A little Adventure 4, Something Unexpected

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"..."

David approached the table, but he crouched in front of the Commander first.

There was an obvious reason for that…

[Adamant Heart (Broken)(???)

Rating: 5-Stars -> ???

???

???

Gives the temporary Skill, Barrier of 100 Souls 6.5-Star, ??? …

Set Bonus -> ???

Requirements: ???

Description:

The glory of a warrior is passed down to each generation through the equipment he once wore, their souls carrying on their eternal will.

???

]

'5-Star even when it's broken? And the Skill is 6.5-Star…'

'Although everything else is grayed out, this chest piece was definitely a good item… And it's a set… Most likely with the sword in its stomach… And the rest of the armor.'

'A pair of gauntlets, shoulder pads, and boots, a helmet and a waistbelt… All of it together must be part of this set…'

Dale quickly inspected the rest, confirming his suspicion.

'Everything else is just named "Commander gauntlets", "Commander boots" and so on…'

'It seems they aren't as important as the main chest piece, but they are all of a high grade and they do have a set property, confirming that they are indeed linked to it.'

Dale did a small bow to the commander before proceeding.

[Promised Dusk (Broken)(???)

Rating: 6-Stars -> ???

???

???

Gives the temporary Skill, Declare Existence 5-Star, ??? …

Set Bonus -> ???

Requirements: ???

Description:

"Cowards, ignorants…" Is badly scratched on the back of the blade, the rest is too faded to be read.

???

]

'This sword is of an even higher grade… But it may be due to its more pristine state, although its handle is broken and its edge chipped, it's in a much better condition than the chest armor…'

Dale then stared at the strange-looking thorn stabbing through the Commander's heart…

'Lastly…'

[???]

This surprised Dale.

'Really? Nothing at all?'

'This only happened once… And it was before I inspected Caladbolg… And that sword is Legendary grade.'

Speaking of it, due to the size of the sword, Dale left it on the staircase…

'Could this also be a Legendary or similar item?'

'Hum… Perhaps not, it would be too much for it to be one.'

'And since I don't have much of an idea of the grading system, I have no idea what is the highest grade I can inspect, I only know that there is an obvious limit for this.'

'For example, the commander's armor and sword are clearly not Legendary, but they are still blocking most of their information since their quality is still very high.'

'I know that in the circumstance someone explains to me the property of an item, they'll all start appearing to me following that.'

'Perhaps there is a clue somewhere here that could reveal something…'

{Dale, focus, even if you wanted to you can't bring those with you else the old man may become upset, so get up and start investigating the table}

'What a party proper...'

Dale did not feel too bad for leaving these items behind, they were already broken, and it would surely be very hard to fix them.

Besides, it was impossible for any player to come here…

…

'There isn't much here.' Dale thought to himself as he looked at the table

There were only a few items scattered on top and around the table, they were probably knocked out during the chaos.

A stack of old papers under a heavy weight, a fallen, golden desk lamp, a black pen, and a carved dried ink bottle, probably made of stone or mineral similar to Jade.

Dale grabbed the weight, trying to see what the papers below it were all about.

The crystal itself seemed to be some sort of smooth crystal about the size of his hand…

"?!"

'This weight… What is this shit made off?'

Due to the object's size, Dale had a hard time properly grasping it, and he also had to be careful so as to not damage the papers below it…

In fact, those papers were also something else, since ordinary paper would've been long damaged by the weight of this object…

After a lot of effort, Dale successfully lifted the crystal and stored it in his inventory, letting out a sigh of relief.

And no, he couldn't store it from the start, he tried.

He felt humiliated and beaten, it took almost all of his power to lift a desk weight?...

Yet, it made him realize the power of the person who was once the Commander...

Unless this was some sort of prank...

"Hm…"

'I can't read shit.' Dale thought as he looked at the papers

'Are these letters?'

{Correct} David replied

{It's probably a conversation, this is normal as sometimes, the most secure method of communication is the old and reliable letters instead of the complex and expensive Weave}

{These types of letters would be sent together, allowing the receiver to review the entire conversation at once since sometimes, it could take a few days for even the fastest letter to make its way across the Continent}

{And people who can afford such letters would be normally very busy, so remembering a conversation perfectly is not an easy task...}

{But since we don't have much time, let me read these letters as you investigate the rest, just put me on top of them and I'll do the rest}

'Can you at least tell me who was talking with who?'

{Of course, this first letter was written to the Commander himself…}

{And the sender… Was the King, Leoseus Armiral Roy G. Phalex Edimirius Igvi...}

'Please stop...'

A rather unsurprising revelation, but one that sedimented the reality of the Corps.

That the Crown was very aware of it, but it did nothing to stop its downfall…

Since everything pointed to them actively trying to make that happen in the first place.

