novelraw Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Feyr headed straight for the Main Castle. With the single instructor Zak had assigned to accompany him.
The 2 of them exchanged not a single word on the way to the Main Castle. They simply walked in silence.
It was an atmosphere that would have left anyone else breathless, but Feyr found it oddly comfortable. This was always how things felt whenever he set out on a mission.
'That said, this is pretty stingy.'
Not even a carriage for the trip to collect his reward.
Then again. Without an instructor, he couldn't even get into the Main Castle in the first place—so what was he expecting a carriage for?
Feyr let out a quiet sigh and followed close behind the instructor.
How long had they been walking?
Before long, a massive structure came into view in the distance.
'……We're here.'
The enormous Main Castle, built from grey stone, radiated a sense of sheer weight just by standing there, and the walls that rose steadfastly around it put him in mind of an immovable mountain.
A scale that could rival even the Imperial Palace.
This was the Main Castle that the Beilhart Family was so proud of.
'Haven't been here in a while.'
‘And I would have been perfectly happy never coming back.’
Feyr studied the castle with an impassive expression.
As the instructor approached the castle gate, a gatekeeper stepped forward and blocked their path.
"Halt."
At the gatekeeper's word, both came to a stop.
The gatekeeper looked the 2 of them over, then spoke.
"State your name and affiliation."
"Instructor of the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground, Fin Raymond."
Instructor Fin Raymond presented his identification badge.
Feyr quietly searched his memory.
'Fin, huh…….'
Unfortunately, he had no recollection of any instructor by that name.
The surname Raymond, however, was one he knew very well.
'1 of the 4 Vassal Families.'
Given Beilhart's vast influence and long history, it was only natural that it had several vassal families under its fold.
One of them was the Raymond Family.
And the Fin standing before him was a member of that very Raymond Family.
'Sooner or later, contact with them will be unavoidable.'
For that reason alone, he would need to keep growing his power. Toppling the Family through personal strength alone wasn't going to be enough.
Once the routine formalities concluded, the gatekeepers opened the castle gate and stepped aside.
"Move quickly."
"Understood."
Fin led the way, and Feyr followed close behind. The interior of the Main Castle was just as grand as he remembered.
The castle's lobby was lined with a crimson carpet. The ceiling soared high above, and rows of off-white columns stretched along either side.
In the corridors, rather than luxury goods or works of art, swords were displayed as decoration.
It was a sight that made it abundantly clear—this was the House of the Sword.
The atmosphere was utterly silent. Not for any particular reason; this place had simply always been this way.
'Stifling as ever, no matter how many times I see it.'
Feyr swept his gaze around him as he followed behind Fin.
The 2 of them passed through the Main Building and headed toward the Annex, where the treasure vaults were housed.
The Annex had been built solely for the cultivation archives and treasure vaults, and its security was far more stringent.
He had expected getting inside to be more troublesome than the previous formalities—but the moment he produced the Gold Key, entry was granted without question.
Not surprising.
After all, it was a rare occurrence for the Family to bestow a Gold Key as a reward.
"Companions are to wait outside."
At the guard's words, Fin turned to Feyr and said, "This instructor will wait outside. Go on ahead."
"Understood."
Feyr gave a small nod, then stepped into the Annex.
The interior was plain.
A long row of doors with no other structures in sight.
A simple layout driven purely by efficiency.
Feyr ignored every other door and walked straight toward the end of the corridor.
At the end, a large open space opened up.
In the center, a single guard sat in a chair, keeping watch over the entrance.
"……?"
The guard stared at Feyr with a puzzled look. He simply couldn't understand how someone who didn't appear to be of direct bloodline was standing here in the treasure vault.
Having grown weary of explaining himself every single time, Feyr simply held up the Gold Key.
"A Gold Key?!"
He barely registered the guard's stunned reaction. Without so much as acknowledging it, Feyr walked up to the Gold Vault door, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it.
Clack—
The moment the door swung open, the interior came into full view.
