Chapter 494: The Invitation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 494: The Invitation
The moment I checked the Wind Dragon Sword’s information, I felt half surprised and half uneasy.
A B-rank item was certainly high-grade for the lower floors.
But for a lord’s family, no matter how powerful, to keep an item like this at the very entrance of their treasury was a little strange.
It almost certainly has a flaw...
Shing—
“Oh...”
As I slowly drew the sword from its scabbard, I let out a soft sound of admiration. The beautiful blue blade was so clear it was almost transparent.
Even without swinging it, I could tell that a master craftsman had poured their entire being into forging it.
To call it a masterpiece would not be an overstatement.
But there was one disappointing aspect: for a B-rank item, it had no special abilities whatsoever.
“Ahem... My apologies, but I would recommend you choose a different weapon.”
“Why is that?”
The butler glanced at me for a moment before continuing cautiously.
“...That sword is called the ‘Wind Dragon Sword.’ It was crafted by the artisans of Karbaldi, forged from the bones of a Wind Dragon, the boss of a dungeon cleared on the middle floors. However, there must have been a problem during the forging process, as the item’s rank came out lower than expected, and it ended up as an ordinary sword with no special abilities. As it is now, it is merely a sharp and durable, but otherwise unremarkable, blade.”
“Hmm...”
“To offer such an item as a reward is something the Astrein family cannot permit, for the sake of our honor.”
Some might think, ‘Isn’t it enough for a sword to be sharp and durable?’
And they would be right.
But this was the Tower.
In a place overflowing with artifacts rarely seen even on Earth, it was obvious how a sword with no special abilities would be treated.
I moved to the side and gave the sword a light swing.
The tip of the blade cut through the air without a single tremor. Its center of gravity was perfect beyond question, and the hilt wrapped around my hand so smoothly it felt custom-made.
It was a sword that was truly faithful to the fundamentals.
I could feel that it hadn't received a B-rank simply because of its materials.
This is pretty good.
The lack of special abilities was a clear drawback.
But for that very reason, there was no better weapon for me, as I was looking for a sword to give Yoo Ah-rin.
If she became too reliant on a sword’s abilities, her swordsmanship would inevitably regress.
“I’ll take this one.”
“...Are you certain? You will have a hard time getting a fair price for it, even if you were to resell it at an auction later.”
“Why would I sell such a precious sword? It’s not like I’m short on money.”
“...Very well.”
I stared intently at the blade, which glittered as it reflected the ceiling lights.
If this sword had been made in another world, not the Tower, it would have been hailed as a masterpiece and coveted by many.
Is this what they mean when they say the environment you’re born into is important?
I placed the Wind Dragon Sword into my storage bag and followed the butler out of the treasury.
As we were walking down the quiet mansion corridor, a maid with a familiar face approached from the opposite direction.
It was the busty blonde who had guided me to the garden.
She gave me a brief nod, then quietly bowed her head and walked past.
There was nothing particularly strange about it, but I watched her retreating back for a moment before telling the butler I needed to use the restroom.
Rustle—
Once inside a stall, I pulled a small, folded note from my right jacket pocket, the one the maid had slipped inside.
Just by her appearance, she seemed like an innocent, busty country girl, but the skill with which she had slipped a note into my pocket without the butler noticing was far from that of an ordinary maid.
An ex-assassin maid, or something like that?
I chuckled softly and unfolded the note.
Instead of words, however, a magic circle was drawn on it.
「Activating exclusive skill, ‘Incomplete Moon's Eye (B-).’」
「Simple Teleport Scroll
Category: Consumable Item
Rank: C+
Upon use, teleports you to a specific location.」
...A Simple Teleport Scroll?
It was an excessively expensive item for a mere maid to be carrying.
Of course, it couldn't be used in special areas like dungeons, but I’d heard it was so useful that supply couldn't keep up with demand.
As a result, it was one of those items that was difficult to obtain even if you had the money.
A maid wouldn't be carrying something like this, which means she's a messenger...
As far as I knew, there was only one person who would send me something like this.
I hadn't expected to receive an invitation to the salon so quickly, so this gave me a small glimpse into her sincerity.
I carefully folded the scroll, put it back in my pocket, and left the restroom to head to the garden.
In the gazebo, the lord, unable to wait, was already wrestling with documents, a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a frown on his face.
Sensing my presence, he took off his glasses and looked at me.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
“Yes.”
I took the Wind Dragon Sword out of my storage bag.
“Hmm... That thing was a real nuisance. Is there a reason you chose it?”
“I plan to give it as a gift to a party member.”
“If that’s the case, there were better options, weren’t there?”
As he said, the treasury held swords that could cause massive bleeding from wounds or had abilities that increased their cutting power against armor.
