How the Shadow of the Marquis Lives

Episode 20

“Go and take your pick. As long as the rating is right, it doesn’t matter.”

After confirming the right to pay, the security guard stepped aside.

Xian and Ergé entered Vigo side by side.

The first thing you see upon entering is the orderly arrangement of large and small glass cases.

It was not the image of a treasure chest piled high with gold coins, as one might imagine. It would be more appropriate to say that it looks like a warehouse where rich people collect their collections.

And in front of each case, a description of the equipment being stored was written.

“Sian, Sian. Look over there.”

“?”

Ergé poked Xian on the shoulder and pointed somewhere.

Xian looked at the direction she pointed.

There was a door that looked like the entrance to this place, no, much more severe than that.

“I guess that’s where C-class or higher are stored.”

“I guess so.”

Unlike the entrance, this door did not open. Because it is not yet an area permitted to them.

Without permission, it would never open, even if Hellfire fell.

Even so.

‘… … .’

Only the high-density mana leaking from that door could not be hidden.

A terrifying energy. Just standing outside here makes your hair stand on end.

Of course, it wouldn’t be because of the C grade.

It’s probably because of the S-class, ancient relics that Everwhale keeps.

Its identity was not known, but it was widely known that it had one of the highest-ranking relics in Everwhale.

“let’s go. It is still too early for us.”

“Is that right?”

Sian turned around without hesitation.

Erze licked his lips and chased after Xian.

Wouldn’t it be a life reversal if I could only have one thing in there? A look that makes you think.

But it was a bunch. Being ranked 300, she was in a position where she had to worry about not being expelled rather than thinking about going inside.

“I’m going to the weapon side, you?”

“I want to look at something other than weapons.”

The two split in two.

Xian moved to the area where weapons were gathered, and Erze moved to the area where armor was mainly gathered.

What she thought she lacked was not a weapon.

‘No, if you say it’s lacking, it’s actually lacking in everything… … .’

Yo meant that what was urgent right away was not a weapon.

What she needs now is something to complement her abilities.

‘The black line is effective, but the weakness is too obvious.’

An ability she acquired while awakening her mana when she was young.

It is a wonderful ability that allows you to see the black line, and when you step on that line, you cannot be seen or heard by the opponent.

However, although excellent, it had obvious penalties.

The penalty of being powerless outside the line.

‘After all, my style is to hide and attack.’

It makes no sense to develop another style now. The only thing you have to push is that one thing.

In order to do that, he had to make up for the shortcoming that his stealth ability dropped sharply outside the line.

For that, she found an artifact.

“oh.”

And what I eventually found.

D-class artifact, Kelhazard’s Cloak.

It was a cloak with a hood, and a silencer was hung inside to prevent sound from leaking out, and runes for body temperature control and fatigue recovery were engraved so that it could withstand a long life in rough terrain.

The latter ones are a bit of a bonus, and the important thing is that the sound doesn’t leak out.

“This is it!”

Without hesitation, she opened the safe and took out the cloak.

Looking around at it over her uniform, she gave a small admiration.

At first glance, I thought it was just a dull black cloak, but it wasn’t like that when I looked at it.

The color was a dark ink light without a spot, and the soft touch was 100 points out of 100.

She looked at herself through the glass case on one side.

He wore a cloak and put a hood on his head.

To be honest, it looked like a specimen of a suspicious guy, but she didn’t realize it because she was overjoyed.

“hehehehe.”

For some reason, just putting this on made me feel more confident. I feel like I’ve gotten stronger.

when she is so ecstatic.

“Hmm.”

Xian was carefully examining each and every artifact in the form of a sword.

Choosing a sword to use for the time being.

His judging criteria were extremely difficult.

‘This sword is too long. The item effect looks good, but it doesn’t work. It’s because it’s more important that it fits in my hand than the effect. This one has an effect that doesn’t go well with my swordsmanship, so I can’t do it, and this one… … .’

There is a saying that an excellent craftsman does not choose a tool.

They say that they make the best swords with the same tools.

At first glance, this sounds correct, but the reality is a bit different.

In reality, the skillful and proud artisans were more picky about their tools.

There was no way the artisans who did not compromise on the result brought any tools and used them.

‘This looks pretty good…’ … .’

It was the same with Xi’an.

Even more so, it was choosing the most important thing for him, the sword.

Something you just can’t choose.

‘No, not this either. next.’

However, it was inevitable that the choice would be slowed down because of that.

Even so, he went through the weapons one by one without losing his concentration at all.

In front of each case, the type and effect of the magic engraved on the artifact were written in detail, which helped a lot in judgment.

I ended up skipping it all though.

In the meantime.

‘yes! Ugh!’

Ravi nestled in his wrist suddenly woke up.

He usually sleeps half the day, which was surprising.

‘Ravi?’

‘Ugh! Ugh!’

I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but I could get an idea of how he was feeling.

Ravi was in high spirits right now.

‘Did you find anything good?’

There could be no other reason for the excitement in the Armory.

Xian asked, thinking that there must be an artifact that caught Ravi’s senses.

