83 The Vault
We continue from where we stopped last time with Philip having defeated Latur.
There is a massive Notice I wrote in the Notes section, so please, read through it if you have the energy to do so, it's rather informative.
Peace!
.
.
.
---------
"My ears..."
/Cheng!/
[DING]
"Arg! Shut up for a minute…" Philip exclaimed as he muted all system notifications while he stuck his sword on the ground
/Thud/
'Collapsing next to it, he took a deep breath as he let his injuries recover, his body still trembling slightly from the previous fight.'
/Move…/
'On the side, Laplabe took this opportunity to transform into a clock once more, but he gave Philip some space so he could relax and breathe.'
'It was evident the boy was tense, and having a potentially very dangerous being on his wrist wouldn't make him relax faster... Though for some reason, Laplabe felt proud for a moment before shaking those stupid thoughts out of his head.'
/Breath in... Breath out.../
'There was no need to worry about the corrosive air as this place had nothing of the sort, it was a strangely pure laboratory devoid of the corruption that plagued the outside.'
'At least for now, with the doors to this place having been broken, the corrosive air would eventually make its way inside.'
"Haa… Phew."
My lips... It's the second time they end up like this...
Shit...
"You okay? Sorry, I was unable to help before and…"
"It's okay, I'm fine." Philip said as he got up from the ground, his body still aching from before
"There is no need to act tough here…"
"I'm not… /Inhale/ acting tough." He spoke as he took a small potion from his inventory
Damned Skeleton broke multiple of my bones...
Should've stayed in your dammed tomb.
"Regardless of how I'm feeling, we ought to keep moving." He said as he rested his head on a nearby shelf
Just uh... Haa... Give the potions a few moments to work their magic and I'll be good to go...
At least let my face recover a little, my nose is half corroded...
'Even if they had won, nothing was guaranteeing him that this was the end of their troubles.'
'With Latur out of the picture, his petrified body still on the ground grasping to the sky, Philip started to pay attention to his surroundings.'
"A laboratory behind the throne room… It is… Nostalgic in a sense…!"
'Philip quickly realized why that was the case.'
It's similar to Tredis Laboratory.
'He turned his gaze to the secret passage near him.'
If the throne room is over there, what would the king want to hide behind his throne?
I don't see piles of gold and artifacts lying around, so...
This place can only be one thing.
'He turned to the Magmatic forge.'
This is the control room of the forge, it fits.
Ancient Dwarves had no reason to keep their reactors isolated as there was no risk of them going haywire.
They had full control over their mechanisms down to the most mundane of tasks, as while Tredis needed an entire automated system to fuel the reactor, the Dwarves could do it with their bare hands due to how in control they were.
Latur must've used this area as his lab due to the reinforced metal used to shield it, this place is like a safe box.
It's just that the contents of this box are an entire reactor.
This place may be safer than the throne room itself.
Its proximity to a power source must've also been convenient considering the number of machines lying around.
"I don't feel anything around us… I think we are in the clear." Laplabe replied calmly as Philip inspected his surroundings
Apart from a few creatures outside, I don't hear much...
It seems the Lich wasn't in absolute control of everything, which is to be expected.
His corruption might be the source of many undead, but it does not mean he controls every single one of the creatures affected or created by it.
At least, not on a fundamental level where they vanish together with him, though they might've been significantly weakened with his demise.
"That seems to be the case..."
"Though I won't lie, I was half expecting some secondary Boss fight…" He said as he turned to look at Latur's body
'His expressions as a bit complex.'
So this guy… Is a Transcendent, a being that has gone beyond the limit of Level 100.
How... Odd.
'Philip could only marvel in disbelief as he read the system notifications he had muted not so long ago…'
...
[Displaying recent Notifications...]
[The Title, Oracle of Lavinda has been equipped, Ancestor of the Sahot has been unnequiped]
[The Great Desire of ***** has activated]
[The Titles are resonating]
[Resonation has been successful!]
[The temporary effect 'Mortal Avatar' has been activated]
...
"..."
I remember this, it was when I grabbed Latur from his ribs.
So from here...
...
[DING]
[With your body as the medium, Lavinda's Divinity may descend]
{Calculating… Allowed}
{This is within the rules}
[Your body is being filled with Holy power!]
[A Great achievement!]
[As a reflection of your current state and abilities, the Skill, Outer Mantra Lv0 has been created]
...
/Gulp!/
'Taking a cup of water from his inventory, Philip went into deep thought as he read his notifications.'
So this is what happened...
'He expected something along these lines, it wasn't hard to decipher was had happened based on the information presented to him at the time.'
This was when that brownish light shone over both me and Latur at the same time...
It was... Suffocating, yet soothing.
