Great Riches

"A ring?" Said Maximus in bafflement.

Inside the golden crate was a ring, made of gold and with tiny black obsidian as the eye. The ring was held by a soft white cushion, looking like clouds in the skies. Other than that, there was nothing else.

Maximus grabbed the ring and try to examine it thoroughly. But after a while, he can't find anything special about it. It really just a fancy ring, more or less.

[No, Host. This ring is not as simple as it looks. It's precisely a type of space ring, a magic artifact that has a similar function as the system's inventory space.]

The system's voice rang within his head, retorting his assumption.

Maximus raised his brows, thinking, 'So this is a space ring… It's the first time I'm seeing it. It does not look like what I'd expected, though.'

He had heard some rumors regarding space rings. It was one of the wizards' most well-known inventions and legacies, extremely precious and highly sought after. In today's age, its functionality has grown beyond a mere tool where one can store things efficiently, it also serves as proof of status by a plethora of people, including nobles and even royalties. Even the most skilled master craftsman cannot make this thing, all space rings that existed today were the inheritances from the era of wizards. One can judge how rare these rings were.

Maximus had always thought space rings would be more exotic or special in appearance, but the one on his hand right now doesn't look much different from any ordinary rings except for being a little bit fancy.

'Then how do you use it?' He asked inwardly.

[Just rub the ring's eye with your finger, that's it.]

Without hesitation, he rubbed the ring in gentle motions.

Zing!

A shining light flashes briefly from the ring's eye, and a series of strange images flooding Maximus' brain in a sudden, like a goddamn tsunami! Making him a bit dizzy.

In a weird and magical way, he somehow instantly know that these strange images were actually the portrayals of every item stored within the space ring. Maximus couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

The selections were a lot, so does the quantity. A variety of stuff such as silver and gold coins, a volleyball-sized crystal thing, few smaller crystals, two magic artifacts with peculiar functions, some simple items that looked like make-ups, a bunch of letters, clothes with feminine designs, and other items were shown. Judging from that, the ring's original owner should be a woman.

When Maximus decides to check the coins, he was even more stupefied. As the coin that materialized in his right hand, he couldn't be more familiar with it!

"This! This is a Valeri silver coin! Although the emblem is different than in the coins I usually saw, this is still Valeri! System, are you sure this ring and the crate were left behind by the wizards?" Maximus exclaimed with a slightly loud voice.

The reason why he acted like that was that the coin grasped by his palm was extremely similar to the coins commonly used in Everglade. In fact, not just Everglade, only a single currency currently recognized as the overlord of the world's monetary system — Valeri or simply known as Val.

Valeri currency was invented by Valeria Empire, the greatest nation the realm has ever seen since the disappearance of wizards, during its heyday around 1000 years ago. It consisted of four coinages; iron, copper, silver, and gold coin.

And due to the enduring influence of the Valeria Empire, even after it has disintegrated 500 years ago, many countries today still use Valeri as the sole currency and continues to mint the coins with the same configuration as it was back in Valeria's era without the slightest bit of change. Well, of course, the countries that minted the coins definitely stamped it with images relatively unique to them.

That's why Maximus rejected the theory that both the crate and the ring were left behind by a wizard. Those wizards already vanished long before the formation of the Valeria Empire. In his mind, it's impossible for a wizard to have possession of Valeri coins, the crate, and its content must have been someone else's belongings.

[Actually, Host. Valeria Empire had simply copied the method of minting Valeri coins from the wizards. According to the system's database, Valeria Empire, then still a kingdom, discovered an intact wizard tower within its border around the year 29 after the kingdom's establishment. From the tower, the kingdom gained lots of stuff left behind by its original occupants, one of them was a coin-minting technique, which was used by the kingdom later. Valeria can simply be credited as the nation that re-popularized these wizard's coins, instead of, the original inventor. The coin in your hand was also used extensively during the era of wizards. So my theory of the crate once belonged to a wizard still stands.]

Hearing that, Maximus smiled wryly, 'My assumption has been shot down once again, huh…'

Then he shook his head and recollected his mind. It's not important which was the one who invented this coin, what important was, can this coin still be used now?

[Of course, it can. Other than the different stamps and the fact they were exquisitely minted and still unblemished after being stored for a long time, the coins still practically the same as any other Valeri coins. The weight, the shape, the form, everything is just as similar. Yes! The gold and silver coins within the space ring can certainly be used in the present day.]

According to the image from the space ring, there were millions of gold and silver coins within the ring. If all of those can be used, then…

Maximus' eyes widened!

The Valeri currency conversion works extremely simple; one iron coin was equal to 1 Val, one copper coin to 10 Val, one silver coin to 100 Val, and one gold coin to 1000 Val.

An example: if one possessed a total personal wealth consisted of 5 gold, 15 silver, 500 copper, and 1000 iron coin, it means the same as having 12500 Val worth of money.

The world's economic situation was varied from one region to another, but generally, the average monthly income of commoners was around 60 to 90 Val. With that amount, an ordinary family can live well for a whole month without going to starve, but still not enough to allow themselves to enjoy luxuries, unfortunately.

