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“A summoning circle,” he remarked.

Merely being a dark mage didn\'t equate to inherent malevolence. Dark and devil magic were originally created to aid humanity\'s biological evolution and strengthen mental fortitude.

“However, it’s commonly believed that anything black is bad.”

“That’s a misconception. The perception of black as something negative is merely an illusion born from mankind’s ignorance.”

Separating things based on color was complete nonsense. Everything depended on individual preferences.

Suddenly, a thought struck Davey. Illyna flinched when he glanced at her and asked, “Do you like pink?”

“H-H… Huh? H-how did you know?” Illyna stammered.

“I have my ways,” Davey murmured with a smirk.

Illyna, still processing his words, looked at Davey in shock, her face turning bright red as she exclaimed, “Daveeeeeey!”

“Let’s go,” Davey said, ignoring Illyna\'s protests as he moved forward.

***

Davey had acquired a substantial amount of information from the man he subjected to water torture.

They belonged to a clandestine organization and had infiltrated this restricted area to secure the Red Dragon Ore concealed in the deepest level of an underground warehouse. During their mission, they systematically eliminated all the knights of the Last Wisp stationed there, leveraging foreigners with unconventional powers to assault and breach the dungeons.

‘Where the hell did they get this information?’

The story about Hermesia’s treasure warehouse was widely known, yet the specific contents remained shrouded in secrecy. No documentation existed regarding these items.

Dirro located and swiftly defeated the earlier escaped dark mages within the warehouse. According to Davey\'s intel, the advance team had already progressed ahead, likely having overcome the traps.

Though the traps weren\'t exceedingly challenging, dismantling them would still require several days of effort. Despite the struggle, they remained confident they could eventually reach their desired destination unaided.

“Wow… I don’t know what to say but…”

“So grotesque.”

“Exactly. Uhm… That’s what I meant,” Illyna affirmed, nodding at Davey’s words.

Before them stood two colossal stone statues, appearing as if they had valiantly guarded something, yet their bizarre appearance defied description.

“Davey, the door\'s been breached,” Illyna observed a tiny melted hole in one side. “It took considerable mana to do this, but they managed to breach it.”

“Insane bastards,” Davey muttered, eyeing the hole and the statues alternately.

In tales, one usually had to answer riddles or questions to progress here. The creators were clever to implement such challenges, yet some might not appreciate this tactic. The Hermesia Davey knew wouldn\'t tolerate such wit used in her treasure warehouse.

[What if someone uses tricks to pass through my set-up? You can try and see how it will turn out. I’m not sure about how others hide their treasures but me? I tend to bury my seals deeply.]

“It’s over.”

“What? So suddenly…”

“I don’t need to look at it to know what happened inside. I’m sure they’re all drained, tongues hanging out of their mouths,” Davey remarked confidently.

As Davey fiddled with the bizarre stone statues, the doors slowly began to open. Illyna initially looked at him incredulously, but her expression turned to a frown as the thick odor of blood emanated from the newly revealed passageway.

Once they crossed the threshold, the strange obstruction impeding their mana dissipated. Yet, an eerie atmosphere lingered, fostering a sense of unease and vigilance.

“Goodness…”

Upon reaching the source of the intense blood odor, they found a knight clad in thick metal armor amidst countless corpses, all drained completely. The knight exuded an ominous black energy, radiating an air of extreme danger. Surrounding the knight lay bodies in white priestly robes, now drenched in blood.

Illyna, seemingly recognizing the knight\'s identity instinctively, drew Caldeiras and murmured, “Death… Knight…”

Creaaaaaak!!! Creak, creak, creak!!!

Caldeiras surged with holy power, seemingly attuned to the palpable hostility exuded by the black knight. Given the radiant aura blade enveloping the otherwise dull sword, the host of the Death Knight likely held the status of a Sword Master-level entity.

“My god. The energy he\'s emitting is suffocating.”

“Illyna, keep him occupied for a moment.”

“H-Huh?”

Baaaaang!!!

Reacting instinctively, Illyna swung her sword, intercepting the Death Knight\'s advance toward Davey. Her brow furrowed at the piercing cry that escaped the knight.

“Ugh?! This is so heavy! What do you want me to do?! Do you want me to die?!” An alarmed Illyna shouted at Davey, receiving no response amidst the Death Knight’s relentless attacks.

The knight pressed on, showing no sign of relenting.

“Kyaaack! Isn’t this a Sword Breaker?!!!”

Sword Breakers were crafted to damage opponents’ swords severely, significantly reducing their durability. Although the Death Knight\'s sword lacked a deep groove, its peculiar shape aimed to wreak havoc on other swords.

