Overwhelming Firepower

Despite the many objections the nobles had in their heads, they never said it out loud. Who in their right mind would object to what the king said, and it was not just him; the person who would receive the reward was the heir of the Iron Duke.

It was one thing to go against the king’s wishes, but also the Iron Duke. The only one crazy enough to do something like that would be another ducal house. Unfortunately for them, the other Dukes do not really mind Lucen getting a reward.

The first prince wanted to say something as well, but of course, he kept it to himself. He might be the first prince, but he was not the crown prince.

In Norvaegard, though it is an advantage to be born first, the succession to the title, especially in the royal family, was not given by birth but by merit.

To say something against the king while his siblings seemed uninterested would be bad for him, so he remained silent.

In the end, the King did not waste time and personally guided Lucen to the Royal Treasury.

***

The Royal Treasury was located somewhere in the castle, and for Lucen to be able to enter, he was put to sleep.

At first, Sir Thalos and the others did not like that not only were they not allowed to accompany Lucen, but now they wanted to put him to sleep.

It took Lucen a few minutes to convince them to wait for him at the Thornehart estate. After convincing them, Lucen was made unconscious.

***

Lucen jolted awake. Cold stone greeted his palms as he pushed himself up. The chamber was dimly lit by faint floating crystals embedded in the walls. For a moment, he thought he had been teleported to a dungeon.

He had seen this place a few times in the game when you choose the royal route. But at that time, this place was already ransacked by enemies, so there wasn’t much to see.

’Well, there was one item they didn’t take, or more like they couldn’t take. The sword of Norvaegard, the third strongest weapon in the game. Many think that was the sword used by the founding king, or so many players thought before.’

Lucen remembered the time when the game was still new and many people were trying to complete all the endings.

They thought that the sword of Norvaegard was the strongest sword and was also the sword used by the founding king, even though there was no text saying so. They just assumed based on the name.

’It was fun when I found the true blade of the founding king. It was quite hard to find since there were so many prerequisites that you needed to do before locating it. That was the true ultimate weapon, well, it was in the hands of the protagonist.’

The strongest weapon in the game was always a hot debate in the gaming community, but to him, the blade of the founder king was the strongest.

Its basic stats weren’t much, but its ability was something else. It increases your stats depending on how many comrades you have who trust you.

If you were able to get all the named characters as your allies, the stat increase was ridiculous, making it easy to defeat elite monsters.

Of course, not just anyone could use the true blade of the founding king. The current Lucen was also someone not worthy to use it.

’Well, not like I plan to get it anyway. Its true abilities might differ from the game, and there is also the fact that only someone like Alexander has the base requirements to even wield it.’

As Lucen was reminiscing about the game he so loved playing, he heard a familiar voice in front of him.

”Young Thornehart, are you alright?” King Ragnor spoke.

”Apologies, your majesty, I was just lost in thought.”

King Ragnor nodded, stepping closer. The faint glow of the crystals reflected in his storm-gray eyes, giving him an almost ethereal aura.

”There is no need to apologize,” the King said. ”Most who see this place for the first time pause in awe. History weighs heavily here.”

While Ragnor was speaking, Lucen finally noticed the giant door behind Ragnor. It wasn’t a door so much as a massive slab of metal, etched with runes far older than any he had seen in this world. The symbols pulsed faintly.

In the game, no matter the route, when the protagonist Alexander arrived here, this metal slab was no longer there, most likely taken by thieves or destroyed.

King Ragnor followed Lucen’s gaze and gave a small, knowing smile.

”This was created with the efforts of the founder king and his two friends, the First Duke of Norvaegard, your ancestor Edric Thornehart, and the Master of the mystic arts, the mage of starlight, Lunavere Aeromont. The three of them created this place to protect the relics of the Empire they used to serve.”

Ragnor walked toward the slab, his footsteps echoing faintly against the stone.