How do I put it... Like being choked in the arms of someone dear to you?
Uncomfortable yet... Pleasant.
'He continued to read the notifications.'
...
[Through your influence, a God has manifested its powers in Eden]
[Your Affinity for the Divine Arts has taken a significant leap in development]
[Resistance towards Negative Elements has been raised]
[Resistance to Chaotic decay has significantly increased]
[Outer Mantra Lv0 -> Lv2]
[You have gained the Skill, Holy Seal Lv0]
...
'Sitting down on a chair, he finished reading another section of the notifications.'
Interesting, albeit the implications of this...
In any case, this should be when I started to lose myself...
...
[DING]
[Your body cannot handle *****]
[Your Soul is being engulfed by Lavinda's presence]
[Trait, Dragon Soul, resists the allure of a Higher being]
[Your Skill, Outer Mantra Lv2 has activated]
[A guiding song soothes your mind...]
[Trait, Spiritual Ascension(Incomplete) has been stimulated]
[Your mind is reaching for *****]
[***** is overwhelming your individuality]
[Castle Town ***** tries to stabilize your emotions]
[Castle Town ***** tries to stabilize your emotions]
[My apologies]
[Castle Town ***** stabilizes your emotions]
[Trait, Spiritual Ascension(Incomplete) has been forcibly interrupted]
[Trait, Spiritual Ascension(Incomplete) has attained a small wisp of *****]
[Weak Spiritual Domain Lv3 -> Lv14]
[Outer Mantra Lv2 -> Lv4]
...
"Wow..."
That was a lot of notifications.
So... If a God merely uses a portion of his powers, that is enough to engulf me? To make me lose control of my senses?
I expected no less, yet that doesn't make me feel any better.
...
[The Temporary Skill, Stone Burial Lv0 has automatically activated]
[DING!]
[Lavinda's will is being executed]
[Your body cannot handle *****]
...
"And this should be the end of it..."
"Are you reading your..."
"Yes, the System notifications." Philip replied plainly
"I've been wondering, what does it look like?"
"What do you mean exactly? Have you never used it?"
"No."
"What? Why? It's not like it's difficult to access it, there are many ways to do it, it's just that as I Hero, I do not need them."
This is odd, I expected him to have done it, is it that foreign to access your own Status that much?
"Besides... Even if I were to describe it to you, they say each person has their own way of seeing their own Status."
"Mine appears in the form of floating texts with a few images here and there to explain things, it's rather simple, but this isn't necessarily common across the board." Philip said with a shrug
"Hum... I've heard about this, but honestly, I never really had any interest in taking a look at it..."
It makes me wonder...
"But... after seeing your recent growth, I kind of got interested in seeing mine for once."
"That's simple then, once we get on the surface, it shouldn't be difficult to find a way, though that'll have to wait a while." Philip said as he looked at the ceiling
"Sure, we have the time." Laplabe replied, a bit pleased
'While Philip focused.'
...
[DING!]
[A Legendary achievement]
[You slew a creature 100 Levels above your own]
[Previous achievements are being accounted…]
[Predator's presence LvMax is undergoing a change]
[Predator's presence LvMax has turned into, ***** Might Lv0]
[Combat Genius LvMax is undergoing a change]
[Combat Genius LvMax has turned into, Zone Lv0]
[A Legendary achievement]
[You defeated the Transcendent, Latur, while being a state 0…]
[Recalculating parameters…]
[Parameters found]
[Fragments ***** and ***** shall be absorbed]
[%^$&! has ^&$&*@# functionality]
[DING]
[You defeated the Transcendent, Latur, while being a state 0 Sahrot]
[Inheritance process has comenced]
[Latur's transcendence has been shattered and damaged]
[The Great Desire of ***** seals your body]
[Without an anchor, Latur's Unique Skills have started to condense in the physical world]
[You have acquired, Necromantic Sun ???]
[You have acquired, Dark Light ???]
[You have acquired, Essence of 100 Metals ???]
[A portion of Latur's experiences are being imparted onto you]
[Mental Domain Lv9 -> Lv11]
[Command Magic Lv5 -> Lv8]
[Weak Spiritual Domain Lv14 -> Lv18]
[Some of your Stats have risen slightly]
[Congratulations on being the first Hero to defeat a Trancendant!]
[Through your heroic will, you rid the world of an Ancient evil as the Oracle of Lavinda]
[An Outstanding achievement, the start of a Legend]
[Partial qualifications have been achieved to shape your tale into something anew]
[You have been bestowed the Title, Challenger]
[You have been bestowed the Title, Rising Legend]
[*****]
...
'Philip gasped once more as he read the notifications.'
Unique Skills?
"..."
