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"Good work everyone," Kishiar shouted above the corpse of the boss monster he had slain, officially signaling the end of the dungeon raid.
Everyone cheered, echoing back to each other, "Thank you for your hard work!"
Their guild had been summoned to the Ayrik Dungeon Rift with a ridiculous three day time-limit, but they had barely managed to clear it with a day to spare. It was only possible thanks to the leadership of Kishiar la Orr, the world's number one ranked Hunter.
The praise for him among the members was endless, but Kishiar was more interested in his system window's reward screen for defeating the dungeon boss. Among the list of rewards, there was a particularly strange item:
"■■■Box (EX-Grade)"
An EX-grade item whose name couldn't be properly displayed. Even one of those factors would make it an unprecedented item, let alone both.
Kishiar immediately summoned the item from his inventory. A large black box appeared in front of him, making a solid thunk as hit hit the ground and immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Guild Leader, what is that?"
"Was that your dungeon reward?"
Kishiar nodded, allowing Steiber and Ever to examine the box as he dismissed the rest of the members. Allowing his division leaders to know was one thing, but he had a feeling this matter should remain as private as possible.
Once everyone was gone, he explained, "This is an EX-Grade item. It was on my rewards list with a strange name, half the characters are illegible."
"It's really strange," Ever agreed. "Should we wait for the research team to examine it?"
Kishiar shook his head. "It may be safer to examine it in the dungeon just in case. Stay back, I'll try to open it."
The two reluctantly agreed, and Kishiar walked around the box once to examine it. There didn't appear to be any hinges to open it, but he didn't just want to attack the box and risk his skills bouncing off or harming the contents.
When he reached out his hand to touch the surface, the side that he touched suddenly began to glow and slowly grew transparent before disappearing altogether.
Inside the box was a man, curled up on his side fast asleep.
"A person?" Kishiar muttered, fascinated at the sight.
The man had dark hair, overgrown to the point that it covered his eyes and brushed his shoulders. He was stark naked, but his build was obviously that of a fighter. He had well toned muscles and callused hands that hinted to years of practice, but did that mean he had not been in this box for long? Or did the box have the effect of pausing time?
A screen popped up in front of him:
[■■■]
Description: ■■■ found in the dungeon.
Effect: ■■■ to ■■ ■ ■■■.
Crafted by: ■■■
Owner: Kishiar la Orr
The format of the screen was similar to that of when checking an item, but it clearly seemed to be referring to the man in the box because it hovered over the man even as Kishiar lifted him from the box. The box also disappeared once it no longer had anything to contain, making his hypothesis even more likely to be correct.
A living being received as a dungeon reward: this was news that would soon shock the world.
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HunterNet >> Hunter Forums >> Trending
[First EX-Grade Item: A Living Item?]
Going by the standard procedure for labeling items by their locational zone and discovery order, the item is listed as Y-525 in the international Hunter database. It was obtained by Kishiar la Orr, the Guild Leader of the Arcane Legion Guild and number one Hunter in the world rankings, after defeating the boss monster of the Ayrik Dungeon Rift. It has the appearance of a beautiful young man with black hair, and rumors are that its owner is completely smitten with it and won't allow anyone to see or touch it? What do you all think?
└Is it really an item? Could it be a person who was trapped in a gate and became an item or something like that? The government should examine the missing persons list...
└Maybe it isn't an item or a human but a monster who is using a charm skill
└But everyone knows Kishiar has SS-grade status resistance skills, maybe the item is just really strong and he wants to keep it for himself?
└Well, the item was EX-grade, so it could also have an EX-grade charm skill
└Shouldn't someone separate Kishiar from it just in case? Let the government handle the item...
└Lol, person above, do you hear yourself? Can anyone force the number one Hunter to do anything? Plus, Kishiar's brother is the king of his country and they're known to have a really good relationship so I don't think the government is going to do anything Kishiar doesn't want
└I want pictures! Beauty enough to charm Kishiar la Orr, I want to see it!!
