After Ibaekho’s suggestion, we began serious research on the armor we had just obtained.

Two high-level mages, gamer-born Ibaekho and me, and two local top-tier explorers all gathered around.

Though the armor had emerged from a mystery box, once several people started investigating it, progress came quickly.

And the first conclusion was:

“This definitely seems to be a Numbers item.”

“...A Numbers item? I’ve never even heard of that.”

“Neither have I, but there’s no doubt this is a Numbers item. The whole classification system was originally based on whether a specific magical reaction occurs or not.”

“How is that possible...?”

“If you look at labyrinth history, not all numbered relics existed from the start. There was a time with no ‘numbers’ at all.”

“Oh! A time without numbers? Was there really such a time?”

“Yes. Numbers appeared only after a certain emotional archivist compiled 10,000 relics into a book.”

“Maybe this armor is a new Numbers item no explorer has found since the labyrinth’s creation.”

“A new Numbers item?”

“I suspect there are others like this armor. I’d like to call them ‘No Numbers,’ or ‘Mystery Numbers’...”

The GM, eager to coin a proper term, was unfortunately beaten to the punch.

“The official term is Secret Numbers.”

“...?”

“Arua Raven discovered and named it first.”

Ah, it’s upsetting to have a name stolen after finding something first.

I said it bluntly, but instead of sulking, the GM showed a scholarly gleam in his eyes.

“Have there been more such relics?”

I hesitated but answered honestly since this information might help us now.

“Just one other found in the labyrinth.”

“Can we see it?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have it right now.”

Everyone seemed curious about that item, and I only said it was found during the first-floor exploration.

“A ‘Secret Numbers’ from the initially opened area... Maybe many undiscovered Numbers items exist.”

I thought so too.

Outside the walls and even in the recently explored first basement floor, places long untouched by explorers are now revealing themselves.

Besides the Secret Numbers info, here’s what else we learned:

“Whoa, it’s a bound item?”

The armor was already bound to me.

“Bound imprint... so it can’t be returned, right?”

The GM screamed in despair upon learning this, but what could be done?

I just ignored it while fiddling with something.

“Anyway, explain it. Are you sure it’s bound?”

“Yes. When someone else tries to wear it, shape adjustment doesn’t activate, and if forced to wear, it turns into ordinary armor with no effect. A classic bound imprint pattern.”

“Sounds like the vague wave pattern we discussed earlier is related to the owner’s imprint circuitry.”

“Yes, very likely.”

In addition to being bound, it had an ‘indestructible’ option and one directly affecting wearer stats:

“All regeneration speed increased.”

The GM named this the armor’s main feature.

“A very rare trait. It’s not just for mana, soul power, or divine power, but literally all ‘regeneration.’”

Not only mana-like resources.

The ‘regen speed increase’ also affects natural regeneration, and if I use other skills consuming special resources, this trait should still help.

“But if it’s a Numbers item, shouldn’t it have a proper name?”

Since calling it just ‘armor’ was dull, we gave it a name.

“Oh! I want to come up with a cool one—.”

“Aegis Dragon Armor.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s called Aegis Dragon Armor. From now on, that’s its name.”

When I suggested it, Ibaekho nodded approvingly.

“Nice name. The color too; it really feels like part of a set.”

While Ibaekho approved, Jaina tilted her head.

“I get ‘Aegis,’ but why Dragon Armor? It doesn’t use dragon hide or have dragon heart inside.”

“Uh...”

That was a tough question for such an offhand comment.

Still, honestly answering:

“Just ‘armor’ sounded too plain...”

“Oh, I see...”

Jaina looked confused, but the men all nodded.

Guys seemed to prefer ‘dragon armor’ over ‘armor’ or ‘plate mail.’

‘Women really don’t understand what guys like.’

Anyway, with the name ‘Aegis Dragon Armor’ finalized, a new discovery came through this process.

“...How coincidental. I tested it with Aegis Barrier, and it really resonated.”

“So it’s a true set item with the shield?”

“Yes. Both Aegis Dragon Armor and Aegis Barrier... are resonance relics.”

Resonance relics mean set items that grant extra effects when equipped together.

For example, No. 7611 ‘Necromancer’s Deception’ and No. 7612 ‘Necromancer’s Arrogance’ skull belts provide a resonance effect.

“When either activates, an additional 50% HP recovery triggers.”

Anyway, learning it was a set updated existing info.

“So what’s the resonance effect between the armor and shield?”

“Hmm... looks like the regeneration effect itself is the resonance effect.”

“All increased regen options are part of the Aegis set resonance.”

“Oh, so it has a passive effect too?”

