Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 148

Screech!

As Yan opened the door and stepped inside, a familiar scene unfolded before him.

Four grand chambers lay within.

Starting with a library crammed with books, to a storeroom dazzling with treasures, a pristine white laboratory, and finally, a pitch-dark darkroom.

It was just as he had seen it before.

Yan had two destinations in mind.

The treasure-laden storeroom and the dark darkroom.

He had already acquired everything there was to gain from the library and the lab.

Yan walked across the marble floor.

His first stop was the darkroom where Momon had stayed.

Of course, he had no interest in which room the creature had slept in.

But the treasures he had seen there before were of an incredible magnitude.

And they were certainly enticing enough for Yan.

Screech.

As he opened the door and entered, the pitch-black darkness receded into the distance.

Revealed within the darkroom was a coffin fit for an emperor, surrounded by mountains of gold and jewels.

Yan smirked as he passed the unnecessary coffin and gazed at the gold and jewels piled up like a mountain beside it.

“After all, there’s no dying now, so why should these be buried with me?”

Yan opened his subspace pocket and began to sweep in the abundant gold and jewels.

The thought of Momon witnessing this scene and wailing in despair brought a rather regrettable feeling to him.

Truly.

* * *

Yan, having swept the darkroom clean of its riches and treasures, moved on to the next location.

This place, unlike the darkroom, had no door to speak of.

Thus, the interior was visible even from the outside.

With anticipation kindled by the brilliant light visible from afar, Yan stepped inside.

[Exhibition Room]

Upon entering the exhibition room, Yan began to survey his surroundings.

Dazzling armaments captured his gaze.

‘At first glance, these are no ordinary weapons.’

From armors crafted of gold,

To swords so chilling they could freeze one’s spine, to bows made of flower stems, the curiosities were preserved within glass cases.

There were easily over a hundred such items, and selling them would elevate one to the ranks of the wealthy without ever needing to sell elixirs.

‘But then, I’d never receive Momon’s aid again.’

With a tinge of regret, Yan clicked his tongue and wandered through the exhibition room.

With only an hour at his disposal, there was no time to waste.

His priority was to find weapons to bestow upon the trainees soon to be appointed as knight commanders.

Yan walked down the corridor, examining the glass cases with a discerning eye.

‘Lorena shall have a frost-imbued sword, Cruel a saw-toothed blade, Roman a greatsword fit for a decisive strike, Charl a rapier, and… for Kasa, a reasonably powerful magic sword should suffice.’

No sooner had he finished his thought than weapons fitting Yan’s criteria came into view.

In front of the glass cases were the names of the weapons and brief descriptions.

[White Tears (白淚)]

A frost attribute sword taken from the Ice Witch, Debora.

Though she claimed it was forged from her own tears, it was found to be made from the icebergs of the Northern Sea and a certain metal.

The name was kept for its beauty.

[Bloodseeker]

A magic sword seized from the notorious madman, ‘Vladimir.’

A vile blade that seeks to wound by any means, it was inhabited by an evil spirit.

The spirit, being a nuisance, was extinguished.

However, the sword’s performance was deemed worthy of preservation in the exhibition room.

[Volakia]

A greatsword plundered from a giant, designed to withstand the brute force of its kind.

Despite numerous investigations to determine its material, all failed.

Yet, its strength was confirmed to rival that of diamonds.

An intriguing sword, thus kept on display.

[Lamia]

A rapier taken from a Dark Elf village chief.

True to the assassination skills of Dark Elves, the blade was enchanted with silence magic.

The enchantment on such a slender blade was fascinating enough to warrant its display.

[Windbringer]

A treasured sword presented in tribute by elves in exchange for protection of their village.

A spirit sword created by infusing the wind spirit Sylphid into the blade.

Kept as a reference for attempting to craft something similar.

Yan stroked his chin as he looked over these five swords.

“It feels almost a waste to give these to them…”

But then again, is there a sword superior to Ascalon?

The recipients had already been decided.

White Tears for Lorena.

Bloodseeker for Cruel.

Volakia for Roman.

Lamia for Charl.

Windbringer for Kasa.

Yan immediately approached White Tears and touched the glass case.

Whoosh!

-Beep, mana signature mismatch.

A mechanical warning sounded, and magical circles appeared around him.

It seemed as though vicious magic was about to engulf Yan, but he remained calm.

Yan spoke up.

“Momon, if you try to stop me, everything here might get destroyed… Is that alright?”

Though he muttered to the empty air…

-Permission granted. Disabling security measures.

As if understanding his words, the warning ceased and the magical circles lost their light.

‘He must be cursing up a storm outside.’

Yan chuckled as he swept the swords into his spatial pocket.

Then he resumed his perusal of the surroundings. With half the allotted time still remaining, there was plenty of opportunity to take more.

As he wandered, something caught Yan’s eye, and he halted in his tracks.