└People are really shallow these days...
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While it was true that Y-525 was the first living EX-grade item, he wasn't actually the first living item. While rare, a few sentient items did exist in the world, usually in the form of weapons or tools imbued with a soul through special abilities of Hunters. It was just unprecedented for one to drop from a dungeon.
In fact, the country of Orr already possessed one of the most famous sentient items: the Tree of Healing. A tree that contained the soul of an awakener with the power of healing, allowing the ability to persist even through death to support the nation far into the future. It had been created by the world's first Hunter, the Archmage Luma whose abilities were as miraculous as they were poorly understood.
Information about the Tree of Healing was strictly controlled by the royal family of Orr, so few people knew that the Tree of Healing actually wandered around frequently as a human known as Enon. And Enon had been very interested in this new "item."
"I sense traces of Luma's power, but he's different from me," Enon said. "I don't have an item window, just a normal status window like other Hunters. Is there a name?"
"No, it's all censored except for the line claiming I'm the owner," Kishiar replied, looking down at his still sleeping "item." He wondered what it would take to wake up this sleeping beauty, a kiss perhaps?
Enon had assessed there was nothing wrong with the man physically, but the man's body wasn't completely normal either. Unlike a normal human that only channeled mana, his body appeared to be entirely made of mana. Because of that, he shouldn't actually need sleep nor food, but even after a day there was no sign of waking.
"Try channeling some of your mana into him. He doesn't react to mine at all, but if he's a being made of mana then it only makes sense to awaken him with mana."
Kishiar nodded, eyes lingering on a pale lips a little too long before thinking better of it. Enon would most certainly smack him for doing something unnecessary during a serious investigation. He instead chose to hold the man's hand and started channeling some of his mana as he would when using a healing ability.
The effects were immediate.
The man opened his eyes, revealing a stunning violet color unlike anything Kishiar had seen before. He blinked a few times, looking between Kishiar and Enon before returning to stare at Kishiar's face dazedly.
"Morning, sleeping beauty. Do you have a name?" Kishiar asked jokingly, not really expecting a response. Who knew if this man could even understand his language?
But surprisingly, the man responded back, perfectly fluent in Kishiar's language. "My name is Yuder."
Yuder. Kishiar's heart fluttered at the name of this fascinating being. "Yuder, do you remember anything about yourself?"
Yuder was silent for a minute before responding, "I was made...to help stop a disaster."
"Do you remember who made you?" Enon interrupted, voice urgent.
This was a matter Enon had been investigating for years. Because the Archmage Luma had disappeared in a rift nearly a hundred years ago. And here came Yuder, an item given as a reward from a rift containing traces of Luma's mana.
But Yuder disappointed Enon with a shake of his head. "My memories are...I can only remember fighting monsters, I've been fighting them for a very long time, but I can't even remember exactly why anymore."
Enon looked disappointed, but understanding. Kishiar on the other hand was much more interested in something else Yuder had said.
"You can fight Then, do you have a status window?"
"Status window?" Yuder repeated, confused.
"It's this blue window that only appears to you, so if you imagine it appearing it will appear according to your thoughts. Some people even shout "Status Window Appear!" when trying to awaken as a Hunter."
Yuder stared at Kishiar skeptically as if he were trying to sell a scam. He didn't even bother with the phrase. "I don't have one, is it necessary?"
"Usually it's how Hunters learn of their abilities, but I suppose it's not strictly necessary. How do you fight Yuder?"
Yuder held out his hand and suddenly, a flame burst to life. But before Kishiar could even exclaim his delight—elemental abilities were as rare as they were useful—a sphere of water began to form around the fire and douse it into wisps of smoke. The smoke then formed into its own sphere and both were presented to Kishiar on Yuder's hands.
"I can control elements," Yuder explained as if he wasn't doing anything special.