As expected, Ravi guided him to one place.

‘yes!’

‘This… … .’

The thing there was, ＜Empty Spirit Sword＞.

Xian read the description written on the display.

First of all, the appearance is just a normal-looking sword, and the efficacy is… … .

―Give the gift of a ‘spirit-only space’ for the lovely spirits!

―The spirit likes a place where you can crouch down and hide. It is said that it originated from the habit of establishing oneself among the many spirits that exist in the world. It is essential to prepare a place where the spirit can feel stable!

―The spirit sometimes rubs against hard objects or touches contractors. In addition to the role of claiming that it is one’s own domain, it also serves to relieve stress through the action itself.

―The Spirit… … .

As Xian read it quietly, his eyes became dizzy.

Unable to read it all the way through, he rubbed his forehead.

‘What kind of cat house is this… … .’

It was absurd. What artifact description is this?

It must have been an explanation written by some kind of Elementalist, but are all Elementalists like this?

Certainly, it seems that there were a lot of mischievous kids among the half-fairy students I saw in Instructor Jung’s class… … .

‘yes! Ung- Ung-ung!’

Ravi begged, not paying attention to Xian’s disapproval.

Say this. There is only this. Couldn’t get anything better than this.

‘Ugh!’

‘what? Will you cry if I don’t buy it for you?’

weird.

Among all the words Ravi has ever heard, has there been one that has such a clear meaning?

Unlike until now, when I felt only a vague feeling, I felt a strong will in the words I just said.

I could see how much he wanted this.

But, that is that and this is this.

Now, it was a place where he was choosing a weapon for himself, not for Ravi.

‘not… … .’

Of course, Xian’s eyes, which were about to refuse with a single knife, suddenly turned to the bottom of the case.

It was a part that explained the function of the sword, which was completely different from the promotional text above.

“like… … .”

As he read it, Xi’an’s eyes gradually lit up.

―The spirit-infused sword is assimilated with the spirit.

―As the Spirit grows, the energy of the sword also grows.

―The sword assimilated with the spirit can change into a spiritual body, and can be stored in the spirit imprint.

After reading it, it wasn’t too bad. For a D-class, this is great.

It didn’t end there.

―The sword that has become a spiritual body can be fine-tuned to suit the user’s taste.

Xian’s eyes, which had been stroking his chin, began to shine brightly.

Is it possible to fine-tune it to suit the user’s taste?

Doesn’t that mean that it is my own sword that no artisan in the world can make?

Even adjustments according to one’s own training status, physical condition, or height or weight change are all possible.

Looking at the word ‘fine’, it seems impossible to lengthen the blade to the level of a long weapon or, conversely, to shorten it like a dagger, but it didn’t matter.

What he wanted was not a weapon that could change freely, but a single masterpiece that fit him perfectly.

click.

“yes!”

As soon as he took out his sword, Ravi came out of Xian’s wrist.

The boy looked up at him with bright eyes.

Nodding his head, Ravi happily jumped into the sword.

The gray sword, which was originally ordinary, began to gradually become colored as Ravi got into it.

From the handle to the end of the blade.

in black color.

[The Black Spirit is delighted with the new ability.]

[ Sword Spirit (劍靈) – Black Sword (黑劍) ]

Something like Ravi’s thought that he had gained a new ability passed through his head.

Sword Command.

This is probably what turns the sword into a spiritual body.

Xian tried it right away.

‘Ugh.’

The sword possessed by Ravi became a completely obscure spiritual body, just like Ravi.

And it started getting sucked into the imprint on his wrist.

A scene as if his hand was swallowing a sword.

Seeing the sword disappear without a trace in the blink of an eye, he smiled contentedly.

‘Was the Subspace Artifact Class A?’

A grade that can only be obtained by bringing gold like a mountain.

I heard that even that would end with storing three or four swords or a set of armor.

In the meantime, it was nice that the sword itself had a storage function.

‘I got a decent sword.’

In addition, it is possible to grow, and there is also a function to adjust the sword itself to fit myself.

In terms of performance alone, he deserves a grade C or higher.

The reason why this sword is registered as D-class is probably because of the restriction that it can only be used by Elemental Weavers.

“Did you pick them all?”

“yes.”

I showed the empty spirit sword that I had taken out beforehand to the guard guarding the entrance.

Ravi had also taken it out beforehand, so it was the original gray sword shape.

The guards were surprised by the fact that Xian, who was clearly a human, had chosen an item for use by spirits, but he did not bother to intervene.

The confirmation work was over without any special happenings, and Xian climbed the stairs to receive lessons.

smoothly… … .

On the way up, Ravi entered again and the sword that became a spiritual body was stored in my wrist as if it were being sucked into it.

“Ah, Xian! Did you pick them all?”

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

“huh. I was thinking of going to the classroom with you.”

When I went up, Erze was waiting for me.

Together with her, Xian headed to the main building where the lecture room was located.

In the meantime.

“hmm?”

“… … .”

I ran into two people who seemed to be from the same Vigo.

Ran Asla and Yuseol.

It was a strange combination of the previous 2nd place and the current 2nd place.