Chapter 143
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Heist of the Hoard
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“Damn it…! I can never get used to this damn headache!”
It was more excruciating than any pain he had ever felt in his life.
If it weren't for the beneficial aspect of showing him the future—or more accurately, the contents of the book that had been somehow forgotten—Gismond would have done anything to get rid of the headache.
“Still, this time…”
Countless images had flooded his mind.
But only one lingered before Gismond’s eyes.
[A great mountain piled high with gold, jewels, and all sorts of treasures.]
A dragon's lair. The wealthiest place in a fantasy world.
“With that kind of money…”
He could do truly anything.
Gismond reached up to wipe the drool trickling from the corner of his mouth… and then froze in terror.
“Fuck, you scared me!”
Pernyan was standing at the door, staring intently at him. He had no idea how long he'd been there.
“…Pernyan?”
“Yes, it’s me, Sunbaenim.”
“What, why…! Why again!”
Gismond trembled, the trauma of the past resurfacing.
“You must have seen the future again.”
“…Is that why you’re here? Of course, I saw it.”
“You must not speak of its contents to anyone.”
“Of course, I won’t.”
“To absolutely no one.”
Pernyan took a step forward. Under his cold gaze, Gismond instinctively took a step back.
“Wait! Don’t come any closer, just talk!”
“You must not speak of it.”
“I’ve never talked about the book’s contents with anyone but you! And… wait a minute.”
Despite several prophecies, this was the first time he’d seen Pernyan react this way. And then there was the content of this prophecy.
Only then did Gismond realize something.
“Don’t tell me…?”
“It’s mine.”
“You said that was for Aint!”
“It is mine.”
“No, you told me you took Aint’s elixir…”
“So?”
Pernyan leaned in close.
“Is there a problem with what I said? Or perhaps you have a complaint for me, Sunbaenim?”
“N-No, it’s not that…”
“Whose did you say it was?”
Gismond was not foolish enough to stick to his initial opinion in a situation like this.
“…It’s ownerless, so of course, it belongs to whoever finds it first.”
“It seems you’re finally waking up.”
Pernyan smiled, pulling up a chair and sitting down.
“You see, Sunbaenim. I do not like people who covet what is mine.”
Tap, tap. Pernyan drummed his fingers on the table.
The steady rhythm seemed to tighten its grip on Gismond’s heart.
“No, let me correct myself. I don’t just dislike them; I despise them. Enough to eliminate them if necessary.”
“…Hic.”
It was a blatant threat: covet the treasure, and you will not be left alone. Gismond frantically nodded.
“I-I’m not greedy enough to covet what belongs to others.”
“I also like people who can keep their mouths shut.”
“Of course. My nickname is Vow of Silence…!”
“Excellent.”
Pernyan stood up.
“You had best live up to that nickname. Otherwise, you may no longer be able to enjoy that kraken ink pasta you found so delicious three days ago.”
“Y-You were watching me?”
“I wouldn’t call it watching. It’s just that nothing on this island escapes my sight. I’ll see you next time.”
He disappeared.
“Gasp, gasp…!”
Gismond let out the breath he'd been holding.
“Fuck, that bastard is worse than a demon…!”
His legs, which had barely withstood the heavy pressure, gave out, and he collapsed.
“He definitely sold things to demons! The hypocrisy is unbelievable…!”
“This damn son of a…!”
Gismond recalled Pernyan’s last words and flinched, checking his surroundings.
Heaving a sigh of relief that no one was there, he muttered under his breath.
“I’ll put up with it for now because I’m powerless…. Because I’m powerless…”
An ominous thought flashed through his mind—that he might have to put up with it for the rest of his life.
* * *
There was no time.
The appearance of the prophecy meant the event would soon come to pass.
Changing the past had altered many futures, but this event was unrelated to any of them.
Gardner would inevitably make his offer, and Aint would inevitably seek out the underwater cave.
Before that happened, he had to infiltrate the cave without Aint’s knowledge and take the treasure.
“The gatekeeper is the problem…”
The Chimera said to have been created by the first Archmage.
He had never seen it, but it was undoubtedly powerful.
‘I won’t be able to handle it at my level.’
It might be a different story with Wooden, but killing the Chimera would create another problem.
If Aint and Gardner found it missing, they would realize something was amiss.
The best course of action was to sneak in without waking it.
“I need to go right now.”
Pernyan returned to his quarters at once and prepared to leave.
He would take Hyde, and of course, Wooden.
Silver cried, wanting to go with them, but he managed to calm the bird down using Wooden.
When he also gave it a spirit herb to chew on, it nodded resolutely, as if promising to endure for a day.
“Perhaps because it’s a magical beast, its food is ridiculously expensive.”
A bird that eats spirit herbs. It was so absurd he was speechless.
“But is this really all right?”
“What do you mean?”
“According to you, Gongjanim, Aint was supposed to take this and use it for the future of the Armian family. Is it okay to intercept it….”
“Hyde. You’ve been with me for over a decade, and you’re still naive.”
Pernyan scoffed.
“This isn’t an elixir. Possessing it won’t bring about any dramatic changes, nor is it of immediate use.”
Rather, Aint will hide the fact that he has the money.
That vast fortune will become a hidden dagger, saved for the future of the Armian family.
“Of course, the Armian family must be rebuilt. When Aint becomes emperor, I’ll be able to get back more than everything I’ve invested.”
However.
“It’s rare for a farmer’s harvested wheat to go directly to the consumer. A neighbor might buy it directly, but usually, a middleman is involved. The Golden Turtle Merchant Guild grew in that very way.”
“…Don’t tell me?”
“Yes, exactly that.”
His greed for money had momentarily clouded his judgment, but he wasn't foolish enough to act without a plan.
