Hall of Items II — Ambrosya

After pocketing the item, I turned around to leave. Mana Vision caught sight of an anomaly in the flow of mana around me, but I pretended to ignore it.

I walked passed the sleeping guard with silent footsteps and returned to my friends, the bushes. Once I was there, I moved a certain distance before noticing a group of de Nuantra youths making their way to the Treasure Hall.

In their hands was a wooden sword that looked unadorned and plain.

My eyes flashed. That sword was an interesting joke treasure I made.

A single strike from this sword could send people flying into the sky with little to no effort. In a certain blocky game's terms, it was enchanted with Knockback X, perhaps even more.

I was rather tempted to take such a weapon for myself. After all, even though the intent of its existence was to make a joke, it had amazing defensive properties. Anyone who would come near me could be flung into the distance or straight into a hazard.

'I can't be greedy,' I thought to myself and cut those thoughts off. I already got what was more important.

Anything more would be an unnecessary risk. If that wooden sword became the cause of my end, then my entire life would become an extension of its satiric existence.

With everything I needed, I retraced all my steps. I walked through the garden, through the long hallways of the castle, and eventually made it back to the labyrinth filled with creepy laughter.

With cold sweat dripping down my back and the gaze of a terrifying being watching my every move, I hurried through the maze's many corridors. Something was breathing down my neck and I did not have the guts to turn around.

I just ran.

Absolutely terrified of what I had created.

I only allowed myself to breathe when I returned to the orchard and stood before the concealed exit.

Before I pulled out the stone bricks, however, I closed my eyes. Showing this much was enough.

"...Spirit of the Treasure Hall, why the need for such tricks?" I muttered softly. "Illusions like these will not bring you the meals you so desire."

The world suddenly warped before my very eyes. In a split second, the anomaly of mana I had seen disappeared, and I found myself back inside the Hall of Items.

I smacked my lips. If not for the fact that I had Mana Vision active constantly, I wouldn't have realised anything at all.

The Spirit of the Treasure Hall was tricky, at least that was how I had written him.

Out of the corner of my eye, a child holding a toy train emerged from behind a pillar. I turned to face the young boy and scanned his figure.

He was just like I made him. He was draped in a single cloak of pure white as if he was wearing a bedsheet. His hair was just as white as his cloak and his skin was vampirically pale. His eyes were a deep black void that stared into my soul.

The moment he stepped out, I felt the aura of a C rank existence suddenly press down upon me. The world was weirdly isolated, and I couldn't feel the influx of mana from outside the hall.

Being within the spirit's domain was a jarring experience.

"Who are you?" The child asked me using the voices of several different people, all speaking at the same time, "You're not a part of the family, right?"

"I'm Caelum Phricius," I smiled as I replied, "You are right, June. I am indeed not a part of the family."

"What did you take? Why did you take it? Do the others know?" June asked me, slowly stepping forward, curious, yet dangerously so.

I recalled the nature of this spirit before me.

In a way, he was just like King, curious about things that he doesn't know. The only difference would be the fact that his curiosity had innocence incomparable to King.

He genuinely wanted to know, and only know. There were no underlying threats, no possible foul outcomes, and no danger in telling him what he asks for.

The only time he would kill me was if I answered with a lie.

As such, I spoke with carefree confidence.

"I took an elongated, triangular prism from the northern parts of the diorama. I took it because it is something precious to me." I then pursed my lips and acted hesitant, "Nobody else knows."

June nodded.

"Do you not want anything else? Look, that treasure over there should be more valuable. It's made out of gold and silver." He pointed at an item before gesturing to another, "This one is the wooden sword I showed you. It's very useful."

June inched forward, "Do you not want it?"

Ah, a trap. There was a certain rule that outsiders of the de Nuantra family did not know. And that was the fact that one could only take one item from the hall at a time. Any more, and June would deal with them.

As a spirit, June was bound by specific rules. Otherwise, the de Nuantras feared he would go out of control. That fact was a plus for me.

Thus I let out a chuckle, "I'm satisfied with what I have. I don't need anything more."

The young boy nodded again and backed away.

"Okay~"

I then felt the world change, warping me to someplace else. June disappeared from my vision, and the flow of mana returned to the hall. Everything truly went back to normal this time.

—Please take care of my friend, Mister Caelum.

I heard June's voice echoing in my head. I thus bowed towards a certain area of the church-like structure—where the altar would normally be. There, I found a blank whiteboard.

"I will," I whispered resolutely, "See you, June."

—See you.

I then turned around, vaguely conscious of the face that had appeared on the whiteboard behind me.

June was looking at me with a certain inexplicable expression. The smell of human flesh on his lips was faint, but it was still there.

—I'm hungry...

I shivered when I heard the spirit's mutterings in my head.