OOPArts.
In my past life, that was a catch-all term for products of technology that shouldn't have existed in that era.
The famous ones were things like a crystal skull, a golden shuttle figurine, and a dinosaur clay idol.
But in this world, it's a bit different.
OOPArts amplify the power of Relics.
They're mostly weapons, armor, and accessories, and many are found as dungeon treasures.
OOPArts are full of unknowns.
They have compatibility — they don't amplify just any Relic's power.
That compatibility, apparently, can be felt by the Relic's holder.
It's like being guided toward it. Or chosen by it.
Fate, I guess.
OOPArts are rare.
They sometimes trade for high prices.
However, if an OOPArt can't synchronize with a Relic, it's nothing more than an ordinary weapon or accessory.
OOPArts are conduits.
Separately from those, there are Legacies.
Items that hold a Relic's power within them.
In terms of my past-life memories, "magic item" is probably the closest comparison.
They're items, but all Legacies are consumable.
The permanent type is called legendary.
Both being valuable means they don't come cheap.
"So it's an OOPArt?"
"No doubt about it. I saw it with my Relic Appraisal."
Relic Appraisal is a well-known Relic.
It can determine the quality of weapons and armor, and whether something is an OOPArt or not.
"So you can't buy it, huh..."
"Wof. Let's take this one to the Delvers' Guild."
"To the Delvers' Guild?"
I furrowed my brow in confusion.
Arifa continued with a solemn expression.
"I saw an illustration of a ring that looked a lot like this one in a search request. I'm taking it there to confirm whether this is the one."
"And then what happens?"
"If this turns out to be the requested item, I'll hand over the reward to Wof with the commission cut out."
"And if it's not?"
"In that case, hmm. There are a few people looking for an OOPArt. I could sell it to one of them with the commission cut out and pass the money to Wof. How about that?"
"Sounds good. I'm counting on you."
As long as it sells, I don't really care.
I left the ring with Arifa and walked out of the antique shop.
Four days later.
Entering the dungeon's Junkyard.
As usual, I use my Relics—Danger Discernment and Wheel of Fortune.
"...Hmm."
One green light. Two.
No yellow lights. No blue ones either, naturally.
Just one yellow light at a red point barely this side of white... No, I'll pass.
I want to minimize any chance of getting hurt.
I head toward the first green light.
After climbing the junk pile to reach the destination, I heard voices.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"That forest. Some idiot tried to challenge it again."
"Again? Even a Rank II delver couldn't make it work."
"That's beyond reckless. It's a suicide mission..."
"Right? They keep saying there's some incredible treasure in there, but who knows how many delvers have already lost their lives. But how do people even find out about that?"
"I don't really know the details myself, but apparently there's a flute kept at the Guild that starts playing."
"A flute?"
"That's how they know, supposedly."
"What the hell is that?"
People were chatting nearby.
"So anyway, hey, did you see?"
"See what?"
A running conversation while we explored.
Two boys, chatting away.
"That third-party delver team… they're super pretty, huh?"
"Oh, yeah — 'Torquetam,' right?"
"Torke… what?"
"It's their team name. Torquetam."
"Heh, you know a lot, don't you?"
"Apparently Dad found out when he went to the Guild."
So they were called Torquetam.
"Dad, huh. He's a delver, isn't he?"
"Nothing special — rank five."
"He never got promoted?"
"He used to be pretty fired up about it. Gave up by now, though."
"Yeah. The talent wall. People say it's tough. Oh — an emblem."
"Rare. Which team is that?"
"The Raven… Raven Saga… ever heard of it?"
"Nope."
"Yeah, figured."
"Let's go already."
"Six arrowheads, an undamaged pouch, and this emblem — that our haul?"
"I've got a broken bronze sword. An iron plate. A rabbit tail."
"That rabbit tail's a good-luck charm, right? Nice one."
"Is it? If it were, I don't think it'd be lying around in a place like this."
"...Yeah, true."
And with that, they left.
Decent haul, all things considered.
"Ah—!"
I looked away for a second, and my knife snapped with a sharp crack.
The piece of leather armor I'd been struggling to remove had metal in it.
The blade caught on it at a weird angle, and — snap — it was done for.
It was over. Haaah...
"...Haaah."
A sigh slipped out. The shock was real. The kind that hollows you out.
I had no choice but to use a minimal [Banish] to dissolve and remove it.
I'd rather not use it out in the open, but there was nothing else for it.
"Just my luck..."
It was a cheap knife, but I'd sharpened it myself and even used it as a kitchen blade.
I was attached to it. I'd always taken care of it, in my own way.
It snapped clean in half from the center.
I could feel it — the knife had been approaching its durability limit.
"...My kniiiife... haah..."
Another long sigh escaped me. This was going to be expensive.
I absolutely needed a knife. Being without one was out of the question.
I looked down at the green glow beneath my armor and wished it would at least give me a short sword. What came out instead was a tobacco pouch.
Bronze. Simple, no patterns or decorations — probably made for commoners.
The tobacco inside was completely dried out and crumbling apart.
I tossed the ruined shreds aside.
The next green glow yielded an hourglass.
This world had the concept of time, and it did have clocks.
However, the day here was twenty-six hours — two hours longer than in my past life.
Well, so what.
The royal capital did have a clock tower.
But normally, people kept time by the church bells.
The church bells rang once per hour from six in the morning until evening.
At night, they rang only once — at the twenty-sixth hour's midnight.
It was hard to follow, but this world's sense of time was rough and imprecise anyway, so that was fine.
There were no wristwatches here, but pocket watches did exist.
Though they were crafted with the pinnacle of the era's technology, making them aristocratic items.
I don't know the exact price, but they're expensive.
Probably around the same cost as a modern luxury watch.
Like 10 million or 100 million.
An hourglass serves the same purpose as in the modern world.
It's treated more like a kitchen timer than a stopwatch.
There are also water clocks and fire clocks.
And apparently, there are things like Relics that can tell time precisely.
It's understated, but you could call it convenient.
Then there's the Legacy clocks.
Their price? You'd call it astronomical, or maybe a national treasure.
"A tobacco case and an hourglass, huh."
The green light means they're rare. But whether they'll sell is another question.
Just because something is rare doesn't mean it will sell. The fact that super ultra rare items often don't sell is a perfect example.
Still.
I have a feeling they won't fetch a higher price than what those two were just talking about for their hauls.
But then again, things can unexpectedly sell for a high price, so who knows.
Alright, time to get back to excavating.
I'll make today a bit longer than usual.
I need money to buy a knife.