Born In Ashes: The Enigma

As the casket opened and Azrael and the others peered inside, their expressions immediately turned ugly.

"Damn it, there aren't even rotten bones inside," Elyara cursed when she saw that the casket was completely empty.

Luo Bingqing and Azrael remained silent, but their expressions darkened as well.

Suddenly, Azrael remembered the faint white glow that had covered the casket earlier and disappeared after they killed the two undead knights. Narrowing his eyes, he extended one of his hands and touched the casket.

The moment his fingers brushed against it and he focused his mind, an information window appeared before him.

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---) Wish Casket (Planetary Level Prop): Offer Wish Stones to the casket and it will grant a suitable item for you. The more Wish Stones you offer, the better the item you will receive. Can be used three times.

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Azrael's eyes widened in shock when he saw that it was a Planetary-level prop. But as he read the details of the casket, a deep frown appeared on his face.

'Wish Stones… What are they?' He thought inwardly. Then, suddenly, a look of realization flashed in his eyes.

He took out one of the black crystals he had obtained after killing the skeletons earlier. The moment he took out the crystal, the casket glowed faintly in response, as though reacting to it.

Elyara and Luo Bingqing also noticed the change and were stunned.

"What's happening?" Elyara asked in a confused voice.

Azrael glanced around the chamber and spotted hundreds of the same black crystals scattered across the ground, left behind by the skeletons they had killed earlier.

"Collect these crystals," Azrael said without further explanation.

He turned away from the casket and began gathering the crystals.

Although Luo Bingqing and Elyara were confused by his lack of explanation, they still followed his lead and started collecting the Wish Stones.

Once all the stones were gathered, Azrael claimed half of them for himself, as he had killed more than half of the skeletons in the chamber.

He also had several more stored in his ring, collected while they were moving in the cave. Altogether, he now had about 200 Wish Stones. Luo Bingqing and Elyara, on the other hand, had about ninety each.

"Can you tell us what these crystals are now?" Elyara finally asked, unable to hold back her curiosity after they had finished collecting them.

"Wish Stones," Azrael said calmly, then explained the nature of the Wish Casket and how to use it.

Elyara and Luo Bingqing were stunned when they learned that the casket was a Planetary-level prop.

Their eyes widened and expressions of elation spread across their faces when they heard that by offering these black crystals to the casket, they could each obtain something valuable.

Neither of them complained about Azrael taking the majority of the Wish Stones; after all, he had been the one to kill most of the skeletons at the end, especially when the two undead knights appeared.

However, their curiosity shifted to something else.

"How did you know what this casket was and how to use it?" Elyara asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"I have seen something similar before," Azrael replied, offering no further explanation as he walked back to the casket.

"Wait!" Elyara suddenly rushed ahead of him and planted herself in front of the casket.

"I'll go first," She said, her face alight with excitement.

Azrael paused and seeing her eager expression, he simply nodded as it made no difference to him whether he went first or last.

Seeing his nod, Elyara turned back to the casket and threw all the Wish Stones she held into it.

The moment she did, the casket began to glow with a soft white light. The Wish Stones inside melted into a black liquid that began to condense and reshape itself into something entirely new.

Azrael and the others watched in surprise as in less than a minute, the black liquid solidified into the shape of a golden pendant.

"A Class-level artifact…" All three of them were stunned when they felt the powerful aura radiating from the item, disbelief etched across their faces.

They had all assumed that because the casket itself was a prop, the reward it would grant would also be some form of limited-use prop. Yet, instead of a mere prop, Elyara had received an artifact—something far more valuable and powerful, capable of lasting use.

Holding her breath, Elyara picked up the golden pendant, which resembled a miniature sun with a faintly glowing amber gem at its center.

The moment she picked up the pendent, immediately, a stream of information about it appeared in her mind.

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---) Solaris Pendant (Class Level Artifact): A pendant imbued with the essence of the sun and set with a light amber gem.

---) Level Requirement: Level 11 and above.

---) Passive Effects:

1. Increases the potency of the Heat attribute by +15%.

2. Generates a faint aura of radiant warmth that accelerates wound recovery and restores stamina for allies within ten meters.

---) Active Skill — Solar Flare: Once per day, the user can unleash a blinding burst of light that disorients enemies for three seconds and deals moderate fire damage.

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At first, Elyara was startled when the information of the pendant flowed directly into her mind the moment she touched it, but she quickly forgot her surprise when she understood the artifact's effects.

Seeing the stunned look on Elyara's face, Azrael and Luo Bingqing exchanged glances.

"It seems you're quite happy with your artifact," Azrael said, his voice drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Yes," Elyara replied with a bright smile. "It's very suitable for me." She nodded once more and put on the pendant.

Azrael and Luo Bingqing didn't ask her to explain the pendant's abilities and simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Let me go next," Luo Bingqing said, unable to contain his excitement after witnessing Elyara's reaction. He dropped all of his Wish Stones into the casket.

Just as before, the casket glowed with a soft white light, and the stones melted into black liquid that began to shift and solidify.

Within a minute, the liquid took the form of a pair of light-blue bracers, radiating the unmistakable aura of a Class-level artifact.

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---) Frozen Veil Bracers (Class Level Artifact): A pair of crystalline bracers from which faint mist constantly radiates.

---) Level Requirement: Level 11 and above.

---) Passive Effects:

1. Increases the durability of the user's ice constructs, such as walls, spikes, armor etc by 15%.

2. Reduces incoming physical damage by 10% due to a constant layer of thin frost forming on the user's skin.

---) Active Skill — Glacier's Respite: Once per day, the user can encase themselves in an ice cocoon that absorbs all damage for three seconds before shattering in an AoE frost explosion.

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When the information about the bracers flooded into his mind, Luo Bingqing was briefly taken aback. But after processing their abilities, an elated expression spread across his face.

Azrael glanced at his teammate's delighted expression and, without saying a word, stepped forward to the casket and dropped all of his Wish Stones inside.

The moment Azrael dropped his stones—which amounted to nearly twice as many as those offered by Luo Bingqing and Elyara, a brilliant light erupted from the casket.

All the stones inside melted into pools of black liquid, which began to swirl and condense, taking shape into something that seemed perfectly suited for Azrael.