Mark was imprinted, directly carve his own.
Moreover, most magic items also contained sealed information left by their makers, helping users understand the item's purpose, reason for creation, and so on.
Of course, as Lucian's level grew, "Identify" would grow stronger along with it.
According to the Witch's notes, arcanists were notoriously lazy when it came to classifying magic items. They simply mirrored the grading system of spells, dividing magic items into apprentice magic items, first-through ninth-tier magic items, and legendary magic items.
The classification standard was based on which circle of magic or which tier of knight the item's effect was equivalent to. Within each tier, there were further simple distinctions of low, mid, high, and perfect quality. For example, if a ring contained a once-per-day third-circle "Lightning Bolt," it would be a third-tier low-quality magic item. If it held three casts of "Lightning Bolt" per day, it would be mid-quality. If it also carried additional auxiliary properties—such as reducing lightning damage by five to ten percent—it would be a third-tier high-quality magic item.
If a magic item had a permanently active effect, its grade was raised by one tier. For instance, a magic item that permanently replicated the eighth-circle "Mind Barrier"—granting "immunity to any method of divination or mental influence"—would be classified as a ninth-tier perfect-quality magic item.
The grading of magic swords, armor, and similar equipment followed the same principle, generally corresponding to the offensive or defensive power of a knight of the same tier.
Since he had not yet analyzed the ring's general structure and properties, Lucian did not dare recklessly put it on. Instead, he placed it in his pocket, because if it were the type of item that activated a magical effect the moment it was worn, that could spell trouble—such effects were almost always curses!
Having secured the first magic item of his life, Lucian looked up with considerable delight—only to be met with the sight of a passageway strewn with corpses and stained with blood. His expression immediately soured. He still had to clean up and deal with the scene. And most importantly, he needed to extract the brain tissue of this mutated water ghoul:
"I haven't even learned 'Preserve Organ' yet, and I've already come into possession of water ghoul brain tissue. Fortunately, water ghouls are undead creatures, so their brain tissue should remain viable for three to five days. That should be enough time for me to learn 'Preserve Organ.'"
Despite its name, the informal spell "Preserve Organ" could actually keep most items fresh. Each casting lasted twenty-four hours and required no material components.
Lucian used his dagger to crack open the water ghoul's scorched skull, revealing the dark-black brain tissue within. It writhed slowly, as though countless invisible worms were wriggling inside.
Ignoring this eerie spectacle that would have made anyone's skin crawl, Lucian retrieved his bag of ice crystal stones and carefully packed the water ghoul's brain tissue inside. These stones—which could be used to cast Frost Ray—undoubtedly possessed some preservative properties.
Then, remembering that arcane magic required a great deal of money, Lucian's miserly instincts kicked in. He looted every money pouch from all the corpses, including the two gruesome bodies in the underground river whose brains had already been licked clean. In total, he collected thirty-three silver Nals and fifty-two Copper Fel.