Chapter 51
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 51. Return
Deep underground.
At the end of the hallway where cold air lingered, a massive golden door blocked the way.
That door was the entrance to 'Aurelius's Secret Vault', the treasure vault passed down since the First Emperor who founded the Empire.
Cassia inserted the golden key she received from the Emperor into the keyhole.
*—Clack.*
The tightly closed door began to open with a sound.
Holding the doorknob, Cassia looked back at me.
A playful smile hung on her lips.
"Si-woo, the promise I made to you last time was to give you 1 item from the Secret Vault, right."
She lightly shook the golden key held in her hand.
"But haven't I just been delegated the authority over the Secret Vault by His Majesty."
*—Rumble rumble.*
As the door of the Secret Vault opened completely, a blinding golden light poured out.
I narrowed my eyes and looked inside.
There, gold coins or jewels weren't piled up like a mountain.
Like a museum, gold-plated display cases lined up in an orderly fashion, and on each of those cases, items emitting extraordinary energy were displayed.
The number wasn't large, but each and every one looked Epic grade or higher.
As I was standing blankly with my mouth open, Cassia tapped my shoulder and said.
"Now, you may take all of them."
"......Yes?"
I doubted my ears.
All of them?
Everything inside here?
Instantly, confusion struck my mind.
Princess... no, should I call her Emperor now?
Is it okay to give things away like this as soon as she becomes the Emperor?
I swallowed my saliva and asked carefully.
"...Aren't you overdoing it too much?"
The Empire was at the stage of just escaping the famine and trying to recover from the wounds of war.
It was absolutely not a financially relaxed situation.
To say she'll give me all these precious treasures.
Despite my worried gaze, Cassia was calm.
She softly stroked the handle of the [Rapier] worn at her waist and said.
"I owe you so much that even giving away everything here wouldn't be enough."
Her eyes sank seriously.
"You saved the Empire, you saved my father, and you saved me. Rather, I feel sorry trying to call it even with just this much."
"Ha...."
I couldn't help but click my tongue at the generosity of her, who had become the Emperor.
As expected, the master of a nation has a different caliber from the start, huh.
It was when I was admiring and about to step inside the Secret Vault.
Cassia blocked my front and hesitated.
The dignified appearance of an Emperor she showed just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.
She twirled the ends of her hair with her index finger and cast her gaze down.
Her gaze, directed about 45 degrees downward, was shaking anxiously.
Her white cheeks slowly dyed red.
"Um... Si-woo."
"Yes?"
"That... instead, I would like you to treat me a bit more comfortably."
She hesitated and added in a crawling voice.
"...Like calling me by my name like last time...."
Ah.
Only then did I remember what happened inside the rift.
When the Emperor unleashed the monsters and Cassia lost her mind and slumped down.
And when she almost died to the Emperor's sword.
In that urgent situation, I had called her 'Cassia' without realizing it.
Even omitting honorifics and mixing in informal speech.
Come to think of it, before I knew it, I had become quite comfortable with her.
Was it because we were comrades-in-arms who crossed the line of death together and fought entrusting our backs to each other.
It was also funny to draw a strict line now.
I chuckled and nodded.
"Understood. Cassia."
Her name coming out of my mouth.
At that single word, Cassia's shoulders flinched and trembled greatly.
As if trying to hide her face that had turned red like it would burst, she hurriedly spun her body around.
"R... Right! Let's go in quickly! We don't have time!"
She strode into the Secret Vault.
But that gait was strangely unnatural.
She was walking creakily like a robot with stiffly hardened joints.
It even looked like her arms and legs were moving in the same direction.
I scratched the back of my head and watched that back figure.
"Is she not fully recovered yet...?"
Thinking I should pack some potions for her later wondering if she was hurt anywhere, I too followed her inside the Secret Vault.
The interior of the Secret Vault was much wider and grander than seen from the outside.
On the high ceiling, a chandelier lit by magic was sprinkling a subtle light, and along the walls, gold-plated display cases lined up endlessly.
I stepped inside as if possessed.
"Wow... How much is all this."
It was fitting for a treasure vault containing the history of the Empire intact.
But the admiration was brief.
I quickly came to my senses and opened my eyes wide.
There was something else I had to find first.
Ice Crystal Flower.
The final key to cure Hong Chae-yeon's burn.
I quickly weaved through the display cases and thoroughly searched for things that looked like plants or herbs.
"Not this either... Not that either...."
Between glamorous jewels and gold ornaments, things like dried herbs or seeds were occasionally seen, but the flower emitting a cold energy that I was looking for was not visible.
When I reached the end of the Secret Vault, I exhaled a dejected sigh.
"As expected, it's not here...."
A thick regret remained.
But I couldn't just stay frustrated here.
There was no Ice Crystal Flower, but right before my eyes, tremendous materials stimulating my Maker instinct were scattered around.
I pulled myself together and began to examine the displayed items one by one.
The first thing that caught my eye was a blue feather kept inside a transparent glass tube.
As I approached closely, a system information window popped up.
