I felt the Grand Duke’s gaze following me, but I ignored it.
Ahead of me stretched an endless corridor.
On both sides of the corridor, relics were preserved inside glass cases.
But I couldn’t become the owner of those relics.
As the Grand Duke said, my power was truly at a miserable level.
What I was aiming for was something else.
The ancient spirit that the female protagonist obtained here in the original story.
That was my target.
Unlike the natural spirits, ancient spirits were spirits created when the powerful lingering wish of a great figure who left behind great achievements settled into an object that the figure used during their lifetime.
At the same time, they possessed power as strong as that of natural spirits.
I recalled the contents of the original story.
[Aila walked endlessly down the corridor that continued without end.
Countless relics tempted her, but she brushed them aside.
Aila walked and walked in the direction that her power pointed.
Her spirit affinity was telling her.
That there was something special here that suited her.]
Thinking of the female protagonist Aila, I walked toward the end of the corridor.
I also looked at the relics on display.
The relics existed in various forms.
There were weapons and armor, staffs, books, statues, various accessories, and even clothing.
I recalled the contents of the original story once more.
[At last, Aila arrived at a special place.
It was in front of a door with a white snake carving engraved in the middle of the wall.
She removed the blue gem that the white snake was holding in its mouth.
Then a new door appeared and swallowed her.]
As I walked while recalling the contents of the original story, I really was able to find a door engraved with a white snake carving.
Without hesitation, I removed the blue gem that the white snake was holding in its mouth.
Then the floor suddenly sank, swallowing me downward.
“Ouch.”
After sliding down for quite a while, I landed on the floor with a thump on my backside.
Rubbing my butt, I got up and looked around, then flinched in surprise.
Because in one corner of the wall there was a skeleton wearing clothes.
I knew who that skeleton was.
I read about him in the novel.
He was my ancestor.
His name was Heros.
Like me, he was a direct descendant who was treated as a useless thing because he had no spirit power.
But he didn’t give up despite the stigma of being the family’s disgrace, and he found a way to obtain a spirit.
Right. He was the one who first discovered an ancient spirit.
The greater the achievement, the more powerful the ancient spirit became.
So in order to find the relics of powerful great figures, Heros put in a great deal of effort.
“This is it.”
I grabbed the black crystal necklace that Heros was tightly clutching in his hand.
Because he had been gripping it so tightly, I carefully removed the necklace, worried that the finger bones might break.
This necklace belonged to a great figure who lived hundreds of years ago.
A figure named Ricardo, the Shadow King.
He was closer to an infamous ruler than a great hero.
Ricardo, who was called the Shadow King, was a sorcerer of a minority tribe that served Shuka, the God of Darkness.
Because of that, his tribe was persecuted by those who served the God of Light.
The God of Light was a Goddess loved and worshipped by the entire continent.
Therefore, a tribe that worshipped darkness couldn’t help but become a target for eradication.
Many members of the tribe met their deaths at the hands of those called the Apostles of Light.
Ricardo’s family was no different.
He had to watch his parents and siblings die right before his eyes.
At the sight of that tragic scene, he desperately prayed to his God.
Shuka, who pitied the deaths of the believers who served him, heard Ricardo’s powerful wish and granted him a powerful blessing.
Thus, the powerful force that made Ricardo the Shadow King unfolded from his hands.
Raising countless shadows, he drove back those who persecuted his tribe.
The Apostles of Light used every possible means to eliminate Ricardo, but his power overwhelmed them.
Thus, he saved his tribe and became their King.
It was the birth of the Shadow King.
He didn’t forgive those who had persecuted his tribe.
Many nations were trampled by him.
Under his power, the tribe enjoyed peace.
But sadly, time didn’t spare him either.
He gradually grew older.
The Apostles of Light held their breath because of his power, but once he died, they would seize the opportunity and target his tribe again. So, he decided to pass down the blessing he had received from Shuka, the God of Darkness.
Because a blessing granted by a God could be inherited.
Ricardo tried to raise someone who could inherit the blessing.
But among the tribe, there was no one who could endure the blessing of God.
Most went mad or lost control and self-destructed.
And time didn’t wait for him forever.
In the end, until the day he closed his eyes, he couldn’t pass down God’s blessing.
After that, the shadow tribe scattered in all directions, and Ricardo’s relic disappeared from the world.
But the achievement he had accomplished and his powerful lingering wish became contained in the black crystal necklace he used to wear.
And now that necklace was in my hand.
Just like Aila did in the original story, I used a hairpin to draw blood from the tip of my index finger.
It stung a little, but if I could obtain such powerful strength, pain like this was nothing.
I let the blood gathered at the tip of my finger fall onto the black crystal.
Drip. Drip.
When the drop of blood fell onto the black crystal, it was absorbed.
Then the black crystal emitted a bright light.
[Who is it that has awakened me?]
A handsome man with black hair reaching down to his waist, red eyes like rubies embedded in them, and bright red lips looked down at me.
[Kid, was it you?]
“Yes, I was the one who woke you.”
He looked me up and down, then let out a sigh.
[To think that the one who woke me after such a long time is a little brat like this. How absurd.]
“Sorry for being a little brat.”
He stared closely into my eyes, then spoke with a glint in his eyes.
[You, the essence of your soul is different. The outside is a little brat, but what’s inside is not.]
“You are really amazing. That is right, I look like a child on the outside, but my soul is 25 years old.”
He looked at me with an interested gaze.
[Interesting.]
“Make a contract with me. If it’s me, I can fulfill your wish.”
[You say you will fulfill my wish?]
“Yes. I know the last descendant of the shadow tribe that you were searching for.”
[Did you say the last one?]
He looked greatly shocked.
Well, he probably never imagined that his tribe would be reduced to this extent.
[So it ended up like that.]
His face became troubled.
“After you died, the shadow tribe scattered in all directions. Those who scattered did not remain safe either.”
Ricardo’s expression stiffened as he understood the meaning of my words.
“I believe you can guess the reason.”
[The Apostles of Light! Those bastards ended up wiping out my tribe.]
“There is still one last descendant left. I will make him meet you. Your wish is to pass your God’s blessing to your descendant, right?”
He stared at me quietly, then turned his gaze toward Heros, who was lying dead behind me.
[Do you really think you can do what even my previous contractor failed to accomplish?]
“Of course. Try trusting me. Or will you wait here again for a long time until another contractor appears?”
I was confident.
If he didn’t make the contract here, he might have to wait countless years until another contractor appeared.
‘It’s hard to believe his last descendant would still be alive until then.’
In the original story, it was clearly stated that he was the last descendant.
If even that descendant disappeared, he would never be able to fulfill his wish.
Ricardo lifted his chin and stared at me.
[Fine. I will trust you. Hold out your right hand.]
When I held out my right hand, he kissed the back of my hand.
[I, Ricardo, the Shadow King, take you as my contractor. My power shall become that of the contractor, and according to the contract, the contractor shall fulfill my wish, Ricardo’s wish.]
“I promise.”
[The contract has been established. I look forward to working with you, kid.]
When Ricardo withdrew his hand, a crescent moon mark was engraved on the back of my hand.
[It’s the proof of the contract.]
“I look forward to working with you.”
At that moment, the necklace I was holding crumbled and shattered with a crackling sound.