Everything in sight was made of gold.
True to its name, the Gold Vault shone with a dazzling golden brilliance.
'Even at a glance, the amount poured into this place must be staggering.'
Yet even before such a breathtaking sight, Feyr remained composed.
Because what was truly valuable here was not something as trivial as gold-plated walls.
Just as Feyr stood there, studying the interior of the Gold Vault—
"W-wait!"
The guard from moments ago came sprinting over and grabbed him.
Feyr looked at the flustered guard and calmly asked, "Is there a problem?"
The guard stared at him with an expression of utter disbelief.
"You're supposed to hear the explanation before going in!"
The word explanation prompted Feyr to sift through his memory.
The rules for the treasure vault: take only 1 item. Beyond that, do not damage any other treasures.
As long as those were followed, he recalled there being no issues.
'Because if you don't, you might not be able to get back out—there's a spell set on the vault.'
Of course, if someone went in without knowing any of this, problems might arise.
But since he already knew everything, there was nothing to worry about.
So Feyr looked at the guard and said with easy confidence, "I already know all of that."
With those words, Feyr shook off the guard's hand and stepped inside the vault.
The moment he entered, the entrance slammed shut with a thunderous boom.
Now completely alone, Feyr swept his eyes around him and thought, 'Let's see—at this point in time, it should be here.'
He began examining the treasures one by one in search of the item he had in mind.
The Gold Vault, true to its name, was lined with treasures of considerable value.
Among them were expensive gemstones and a number of notably famous legendary swords.
But what Feyr was looking for was not something as ordinary as those.
'It might not look as impressive as other Artifacts at first glance.'
Yet depending on how it was used, its performance could vary enormously.
And so, as he rummaged through the vault—
In a corner of the vault, he found it.
'Found it.'
A pure white silver body with a single round blue gemstone embedded in its center.
The Artifact Feyr had been searching for—the Eater of Mana. A bracelet that devoured Mana, exactly as its name implied.
'As expected of an Artifact—it looks simpler than I imagined.'
Most Artifacts took the form of accessories, but since they weren't made for ornamentation, they weren't particularly flashy on the outside.
The Eater of Mana at least had a gemstone set into it; plenty of others didn't even have that much.
'Of course, this gemstone isn't just decorative, either.'
It was there because it served a purpose.
This blue gemstone held the Eater of Mana's core function—the ability to absorb Mana.
And not only that: the Mana absorbed could be drawn out and used however the wearer wished.
'Of course, that requires a high degree of skill in handling Mana—but still.'
Either way, since his total Mana was limited at the moment, this feature would prove all the more useful.
'And on top of that, it's plain-looking enough not to draw any attention.'
With that thought, Feyr slipped the Eater of Mana onto his right wrist.
The bracelet immediately resized itself to fit his wrist perfectly.
Feyr allowed himself a satisfied smile.
He had obtained the reward he wanted. Now it was time to return to the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
Feyr gave the treasures behind him a quick look-over, then pushed the vault door open and stepped out.
The door flung open with a clatter, and the waiting guard stared at Feyr with wide eyes.
"You came out faster than I expected. But how did you know the rules?"
"My instructor told me."
"Your instructor……?"
Leaving the bewildered guard behind, Feyr moved straight toward the Annex entrance.
As Feyr emerged from the building, Fin spoke to him.
"Done with your business?"
"Yes."
Feyr gave a small bow as he answered.
"We return to the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground effective immediately."
With that, Fin turned around dryly. Before long, the 2 of them left the Annex, departed the Main Castle, and began making their way back to the Training Ground.
***
Around that same time—the Head Instructor's Office of the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
In the quiet, only the faint scratching of a pen could be heard.
It was the sound of Zak writing the trainees' evaluation reports.
After a considerable stretch of time had passed, Zak finished writing and set his pen down.
He looked over what he had written and thought to himself, 'As usual, there's no shortage of mediocrity.'