[Blue Feather of Griffon]
Grade: Unique
It is the longest first primary feather among the wing feathers of the ancient Griffon called the King of the Sky. It contains a lot of wind energy, so a minute air current is always swirling around the feather. It is so light that its weight can hardly be felt, but it is tougher than steel.
"This... is perfect as a shoe material?"
I quickly drew a blueprint in my head.
If I mixed it with Mithril or leather to make shoes, beyond just being light, it seemed I could also put in cheating functions like stepping on empty air to leap or riding the wind to move.
It was certain an item much more highly compatible than the shoes I'm wearing now would come out.
Smacking my lips, I packed the feather.
Next, my gaze headed to a leather fabric with a black luster flowing on it.
At a glance, it looked like ordinary black leather, but looking closely, a hexagonal scale pattern was densely embedded on the surface.
[Abyssal Sea Serpent Leather]
Grade: Epic
The shed skin of a giant sea serpent living in the deep abyss where light does not reach. Because it is leather that endured tremendous water pressure, its resistance to physical impact is very outstanding. Also, its elasticity is good, so it stretches to fit any body type and does not hinder the wearer's movements.
"Oh..."
The [Flexible Mithril Bottoms] I'm wearing now are good too, but being metal material, there was inevitably a minute restriction on movement.
But if I line it with this leather or use it on major joint areas, I would be able to drastically increase mobility while maintaining defense.
Lastly, what made my footsteps stop was a giant carapace placed in the corner.
The surface was bumpy as if lava had hardened, and veins like red blood vessels wrapped the entire shell.
[Magma Turtle's Carapace]
Grade: Unique
The carapace of the legendary magical beast Magma Turtle, which is said to enjoy bathing in magma in volcanic areas. It possesses heat resistance enduring thousands of degrees of heat and boasts a hardness harder than Orichalcum.
I tapped the carapace.
Instead of a clear sound, a heavy vibration was transmitted up my fingertips.
If I make a shield with this, it felt like I could just ignore most breath or magic attacks and charge.
I fell into happy imaginations and kept grinning happily.
As expected, the Imperial treasure vault was different.
Each and every one was a top-tier material hard to even get a look at.
To think I can pack all of these.
I felt grateful once again for Cassia's generous consideration.
While sweeping things up like that, a small box placed in a corner of a display case entered my eyes.
Compared to other glamorous treasures, it was a plain wooden box.
As if possessed, I reached out my hand to the plain wooden box placed in the corner of the display case.
Unlike other boxes decorated with glamorous jewels and gold, it was an old wooden box bearing the traces of time.
Why such an ordinary box in a place like this?
Out of curiosity, I carefully lifted the lid.
*—Creak.*
Inside it, a single black bead the size of a fist was placed alone.
Rather than reflecting light, it was a bizarre black color that seemed to suck in all surrounding light.
It was like looking at a small black hole.
"What is this item...?"
I frowned my brow and brought my face closer.
It was that moment.
*—Vwoom!*
The bead vibrated weakly, and an intense system message popped up before my eyes.
*—Ding!*
[This item is capable of Potential Opening.]
"......!"
I inhaled sharply.
The phrase that used to be visible only when I used the [Eye of the Primeval Maker] skill popped up automatically as soon as I saw the item.
I wanted to check it right now, but there was no time.
I scanned my surroundings once and quickly swept the black bead into the inventory.
"Pack it for now."
Having finished shopping in the Secret Vault, we came outside.
Before we knew it, the sun had set and the cold night air had descended.
A full moon rose in the sky, subtly illuminating the Imperial Palace garden.
Cassia and I strolled the quiet street without a word.
Only the crunching sound of footsteps filled the silence.
It was a subtle atmosphere where the relief that everything was over and the regret of having to part soon coexisted.
It was then.
*—Ding!*
[Providing the 20th Floor clear reward.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
Simultaneously with the system window ringing, a halo of white light began to rise from my body.
The light starting from the tips of my toes slowly enveloped my body.
It was time to return to reality.
Cassia, walking beside me, stopped her steps.
She looked at the light wrapping my body.
Since it was a phenomenon she saw last time she wasn't surprised, but her purple eyes were shimmering with deep sadness.
"...You seem to be returning now."
Her voice scattered in the night air.
"Si-woo... We will be able to see each other again, right...?"
I couldn't answer her question immediately.
Until now, it was luckily a worldview connected from the 1st Floor to the 20th Floor, but whether the 21st Floor would also connect here was unknown.
Because the Tower was always an unpredictable place.
But it felt like we could meet again somehow.
I grinned and looked at her.
"Of course. I'll definitely come again like last time."
I deliberately added in a playful tone.
"You'll be the Emperor then, not the Princess, right? You can't pretend not to know me then, okay?"
At my joke, Cassia burst into a chuckle.
But at the end of that laugh, moisture still lingered.
"How could I do that. There will be no day I forget you in my entire life."
To reassure her and to promise the day we meet again, I reached out my hand.
"Then I will see you then. Your Majesty."
