Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Governor-General's Vault
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Whirrrr.
A faint vibration sounded as the window opened.
Soon after, an intruder slipped in and glanced around.
'Oh? Something like that exists?'
Watching the short baton he held, I couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Amazingly, it was possible to disable the security magic with just that one item.
Even though the user was a complete novice when it came to magic.
'It seems subtly different from my own methods.'
Of course, I wasn't a formal mage either, but that item was in a league of its own.
It was likely either a state-of-the-art magical item or an ancient artifact of incredible power.
The intruder's possession was more appealing to me than the expensive works of art in the office.
If the opportunity arose, I might just have to knock him out and take it.
Shhh.
The intruder's eyes glinted in the darkness as he carefully scanned the office.
Whirrrr!
This time, a faint blue light emanated from the artifact.
It seemed to have a search spell built into it, much like the batons the patrols carried.
'Whoops!'
I ducked behind a statue, dodging the beam of light.
Fortunately, the intruder didn't spot me.
Instead, I gained an unexpected advantage.
Just by watching, I had found Governor-General Everdeen's vault.
The intruder's objective seemed similar to mine.
He moved the carpet in the center of the office, and the baton emitted a red light.
Whirrrr.
Suddenly, a trapdoor appeared on the empty floor.
It seemed some kind of illusion barrier had been cast there.
Clank!
Having disabled the barrier with the artifact, the intruder opened the door and entered without hesitation.
'This is too easy!'
I followed him stealthily, observing his actions.
The artifact's performance was quite impressive.
It was a bit slower than if I did it myself, but for a novice to be able to bypass magical security was something else.
Besides, it didn't even consume the user's mana.
The more I looked at it, the more I coveted it.
'I have to take that, no matter what. I don't know where he's from, but I'm certainly grateful to him.'
But the artifact alone wasn't enough to bypass all the vault's security.
Clank! Rattle!
That was because classic mechanical traps were also in place.
The moment the intruder's movements were detected, all sorts of dangerous devices sprang out.
The poison darts that shot out from tiny holes in the walls were particularly potent.
"Grrgh..."
Hit by two darts in the leg, he trembled and pulled a vial from his coat.
After hastily drinking its contents, his convulsing body quickly returned to normal.
It must have been a very potent antidote potion.
His level of preparation was truly impressive.
That must be how he'd made it this far without any magical abilities.
The intruder pushed himself up, pulled the darts from his thigh, and immediately resumed his work.
Shhh. Whirrrr!
After that, the infiltration went quite smoothly.
He used the artifact to disable all the security magic placed on the mechanical traps as he passed.
It seemed I wouldn't have to worry about any alarms going off and patrols rushing in.
'Go on, you can do it!'
I cheered him on from behind, munching on... not popcorn, but dried rations.
But the intruder's success didn't last long.
Clank! Fwoooosh!
"Aaargh!"
He must have triggered something, because he was engulfed by a gout of flame.
He screamed, but thanks to the closed trapdoor, the sound didn't escape.
I approached the fallen intruder and crouched down beside him.
"You were so close to succeeding. Ah, what a shame."
"Gurgle! Who... who are you..."
"You don't need to know. Let's have a look at your little toy. Tsk, tsk! It's all melted on."
The artifact had practically fused with his hand.
I clicked my tongue with a look of pity, but I didn't stop peeling the skin away.
The intruder groaned, but I finally managed to get the item in my hand.
But holding the baton, I couldn't help but sigh.
"Did you have to go and break it? Where did you get this... Ah, you're already dead?"
Unfortunately, the man had already breathed his last.
If I'd known, I would have treated him first.
Ah, but was he too far gone for that?
In any case, the artifact wasn't that important.
It wasn't like I couldn't disable magic without it.
I stood up and examined the end of the corridor.
'It looks like there are no more mechanical traps.'
The path of flames shooting from all directions remained, but there were no more classic traps after it.
Having already seen how it was triggered thanks to the preceding intruder, I could easily pass the trap.
All I had to do was avoid touching the floor panel.
Thump!
After leaping the roughly five-meter distance in a single bound, I quickly slowed down.
There was a magical trap immediately after that spot.
"Wow... look at this layout. It's brutal."
Felix must have installed it himself; the difficulty of disarming it was quite high.
