Chapter 23
Even though I had come down, I was worried about how I would go back up, but for now, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.
I quickly picked up the candle and looked around.
When I briefly checked the passage’s shape on the map, it seemed like I just needed to go straight down one direction.
But no matter where I looked, there was only eerie darkness, so I had no choice but to flail my arms and legs around.
I hoped I would find the next route quickly before the fact that I was alone in this place started to choke me.
Just as I thought that, something suddenly bumped against my foot, and I lost my balance and fell.
“Ah!”
But falling didn’t end there. Before I could get up, I started rolling a little.
I quickly reached out with the hand not holding the candle, and soon realized that the direction I was falling in was downhill.
Everything felt messed up, probably because of the darkness.
‘I can’t afford to get hurt here.’
I stood up with trembling knees and cautiously started going down the slope.
After a while, I finally came to what seemed like a wall, possibly a door.
I ran my hand over it, searching for a door handle.
“What is this… there’s no door handle?”
I began to search more urgently, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find a handle.
Wait, upon closer inspection, this wasn’t even a door.
Did I go down the wrong path?
‘When did I?’
My heart sank for a moment. Suddenly, I heard a strange voice.
[…Hm? You’re a mixed child.]
The voice came from the wall in front of me.
I jumped up in shock.
Red smoke began rising from the wall, and an eerie laugh, like the sound of a fork scraping a rusty can, filled the narrow passage.
“Mixed child? What does that mean?”
[It means what it means. You know that best, don’t you?]
I didn’t know what “mixed” meant, but if I had something special, it was definitely the fact that I was a possessor.
“How do you know who I am? Who are you?”
The red smoke that had been clamoring calmed down a little.
[I was once an ancient magic sleeping beyond this wall, and by chance, when the vessel holding me broke, I became the essence of the world.]
“Essence of the world? What does that mean?”
[Becoming the essence of the world means I’m magic that lost its master. Now, I’m returning to where I belong.]
An ancient magic that had slept beyond this wall.
It made sense. Among the treasures owned by Rohia, there must have been many valuable magical items that once belonged to powerful magicians, but over time, they were forgotten and stored in this warehouse.
‘Could this dangerous thing the spirit mentioned be this magic?’
I frowned, pondering.
At that moment, the voice said something unexpected.
[I will soon disappear and scatter. Mixed child, open this door and free me. I’ve been alone for so long.]
After the voice’s words ended, surprisingly, the wall, which had clearly been empty, turned into an old-fashioned door that looked like something from inside the mansion.
‘Is this magic showing me an illusion?’
This magic could distort perception so easily. The owner of the voice was clearly a powerful magic.
[Open the door, mixed child. I’ve been waiting for you.]
“The spirit warned me not to go to the basement. It said something dangerous was sleeping there, and I should never go.”
Instead of touching the doorknob, I took a step back.
“I’m not sure if I should open this door.”
After a brief silence, the voice suddenly burst into laughter.
[Ha ha ha… Just as the spirit said, something dangerous is sleeping somewhere in the basement, and I, having become the essence of the world, know exactly what it is.]
“What is it?”
[Mixed child, I can’t answer that. But all I can say is to open the door.]
The spirit of the mansion told me not to go, but the magic was tempting me to search for it.
I hesitated for a moment, then cautiously grabbed the doorknob.
If something truly dangerous was sleeping beyond this door, I felt I had to know what it was.
[Ah, finally.]
The magic murmured in joy.
“Don’t get too excited. There’s another door behind this one, and until I leave, you’ll have to wander through the dark passage alone.”
[Don’t worry, mixed child.]
The voice chuckled.
[Before I scatter, I just want to see your face at least once.]
I realized that the voice was slowly fading as its strength dwindled, and I hurriedly pulled the doorknob.
As the door cracked open, warm air gently flowed out and brushed against my entire body.
[And don’t forget, it’s just a poor child.]
The faint voice lingered in my ear.