Maximus himself has a monthly wage of 103 Val from doing his job as the village's vice constable, but he often didn't get paid fully with coins though, sometimes he also received goods like grain, salt, or meat. And because he lives alone without having any relatives, his life can be said well enough, not good but not bad either. Besides, he always got extra money from the games he hunted in the forest, enabling him to have some savings for the future or in case of urgency.

The 2700 Val in the system's inventory were all the wealth he previously saved. But adding the coins from the space ring, he was probably the richest person alive today!

[Host, the space ring is considered yours now, along with its entire contents. Do you want to connect it with the system?]

'Connect them? What does it mean?'

[It means establishing the connection between the space ring and the system. The ring itself will still be a separate and independent item, but whatever you stored there will be listed within the system's inventory interface, providing a more practical and efficient accommodation. In addition, the system will also put a safety measure on the ring, thus in case you lost the ring or someone stole it, the system can track its whereabouts and prevent the ring from being used or opened by an unauthorized person other than you, the owner.]

'That good? Sure.' Maximus quickly accepted the system's offer. He was more eager to have the anti-theft protection measure that will be placed on the ring as it originally does not have any. Somebody can just rub the ring and steal everything inside as he had done earlier.

[Very well, connecting the space ring with the system now. 500 System Credit has been deducted from your account.]

500 System Credit was a cheap price to pay, he had no qualms about that.

[Ding! The space ring has been connected to the system. The Host can check the result directly.]

Afterward, Maximus begins to thoroughly check up on the space ring's contents and the result of the ring's new connection with the system.

The inventory's interface currently has two sections; one for the content of the system's pocket space, and the other was for the space ring.

Maximus' total wealth now consisted of 5 million gold and 5 million silver coins, equal to 5.5 billion Val. This number… was exceptionally terrifying! Those coins must have been as tall as a small hill if they were taken outside and stacked together. Such a great deal of fortune must be kept secret at all cost, it'll definitely bring a disaster once it was revealed.

This was a capital that Maximus plans to invest in the future, once he already has a fief of his own. He wants to build his own land with this money, to greater heights if possible. Hence before he owns a fief, Maximus would only spend minimally and carefully. After all, he needs to avoid being noticed by other people.

He divided the money into two groups; he put all the gold and 4.9 million silver coins in the system's inventory, while the rest 100 thousand silver coins remained stored within the space ring. He doesn't know why, but Maximus does not feel safe to keep all the coins in the space ring, thus the division. And he finally knew how outrageously cheat the system was.

The combined weight of 10 million coins was around 30 tons or so, he initially thought the inventory space won't be able to hold all of it since the maximum weight limit was just 10000 kg.

But it looks like the system categorized money as a different object from normal items, it has its own separate pocket dimension. So, no matter how much money Maximus stored, the system will still contains it. On the other hand, the space ring work in a different principle than the inventory space, it utilizes space itself rather than mass.

The space within the ring was as spacious as a football field. No wonder the ring was classified as an Epic-grade artifact, it really was well-deserving.

The next stuff he checked was the ball-sized crystal, this was the most shocking thing among the items from the space ring. Even the system, who always indifferent and without emotions, most of the time, couldn't help but let out some excitements when the crystal appeared on Maximus' hand.

Void Breaking Crystal — a magic instrument made by the wizards for the purpose of traveling beyond the Grand Azov.

It should be noted that each realm in the cosmos was not a spherical planet, they were rather a distinct collection of flat earth floating around in space unendingly, Some were close to each other, others were so far away that they were located near the edge of the cosmos. It's very non-sensical.

Wizards were the first ones to travel beyond their native world. Before they were able to create a void-ship said to be capable of traversing the void above the realm, they used Void Breaking Crystals to open a path that connects the Grand Azov with the rest of the Twenty Great Realms and hundreds of smaller realms throughout the cosmos, forming a massive network of intra-realm teleportation gates.

However, nearly all of those gates also vanished together with the wizards, resulted in the networks' breakdown and isolating the Grand Azov from the rest of the cosmos. Hence why this realm's natives only have vague knowledge regarding the world outside their own.

In contrast to the system who was so excited because of the crystal, Maximus was having mixed feelings about it. Sure he still felt awed from learning its wondrous capability, but at the same time, he deemed this stuff basically useless to him. Why would he need something that can open a gateway to other realms? He doesn't have any plan of journeying off-world, this world was already so vast he won't be able to visit every region or part in a lifetime.

Furthermore, even if Maximus wants to use it, he simply couldn't. This crystal requires a tremendous amount of Inner Force to be activated. The wizards back then had to connect the crystal with a so-called Mana Reactor, so that it can be powered with enough energy to open the intra-realm gate. Not to mention, the gate itself needed to be managed and overseen by a complicated and complex management system, which requires competent manpower and a large stock of resources, things that no country in the present day capable to provide, much less Maximus, a commoner.

Therefore, he decided to keep the crystal buried in the deepest place of the inventory space with a very low chance that it would be taken outside again and used.

Maximus looked upward and saw the sky has begun to turn orange. There were still a few items in the space ring he hadn't check, but after seeing that it's nearly dark…

'It's almost evening… I should return now.' Said he through the mind.

Without further ado, Maximus quickly cleans up all his belongings; he grabbed the golden crate and throws it into the inventory; then he tied the shovel back to his horse; drink a little bit of water from the water-pouch to satiate his thirst before hopping on top of the horse and start riding north.