Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran felt he had still underestimated the Crepuscule Clan's Treasure Vault, even after giving it a fair assessment of being several times bigger than the Dragon Clan and the Ogen Clan after entering the room. It was because he only assessed the vault's size based on his peripheral view.

Upon entering, however, he got a better view and confirmed that the vault was also enhanced with a space array, allowing it to have several floors inside without it showing outside.

Seeing the several floors above them, Kyran's brow twitched inwardly. He only intended to visit the vault and look at the items that would be useful for Alchemy and Array for a few hours, but looking at the floors, he would need at least a few weeks to look at everything.

Kyran felt the urge to examine the array formation around the vault and see if any formulas would detect him if he teleported back in at a later time. But even as the urge came to him, he felt foolish because such a formula was necessary in a treasure vault no matter how big they were.

Reynard smiled in satisfaction because of Kyran's seemingly speechless expression. Unfortunately for him, he mistook the latter's chagrin as being awed at the sight before him. In a sense, Reynard was not far off with his assessment. The only difference was that Kyran's awed state leaned more toward being exasperation.

"You may feel overwhelmed at the sight before you, but fear not," Reynard started as he escorted Kyran inside. He pointed at the floating golden slips around the vault and explained, "Do you see those slips? Those indicate what kind of treasures are placed in that area."

He smiled wryly before looking back at Kyran, "But I am sure you are familiar with such a method. After all, if a clan has such a large vault, organizing them by category is normal."

Kyran remained silent, and by doing so, Reynard misunderstood this as a silent agreement.

The Dragon Clan and the Ogen Clan did have something similar. However, since their vaults were smaller than the Crepuscule Clan, their treasures were only organized into a few categories. Kyran could even count on his hand the number of categories the Dragon Clan and the Ogen Clan had in their vaults.

The Crepuscule Clan had more than a hundred. Kyran guessed that in addition to categorizing their treasures by type, they also included sub-categories to organize them further.

In any case, this piece of information was helpful to Kyran. If that were the case, he would only focus on the treasures used for Alchemy and Array.

Just as this thought crossed Kyran's mind, Reynard offered the idea himself.

"As an alchemist, I am sure you are interested in seeing our clan's alchemy treasures," Reynard said with a meaningful look. "Our alchemy treasures occupied several floors, to be honest. It also has sub-categories, such as tools, produce, teachings, prescriptions, materials, and so on..."

"Then, can you show me the materials you have in store?" Kyran cut Reynard midway through his explanation.

Reynard's face lit up as if he had received enlightenment, and he replied enthusiastically, "Of course! Please follow me this way."

The two ventured deep into the vault, with Reynard pointing at some of the treasures they passed by and explaining what they were.

Kyran was not interested in those treasures, but he listened nonetheless. He might find those treasures unimportant at the moment, but their use could provide insights into what magic items he could craft. Moreover, if he ended up on the Crespuscule's wrong side and fought them, at least he was aware of some of the treasures at their disposal.

After walking for a while, and they had not arrived at their location yet, Reynard could not help but smile bitterly while saying, "I do apologize that we do not have any teleportation array inside the vault..."

He paused awkwardly before continuing, "That is not precisely correct. We do have a teleportation array installed around the vault for easy access, but Lady Estrid is the only one who can activate it. She can grant us temporary access, but..."

"I'm fine with walking, don't worry about it," Kyran cut Reynard midsentence of his excuse and added, "You've been patient enough at explaining some of the treasures we come across. That is enough to entertain me."

"Then, I thank you for your understanding."

"..."

Kyran did not reply. However, he could not help but feel a little uneasy at Reynard's cordial behavior. He had an inkling earlier, but now he was convinced that the latter was misunderstanding his identity. While it was helpful to the current situation, Kyran felt uneasy about what might happen if he messed up and the truth was revealed.

The two continued on their way, with Reynard pointing out treasures along the way and explaining their origin and what they do.

Kyran knew that the treasures Reynard exposed were those he knew would not harm their clan if known. Reynard would also throw in some essential treasures now and then but only briefly explain them. Kyran did not mind this, and he pretended not to notice this and continued listening with feigned diligence.

After another half an hour, they finally arrived at the first of several floors, where all Alchemy-related treasures were placed.

