Chapter 105: The Undying Wheel

Kael held his breath and slowly lifted the lid of the chest.

A thin crack appeared between the lid and its base. Seven-colored light spilled through the opening, spilling across his fingers and illuminating the surrounding darkness.

As he raised the lid farther, the radiance intensified, bathing the chamber in a dazzling glow that grew almost painful to look at.

Then the lid swung fully open.

The light burst outward, washing over Kael in a brilliant wave. For a moment, the entire chamber seemed to disappear beneath the shifting colors.

A series of crisp system chimes rang out, each notification arriving before the previous one had fully faded.

[Mythic Treasure Chest opened. Reward: The Undying Wheel (Mythic).]

[Reward: The Genesis Heart (Mythic).]

[Reward: The Abyssal Urn (Legendary).]

[Reward: The Seer’s Eye (Legendary).]

[Reward: S-rank Secret Realm Map ×3.]

[Reward: A-rank Secret Realm Map ×12.]

Kael stared at the notifications.Two Mythic items.From a single chest.

His composure, usually as steady as ever, cracked beneath the sheer absurdity of the rewards. His breathing quickened, and an unmistakable surge of excitement rose in his chest.

He had expected something extraordinary from the Spire’s final treasure chest. After all, the quality of the reward depended on two factors: his total completion time and the number of bosses he had killed during the climb.

By that standard, he should have fallen short in at least one category.He hadn’t killed the Spire’s final guardian.

He’d bonded it instead.

Kael had half-expected that decision to cost him something. Perhaps the system would deduct a portion of his reward or downgrade the quality of the items he received.

The guardian had been the final obstacle, and he had chosen to turn it into a companion rather than claim the kill.

Yet the system had made no such distinction.

If anything, the Ring of Infinite Fortune seemed to have decided that ordinary rules simply didn’t apply to him.

Two Mythic drops from one chest.

The odds were so absurd that even Kael, with his knowledge of a lifetime spent navigating Miracle’s countless opportunities, struggled to process them.

He had witnessed rare treasures emerge from impossible encounters, watched players stumble upon fortunes that changed their lives, and spent years chasing the kind of rewards most people could only dream about.

But he had never heard of anyone receiving two Mythic items from a single chest.

Not once.

’Ridiculous. Absolutely, wonderfully ridiculous.’

A broad smile spread across his face.

Thoroughly pleased with the outcome, Kael opened the reward interface and began examining the treasures one by one, starting with the first Mythic item.

A small bronze disc rested in his palm.

It was old enough to appear as though it had survived countless centuries.

Its surface bore the dull, weathered patina of ancient metal, and at its center sat the engraved figure of a person seated cross-legged.

Around the figure, intricate lines of runework spiraled outward in concentric rings, each symbol carved with extraordinary precision.

The markings seemed to converge toward the disc’s outer rim, forming a pattern that was both mesmerizing and strangely solemn.

Kael focused on the item.

[THE UNDYING WHEEL] (Mythic)

[A relic that holds the power of reincarnation itself. By feeding it experience, the user can accumulate additional lives. When the bearer dies, the Undying Wheel automatically activates, reviving them instantly at full health without any loss of any kind.]

[Note: Each additional life requires an amount of experience equivalent to one full level-up at the user’s current level.]

[Maximum Capacity: 10 additional lives.]

[Current Lives: 0/10.]

Kael’s eyes widened slightly.

"A substitution item. And it can store up to ten extra lives."

He read the description again, making sure he hadn’t overlooked anything.

He hadn’t.

The Undying Wheel was exactly what its name suggested: a treasure that allowed its bearer to cheat death.

Items of this nature had always commanded outrageous prices, even before the game and reality began to merge.

Once that merger transformed death from a simple in-game penalty into something far more terrifying, their value would skyrocket.

Raw combat power could only protect someone to a certain extent. No matter how strong a player became, there would always be threats that couldn’t be overcome through strength alone.

After the merger, players could find themselves in situations where their bodies were vulnerable while their minds were occupied elsewhere.