Do Trancendents drop their Skills upon their death, or is this a one-time event due to my achievement?
I think they were going to be fused with my body directly, but they were blocked, another thing I was unaware was possible... A risk I had not accounted for.
If this is part of the process or a side effect of it, I cannot tell...
I'll take that as a good thing though, I've had enough strange things getting inside... F-Forget it...
/Cough.../
There are still many mysteries about my Title, it isn't just an amalgamation of abilities.
There is no need to repeat, but I am aware of its autonomous activities, those weren't something I would forget easily...
I won't refuse the Skill and Status increases though, a bit specific, but they are very welcomed.
I imagine the reason I didn't gain more was that the Golden Body perk blocked it...
Now it makes a bit more sense, the reason why my head felt so clear after everything ended... It must've been due to these System rewards.
I'll have to once again set some time to test my new abilities in the future.
And... One... Two more Titles for my collection too!
'Philip was ecstatic... Until his eyes popped open!'
"Wait a minute!"
'He quickly opened his inventory and checked inside, only to grimace in anger and helplessness...'
My Origin orbs!!
They vanished again!
'In the corner of his system, 2 new runes could be vaguely seen for a total of 5, all of the Origin Orbs he collected so far.'
"Curses..."
Just when I thought I would be able to barely make do with what I lost... They vanish from my hands again.
This time, even faster than before...
Sigh...
Would... Would the Dwarves have stored some of these in their grand vault?
The city of the Great Gorge might've been a Capital city, but it alone having 2 Origin Orbs is a bit of an exaggeration to me...
For it to have more...
'Philip exhaled some turbid air as disappointment washed over his body.'
The question still remains though... How did they get there in the first place?
'He tapped his fingers on the ground as he thought, but in the end, he let go of it.'
'There was still a lot to explore and learn, staying still wouldn't do much.'
Lastly, that notification...
Something 'has' something 'functionality'...
If I were to interpret it directly... Then the Origin Orbs, which are fragments, when gathered, are slowly making something whole again...
And that something would be Ithas, the broken creation, Lavinda seemed aware of what it meant somewhat... And that I was going after it.
She wouldn't reply to my question, right?
I'm technically her Archpriest...
Would she force me to do my job if I were to start asking questions?...
The problem is that I wasn't going after it, she might've misunderstood it.
Meaning, she sees me in a different way I see myself and might have limited access to what I can do, so she assumed some things...
Albeit she can't be wronged here, I doubt anyone would come across the Origin orbs perchance, much less absorb them, so she was right to assume some things...
I wonder if this goes well for me or not...
"The very very last notifications..." He said as he scrolled down the system page
...
[DING]
[Mortal Avatar has deactivated, your body has started self-recovery]
[DING]
[You do not possess the qualifications]
[Pending rewards cannot be distributed]
[Processing Achievements…]
[Remaining Achievements have been gathered into a substantial reward based on present needs and outsider influence]
/FWOOSH!/
/Tremble!/
'As the notification played, something seemed to change around them as the entire place trembled, and a red wisp surged from within Latur's Skull, rushing outside into the Throne room and beyond...'
[Go, collect your spoils~]
...
'Philip displayed a flurry of emotions as he read through the last few words and heard Lavinda's beautiful voice, but in the end, he let out a sigh as he got up from his seat.'
No matter how strong I became, I still can't believe I took a Transcendent out.
It was supposed to be a qualitative change, and even though I'm much stronger than before, I can't quite put it at that level yet.
Even in the Human Kingdom, only some warriors are supposed to be at this level, and all of them are big guns.
Everywhere I read, the guys that reached these stages were all... Super.
Though, that could be media manipulation.
Most of the books I read came from the library of the Academy, and the public section at that.
They wouldn't leave behind a lot of potentially compromising information about their top shots there, even information on the Heroes from 100 years ago is a bit vague, as they are technically all connected to the main Noble Families.
Most of the Heroes ended up marrying into these Families after their legends ended, so any information on them might as well be information on these pillars of the nation.
Their names and some of their Classes are the most I could find, then again, I did not try to seek them out that much...
"As such..."
The only explanation I can give is that… He was unlucky.
Why is that? Well, I do have my thought process...
First, it came through his many years of isolation that might've significantly clouded his ability to fight and make proper judgments.
If he grew to become a Lich in 50 years, spending 1000 in isolation is enough to drive anyone beyond just mad.
In fact, the very reason he is trapped here might indicate he is under some sort of limitation, magical, physical, mental, spiritual... Whatever it is it exists.
Second, his powers were spread around, and I completely cut them off from him, and the little he managed to gather again exploded right in front of him within the throne room, damaging his staff and clothes.
Third… Or Forth… He received a direct hit from Lavinda, it was what ended his life.