Above all, if Aint were to fail because he lacked this money, wouldn't the demons conquer the continent?
If that happened, the money would become worthless, and Pernyan’s own future would undoubtedly be plunged into a cesspool.
So, he wouldn't do something like that.
He was simply taking a small cut from the predetermined future.
“I’m going to lend this money to Aint.”
For just a small amount of interest.
Of course, given the sheer amount of money, even a small amount of interest would be enormous.
“Just thinking about it is a delight.”
Indeed, there was nothing more enjoyable than making money with money.
* * *
The underwater cave mentioned in the Prophecy Book was half a day’s boat ride from the academy.
Getting a boat was no problem. Most of the vessels at the academy belonged to the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.
Pernyan avoided prying eyes and set off in a small boat.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes. Exactly halfway between the twin-shaped island and the crescent-shaped island. The underwater cave is said to be below us. These are the only two such uninhabited islands near the academy.”
A thousand years had passed, and the islands’ shapes had changed slightly, but their overall forms were just as the Prophecy Book described.
Pernyan tore a Breath Magic Scroll. He dove straight into the sea, and Hyde followed.
‘There it is.’
After descending for some time, deep enough that sunlight no longer penetrated the water, he spotted a cave in the dark abyss.
“Puhaah…!”
Pernyan and Hyde entered a part of the cave that was free of water.
And they knew they were in the right place.
“Magic lamps.”
“Aren’t those the things you wanted to sell last time, Gongjanim? So this is how you acquired them?”
“They’d be happier in the hands of people who appreciate their value than rotting away in a place no one but Aint would ever visit.”
“Please don’t talk about magic lamps as if they have egos.”
There were no real enemies in the underwater cave.
It was shaped like a somewhat complex maze, but the magic lamps hanging from the ceiling kindly lit the way, so there was no chance of getting lost.
Even without them, finding the way wouldn’t have been too difficult.
“It’s getting colder.”
The air grew colder the closer they got to the right path.
Finally, they came face to face with a door unbefitting of a cave, and a massive block of ice that stood before it.
“That’s it, Hyde. That’s the Chimera said to have been created by the first Archmage.”
An opponent that Pernyan and Hyde would most likely lose to even if they fought together. Their chances of winning would only increase if Wooden joined the fray.
-Thump!
“I’m not going to wake it. Don’t be ridiculous, Wooden.”
“What will you do now?”
“It’s designed to awaken when the door is opened. So, we’ll go through a side entrance, not the main one.”
Fortunately, perhaps due to the first emperor’s tastes, the area in front of the door was a large, open cavern. The continuous wall was wide enough that they didn’t have to insist on using the door.
“Is there a way?”
“As I’ve said repeatedly, this is why I learned earth magic.”
“For thievery? I thought it was for mining.”
“Two birds with one stone.”
Pernyan found a spot on the wall as far from the Chimera as possible and placed his hand on it.
His mana began to seep into the wall. It was immediately repelled.
“…Hngh!”
“Are you all right?”
“The entire wall is inscribed with a magic circle that blocks external intrusion.”
And that magic circle was far too advanced for Pernyan to ever hope of breaking at his current level.
But Pernyan did not despair.
“I expected something like this. The first emperor wouldn’t be so careless.”
It was only natural. To store such a treasure and not take any precautions? That would make the first emperor a moron, not a legend.
“Do you have a plan?”
“We dig.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll dig down to a depth where the wall’s magic circle has no effect, and then pass through.”
“…Huh.”
It was simple, yet it sounded plausible.
“Will it work?”
“I’m a mage, so I know. People usually don’t bother covering the floor with magic circles. Especially not in a deep-sea cave like this.”
“The first emperor wasn’t a mage, though.”
“But the one who helped him create this most certainly was.”
Pernyan began to dig. Using earth magic, he descended rapidly.
After five attempts, they dug deep enough to be beyond the magic circle's influence. They moved horizontally and then began to ascend again.
And then.
Thud-
Through a crack that met the ground, a thin sliver of light appeared, followed by falling gold coins.
“Gold coins! Hyde! Do you see it! It’s raining gold coins! What did I tell you! I knew this method would work!”
Pernyan gathered the falling coins, a wide, boyish grin on his face.
“…Even the first emperor probably never imagined someone would dig a tunnel deep enough to bypass the magic circle’s influence.”
After all, while it was common to inscribe walls, it was rare to do the same for the floor.
It wasn't that the first emperor was careless. It was that Pernyan was unusual.
“I knew learning earth magic was the right choice!”
Pernyan pushed past the falling gold coins and climbed up.
“…It’s beautiful. More beautiful, elegant, dignified, and noble than any sight I have ever witnessed in my life.”
“…I must admit, it’s quite a spectacle. It’s enormous.”
The great mountain of treasure looked like several of the Fallenberg warehouses combined.
“To think that after hardship comes such joy.”
After avoiding a future of poverty, such a blessing had rolled into his lap.
Pernyan opened his subspace and began to sweep the treasures inside. He had brought extra subspace artifacts from the guild before leaving, so he had plenty of room.
While he was gathering the treasure, Hyde found an old piece of paper lying on the floor.
“What’s this? A letter?”
“Just leave it somewhere it’ll be easily seen from the main entrance. That way, even if the treasure is gone, he won’t be suspicious.”
“Yes, sir.”
After an hour of gathering every last treasure, Pernyan smiled with satisfaction.
“To think my subspaces would be filled to the brim with no room left.”
“Are we heading back now?”
“Yes. And we must completely erase any trace that we were ever here.”
Ah. Pernyan added.
“Before we go, grab everything attached to the ceiling.”
After they disappeared, only pitch-black darkness filled the underwater cave.