As David silently read the letters, Dale opened the first drawer.

In there, he saw a bunch of metallic badges, all very well preserved…

'Now that I think of it, this place is very preserved…'

Due to his doubt, Dale said:

{We can infer from watching everything around us}

{First, everything here is made of utmost quality, remember that people, especially Nobles, tend to do things with the intention of them lasting for long periods of time}

{This is because they expect their name to spread out and for them to be remembered for generations untold. So their things need to last as a testimony of their existence and achievements}

{Although I can see certain signs of decay, it is lucky this window was built like this, preventing most of the water and wind from falling inside this office even when broken, else, a lot of things would've been in a worse state}

{Although there are signs of bird poop all around, those aren't major as they don't compromise the structure of these items...}

{Just look at the edges near the window, the wood in there is thoroughly rotten}

As he said, the wood and carpet near the window are both completely rotten.

'At least everything else is in good enough condition…'

'It would've been quite the let down to come all the way here just for a bunch of broken and rotted things like in the Catacombs…'

Dale stored the badges in his inventory, and it was then he noticed a major problem…

'My inventory! It's almost full dammit!'

He had forgotten that his inventory was filled with useless crap and items.

And sure enough, these books and items would fill every inch of it on their own…

'Will I have to throw them away? Urg…'

'I'll just think about it when it actually happens...'

Dale opened the second drayer…

'A picture?...'

It was a picture of a beautiful red-haired lady holding a small, smiling girl, however, her hair wasn't red like her mother's but black…

There was a small kid behind the lady, he seemed shy but he was also smiling, his hair was as just as red as hers.

There were also other pieces of paper inside the drawer… Dale could tell what they were without thinking…

'His family… And the letters he exchanged with them…'

{Wait, show me the picture, I need to confirm something} David said suddenly

'What is there to confirm?...' Dale asked as he showed him the picture

He made sure that Testros didn't see it though…

{... Things are starting to make sense} David said as he looked at the picture

'Can you explain?'

{Yes I can, but not now… But let's just say there may have been more at play than just the Crown suppressing the Southern Corps out of fear}

'... Seems complicated.'

{Politics were never supposed to be simple}

Dale then bent down to open the last drawer.

'It's empty?'

Dale tried to remove the drayer to have a better look but he failed, it was tightly locked in place.

That in itself was weird…

{It seems you are starting to realize. This isn't just a simple table}

{Below the chair, try removing the carpet}

"..."

'This…'

Dale did just as he was asked, he had no idea how David found this out, but there it was, some sort of small key.

{Pay more attention to your surroundings, do you see the blood on the ground? It's clear that the Commander tried to hide something before his death}

{The blood is in places it shouldn't have been, if you follow those traces you'll be able to find out what he was trying to hide}

'Got it… I'm not that bad okay?...'

Feeling a bit embarrassed for having his investigative skills made fun of by a talking head, Dale started to search for the dried blood stains…

And he finally found them, below the table, several bloody finger marks…

Touching them didn't do anything, but when he tried to mirror their position…

/CLACK!/

The last drawer suddenly became loose, allowing him to pull it quite easily.

It revealed a small keyhole... And he just happened to have gotten a key.

/CLACK!/

Suddenly, one of the shelves made a loud clicking sound, and one of the books fell, revealing a hole in the wall…

"Is everything okay back there?" Testros asked

"Well… My investigations seem to be going somewhere…"

'This was rather simple.'

{I doubt a dying man would have had the time to thoroughly prepare a puzzle... Besides, if even he was dying, would anyone ever arrive at this place?}

'You do have a point, he must've aimed at protecting the items from decaying and not safekeeping them.'

'I'm already impressed his Family's photo remained intact...'

Dale made his way to the hole on the wall, and looked inside.

He saw a wooden ball and a book.

The ball had no in-game explanations, and Dale almost felt like throwing it away, but he isn't stupid, as if a useless item would be hidden in such a place.

So his compulsive gaming sense made him store the item…

Next was the book, so he extended his hand to grab it…

[DING]

[You have found the book, Records of the Mirrored Planes(Incomplete)]

[The book contains within it the fragments of a tale of untold heights…]

[Consuming the book will give you access to a new compatible Class]

[Only one path may be chosen]

[Alma Conqueror (Spear) (93%)]

[Alma Conqueror (Sword) (77%)]

[Alma Conqueror (Self) (98%)]

[Sentinel of Fallen Embers (91%)

[Fallen Crusader (36%)

[Nihilith Abyssal (9%)]

[Demonic Champion (50%)]

[Arcane Incarnate (76%)]

[Storm Caller (42%)]

"Wh…"

Dale couldn't comprehend what he was seeing…

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Notes