The energy he gathered at the end was scary, I had no idea he could push himself that much, maybe at that moment as he saw his efforts come to waste, he started to remember what he was supposed to be.
An Archwizard, a millennium-year-old Lich.
Unfortunately, it was too late, or fortunately, it depends on the perspective.
"Hum…"
I can properly go over the rewards later, a few of them are weighing on my mind, but when was that surprising?
It happens every damn time.
/Crunk…/
/Crack!/
/Sha!/
"Hm?"
"Something's going on!"
'Above Latur's body, a series of strange energy fluctuations formed as a mixture of strange substances started to spread around…'
'First were his bones, they cracked suddenly, releasing dust into the air.'
'From within them, a dark liquid pooled into the ground, it bubbled and even moved on its own as small tentacles formed, trying to grasp at anything…'
/Blub.../
'The metal spheres around his joints melted, gathering into a weirdly shaped and uneven cube on the right of his body.'
'While from within his skull, a thick smog of green gas rose into the air, transforming into a slightly bright green star.'
"This is… Weirdly fascinating." Philip mumbled as he crouched near the pool of black liquid
'Once he did so, the black liquid seemed to have sensed his presence, gathering together to form one cohesive tentacle as it tried to reach for his legs.'
"Wow..."
"Why are you marveling at this? Get away before something happens..."
"I know, I know..."
But how do I collect this though? I can't just leave this alone here...
'He looked around for a few moments before seeing a few sealed jars and containers around the facility.'
"Those will have to do."
…
/Swoop!/
'To the last drop, Philip gathered the black liquid within a mechanized glass container under Laplabe's curious gaze.'
/TSSS!/
'Once closed, the mechanized container seemingly sealed itself with a vacuum seal, rather convenient.'
'And once inside, the strange liquid didn't try to break free as he expected, but instead, it remained still and composed as if it was just water.'
'It even started behaving as such, like a jar of black coffee.'
'The cube was pretty simple to gather, he just shoved it inside another container without much care, making sure to not touch it just like he did with the black liquid, just in case…'
'Once again, nothing really happened.'
'As for the star, it was no problem at all, he just scooped it from the air as if he was trying to capture a firefly, it was even simpler as it did not move...'
"Phew..."
'Now in front of him were 3 containers, one with a dark liquid, one with a metallic cube, and one with a brightly colored green ball.'
"Guess this part is done."
'Getting up from the ground, Philip's expression soured as he looked at Latur's sorry state.'
'He kicked his body but as expected...'
"Even his clothes got petrified, what a waste of potentially interesting gear…"
"Uh... Philip... Would you wear a piece of cloth that has been on a Lich for 1000 years?" Laplabe asked, a bit disgusted
'Philip shook his head.'
"I wouldn't, but someone would take it as an honor!"
Even if I didn't use it, I can't abandon the loot, it's a great collectible.
"True, Humans do like to pass on their things to the next generation and so on, before you know it, a simple sword has been passed down 10 generations."
"I don't think it's about that, but its close enough." He replied as he nodded, albeit he wasn't satisfied
There are still a lot of questions left unanswered.
But, if I were to guess, my next goal should be finding the strange box that caused all of this to happen…
It should contain some of the answers to the mysteries that still plague my mind...
If it even still exists that is.
Even if I don't find it, I'm not really that interested in finding the reasons behind why this and that happened, it's mostly due to curiosity...
And the faint possibility this may lead me to some sick loot...
"What next? Blow the entire city up?" Laplabe asked as he returned to Philip's pockets
"We can leave that as plan Z." Philip joked as he turned to Laplabe
"Preferably, we wouldn't be here when that happened, right?"
"I can't guarantee it, in the situation we do need to blow the city, I would say we are already half a step into a mudpit." Philip said with a smile as he moved around
'He opened his arms wide, taking a small spin as he pointed at everything in the room.'
"See this all?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think it's time to give this place a sparkle? Give me a hand, we're taking everything with us." He said as he pulled his sleeves up
"..."
"Even the creepy, deformed fleshy things inside those containers?"
"... Even the creepy deformed fleshy things… Though uh… Put them on the side first, we'll start by gathering the books and research papers followed by whatever machines we can fit in the inventory." Philip said with some concern
Not that I'll make use of this research, but it will be of greater value if scanned into MTs database followed by properly spreading them around.
Tredis would make good use of Latur's research into the machines and perhaps even magic systems of the Dwarves, that Class also seems suitable for him...
There may be some use for Latur's pure magic research for Viera, and the rest can be properly investigated as time goes on.
Not to say the original tomes and research from the Dwarves, Latur's things aren't the only things to be collected here.
