< The Inheritance (3) >
As Horus stepped inside the gates of the “Golden Treasury,” the first thing that greeted him was a long hallway.
Glowing stones were embedded everywhere along the walls and ceiling, and aside from the white marble-covered floor, every other surface was decorated in brilliant gold.
‘No, this isn’t just gold; they’ve really covered everything in pure gold!’
Curiosity got the better of him, and as he touched the wall, he slowly nodded his head.
Now that he saw it, he understood why this place was called the “Golden Treasury.”
It was an honest and straightforward name, without any embellishment.
‘Even if it’s a Gold Dragon, do they have to flaunt it this much…?’
Horus sighed softly at the typical and bland decor.
Even for a Gold Dragon, this was over the top with gold all around…
‘…But this might actually be pretty nice?’
For some reason, he started to feel quite satisfied.
The light reflecting off the glowing stones gave the metal a beautiful shimmer.
Rather than monotonously covering everything in gold, intricate designs were engraved on the surface, scattering the light in ways that danced before his eyes.
How could he not be amazed by such a stunning sight…
“Ha! I shouldn’t be getting distracted!”
SMACK!
Suddenly snapped back to reality, Horus clapped both hands to his cheeks.
He indeed realized.
This place was a 100% reflection of the Gold Dragons’ tastes!
‘Phew, let’s hurry up.’
Shaking off the instinctual temptations, he dashed down the hallway.
Like a child passing through a toy store, he kept peeking around eagerly.
‘In fact, if you think about it, gold isn’t that valuable compared to other treasures.’
Although Auterica operated on the gold standard, meaning the value of gold was generally high, it wasn’t quite enough for a being of his stature.
This world had all sorts of jewels, magical metals, and magical stones.
“…Hehe, so all of this is mine now?”
The fact that he could feel such satisfaction from just gold was impressive!
Perhaps that was the reason gold dragons had the image of being milder and less greedy compared to other clans?
‘That’s a theory with a high probability. But what matters now isn’t that.’
With his cravings fully satisfied, the moment came when Horus finally reached the cave at the end of the hallway.
Sure, he could have arrived faster using magic, but as it was his first visit, he intended to take his time and enjoy the sights.
…Of course, there was a bit of selfish desire mixed in there, too.
“Wow—.”
The first thing he spotted was an overwhelmingly huge dragon statue made mostly of gold.
It was far larger than the Elder Dragon Shuri Hartgen he had seen just recently.
‘Is that the real size of an Ancient Dragon…?’
Even during their prime, the dragons had been few in number, and this was the ultimate in the dragon world.
It was over a hundred meters tall, and just seeing the grandeur he had only heard of before made him gasp in amazement.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but admire the former Undead Kings as well.
There must have been several ancient dragons during their time, yet that such beings could not survive in the end meant they had been overcome completely.
An overwhelming feat that could truly be called a despair of the continent.
‘Well, that’s something I can relate to now.’
As Horus’s pride swelled with that thought, his gaze drifted from the giant statue to the piles of gold and treasures at its feet, scanning the area.
Around the cave, massive doors were positioned on all sides.
This meant that this wasn’t all of the treasure but merely the lobby.
Those doors likely contained treasures classified by their own criteria.
‘That means the items here are of an ambiguous enough grade that categorizing them is tricky.’
Was this what it felt like to be an heir of a conglomerate?
He could confidently assert that there was no more beautiful sight in the world than this.
‘Then let’s get going.’
What was there to hesitate about after making it this far?
Horus moved forward without hesitation, heading toward the first area in sight.
Thus began the treasure hunt of a dream-filled young boy.
*
The “Golden Treasury” was so enormous and filled with treasures that examining them one by one was a task that would require an eternity.
So the first exploration ended up just being a rough check of what items were inside…
“Hmm, this is awkward.”
Returning to the lobby after passing through several areas, Horus grumbled in front of the last door.
The results of his first exploration—unfortunately, did not meet his initial expectations.
