Chapter 732: Stealing Knowledge
Although Tyr herself often gave off an air of unreliability, this time her advice seemed quite trustworthy to Gawain.
Even if the “Ultimate Tome” truly was a relic from some long-lost ancient civilization, those dragons who made their fortune by safeguarding valuables and waiting for their owners to die off probably knew its origins—maybe they even had a pristine copy tucked away in their vaults…
To be honest, Gawain still felt a pang of guilt over accidentally damaging the Ultimate Tome.
Back at Castle Cecile, he immediately contacted the senior agent through the Mithril Ring.
As expected, the blue dragon lady appeared before him in less than thirty minutes—always just a call away, responding with remarkable speed.
“The Mithril Vault is always happy to serve you,” Melita Pernia said, standing before Gawain, her face veiled in a pale purple silk, only her gently curved eyes betraying a smile. “Are you here to deposit or withdraw items today? Or perhaps for a consultation… or still for express delivery?”
“Let’s hold off on that for now,” Gawain waved a hand, unable to resist asking a question he’d long wanted to: “How do you always manage to get here so fast—as if you live nearby? There’s no major historical event right now that needs your observation. Don’t you have anything else to do?”
Melita’s professional smile stiffened for a moment, but it was just an illusion; her expression remained as warm as a spring breeze. “You are a key client of the Mithril Vault, so naturally you receive special attention—but this time, I really was just coincidentally nearby. Rest assured, my duties are never neglected. Every employee here is dedicated to their work.”
Gawain met her steady, trustworthy gaze and had no choice but to believe her. Still, he couldn’t help but glance her over and ask, “One more thing—this might be a bit rude, but… is that the only outfit you have?”
Even in the biting winter chill, Melita wore her signature purple silk dress, with a hint of alluring flair. Gawain hadn’t paid much attention before, but tonight the city’s street lamps were adorned with icicles, and nearly everyone he saw was bundled up—except for Kamail and Nicholas “Egghead.” So seeing this agent in such light attire felt jarringly out of place.
Melita seemed caught off guard by the sharpness of his question. After a brief pause, she forced a smile. “You should know I am a dragon. My human form is merely a convenience for moving among humans. I’m… not particularly interested in dressing up my human guise.”
“I see,” Gawain nodded. “Sorry for the impolite question.”
“No offense taken. Consider it friendly banter,” Melita smiled and shook her head. “So, what brings you here today?”
“More of a consultation. We recently acquired something, but no one knows its origin. I thought maybe the ancient dragons might shed some light.”
“Thank you for your trust. But I must warn you, dragons may know more, but they don’t know everything—and they certainly don’t share everything,” Melita said, her eyes flickering with curiosity. “So… what exactly is it?”
“A book. But it’s not here. You’ll have to come with me,” Gawain stood and gestured for her to follow. “I’ll tell you how we got it on the way…”
Escorted by a small retinue, Gawain led Melita out of the royal district and soon arrived near the Arcane Technology Institute. Along the way, he gave her a rough account of the Ultimate Tome’s origins and the recent events near Thorin’s Hold. The dragon lady was clearly intrigued. Upon hearing how Beltira transformed into the Thorin Great Tree, she shook her head with a sigh.
“Ah… I once flew over that tree. Truly incredible, even dragons are amazed… but I never imagined it came to be that way.”
“The Cult of the End of All Things paid a heavy price in life and flesh, but the remnants in the wasteland are still unsettling. A group of mutated druids surviving in the magical storm environment—who knows what they’re plotting now,” Gawain frowned. “With your abilities, can’t you fly over the Great Wall to scout inside?”
He hoped to leverage Melita’s dragon power to explore the Gondor Wasteland, which was shrouded in a powerful interference field that even his satellite surveillance couldn’t penetrate. But he knew his relationship with the Mithril Vault was more of a tentative friendship; he couldn’t order Melita around or commission the Vault for such an out-of-scope task. So he mentioned it casually, without much expectation.
Melita paused thoughtfully for two seconds, then nodded. “Actually, I can fly over that barrier—my maximum flight altitude easily surpasses it.”
Gawain raised an eyebrow, a flicker of hope sparking. “Then…”
“But you’d die once inside,” Melita continued.
Gawain: “…”
Well, that’s no help! Humans could do it—coordinate with the elves’ control center, open a temporary portal in the barrier, and Gawain could swagger in with a squad of infantry. But what good would it do if they all died inside?
“Not necessarily death,” Melita added, as if sensing his disappointment. “But the risk is extremely high. The chaotic magical energy damages dragons severely. The thunderstorms in the wasteland clouds are the greatest aerial threat. On the ground, countless mutants and energy hurricanes await. Our estimates say even battle-trained young dragons have a 90% mortality rate within 24 hours of entering the central wasteland.”
Gawain thought about it. That was basically the same as before—still death.
“Better not then,” he waved it off. “Just a passing thought, don’t take it to heart.”
By then, they had arrived at the laboratory where the Ultimate Tome was stored.