I came here originally to find things related to the Dwarves, not a damn Lich.
"Suck everything up!" He exclaimed as he turned around
(You're damn bad bro, Goddamn you're beyond saving)
…
/Half an hour later…/
'Philip finished his raid on the laboratory, and as he said before, everything that could be considered 'disgusting' was set aside on a small pile.'
'Pots, vases, boxes containing all kinds of mutated and disgusting limbs, some even seemed to squirm around as if alive...'
'Again, these weren't your usual Hearts, brains, eyes, and the like you would expect to find in a mad scientist shelf, but completely mutated abominations or creatures better hunted into extinction.'
'One of those Philip linked with a chest buster from a popular movie back in his home...'
'If that was a natural creature then he wanted to know where it came from...'
'So he could avoid that area completely at all costs.'
'But most importantly…'
"Hum…"
I expected a bit more...
'In front of Philip was a collection of simple things.'
'The first one being several black shards of unknown origins… He immediately knew what they were, they were fragments belonging to the Statue, like the one he received from the Skeleton Knight.'
'However, some seemed to be missing as this amount was nowhere near the volume removed from it.'
I may be able to gain some response by returning them to their rightful place.
Considering this had been in the possession of the Skeleton... Is there a possibility they were used in the creation of some powerful Undead or machine?
Did that Skeleton have a part in the destruction of the Statue?
But then, why would it give him the shard? Did it grow a conscience and it regretted its actions after remembering what he had done on the brink of true death?
"The Statue and the Lich, the Corruption and the light?" Philip mumbled to himself as he pushed the shards to the side
'Aside from those, there were a few objects of interest.'
'A Crown inlaid with many jewels…'
'A Hammer that was half corroded…'
'A strange triangular object, though Philip knew what that was for…'
'And lastly, a thick book with no cover, its contents were mostly gibberish for Philip, but he could see some level of organization within.'
'It was as if its writer was fighting between lunacy and insanity as he wrote it, making the book a mess.'
'No Level of translation would be able to make sense of its contents...'
'Philip did not believe this book to belong to Latur, as it did not have the same calligraphy as many of the books and papers laying around the lab.'
'It was without much surprise, but Latur wrote many books in his isolation, and albeit he may not understand what they meant, he could tell they belonged to him due to the many sketches and scrolls laying around the place.'
'They were also more recent than the book, as it seemed to wear out every time he touched it.'
'In any case, the only thing that mattered about this book was its only use…'
[... Effect: Allows one to obtain the Class, Arathul Necromancer…]
'This name was one he was used to, this was the name of one of the Heroes Classes.'
"How odd to find it here." He mumbled as he closed the book
/Touch.../
The book... It's so old it disintegrates as I touch it.
From the looks of it, this may be a consumable item.
As for its origins, Simply put, Heroes are based upon the tales of Eden, people of might and fame, organizations of great renown, and individuals of excellence that rose and disappeared, leaving behind their fables.
Even the Kingdom has its own Classes associated with it, such as the Purple Knight corps that serve the King.
That is why some Heroes possess Classes that can be recognized by the people of this world, like the guy that got the Fading Swordsman Class, the girl that awakened as a Sage, and so on.
With a few exceptions of course...
Sun Wukong doesn't seem to be a figure well known over here, and yet there was a Hero that acquired it…
As I said before and repeat now, there is no point in going over the process of the sorting of the Classes during that ceremony.
"A new item for my collection, it may come in use eventually." He said as he carefully stored the book in his inventory tool
The crown is self-explanatory, this must be the one used by the Dwarven King.
The Crown was put atop the main table in front of the reactor, meaning it must've been of a rather high importance for Latur.
He wasn't wearing it though, perhaps to indicate it wasn't that important to it, but its presence here tells a story.
A King would never leave behind his crown as it represents his authority, line, and duty.
It's also not supposed to be as simple of a story as me having my hat fall as I run, the King couldn't have lost his crown as he fled.
If a King lost something as important as that as he ran with his people then he would be more than a fool… Though his Kingdom did fall during his reign, so that's that.
Trying to inspect the Crown leaves much to be desired, though it seems to contain some sort of lingering power.
Whatever that power was, however, it was of no interest to Latur.
As for the hammer, it seems boring and trashy, but more often than not, looks can deceive.
In a perfectly clean and neat lab whose only dirt was the accumulation of dust over the years, how come this single hammer had been thrown aside behind a shelf to rot?
It was as if Latur himself wanted to forget this even existed, but could not bear to have it destroyed or lost forever somewhere else in the city.
Or perhaps this hammer somehow evaded his gaze for 1000 years until I decided to move that shelf.
"Not only that…"
/SLAM!/
'Philip slammed the hammer on the ground, making the ground cave in as everything around them trembled.'
