An E-rank item, causing such a fuss? Rita and Nivalis eagerly started digging, relying on the **Compass** and the dim light from surrounding sea creatures. Rita used a shovel, while Nivalis dug directly with her dragon claws. They had dug down about seven or eight ters, and just when Rita worried that the Special Affairs Bureau might hear the noise and co looking, they finally struck sothing—a tiny lantern.
This miniature lantern was only slightly longer than her palm, made of silvery tal that had resisted the deep-sea elents and remained as bright as new. It looked like a vintage oil lamp from Blue Star, with a small piece of irregular gray-white stone inside the glass shade, emitting a faint silver glow.
Rita lifted the lantern, which revealed its na: **Wrathful Moon (A Rank, Upgradeable)**. She almost held her breath. An A item? It was one step away from S-rank and had fallen into her hands as if by pure luck.
At that mont, her keen hearing picked up faint water sounds from a distance, so she quickly stowed the lantern and Compass. She dug a few random strokes in the sand, sprinkled so coins over the spot, then took so of the displaced dirt back out of her bag to cover the coins with half a ter of sand, throwing a few more coins on top for good asure. When she heard the sound growing closer, she gestured to Nivalis to tamp down the soil and hopped onto her back.
As they erged from the hole, they bumped into a Special Affairs Bureau agent, who was out patrolling the area for safety risks. Noticing that Rita and Nivalis had been digging, he ca over out of curiosity. Rita gave him a polite nod in greeting and slowly swam away with Nivalis.
After they left, the agent descended into the pit, certain that there must be sothing there. Rita's talent was no secret in the Special Affairs Bureau. She sold them **Another Happy Day** gems every month, and they assud that her strength and her bond with Nivalis were due to her innate luck, which constantly brought her items to boost her power. The agent eagerly took out a tool and began digging. After a bit of work, he struck—gold coins! Not just one or two, either. He dug tirelessly, expanding the already six- or seven-ter-deep pit by an extra two ters, then counted his finds—32 gold coins!
It was quite a haul. He'd earned fewer than seven coins through hard work, even after doing missions, buying potions, and upgrading gear. Just imagining how much Rita must have dug up filled him with excitent.
When he finally returned to base, the others were already eating, and a friendly player asked if there was any news. He hesitated, unable to resist showing off, and proudly displayed the coins, sharing his story…
---
After leaving the pit, Rita and Nivalis headed toward the nearest city, Yaslan. She needed to map the area and assess potential dangers along the route to determine if it was better to go through Yaslan or head toward the other city, Moonshadow.
Once they were far enough from the Bureau's base, Nivalis asked curiously, "Why did you drop so many coins?"
**Rita**: "We dug for so long and made such a big pit—no one would believe we didn't find anything. Soone was bound to check it out, so it was better to leave sothing. Coins are the safest option."
**Nivalis**: "Why? Coins are valuable. Couldn't you have left so potions or gear you didn't need?"
Rita patiently explained, "Because coins don't spark wild imagination."
Leaving potions or gear would only lead the digger to speculate endlessly about what Rita had found—was it a master's potion? Legendary gear? In a place like this, an ancient or legendary potion wouldn't be impossible!
But gold coins? They were perfect. They were valuable enough to justify her effort, but they weren't extraordinary. Even if soone tried to guess how much she'd dug up, they'd only focus on the quantity. Gold coins were hard to co by, but not impossible to earn for elite players, so they wouldn't provoke irrational jealousy. Even if the Bureau found out, they'd focus on revenue thods, not on wringing a few coins out of players' pockets.
Of course, the ideal outco was for the agent to quietly dig up the coins and tell no one.
Rita patiently shared her reasoning with Nivalis, explaining it bit by bit.
anwhile, she examined the attributes of the vintage lantern she'd found.
---
**Wrathful Moon (A Rank, Upgradeable)**
_Soone stole a piece of the moon and locked it inside. The moon belongs to no one._
- **Skill 1: Orbit** – Allows you to fly anywhere but requires marking an object or being as your "star." The maximum distance (ters) between you and the star cannot exceed your HP, and the minimum distance cannot be less than your level. Marking the star takes 5 seconds. Using this skill drains a minimum of 10 mana per second, with faster flight consuming more mana.
- **Skill 2: Walk Through Ti and Space** – Allows you to briefly return to the past. The ti span (days) is limited to your age, and the duration (minutes) is limited to your level. You must avoid being seen by your past self; if seen, your HP will be reduced to zero. Cooldown: 24 hours. (Note: Any items left behind will not persist beyond 48 hours and will be lost in ti.)
- **Skill 3: Wrathful Moon (Passive)** – The lantern will only light up when it is in a good mood.
(Note: All skills require carrying the item; placing it in your in-ga inventory will nullify its effects.)
---
Currently, the lantern had dimd, suggesting that the moon inside was not in the best mood. But that was alright! Even if the moon was temperantal, Rita was ecstatic.
Hugging the **Wrathful Moon** close, she placed a **Binding Stone** on it, which bound the lantern to her, though it didn't seem to bind the moon itself.
The deep-sea silence surrounded them, but inside the bubble, Nivalis could hear Rita's heartbeat. "What's going on with you?"
**Rita**: "This… this is what love at first sight feels like."
**Nivalis**: "Huh?" Explore new worlds at empire
Rita tucked the **Wrathful Moon** away, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "Ugh, this is such a hassle. I'm way too strong—it's actually a problem. What if soone finds out?"
Both **Orbit** and **Walk Through Ti and Space** were indeed worthy of the A rank, and the fact that the lantern could still be upgraded only added to her delight.
Nivalis: "...Yuck!"
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