The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 36

33. A Fair Trade

“You, you… no, you…”

Calypso stammered, seemingly flustered.

To hear such an unexpected name from Caryl caused his mind to go blank.

‘How does that kid know about the Platinum Dragon? He hasn’t left his lair in 200 years…’

The little one before him—no, the dragon had vanished so long ago that even the lifespan of a human would have seen two generations come and go.

‘I don’t know where he picked it up, but…’

Calypso frowned, seemingly bewildered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. A dragon? They’re a race that disappeared from the continent long ago.”

However, Caryl took a step closer in response to his denial.

Standing on tiptoes, his small stature allowing him to barely reach, he rested his chin on the table and spoke with a relaxed expression.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to harm you. Nardie Mauge wants unique items, not the magical artifacts you create.”

“…”

Calypso frowned at his words.

“Enough. What does a little kid like you know about Nardie Mauge? He’s the one who saved me when I was dying.”

“I see.”

Caryl smiled at him.

“If the Platinum Dragon hadn’t been interested in the lower races like other dragons, you wouldn’t have survived. He’s certainly unique, and a grateful fellow.”

“F-Fellow?!”

Calypso shouted at him, unable to close his gaping mouth in shock.

‘And that goes for humans too.’

The Prophecy.

He was the only dragon who participated in the war that would occur in three years.

‘He was also the one who taught me how to turn back time.’

Caryl mused, feeling a sense of nostalgia as he spoke the name he hadn’t uttered in a long time.

“So, what item will you show me?”

“…”

“He’s probably still asleep anyway. I know you bring items to the lair’s entrance every time to keep your promise of life, but it would be better to do it in three years.”

“…What?”

Calypso scoffed, as if unable to understand Caryl’s words.

“Hmph, you’re talking nonsense. Here, take a look. These are what I’ve made.”

Thump—!

Calypso carefully took out three boxes from the drawer.

Unlike the shop filled with old antiques, each box was elaborately crafted and ornate.

‘Hmph, these are items with prices that will make your jaw drop anyway. I don’t know how much money you have, but it can’t be much for a little kid.’

Calypso thought, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked at Caryl.

Click, click, click-

“H-Hey…!!”

Each item inside the boxes was incredible.

As he nonchalantly opened the lids of the boxes, Calypso’s face turned pale as he tried to stop him.

“Hmm.”

However, Caryl wore a disappointed expression as he looked inside the boxes.

‘What, what is that face?’

No one had ever made such a face after seeing the items he had created.

“Is this all?”

“Of course, you brat. Are your eyes just holes? You won’t find treasures like these in any dungeon.”

Calypso was dumbfounded by Caryl’s expression, who looked like he was about to collapse in disbelief.

“Well, it would be hard to find them in any dungeon. It would have to be a B-grade dungeon or so.”

“…What?”

“There’s more, isn’t there? Why don’t you take it out?”

“W-What are you talking about?!”

Calypso raised his voice even louder at Caryl’s words. However, Caryl chuckled and let out a soft sigh at his reaction.

“Do I really have to say it directly like this? I don’t know why gnomes always try to hide things.”

“What is that…”

“The Four Canines.”

Gulp-

Calypso was startled by the sound of himself swallowing his saliva and looked at Caryl.

“That’s what I want to buy.”

The Four Canines.

The masterpiece of the gnome craftsman Calypso.

The ring with small red gems embedded in it appeared to be an ordinary accessory, but it was an armor enchanted with gnome craftsmanship magic.

Magic Craft was a magic that only a craftsman could cast on the artifacts they created. The engraving of the spell itself was difficult, and its effects were unpredictable.

Sometimes, the spell could backfire on the craftsman, causing them to lose their lives during the crafting process. Therefore, even among gnomes, creating items with Crafting Magic was rare.

‘In that sense, the Four Canines are amazing. It’s just that the activation condition is barbaric.’

The four sharp fangs embedded in the ring extracted the user’s mana to create a barrier, and the more mana absorbed, the stronger the barrier became.

In other words.

It sucked the user’s mana.

‘Moreover, there is no limit to the amount of mana that the Four Canines absorb. That means that if you’re not careful, the user could die from mana depletion.’

The activation condition itself was something that humans couldn’t use.

‘After the Prophecy was given, Nardie Mauge gave his treasures to humans. This was one of the items at that time.’

Caryl watched as Calypso took out a box hidden on the floor with trembling hands.

Click-

Caryl nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the ring inside the box.

‘At that time, Kadin Ruer, the only court wizard in the Empire, was able to handle this. But even he, who had reached the ranks of the Archmage, had limited mana to use.’

‘Being able to handle it’ and ‘being able to use it freely’ are clearly different.

But his mana circuit was different.