/TREMBLE!/
/Clink clink!.../
"WOW! Care to warn me next time, almost had all of the strange containers fall and crash against the ground, it would've caused quite the mess!"
He is as unpredictable as a little kid, how can he smash the ground out of nowhere?!
"Sorry sorry…" Philip replied awkwardly as he looked at the hammer
It didn't bend, instead, only some rust was left behind on impact.
Strange, how did this hammer grow so uneven if the metal is so resistant?
It's as if more layers of metal had been added onto it over time…
Albeit... If I inspect it, the system says this is a smithing hammer...
"Hammers and Dwarves go hand in hand no?"
"That's a bit stereotypical..."
"..."
'Shrugging, Philip continued with his analysis.'
"I'll give you a proper look if I have the time later on." He mumbled to the hammer as he shoved it inside his inventory
'With that done, he grabbed the triangular object and stored the stone fragments inside his inventory as well, making his way past the Forge.'
/Shaa…/
'The forge glowed in the faint light, it barely emitted any heat, but it was "alive", its guts gurgled with the power of ancient times as its many tubes trembled.'
"It's at least 6 times bigger than the one in the lab, but not enough to cover this entire city, it's also a bit different, from the design to the..."
'Philip shut his mouth, there was no need to overcomplicate things...'
It must've been exclusive to the Palace then, just imagine the extravagancy of it, having a Nuclear Reactor to power your damn Palace…
Hum... It may also power all of the Noble houses within the outer walls of the Palace, if all of that is added then it could make more sense.
But… Its controls aren't here, and by the thick layer of dust around it, I bet it hadn't been opened in centuries.
In fact, it's even a bit corroded in some places, not by much, but enough for him to notice if he paid attention.
"Hum… Taking everything I saw so far and adding them together…"
"Latur likely hasn't set foot in this place in a long long time, only when he was pushed to the edge had he decided to retreat here…"
But why?
His last machine couldn't have been it all, and it didn't seem he wanted to have it all go to cinders by detonating the reactor…
"Something's missing, as always."
He didn't amount a resistance here, neither did he grab a weapon to defeat me...
Was it because he was caught by surprise due to Lavinda's Divinity?
Or perhaps he wanted to prevent me from going deeper?...
This darn mystery, couldn't that goddess have shared something with me?
'Philip swore he could hear her laugh in the background…'
"Urg, this is driving me nuts."
How did this damn reactor even stay in operation for so long?...
But again, according to the future, all reactors, even those not being tended to have enough energy to restart operations if they were given the right signal through the network.
So they must have some level of self-sustainability.
…
'Without much else to do, considering some machines were impossible to remove, Philip made his way past the reactor and into the end of the room, trying to avoid the many thick cables on the ground as he almost tripped on them more than once...'
'There, he saw another pair of smooth doors, so smooth they seemed to fuse with one another and the ground around them.'
'If it wasn't for the corrosion on the edges, most wouldn't be able to tell their existence.'
'If there was a place to use as a Vault, it had to be here.'
'And this triangular object was the key to open it!'
"It's now or never…"
/Clunk!/
'He pressed the key against the doors and it melted into them, vanishing from existence.'
"That was a blind shot but it worked, hooray." Philip said in a lukewarm way
/CLANG CLONG CRONK!/
'The sounds of gears turning for the first time in years sounded as a heavy stale air blew into his face his the hot air of a kettle.'
/Shaaa…/
"..."
'Philip waited for the doors to open dramatically, as they seemed to be opening at the rate of 1 cm per second, they were testing his patience…'
'But for the sake of looking cool, Philip let the air blow his clothes and air back as he stood in front of the doors, waiting to see the treasures within…'
…
"Holy..."
"Sheesh."
'Taking a step inside, both Philip and Laplabe were overwhelmed by the glistering gold as they saw for the first time the treasures of this ancient people.'
'However, the first thing he noticed was the changes...'
The ground, the walls, the ceiling...
It feels as if I entered a completely different place.
'He turned around, and the lab was still there, he could still see the ancient reactor pumping fuel to who knew where.'
(Image?)
'Back at the vault, Philip estimated it to be at most half a dozen meters in diameter.'
'The walls were full of shelves and items, and the ground was littered with strange objects and metals he could not recognize.'
'There was a hole in the ceiling, showing another level of the Vault, a few gold coins could be seen dangling from its edges, a few already fallen into a 'small' pile on the ground.'
'His senses easily told Philip the ground in front of him was a profound cylinder, one that had been filled to the brim with rare metals and gems, now buried a few meters under this glorious pile.'
'And also, to his left and right, he could feel the presence of sealed-off rooms with even more coins inside.'
