A soulless was to help them to their temporary quarters and walking outside, they also found Clay waiting for them. They entrusted their possessions to them and decided to receive their gifts first.
The Guildmaster was already at the treasury. She let them inside, ignoring the grumblings of the treasurer.
Lorn received the Ring of Rhy'Kan and also received a large egg. It was about the size of his head, and its scales were smoky black. Sybil spent some time sifting through the items in the treasury before settling on two. A pair of golden bracelets with thin runes etched onto them and some kind of a circle-shaped thing with strings attached to it.
Ignoring the treasurer's grumbles behind them, the three headed towards the cook. The latter looked surprised, but soon nodded with anticipation and started cooking.
He made a small hole on the egg's bottom without breaking the shell completely and whisked the everything out into a large bowl. He added some spices into it and mixed it thoroughly. After he was done, he slowly put the mixture back inside the egg, closed the little hole he made, and started boiling it.
'It's a pain to fry it coz it's too big, but you can't also boil them as is. Some wyvern chicks, like red wyverns, you see, come alive thanks to the heat,' he explained after he was finished. 'It's impossible to tell what kind of wyvern the egg will hatch from the outside, so we gotta kill'em before we cook'em.'
As Lorn waited for his meal, he checked the Ring of Rhy'Kan he received. After he equipped it, a notification popped up on his Status.
[You have obtained the Ring of Rhy'Kan. A ring turned Relic that the Puppeteer of Bodies had possessed since his childhood. It is said that under the effects of Rhy'Kan's penetrating mana, anything he possessed became seeped with his greatness, becoming more and more powerful with time. Now, his Relics show the same effect on Hunters. The longer they keep them around, the more powerful they become.]
[The Ring's greatest effect is refining a hunter's Spirit. It turns it gaseous, making it easier and faster to control. After two months of continuously wearing this ring, the gaseous status becomes permanent. From then on, additional changes occur to the spirit. There are also additional effects that are unlocked with each Rank up. For an F-rank Hunter, Spirit Capacity increases by 20% and Willpower increases by 5.]
[You have equipped the Ring of Rhy'Kan. Your Spirit Capacity increases. Your Spirit state is already gaseous so you are eligible to experience the additional changes immediately.]
[Error. The Relic needs more time to attune to you to decide what changes you need most. Please have the Ring equipped for five days. It is recommended you use as much of your spirit as possible during this time.
Lorn was surprised by the effects. He wasn't an expert, but it seemed pretty good. It also felt unique. He explained the notifications to Sybil, and she nodded. Although some Relics showed their effects if the Hunter had a certain type of spirit, it was rare for a Relic to outright change it by itself.
And of course, different types had different pros and cons. Gaseous types were easiest to control and were the most flexible, but lacked firepower; solid types allowed skills to express much more power than normal, but took up a lot of willpower; fluid types were the most balanced and the most popular, but they were somewhat limited.
Lorn felt worried about the state of his spirit, as simplicity and flexibility didn't feel so impressive in his eyes.
Sybil herself had a solid spirit, but she could cast every spell faster and more accurately than Lorn. This meant that with enough willpower and practice, it was possible for Hunters with solid spirits to overcome their innate weakness.
The same couldn't be said for Lorn. His firepower was stunted, and that was it. He was naturally weaker than other Hunters and there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it. He asked Sybil about it, but she wasn't as worried as Lorn was.
'The All-seeing is fair to all,' she explained. 'Also, my spirit isn't solid, it's fluid,' she added.
Then, she started boasting about her own spoils.
The circle was called the Symbol of the Anomic. It was a wooden circle with strings attached inside it. This one was quite simple. It was just a massive boost to her firepower, offering 30 flat Willpower. It also gave the skill, Anomic Prosperity, which gave permanent stats to a Hunter who managed to use their skills in a unique, unorthodox way.
Sybil launching herself the sky with Gravity magic counted, so she received 3 Willpower and Dexterity.
The bracelets were called the Cuffs of the Desert Princess and they offered a variety of stat bonuses: 15 Willpower, 3 Faith, 3 Sense and 10 Stamina. It also had an effect that gave a 5% percent bonus to these stats whenever her skills achieved her desired effect, stacking up to 30%.
But the effect wasn't the biggest reason she picked the Cuff. Apparently, most of it was due to the 10 Stamina. Sybil's Stamina was abysmally low for a D rank, only 2.6 base. The reason was that none of her skills other than Rejuvenation boosted her Stamina, and that was only Lv.5. She had another artificial relic that boosted it by 3, but that still wasn't enough.
Lorn remembered seeing all the skills that were offered to him when their Spirit Bond became stronger. Judging from their names, she seemed to be someone who was focused on Agility, Dexterity and Willpower.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked her outright. Sybil seemed like she didn't want to say it, but with a sigh, she revealed that it was her 48.3 Willpower. With the two new relics added, it now reached 92.3.
Lorn almost couldn't believe it. Funnily enough, his own Willpower, with the Ring's bonus attached, was exactly 9.3. Sybil was exactly ten times stronger than him.
Sybil comforted him, saying that compared to the average F-rank she was be at least thirty times stronger. And the 92 was mostly thanks to the new equipment. At the base, it was barely 50, and the next biggest stat was Dexterity at 28. Sybil's stats really were all over the place.
As they finished their stat-comparison, the egg finished boiling. Carefully, the cook peeled off the shell and started cutting the egg into smaller bite-sized pieces. Since the white and the yolk was mixed beforehand, the eggs looked slightly greyish and more textured.
The two thanked the cook, took the food and headed towards their new house. It was located close to the guild's building, and was relatively empty. One master bedroom, another smaller one, a kitchen, a living room and a dark room. A few soulless were cleaning the place, so they went into the master bedroom and Lorn dug into the food.
It tasted pretty good, but with how much of it there was, he struggled a bit to finish it. He slowly nibbled it down as he lied on the bed. Finishing, he looked at his status in the mirror.
[You've eaten a dragon-kin's egg. You will receive bonuses to your Strength and Stamina stats; and the Draconic Vitality skill on your next Rank up.]
[The egg you've eaten was the one of a Fog Wyvern. They are the lesser form of the elusive Fog Dragons who inhabit the peaks of great mountains or the deepest parts of vast forests. If you see an unnaturally thick fog in those areas, there are chances you would meet one of these fabled creatures. Few are known about these dragons, but the multiple witness accounts on it suggest they have a peaceful nature.]
[You will receive bonuses to your Faith, Sense and Willpower Stats; and one of a Fog Wyvern's skills on your next Rank up.]
[Congratulations! You've received another branch for your next Rank up: Manipulation - Elusive]