Chapter 130: Lances Strengths Become Apparent

Chapter 130: Lance's Strengths Become Apparent

The hands of the great hall clock had just ticked past nine-thirty. The group had returned to the castle from the cliffside and gathered in the second floor library.

Although they had conducted various magical scans, the manor revealed no secret compartments or mechanisms requiring a puzzle-solver's touch, and the Detective had already bypassed any spots that might have held clues.

However, the main chambers and the library with its vast collection of tomes could still yield some useful historical background information: for example, getting more information about this mysterious era of time, the relationship between the vampires and humanity, or records concerning the Honing Empire.

Even if such details didn't directly help them achieve the objectives of this Shadow Realm dungeon, recording them would allow the Southern Continent Shadow Realm Association to share the data with researchers and academic societies. They could then begin analyzing this significant period of history.

While Lance and Hyperion stayed together, the other challengers remained in groups of three, keeping a safe distance from one another. Lance strolled over to the window and drew back the red velvet curtains. Natural light fell upon the wood grain of the dark brown bookshelves, revealing details far more clearly than it had in the early morning gloom.

The faded gold-leaf lettering on the spines of the ancient volumes regained their luster under the illumination. As the sunlight streamed in, the air in the library became less stale, carrying a blend of ink and candle wax. It was as if one could hear the books whispering the stories they held, tales long forgotten by history.

Lance stood by the window, bathed in the sunlight streaming from behind him, and addressed the group, "Since we all agreed to gather some information while waiting for the Detective to return, let's start by looking for books about vampires."

Although there was no longer a central authority figure like the Detective, the two most trustworthy candidates left were the Geographer, a young merchant heir who seemed rather unreliable, and the Lawyer, the Detective's companion, who appeared far more composed.

Yet, it was precisely that unflappable demeanor that innately made him seem somewhat dangerous. A faint, easygoing smile was always on his face. Despite having just arrived at a castle fraught with lethal peril, he carried himself as though he was merely vacationing in a luxurious estate.

Just then, a female voice rang out from behind, "I have a suggestion: let's burn all these books."

Everyone turned and saw that the noble girl from the Krati Empire, who had barely voiced an opinion until now, was the one speaking. In this party composed of a Warrior, Mage, and Cleric, the female knight beside the noble girl simply watched her, while the young cleric, feeling everyone's gaze upon them, shrank back even more timidly.

The noble girl from the Krati Empire added with a firm tone, "Since the Detective found the answer by bypassing all the mechanics, those original mechanisms are of little use to us now. Destroying them all might even deprive the Traitors of more critical information."

The group fell silent. Upon reflection, her reasoning made perfect sense.

The lead clergy from the Northern Continent's Church of the Goddess of Fate spoke up hesitantly, seemingly more inclined to support Lance's decision, "However, it is also possible that these books contain information useful only to the challengers, especially regarding the other mission objectives. I think it would be better for us to quickly sift through the books related to the vampires."

A silence settled over.

It ultimately came down to a simple choice: to gamble or not to gamble. If they took the risk and burned the books, they might destroy the very intelligence regarding the Traitors' objective in the process.

Lance spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture, appearing indifferent to the outcome so long as the matter could be resolved amicably. "Personally, I'm quite opposed to burning books, but let's put it to a vote."

The three clergy from the Northern Continent quickly voiced their opposition to burning the books. They placed immense value on the information regarding the ancient-era vampires. Hyperion, naturally, supported Lance unconditionally, siding with him in favor of preserving the books. Only the trio from the Krati Empire advocated for burning them.

The young master from the Petras Trading Company glanced between the two factions. He had initially wanted to play the "cool guy" and burn the books, but upon reflection, he decided the prudent course of action lay with Lance and the clergy. He, too, opted to keep the books. The bodyguard siblings remained silent, effectively abstaining, as their votes would not alter the outcome regardless.

In the end, the cautious faction prevailed. No one complained about the decision. Instead, they began searching the books together, moving through the shelves in groups of five or six, keeping one another within sight at all times.

They would lower their heads to scan the pages, then look up to navigate the shelves. The sound of turning pages, accompanied by occasional hushed whispers, made time slip away rapidly.

Lance remained silent, his fingertips lightly brushing against the spines of the books as if engaging in a wordless dialogue with the knowledge contained within. He opened a book and scanned the pages one by one, his gaze focused and profound.

Hyperion stole a glance at Lance's expression. She had a feeling that, following the vote, Lance had become more certain of something. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite tell what he was planning.

***

The entire morning was spent with everyone scouring the books in the library. To prevent anyone from withholding or manipulating information, every book deemed potentially crucial had to pass through challengers from at least two different groups.

Then, as noon approached, someone, it was unclear who, opened a book, causing a simultaneous update to everyone's [Mission Objective 2: Investigate the secrets and dangers hidden within the ancient castle.]

An additional note also appeared: [Core intelligence gathered. Awaiting interpretation.]

As the group looked around, they spotted the young master from Cambella with an open ancient tome inscribed with demonic script. He looked back at everyone with a bewildered expression.

"It says here that there is a type of ancient Sealing art. By gathering the powers of the sun, moon, and stars, one can generate a potent and eternal Sealing force. Conversely, to break such a seal, one requires fresh blood infused with the powers of the moon and stars as a catalyst, and the unsealing process must be performed while avoiding the sun."

The young master flipped through the pages rapidly, reading the key details aloud with a puzzled look on his face. "It's a grimoire, but I can't decipher the specific magical runes. Does anyone here know anything about Sealing magic?"

The two bodyguards standing behind him remained silent. Clearly, they were assassins by trade and knew only a handful of spells. Of note, Sealing magic was a specialized discipline that few mages, even professionals, ever mastered.

All eyes naturally turned toward the young female mage from the Krati Empire and the clergy from the Northern Continent. They were the only two with any real hope of deciphering it.

The priest shook his head apologetically. "I am not proficient in Sealing magic."

Few clergy in this era were skilled in the art of Sealing. Moreover, in the Northern Continent, Sealing magic had a notorious reputation, all due to the heinous massacres of civilians perpetrated by Askesan, the Cardinal of Annihilation.

The young female mage leading the Krati Empire's team nodded, walked over to the young master, and took the book from him. "I know a little about it. Let me take a look."

However, after rapidly flipping through the pages all the way to the end, she simply shook her head in resignation. "Much of the content in this book is composed of demonic runes, or rather, a form of runes that predates human runes used by us nowadays."

Legend had it that early humans could not wield magic. It was only after demons imparted the knowledge of magic to them that humans gained such power. However, the excessive use of demonic runes caused humans to suffer from mutations and madness that eventually transformed them into monsters. This was a phenomenon that remained observable even in modern times.

Over the course of ages, ancient human mages gradually refined these systems, eventually giving rise to the earliest forms of human runes, which allowed humans to wield magic without paying a terrible price.

The runes found in this ancient tome, however, represented a transitional stage, existing somewhere between demonic runes and human runes. It was a form of writing that not only eluded human comprehension, but also might well be unintelligible even to the demon race itself.