Chapter 19
Because the knight was heading to where the Exarch stood.
In his crisp white uniform with gold epaulettes, he had been seemingly receiving a report from the official beside him when he looked up at the knight’s words.
Baeksan let out a small “eek” and pulled her robe down.
Fortunately, it didn’t look too strange since all the mages were wearing robes.
Nevertheless, the Exarch’s gaze fell upon her.
“…”
He stared intently in Baeksan’s direction with an odd expression before resuming his conversation with his aide.
‘Pretend not to notice, pretend not to notice….’
Thankfully, the senior mage greeted the Exarch as their representative, and Baeksan, hidden behind them, didn’t need to say anything.
After the greetings, the knight guided the mages.
“This way.”
He led them to the basement of the brick house.
The low-ceilinged basement with its musty smell was filled with large boxes.
“These are Magdala Magik’s hidden assets. They’re all presumed to be magical items, so we haven’t touched them…”
The knight’s voice trailed off as he pointed in a particular direction.
There sat something like a small cylindrical glass bottle.
‘Wow.’
Baeksan couldn’t help but exclaim when she saw it.
Inside the glass bottle, something like a snow crystal floated in midair. Sparkling with a pale blue light, it was as beautiful as a jewel.
‘Looks incredibly expensive, is that why they hid it?’
However, the next moment, Baeksan was left speechless when she read the description.
[Ohara’s Lost Item]
An item lost by the Fairy Queen Ohara when she departed for the Land of Dreams.
Explodes releasing powerful cold energy when specific conditions are met.
A magical weapon of war that led to the devastating defeat of Shirvinsha at the Battle of Lagoon Plains in ancient times.
‘…A weapon of war? This?’
This was perplexing. It looked like nothing more than a beautiful snowflake-shaped jewel.
Just then, Baeksan was startled and looked around.
All the mages were now staring at her.
One lowered their voice and quietly asked.
“Um… what should we do?”
“Pardon?”
Baeksan responded, slightly flustered.
Technically, they were her seniors. There was no reason to defer to her judgment.
However, the mages eagerly spoke up.
“Word has spread among the third floor mages about how you appraised King Tigris Colossus’s sacred jewel.”
“That’s right. We can’t sense any magical power, but you seem to be a more skilled mage than us…”
“Just looking at that, it seems quite difficult. I could probably only decode about 20% even if I took it back to the lab.”
The mages said this and then stared intently at Baeksan again. Their eyes sparkled.
Can you appraise it? Do it! Show us!
…That’s what their eyes seemed to say.
Baeksan’s lips quivered in confusion.
‘If I say no here, I’ll only draw suspicious looks.’
Finally, she reluctantly nodded.
“I’ll do the appraisal, but please tell the Grand Duke’s residence someone else did it. I don’t really like drawing attention.”
“Understood.”
It was fortunate that mages were eccentric. They didn’t find such a request strange.
Baeksan approached the nearest box.
Looking closely, inside was something like an obelisk with what appeared to be a living eyeball embedded in it.
[Pipe’s Symphony]
An obelisk created by Pipe, the curse-caster who shook the continent.
Grants powerful strength when broken, but takes the user’s lifespan as payment.
“This is the ‘Symphony’ made by the curse-caster Pipe…”
“…! So it’s from Pipe’s Musical Series!”
What’s that now?
“Yes, it seems so.”
Though she didn’t know what it was, she pretended to understand.
“As long as it’s not broken, it should be fine. If broken, it grants powerful strength…”
As Baeksan spoke, another mage took notes.
Another mage quietly asked.
“But how does this curse formula work? It seems quite difficult to interpret…”
Baeksan glanced at the obelisk.
“Should I explain? Starting from the outermost layer…”
“W-wait! I need to write this down!”
“Me too! Please wait!”
The mages hurriedly pulled out notebooks from their sleeves and began scribbling with quill pens.
Baeksan had to stand in the middle like a missionary spreading gospel, reciting the curse formula.
The Grand Duke’s people standing at a distance watched, wondering what was going on.
“What are those Sophs people doing?”
“Don’t know… preaching?”
“…”
At this point, her original goal of not drawing attention had probably already failed.
The mages steadfastly continued appraising the magical items, asking Baeksan questions along the way.
When about half the appraisals were complete, the eldest mage spoke.
“Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any dangerous items. I’ll go report to His Grace first.”
He said this and went upstairs.
Soon after, knights came down to the basement to carry the boxes.
The basement became crowded, but Baeksan continued her appraisals undisturbed.
“How can she appraise them at a glance…?”
“Please take me as your disciple, Master…”
The mages’ quiet exclamations were a bonus.
Before she knew it, they reached the last item.
“This is…”
Baeksan’s steps stopped in front of ‘Ohara’s Lost Item.’
The beautiful crystal emitting a wavering light and faint chill.
But she could sense it would be dangerous to touch.
“It’s a magical weapon of war from ancient times.”
“…!”
The mage taking notes widened their eyes.
“I-is that really true? From ancient times?”
“Yes. It’s genuine, and seems to activate under specific conditions.”
Baeksan paused there.
‘Come to think of it, what are the conditions?’
Given that it had been quiet until now, the conditions probably weren’t easy to meet…
“We should check the conditions first to be safe…”
Just as she was about to say “let me look,” it happened.
The text in the floating information window suddenly changed.
[Ohara’s Lost Item]
‘Conditions’ have been met. Explosion in 5 seconds.
“…?”
[Conditions]
30 or more humans must be concentrated within a 100-foot radius.
“…!”
At that moment, only Baeksan’s face turned deathly pale. Her head whipped around involuntarily.
The mages looked confused, and behind them, the knights were carrying boxes, completely unaware.
At one end of the basement, the Exarch was coming down the stairs with a mage.
‘With those two, exactly 30 people!’
Baeksan’s face contorted.
Immediately, a light so bright it was hard to keep one’s eyes open burst from the crystal, followed by system windows.
[You have entered a dangerous area.]
[Adjusting difficulty level.]
[Warning! If you don’t leave this area…]
Baeksan instantly pushed aside the mage next to her and stepped forward. It was an instinctive action.
‘If it explodes, everyone will die!’
She reflexively tried to embrace the crystal.
‘Hnngh.’
Just as her breath caught from the cold that felt like a knife twisting in her organs,
Baeksan squeezed her eyes shut at the flash of light that felt like needles stabbing her eyes.
KWAAAANG!
At the same time, an enormous explosion rang out right in front of her.
And something hot and solid gently embraced her.
‘Cold.’
Baeksan breathed shallowly and reflexively burrowed into that embrace.
How long had they stayed like that?
“Minervina.”
“…”
“Mine.”
“…?”
At the gentle voice calling her name and the soft pressure of hands on her shoulders, Baeksan slightly opened her eyes.
She blinked several times, unable to comprehend the situation, then looked up.
The Exarch was looking down at her with a worried expression.
“Are you alright?”
“…”
Baeksan stared blankly at his face. Then she moved her gaze to look behind the Exarch.
The crystal lay shattered on the floor, with the Exarch’s sword thrust into the center of the debris.
Gently, an information window appeared.
[Sanguis-Echion]
The legendary sword used by the emperor who began the ‘Era of Joy.’ Led to the Ridim Exarch by the goddess’s blessing.
If it could be broken, it would be of great help to bring about ruin….
Baeksan asked in a daze.
