The Astral Index

After three days of tedious journey, I was finally back in the capital.

By the time I arrived, my whole body felt tired in a way that made even standing annoying.

I didn't waste time wandering around. I rented a room, took a bath, ate properly, and then slept.

Only after waking up did my head start working properly again.

Now there is only one week left until the Ceremonial Day.

As far as I remember, there aren't any special events scheduled for that day.

And the first semester should be very peaceful.

Of course, peaceful doesn't mean safe.

Here, peaceful just means there won't be a bloodbath. At least not yet.

The first real twist appears in the third semester.

That's when things start going wrong.

But I can't just take it easy because of that.

There are many preparations I need to make for the future.

The first thing I need to do before going to the academy is meet a very special person.

If I remember correctly, she should arrive in the capital in two days.

I also need to buy several things.

And for that, I need money.

Speaking of money—

“I should check my loot first.”

I haven't even properly looked at everything I got by risking my life in that ruin.

Thinking about it again—

"…Maybe I really do have some talent in acting?"

Without my quick thinking, or whatever acting skills I didn't even know I had, I should've already been dead.

Though I did mess up a little. I almost blurted out my emotions more than once.

Sorting those thoughts aside, I take out the spatial bag from under my bed and begin pulling everything out.

One by one, items appear on the floor.

After taking everything out, I start sorting them. Lowest grade first. Highest last.

Only after that do I begin checking them properly.

'I really made a big haul for my very first ruin.'

Three haggard-grade artifacts.

Two lesser-grade artifacts.

One common-grade artifact.

And one rare-grade artifact.

The spatial bag doesn't count, since it's not an artifact but a crafted product.

Besides that, I also got two Blue Moon Stones, one Light Stone, and one Black Stone.

And more than 2,500 gold coins.

That alone is enough to make most people greedy.

And lastly—

The reason I went there in the first place.

A unique-grade artifact.

I hold it in my hand.

It's small, cubic in shape, almost translucent, without any real color. There's a small button-like structure in the middle.

When I press it, a translucent panel begins flooding out from it.

A hologram.

Seeing something like this—something I've only seen in movies in my previous world—makes me feel a little weird.

But then again, I collected it from an ancient ruin.

So maybe it makes sense.

Ancient ruins are strange places.

They're remnants of civilizations that existed long before the current era. No one really knows where they originated from. Some say they were ancient mage empires. Others say they weren't even human.

Whatever they were, they’re gone now.

All that remains are their ruins.

And the things they left behind.

In the current era, people enter ancient ruins for one reason—plundering.

Artifacts, materials, lost techniques, ancient tools. Everything valuable comes from those places.

Of course, not all ruins are the same.

Some are relatively safe.

Some are deadly.

And some are outright nightmares.

That's why ancient ruins are ranked.

Low-rank ruins are dangerous, but manageable with preparation.

Mid-rank ruins are lethal. Even experienced adventurers die there regularly.

High-rank ruins?

Those places wipe out entire groups without leaving a single trace.

The ruin I entered was a high-rank one.

I only survived as a powerless person because I already knew everything about it.

Even then, just knowing shouldn't have been enough.

If knowing alone was sufficient, everyone would try their luck to get rich.

The real reason I managed it was because of the secret passage—and because almost every detail about that ruin was written in the novel.

Thinking about it now, that ruin was described in far more detail than most.

I even remember getting bored while reading that part.

Which brings up another question.

Why did a high-rank ruin only contain one unique-grade artifact?

I mean, I'm grateful for what I got.

But logically, a high-rank ruin should contain at least one great-grade artifact or something of similar caliber.

And another thing bothers me.

Why was there no mention of those people in the novel?

I know that this ruin is mentioned much later in the story, but something doesn't add up.

If those people really came here before the main character, then why was the artifact still intact?

Did they all die there?

But there was no mention of bodies either when the main character left the throne room.

Thinking about it this way, I can't completely rule out the possibility that this world is already different from the novel.

"…Sigh."

I let out a breath.

There are too many questions, and no answers at all.

"Forget it. Let's just focus on this artifact."

I look back at the cubic-shaped object in my hand.

Its name is The Astral Index.

It's an artifact that functions like a system interface.

It can assess my abilities, elemental affinities, talents, and physical condition in numerical form.

Not only that—it can help raise them.

In simple terms—

It's my own little system.

One that will help me grow.

Thinking about it like that, I can't help but chuckle a little.

While I'm lost in my thoughts, the holographic panel suddenly flickers.

The translucent screen trembles for a moment, then the symbols on it begin to change, rearranging themselves into unfamiliar letters.

[ No Data Found… Searching… Error… No Data Found… Searching… ]

I stare at it without much surprise.

'I knew this would happen.'

This artifact can only be used by one person.

Whoever created it designed it that way so no one besides the owner could ever use it. Even if someone stole it, it would be nothing more than a useless object in their hands.

But for the sake of the future, they still left a loophole.

If the original owner died, the artifact could be used again—by registering a new owner.

And to do that, I need to perform a small ritual.

I reach into my bag and take out a small knife I bought earlier. Without hesitating too much, I slightly cut one of my fingers.

A sharp pain shoots through my hand.

Not unbearable, but enough to make me wince.

I let a drop of blood fall onto the surface of the artifact.

The moment it touches it, the hologram reacts.

The letters shift again.

[ Registration Complete. New Owner Found. Fusing With The New Owner… 1% ]

I lean back slightly and exhale.

Now all I can do is wait.

While the process continues, I decide to check the rest of the items I obtained.

Most of the artifacts I got aren't really useful to me.

'I'll sell the others.'

There's no reason to hoard things I won't use.

The common-grade artifact turns out to be a magnifying glass. As simple as it looks, its main use is tracking traces left behind by people.

It has clear limitations, but in the right situation, it can still be useful.

As for the rare-grade artifact, it’s a small mirror with intricate golden patterns engraved along its edges.

It has two main functions.

One is related to dream magic.

The other allows it to trap people inside a mirror world.

If used wisely, it could be extremely dangerous in combat.

I set those aside and shift my attention to the stones.

These aren't ordinary stones.

They're materials used to increase elemental affinity.

That alone makes them incredibly rare.

Some of these stones are considered priceless, especially the purer ones.

I'll need to check their quality later to determine exactly how rare they are.

While I'm thinking about where I should get them appraised, the artifact in my hand suddenly makes a faint sound.

A soft chime.

The holographic panel flashes again.

[ Fusion Complete. You can view your data through the interface ]

My heartbeat speeds up slightly.

"…Finally."

I focus my attention back on the artifact—The Astral Index—and prepare myself to see what kind of abilities I have, or rather, what this body once had.

***

Inside of a room

The room was dark.

Pitch black.

So dark that nothing inside it could be seen, not even vague silhouettes. It felt as if the darkness itself swallowed everything, leaving only an oppressive stillness behind.

Several people were sitting there.

At least, that was what it felt like.

There was no movement or any sound.

Only silence.

A silence so heavy that it made even the idea of breathing feel intrusive.

Then someone spoke.

The sound cut through the darkness, breaking the stillness that had lasted for who knew how long.

The person was sitting at the very front.

Even so, nothing about him could be seen.

His voice was low, calm, carrying no emotion.

"Changes have been made."

No reaction followed.