Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Brüdt
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Silver light poured out from between the stone doors as they slowly creaked open.
"Wow..."
"R-Really... the walls really are all Skull Diamonds, just like the rumors..."
Sophie let out a sigh of awe, while Eloa muttered in utter disbelief.
The interior was utterly simple. Each of the thirteen walls had a single hook for hanging a sword.
But the material composing every wall of the room, including the ceiling, was Skull Diamond, the most expensive gem on the continent.
The eternal gem Skull Diamond, mined in tiny quantities from the land of Skeletonia. It emitted its unique grayish-white luster, reminiscent of bone, welcoming its visitors after a century.
Eloa sent Do-yoon a telepathic message, her tone full of incomprehension.
[Even for the Sword Emperor, how on earth could one person build a vault like this? This alone must be worth a royal palace... no, an imperial one...]
[I built it for him.]
[You!?]
[I owed Buske a lot.]
Hecleus and Buske had helped with research on the Războinic Style in every regression cycle. Without those two unparalleled geniuses in fist arts and swordsmanship, there never would have been an Enoch Războinic in the 18th cycle to defeat the Demon King.
Thus, Enoch had always given them everything he could.
Especially Buske, who had always shunned wealth and worldly desires—his sudden obsession in his later years with collecting swords.
Do-yoon had been overjoyed that Buske had taken up a hobby and had mobilized all his wealth and connections to fulfill his requests.
[Even with infinite money or as the emperor of an empire, building this gallery would be impossible. It was a collaboration between a dragon and the Dwarf King, after all.]
Even a hundred years ago—and to this day—no nation in the Alliance could refine Skull Diamonds.
Skull Diamonds possessed the bizarre property of nullifying most incoming force and mana. Handling them was the exclusive domain of dragons and dwarves.
They, who shared a close bond with Enoch, gladly accepted his request, and the result was the continent's most priceless gift.
[Didn't you say there were still about 100,000 gold coins left in your estate? Were those...]
[Money left over after building the vault. And money earned afterward.]
[...You must have had an incredibly wealthy upbringing...]
Brüdt stepped into the depths of the gallery first, with Do-yoon following behind.
Brüdt sent a telepathic message to Do-yoon.
[Three are empty.]
[The ones your father carried on him.]
They were buried with your father in his tomb, now lost to demonization from the frontline retreat. Do-yoon swallowed the rest.
Do-yoon headed to the hook on the ninth wall.
There hung the Sword Emperor's collection sword no. 9: Jupiter.
Do-yoon activated [Seventh Sense], bringing up the item's information.
⚔ ITEM INFO ⚔
[Jupiter] Sword Emperor's sword collection no. 9. Jupiter is a collaborative masterpiece by the dwarf world's greatest metallurgist and its finest edge sharpener. The innovative material aerosol, devised by the dwarf metallurgist, contains countless pores—98% of its volume is empty space—making it the lightest possible solid structure achievable. This structure exhibits astonishing mana conductivity and strength, while suffering almost no air resistance, rendering it the ideal form for a sword. If the air within the aerosol could be removed, it might even be lighter than air itself. Moreover, Jupiter is forged from adamantium, the existing metal with the highest mana conductivity. The synergy between adamantium's inherent properties and the aerosol structure not only creates the ultimate mana flow—like sending mana through a rushing river—but also resonates the user's mana within the empty aerosol spaces, further amplifying it. And the result of the dwarf edge sharpener's painstaking efforts is Jupiter: a divine weapon dreamed of by all swordsmen.
Do-yoon lifted Jupiter from the hook and gazed fondly at its beautiful blade.
'As expected, the grip feels entirely different.'
The blade weighed almost nothing. It was an unreal sense of freedom, like switching from a heavy dumbbell to a light smartphone.
And the handle clung so perfectly to his hand that he felt like he was finally holding a sword that truly satisfied him.
With his chest swelling, Do-yoon gripped it tighter for no reason.
[As expected, you've chosen that sword.]
Brüdt sent a telepathic message with a gentle smile.
[Yeah. It maximizes the fundamental virtues every sword should have.]
The other swords in the collection were divine artifacts, each brimming with unique abilities.
But this no. 9 was special—no special powers, just pure, maximized sword performance. The dream of every true swordmaster.
[And it's the one most similar to Uncle's favorite sword from his lifetime.]
[You knew.]
A hundred years ago, Enoch's personal sword had been modeled after this Jupiter.
Having borrowed and wielded Buske's Jupiter once in a previous cycle, Enoch couldn't forget its feel and later commissioned the Dwarf King and a dragon to create a similar one.
