Episode 134: The Ruins (2)
Damian looked down at Dawn with a face full of surprise.
Never before had Dawn emitted such a dazzling light in all the time he had wielded it.
“What on earth is happening to Dawn?”
The light gradually faded. When it finally disappeared, Dawn was completely transformed.
Its appearance was unchanged, but the amount of divine power emanating from it had increased significantly.
And that wasn’t all. A miracle had been inscribed within Dawn.
“It has evolved.”
The defining difference between a lower-tier holy sword and a mid-tier one was the presence of a miracle.
Now, Dawn had created a miracle on its own, evolving into a mid-tier holy sword.
Bzzzz!
Dawn trembled, as if shivering from its own transformation.
“Watch out! Be careful!”
At that moment, a skeleton lunged at Damian, swinging its sword.
Bzzz!
Dawn shook violently, and with a wave of energy, the skeleton was sent flying backward.
“Did the holy sword just release divine power on its own?”
Even in his past life, Damian had never seen a holy sword like this. Not even among the most exceptional ones.
“Careful… careful…”
The skeleton rose again, its body half-destroyed, bone fragments scattering.
“You need to be careful!”
The skeleton charged at Damian once more. This time, Dawn unleashed its divine power again.
The divine energy became a sharp slash, cleaving the skeleton in two.
“Careful… must be…”
The severed skeleton crumbled, its body disintegrating into pieces before vanishing into black smoke.
Bzzzz!
Dawn trembled again, as if asking for praise.
“Well done.”
Damian spoke sincerely, and Dawn quivered as if pleased.
“But now it’s too conspicuous to carry around.”
Bzzz?
With such powerful divine energy, anyone who knew what to look for would surely recognize it.
Moreover, if Damian used dark magic, having Dawn nearby could be a hindrance.
Bzz, bzzz!
Dawn seemed to suggest waiting a moment. Suddenly, the light it emitted was absorbed back into the blade.
The divine power that had been so palpable just moments ago vanished completely.
“Did it just conceal its divine power?”
Not only had it destroyed the skeleton on its own, but it had also hidden its divine power.
Even Damian would have to concentrate to detect it now.
“This is getting eerie.”
Damian looked at Dawn with a mix of awe and unease.
Unaware, Dawn hummed as if still seeking praise.
“V-Victor, what was that just now?”
Tebo, who had been lying on the ground, pointed at Dawn and asked.
“It’s a magic sword.”
Revealing that Dawn was a holy sword could expose Damian’s true identity.
Besides, unless one was a knight, distinguishing between a magic sword and a holy sword was nearly impossible.
“A magic sword, you say… Just as the rumors said, you’re incredible.”
As expected, Tebo believed Damian’s words without a hint of doubt.
“But what on earth was that? Undead in the ruins…”
Tebo shivered as he spoke.
“We should inform the White Kingdom immediately.”
“That might be difficult.”
“What?”
“We have no evidence.”
Damian pointed to where the skeleton had vanished. The equipment it wore had melted into a black liquid.
Gastal had set it up so that a curse of corrosion would activate upon the skeleton’s destruction.
“Without evidence, no one will believe us.”
Even if there had been evidence, Damian wouldn’t have informed the White Kingdom. It was more convenient for drawing Gastal out.
“This is unbelievable… I can’t make sense of any of this…”
Tebo sat down on a nearby chair, clutching his head. Damian examined the chair closely and spoke.
“Step aside for a moment.”
“What?”
Tebo, puzzled, stood up from the chair as Damian had instructed.
Damian inspected the surface of the chair. Ancient script was engraved there.
<┣╋┛>
Seeing the ancient script, Damian murmured in surprise.
“A box?”
If it were a real box, it wouldn’t have been left here. Explorers would have taken anything they could carry.
“Could the script be wrong?”
Damian tried to lift the box, but it wouldn’t budge easily.
Only after channeling his magic could he lift it.
“It’s incredibly heavy.”
It was so heavy that everyone had mistaken it for a chair and left it alone.
Damian set the box down again and spoke to Tebo.
“Step back, it’s dangerous.”
Damian used Dawn to channel aura and sliced open the top of the box.
Inside, there was a single glove and a ring.
Damian picked up the glove first and tried it on. He felt an unknown power spreading through his body.
“This glove enhances strength.”
Wearing the glove automatically activated his muscles, increasing his strength.
An ordinary person wearing it could easily be called a strongman.
However, for someone like Damian, whose body was already trained to near superhuman levels, the effect was minimal.
Next, Damian picked up the ring and slipped it onto his finger. As he infused it with magic, something appeared above the ring.
