The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 166

130. Elf’s Treasure Vault (1)

“Hmm.”

Lifting the large table in the banquet hall revealed a spiral staircase beneath it.

Caryl descended into it as if he were familiar with the place.

Clang-

After descending several floors underground, accompanied by the smell of old moss, he pressed one of the dusty walls in the Ghost Castle’s basement. Surprisingly, a hidden mechanism appeared behind the wall.

Clatter…….

As he pulled the lever, gears interlocked and turned, and the sound of chains being pulled taut from within the wall echoed throughout.

Creak…….

A solid iron door appeared behind the cracked wall, and as the mechanism activated once more, the door began to open.

“Wow…….”

Aidan involuntarily exclaimed in a low voice as he gazed at the opening of the underground vault, which was slowly revealing itself.

From the dark underground, a pure white light began to pour out through the doorway.

If one were to name the place where the rarest items in the continent were gathered, everyone would undoubtedly choose Tatur’s black market.

From artifacts of the Magic Era that are now impossible to find to miscellaneous items that someone had used and discarded, there was truly everything imaginable.

“This is something else……. The black market can’t even compare.”

Everyone agreed with his sentiment.

Even Miliana, who had never been to Tatur’s black market, could tell that the weapons and equipment inside were extraordinary.

‘Indeed…….’

Caryl scanned the surroundings once and nodded with a satisfied expression.

Since this place had never been conquered even in his previous life, all the items inside were new to Caryl as well.

‘Jarka.’

Caryl called out to him.

However, he remained silent after informing him about the castle’s vault for the first time.

[Thanks to the tempering in the Spring of Secrets, the Ice Claw might be able to serve as a vessel for a spirit body, but since you haven’t mastered necromancy, it will be difficult for you to control him perfectly.]

‘Are you saying you can refuse my commands?’

[Not only that, but it could also affect the power of the Ice Claw. Well, since he has decided to be sealed by you, he probably won’t do anything that deviates too much.]

Caryl frowned slightly at those words.

As with Gordon Fabian, a momentary gap can determine victory or defeat in a battle against a strong opponent.

There were still four Sword Masters on the continent, and powerful archmages who had reached the ranks of 7th class were still alive and well.

Moreover, among the strong opponents he would have to face in the future were the dragons, a race that surpassed even Sword Masters, so not being able to use a weapon properly could be a significant weakness.

‘Hmm……. Laminu, is it impossible even with your power? He was an elf in life, so he should obey the Spirit King.’

[I could probably make him listen a few times if I talked to him. However, elves and spirits exist in different dimensions, so they have a symbiotic relationship. You should give up on trying to issue commands through me.]

Caryl clicked his tongue at his words.

‘Taming a lich is more troublesome than I thought. At this rate, he might become a weakness instead.’

[Hehe, you can’t get everything easily. You need to experience some difficulties to make things fair, right?]

Caryl gave a bitter smile at Laminu’s words.

‘Difficulties……. I don’t have time for that. I’m not traveling around the continent for sightseeing.’

[You’re still a greedy one.]

‘You wouldn’t understand. From my perspective, there’s a reason why I have to be like this.’

[…….]

‘Necromancy……. Should I get help from the Immortality Society?’

Before the joy of obtaining the artifacts in the vault before him, Caryl was already contemplating his next move.

The magical system constructed by the Council of Seven was undoubtedly the foundation of the magic of the Dawn Society and the Immortality Society.

Therefore, the magical knowledge that Alun Zabis left to Caryl certainly contained information about necromancy.

‘But unfortunately, among the Council of Seven, Alun was a master of arcane arts, not an expert in black magic.’

The first necromancer, Well Bahar.

One of the Council of Seven and one of the traitors who killed Alun Zabis along with Gustav and Celine Han. He was the pinnacle of black magic in the Magic Era.

When Alun showed Caryl his memories at the Gray Academy, even though his head was blown off by his Magic Arrow, the necromancer might not have died at that time.

‘It feels like my to-do list keeps growing.’

Caryl chuckled.

If there were those who inherited Well Bahar’s legacy at this point in time, it would undoubtedly be the magicians of the Immortality Society.

The Immortality Society, with the Anti-Hum Grand Library as its base in the northeastern part of the Empire, along with the Dawn Society’s Ivory Tower in the far north of the continent, was truly one of the two major magical factions on the continent.

Each faction had completely different views on how to approach magic. The Dawn Society received the full support of the Order, while the Immortality Society was the opposite.

‘Come to think of it, the Anti-Hum Grand Library is near the Maron Gorge. How ironic.’

Ironically, the Immortality Society’s base was located above Heim, the Order’s sacred ground.

Although Heim itself was a hidden place, Caryl recalled the memory of using the teleportation magic circle.

‘Unlike before, my current mana should allow me to pass through the main gate of the Grand Library and enter inside.’

When he left the mansion, he had mana, but his meridians were not yet opened.

But now, even though he hadn’t properly mastered magic, the number of opened meridians was already equivalent to that of a mid-level 5th class mage.

The reason Caryl didn’t initially aim for the Magic Society was that the doors of the Dawn Society’s Ivory Tower and the Immortality Society’s Grand Library were only open to those who had reached the ranks of a mage.

‘Good. I had to go to the Grand Library at least once anyway.’

Caryl thought of one person in his mind.

One of the Ten of the Oracle who fought alongside him.

Another mage among the two who were called the reincarnation of Kaie Essir along with Serga.