“Aaaaaaack!”

A blue aura enveloped Illyna as she unleashed Longsword’s Splitting the Mountains, pushing back the Death Knight with her previously forced-back greatsword. Lowering her stance, she dug her feet into the ground.

Crack, crack, crack!!!

The ground shattered as Illyna dashed forward, colliding with the Death Knight, leaving behind a ghostly afterimage.

“Let’s see…”

Meanwhile, Davey strolled leisurely, inspecting the enormous stone statues scattered throughout the cave.

“I\'m pretty sure it’s one of these. Which one was it again?”

Amid his attempt to recollect, Illyna’s distant screams reached Davey’s ears.

“Kyaaaack! Davey?! Isn’t this guy getting stronger?!”

“It’s not getting stronger. It tested the waters earlier; now it’s revealing its true prowess.”

“Ha, haaaa!!!”

The Death Knight was formidable, yet Illyna, equally gifted, began to evolve in her confrontation. It became a marvel to discern who the true monster was: the Death Knight gradually unleashing its power or Illyna, rapidly matching her opponent\'s might.

Davey had always recognized Illyna\'s talent, but witnessing her unprecedented growth during the prolonged battle astounded him. The effects of Davey\'s previous "massage" were evidently taking shape.

“Davey?! Are you still not done… Kyaaack!!!” Illyna, panting while evading the knight\'s strikes, seemed drained. Her attire suffered tears from the Death Knight’s sharp aura blade.

Facing a former Sword Master, even in the form of a Death Knight, was utterly overwhelming. Defeating such a foe was deemed impossible by conventional standards.

However, despite the host\'s original Sword Master caliber, a Death Knight remained a Death Knight—unless something amplified its strength.

“I see, it’s the Red Dragon’s Eye.”

The Red Dragon’s Ore, dubbed the Red Dragon’s Eye due to its resemblance to the eyes of a red dragon, was a potent item pulsating with immense power.

Davey glanced at the red jewel ensconced in the altar behind the Death Knight. As anticipated, the Red Dragon’s Eye appeared to be progressively empowering the knight, exhibiting a semblance of vitality.

“Relax your wrists,” Davey advised Illyna while casually exploring the statues. Soon, he stumbled upon an unusual inscription.

“Alright. Let’s see…” Davey murmured, swiftly perusing the text etched on the stone statue before clicking his tongue in annoyance. “Anyway, after launching…”

Having gleaned all necessary information, Davey concluded there was nothing more for him to discover in this location.

Simultaneously, Illyna, visibly drained from the relentless onslaught by the Death Knight, tightly shut her eyes.

[Devil Ylgr’s Crowd Suppression.]

[Stomping on the Little Toe.]

Davey accurately aimed his overwhelming and destructive power at the Death Knight’s little toe, crushing it into powder. Death Knights, being a type of corpse knights, typically felt no pain. However, for some strange reason, it seemed like Davey’s earlier attack had affected it.

Illyna sighed in relief when she witnessed Davey charging forward to confront and block the Death Knight.

“Why is that brute so strong?!” she exclaimed, frustrated.

Davey paid no heed to Illyna’s complaints, fixing his gaze on the Death Knight as it widened the gap between them, emanating a more potent aura blade. Recalling and combining the texts he had seen, he murmured them under his breath in the order he remembered.

“Fulfill your oath. Do everything under his name.”

The Death Knight, openly hostile toward Davey, flinched and then stiffened suddenly. Sensing the knight\'s abrupt halt, Illyna peered from behind Davey, asking, “What’s wrong with that guy?”

[The one that takes the test… Alive. Not alive…]

“May the God of Shadows cover us all.”

[…]

The Death Knight\'s red eyes flashed upon hearing Davey’s words.

[Under my name…]

“Following our philosophy. We hope to fulfill one wish.”

Davey hastened, speaking the combined sentences in the sequence he recalled. As he finished, the black energy enveloping the Death Knight gradually dissipated.

As the darkness vanished, the Death Knight knelt, bowing deeply in front of Davey.

“Did… Did it stop?”

“For now,” Davey responded calmly, walking past the kneeling knight toward the red bead sealed on the altar. However, before his hand could reach it, a spark in the air rejected his touch.

“A seal?”

“Ah, I forgot.”

[To the one that covets something that he should not covet, you will pay the price.]

Simultaneously, a very familiar yet unknown-to-Illyna voice resonated throughout the area—Assassin King Hermesia’s voice, familiar to Davey.

‘At this rate…’

[Then, let me bury you all.]

“D-Davey?!” Illyna’s frightened cry echoed through the cavern.

