"Weird," Ed studied the meaning conveyed by the characters.
"Does it mean there's a spell to open it?"
It was hard not to think in that direction upon seeing such a random word. After all, it was deliberately carved onto the metal block, so it must have some meaning, right?
"A spell... a spell? What could it be? 'Avaka dabara'?" Ed wondered aloud, blurting out famous magic spells from stories in his past life. Seeing that the words had no effect, he began to recall all the information he knew about Jack.
"Poker, Dream Poker... Poker Treasure Hunt. Isn't that the name of the ship or the treasure hunt? What else could it be?"
"What is the most likely code word Jack would use to start the spell? It should be something cool that left a deep impression on people."
Suddenly, Ed's eyes were drawn to the portrait on the living room wall.
It was a portrait of Jack Monk, the mastermind behind his current headache. The portrait had a nameplate at the bottom of the frame, which was said to bear Jack's catchphrase.
"False reality."
As Ed read the words aloud, they seemed to carry a magic of their own. The solid metal block on the edge of the bed began to melt like boiling syrup.
The metal slid down to both sides like a viscous liquid, reminiscent of mercury, revealing the object wrapped inside the ingot.
It was an extremely ordinary-looking wooden box, the kind one could buy very cheaply at any market. The wood didn't seem to be of good quality, and the workmanship was so simple it was hard to believe someone would place their inheritance inside, especially when that someone was a supposed big shot.
After all the liquid slid off the wooden box, it recondensed into a palm-sized metal block beneath it, lifting the box up. Though only the size of a palm, its thickness and weight remained unchanged.
"Is this the real magical treasure?"
The scene demonstrated to Ed how precious this treasure was, at least more than he had expected. This was a treasure hidden by special magical means. His heart beat with excitement.
"Take a deep breath. Calm down, Ed, calm down," After steadying himself, Ed took a deep breath, brought the box before him, and opened it gently.
Inside were a blue ring, a palm-sized booklet, and three cards stacked together, slightly askew.
A look of disappointment flashed across Ed's face as he found no gold sails inside. But he stayed focused and carefully took the items out one by one.
The blue ring had a metallic texture and was large enough to fit an adult's thumb. It bore no patterns or gem inlays and looked so ordinary that even a thief might look down on it.
Setting the ring aside for the moment, he examined the three cards one by one.
They were similar to ordinary poker cards but noticeably heavier, feeling like specially crafted smooth paper cards with a metallic luster around the edges. They reminded him of poker cards from his previous world, though cards in this world were quite rough, unlike these high-end, colorful ones. They felt extraordinary to the touch.
The patterns on the three cards were not the standard poker suits but strange symbols about which Ed had no clue.
The first card featured a cross-like pattern in a fiery orange-red, with a gradient reddish back.
The second card had a simple thin sword icon printed in metallic silver at its center, with a gradient silver-gray back.
The third card displayed a circular ring, like a band of blue water, with a gradient light blue back.
"This smooth card surface, these bright colors and gradient pictures... is it really possible to create something so advanced in this era, where people don't even know what a good road is? No, it's not even from this era; it's from 200 years ago. That sounds even more impossible."
Ed suddenly remembered that this was a legacy left by a brain-dead idiot from 200 years ago who liked to play pranks with his inheritance by giving it away without explaining how to open it, and he corrected his thought.
Whether it was the ring or the three cards, they all revealed their obvious extraordinariness, well, forget about the ring; there was nothing extraordinary about it, at least from the outside. It looked like a cheap ring no one would want.
Finally, Ed looked at the manual. It was about the size of an adult's palm, somewhat similar to the treasure-hunting manual owned by his body's original owner. However, the manual's surface felt like it was made of some biological leather, snow-white in color, with fine textures, and was smooth to the touch—clearly a high-end product. There was no title on the cover, and it was very thin.
Ed opened it with great interest and saw densely packed words that conveyed a sense of elegance, accompanied by some simple hand-drawn pictures. Well, the writer had some talent in this field.
Ed took a quick look and found that the booklet was divided into three parts. He turned back to Part 1 and read it carefully.
"'The Cross of Righteous Fire.' This spell originates from the Scepter-class treasure, the Incinerator. Originally, the spell needed to be painted on a magical material to achieve the effect. But after my improvement, you can use fire-related materials mixed with magic and paint it on cardboard made from the bark of the aloe tree, and the same effect can be achieved.
The power of the spell produced is related to the painting materials. The better the material, the more powerful the spell card produced. I recommend the use of painting magical materials..."
Ed read the words in the manual aloud, then turned his head to look at the three cards.
It was a very thin booklet, and Ed finished reading it in a short time. The entire booklet was essentially a production manual. The content inside was meant to teach people how to make those three cards, and it was written in great detail, including how to draw the spell, which kinds of drawing materials to use, and the calculations involved.
It also let Ed know the effects these three cards could produce and how to use them. But the problem was that these three cards were consumables and would be damaged after one use. If he wanted to make them, in addition to spending money, he also needed a very necessary thing, magic power. Well, you could also call it mana in simple terms, but most people seemed to prefer calling it magic power.
And obviously, Ed didn't have it. This was the first time he had learned of this thing and the first time he had encountered this word in his memory. Extraordinary power was right in front of him, but the painful truth was that he didn't possess the magic power.
The so-called magic power must be the foundation of the extraordinary. He didn't know if this thing required specific qualifications, meditation, practice, age limits, special talent, or some other kind of weird condition to activate.
Ed couldn't help but worry. Using magic had been his lifelong dream in both his past and current life, and now that he knew this world had magic, his heartbeat quickened. After taking a few deep breaths, he forcefully calmed down a little and focused his attention on the ring, about which he knew nothing and which looked utterly ordinary.
"What is this thing? It can't be a simple ring since it was placed so carefully inside the box. What's its use, and why didn't its maker waste even a minute to make it look nice?"
Looking at the ring in his hand, Ed wanted to wear it but felt cautious. After all, the original owner of this body had just died from a cursed coin. What if this cheap-looking ring also had a trap, or required magic power to work?
What if a random person without magic power wore it and it forcibly absorbed life force to activate? That would be troublesome. Who knew if magic power was tied to one's lifespan? Wouldn't Ed then book a direct ticket to another world?
Thinking of this, Ed's eyes drifted to the side, and he turned to the map page of his manual. After a moment's thought, he clicked on the blue dot, which was now gray.
"Now that I've unlocked the inheritance and acquired a lot of data about it, the information from the system should be updated as well, right?"
[ Jack's Magic Treasure
Difficulty: Adult
Popularity: 1325
Treasure Information: The captain of the famous treasure-hunting ship "Dream Poker"—the legacy of "Magician" Jack Monk.
Treasures collected: 1 gold sail, 1 gold leaf, 6 silver snakes, "Magician" Ring, 3 spell cards, Jack's spell interpretation. ]
The information had changed. The inheritance of "Magician" Jack Monk was now divided into three specific items. This ring was called "the Magician." But the size was a bit too big; even if Ed wore it on his thumb, it would feel large. Only God knew what kind of man wore this thing; at least Jack didn't have such a large finger to fit this ring.
Hesitating for a bit, the dream of wielding magic made Ed put aside his reasoning. Gritting his teeth, he slid it directly onto the thumb of his left hand.
As soon as he put the ring on, some kind of magical enchantment seemed to trigger. It automatically shrank and immediately fit his thumb perfectly, as if it had been specially made for him.
However, before Ed's surprise could subside, he suddenly felt different. A new sensation began to form in his mind.