The Strongest Spellblade

“Justin, welcome,” Dean Beacon Smith greeted me at the top of the main tower.

“Thank you, Dean. It is nice to enjoy this view again,” I replied.

“A shame that it had to be cut short last time. Ever since The Fall, it has been one headache after another. I was worried that your entire team had wiped after not returning after a year, but it is good to see you alive. Please sit, I have had some tea prepared,” the old man said with a smile as I took my seat.

“I am glad the College is still standing. It has been a hard journey to get back here. We were siloed into the part of the dungeon under the beastkin continent. Once that occurred, the team disbanded. Fortunately, I was able to survive and make it back,” I replied.

“With quite a bit of information to sell as well,” the Dean said and I nodded.

“Indeed. I do have a debt with the College for the Alchemical skills given to my pet Ozy and some requests,” I said.

“A Tier 4 weapon, ah a sword of course. A large sword case that can block all divination skills and Mana leakage. And access to the highest permissions for any skills or other items we might have for sale. Not counting additional remuneration,” the Dean said as he poured us each a cup of tea.

“Indeed. The most valuable book is one written by a demon. The information within is quite shocking. The value of that alone eclipses anything else I might offer,” I replied and then picked up my tea cup to take a sip.

“And you also have historical and skill books from the beastkin continent. As well as your personal account, fighting three demons, and killing two. Also, how the dungeon was damaged,” he said while giving me an appraising look.

“The two I killed were melee focused. The beastkin continent is a cold, barren wasteland. The beastkins’ culture has degraded heavily and they only have three major settlements left. There are very few legacies remaining. The demons I beat, didn’t have the breadth of skills one would expect a demon of this continent to have,” I replied and the Dean sipped his tea and then nodded slowly.

“That matches up to the information we have gathered from beastkin coming to this continent through the dungeon. My main problem is that the College is investing everything into rebuilding at the moment and what you are asking for isn’t cheap,” the Dean said.

“For one adventurer? I highly doubt that,” I said calmly.

“A Tier 4 sword’s cost is measured in platinum. And you would want the best. So realistically you are looking at 100 platinum. As for the case you want. Blocking all Mana and divination skills if a lot of Mana is stored inside, you are looking at 1,000 platinum,” he calmly said.

“What?! That much? Are you making the case of pure platinum alloys?” I asked.

“It would need to be to properly contain a large source of Mana. Without knowing exactly what it is meant to contain. Professors and Legends would have to make and test the case with rare skills to confirm it blocks everything. Their time is valuable. Blocking all Mana isn’t simple,” the Dean explained.

“Which should match the price of a demon written book and the secrets contained within. You will easily recoup a large portion of those costs from the sale of that information. And the costs you talk about in terms of paying Professors and Legends will flow back into the College itself,” I countered. We both sipped our tea in silence as the Dean considered what I had just said.

“The question is if the knowledge truly is that valuable even if it is written by a demon. While demonic poetry might be interesting, it isn’t something that has that much value,” the Dean countered.

“It describes demonic culture and how demons come to be,” I replied. Even with his levels and skills, I could see the Dean hesitate for a fraction of a second at that while sipping his tea.

“And you won’t say what you want the sword case for?” he asked me and I shook my head. “Very well. The demonic book for the sword case you requested. The rest of your books and information can go through our standard acquisition process. A Professor will evaluate the knowledge and books, with stuff that we don’t know or have being paid for at the standard rates. If you can pay off your debt and purchase a sword, that will be up to you. As for access to our restricted sales list, that will also be granted,” the Dean said.

I mentally sighed. It was unfortunate that I wasn’t going to get 100 platinum or anywhere close to that with the rest of the books and information in my possession. I wasn’t selling anything about the dungeon feature regarding the tomb of the Seraphim or the gnomes or their skills.

“I also have a record of someone who survived a dungeon transition.” While I didn’t have the original, I had a copy of what that gnome had written down. “I couldn’t bring the original, but I do have an accurate copy.”

“You scoundrel. If you weren’t a top graduate from this College I would toss you off this tower,” the Dean said with a frustrated smile. “That is something that is on the restricted list, but is known.”

“What?! Really?” I complained and the Dean nodded. “Liquid Mana?” I asked.

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“With a reddish tint. Yes. Confirmation is always nice, but the information isn’t as valuable as you might think,” he explained.

“Why restrict that information?” I asked.

“Legends, Assistant Deans, and certain Professors in good standing can purchase and access such information freely. Like several other bits of information we have tucked away over the centuries. It allows us to confirm the truthfulness of certain accounts and knowing doesn’t help. We have artificially reproduced liquid Mana, and the sheer density can overwhelm and disintegrate almost anything. We need a stronger foundation before that information is of any use,” the Dean explained.

I let out a sigh of frustration. “And here I thought it was something incredibly valuable,” I replied.

“Don’t underestimate the informational gathering prowess of this institution or thousands of years of accumulated knowledge. While the College only officially formed in the last millennium, our roots go back much further with precursor institutions all the way back to the Low Vostner civilization,” the Dean explained.

