13 - The Ring of Valessencio

The Remington family were among the influential families in the country.

I remembered that much from a backstory that had been written in the original novel.

However, after a certain incident, they fell out of grace with the ruling houses and many of the noble and other influential families started avoiding them like they were some plague.

The Remington’s influence started to drop gradually until it hit rock bottom.

Only a few houses wanted to deal with them without fear of the consequences of this alliance.

Slowly but surely, the power and influence that the Remington once controlled was gradually snuffed out of their hands.

In the world of The Account of a Failed Villain, nobility was not rigidly set.

Families can be stripped off theirs as much as a family that was never nobility can be granted one.

It all boiled down to how useful that family was to the country.

If you offer continued benefits to the country, there is a chance of your family climbing the ladder consistently.

Only time would tell when.

However, an end to the benefits meant an end to the privilege of being a high family in the hierarchy of the society.

But still, I didn’t expect Bran to make such a comment.

I don’t want to believe that the Remington had fallen so badly that affording an artifact was an issue.

Don’t get it wrong now. Bran did not make that comment out of spite.

He genuinely cared, and was concerned about my plan to generate the money.

Of course, he understood that to get what I wanted, we would have to go for high level artifacts.

That was his issue.

High grade artifacts were not, in a way, cheap.

Bran clicked his tongue and shook his teeth, expressing a little disappointment that was clearly directed to me.

"You know that’s not what I mean."

He leaned back and crossed his arms over each other, scanning the surroundings briefly.

"Yes. My family has its alignment with some of the craftsmen guilds in the country and I’m certain I should be able to get you an artifact from one of them at the very least. That should work."

Bran was onboard with me now.

However, he had miscalculated one thing from what I told him.

I didn’t want just any artifacts. There was a particular one that I had my eyes on.

...The Ring of Valessencio.

It was a very high grade artifact and unfathomable versatile.

If I could get my hands on that ring, then the problem that I had with limited Essence reserve would vanish in a second.

I allowed Bran to finish talking before breaking the news to him.

"I appreciate your help and the willingness that comes with it, Bran. However..."

I paused and lifted a finger. "There is one problem."

Bran narrowed his eyes, staring at him curiously.

"And what’s that?"

A smile and then I replied to him, saying, "I don’t want just any random artifacts. I’m going to get anything for the sake of simply owning. There is a particular relic I want."

"Hmm," Bran hummed. "What relic?"

I exhaled shortly before answering.

"The Ring of Valessencio."

Silence descended like thunder.

I had just dropped a shocking bomb for a request.

Bran said nothing, only blinking his eyes.

I could tell that, inside his head now, he probably thought I was going nuts.

The silence lingered for seconds.

Then a whole minute.

Seeing that I was not saying anything else, Bran burst out in laughter.

"You are joking, right?" Bran said. "I’m guessing you hit your head somewhere. Maybe Dr Grace shouldn’t have discharged you just yet."

I said nothing.

My face was straight and flat, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Bran stopped laughing.

He looked at me with profound interest.

"You are serious?"

"Dead serious?" I replied, the resolve in my voice not faltering.

Bran pointed to the side of his head. "You have certainly gone insane."

"That’s—"

"Even if we agree to get it, where do we start? That’s the artifact created by the first awakener."

I nodded affirmatively.

...Miss Valentina Essencio, or as she would come to be more popularly called, Val Essencio or Valessencio. The latter being more erroneous.

She was the first awakener in the world, and played a huge part in establishing the system we know and use today.

The energy of the world which she discovered and explored was named after her—Essence.

Having tapped into what, at the time, was considered to be supernatural and on the level of gods, Val knew that she had to find a way to sustain this access that she had to this mysterious energy.

That was when she started her research.

Experiments after experiments.

Year in, year out... she was working, and eventually, the ring was born from this singular idea and her resilience.

The Ring of Valessencio. An unranked artifact that absorbs and stores Essence in itself.

No one knows the full extent of what it could do since only Val had ever wielded it at full power.

Even then, the information surrounding the abilities it granted, if any, was not revealed.

Given what I know about the ring and through speculation, I can say that it was at least an SS+ grade.

The ring was a permanent solution to my problem. At least it looked like it was but acquiring it was going to be tedious.

I knew where it was and how to get there but I lacked the resources and skill for such a trip.

I heaved a sigh and glanced at the sky before facing Bran once more.

"That is my goal. I will acquire that ring one way or the other but unfortunately, not at this moment," I said to him.

"I will take whatever artifacts your craftsmen are able to help me with."

Judging by how Bran leaned back on his chair and heaved a sigh of relief, I could tell that his mind was at peace now.

It was funny.

"Why are you laughing?"

I waved my hand in front of me and shook my head.

"It’s nothing."