"We still have a few floors to traverse, but all alchemy teachings are stored here. Would you like to have a look around?"

"I'm fine."

Reynard smiled and nodded in understanding, "Very well. Then let us go up to the next floor."

The next floor was filled with prescription scrolls and some produce. Kyran was tempted to take a look but stopped himself since he did not have the leisure to look at them. Knowing himself, if he so much as opened one scroll, he would definitely end up immersed in reading them and would continue until he was satisfied.

Considering this, Kyran reined in his curiosity and reminded himself of his goal.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The following two floors were also filled with alchemy produce, sub-categorized into three categories: potions, pills, and others.

Kyran was curious about the alchemy produced under the sub-category others because it was rare. He knew that, like array, alchemy could also be integrated into crafting. However, the effects of both items infused with array or alchemy differed.

One good example is the transmission scrolls that the Regis Clan invented; rather than using array formulas, they used alchemy.

However, transmission spells were basically array-based magic. For this reason, they were mainly written using array ink mixed with the materials needed for transmission arrays.

The Regis Clan created a scroll that applied alchemy but had a similar effect as a transmission array. Such creation was innovative even for an alchemy-related item and could provide great insight to alchemists— or, at least, Anette said so.

Not that Kyran disagreed because he believed so, too.

In the end, Kyran's curiosity won over him, but he told Reynard they could check them later.

The floors that followed the alchemy produce were tools.

Most tools there ranged from high-tier to saint-tier cauldrons used for potion and pill concoction. Some of the high-tier cauldrons looked dilapidated, but they emitted an aura that suggested they had produced high-grade and saint-grade potions and pills.

Like the alchemy produce category, the tools occupied several floors. It goes without saying that cauldrons were not the only tools used in alchemy. There were even hand trowels, magic gloves, magic watering cans, magic pots, and more. They were mainly used in planting and caring for herbs or plants, but nonetheless, they were part of alchemy.

As they arrived on the last floor for the alchemy tools, Kyran stopped short as he sensed a familiar magic energy and could not help but turn to the aisle where he felt it.

Sensing Kyran's reaction, Reynard smiled knowingly and remarked, "As expected. You have an excellent alchemist intuition."

Kyran looked at Reynard with furrowed brows and asked, "The magic energy just now..."

"It came from a treasure our clan has little information about but is still regarded as one of the great ones we have," Reynard replied, and even without Kyran's urging, he led the latter toward the aisle where the magic energy could be felt.

Kyran tried to control his expression, but the closer they approached the treasure containing the magic energy came from, the more it distorted. No one could really blame him. After all, the magic energy the treasure emitted was the Void.

Reaching the origin of the magic energy, Kyran found himself before a mangled dark purple cauldron. Its size was small, but knowing Void's nature, he knew it could grow.

"Lady Estrid got this relic from the Solis Clan," Reynard explained. "As a matter of fact, the Solis Clan initially commissioned our clan to learn what this relic was. You know that our clan is famous for its alchemy, so asking us to investigate a relic that was obviously related to alchemy is reasonable.

Continue your saga on empire

"Unfortunately, even our clan head, Lady Estrid, failed to discover anything apart from it originating from before The Realm."

"Before The Realm?"

Reynard nodded with a bitter smile, "It is a little confusing, and even we are not quite sure what Lady Estrid meant, but yes... apparently, the design on the cauldron, its craft style was not something from the era of The Realm, nor is it after The Fall.

"We also confirmed it with other artisans, so there was nothing we could do about it," Reynard continued with a sigh. "In the end, The Emperor himself decided to gift Lady Estrid this relic for her efforts, saying: 'It would be great if you could use it.'"

"...But she failed."

Reynard's brow twitched slightly at Kyran's remark. He knew the latter did not mean to demean Lady Estrid. However, it still left a bitter taste in him.

"Lady Estrid said: 'I cannot use something that will not accept me.' From then on, she allowed anyone who sensed the relic's energy to have a try in using it. Thus far, there had only been two instances apart from Lady Estrid, and in both instances, the alchemists failed to make the relic react."

"What happens if the relic reacts?"

"Well..." Reynard smiled wryly. "Lady Estrid said she will gift the relic to that alchemist."

"..."

With a meaningful smile, Reynard looked at Kyran sideways, "Would you like to give it a try, sir Null?"