But to my eyes, they all looked like mediocre junk.
“I believe that within the 3rd District, at least, there is no sword more faithful to its purpose as a sword than this one.”
“Is that so?”
The lord gave a short nod and tilted his teacup.
Clink.
“You’ve paid the information fee, so let’s hear what you have to say.”
“Excuse me? What information fee?”
“...?”
“You haven’t paid the balance yet.”
“What are you talking abou—”
“The originally promised reward was 80,000 Lua, wasn’t it? Just add another 20,000 Lua to that. Multiples of five are always neater, don’t you think?”
“...”
For reference, 1 WP is 100 Lua.
And since 1 Lua is 100 Won, 100,000 Lua is about 10 million Korean Won.
It might seem like a small reward for a request personally made by a lord, but you have to build a track record of success with requests like these to land jobs from other big shots.
It was a kind of career-building.
Besides, the Wind Dragon Sword alone was easily worth over a million Lua. In fact, it was an excessive amount for a low-floor player to receive from a single request.
“...Are you by any chance a noble?”
“Something like that.”
Baronet Lauderdale.
It was a title bestowed upon me by the Queen of England for defeating the executives of Belmoras.
Furthermore, my relationships with Elisabeth and Amelia made me a half-royal, so in terms of status alone, I wasn't far behind the Lord of Astrein.
“I knew it...”
“Haha, I suppose I do have the look of a nobleman.”
“No, I mean you’ve got no manners.”
“...”
This bastard.
“I’ll see to it that you get the reward you asked for, so cut the chatter and spit out the information. And mark my words, if you try to stall with excuses again, I’ll throw you in prison.”
“...Understood.”
The lord’s unexpectedly ready agreement made me lick my lips inwardly.
If I’d known, I would’ve just asked for triple.
My regret over the missed opportunity was fleeting. I took a sip of black tea and began to explain to the lord what had happened in the dungeon.
Of course, I had no intention of telling him everything.
It’s common sense to only give out as much information as you’re paid for, isn’t it?
When our brief conversation, which lasted about five minutes, ended, the lord’s expression had hardened noticeably.
Tap, tap, tap—
He drummed his fingers on the desk irritably, then drained his teacup in one go.
“...To think they’d resort to such schemes to start a war.”
“Whether it will actually lead to war remains to be seen.”
I played dumb, pretending to know nothing.
But a man of the lord’s caliber would have been convinced by my information alone.
War between the two powers was no longer an avoidable outcome, but an established fact.
“So, what do you think? Do you still feel the information fee was a waste?”
At my words, the lord glared at me for a moment.
In the strange silence, he slowly opened his mouth.
“...You said you were establishing a clan? What’s its name?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Screech—
The lord rose from his seat.
He took something from the butler, who had approached at some point, and held it out to me.
As I accepted it with both hands, I saw that it was a check.
“Send me a letter when you’ve established it. It seems we’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”
“My rates are quite high, you know.”
“Then I’ll just have to work you that much harder.”
With that, the lord turned and headed back to the mansion.
Left alone in the gazebo, I picked up a cookie and looked at the check.
—300,000 Lua.
It was written for three times the promised reward.
Since establishing a clan would cost a pretty penny, a smile naturally spread across my face.
Of course, it wasn't that I didn't have money. In fact, I was confident I had as much as any noble.
The problem was that most of my assets were in WP.
It was possible to exchange WP for Lua, but not the other way around, so I avoided converting it unless it was absolutely urgent.
That was common sense in the Tower.
Screech—
Tucking the check into my coat, I stood up.
I politely declined the butler’s offer to call a carriage and leisurely walked out of the castle.
After spending some time admiring the streets of Arca, I let the crowd carry me before slipping into a deserted alley.
Can’t be too careful.
I quietly took the scroll from my pocket.
Rip—
[Thought Transcendence]
The moment I tore the scroll, I used Thought Transcendence.
Everything in the world, except for my own thoughts, slowed to an extreme crawl, and I didn't miss the opportunity.
Wooooong—
As an excess of magic power and internal energy began to flow through my magic circuits and meridians, all my senses became sharper than ever before.
I followed the flow of magic enveloping my body and began to reverse-engineer the structure of the spell formula.
I had a feeling that if I did this right, I might be able to create teleport scrolls with my own hands.
Before long, time began to flow normally again, and I smiled as I surrendered my body to the familiar sensation of floating.
The structure was much more complex than I thought, but I managed to copy the entire schematic. If I research it with Iris, we should be able to complete it in no time.
I pictured my future plans in my mind and slowly closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, the scenery of an antique room unfolded before me.
“You’re late.”
A familiar voice reached my ears.
I slowly turned my head. There, sitting gracefully, was Marseilla, who had changed into comfortable clothes.
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