‘Although he hated that title…….’

Israfil the Awl.

If Serga was a disciple of Cardin Ruer, a court mage from the Dawn Society, and an elite created by the Empire’s academy, Serica Lauren was a wild mage who grew strong on her own without a teacher.

In that sense, Israfil’s background was unique.

Despite having immense talent, after reaching the ranks of a mage, he joined the Immortality Society and lived his entire life as a librarian at the Anti-Hum Grand Library.

‘If the oracle hadn’t been given, I would never have known of his existence.’

Therefore, Caryl didn’t think of him as a card to use in his rise to the throne.

‘He was one of the Ten of the Oracle and had fought in countless battles. Unlike the ruthless image of a black magician who uses curse magic, he was a person who wasn’t suited for combat.’

Even Caryl, who had been with him, couldn’t imagine him killing someone, as he struggled to kill even the monster of corruption.

Because of his weak personality, he had predicted that the war of mages would be a three-way battle between Serica Lauren, Serga, and Mikhail.

‘Well, just once……. He completely changed after that battle, though.’

Caryl clicked his tongue with a bitter taste.

He didn’t want to think about the memory that came to mind.

‘Thanks to that, he got the nickname Awl, which didn’t suit him at all.’

Caryl didn’t want Asrapil to experience that again if possible.

But that might be the arrogance of someone who had lived a previous life.

‘Well, even if I can’t get him right away, it would be good to make a first impression. And get some advice on necromancy.’

There was no point in worrying about it anyway.

It just made one more thing clear among the things he had to do in the future.

“What are you thinking about for so long? Everyone else has already gone inside. You might miss out on all the good stuff!”

Miliana looked at Caryl, who was lost in thought, and asked.

“Right. Let’s go in.”

He thought he had been worrying for too long, unlike his usual self.

‘Israfil……. The thought of having to get you hasn’t changed, but as that time approaches, I seem to have become sentimental without realizing it.’

How ridiculous.

Caryl shook his head.

He once again recalled that he had decided not to indulge in such luxuries while climbing the tower.

“Master!! T, t, this……!! It’s a Sanmun Armor (山文甲) [Mountain Pattern Armor]!! Unbelievable. It’s a top-grade artifact that can’t be obtained even by high-ranking officials in the Eastern Kingdom…….”

Aidan shouted at Caryl with sparkling eyes.

The armor in his hand was a set of scales that protruded in three directions and were linked together by chains.

“How could this be in the Elf’s Castle?”

“Well, if you trace the origins of Eastern magic back 1,000 years, it might include Elven magic. Both are nature-based arts, after all.”

“Wow…….”

Aidan’s eyes shone like a child’s at Caryl’s words.

“Take it. From the looks of it, there are several enchantments on it besides preservation magic. It might even be better than the armor worn by the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom.”

“R, really?”

“Of course. I already have armor, and that person doesn’t need anything like armor,” Caryl said, pointing to Gordon.

“Thank you!! Wow……. This is really the first time in my life.”

Aidan hugged the armor and said in a tearful voice, so happy was he.

“But you should be careful. Not everything here is genuine.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever heard that elves like wealth? Not like dwarves who love minerals or gnomes who are crazy about jewels. There are also some traps. If you touch them wrong, your arm might get cut off.”

“…….”

Aidan, who was about to reach for the golden scabbard stacked on the shelf next to the armor, clicked his tongue slightly at Caryl’s words and put his hand back in.

Caryl chuckled as he watched him.

Certainly, the items in the Elf’s Treasure Vault inside the Ghost Castle were all excellent artifacts.

But surprisingly, except for Aidan, Caryl, Gordon, and Miliana didn’t seem to be very impressed, simply passing by as if admiring the artifacts.

For them, who had already reached the ranks of Sword Masters, their own growth was more important than weapons.

Caryl was also worried about the Ice Claw, where Jarka Hochi was sealed, but he knew that it would be difficult to find a sword here that could replace it.

‘Hmm……. I should still take a few things. There are some useful things for Beykan and Kinu Mukari.’

Caryl took out one of the bows hanging on the wall and examined it.

It was a unique bow with a blue body and sharp ends that protruded like snake fangs.

‘This looks similar to the bow called Wind Poison, which is kept in the Imperial Palace.’

Caryl marked it and a few other weapons, thinking that he should call the barbarians later to take all the weapons here.

“Caryl!!”

It was then.

Gordon, who had gone inside the vault, shouted in a loud voice as if he had found something.

“Looks like I’ve found my medicine.”

Gordon nodded towards Caryl with a proud look on his face, his arms crossed.

Woo-woo-woo-woong…….

A beautifully crafted fountain on the inner wall of the vault. The water had already dried up, and there was nothing left.

However, inside a transparent glass case placed on top of the fountain, there was a small, glowing blue bottle.

“That’s the essence of the Spirit Spring that Jarka mentioned.”

Caryl slowly approached and examined it.

The blue liquid inside the bottle sparkled as if sprinkled with stardust.

Without needing to explain, everyone knew that this was the rarest and most precious thing in this vault.

“It was quite a struggle, but this is it. I’ve been rewarded.”

Gordon slowly reached out his hand.

“Wait. Gordon, your medicine isn’t that, it’s the one next to it, right?”

Caryl called out to him in a calm voice.

“What?”

At that moment,

Everyone’s gaze turned to the foul-smelling, rotten sap that had accumulated under the giant tree growing next to the fountain.