I vaguely realized that this ancient magic was fading as its last strength left.
Creeeak—
I opened the door a little wider.
A chilling air surrounded me, freezing the last warmth the magic had left.
The warehouse was filled with the smell of dust.
As soon as I stepped inside, bright white light suddenly flashed from all directions.
My eyes, which had gotten used to the darkness, reflexively closed, and when I slowly opened them again, I saw gemstones glowing on the walls.
“It’s dazzling!”
Not only was the light blinding, but something around me was reflecting the light, making it sparkle.
I squinted my eyes and looked around carefully. Beautiful gemstone necklaces and bracelets were scattered everywhere, and in one corner, piles of gold coins were stacked high.
‘Wow. Just one of those…’
I thought about touching the ruby and emerald necklace but quickly pulled my hand back.
Many of the things in the warehouse were imbued with magic.
Just like the magic that spoke to me earlier, there were probably powerful magical items here, so it was safest not to touch anything.
‘Magic is alive.’
This was the law of this world.
Instead, I began to carefully open the crates piled up around me.
It was said that Raglia’s original form was a red ring.
However, after thoroughly checking all the crates, I couldn’t find anything that resembled a ring.
There were a few bracelets with different shapes and colors, but none of them looked like Raglia.
‘Did Yosef already take it?’
A sense of unease began to creep in. Maybe Yosef had been here before me.
In the original story, he came very late at dawn, but today, I suddenly felt antsy and wondered if he had gone early.
Thinking about the worst-case scenario, my lips turned pale as I desperately began digging through the pile of gold coins I had avoided touching earlier.
And just then.
[Who dares to take what’s mine?!]
A thunderous voice struck my ears.
I covered my ears with one hand and kept digging through the gold coins with the other, and soon, I encountered the owner of the harsh voice.
“It’s Raglia!”
A huge ring, covered in what seemed like red scales, appeared.
The aura of the ring was incredibly ominous and foreboding.
Of course, it made sense. Weapons like Raglia, made from the bones of dragons that once ruled the world thousands of years ago, were forged after their death to be used for killing their own kind.
It wouldn’t be strange for such a weapon to radiate energy.
[It’s mine! Give it back immediately!]
The body of Raglia began to tremble, and it started shouting loudly, shaking the world around it.
Only then did I realize why Raglia was covered in gold coins.
‘Knights like beautiful women, and dragons like glittering things.’
Apparently, the best temptation among dragons was “your scales that shine like jewels” or “your jewel-like eyes.”
[Give it back! If you don’t…!]
While the voice of Raglia, who had been deprived of the gold coins, grew louder, I smiled and continued to remove more gold coins.
“If you don’t give it back, what will you do?”
I chuckled as I continued to remove the coins.
“You can’t do anything, can you? Dragon-killing weapons are just useless scrap without a contractor.”
A dragon, who was once the most free and powerful creature, now had no power after death, and those who designed the weapons made sure they couldn’t do anything without a contract.
Unable to deny my words, Raglia trembled for a while.
I removed all the gold coins around Raglia and said,
“Make a contract with me. Then I’ll give you jewels that are so much more valuable than these gold coins.”
However, no matter what I did, I couldn’t suppress the dragon’s free will, so whether the contract would succeed completely depended on its will.
‘It’s like being selected for Masterdues 101!’
Though Raglia had no eyes, I felt like it was scanning me from head to toe.
[It doesn’t seem like you have many jewels!]
Hmm. It seems like Raglia wasn’t too impressed with me, probably because I seemed a bit vintage compared to Yosef, who had that aristocratic look.
[And you’re just a child! What do you think you’re doing to me?!]
Well, I guess there’s a difference between me and the thin Yosef, but still! I won’t tolerate discrimination based on appearance!
“So how about this?”
I quickly moved the pile of gold coins far away from Raglia.
[No! Mari! Serena!]
Wow, it looks like it even gave names to the gold coins!
