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Chapter 223
Chapter 223
Chapter 223
“As I’ve said, when the time comes, it will show itself in front of Milord,” Mimir insisted.
Kim Jin-Woo shot back, “I won’t waste my breath. Answer my question.” Mimir said nothing, veins bulging out of his temples, but Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t interested in the sort of answer he had given. He asked more directly, “Have I seen the Eternal Treasury before?”
Mimir stayed silent and refused to answer. Before the overwhelming presence of the Highlord, he looked as if his veins might pop at any moment, but he continued to persevere. However, that too didn’t last long. Eventually, blood streaked down from his nostrils, and he finally replied with a groan, “Urgh… Yes.”
“I see,” Kim Jin-Woo said simply.
Was the Highlord trying to end the conversation now? Mimir knew that wasn’t the case, but he still held on to that glimmer of hope.
“Then, is the Black Merchants’ stronghold the Eternal Treasury?” Kim Jin-Woo asked, practically making a mockery of Mimir’s expectations. It was almost as if he had been playing around with Mimir before suddenly striking his heart.
The imp was unable to answer, his eyes widening. However, he wasn’t able to contain his bewilderment, and his eyes darted around wildly.
“So I was right,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked.
Mimir didn’t provide an answer, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t need to hear it from the imp himself. In such a situation, where he was pressuring the imp enough to prevent him from lying, failure to deny it was the same as admission.
“Mimir, the Eternal Treasure Keeper.” Kim Jin-Woo laughed coldly as he called on the bowing imp.
Mimir, unable to bear his gaze for a moment, replied with a look of resignation, “Please speak.”
Kim Jin-Woo simply said, “I wish to see my Eternal Treasury.”
***
In the end, Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t able to see the Treasury. He was still unworthy of it.
“Please reclaim all the legacies of the One-Eyed Lord. That’s the only way to unlock the Eternal Treasury,” Mimir explained.
“Legacy?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.
“You’ve inherited the Mystical Spear and the True Name, but you have yet to inherit the Lord’s Castle, so Milord is still unqualified to open the doors to the Treasury.” Mimir had been sparing with his words until then, but he seemed to have been caught up in Kim Jin-Woo’s momentum and ended up revealing everything.
“The One-Eyed Lord’s Castle, huh…” Kim Jin-Woo mused.
The power and glory of the Ancient Lords had been scattered across the divided Underworld, but their castles remained in the deepest realms of the Underworld, which meant that in order to open the Eternal Treasury, he had to go into the Deep Floors.
“Guess it’ll have to wait,” he concluded.
He was dying to find out what treasures were in the Treasury. But for now, there was no way of doing so. In order to receive the last part of the inheritance, there were many obstacles he had to overcome.
There were the Counts who were aiming for the Ancient Powers, and the Dukes after that. Only after defeating them all could Kim Jin-Woo finally reach the deepest parts of the Underworld. But right now, even dealing with the unknown Duke’s invasion on the 9th Floor was enough trouble on his hands.
“Even so, I would never have imagined that the entire Black Merchant stronghold would be the Eternal Treasury itself,” Dominique suddenly said, jolting Kim Jin-Woo out of his own thoughts. She asked, “How many treasures do you think the One-Eyed Lord possessed?”
Kim Jin-Woo had been told that the space used by the Black Merchants as the auction house had been full of treasures in the past, so he couldn’t even fathom how great the One-Eyed Lord’s glory must have been back then.
However, he was more interested in the Treasury itself than the treasures that would have filled it. He said, “No, what’s even more amazing is that the space itself doesn’t even exist in reality.”
It was no wonder that the Usurper and the greedy Nobles had left the delicious prey known as the Black Merchants alone, as their stronghold was somewhere one could not simply walk into. The Eternal Treasury, the home of the Black Merchants, was like a pocket world that couldn’t be accessed without traveling through a spatial portal.
“I don’t know what Mimir is thinking, and that worries me,” Dominique said. She was concerned that Mimir, who had still yet to fully be honest with them, still held too much power. As they didn’t even know how much Hero-Grade escort mercenaries he had in addition to their near-impenetrable stronghold, she repeatedly advised Kim Jin-Woo to be wary of him.
“Leave it for now. After all, when the time comes, everything will return to its origin,” Kim Jin-Woo said.
He hadn’t yet taken on the full legacy of the One-Eyed Lord. For the time being, there was no reason to stop Mimir from gathering intel across the Underworld under the guise of the Black Merchants. Just like the Usurper, Kim Jin-Woo hoped for Mimir to work a little harder. And if Mimir did indeed have other plans in mind, he had a solution for that as well.
Like a leaf hanging from the tip of a humble branch, the unusual looking weapon he wielded might have looked shabby at first glance, but it was a formidable weapon that was currently in his possession. The howling Mystical Spear, Gungnir, was the key to open the One-Eyed Lord’s Castle, which meant it was the only key that could open the Eternal Treasury.
“I’ll be away for a while, so take care of matters here,” Kim Jin-Woo said.
“Please take care,” Dominique replied, clasping her hands together and bowing her head.
Kim Jin-Woo struck the ground with Gungnir and said, “Portal.”
***
The portal led Kim Jin-Woo to the Black Merchants’ stronghold. Even though he was certain that there had just been a fierce battle there, he saw that the facilities were undamaged. As such, he went in search of Mimir.