Trapped deep underground, the impending collapse threatened to bury them, sealing their fate. Stones and dust rained down upon them.

“I-I can’t die here!” Illyna yelled in frustration, desperately attempting to create an escape route upwards.

Meanwhile, Davey closed his eyes slightly, extending his palm toward the seal. He targeted and repeatedly struck the seal\'s weakest point in an attempt to disrupt its flow.

[Dispel]

Crack, crack, crack—

It was almost effortless; Davey broke through the barrier sealing the jewel inside.

Illyna, who had been in a panic moments ago, halted and turned to Davey. “Aren\'t you heading out?”

“No, well…” Illyna bowed, her face flushed with embarrassment.

As the seal vanished entirely, Davey reached for the gleaming bead. The Red Dragon’s Eye was a coveted item among mages, an ideal asset. However, despite its name, it wasn\'t an actual Red Dragon\'s Eye.

Dragons held a lofty position in historical texts and ancient records, often portrayed as magical overlords. Based on Davey\'s knowledge, only a lord-class dragon could possess such immense power.

The dark mages mentioned using this object for a ritual. Contemplating its overwhelming power being employed in a ritual sparked an idea in Davey’s mind.

His primary objective in this expedition was to access the artificial world, the Demon World, beyond the subterranean mountain ranges. There, the rampaging Demon Lord of Destruction awaited. If capturing the Demon Lord proved impossible, his alternative plan was to terminate the creature and claim its power source—an energy supply imperative for his ambitious project’s reactor.

‘Confucius once said in his old adage…’

“The more money and energy the better.”

‘Hmm.’

Davey\'s interest leaned more toward taking the item than sealing it. The Red Dragon\'s Eye was the target of the dark mages, and leaving it sealed here might invite their return for more mischief. Instead, Davey preferred taking it and diverting attention toward himself, considering it the perfect scenario.

“Beautiful…” Illyna gazed in awe at the glimmering red light of the Red Dragon’s Eye.

“Enough. Don’t be greedy. This is mine.”

“Who said I wanted it, huh?!” Illyna protested loudly, claiming disinterest. Yet, Davey noticed her sigh—it seemed women were inherently drawn to beautiful things.

Despite its potential and performance, the Red Dragon’s Eye emitted an exquisitely pretty light. If properly processed, no jewelry could rival its radiance.

“Finished?”

“Not yet. I haven’t given you your gift.”

Illyna’s eyes widened. “That wasn’t just talk?”

“Do you think I’m that kind of guy?”

Illyna chuckled. “Alright, what’s the gift?”

Davey tapped the walls until he paused at a certain point. “It’s around here somewhere.”

The Red Dragon’s Eye wasn’t the only treasure within this place. Alongside its power, other treasures lay dormant for ages.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!!!

After tapping the walls, a passageway emerged, stunning Illyna. At the end lay a cupboard filled with boxes.

“What are those, Davey?”

“Elixirs, probably from a thousand years ago. Take them. They\'ll double your mana, even without my assistance.”

The quantity of mana didn’t solely determine strength, but more mana often indicated relative strength compared to peers. Illyna grew increasingly surprised and flustered as Davey explained.

“Wh-What?! You’re giving me something this precious?!”

“If I’m giving gifts, they should be on this level, right?”

Illyna was nearly moved to tears. “Davey… you’re a really good guy!!!”

The elixirs here differed from those used in martial arts, offering something wholly unique.

In the world of Murim where Dokgo Jun had lived, there were items like the Shaolin Temple’s Great Rejuvenation Pills, Mount Hua’s Violent Mist Divine Pills, or the Demon Cult’s Heavenly Destroyer Divine Pills. However, even when compared to those, these were on an entirely different standard.

The Tionis Continent differed vastly from the Central Plains—it overflowed with mana, affecting the efficacy of elixirs. The difference was incomparable; elixir potency here far surpassed that in the Murim.

The elixir’s effectiveness relied on production time and storage duration. Though Davey\'s memory was flawed, he estimated these elixirs to be around a millennium old—considered incredibly potent by now.

Davey expected to find only one box of Thousand Year Pills here. Yet, as he examined the antique-looking box, he discovered more surprises.

“Unbelievable,” Davey marveled. Multiple boxes held elixirs and pills equivalent to Thousand Year Pills. Confusion clouded his thoughts—this warehouse should have contained just one box of these unique pills.

\'What are these?\'

After a moment of bafflement, Davey swiftly stowed everything into his pocket plane.

“I have no idea. Whatever the reason, it’s mine now. Finders keepers.”

Davey was one to never miss an opportunity to collect various items. If they were there, he\'d take them all!