A farewell greeting shared as comrades-in-arms and as friends.
Cassia looked at my extended hand, then slowly reached out her own hand.
"Yes... Let us see each other again."
It was the fleeting moment her fingertips were about to touch my hand.
*—Fwoosh!*
The light wrapping my body became intense as if exploding.
My vision flashed white.
Cassia grasped empty air.
Instead of warm body temperature, only the cold night air brushed past her hand.
"Ah...."
She blankly looked at the empty air.
In the spot where he stood just a moment ago, nothing remained.
As if it was a dream from the beginning.
"......."
Cassia withdrew her trembling hand and dropped her head low.
The tears she had held back fell with a *plop* and soaked the ground.
Only the moonlight was shining on her shoulders left alone, as if comforting her.
***
When I opened my eyes, the familiar scenery that should have welcomed me was not visible.
"......?"
I blankly looked around.
Pitch-black darkness where neither up nor down could be distinguished.
It was a bizarre space where even the sensation of the ground touching the soles of my feet couldn't be felt.
A feeling like floating alone right in the middle of space.
"What kind of situation is this again?"
Bewilderment rushed in.
I definitely saw the message that I was exiting the Tower and even finished my farewell greeting with Cassia.
But why have I fallen into such an unknown space.
"Is it a system error? Or was I kidnapped straight to the 21st Floor?"
I waved my hand in the empty air.
What caught on my fingertips was only cold silence.
Cold sweat flowed down my spine.
It was when I was starting to get scared that I might be trapped like this forever.
Breaking the silence, a clear notification sound rang out.
*—Ding!*
In the darkness, a system window emitting blue light popped up before my eyes.
I read down the message as if possessed.
[Providing additional accumulated rewards.]
[The Imperial Princess was originally destined to die at the hands of the Emperor encroached by the energy.]
[The Emperor kills the Imperial Princess, massacres the Imperial citizens, and then commits suicide.]
The phrase that popped up on the system window was eerie.
It was causing a horrific future that would have happened if I had not intervened.
[But with your power, you saved everyone.]
[With your power, you twisted the fate of a world.]
[Providing appropriate rewards for this.]
*—Ding!*
[Achievement: Defier of Fate (Growth-Type)]
Vitality: +20
Strength: +20
Agility: +20
Intelligence: +20
Dexterity: +20
HP: +2,000
MP: +200
HP Recovery Rate: +20%
MP Recovery Rate: +20%
*Grows in proportion to the number of cleared floors.
[Skill: Defier of Fate]
*Creates a portal connected to the world where the caster changed fate. (Cooldown: 12 hours)
"A portal...?"
I blankly looked at the skill description.
A world where I changed fate must mean the Empire I just saved, and creating a portal means....
"Does it mean I can go back again?"
My heart pounded.
The promise I made to Cassia that I would definitely come again didn't become empty words.
I can go see them anytime I want.
The moment joy and relief rushed in, the system tried to float an additional explanation.
[This skill is an authority that tears down the wall of dimensions, so caution is required when using....]
*—Bzzzt!*
Suddenly, noise began to mix into the perfectly fine system window.
"Huh?"
*—Chhk... Bzzt!*
Like a TV screen that received radio interference, the letters broke and twisted, and soon the blue window disappeared as if exploding with a *pop*.
"What? An error?"
Flustered, I waved through the empty air, but the system was unresponsive.
It was then.
The pitch-black darkness surrounding me began to shimmer bizarrely.
Tens of thousands of stars sparkling from afar gathered fiercely to one point as if drawn by a magnet.
*—Vwooooom....*
The space itself vibrated low and howled.
The stars clumped together drawing a giant whirlpool, and soon took the shape of a brilliant and giant galaxy.
"An eye...?"
It was a giant pupil.
A colorful iris made of hundreds of millions of stars gathered together.
A pitch-black pupil situated in the center of it was looking down at me.
The moment my gaze met that eye.
*—Thump!*
It felt like my heart stopped.
Instinctive fear wrapped my entire body.
I couldn't move a single finger.
I couldn't even breathe.
An overwhelming gap and helplessness, like an ant might feel when facing a human, pressed down on me.
*It's fine...*
*I have status effect immunity.*
I tried hard to stay calm.
But.
*—Ding!*
[Afflicted by status effect 'Fear'.]
A red warning window popped up before my eyes.
And the following message stopped my thinking.
[Failed to immunize against status effect.]
"......!"
Failed?
Immunity failed?
It ignores all status effects below Legendary.
Yet immunity failed means....
*What...?*
*It's higher than Legendary grade?*
The giant pupil looking down at me began to change.
The stars moved and the eye shape curved narrowly.
It was a bizarrely torn shape like a crescent moon floating in the night sky.
A noise that felt like it would tear my eardrums filled the space.
It was a terrible sound that was like scratching glass and also like grinding iron.
"Uwaaah...!"
I covered my ears and screamed.
But the sound didn't stop and dug into my brain.
In that noise, one clear meaning rang in my head.
"...Found you."
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