The Ring's Hidden Bond
It is often said that the shape of a piece of jewelry guarantees nothing. Not all of them are artifacts infused with power.
To confirm whether an item truly is an artifact, one must take it to the Appraisal Chamber within the Fortress.
There, the Kingdom Alliance’s own artifact, the **Hand of Appraisal**, rests alongside the Eye of Exploration.
Resembling a severed hand, it has seven fingers and appears as dry as a mummy’s hand.
Yet it is an active-type artifact like the Eye of Exploration, moving and alive.
When an item from a dungeon is placed before it, the Hand of Appraisal examines it thoroughly, then lifts its fingers to record the name and abilities on paper.
‘It’s fine, but the fee is a problem.’
Because the Kingdom Alliance is obsessed with money, the Appraisal Chamber does not offer free services.
Using the Hand of Appraisal costs ten thousand gold.
And if, after appraisal, it turns out to be worthless? You lose the gold—and nothing else.
Yet people still pay the high fee because only after receiving a proper name from the Hand of Appraisal can an item be registered for auction.
Irene handed the ring to Michael.
“This… is it an artifact?”
“I’m not sure.”
“There doesn’t seem to be anything else.”
Irene showed the empty bottom of the box as if she had hidden nothing and shook out her sleeve to prove it.
A faint smile appeared on Michael’s lips.
“I don’t doubt you. But won’t you at least try wearing it once?”
He returned the ring to her as he spoke.
“This?”
“It’s said that among pairs, there’s a custom of presenting jewelry as a reward for the first time one appears in a dungeon.”
“Oh.”
Irene nodded, understanding.
That was why some pairs who wandered dungeons intensely just to earn a reward worthy of wearing on the body were not uncommon.
Of course, this had nothing to do with past Irene.
“Then take it.”
“But… this properly belongs to Lord Michael….”
“It doesn’t matter. If it’s the custom, you should have one too.”
Irene stared at the ring on her palm, expecting a firm refusal that never came.
‘I never expected to receive anything.’
She had thought she wouldn’t receive anything this time either, since she hadn’t received anything before.
And if anything appeared, he would simply send it to the Holy Temple.
Yet this wasn’t even a formal procedure or a Temple custom—it was simply a playful tradition among pairs.
“Thank you.”
Irene bowed her head.
There was no reason to refuse a gift.
‘It’s an intermediate dungeon anyway, so there’s a chance it’s an artifact.’
Even if not, it came from an unstable dungeon, which already made it valuable to outsiders outside the Fortress.
If she saved enough gold before leaving, she could have the appraisal done, and then sell it later.
‘At least I’ll get money.’
Of course, the guilt lingered that she was selling the Pair’s emblem.
But when the time came, she wouldn’t be a Pair anymore, and after leaving the Fortress, she would never meet Michael again.
So there was no point in worrying too much.
As Irene wondered how she would handle the ring later, Michael spoke again.
“Why don’t you try wearing it?”
“But if it’s cursed, won’t it be dangerous?”
A sudden worry arose in her mind.
Many artifacts had cursed properties.
But that didn’t diminish their value.
‘Some were even more expensive because they were used for assassination.’
Michael felt no strange energy, so he had said there was no curse.
“It should be fine. I don’t sense any evil aura.”
Irene examined the ring closely.
If her husband, a paladin, felt nothing strange, then there was no curse.
“Then…”
There was no need to refuse the offer just to spite him.
Irene slipped the ring onto her ring finger.
It looked a bit large at first, but when she tried it, it fit perfectly on her fingers as if it had been made for her.
She had hoped that wearing it might grant her some ability, but it felt ordinary and dull.
“It doesn’t look like an artifact. I don’t feel any unusual properties.”
“Is that so?”
Irene started to remove the ring.
Since it had slipped on easily, it should come off without issue.
“…Huh?”
But to her surprise, the ring did not come off.
Even after pulling hard several times, it stayed tightly locked around her finger as if glued in place.