The guards and attendants took over security at the door. The lab staff opened the heavy door, and Gawain led Melita inside the heavily guarded chamber. The black leather-bound tome lay quietly on a round pedestal in the center, surrounded by a fence and a protective shield.
“That’s it,” Gawain said, pointing at the book. “You…”
He glanced at Melita, but the rest of his sentence caught in his throat.
Melita was staring intently at the Ultimate Tome. The usual calm, detached demeanor of the dragon lady had vanished. She showed no effort to hide the gravity and wariness in her gaze. That serious expression made Gawain realize something immediately—
Melita knew the secret of the Ultimate Tome!
“Judging by your expression, you probably know where the Ultimate Tome comes from,” Gawain quickly masked his surprise and spoke to draw her attention back. “Looks like I really came to the right person this time.”
Melita snapped out of her trance and turned sharply to face him, her eyes blazing, voice grave: “You said this book was found in the Cult of the End of All Things’ lair? That cult has been using it for centuries to develop themselves and devise plans that affect the entire continent?”
Gawain met her serious gaze, deliberately silent for two seconds before nodding slowly. “What exactly is this book? Why are you so tense?”
For a moment, Melita seemed torn and conflicted. After a long pause, she shook her head softly. “I don’t know if I should tell you this… but I must. It’s extremely dangerous—dangerous to the progress of civilization. You should stay as far away from it as possible. And those cultists… thankfully, their twisted minds and illogical actions probably prevented them from fully harnessing the book’s power. Otherwise, this continent would be in far worse trouble.”
The Mithril Vault agent was clearly on edge, so much so that she forgot to use the usual formal “you” when speaking to Gawain.
He didn’t mind the slight change in address. Instead, he calmly reminded the visibly tense dragon lady, “It’s already broken.”
“No matter what, you should avoid further contact…” Melita instinctively said, then caught herself. “Wait? You said it’s broken?”
“Yes. For reasons unknown, it’s completely unusable now,” Gawain said without changing expression. “If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself.”
He deactivated the safety shield around the pedestal. With the steel fence and energy barrier down, he reached out and took the black leather tome. But just before handing it to Melita, he paused. “Let me confirm something first—you’re not going to destroy it the moment you get it, are you?”
Judging by Melita’s wary reaction, Gawain was genuinely concerned.
“By my dragon’s honor and my name, I swear,” Melita said solemnly. “I won’t do anything rash—I just want to verify its condition.”
Gawain decided to trust her.
Partly because her oath sounded sincere, partly because she didn’t seem reckless, and mostly because of his own confidence—destroying an ancient artifact before a legendary figure could react isn’t easy, even for a dragon.
Melita took the black tome, her breath quickening. Her expression was so serious and tense it was as if she held a half-ton warhead in her hands—and the safety was off.
She flipped through the pages, only to see endless error messages indicating broken connections, red warning characters flooding her vision.
Gawain thought it was like staring at a screen full of 404 errors…
“…It really is unusable,” Melita finally breathed out after several quick flips, her tone lighter. “But you’re mistaken about one thing—it’s not damaged, at least not physically. But… the end result is the same. It can’t be used, and theoretically, no one can restore it to its former state unless… no, never mind.”
Gawain was curious about what she was about to say after “unless,” but now he was more concerned about what this Ultimate Tome actually was. “Now can you tell me? What’s the origin of this book?”
Melita hesitated for two seconds. Through the thin veil, Gawain saw her bite her lip. After that clear sign of hesitation, the senior agent exhaled softly.
“You probably know that in ancient times, the dragons and a certain civilization on the continent of Loren once fought a war…”
“The War of the Rebellion?” Gawain immediately caught on.
“Yes, I’ve mentioned it to you before…” Melita’s voice dropped low. “And I also told you that in dragonkind’s history, that war is known as the ‘Rebellion of the Rising Tide.’ It’s called a ‘rebellion’ because it was far more than just a war. It was a crisis brought on by a reckless race that took a dangerously wrong path—one that nearly doomed the entire world. And this book you found…”
Melita gently lifted the large black leather-bound tome, letting it sway slightly in the air.
“It was created by the Rising Tide Empire.”
Gawain’s eyes widened.
This ancient secret, something that had piqued his curiosity for so long and seemed connected to the Black Trap, was now being unveiled in this very moment—just like that.
“May I ask one more thing?” he said, locking eyes with Melita. “Why do you say this book is so dangerous? What exactly was the Rising Tide Empire’s purpose in making it?”
“To steal knowledge,” Melita said calmly. “To steal knowledge beyond their control. And that knowledge—beyond their grasp—almost destroyed the future of the entire world.”
Steal knowledge!!
That simple phrase struck Gawain’s mind like a bolt of lightning, stirring a storm in his heart.
Most people wouldn’t read much into Melita’s words, but he knew exactly what the ultimate book’s data source was—
A satellite array in space!
(Promoting my new novel, fantasy genre: Rising from the Coffin. Yes, some of you may have noticed my previous book is no longer available… but this one is solid, no worries. The concept is fresh and worth a read.
Also, the audiobook for this chapter is now open! Fans with over 500 points can submit voice recordings!)
(End of chapter)