“…Oh.”

An exclamation of awe escaped him unwittingly.

Within the glass case he was looking at were two black daggers.

Their matte finish and a certain magical allure captivated him.

The entirely black, unique design from blade to hilt was also intriguing.

Yan’s gaze shifted to the description below.

[Unknown (不明)]

Two daggers discovered by chance, their origins completely unknown.

The material is unidentified, and while their exact abilities are elusive, their cutting power is presumed to surpass that of ordinary treasured swords.

Despite scouring various texts and legends, no name could be found, thus recorded as unknown.

As if bewitched, Yan reached out to the glass case.

Like before, the case unlocked without resistance, and Yan’s hand met the hilt of the mysterious dagger.

His eyes grew serious.

He then drew one of the daggers, inspecting it meticulously.

‘The curve suggests it’s meant to be held in reverse grip.’

When Yan gripped the black dagger in reverse, it fit his hand as if he had wielded it for ages.

He flicked the dagger towards the glass case in front of him.

And then…

Slash!

The case slid apart as if it were mere paper, cleanly bisected.

It was supposed to be impervious to the guard magic, yet a mere swipe had cut through it.

The cutting power was indeed formidable.

Seeing this, Yan’s lips curled into a smile.

“This is… quite impressive.”

There seemed to be hidden abilities as well.

Such an item wouldn’t merely boast excellent cutting power.

Yan opened his spatial pocket to place the black dagger inside.

But just then, something unbelievable happened.

Sssshk.

“…!”

The entrance to the spatial pocket was slightly, but unmistakably, sliced off.

Yan let out a hollow laugh.

Had he not grasped the hilt immediately, might the entire spatial pocket have been severed?

The thought made a cold sweat break out.

“Interesting.”

Perhaps the sheer cutting power was an ability in itself.

Yan carefully sheathed the dagger at his waist, ensuring it didn’t touch his skin, and turned away.

The allotted time was drawing to a close

* * *

Yan emerged from the entrance of the subspace, only to be greeted by Momon’s sullen expression as he sat on the bed.

“What’s with the long face?”

[Are you asking because you don’t know, or are you teasing me because you do?]

It was obvious. Of course, he knew.

Yan shrugged nonchalantly.

“After all, if things stay as they are, resurrection isn’t far off. With death so distant, why bother wrapping everything up so tightly?”

[Do you have any idea how hard it was to gather all that? It took nearly centuries!]

“Don’t worry, I’ll return it all before I die.”

Momon snorted and turned his head away.

[Even if you don’t return it, I’ll take it all back myself, so don’t bother acting generous.]

“Is that so.”

Yan picked up his spatial pocket and began to pull out the weapons he had taken from Momon’s exhibition room.

In an instant, the previously empty table was filled.

Momon, turning his head back, trembled his chin in a show of regret.

“Momon, can you put tracking or summoning magic on these?”

[Of course. What do you take me for? Enchanting such things is as easy as eating cold porridge.]

“Then do it.”

[Ha! You think I’d actually do it for you?]

“I might lose them, or they might get stolen. You plan to take them back anyway, right?”

At Yan’s words, Momon hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat and awkwardly rising to his feet.

[Well, since I’ll be taking them back later, they can’t get stolen along the way.]

With that, he spread his hands and chanted an incantation.

Magical circles that appeared in Momon’s hands turned to dust and were absorbed by the swords laid out on the table.

[Done?]

“Ah, and one more thing.”

Yan fumbled at his waist and pulled out the two black daggers he had set aside earlier.

“What are these? I brought them to use for now, but I thought you might know more.”

Momon made a strange face upon seeing them.

But soon, he shook his head in response.

[I don’t know much either. They were obtained quite by chance in the past. But can you even handle them without proper sheaths?]

“Well, I’ll have to figure that out.”

At Yan’s reply, Momon resignedly enchanted the daggers.

Then, with nothing more to say, he burrowed back into the bed.

Suddenly remembering something, Momon shouted at Yan.

[Just try to damage them! They’re all going to be returned to me later!]

“They were all stolen by you anyway.”

[…Ahem. At that time, the law of power was well established, and it was a matter of necessity…]

“Yeah, yeah, get some rest.”

Just then.

Chill!

Something caught Yan’s senses.

The aura of a formidable being, a master of the third grade.

With a stern face, Yan hurried towards the door.

Creak.

Outside the door stood Lia, her face etched with fear.

“…Why come all the way here in person?”

“I have something to say.”

There was Damian, who had promised to contact him from the training center.

Given that he had come here in person, it must be no ordinary matter.

Yan asked with a hardened expression.

“Speak.”

“You said you wanted to join the revolutionaries, right? Alright, I’ll recommend you. But…”

“But?”

Damian’s eyes darkened as he continued.

“You’ll have to come with me.”

“…Excuse me?”