“What’s wrong?”
“The ring… it’s not coming off!”
Panicking, Irene forced herself to tug harder, her face reddening.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
“Could this be a Boundless artifact…?”
* * *
“It appears to be a Boundless artifact.”
In the Appraisal Chamber inside the Fortress, the clerk examined the ring stuck on Irene’s finger and spoke.
“Do you have any symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, anxiety, chills, or vomiting?”
“No, I don’t.”
Irene answered weakly, then stared at her own finger in disbelief.
‘Boundless…’
This was an artifact that permanently attached itself to the wearer upon first wearing.
When this property was first discovered, the Kingdom Alliance had debated for months whether it should be classified as a curse or not.
But unlike a curse, it was confirmed that a Boundless artifact caused no harm to the wearer, so it was classified as a separate property called “Boundless.”
‘Boundless artifacts are extremely rare.’
Once owned, no one else can take them.
That is why artifacts with Boundless properties sell for enormous prices.
But that is only until the artifact becomes Boundless.
After binding, the owner alone can use its power, rendering it useless to others.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have tried it on.”
Irene let out a long sigh.
Many people valued the Boundless property itself, even without powerful abilities.
If she had kept it after appraisal, she could have sold it to collectors for a considerable sum.
“What do you wish to do then? The Boundless property has already been confirmed. Would you like me to complete the appraisal?”
The clerk asked, and Irene shook her head.
“No. Since it’s already Boundless, there’s no need.”
Moreover, she didn’t even have the ten thousand gold for the appraisal.
At that moment, Michael, who had remained silent, spoke.
“Please do the appraisal.”
“No! I don’t have the money….”
“The cost will be on me. You needn’t worry.”
“But… do we really need to appraise something so ordinary?”
It was at best a plain ring.
The fact that it had a Boundless property was already surprising enough, but it didn’t seem to possess any extraordinary ability.
Then, was the ten thousand gold really necessary?
“Since it’s a gift from me, at least let me know what it is.”
The clerk agreed.
“You’re right. Even if it doesn’t feel like anything now, there are sometimes curses that reveal themselves much later.”
“Then… there’s no choice. Please proceed.”
Hearing the word “curse” weakened Irene’s heart.
She also felt uneasy not knowing exactly what had bound itself to her at Michael’s request.
And since he was paying the fee, there was no reason to refuse.
“Then, please come this way.”
The clerk led the two deeper inside the chamber.
Through a grand door and into a spacious room, a severed hand rested on a wide desk.
‘This is the Hand of Appraisal.’
An inaugural artifact that appeared alongside the first dungeons on the continent.
In her previous life, she had only heard stories and never seen it with her own eyes.
“Place your hand here. The Hand of Appraisal may find the touch uncomfortable, but please endure it. The child is nervous too.”
The clerk called the terrifying-looking artifact “the child,” and Irene nodded, thinking how difficult it must be to handle such things herself.
“Yes.”
Following the clerk’s instructions, Irene sat in the chair and placed her hand on the table.
The Hand of Appraisal crawled over, waiting eagerly.
It tapped her ring several times cautiously, then began moving quickly in excitement, wandering over her hand.
The clerk’s eyes sparkled.
“The Hand of Appraisal moves this quickly when it detects a powerful artifact. It reacts violently to unusual or strong properties.”
Hearing this, Irene’s face fell.
‘If I had known, I wouldn’t have tried it on.’
She felt a trace of resentment toward Michael for suggesting she try it on so casually.
After roaming her hand for some time, the Hand of Appraisal finally retreated to its original spot and picked up the pen there.
It scribbled rapidly on the paper.
“The Hand of Appraisal records the name of the appraised artifact along with its properties. Ah, it’s finished.”
The clerk lifted the Hand of Appraisal and examined the paper it had written.
“The name of the ring is Boundless Healing, and its properties…”
In the next moment, the clerk’s eyes nearly popped out.
“…It absorbs demonic energy, causing purification power to rise?”