Chapter 15
Chapter 15
“…Woo-hoo.”
It truly was a scale that made the exclamation “the Empire, indeed” slip out on its own.
Swords, swords, swords.
No matter where I looked, there was nowhere that wasn’t filled with swords.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of blades packed the space, loudly asserting their existence.
The armory didn’t contain only swords.
Beyond it, in another space, there were spears, battle axes, and all sorts of bizarre-looking things whose names I couldn’t even guess.
“Hmm…….”
But what did a complete novice like me know about weapons?
I rummaged through a few eye-catching ones at random, but nothing really struck me.
“…Status window?”
Wondering if I might be able to see the items’ performance, I cautiously called out, and a translucent window floated up before my eyes.
Letting out a gasp of admiration, I began to read.
“Let’s see…….”
[The Hell Kevram]
A treasured sword that easily slices through steel as if it were a radish.
Each time it is swung, it drinks the owner’s blood.
[Nibengelrun]
A treasured sword that easily slices through steel as if it were a radish.
Each time it is swung, it gnaws away at the owner’s vitality.
“What the—, damn…….”
Most of the swords’ descriptions were similar.
They were filled with flashy claims about cutting through steel like radishes or destroying weapons, but every single one of them had some kind of defect.
“There isn’t a single normal one?”
Honestly, it was absurd.
This was all there was in the imperial palace vault?
In the greatest vault on the continent?
Growing tired midway through my search for a sword, I eventually declared defeat.
It seemed far better to just take out an appropriate sword from my own palace warehouse and use that.
Drinking blood, gnawing away vitality—
There was even a sword with the penalty of turning you bald in exchange for immense power.
…No matter what, I didn’t want to become a shiny bald head.
I’d lost far too much time to the unexpected array of bizarre weapons.
At this rate, nothing would get done, so I left the armory for now and once more stood before the stele engraved with the map.
What should I look at next?
Armor? Artifacts?
I figured I’d probably spend the most time in the artifact zone, so I wanted to leave that for last.
With that in mind, I opened the door marked with a large shield and stepped inside.
It was a bit smaller than the armory, but just like it, piles upon piles of armor and shields greeted me.
“You have to know something to find something good.”
Everything looked flashy and finely finished, clearly out of the ordinary.
Even when I opened the status window, it seemed that you only saw as much as you knew—aside from brief descriptions, there were no detailed explanations.
Clink.
I picked up a suit of armor emitting a blue sheen. It had a heavy appearance, but the surprisingly light weight tempted me.
Checking the status window, I saw information stating that it contained a large amount of mithril.
Armor made from mithril, one of the greatest metals on the continent. It definitely piqued my interest, but I set it back down, wondering if there might be something even better.
[Huh?]
Just as I turned my body to look at something else, Tyrfing’s voice suddenly echoed in my head.
She’d been silent until now, saying she needed to recover her expended power, so it felt oddly nice to hear her again. However, instead of a greeting, she gave me an instruction.
[Turn left for a moment.]
It was a command whose meaning I couldn’t grasp, but I obediently did as she said.
As I slowly turned, Tyrfing told me to stop and walk forward.
[This is…….]
“This is?”
Unlike the other armors, which were ornately decorated, it was simply sitting alone against one wall.
Its form was unusual—calling it armor felt a bit off, and it seemed more like an undergarment worn beneath other clothes.
“It’s transparent.”
When I lightly touched it, I could see my hand on the other side—it was that transparent. It was so thin that it felt like it might tear if I pulled on it.
“I’d believe you if you told me it was literally vinyl.”
[This is the combat robe once used by Fiore von Ribera, the founder of the flower of battle. Back then, I heard it was made using the scales of a transparent dragon from myth, but to think I would see it here again…….]
…What?
Tyrfing spoke in a voice filled with nostalgia, as if deeply moved, but I couldn’t share her sentiment. A far too familiar term had reached my ears.
A transparent dragon?
Could it be the one I knew?
With a doubtful expression, I called up the status window.
It was no different from the other armors’ descriptions, but the moment I read it, my head rang.
[Blessing of Invisibility]
Armor made from the scales of a transparent dragon.
Negates instant-death damage inflicted on the wearer once.
Cooldown: ???
It was incredible.
The Blessing of Invisibility.
I’d never heard of such an item, but the effect written in the status window was downright broken.
Negating instant-death damage once—this was practically the same as gaining an extra life.
‘Still, a transparent dragon…….’
The original novel of this world, ‘SSS-Rank Otherworld Absolute,’ contained vast settings filled with homages and sources from many famous works.
Reading became more fun when something familiar appeared, so we decided to include them, and I myself had even suggested a few elements.
But I’d never once seen anything about a transparent dragon.
It was such a famous work that any genre-fiction fan should have recognized it.
Discovering a hidden setting in a place like this gave me a subtly new feeling.
Setting that aside, I picked up the Blessing of Invisibility.
I took off the clothes I was wearing and put it on.
True to its appearance, it felt like thin vinyl, but it was surprisingly elastic.
The moment I wore it, the slightly loose fit shrank to match my body perfectly, and the status window announced the acquisition of a new item.
[SYSTEM: You have obtained the Myth-grade artifact ‘Blessing of Invisibility’.]
[The Myth-grade artifact ‘Blessing of Invisibility’ is not affected by the effects of the lower-grade Relic-grade artifact ‘Curse of the Veil’.]
“It doesn’t even feel like I’m wearing anything.”
There was no sensation of wearing it at all. It clung to me as if it had become one with my body.
‘And one more thing.’
I looked at the very last line of the status window—the words labeled cooldown.
“So that means it’s not a one-time item.”