'It seemed the Dwarves stored their coins and then sealed them off completely...'
'At the end of the room, he saw a small flight of stairs leading to an empty altar.'
"That must be the place..."
But it's not here.
'The mystery had been solved, the box wasn't there...'
"Hm..."
Gold... Artifacts... Metals... Books and more.
For a Capital city, it seems rather small, but perhaps, rather than the vault of the government, this is the private Vault of the King where he kept things that interested him.
But something is wrong...
'Piecing everything together, he concluded the truth after he put his hands on the wall.'
There are multiple vaults similar to this one besides the other.
In fact, their ages seem to vary as the degree of decay of some objects within changes from chamber to chamber.
Not only that, their craftsmanship and the amount of loot within are different from each other.
This one, for example, is rather rustic, the walls are rough and the pillars look like stone blocks stacked atop each other...
While the other one was smooth and well made, full of carvings and decorations...
Was this one made in a hurry? It's way worse than the average.
Latur only opened one of the adjacent vaults, the one directly above this one, the reason for that alludes me.
"Why open only one? And why the one directly above us?"
In such a violent way even, a broken hole...
Though, the purpose of those "vaults" are now clear to me.
These aren't Vaults, they are tombs.
'At the very bottom of the cylinder of gold and coins, a body stood inside a stone box, one without a crown.'
"That must be him, the Dwarven King mentioned by my Skill."
He didn't flee, he died and his body was sealed within.
However, how did the Dwarves have the time to do so? I don't need to ask the why as it's obvious the people would want to honor their king...
From what I read, I had the impression they opened the box and Latur betrayed them while the King was still alive, so how come his body is now here?
Was there perhaps a small gap of time where they opened the box and...
Wait, Latur is the impersonator, did he take the previous King's position after his death?
That can't be, at least not through a natural inheritance, how would a person like Latur take over the throne when the Dwarf king is so different from him?
Was it because he was the Archpriest?...
'Philip thought deeply, using examples from Earth.'
Like when the king dies, the Church takes over temporarily to ensure that the throne receives a proper heir?
That could make sense, but things are just being conveniently put together by me.
Their values aren't the same, there is no point to hypothesize using my own common knowledge.
"Though, in exchange for a few more, one question was answered."
The king never left the city, he was left behind as it was sealed, buried within the wealth he accumulated.
Perhaps not all of it, but these items must've been of high importance to him.
I can feel what seems to be paintings and the like in the adjacent rooms.
There are... At least 12 such tombs, 6 on the ground, and 6 above, forming a circle.
It's a lot of wealth.
But why are there 6 tombs above and 6 tombs below? Why do the ones below have a hole where their king is buried while those above seem more traditional?
It's impossible for the kings of multiple generations to have planned this ahead of time.
"Will you..."
"Loot everything?" Philip asked as he crossed his arms
"Yes."
"... Not now. There is something I need to find out first." He said as he looked around a bit more
Just what was Latur? Why did he do all of this, and what did he wish to accomplish by doing so?
What was the great sin the Dwarven race committed, and how did all of this interconnect?
Was it... Even a sin they committed? Everything seems so orderly...
'It as at that moment Philip started to think that, perhaps, his Skill might've been wrong from the start.'
'He came here believing whatever he heard from it because that was everything he had, but what if it had been wrong from the start? Giving him half-truths, and lies?'
'Philip scratched his chin as he made his way to the Altar.'
/Crunk.../
'The moment he stepped on the stairs, something changed, as if recognizing his presence.'
/Crack... Crink!/
'The Altar's lid flipped over, displaying a series of complicated mechanisms.'
"This must be the controls of the Forge."
However, I have another question.
Latur meddled with the reactor, why keep the controls here, so far from himself?
'What attracted his attention the most was a small ball in the middle of the mechanisms.'
"Hmm..."
/Spin.../
"Oh!"
'He touched the ball, realizing it could spin...'
/Tremble.../
'But the moment he did so, the ground started to tremble...'
"It seems something is going on..."
"I don't feel any danger, but keep your guard up."
/CRACK CRONK!/
/Spin.../
'Turning his expression back, Philip noticed the entire room spin, and then everything came to him.'
I see!
These 12 tombs were built like a revolver chamber.
But why?
Why are there 6 Kings above, 6 below?
/Stop.../
'The entire room stopped, and the entrance of the tomb now led him somewhere else...'
"Holy shit..."
"Manners, the Gods are with us." Laplabe said quickly
/Glitters.../
'A room full of golden hue...'
"Wait a minute..."
/Spin.../
/Tremble!/
'Philip touched the ball again, and the room spun again, revealing another room...'
'It was also full of gold.'