‘With my mana…’

Caryl took out the ring and looked at it.

Maybe.

He might even be able to stop God.

‘The only downside is that, like the name of the ring, there is one fang per barrier. In other words, it can only be used four times.’

That’s enough.

You only have one life.

Just preventing that makes the value of this artifact incomparable to anything else.

“Hey. I don’t know how you know about this… but that’s fine. It’s fine. But do you have the money to buy this? Don’t be greedy…”

Rustle…!!

No sooner had Calypso finished speaking than Caryl placed a pouch from his pocket on the table.

“Just this much…”

Calypso scoffed at the small pouch of gold coins and untied the opening of the pouch.

“…!!!”

“These are gold coins from 250 years ago. As a gnome, you should know that the gold coins at that time were made of 100% pure gold. I think this is enough value. If it’s not enough, I’ll give you some gems inside.”

Calypso examined the gold coins and gems in the pouch, unable to close his mouth.

He took out a large blue gem and examined it, unable to hide his surprise.

It wasn’t just a simple gem.

It was a Cyan Obsidian, a gem that could no longer be found because the mine had disappeared decades ago.

“S-Source Stone?”

“Yes.”

That wasn’t all.

In addition to Cyan Obsidian, there were Crimson Stone, Black Iron Stone, Cradle Stone, and so on…

‘And these are such high-purity gems… This is enough to buy a small country!’

Source Stone.

This stone, in which the power of one of the five major attributes, which can be said to be the source of magic, is condensed, can be taken or applied to artifacts.

They were incredible magic stones that couldn’t even be compared to gold coins. Calypso looked at Caryl in disbelief.

“You know that the higher the facet of the Source Stone, the higher the purity of the magic it contains. They are all 8-faceted stones. You can’t even get these from existing magic mines.”

Gulp-

Calypso swallowed hard without realizing it.

‘It is said that if you take an 8-faceted stone, even an ordinary person of the 1st class can rise to the ranks of a wizard.’

“Where did you get this…?”

“Isn’t all that’s needed in the black market items and gold coins? If you’re not going to sell it, I can’t help it.”

“W-Wait a minute!!”

Caryl chuckled.

They were unnecessary for him, who possessed the magic power of a dragon, but they were incredible items that would make those with magic power go crazy.

He hurriedly called out to Caryl, who was about to leave the store.

The corners of Caryl’s lips lightly lifted as if he had been waiting for it.

“O-Okay. I’ll hand over the ring.”

Caryl slowly nodded at his words.

‘Hmph, he seems to know how to use his head for a kid, but he’s still young. I don’t know where he got it, but even if it’s gold coins, these 8-faceted stones are something that even the emperor of the Empire can’t get!’

Calypso slowly pulled the pouch of gold coins towards himself, suppressing his laughter, and handed him the ring.

Clatter…

Caryl silently put the Four Canines on his little finger.

Then, with a stinging pain, the ring tightened as if to bite him. A little red blood formed, but it soon disappeared as if it had been absorbed.

“By the way, let me ask you one thing. You’ve been saying gnomes since earlier, do you know any other gnomes?”

A cautious voice.

But at his question, Caryl spoke with a calm face as if he had been waiting for it.

“Well. I just happened to meet them a long time ago. I don’t know where they live. But I know the place. Well… I just heard it.”

“Y-You know the place? From whom?”

The cautious voice became urgent.

Caryl recalled his memories of his past life.

-If only I had known a little earlier before the Prophecy was given, I could have saved the remaining members of my race… It’s a shame, a shame… Because of this damn war, even those who were barely left have all died…

A sighing voice.

The story that an old gnome, who had been hiding his identity and living in seclusion, told him while looking at the battlefield below the walls of the royal capital.

He was able to save the continent from the Prophecy, but he could not save his own race.

‘Who did I hear it from?’

Caryl slowly raised his head and looked at Calypso.

‘From you, who will meet me in 5 years.’

But he couldn’t say these words.

Instead.

“I can tell you the place if you want.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course.”

Caryl nodded with a confident expression.

“Who knows? Maybe the last bloodline of the Gnome Kingdom, which you thought was destroyed, is waiting for you.”

Calypso’s eyes shook violently at his words.

‘You must be dying of curiosity.’

Caryl sensed that he had firmly caught his prey.

Young?

What nonsense.

“Really…? W-Where is it?!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Calypso kicked off the table and shouted.

But unlike his intense reaction, Caryl pointed to the pouch containing the gold coins and Source Stones that he had placed on the table earlier with a calm expression.

“This is the black market. If you need something, you have to pay a sufficient price for it. Don’t you think?”

“…What?”

He said with a light smile.

The Four Canines sparkled on the hand pointing to the pouch containing the gold coins and Source Stones.