The Wandering Witch Celeste

Just as we were exploring the sixth floor of the dungeon, Me and Mirelle found a wooden door. For most of the journey deeper into this dungeon, it was only corridors and as we got deeper, the corridors would get wider and as further deeper we got the wider it got and at times it would be back to the normal sized corridor and occasionally Me and Mirelle would encounter a wide-open area where multiple corridors were present. It was like a maze, where we would end up at a dead up and another, we would end up looping. 

Now however, we found a door in the sixth floor of the dungeon. I didn't know how deep this dungeon could go, but what I did realize as we discovered this door and many other strange changes in the structure of the dungeon was that the structure of the dungeon itself was getting more and more complicated and complex as we went deeper, meaning this dungeon was either a new one or that this was just simply the gimmick of this dungeon. 

"Well, we can't just stand here staring at the door all day, can we?" 

"Mii~" - Mirelle. 

I carefully reach out to the iron ring attached to the wooden door and slowly open the door and I said quickly but in a quiet voice to Mirelle. "Mirelle, please ready your sword and be on guard as I open this door. Thank you" and Mirelle responded in her usual noise but this time in a playfully quiet voice as well. "Miiii~". 

Mirelle stood on the other side of the door with its sword ready and upon noticing that Mirelle was on guard, I quickly flung the door open and we immediately eyed everything in the room, and seeing that nothing was moving, I breathe a sigh of relief but not fully letting my guard down as we enter the room. 

Upon entering the room, I carefully look this time around only to discover worn out bookshelves, shattered vials and flask on the counter top, a black broken rusted iron pot, and many more. However, what stood out the most was what was laid on top of the table. 

Chest. It was a chest on top of the table, just sitting there. Rather than just swiftly approaching a chest in a world of swords and magic, I used my staff and use the other end of my staff to poke the chest numerous times, yet with no reaction whatsoever, I now approached the chest and reaching my hand out to the lid of the chest and opening it with anticipation. 

When I had opened the chest what greeted me was a few items. A set of circular earrings, a single red ring, a set of black leather gloves, a singular red crystal and a thick black book with no name on it or label. 

Not wanting to let the books in the bookshelf decay in this dungeon and to let the unbroken vials and flask go to waste, I finally used the [Item Box] Skill. I then organized where to put what times. 

Not really having change much of the item's location from my pouch, aside from a few things like the books which went into my [Item Box], the books on the bookshelf and the unbroken vials and flasks went into [Item Box] along with the book "Dungeons" but only after writing down a few notes. 

With my inventory somewhat organized, I secured the thick black book with no label into the book holster at my waist. The familiar weight was reassuring, like an old companion, as I shifted my focus back to the remaining items. 

I adjusted the glasses already perched on my face and activated their [Appraisal] ability with a simple thought. Instantly, the items in front of me became overlaid with faint, floating text, displaying their details one by one. 

When my gaze landed on the pair of delicate earrings, the information materialized seamlessly before me, subtle yet precise. They were called [Veil and Mirage], a name that felt both elegant and fitting for their enchantments. 

The earrings possessed a passive magic that could be toggled on or off with mana, sparing the wearer from any continuous drain. Each earring held a distinct and complementary power. 

The Veil earring enveloped the wearer in an aura of concealment. It dulled the awareness of others, making the wearer nearly unnoticeable unless they spoke, performed aggressive actions, or manually disabled the effect. It wasn't invisibility but something subtler—a quiet erasure of significance, causing people to unconsciously overlook them. 

The Mirage earring took this a step further by obscuring the wearer's identity. Regardless of how familiar or famous the wearer might be, recognition became impossible unless they chose to reveal themselves. However, this power had limits. People with sharp instincts or heightened intuition could still sense something familiar if they paid close enough attention. Moreover, repeated exposure to the same individuals increased the chance of recognition, leaving subtle impressions that became harder to erase with each encounter. 

As I read through the enchantments, I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for the craftsmanship. Together, [Veil and Mirage] provided an elegant way to avoid attention or recognition, but their limitations ensured they couldn't be relied upon recklessly. These weren't tools for absolute disappearance—they were tools for careful discretion. 

The red ring on the other hand was called [The Crimson Mark], and just as I was examining the details of the ring, it suddenly moved on its own toward my index finger. Shocked by the sudden movement, I instinctively tried to pull my hand away, but the Crimson Mark continued to follow my finger, eventually settling onto it as if it had a will of its own. 

I froze for a moment, startled by the unexpected action. 

What was happening? Was something wrong with the ring? 

In a panic, I quickly checked the details again, still unsure of what was going on. The information appeared before me, confirming that the Crimson Mark wasn't a threat to my safety, but rather a unique artifact with a deeper purpose. 

According to the details, the Crimson Mark had the ability to recognize whether someone held the qualifications to be a witch. Once it identified such an individual, it would automatically move onto their finger, just as it had done with me. It was a living proof that the person either had the potential to be a witch or already was one. 

"I'm not a witch, and I don't even have a class yet… Does this mean I have the qualifications of a witch?" 

Surprised by this information about [The Crimson Mark], I activated my glasses and used [Appraisal] on myself. My status appeared in front of me, and I immediately scanned for my "Job"—which should have been empty. However, to my shock, it was no longer blank. It now displayed "Hidden "[Witch]", [Mage]." 

I didn't remember doing anything remotely "witch"-like, nor had I intentionally tried to change my job. Confused and unsure of how to handle this revelation and the sudden change in my status, I continued to examine the details of the crimson ring, trying to make sense of what had just happened. 

As I read further, I discovered that the Crimson Mark had another surprising feature. Once worn, the ring's appearance would shift, transforming into an ordinary-looking band that concealed its true nature. In this form, it would also obscure the wearer's class, making them appear as just a {Mage} to anyone who looked at them. This made it a perfect means of hiding one's true identity, should the wearer desire it. 

Moreover, the ring also had a connection to books created by witches or tied to the witch who had crafted it. When brought near such books, the Crimson Mark would reveal their true form, exposing any hidden content that might be veiled. It was a powerful artifact that not only marked the wearer as a witch but also granted them access to knowledge otherwise concealed.