Kishiar poked the ball of water whose form held even with the disturbance. "Amazing!"
It was a truly admirable level of control, something most Hunters wouldn't even bother to master in favor of brute strength. He wondered how destructive Yuder's abilities would be inside combat if they were this refined outside of combat.
"Then, is the disaster you are trying to prevent related to the rifts?"
Yuder pondered Kishiar's question for a bit, but was unable to come to a conclusion. "I don't know. I only have a feeling, that it's related to you."
"Me? Am I the cause of the disaster?"
Yuder shook his head. "No, the opposite. I need to protect you, no matter what."
Kishiar burst out laughing. No one had ever told him, the top ranked hunter in the world, that he needed to be protected before. It was adorably refreshing.
Was this because he was listed as the item's owner? Would Yuder say this to anyone who "owned" him? The thought annoyed Kishiar more than he expected, even though he had no plans of ever testing it.
"Oh, how will you protect me Yuder?"
Yuder replied without hesitation, "I'll follow you."
Kishiar grinned, completely charmed by the response. "Will you follow me anywhere? Even into the rifts?"
A nod.
"Even into my bed?"
Yuder blinked a bit confused, but nodded again anyways.
Enon smacked Kishiar across the head. "What are you doing, teasing a kid who doesn't know anything like that?"
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[Yuder]
Description: ■■■ found in the dungeon.
Effect: ■■■ to ■■ ■ ■■■.
Crafted by: ■■■
Owner: Kishiar la Orr
Kishiar noticed the window had updated when he took Yuder to his home that night. Perhaps, with enough time, more of it would become readable.
Yuder looked disappointed when he found out he had a separate room and bed, but didn't complain. Kishiar could almost imagine drooping puppy ears on him.
It really itched his heart, how could someone be this cute? How unethical would it be to try to sleep with an "item" you owned?
These were questions even google couldn't answer, let alone a very aggrieved Keilusa who received Kishiar's text messages at 2 am in the morning.
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HunterNet >> Hunter Forums >> Trending
[New Record: Three S-Class Dungeons Cleared in a Day??]
Kishiar la Orr set another record by clearing three S-Class dungeons today, and they were confirmed solo clears! Well, not exactly solo because he had that "item" with him, but it's still amazing? How strong must that EX-grade item be?
└The appearance was more plain than I expected
└To be fair, anyone would look plain compared to Kishiar fucking la Orr
└It really looks like a normal human? I would have never guessed it was an item
└I still don't trust it, it's too uncanny...
└Apparently, Kishiar is trying to get the item the rights to citizenship? It's a bit crazy...he even gave it a name
└There's a bunch of protesters right now in front of the Arcane Legion headquarters
└I think it's good to have an item that help clears dungeons but I think Kishiar is rushing a bit too much on trusting it...has he been checked for status effects?
└I swear someone always asks that in every Kishiar thread and the answer is always the same: no status effect, but questionable sanity status
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"I don't need citizenship," Yuder said while looking at the crowd gathered in front of the building. "I only want to stay by your side. It's fine if it's as an item."
Kishiar sighed. "It's not fine, Yuder. You aren't just an item to me, and I want everyone to see that."
Yuder stayed silent. Even he didn't know if he was truly a human or not. But it also didn't really matter to him. He even liked being an item, in that it gave him an excuse to always be by Kishiar's side.
If he weren't Kishiar's item, would Kishiar keep him as close as he did now?
He didn't want to find out, so he was happy with the way things were now. He and Kishiar cleared dungeons together by day and slept together in one bed at night. Though people always seemed so scandalized when Yuder said that second part. Enon in particular was positively fuming and threatening to confiscate Yuder.
Apparently, it wasn't normal for two humans to sleep in the same bed together if they weren't related by blood or love, but if Yuder was an item, then wouldn't it be fine?
As long as things stayed the way they were now, Yuder would be happy to be Kishiar's item forever.