A sudden attack during such a moment could prove fatal, regardless of how powerful they were in battle.

Kael knew all too well how quickly a seemingly manageable situation could turn into an irreversible disaster.

A treasure capable of restoring someone to full health after death was already priceless.

The Undying Wheel offered ten additional lives.Counting the life he already possessed, that meant he effectively had eleven chances to survive.

Eleven lives.

For a brief moment, Kael simply stared at the bronze disc resting in his hand.

Then he let out a quiet breath, the corners of his mouth lifting.

The price, however, was written plainly in the description. Every additional life required experience equivalent to a complete level-up at his current level. The higher he climbed, the greater the cost would become.

For most players, that would be a serious burden. Experience was the foundation of progression, and sacrificing an entire level’s worth of it for a single extra life could slow their growth considerably.

But Kael wasn’t like most players.

Two of his companions were already far beyond his current level. Lyra had reached Level 50, while the Hollow Emissary stood at Level 55.

Both could hunt monsters and tackle content well above his own level bracket, allowing him to accumulate experience at a pace that ordinary players could barely imagine.

Even if he diverted a substantial portion of that experience into the Undying Wheel, the impact on his personal progression would be manageable.

’Everyone else pays full price. I get it at a discount.’The thought brought another satisfied smile to his face.

There was, however, one remaining obstacle.

Extraction.

Bringing the Undying Wheel fully into the real world required a flat payment of one hundred million gold.

Even with his growing reserves, that was an enormous sum, not something he could casually spend without considering the consequences.

For now, the treasure would remain confined to the game.’I’ll need to build up the balance for that one.’

Kael filed the matter away without concern. One hundred million gold was a daunting figure, but not an impossible one.

Given enough time and the opportunities available to him, he was confident he could afford it.

There was no reason to delay using the item in the meantime.Without further hesitation, Kael activated the Undying Wheel.

The bronze disc rose gently from his palm, suspended in the air before him. Its engraved runes began to glow, one ring after another, until a soft blue radiance spread across its surface.

A moment later, a thin stream of blue light flowed from the disc and entered his chest.

The sensation was brief but unmistakable. The light sank beneath his skin, settling somewhere deep within him before fading from sight.

The bronze disc followed, dissolving into the same glow until nothing remained in the air before him.

Kael lowered his hand.

From that moment forward, any experience he chose to direct toward the Undying Wheel would gradually fill its reserve, building up additional lives that could restore him if death ever came again.

The thought carried a weight that went beyond the item’s description.

He had already died once.

He remembered the betrayal, the battlefield, and the moment everything he had worked for collapsed around him.

His first life had ended with no opportunity to recover, no second chance to correct his mistakes, and no way to know what might have happened if things had unfolded differently.

Now, he had been given another chance.

And with the Undying Wheel bound to him, he had a way to guard against the very outcome that had once destroyed him.

Kael took one final look at the spot where the disc had disappeared, then turned his attention to the second Mythic reward.

The moment it appeared in his hand, its striking color caught his eye.

It was a deep crimson gem shaped like a teardrop, suspended from a delicate chain. The red was so rich and vivid that it almost seemed wet, as though a drop of blood had been crystallized into a precious stone.

Light passed through its polished surface, revealing depths that seemed to stretch farther than the gem’s physical dimensions should have allowed.

Looking into it felt strangely like staring into dark water, unable to see what lay beneath.

Kael turned the pendant slowly between his fingers, watching the crimson glow shift across its surface.

Then he opened its information panel.

[THE GENESIS HEART] (Mythic)

[Special Effect I: Increases the maximum health of the wearer and all companions by 50%.]

[Special Effect II: The wearer and all companions recover 5% of their lost health every second.]

[Special Effect III: Each time a companion levels up, there is a chance to awaken a dormant talent.]

[Description: Formed from the life-essence of a primordial being that existed at the dawn of creation, this ancient jade contains the raw power of origin. It can stir a bloodline toward its earliest and truest roots, pushing it one step closer to the form it was always destined to achieve.]

[Class Requirement: Beastlord.]

[Level Requirement: None.]