And rightly so, he needed items that could assist him in battle, yet among what remained, there weren’t many treasures of that sort.
‘There were plenty of intriguing items, though.’
Now that he mentioned it, Shuri Hartgen had said something similar at the beginning.
Most useful items had already been mobilized for war or were destroyed or lost, so not much remained.
Perhaps most of the treasure-grade items known in the world originated from the Dragon’s treasury.
‘After the war ended, they likely fell into near extinction and couldn’t be recovered.’
Lightly licking his lips, Horus opened the last door and stepped inside.
It was a slight disappointment for having such high expectations, but even so, the harvest he obtained was nothing to scoff at.
This enormous fortune would significantly influence merchant Hubert in dominating the continent’s economy, and the technologies and magical engineering knowledge embedded within various rare magical tools would also greatly benefit Dwarf Howard’s future creations…
“Hmm? This room is…?”
Lost in thought, Horus suddenly froze as he entered the room.
The decor in this area was quite unique compared to the others.
Unlike other regions that were lavishly adorned with gold and various precious metals, this area had an overall dark and subdued atmosphere.
To be more precise—
‘The walls, ceiling, and floor are all covered in magical materials. Magic metals mixed with catalytic compounds…’
That wasn’t all.
As he approached the wall and gently touched it, he furrowed his brow slightly.
Through that contact, he realized that some magical mechanism was placed throughout this entire area.
‘…Impressive? With this level, it might be somewhere near Hans’ work. Did an Ancient Dragon work on this?’
From what he could gauge, it was a high-tier magical barrier that was hard to fathom even for him.
It was a sealing mechanism that pressed down upon the entire area, constraining anyone not meeting specific conditions.
‘What on earth is here…?’
The reason for that question became clear the moment he stepped deeper into the area.
With an unsettling feeling came an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
A pitch-black Demon Sword rippling like it was forged from darkness.
An armor molded from lava, perfectly sculpting the shape of a demon.
A blood-red jewel pulsating like a heart, covered in dense veins.
A whip writhing alone, covered in sharp thorns.
Strange and extraordinary items that one could easily guess the origin of mingled together here.
‘Right, that explains it. I was wondering why there were no items like these.’
If they had been unilaterally defeated on the battlefield, that may be understandable, but if they could contest at all, it was only natural that there were spoils of war on this side as well.
Additionally, since such items likely couldn’t be handled recklessly, it made sense that everything claimed by the Gold Dragons was set aside here.
‘Plus, the dragons have been active for some time.’
Ever since the first Undead King surfaced over a millennium ago, there had been stirring forces trying to summon Demon Kings, not to mention demon factions plotting misdeeds everywhere.
Perhaps some of the items here were seized during those efforts to restrain such beings.
[A cursed spear that sings of the Abyss—Bajaria]
[A magical stone extracted from a Count-class demon's heart. I didn’t know the name before handling it; should I have eliminated it beforehand? -Pirateode has visited]
[Demon Sword (Solid and sharp. Wounds rot when cut.)]
[Helm of high-ranking officer Paljarim from the Second Undead Army]
Beneath each displayed item were written notes from those who brought them, each a line that seemed inconsistent and bore their personalities.
Thanks to that, it was possible to grasp the general origins of the displayed items, making it more entertaining than merely looking at them.
‘Paljarim was a Dullahan King who died under the Second Undead King. I think he was a single-digit rank, right?’
A child peeked around with an excited face amidst such a menacing aura, Horus was brimming with curiosity.
While he continued to check out the unexpectedly fascinating items, he eventually came across something that was exceptionally well-guarded.
“What’s that…?”
A pedestal marked with a magical circle faintly glowing, tightly wrapped in silver chains sanctified by a High Priest’s holy power, held a single arm, secured by sharp metal spikes.
‘…Impressive?’
As he stared at it in silence, he swallowed audibly.
Though it was only an arm, the power emanating from it was remarkable.
