Chapter 116: Egg of..
The Platinum Fortune Box pulsed once—then cracked open, its light spilling into the quiet courtyard of Dawn City.
Inside was not gold, not a weapon, not even an artifact. It was an egg.
The shell shimmered like molten obsidian veined with silver fire. Heat and cold radiated in pulses, the pressure of something ancient leaking through. The tooltip hovered above it:
[ Ancient Beast Egg – Origin Unverified ]
Sleeping. Ready to Hatch
Rhys blinked, chest still aching from his death timer’s afterburn.
"...an egg?"
He rotated it in his hands. The shell seemed heavier than steel, yet it throbbed faintly, like a heartbeat. His [Tamer of Ancients] skill flared instinctively, probing for its nature. The result slammed his HUD in a wall of blue:
[ Egg of Ancient Storm Beast : Storm Ruler Hawk ]
Rhys nodded clamly.
A few months ago, he would have been ecstatic. An Ancient Beast egg—something people would kill kingdoms for. But now? He already had Ashen Resurrection. With that skill, he didn’t need to chase eggs. Even if the Ancient species were extinct, even if all that remained were bones or ashes scattered across dungeons, he could bring them back.
Hell, he already had fragments stashed from the Golden Fortune Auction raid—talons, scales, shards of long-dead Ancients. For him, taming wasn’t the bottleneck anymore. He had a skill that bypassed extinction itself.
Which made this... pointless.
The Fortune Box had given him something rare, yes—but not something he needed. The egg was a slower, weaker road compared to what he already held in his hands.
Rhys sighed, flicking the egg into his inventory. "Trolled by a platinum box. Perfect."
The glow faded, leaving only the quiet courtyard—and Rhys with the sour taste of irony.
"Well, I guess the Ancient Beast Egg is perfect for me. Most likely it didn’t take my skills into account before giving me anything," Rhys sighed, tossing it back into his inventory. "The only real thing I gained from this is my levels."
He glanced at his HUD—Level 200. Ready for Rank 3 advancement.
At least that part felt earned. Sighing, he went to Advancement hall, The Rank 2 advancement trial was once again difficult courtesy of him chooosing the Hardest Difficulty. Wave after wave of beasts, stronger with each round. He’d cut them down, bled, died, and clawed his way through until the last one fell. The final notification had nearly blinded him:
[ Level Up! ]
[ Current Level: 207 ]
With it came power. Two new skills—one from each of his paths.
From Tamer of Ancients, he unlocked Soul Ascend. With it, he could now manifest a powerful armor and weapon directly onto his tamed beast, forging them into avatars of destruction. Basically they get powerful armors and wepaons that suits their form.
From Akashic Ruler, he inherited Forgotten Rend—a forbidden edge that could forcibly cancel any skill or ability, even ultimates, so long as the enemy was not more than one Rank above him.
Rhys stared at the glowing lines of text, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.
"Now that... that’s worth more than any egg."
He sat on the edge of his bed and opened the forum, searching for the best dungeons to level up fast. After the Golden Fortune City auction event, there wouldn’t be any major events for at least the next six months. That gave him a wide window to power level, collect rare chests, and prepare.
More importantly, he needed to plan his path toward his next destination—where he would claim the Seven hearts Flame, another powerful cheat item. That item rested in a Rank 3 city: Smithfist, a city built by dwarves.
It wasn’t exclusive to them; Smithfist was an open city where all races lived in relative harmony—except elves. Dwarves and elves refused to coexist. Their hatred was ancient, older than living memory, older than most records. Even though many had forgotten the original cause, both races clung to that enmity as if it was their birthright.
In Smithfist, there exists a cheat-tier item known as the Seven Hearts Flame—a powerful treasure capable of fusing with a player and granting them a unique flame-type skill.
It is called Seven Hearts because the rainbow-colored flame contains seven distinct properties, which the player can invoke according to their desire:
One burns with searing heat.
One freezes with absolute ice.
One devours souls.
One carries venom that poisons beyond cure.
One heals, curing everything—from flesh wounds to curses, poisons, or any other status effects.
One curses, inflicting random yet immensely powerful debuffs.
And lastly, one resurrects corpses, turning them into explosive suicide bombers.
Rhys closed the forum window and leaned back, tapping his fingers against the hilt of his sword. The threads were filled with speculation—treasures, rare drops, the usual noise—but none of them mentioned the thing he truly sought.