As expected of a myth-grade relic.
The fact that stopping instant death didn’t end with a single use. It was strange that no specific time was displayed, but just knowing it existed was enough to satisfy me.
[Of course. The Blessing of Invisibility was the second most precious treasure among those Fiore possessed.]
As I continued to marvel, Tyrfing spoke to me in a smug voice.
“Second, you say? Then what was the first?”
[Hmph. It is I—Tyrfing, the demon sword of godslaying!]
“But you’re a relic-grade.”
[······.]
At those words, her voice that had been noisily echoing in my head cut off with a snap. Then, after a short while, she spoke again in a curt, sulky tone, almost whining.
[I-I was originally a myth-grade demon sword! The demon sword of godslaying! It only looks relic-grade because your abilities are lacking—it’s absolutely not shoddy or anything like that······!]
“Ah, yes. Is that so. Then, myth-grade relic, demon sword of godslaying Tyrfing. Would you please take a look and see if there are any other good items?”
[…Get lost.]
I’d meant it as praise in my own way, but it seemed I’d touched a nerve.
After that, I called out to Tyrfing several more times, but she remained stubbornly silent, clearly expressing her displeasure.
‘Did I go too far.’
I’d kept teasing her because her prickly reactions were amusing. Wasn’t it a different kind of cuteness from Parsi’s?
Still, seeing how she stayed silent, it seemed she wouldn’t help me anymore. If I’d coaxed her properly, I might’ve gotten some help choosing artifacts. I’d been a bit short-sighted.
“…Your Highness, an hour has passed.”
“Already?”
A knight who must have been guarding the entrance of the vault peeked his head out from the door.
When I looked startled at the mention of an hour passing, he spoke with an awkward expression.
“Normally, entry here is limited to one hour.”
“For its scale, that’s far too short. I’d like to extend it just a little.”
“By regulation, only one hour is permitted, however······.”
“His Majesty permitted my entry. He told me to choose three items, so naturally that order must be followed. I’ve only chosen one so far—are you planning to defy an imperial command over a mere regulation?”
I spoke to him with a deliberately displeased expression.
Power really was the ultimate bully.
On top of that, I was a prince notorious as a brute who was weak before the strong and strong before the weak.
Faced with my overbearing attitude, the knight fidgeted with his lips, then finally nodded with a defeated look.
“By my authority, about thirty minutes is the limit.”
“That will be sufficient. I won’t forget your loyalty.”
They were just empty words, but the knight bowed his head slightly and withdrew.
Only after confirming that his presence had completely disappeared did I finally wipe away a cold sweat and let out a sigh.
“Good thing I possessed a prince.”
If I’d been any other noble, I’d probably have been chased out with a ‘don’t talk nonsense.’ Power really was this nice.
“Let’s see······.”
Keeping the knight’s warning in mind, I quickened my pace.
As I skimmed through the status windows floating over the dazzling suits of armor, about to pass them by, something a little different from the rest caught my eye.
“A necklace?”
A simple necklace that didn’t suit the place at all lay there all by itself.
On a whim, I called up the status window, and the explanation that appeared was more than enough to pique my curiosity.
[Necklace of Achilles]
Grade? Relic
Creator? Gandarf
*An activation spell has been applied.
*When the activation phrase is spoken, the latent magic activates.
*Activation phrase? None may harm me
*???
The question marks on the very last line bothered me, but for now I decided to look at what was shown.
“None may harm me.”
Wooooong—
“Huh?!”
The moment I spoke the activation phrase written in the status window while wearing the necklace, the Necklace of Achilles began to vibrate as it emitted light.
At the same time, that light covered my body, soon forming a magnificent suit of armor that enveloped me from head to toe.
“…Woo-hoo.”
A bluish golden light lay coiled around my entire body. At the same time, new text was added to the status window.
[Armor of Achilles]
*Activation weapon
Grade? Relic
Creator? Gandarf
The great sage Gandarf recreated the armor once worn by the legendary hero Achilles of old.
Skills
Physical Defense (Inactive)
Magic Reflection (Inactive)
???
*Due to the Curse of the Veil effect, the stats of the Armor of Achilles are reduced to 30%.
It was a brief display, but there was no doubt it was an extraordinary item.
Above all, I really liked the ring to the term “activation weapon.”
“Alright, I’ll pick you as the second one.”
Wearing the Necklace of Achilles, I left the room.
The only place left was the artifact zone.
Since both the armory and the armor storage already contained artifacts, I’d wondered what could possibly be in a place explicitly labeled artifacts—but the moment I stepped inside, my eyes widened.
“These aren’t artifacts, it’s a hall of elixirs.”
Potions and elixirs densely filled shelves that spanned the entire wall.
There were no unkind explanations written anywhere, but since I had a status window, that wasn’t a problem.
Looking around a bit, most of them were the type that increased mana or physical vitality upon consumption.
In my heart, I wanted to sweep them all up and play dumb, but the emperor had firmly driven home the order to choose only three.
“Everything here must be recorded.”
The first thing that caught my eye was the legendary elixir ‘Elixir,’ said to heal any injury or any disease in an instant.
Along with the Blessing of Invisibility, it was directly tied to my life, so I wanted to take one—but that alone felt a bit lacking.
However, the extra time I’d been granted was also nearing its end. Just as I turned my body, wondering if there was anything else to look at, large boxes piled up in one corner caught my eye.
“Tributes.”
When I opened the seals stamped with the crests of various nobles, potions, medicinal herbs, and other rare items spilled out as well. But to me, they were all nothing more than pie in the sky. Smacking my lips, I was about to close it when I discovered something oddly out of place at the bottom of the box.
“…Hmm?”