Just facing it made Horus, who could now boast of considerable strength, feel a sense of crisis bubbling within him.
‘If even just an arm sealed away holds this much power… it must have originally been extraordinary. What on earth is this? Shouldn’t it be at least of Demon King caliber?’
Lost in thought, his earlier sense of urgency subsided, replaced by a rapidly growing curiosity.
As he stealthily glanced around, Horus moved closer to the pedestal and quickly checked the inscription left beneath.
[The right arm of the 14th Demon King Lereye]
“…Huff, it really was a Demon King’s arm.”
His doubts had been confirmed.
As he sniffed and muttered blankly, his gaze returned to the sealed arm.
It was wrapped so tightly in bandages that he couldn’t recognize its original skin, bound and fixed with chains and spikes, remaining completely motionless in silence.
‘How long has this been here?’
Though the Undead King was treated similarly to the Demon King now, they were indeed different beings.
Ever since the birth of the first Undead King, he hadn’t heard of any Demon King appearing in the Demon Realm, so it had likely been over a millennium.
‘Wait, that reminds me…’
As he continued to gaze, a certain thought suddenly crossed his mind.
The “Item Purchase” from which he had purchased the Dragon Heart catalyst.
It was undoubtedly a name that he had seen once there.
『The Horn Containing the Essence of the 14th Demon King Lereye (4,620,000)』
Quickly checking the Karma Shop, he indeed found that product.
No wonder the name felt familiar.
‘The Horn of the Demon King. The price has dropped.’
He distinctly remembered the item being priced over 5 million when he first saw it.
Unlike that 30 million one that wasn’t even properly labeled, this was a strangely potential price, so it stuck with him.
‘The Demon Realm, and the Demon King…’
The Demon Realm could be considered a separate dimension not completely detached but attached to Auterica, similar to the spirit realm or the Abyss.
Since the uprising of the first Undead King, it had quieted down, as most dark mages who had needed to come to this world were absorbed into the forces of the Undead King’s followers.
‘Well, then I don’t need to worry too much about it.’
After a moment of contemplation, Horus shrugged his shoulders and turned his interest back to the items displayed around.
He had no particular disinterest in the Demon King’s realm, but for now, the Ganghwan Realm was a more pressing matter.
‘Let’s think about that later, later.’
Around the area where the Demon King’s arm was displayed were items related to it.
[The Essence of the 14th Demon King’s Officer, Succubus Queen]
A pair of curious eyes inspected those items one by one as he tiptoed through the area.
*
“Huh?”
Siana, who usually relieved her stress by tormenting the former Crown Prince Simon, froze unexpectedly.
Before she realized it, her master, the Undead King Hans, had appeared right before her.
Not only that but he wore a cold middle-aged face.
“Siana.”
“Ah…? Ah! Did you call for me, Your Majesty!”
Taken aback for a moment by the call, she quickly prostrated on the ground as usual.
However, her eyes, looking down, were wide open and shaking as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“I have a question for you, Siana.”
“Whatever you command, my king.”
“This face, how does it look to you?”
“What… how does it look…?”
At the unexpected question, Siana’s body shook and staggered as she knelt.
But that moment passed, and desperately trying to gather her thoughts, she quickly continued as if she hadn’t faltered.
“Oh! Truly, it’s exquisite! I would barely recognize you if I weren’t beholden to you! I sincerely apologize for not grasping your intent sooner, being so foolish!”
“Hmm.”
In response to her answer, Hans nodded with a satisfied smile.
Siana, as a Succubus, was the best at infiltration and disguise in the Undead Army.
It was no wonder that even a high priest failed to notice her despite her being a demon infiltrating among the imperial nobles!
Hearing confirmation from such an expert, Hans praised her and then left with satisfaction.
And after he vanished in the blink of an eye…
Left alone still prostrating, Siana squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead against the ground.
‘Oh no! That handsome face! It has turned into that of an ordinary man!’
She lamented the departure of one of the few joys she had in her unwanted recruitment.
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