”Only a single person is allowed inside. If another person enters while someone is inside, the door will shut. Which is why I will open the door for you and wait out here. You can only take one item from the treasury, so choose wisely.”

Ragnor then enveloped his finger with his aura mantle and made a tiny cut in his palm, which made blood flow out.

Ragnor then pressed his hand onto the metal slab that was the door, as it glowed bright like the moon in the sky. Ragnor then started whispering words that Lucen could not understand.

The runes on the slab twisted and shifted, rearranging themselves in patterns Lucen had never seen in this world’s magic system. This wasn’t the magic of modern Norvaegard, nor aura, nor any form of sorcery he recognized.

This was something older; in the game, there were bits and pieces of lore about old magic that he presumes that Lunavere and the other mages used at the time.

In the lore, the reason why old magic was no longer used was because, like everything else, it was outdated.

It was indeed a powerful way to use spells, but it consumed an incredible amount of mana. Which was why, in the past, there were fewer mages and more knights.

Nowadays, because of the new ways created to perform spells and cultivate mana, mages aren’t rare anymore; still, they weren’t as abundant as those who awakened their aura and became knights.

Ragnor continued whispering in that strange language. Each word resonated through the chamber like a bell tolling underwater. When his final syllable echoed into silence, the entire slab trembled.

A deep hum rolled through the floor. The air grew heavy enough that Lucen instinctively widened his stance, his muscles tensing. The runes blazed bright white.

BOOM!

With a thunderous rumble, the massive slab split down the middle. A sharp line of white light cut through the darkness as the doors slowly parted. Cold air rushed out, ancient, untouched, heavy with mana.

It felt like stepping into an old memory that the world itself had forgotten. Ragnor lowered his bleeding hand and looked at Lucen.

”Enter,” the King said quietly. ”And do not linger. Some relics do not like to be stared at. Also, remember to only take one item of your choosing. If you don’t return in six hours, I will close the door and return in the morning.”

’This sounds similar to something that I read before... Oh, right, the Arabian tale of what happened to Aladdin. Well, as long as I don’t do anything stupid, I won’t get stuck in there. I just need to get what I want and leave.’

Lucen stepped forward and was about to enter when he felt like something was watching him. He stopped momentarily and looked around.

”What is it, young Thornehart?” The king asked with a gentle tone.

”... It’s nothing, I thought I felt someone looking at me.”

When the king heard what Lucen said, he had a serious look on his face for a second and then smiled.

”That’s normal. Many of the items inside might have spirits or something similar in them. While looking around, you might feel several presences, and I also heard from my grandfather that a few who entered this place could also hear voices, but it’s best to ignore those. Just keep your wits about you and you will be fine.”

Lucen nodded his head and took a step forward, and entered the Royal Treasury. Once Lucen entered, the dark room brightened as glowing orbs similar to mana lamps floated above the treasury.

The light reflected off golden armors and polished blades, casting intricate patterns across the cold stone walls.

A faint smell of old parchment and melted wax lingered, mixed with the faint metallic scent of centuries-old steel. He could hear the soft hum of the runes embedded in the floor and walls, like whispers of the past, almost musical in nature.

Each step he took echoed slightly, reminding him how empty and vast this chamber truly was. The air felt heavier, as though each artifact carried the weight of history itself.

The first thought Lucen had when he saw the place was that it was huge. There were many things in the treasury, from weapons, armor, jewelry, and other priceless-looking things.

Despite the shining items and the room being very nice to look at, there was this eerie feeling Lucen could not shake.

He noticed a few items he was familiar with and was surprised that they were here. ’Huh... I guess those items came from here and were stolen. Now I’d better decide what I want; the faster I choose, the faster I can leave this creepy place. I wonder if I’ll get to experience that cliche of an item pulling me in as if talking to me, wanting me to take it.’

Lucen joked in his mind to calm himself from the eerie atmosphere. Once he was ready, he started looking around.