NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1170: Vault
"This is the place. Although I don't need to say this, you must forget everything you see here after getting the items," warned the emperor.
Nathan, Evelyn, the emperor, the right guardian, and the empress were standing in front of the giant door. It was a heavily guarded place. Just by sensing the area around, they could easily find two people stronger than Nathan other than the right guardian.
So, it wouldn't be good to pick a fight in this place. There was also a chance it might be a trap, but either way, Nathan chose to go forward.
"Your Majesty." The empress came to him and raised the sword with both hands. The empress walked away earlier to bring this sword.
The emperor pulled the sword and inserted the blade into the keyhole. Once he spun it, a clicking sound echoed, followed by the grinding sound from the mechanism behind the door.
Once the gate was opened, Nathan could see a portion of the vault. The vault was completely dark, but at their level, it wouldn't be hard to see everything stored here.
The vault was huge. Nathan couldn't even see the end of the vault due to the shelf 30 meters (98 feet) away from him.
On the left side, Nathan could sense overbearing pressure from the shelves. If he squinted his eyes, he could see numerous weapons, from artifacts to cursed weapons.
In the opposite direction, gold bars and rare metal ingots were lined up neatly.
The emperor turned to the empress before nodding his head. She received the sword and politely stepped back.
"Let's go in." The emperor extended his hand.
"Yes." Nathan nodded politely.
Other than the empress, everyone entered the vault. The guardian had no choice but to follow the emperor to protect him from Evelyn and Nathan after all.
"As per the agreement, you may take two items of any type and six manuals. We have stored a lot of valuable things in this vault.
"You might not know this, but people are dying just to get manuals. High-ranking families usually have their own secret manuals, which makes people want to join them.
"The Erwih Dynasty has stood for a few hundred years. I believe our manuals can satisfy you."
The emperor guided them to the deeper section, where manuals were stored. It looked like the vault was divided into three sections.
The first one contained all kinds of items, from money to weapons. It was then separated by a wall and shelves for the second section. After all, the second section contained herbs and cores.
The herbs were known for their gentleness, so they would be ruined if they had to be stored together with the weapons, which were known for their powerful pressure.
Last but not least, the manuals. Nathan could see at least forty manuals, each manual having its own shelf.
"Hmm… Can we take a look to know what kind of manuals they are?" Nathan asked.
"You don't have to." The emperor shook his head. "Just take a look at the scroll next to the manual. The scroll gives you an introduction of what the manual is all about.
"We can't afford to have them opened up again and again, which might deteriorate the paper."
"I see." Nathan exchanged gazes with Evelyn before nodding to her. "Let's split up and check them first."
"Sure."
The emperor remained in his position, observing Nathan and Evelyn. Rather than trying to watch them so that they couldn't steal anything, he wondered what kind of manual they would choose.
Nathan took a look at the first scroll.
Natural Flow.
There are ena in the air. Our bodies might not be able to absorb them once they're out of the cores, but by learning this technique, one can become a part of nature. The user will be able to let the energy flow like water flowing in the river, gentle and unending.
'Hmm… This looks like a breathing technique. From the description alone, it can be said to be emphasizing the stability of energy flow. What about the others?'
Nathan took a look at another scroll. This time, it was the link method.
Triple Strands.
The summoning link is fragile. By practicing this technique, a summoner can make the summoning link three times sturdier and larger.
Nathan carefully read every introduction scroll. Because there weren't many scrolls, it didn't take too long for him to read everything.
The manuals were indeed varied. They offered different benefits, such as stability, versatility, or even power for the breathing techniques or strengthening link, expansion-focused technique, and even hardening link for the link technique.
Nathan and Evelyn could see that their manuals might focus on a specific thing, and they had to choose two manuals from each category.
"What do you think?" Nathan asked.
"If I'm going to pick something, it will be something like this." Evelyn picked up the first manual titled 'Diamond Link.' It was a technique that focused on hardening the summoning link, which made it even sturdier. It allowed them to mess around with the summoning link however they wanted because this technique was meant to allow the user to handle their link roughly.
Nathan thought this manual was good and stable. But he also chose one more manual titled 'Triple Strands.'
"I believe we should choose this instead. Just the name alone is enough for me. Do you know that ropes are stronger because they're made from multiple strands?" Nathan asked.
"That's… true." She remembered the strands that would come up from the rope occasionally.
Thanks to his input, Evelyn changed her decision. Of course, Evelyn also changed Nathan's decision on some manuals.
Nathan focused on a scientific approach, while Evelyn focused on her experience.
After some discussion, they finished picking up six manuals. Nathan had been wondering whether he should grab two more manuals or not. In the first place, the manuals were the most valuable since there was nothing similar to them on their continent.
On the other hand, there were a few things they needed if they wanted to defeat the Death Society.
In the end, it took them a total of two hours before they selected all their rewards.