Among the lowly ones, there were several who were serviceable enough.
But those with real talent were vanishingly few.
How on earth was he supposed to develop these people?
Zak turned that thought over in his mind as he skimmed through one particular report.
'If only they were all like this one.'
The report Zak had been reading was Feyr's.
Feyr's report contained 1 element that set it apart from all the others.
It was his track record.
A record of every move he had made since arriving here.
From the very start, he had beaten down Kail—the direct bloodline heir of the Family—and during the exam, he had hunted and killed the lord of the mountain who had reigned unchallenged for 200 years.
On top of that, he had mastered both literacy and the Mana Cultivation Method in just 1 week, then forged 2 Mana Rings in a mere 2 days—a feat that left all else in the dust.
Not in all the history of the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground—no, not in the entire history of the Beilhart Family—had anyone his age accomplished such things.
'What a waste, letting that kind of talent rot in a place like this.'
The Lunar Eclipse Training Ground lagged behind the other Training Grounds in terms of education, and that was putting it generously.
How could it be otherwise?
This was a place where trainees who hadn't even been born with proper bloodlines were gathered. Unless you were someone like Kail, passing through as a temporary exception—this place existed solely to produce disposable assassins.
How could anyone not feel the waste of it?
'If this one had been born of the Family's blood…….'
An unprecedented monster might have been born within Beilhart.
That regret kept rising in Zak's mind, again and again.
And then, just as Zak was dwelling on that sense of loss over Feyr—
Something flew toward the window.
Tak—Tak—
"……?"
What had flown into the Head Instructor's Office was a carrier pigeon, a letter clamped in its beak.
Puzzled by the unexpected arrival, Zak set aside his bewilderment and opened the window.
The pigeon dropped the letter it was carrying to the floor, then beat its wings vigorously and flew away.
‘Who on earth sent this?’
Zak picked up the fallen letter.
The letter was sealed with a wax stamp.
The emblem of Beilhart, no less.
At the sight of it, Zak's eyes twitched.
There were very few people within the Family who could use that emblem as a wax seal.
The Family head, his direct heirs, or the elders—and that was the extent of it.
‘With an official seal attached—what business could possibly warrant a letter?’
Filled with that unease, Zak tore the letter open.
He began reading—and then let out a quiet snort of amusement.
'This too must be the innate fortune the boy was born with.'
Having read the letter in full, Zak summoned a dense blue Aura to his palm and burned the letter to ash.
***
The afternoon sun had begun to set.
Feyr, who had departed for the Main Castle, returned to the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
The moment he arrived, Beheli was the first to approach.
"You're back. Feyr."
"Yeah. Your big brother's back."
"No. Big brother. Same age. Both of us."
"I'm stronger than you, so I'm the big brother."
Feyr tossed out the joke and smirked. Beheli smirked too, his competitive spirit igniting.
"Just wait. I'll get stronger. Me too."
"Yeah, hurry up and get stronger."
‘Then I can actually make use of you.’
Feyr swallowed the rest of that thought and smiled.
Just then, Beheli noticed the Eater of Mana on his wrist and asked, "What is that. By the way. That."
"Oh, this? Ended up getting it somehow."
"Girly. Looks like."
‘This bastard.’
Feyr shot him a look that said exactly that, and Beheli pressed on.
"You're into. Stuff like that."
"You just don't know what this bracelet is worth."
"Don't know. You wear it. A lot."
"Even if you ask for it later, I won't give it to you."
As the 2 of them traded jokes and snickered, an instructor strode up to them with purpose.
Feyr and Beheli gave the approaching instructor a brief tilt of their heads in greeting.
But the instructor seemed utterly uninterested in pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"Number 24, the Head Instructor is calling for you."
At the word calling, Feyr scratched his head.
‘Zak's summoning me out of nowhere?’
‘What for?’
"……Understood."
"He said to come immediately upon being called, so go now."
"Yes."
‘Alright.’
‘I'll find out the reason when I get there.’