If my past self hadn't been ranked higher than Governor-General Everdeen, I would never have been able to disable it.
In a situation like this, I couldn't help but feel the loss of the intruder's magic-disabling artifact.
Click.
'Done.'
Once I disabled the final magic trap, a large, solid steel hatch was revealed.
Clank! Whirrrr!
I turned the handle to open the door and immediately cast a detection spell.
But no more magical traps were detected.
I carefully scanned the area, just in case there were any mechanical traps.
"The security ends here. Now, shall we see what's inside?"
As befitting the secret safe of Felix the collector, the thick metal chamber was filled with various works of art.
They looked far more antique and valuable than the ones in his office.
But it wouldn't be easy to take any of them.
'They're too big and heavy. If I tried to move something like this, I'd be discovered in no time.'
Every single one of the collectibles was bulky.
Even the paintings on the walls were too large to ever fit through that narrow hatch.
Felix must have used a subspace or teleportation to move these items.
It seemed he had deliberately made the entrance narrow to prevent theft.
'Still, the target should be small.'
I scanned the items from the entrance as I moved deeper inside.
Among them were pieces so famous that even I, ignorant of the world of collecting, recognized them.
"Oh! This is the imperial master Magellin's work, 'Beyond Death,' isn't it? Hmm. Not interested."
Whether it was a genuine Magellin didn't really matter.
They were all out of reach anyway.
I passed the collectibles and moved to the final chamber.
There, a soft glow that drove away the darkness appeared before my eyes.
Floating above a gilded circular display stand was a long staff.
Seeing the auspicious light it emitted, that had to be the Staff of Wisdom.
'It's definitely a holy relic. No ordinary object would radiate such intense divine power.'
The Staff of Wisdom was probably Felix's most prized possession.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to display it alone on a floating pedestal.
Taking this would count as a small measure of revenge.
After all, the Everfilt family was one of the culprits behind the fall of Riverune.
The second invasion, which had tragically burned down the family estate and caused the most casualties.
That was a tragedy brought about by the mages of Everfilt.
Recalling that time, I felt anger surge within me again.
"One day, I'll tear this damned family of mages in half."
Of course, I didn't have the power to enact my revenge right now, nor was it the right time.
'For today, I'll be satisfied with this.'
Sheathing my intense gaze, I picked up the Staff of Wisdom.
The white staff was surprisingly heavy.
Heavy enough to be used as a weapon, not just a holy relic.
With a slight shrug, I turned to leave the chamber.
What's a little weight when a special bonus is waiting for me?
But as I walked toward the exit, I suddenly stopped.
My senses had picked up something unusual.
I reflexively turned my head, narrowing my eyes and extending my senses.
Then, I detected a familiar energy.
"This is... the Forest of the Dead?"
The search was brief.
Wasn't this the same energy I had felt countless times while searching for Esmeranta's Tower?
Moving to a corner, a nondescript black breastplate caught my eye.
The ferocious energy was emanating from that piece of armor.
'Black Dragon Divine Armor. I like the sound of that.'
Reading the inscription on the display stand, I let out a small smile.
It was very similar in name to the Black Dragon Sword I had used since my past life.
But the origins of the two items were completely different.
The Black Dragon Sword had been crafted for me by my family's master artisan.
The Black Dragon Divine Armor, on the other hand, had likely come from somewhere else.
"The Dark Continent, probably."
The Forest of the Dead was not a naturally formed place.
It was created by an energy that had crossed over from the Dark Continent, which lay across the sea to the east of the Livius Continent.
But it was impossible to trace the origin of that power.
The eastern sea was constantly battered by colossal waves known as the Deep Sea Dragon's Tsunami.
Even a tier-one mage would have to risk their life to cross it.
'I think I can take this with me.'
If I'm going to screw him over, taking two things is better than one, isn't it?
I immediately tried on the Black Dragon Divine Armor.
And then, something quite surprising happened.
Charrrk! Clank!
The breastplate squirmed and shrank, transforming to fit my body perfectly.
Moreover, its surface now gleamed as if it were brand new, and its design had become more refined.
"Ha! This is killer."
I smiled, pleased, and was about to head for the exit.
But then, a voice suddenly echoed in my mind.
It was a language I had never heard before, yet strangely, I understood its meaning perfectly.
—Verifying qualifications.