“Is there something else you would like to say?” Mimir asked. Although he was no longer being actively pressured by Kim Jin-Woo, he was still very much wary of his presence, trembling as he looked nervously at the Highlord.
“Come to think of it, even if I can’t open the doors to it right now, I want to at least take a look,” Kim Jin-Woo said.
Mimir sighed and turned around, saying resignedly, “I’ll guide you.”
Kim Jin-Woo revealed a smile of satisfaction as he followed behind Mimir. He passed through the same hallway he had entered several times while participating in the auction; after walking a while longer, he saw a huge door. He gasped at the size of the door, which was several times larger than the stone gate he had seen during his meeting with the Dragon Emperor, Agryptus. He asked, “Is this it?”
Instead of answering, Mimir pressed himself against the wall and started to feel around. After some time, the door opened with an unpleasant roar, revealing a wide open space as large as the door itself.
“This is to store all the junk. The true Eternal Treasury is further inside.” Despite Mimir saying that they were random junk, the items stored on the shelves that lined all the walls were by no means insignificant at all. They were a dizzying array of precious swords, armors and shields that shone with auspicious light—items Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t seen even at the auction.
If they had been put up for auction, he was certain that these precious treasures would be snatched up by the participants. However, Mimir didn’t give any explanation for those treasures, only stating that he truly wasn’t interested in them. Instead, he urged Kim Jin-Woo, “Over here.”
Kim Jin-Woo, who had been subconsciously looking at the treasures on the shelves, reluctantly pulled himself away. After they continued walking for a while, they stopped in front of a shabby-looking door that didn’t seem to match the overall flashiness of the Treasury.
“Beyond this gate is the door to the Eternal Treasury,” Mimir explained.
“So I finally get to see it,” Kim Jin-Woo said. He walked past Mimir, but just as he was about to grab the doorknob, Mimir grabbed him by the waist with a plump hand.
“Before that, there’s one thing you have to keep in mind,” Mimir said ominously. Kim Jin-Woo turned to face him as he continued, “The inside is a completely different space from anywhere else. Even though they’re all the Eternal Treasury, the one inside here is the true one.”
“And that means?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.
“No matter what happens beyond these doors, please keep your composure and remain on guard. If there’s even a slight opening, the Eternal Treasury will attempt to devour Milord whole,” Mimir cautioned.
“Devour me?”
“Those who were blinded by greed and touched the treasures when they were undeserving ended up being prisoners, wandering through the Prison of Eternity. Please keep my words in mind.”
Kim Jin-Woo had had no intention of entering the Treasury only to look from the entrance, but the warning seemed far too excessive. However, Mimir looked much too serious for Kim Jin-Woo to ignore him, and he eventually accepted the advice, saying, “I’ll be mindful.”
“Then please be careful,” Mimir said.
Kim Jin-Woo readied himself once again and pulled on the shabby wooden door.
Creaaaak.
Darkness rushed out of the door with an unbearable noise. Kim Jin-Woo shivered as the darkness enveloped his body, and slowly made his way through the door, one step at a time.
Crash.
Whether it was Mimir who had closed the old door, or whether it had closed by itself, it slammed shut with a heavy thud. Complete darkness filled the space around him. In that world where light had disappeared from existence, the Eternal Treasury revealed itself.
“Ah…” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed softly.
A soft purple light flashed in the distance. A red light penetrated through it, and the two repeatedly entangled and unraveled like an intricate weave of threads.
It was as if a microcosm of the universe were repeatedly expanding and compressing in front of his eyes. The door leading to the Eternal Treasury was so mysterious that it was like entering another reality.
Soon, Kim Jin-Woo found himself standing in front of the swirling lights. He exclaimed, “So this is the Eternal Treasury!”
Was this how a traveler who had finally found an oasis in the middle of the desert would feel?
He already knew he couldn’t step inside the real Treasury because of Mimir’s warning, but as he stood right in front of it, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed at his inability to do so. His whole body trembled at the deep sense of loss.
The dazzling flashes of light flickered in front of Kim Jin-Woo as if to seduce him. He stared blankly at it for a moment before subconsciously finding himself stepping forward while stretching his hand out, as if to grasp the swirling rays of light.
Just as it almost seemed within his grasp, he was suddenly jolted awake.
“Those who were blinded by greed and touched the treasures when they were undeserving ended up being prisoners, wandering through the Prison of Eternity. Please keep my words in mind.”
Mimir’s warning belatedly came to his mind. He quickly stepped backward and out of the passageway.
“Kuaaaaaaa!”
Only then did he hear a blood-curdling scream echoing through space. Apparently, he had been enchanted by the light emitted by the passageway and lost his mind for a moment. The terrible temptation that could invade even the strong spirit of a Highlord gave him goosebumps. He muttered, “How are they all one and the same…”
The Eternal Treasury was screaming in anguish, perhaps because it had been unable to eat its master.
[The Power of Greed has succeeded in resisting the Temptations of Eternity.]
[You almost ended up being sucked into the Eternal Treasury and damned to wander through the eons. However, the Power of Greed is an insidious power that steals and covets everything. Unless you crave and long for an item yourself, there is no room for anything else to overwhelm that terrible obsession.]
Once he came to his senses, he found that the landscape around him had completely changed. The darkness no longer seemed still, and the light from the passageway no longer seemed mysterious. It was just dark and gloomy.
Thud.
While Kim Jin-Woo stared into the distance, the passageway grunted as if it were nauseated before throwing something up.