“A map?”
Damian’s face lit up. The map he had been searching for was here.
“This is a stroke of luck.”
The glove was nothing special, but the ring was different. It was the greatest treasure he had found on the second floor.
“Let’s head back.”
“Hey, what’s that?”
As soon as the two emerged outside, they drew the attention of the crowd.
“Ancient armor?”
“That stuff was only found on the first floor… Where did they find it?”
People stared in shock at the items Tebo was carrying.
“Look at that. There’s an APG (Ancient Power Gauntlet) too!”
“That’s the artifact that makes even the weakest person as strong as an ox just by wearing it!”
“Mercenaries go crazy trying to get their hands on that artifact.”
Greedy eyes were everywhere. Tebo asked Damian worriedly.
“Victor, people are looking at us strangely.”
At that moment, a man blocked their path and shouted.
“Hey! Sell those items to me! I’ll give you 1 gold for the lot!”
As soon as the man shouted, another voice rang out.
“1 gold? Trying to rip them off… I’ll give you 5 gold! Sell them to me!”
“Don’t listen to that nonsense! I’ll pay 8 gold!”
In the blink of an eye, the number of people trying to haggle grew.
Soon, a dozen people surrounded Damian, each offering a price.
Damian, however, had no intention of selling the items immediately.
Selling them without knowing their true value would be foolish.
“These are quite popular.”
He hadn’t expected such a frenzy over mere low-grade defensive gear. The demand exceeded his expectations.
“I’ve nearly spent all my money. Maybe I should make a profit this time.”
The rewards he had received from the duke and the king had been nearly exhausted through various events.
While Damian wasn’t one to obsess over money, he wasn’t foolish enough to pass up an easy opportunity to earn some.
“Victor, what do you plan to do?”
“I’ll sell them later. I can’t let them go without knowing their worth.”
“Wise decision! I was thinking the same thing!”
Tebo was flattering Damian when suddenly—
“Out of the way!”
“Move if you don’t want to get hurt!”
With rough voices, three mercenaries pushed through the crowd, clearing a path.
“We heard there’s an APG here!”
“Our employer wants those items!”
“If you don’t want to get seriously hurt, you’d better sell them to our employer…”
The mercenaries, who had pushed aside the merchants, froze when they saw Damian’s face.
In contrast, Damian greeted them with a bright smile.
“Aren’t you guys Number 1, Number 2, and Number 3?”
At Damian’s words, the three mercenaries stood frozen, sweat trickling down their faces.
Behind them, a group of people appeared.
“What’s going on? Why did you all stop suddenly?”
A man in a luxurious leather armor asked irritably.
The three mercenaries quickly hid behind the nobleman and spoke.
“Sir Hayden! That’s him! That’s the crazy guy we told you about!”
At the mercenaries’ words, the man called Hayden frowned and looked at Damian.
“Is this the scoundrel who exploited you all the way here?”
Tebo whispered to Damian after noticing the emblem on Hayden’s chest.
“Victor, that man is Hayden Oldenburg, the head of the Oldenburg Viscount family. He’s a well-known figure around here. A middle-class noble.”
“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to know so much about this area.”
“I did a lot of research before coming. You never know what might happen if you get involved with the wrong people.”
Tebo scratched his head sheepishly.
“Listen, you scoundrel. The three men you treated like slaves on your way here are the famous mercenaries known as the Clark Brothers.”
Hayden spoke in a sharp voice.
It made sense now why all three of them could handle aura—they were quite renowned mercenaries.
“So, I hired them through the mercenary guild, paying a hefty sum. The plan was to explore the deeper parts of the ruins as soon as they joined us, but…” Hayden clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Thanks to you overworking them, they’re in no condition to proceed. So, the plan’s been delayed.”
“And?” Damian asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Hayden let out a dry laugh at his response.
“Even after all that, you still don’t get it? This is why commoners are hopeless. Let me spell it out for you: because of you, my plans have been disrupted.”
Hayden pointed an accusing finger at Damian.
“I was planning to demand compensation the moment I saw you…”
His gaze shifted to Thiebo, or more precisely, to the items Thiebo was carrying.
“To achieve such results right after arriving at the ruins… you seem to have quite the keen eye. This changes things.”
Hayden clapped his hands together.
“I’ll show you some mercy. Not only will I forget the losses you’ve caused me, but I’ll also offer you the chance to work under me.”
“Oh?” Damian’s expression turned amused.
“Of course, if you refuse… I’ll take an arm as compensation for the trouble you’ve caused, on top of what you already owe.”
Damian’s amusement only grew, his eyes widening with interest.
“Ohhh?”