The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 21

19. Found It

He moved slowly.

He arrived at none other than Einherjar, following the forest path he passed every day.

Clang-

He opened the closed door.

Scattered books were piled up haphazardly.

‘I won’t be able to see this place anymore either.’

Why was that?

Before leaving, he stopped by this place that had completely changed his life for the last time.

Was it simply out of sentimentality?

No.

Kahl slowly scanned his surroundings once more, thinking with regret.

‘In the end, I couldn’t find it…….’

Another treasure hidden by Kaie Esser.

Perhaps it was greed.

Maybe he really only left the Dragon Heart in Einherjar.

‘Even that alone is an enormous treasure.’

Swish-

Kahl drew Agniel.

The sharp sound of the blade tickled his ears.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve drawn my sword here.’

He had just wasted time searching for hidden devices.

As if to prove his change before leaving, Kahl slowly began to concentrate magic into his sword.

‘Kaie Esser, thanks to you, I have gained a new life. I sincerely thank you.’

Whoooong…….

The blade began to glow faintly.

‘Look. This is what you gave me. This power I never had in my life. I will change the world with this power.’

As if making a resolution, Kahl pointed his sword at the bookshelf in Einherjar.

“…Hmm?”

It was then.

His gaze stopped.

Something lying on the floor in the darkness.

It was something he hadn’t found despite searching Einherjar thoroughly until now.

“This is…….”

Kahl rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand as if doubting his eyes and looked at the floor again.

But when he looked again, there was nothing on the floor.

‘Did I see it wrong?’

Kahl tilted his head.

At that moment, a thought flashed through his mind.

‘Could it be…….’

Whoooong…….

Kahl injected magic into the blade again. The moment the Aura Blade lit up the surroundings like a torch,

‘It’s there.’

He hadn’t seen it wrong.

The debris that he had seen on the floor a moment ago was visible again.

Swish-

Kahl picked it up.

“This is…….”

Surprisingly, it was the remains of the burnt note that was in the box where he took out the Dragon Heart.

Miraculously, only three letters remained from Kaie Esser’s note, which he thought had all burned up in flames.

[Ha], [Tam], [Ra]

Kahl stared at the blackened piece.

‘Did this accidentally survive without burning……?’

That couldn’t be.

It was a note left by the Archmage Kaie Esser, not an ordinary person.

There was no way he would have cast such a sloppy spell.

[If you are a seeker and fear death, give up.]

At that moment, the sentence from Kaie Esser’s note in Einherjar flashed through Kahl’s mind.

‘Why couldn’t I find it until now?’

He unknowingly looked at the dagger he was holding.

Gulp-

He swallowed hard.

‘Could it be……. Was this the key?’

Until now, he had never drawn his sword in the library.

No.

To be precise, he had never manifested magic inside Einherjar.

It was then.

As if a puzzle was being put together, pieces of paper slowly began to move on the floor.

“……!!!”

It created a sentence.

As if engraved in his eyes, the letters shone clearly in the darkness.

[Tam], [Ha], [Ra]

“What…… is this…….”

Kahl swallowed hard as he looked at the letters in front of him.

What should he do?

The question was meaningless.

The answer was there.

From the beginning until now, all the connections were one.

Magic(魔力).

“…….”

Kahl clenched the pieces of paper in his palm.

Rustle-

As he pushed magic into the crumbling pieces as if he were holding a sword, the powder surprisingly began to spread out and emit a brilliant light.

“……!!!”

It was then.

Krrrrrrrr—!!!!

As the papers infused with magic fluttered into the sky, golden letters began to appear on the ceiling of the old library, as if scribbled with a pen.

‘T, this is…….’

The dark ceiling was separated, scattered, and reassembled like looking at a kaleidoscope, breaking the sentences into small pieces and then reassembling them.

Kahl’s pupils trembled.

[Welcome. Stranger.]

The fragmented words combined to create a sentence. Kahl couldn’t close his mouth at the sight he had never expected.

[The fact that you can see this means you have mastered Dragon Word Magic (龍言魔力).]

The letters on the ceiling scattered and combined again to create a new sentence.

[It is designed to only react to Dragon Word Magic, so no matter how much magic another person uses here, it will be useless.]

“Ha…… hahaha…….”

Kahl was dumbfounded by the words.

[Human greed is sometimes a stepping stone to growth. I like such people. If you hadn’t been intoxicated by the magic contained in the Dragon Heart and looked back here again, you wouldn’t have found this.]

His prediction was correct.

This couldn’t be the end. That eccentric wizard had hidden his treasure in two layers.

[Do you think I’m petty? You’re just here to get my stuff for free. Rather, you should be grateful that I have made another arrangement. Because great power can never be obtained easily.]

‘Eccentric…….’

The man from 250 years ago could not have been anything but a strange man who could not be expressed simply with that word.

Something that only the person who ate the Dragon Heart can discover.

But even that cannot be done simply by operating magic within the body.

If he hadn’t expressed and proven his magic externally here, he would never have realized it.

Was it simply a coincidence?

Kahl passed the conditions so meticulously.

Or is it fate?

[Dragon Magic is pure magic.]

[Magic that no one else on the continent has.]

[I don’t know how you will develop that power. I also did not obtain magic in the same way as you.]

[Just as a baby bird instinctively seeks its mother, you will instinctively use magic in the way you are best at.]

‘Sword (劍)…….’

Kahl unknowingly thought as he looked at the letters that continued to be engraved on the ceiling.

He became more and more curious about his identity.

It was as if Kaie Esser was speaking with conviction as if he had seen him.

[But remember. The method you are best at will be the path, but what you are worst at will lead you to true mastery.]

‘What I am best at and what I am worst at…….’

He repeated his last words.

He knows. What is the pinnacle that magic must reach?

‘Magic (魔法)…….’

The letters on the ceiling that had been emitting light slowly disappeared.

Finally, something was placed under the light falling vertically from above.

‘When…….’

Was it something he couldn’t find?

No, there was no such thing in Einherjar in the first place.

Kahl didn’t notice at all that a small box had appeared in front of him because he was reading the letters on the ceiling.

‘It’s becoming more and more surprising.’

Click-

Inside the box were a small bracelet and gold coins used in the empire a long time ago.

[I don’t know who you are. You may be a foreigner who accidentally discovered this place, a nobleman who uses slaves, or even a royal family who controls that nobleman.]

Kahl unknowingly exclaimed at the note left behind.

He hadn’t thought about it, but Kaie Esser already knew.

The conditions of the barrier he created seemed absurd, but he knew that it was not something that could never be solved.

First, he took out the bracelet in the box.

Charrrr-!!

As if a snake was coiling around it, the bracelet tightened perfectly around Kahl’s wrist.

“……!!”

Then, he felt the magic calmly subside.

There was really a small snake’s head at the end of the bracelet, and the red jewel embedded in its mouth began to shine brilliantly.

“This is…….”

Kahl’s eyes widened.

‘Bracelet of Greed (貪慾).’