The Seven Hearts Flame.
That secret wasn’t on the forums. No rumor, no chatter. Only Rhys knew of it, as he have readt the original book, the mc is upposed to get it in like a year later after the Auction event so he got a lot of time to get it. Anway, to claim the Flame he would need to complete a hidden quest first—one that was still locked to him.
One step at a time, he thought. The Flame can wait. I’ll need to be ready before I can touch it anyway.
Scrolling deeper through the raid boards, he caught a quieter thread, half-buried under the usual speculation.
[ Hidden Dungeon – The Cold Dead Forge ]"Discovered beneath Smithfist’s eastern foundry. Said to be sealed by the souls of fallen blacksmiths. Recommended level: 220+."
The post was short, but the replies painted a darker picture. Frozen anvils that drained stamina with every step. Rusted weapons fused into the walls like broken teeth. Echoes of hammer strikes in the dark, with no smith left to swing them. Few who entered returned, and none brought proof of what waited inside.
Rhys’s eyes narrowed. Dungeons like this weren’t just for loot—they carried remnants of the past. And where there were remnants, there were ashes.
With Ashen Resurrection, he didn’t need to tame living Ancients anymore. He could bring them back from fragments, from whispers, from death itself.
He closed the forum window, his decision already set."The Seven Hearts Flame will come later... but for now? The Forge."
Puddle stirred faintly in his chest, as if in agreement.
Rhys rose, adjusted his sword belt, and muttered to himself:
"First stop in Smithfist—the Cold Dead Forge. I hope there are some beast ashes."
He paused, then added under his breath, "But before that... let’s get my third Ancient beast."
He opened his inventory, scrolling past the piles of fragments and relics he had gathered. Among the many elements he now have, some or rather many element are still missing from his roster, but ofr now he is going to get one and that is : Holy.
If he wanted true balance among his Ancients, he needed one tied to holiness and purity—a beast whose essence carried light itself.
After several minutes of searching, his eyes landed on a long bone. Weathered, pale, and humming faintly, it was said to be the remains of an Ancient beast long lost to time, one revered as a guardian of sanctity. The exact species was unknown, but every scrap of lore whispered the same word: holy.
Rhys tightened his grip on the relic.
"This should work."
Holding the bone steady in both hands, he activated his skill.
[ Ashen Resurrection ]
A cold pulse of power surged from his core, spreading into the fragment. Ash and light coiled together, the courtyard air shimmering as the bone began to glow.
[ Skill Used – Ashen Resurrection ]
[ Player lost 1 Level ]
Rhys blinked as the notification flickered.
"Oh... only one level? That means it must’ve been my rank or lower back when it was alive," he muttered, relief slipping into his tone.
If the beast had been above him, the penalty would’ve cost ten levels—a brutal price at his stage. Dropping from 207 to 206 was manageable. Dropping all the way back to 197 would’ve been a disaster, as it would mean he’d have to redo the rank-up trial.
"Almost forgot about it... thankfully luck was on my side. The Ancient beast wasn’t that strong when it was alive," Rhys muttered, watching the bones now turned into fragments swirl in his hands. They condensed, coalescing around like an vortex until it transformed into an egg.
Rhys’ fingers traced the subtle ridges along the egg’s surface, the faint glow pulsing like a heartbeat in response to his touch. He activated the appraisal function, and a single line of text blinked across his HUD:
[ Ancient Beast Egg – Aurelius ]
[ Element: Life / Holy ]
[ Status: Ready to Hatch ]
No other details, no estimates, no warnings—just the name and the purity of its radiant essence. The egg hummed gently in his hands, alive with the warmth of life and the light of holiness, as if it were already aware of him.
Rhys muttered under his breath, rubbing the surface of the egg.
"Aurelius... was that its species name, or... its actual name?" He frowned, the thought twisting in his mind. "Since this is resurrection, it should already have life... and maybe even a proper name. But I can’t get it. Lets, doan proper appraisal"
He paused, letting the egg rest in his hands. Slowly, he focused, listening to the faint pulse within, the warmth, the life. The answer came..
"It’s... the Divine Sun Bird," he said finally, voice low but certain. "That’s its real name."
The egg shivered slightly in his grasp, a golden light flaring briefly as if acknowledging him.