“Well, I guess you will want to take a look first,” I said and reached into my spatial pouch. I then put the demonic book on the table.

“How crude. Made from beastkin flesh and blood. The demon who created this certainly had a flair for theatrics,” the Dean said as he picked it up. I was silent as he quickly flipped through the pages while I sipped my tea.

After ten minutes he put the demonic book back down off to one side and used Clean on his hands. “It seems our pet program will have to release some research warning about the dangers of soul fruits being deadly for monsters,” he said.

“You didn’t know this?” I asked and he shook his head.

“Only an idiot would give a soul fruit to a monster. No matter how useful one might be, such a use could only be considered a massive waste. As for their culture, some Professors will be delighted or disappointed as their theories are confirmed or disproven,” he replied.

“Do you know anything about the Demonic Hunter Tier 3 skill?” I asked and the Dean nodded.

“That is part of the restricted lore the College maintains. More tea?” he asked and I nodded. The Dean refilled my cup and his own as well.

“Which also deals with the Seraphim, Great Ocean Empire, and why the Eldarin Empire went to the beastkin continent?” I asked.

“It seems you already know some key questions to ask. It all goes back to the Age of Myth before the Low Vostner civilization. There was a Great War, between the Seraphim who reside up in the sky and the dungeon. As for the exact reason, some claim there was a Great Evil, others say they wanted to defeat the dungeon itself. Unfortunately, confirmation one way or the other has been lacking,” he explained and I nodded.

“The Great War never ended, just transitioned between hot and cold after the first major initial conflict. That is where humans formed the Low Vostner civilization as the first adventurers came to be and developed their own runic language. It is also the first record of the dungeon and the System. There are only a handful of records dating before this, and none of them reference either the dungeon or the System. Records might have been lost, they might not have been recorded, or they might not have existed. Another question we don’t have the answer to,” the Dean explained while I sipped my tea.

“The Low Vostner civilization took on the low title since they really pioneered the dungeon, using everything they could to advance. As for the other races, they had tried to survive the Great War, their origins lost to time as with humans, and conflicts began over resources, specifically farmland.” I knew some of this, but the Dean was painting a complete picture.

“The Dark Library and its organization the Dark Cabal came into being during this time. Their supposed goal beyond terrorism was to continue the Great War. I can’t say how well they are doing. The Low Vostner civilization decided to look higher up and attack the Seraphim. For what reason, power, knowledge, hubris, another question that has no current answer.” Now I knew how the Low Vostner civilization was wiped out.

“They were wiped out of course. The Seraphim are insanely powerful. Each of them beyond the power of a Supreme Legend. After that defeat, certain agreements were made as I was recently reminded. Nothing shall fly above the height of the highest bird. While I would have liked to set the College down more gracefully, it was coming down regardless. The High Vostner civilization rose up from their ashes.” That was the agreement Xanatos had referenced long ago.

“The Eldarin Empire formed due to how the High Vostner civilization was run.” He gave me a look expecting me to answer this.

“It was a focus on power. Conflicts often spiraled out of control, leading to widespread damage and famines. That was what allowed the Eldarin Empire to form,” I stated.

“Exactly. The Eldarin Empire used the other races as a threat to help unify and focus the people on external threats. It worked, but it led to problems regarding slavery and oppression over time. The reason for its initial success was also the reason it failed long term. The elves and dwarves weren’t wiped out completely, because the Eldarin Empire needed a local threat to keep the population in line, but the massive army also wanted to keep expanding,” the Dean said.

“The beastkin continent, that was where the army went?” I asked.

“That and the Great Ocean Empire. Not much is known about the Great Ocean Empire, but anything below the water, is their domain. There used to be regular raids and attacks, but the Eldarin Empire pushed them back and achieved peace.” So not all bad, good job dad.

“Unfortunately, the beastkin continent turned into a disaster. A great teleportation portal was constructed after a team traveled through the dungeon to the other continent. The Great War never ended over there, with the beastkin fighting countless monsters. Not demons, but monsters that were remnants of the Great War. Into that mess, the Eldarin Empire barged in.” The Dean shook his head.

“It was a disaster. Making a bad situation even worse. Rituals were used in large numbers and the entire continent was plunged into disaster. The poor weather became even worse and various passages into the dungeon were heavily damaged. The portal that had been set up, was destroyed. The Eldarin Empire had moved their more belligerent forces to the continent. Once they were wiped out and the portal destroyed, they were erased from most historical accounts. The Eldarin Empire was in decline at the time and didn’t want to pay out death benefits, so they used excuses like rebellion and desertion. This is one reason leading to their collapse, one among many. Which leads us to today,” the Dean explained.

“Why keep all that a secret?” I asked.

“Otherwise, people would look towards rituals for war potential. That was one good thing the Eldarin Empire did. Crack down heavily on certain skills, rituals being a large part of that and also dark healing. While they used soul mages, those soul mages were part of the Eldarin Empire. Rogue mages with questionable skills were mostly wiped out, with their last legacies withering away over the last thousand years. Only the Dark Cabal, our restricted section, and the Five Star Institute of Healing have legacies from such dark origins.”