“Yes... appears to have one passive and one active ability.”

Meaning the armor has one passive and one active option...

The active was quickly figured out through experiments.

「Jurven Havelion cast 5th-grade attack magic [Lightning Spear].」

The effect was simple.

「Jurven Havelion cast 4th-grade attack magic [Storm Rush].」

Being armor, it was defense-related.

「Jurven Havelion cast 4th-grade attack magic [Ice Sword]...」

Well, they say the best defense is offense, right?

「Reflects accumulated damage.」

The active effect was somewhat like the essence of a gacha capsule toy.

The ‘counterattack’ mechanism.

And...

Swishhh!

Like a one-time-use skeleton summoned for counterattack, a sort of summoned spirit appeared behind me.

These two features were like the gacha toy.

But the key difference?

“...Why is it so huge?”

Far more intimidating in scale than a mere skeleton.

“...Is this an active summon ability?”

“Uh... but it’s moving.”

A giant Viking warrior spirit wielded a greatsword.

It swung at the GM, who was attacking me for testing.

“Damn it!! Block it!”

Ibaekho shouted as the Old Doom Grandpa summoned a magic barrier to intercept the sword’s path.

Crackling sound!

But the hastily cast barrier wasn’t strong enough to block the greatsword fully.

“Get out of the way!”

Rex Aures hurried forward with his shield—

“Kuhgh!”

He blocked the greatsword and coughed up blood, ending the situation.

Clang!

The giant shield he held fell deeply dented, and the greatsword-wielding spirit faded away as if its purpose was done.

“Are you okay?”

Healer Jaina rushed to check on Rex Aures, and only then did the GM, realizing how close he was to death, slump backward.

“Wow... this is no joke.”

Watching all this, Ibaekho’s eyes gleamed.

“Getting hit is definitely the trigger. So, does the reflection scale with damage dealt? Or does it activate once a certain amount accumulates?”

“...”

“Depending on that, our strategy might differ. But since it’s not unavoidable damage, it shouldn’t be too tough.”

Ah, that’s why I was planning to study it alone later.

“Hey, hey! What are you all doing? No one got hurt! Stop freaking out and get back to research.”

“Huh? Baekho? Didn’t you see I just spat blood—.”

“But it’s stopped now.”

“...”

Thanks to Ibaekho’s active leadership, research resumed, and we thoroughly examined the active effect.

“When you get hit, stacks build up, and physical damage is dealt in stages proportionally.”

“Cooldown is only 5 minutes, no resource consumption. Yet, at 4 stacks, it does enough damage to shred 20 mana barriers like paper?”

“Ah, yeah. Indestructible is a Numbers item feature.”

“But as a set, it boosts regen massively and still has one unknown passive effect?”

Uh... yeah...

To sum up, that’s roughly it...

“Damn, what the hell is this busted armor?”

“...”

No words.

Because I agreed.

Depending on the passive, this might be a single Numbers-level item at least.

If the passive is also single ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Numbers-level... then it’s basically a newly found single Numbers item.

“M-Mine... originally...”

Hearing the GM mumble that made my conscience prick, but so what?

It’s not like I can give it back now.

“Jurven Havelion, stop whining.”

“B-But...”

“Can’t be helped. I didn’t bind it to you intentionally.”

“...”

“Or do you think this is the end of our relationship after this expedition?”

“N-No, not at all...”

“Then me getting stronger is good for you too. I’m not the type to forget favors.”

After logically persuading, the GM was speechless.

He looked a bit sulky, but time would fix that.

“Wow, Baron, that’s some serious gaslighting.”

Ibaekho’s remark just went in one ear and out the other as I resumed research.

We decided to check the unknown passive next.

But...

One day, two days, three days...

No matter how much time passed, the armor’s passive remained a mystery.

“Ha... if only there were monsters, we could find something out.”

“We’ve done everything possible without monsters.”

“If it’s not some special or hidden effect, we can only find out if monsters appear.”

So we gave up on discovering the passive.

But that made things worse.

We started researching the armor hoping it would lead us to an escape clue.

“So, back to square one?”

Ibaekho’s deflated mood spread to everyone.

This was when a leader had to not show weakness.

“Let’s start again, slowly, from what we can do.”

I encouraged them, and we resumed thorough searching of the Golden Ruins.

We scoured all passages, even breaking walls physically.

We also climbed the entrance stairs backward to visit Makairo’s chamber—the hidden piece of the Golden Ruins again...

“...Huh?”

What the hell was going on?

“...Wow, this gives me goosebumps.”

Makairo’s corpse, which should have been inside the coffin, was gone.