Three treasures forged from Skull Diamond by the dragon and Dwarf King.
The Sword Emperor's collection gallery. The subspace ring Nebula. And the last one: Enoch's personal sword.
That sword shared Jupiter's aerosol structure, but its entire blade was made of Skull Diamond.
But wielding it again was a distant dream. Having been plunged into the Demon King's heart, it was likely still in the Demon King's castle.
'Still, this is an outstanding masterwork.'
It was regrettable, but what was done was done. Do-yoon was simply grateful to hold this Jupiter.
'No. 4 is tempting too...'
Do-yoon glanced at one side of the wall, then quickly looked away. Anything more would be greed.
But Brüdt, watching him, met his eyes and smiled gently.
[Indeed, you're not taking no. 4.]
[Ahem! Don't stare. It's embarrassing.]
As he had countless times a hundred years ago, Brüdt admired his uncle's noble character.
In truth, he was confident he would hand over the entire gallery with a laugh if Do-yoon asked.
From the perspective of being the legitimate inheritor of the Buske Style, Do-yoon was his heaven, just like his father.
No, there was no need to go that far. Simply for being a human living on this continent, he owed Do-yoon an immense debt.
Enoch Războinic. He was the savior who defeated the Demon King and saved the world—the benefactor of everyone on the continent.
Yet his uncle harbored no desire for repayment.
'When he deems I've fully mastered the sword... then...'
He would gift no. 4 to his uncle in exchange for the teachings. So Brüdt resolved.
Meanwhile, Do-yoon, embarrassed that Brüdt had seen through him, looked around the gallery needlessly.
Confirming Sophie was distracted admiring the collection, he picked a sword and tossed it to Brüdt.
[Here.]
[Whoa...!]
Brüdt reflexively caught the suddenly thrown sword.
[Your sword wasn't bad, but it can't compare to your father's collection. You probably couldn't wield it properly until now.]
[That's part of it, but...]
[Your swordsmanship takes after your father. This one will suit you.]
The sword Do-yoon had given Brüdt was no. 6.
No. 6 was the sword Buske had used in his youth, imbued with ice properties.
Buske's unique sword style and mana quality suited ice-attribute swords perfectly, and his disciple Brüdt was the same—despite no blood relation. A curious thing.
Brüdt looked down at the sword for a moment before speaking.
[...I won't use this sword yet.]
[Huh? Why?]
[The collection isn't mine.]
Do-yoon gazed at him, urging him to continue with his unexpected words.
[I can't even open the gallery door yet. How could I claim ownership of the collection? If Father had left a will, that might be different, but he left no such words.]
[Hmm...]
[You, Father's closest friend and the only one who can open the gallery door, are far closer to being its true owner.]
Brüdt thought of his late father and forced a sad smile.
Do-yoon fiddled with the hilt of Jupiter at his waist.
[That's not wrong.]
Do-yoon nodded in affirmation.
[Then, would you accept it if it was your father's dying wish?]
[Pardon?]
[A fact no one in the world knows.]
Not even Buske himself knew that Enoch knew. Not in the 18th cycle, but the 16th.
When Buske, having lost his beloved disciple to the Demon King's army, wept drunkenly just once across all cycles, spilling his heart.
[The reason your father, who cared for nothing but the sword path, was so obsessed with his collection. The reason he never gave away a single sword—not even to me. What do you think that was?]
Listening to Do-yoon, Brüdt stiffened.
He stared at Do-yoon with trembling pupils.
[In his later years, your father's wish wasn't the sword path anymore. That had long taken a backseat.]
[In his later years, your father desperately dreamed only of the moment his disciple—you—would surpass him. The day the student outshines the master.]
[Why do you think he set the lock like that?]
[He hoped that one day, you would open this gallery door. And that the thirteen swords would all be gifts for that moment—when his dream of the student surpassing the master came true.]
[Gifts for his disciple.]
Hearing his father's story for the first time, Brüdt's pupils shook ceaselessly. His eyes grew moist.
[Brüdt. Son of my most cherished friend.]
Do-yoon glanced around the gallery once more.
Then, calmly watching a tear roll down Brüdt's cheek, he said,
[This collection is yours.]
Do-yoon thought of his irreplaceable friend, now gone from the world, and conveyed his final words to his son.
Tears fell drop by drop onto the blade, freezing cold.
Brüdt, disciple of the Sword Emperor Buske and Skeletonia's hero.
Clutching his father's legacy, he sobbed silently.