"I see now, using the ball in the middle moves this entire chamber, and considering the angle we moved, there are 12 such vaults built around us."
"At least we figured were the vault is at, we can take a look at each of them later... For now..."
At least I know the Dwarves did not scape with the loot of the vaults.
But this doesn't make much sense, if they scaped to seal their sins behind them, and they were given time to fill their king's tomb with treasures, why didn't they bring the royal Familie's treasures with them?
Out of respect for the dead?
...
/Tremble.../
/Stops.../
'The tomb finally aligned itself with its original position.'
"It looks pretty cool, but I don't understand shit..." Philip said as he scratched his head
'And when he did so, he touched something with his right pinky...'
/Click.../
"?... Oh..."
I have a bad feeling about this.
/Crunk.../
"Did you hear that?" Philip asked as he turned around
"It's coming from the reactor room... Did you touch anything?"
"I... I did not... I think." Philip replied with a dark expression
Hopefully...
I didn't screw things up.
'Without saying much else, he left the Vault.'
.
.
.
Notes
So? What do you all think?
More and more mysteries, once again, the box was not found...
12 tombs and 12 vaults, 6 kings above and below.
What do you think this all means? Or is it just because Dwarves were fancy?
Anyway, that was all from this chapter.
Make sure to read the rest below, otherwise, peace!
----------
So, for the Notice I talked about...
First, I'll be restarting Azimuth this week.
That's right, your boy will sit down and write again.
Not quite...
You see, it's been so long since I sat down... That I forgot some key plotlines.
I still have the majority in my head, but I don't remember how some things connect and end, and even with my notes, my head spins.
So I had an idea.
I'll be re-reading and re-editing Azimuth from Chapter 1.
This will end up removing many classic comments and images, but I don't mind, I can just re-post the images.
While I can leave it to you guys to repost the comments XD.
This will allow me to be up to date on the plot again while also improving the experience of the Novel, I'll be actively trying to change the course of some fights, plots and etc with these re-dos.
At the same time, I'll take this as an opportunity to perhaps post the work on Scribblehub, but that may be put on hold for now...
You have to understand that as of now, apart from my real-life activities including studying and the casual jerking off that I do I have to write 3 weekly Danmachi Chapters...
Edit 9 chapters, 3 per week for you guys, 3 per week for P@treon, and 3 per DAY for Scribble, in fact, I'm a bit late, and after I post everything I'll edit 6 chapters one after the other.
One Zero fate chapter...
Edit 2 chapters, one for you guys, one for P@treon.
And now I'll be adding Azimuth as well.
My plan was to do 1-2 chapters per day, perhaps 3 because in this way, within a month or two we'll be back where we stopped.
But that may be too much, I think I'll stick to one for now and do more if I have the energy.
This is, of course, without considering the time I spend with images.
I plan to start making use of my AI to also make Azimuth images.
I also need to modify this notice and post it on the Zero fate page and also on the Azimuth page.
It's a bit of work... I also need to make something for me to eat, I'm starving...
If only I was rich isn't that right guys? Then I could write all day long lol.
Like in the Covid days... Well, that wasn't a positive thing...
Anywho, that was what I wanted to say, I likely forgot a few things but I'll be adding them here later as we go by.
So uh... Power stones?
Hit the Bell for those notifications, Like, and subscribe? XD
OHHHH! I almost forgot, there was one more thing left before ending.
I had a project in mind, nothing special.
So, my P@treon is a nice place, but I often see myself without the feedback I would've expected from my readers.
You see, with 5 advanced chapters, I expected to be able to make bigger changes to the early chapters as I have the opinion of someone further ahead of the plot.
That is the reason why I update each chapter twice, with 5 chapters ahead of the plot, I have a very clear idea of what is going on with the story, allowing me to make better changes.
I was looking for around 2-3 people, perhaps more, to read all 5 advanced chapters.
I would make a Google Docs and give those selected people a link through Discord.
My only requirements would be for those people to like my work and for them to have the time to write their reviews, a few words, on each chapter they read.
With this, I would get some slight feedback in each chapter to improve the story ahead of time, hopefully preventing things like making a chapter that just flops.
Hopefully, with this, I could potentially choose a different group of people every once in a while for this great task.
Once again, no strings attached, just go there, read, write, done.
Of course, if you think this isn't necessary, I understand too, it was just something that came to my mind as I wrote this chapter.
On that note, what do you think of this idea?
And with that, would I have any interested in trying it out? XD
I am still thinking about it, but if you think any of this is feasible, just write it down here for me to read.
Don't forget to send me your opinion about the other things written above as well.
That was all from me.
And if you feel a bit daring, pay attention to Azimuth as well, you should be seeing it edited soon!
Bye bye!
