Dawn filtered through the thin mist among the trees, waking the sleeping mountain forest. Birds chirped and streams murmured, and the dangers and extraordinary encounters of the night before seemed like nothing more than a dream-except for the little gray Shadow Mouse on Linley's shoulder, busily washing his face with his tiny paws, proving that it had all been real.
Linley had named the little fellow "Bebe," and the two were inseparable. Sometimes Bebe perched on his shoulder, and sometimes he darted into his arms. He was so remarkably intelligent that the other students were filled with envy.
The group packed their belongings, preparing to begin the final half-day of their trial before returning to the institute.
Before they set off, Lin Yinuo called out to Linley, who was playing with Bebe.
"Linley," he said, his expression unchanged, though his gaze swept with apparent casualness over a somewhat untidy patch beside the camp, strewn with loose stones and broken branches. "I think I just saw some unusual movement over there. It might be some kind of small magical beast that likes to hide. Go take a look with Bebe, and be careful. Consider it a scouting exercise."
He did not point anything out explicitly, merely offering a direction and a reason. Too much interference would only backfire.
The Coiling Dragon Ring is right in that area. With Bebe's keen sense for treasure and Linley's luck right now, finding it shouldn't be difficult.
Linley trusted his brother's words completely and immediately nodded. "All right, big brother!" He patted Bebe on his shoulder. "Bebe, let's go have a look."
Bebe gave a squeak and sniffed the air with his little nose. Seeming to have truly detected something, he shot ahead in a gray blur, leading the way in front of Linley.
Lin Yinuo remained where he was, apparently organizing his pack, while quietly attaching his spiritual energy to Linley to keep track of what was happening over there.
Linley carefully parted the waist-high weeds and followed Bebe, his eyes searching warily. Bebe stopped in front of a small mound covered in fallen leaves and loose stones, rapidly scrabbling at something with his little paws and making rustling sounds.
"Bebe, did you find something?" Linley crouched down curiously.
Just then, his toe accidentally knocked aside a loose stone, exposing the damp soil beneath it. An extremely dull, timeworn hue, almost indistinguishable from the earth, caught his eye.
It was an utterly unremarkable ring, smeared with mud. The ring itself seemed to be made of some kind of black stone, its design simple and even a little crude. Its only distinctive feature was an extremely fine dragon pattern carved into its surface, its head meeting its tail. Without looking closely, one would never notice it.
A ring? It looks so old.
As if compelled by some unseen impulse, he reached out and picked the ring up from the soil. It felt cold and heavy in his hand, with a texture marked by the passage of time. For some reason, holding it stirred a strange, indescribable feeling within him, as though it had always been meant to belong to him.
"Squeak, squeak!" Bebe came over too, sniffed the ring with his little nose, then hopped excitedly around Linley, as though happy for him.
Linley wiped the mud off the ring with the hem of his clothes, making its black band and indistinct dragon pattern a little clearer. The longer he looked at it, the more he liked it. Though he had no idea what use it might have, since he had found it together with Bebe, he thought it would make a nice keepsake.
He slipped the ring into his pocket and returned to the group with Bebe.
"Big brother, look what I found." Linley held out the ring for Lin Yinuo to see as though showing off a treasure, his face bright with the joy of discovering "buried riches."
Lin Yinuo took the ring. As his fingertips touched its cold band, he could clearly sense the aura of a soul within it, as vast and still as an abyss.
Doehring Cowart... you've finally found a suitable successor. Forgive me, elder. For the sake of Linley's destiny, I can only let you continue sleeping in this ring for a while longer, until Linley's spiritual energy is strong enough to awaken you.
He examined it closely, showing just the right measure of surprise and approval. "A very ancient-looking ring. The pattern on it is rather unusual. Linley, you're lucky. This might be an ancient artifact. Keep it safe, and don't show it to others casually."
He did not reveal how precious the ring was, merely guiding Linley to value it.
"Mm!" Linley nodded emphatically and happily put the ring away again. If big brother said it was good, then it had to be something worthwhile!
Mage Elwin glanced at it too, but paid it no mind. Finding an old ring that looked as though it had been fashioned from black iron ore was hardly unusual in a place like the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He merely regarded it as a child's trinket.
The group set off again, beginning their journey back.
Lin Yinuo walked beside Linley, watching his younger brother's profile, which seemed especially radiant after gaining Bebe and an "interesting" ring. His heart was at peace.
The two most important things are both in your hands now. Bebe will be the companion who shares life and death with you, and Grandpa Doehring in the ring will be your most important guide along the path of magic. Linley, your wings are growing stronger, little by little.
All I can do is make sure these opportunities don't fall into someone else's hands at these crucial turning points, and offer whatever help I can when you need it. In the end, you'll have to forge your own way forward.
He lifted his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the dense canopy and glimpse the vast, unknown future.
The trial in the Magical Beast Mountain Range was drawing to a close, but the true journey of the Baruch Brothers had only just sounded its first note. And Lin Yinuo knew that, with the Sign-In System, he would surely compose his own melody in this magnificent, sweeping movement, one that would be no less remarkable.
The homeward-bound group steadily made their way toward Fenlai City and the Ernst Institute, carrying their gains-the magical beast materials in plain sight, and the two "pets" and a ring kept out of sight-along with a tale of their trial that was destined to be passed down.
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