The Oath Ring in Matthew's hand was already an anomaly obtained by pure chance, sufficient to serve as his life-saving trump card.
Yet this seemingly unremarkable, even somewhat old wooden box before him actually contained magic as well?
Could it be... that this wooden box itself was actually a magic item similar to the Oath Ring?!
This suspicion made Matthew subconsciously slow his breathing.
He immediately suppressed all outward emotions and elevated his Spirit probe to its highest precision. Like the finest probe, he cautiously and extremely slowly "touched" the wooden box once more.
Matthew held his breath and focused his mind, condensing his Spirit into a single line that quietly reached toward the dark brown wooden box inside the window like an invisible tentacle.
The moment his Spirit made contact, a faint but definitely real ripple of magic was clearly transmitted back. Although it was as thin as a candle flickering in the wind, that unique energy texture was absolutely not something an ordinary wooden object could possess!
“There really is a magic fluctuation!”
Matthew's heart leaped, and an uncontrollable surge of pleasant surprise welled up from the depths of his heart.
In the Kingdom of Cher, magical elements were suffocatingly sparse, and wizard inheritances were nearly extinct. Anything related to "magic" was considered extremely rare.
The only magic item he had obtained so far was the Oath Ring he had snatched from the offspring of a Gold Rank Class holder. That ring had protected him at critical moments of life and death multiple times, serving as his ultimate trump card.
Yet this seemingly crude wooden box before him actually contained magic as well, clearly indicating an extraordinary origin. How could a slip of paper stored in such a thing be ordinary?
His gaze fell back onto the woman inside the room.
Sweeping his Spirit over her carefully, he found no trace of Spirit circulating within her body. Her eyes and behavior were entirely those of an ordinary person, even carrying the exhaustion and numbness of someone barely holding on after losing her husband.
It seemed she truly did not know the real value of this wooden box, merely keeping it carefully as an ordinary memento left behind by her deceased husband.
“Should I silence her?”
This thought flashed by, but Matthew quickly suppressed it.
Firstly, the woman clearly did not know the preciousness of the wooden box and the slip of paper, so silencing her was unnecessary.
Secondly, although she was a widow, she was still a resident of the inner city. If she met a sudden, violent death, it would inevitably draw investigations from the patrol squad or even the contract organization, inviting trouble for no reason.
Thirdly, she was just an ordinary woman, and Matthew had never been one to perform pointless actions. That fleeting thought of silencing her was merely an impulse born of greed upon suddenly seeing a treasure. Once he calmed down, he discarded it.
Right now, he had just broken through to a Second-Grade Apprentice, and Sutton's invitation still required careful consideration. It was truly not the time to stir up extra trouble.
“But... where on earth did this wooden box come from? If Nathan had more of them in his possession...”
At this thought, Matthew's breathing quickened slightly. For a horse bandit leader to possess a magic item—even if it was just a damaged wooden box—was enough to show that he had come into contact with some extraordinary "resources" during his lifetime.
If there really was a hidden clue, it might mean more magic stones, potions, or even ancient relics...
He could wait no longer.
Matthew's eyes went cold. Like a specter, his figure slipped down from the shadow of the courtyard wall, landing without a sound. He casually grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and smeared it on his face, then tore at the cuffs of his outer robe, disguising himself with a touch of wretchedness and ferocity.
Next, keeping his body low, he darted to the side of the door in a few quick steps and listened closely. The woman was putting the wooden box back into the gap of the cabinet, her footsteps lightly heading toward the kitchen.
Now was the time!
Matthew slammed the door open, sweeping into the room like a gust of wind. The instant the woman spun around in shock, he had already flashed behind her, covering her mouth with one hand while pressing a short dagger against the side of her neck with the other.
“Don't make a sound, or you die,” he whispered, his voice raspy and coarse, sounding exactly like a desperate outlaw.
The woman went completely stiff, her pupils shrinking in terror. As expected, she did not dare to struggle, only letting out soft whimpers from her throat.
Matthew's gaze quickly swept over the room's furnishings. He deliberately used the tip of his dagger to poke at a few slightly valuable silver pieces on the table, and only then did he glance toward the gap between the wardrobe and the wall as if casually.
“For a woman who doesn't work or go out, you sure have quite a few nice things hidden in your home...” he sneered, his tone sinister.
“Silverware, fabrics...”
Matthew paused for a moment, his gaze piercing toward the gap like a blade.
“You even hid a battered wooden box so secretively. Are there gems or gold notes inside? Hmm?”
With her mouth covered, the woman could only shake her head frantically, tears streaming from her eyes. Once Matthew loosened his grip slightly, she choked out in a trembling voice:
“N-No... That box... my husband brought it back in the past... I-I don't know what's inside... He only said, said to keep it as a keepsake...”
“Oh? Your husband?”
Matthew applied a bit of pressure with the dagger, demanding,
“What was your husband's identity?”
“Just an ordinary merchant,” the woman replied timidly.
Matthew had already anticipated this and immediately asked his true question. “What else did he leave behind? Speak!”
“There really is nothing else...” The woman wept uncontrollably. “Every time he came back, he would only bring some money and daily necessities... This box was something he got by chance several years ago, and it was always tossed in his old luggage... I-I only found it when I was tidying up my things a few days ago...”
Her answers were disorganized and panicked, but they consistently revolved around her being "clueless" and the box being "obtained by chance."
Matthew carefully observed her expression and the rhythm of her trembling body, and his Spirit remained enveloped around her the entire time. There were no signs of concealment, no hidden energy reactions—only the pure fear and despair belonging to an ordinary person.
It seemed she really was clueless.
Matthew sighed inwardly, the excitement that had welled up within him cooling down slightly.
Nathan might have truly obtained this box by sheer chance, and perhaps he himself had not even realized its uniqueness.
As for the content of the slip of paper, it was likely not known by the woman either.
He deliberately forced her to reveal where her money was hidden. Trembling, the woman pointed to a small jar in the corner, which contained only some loose silver coins.
Matthew grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his robe, using the momentum to push her to the ground. He growled, “Stay quiet! If you dare report this to the officials, I will return tonight to take your life!”
With that, his figure flashed, and he leaped out of the window. In a few bounds, he vanished into the shadows at the end of the alley.
The woman collapsed on the floor, only daring to cry out loud after a long while.
In the distance,
Matthew had already shed his disguise, his expression returning to its usual calm.
He rubbed the dark brown wooden box in his hand. The box felt cold, and the wood was coarse. Only the faint ripple of magic in his spiritual perception reminded him of its extraordinary origin.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Matthew walked quickly back toward the inn while carefully reviewing every detail of this disguised robbery in his mind. He soon noticed a few oversights—
Choosing to act during the day was, after all, a bit too abrupt.
Secondly, there was the moral oversight. Targeting the same woman who had lost her husband multiple times indeed seemed a bit...
...
...
Rate on N.U.
