Chapter 645 - Looking For Treasures [Part 3]
(Disclaimer: Some of you had said that there seemed to be a missing chapter, and you guys are right. I am not really feeling well so I didn't notice that the "Looking for Treasures" Chapter is a 3 part series. I apologize for the mishap. I'll ask the staff to rearrange the chapters as soon as possible).
William stared at the black box with a serious expression. It reminded him of the dagger that King Noah, the King of the Hellan Kingdom, had given him for safekeeping.
Back then, his appraisal skill didn't have the ability to gain any useful information from it. It was only when he accidentally discovered the Hidden Domain, with the help of his little Wren, Aethon, did William find out its true purpose.
He had a feeling that the Black Box was different. However, since the System was currently analyzing it, they may be able to gain some clues on what items were stored inside it.
"This is a bit troublesome,' William muttered as he rubbed his chin. "What do you think we should do, Optimus? Should we take the gamble?"
William chuckled because of Optimus' way of saying "It's your call buddy."
Suddenly, William's hair turned silver and his expression became extremely serious. He had equipped his strongest Job Class, Einherjar, just in case something unexpected happened.
"Optimus…"
After getting the System's confirmation, William summoned his wooden staff and used it to poke the black box.
The box in question didn't have any reaction to his poking, so William continued to poke it just to be on the safe side. After a full minute of non stop-prodding, William decided to use the wooden staff to open the box.
However, no matter what he did, the box wouldn't budge. After consecutive attempts, a voice rang out inside the Treasure Vault which made William cease all of his actions.
"Anyone who is given an opportunity to enter the Vault of the Vanquished Warlord, may only take one treasure from inside it," the voice brimming with authority declared. "Any items that are destroyed or damaged, whether intentionally, or by accident, will automatically be registered as the item of the chosen one."
"You, who have cleared the 51st Floor, may choose one item from the vault. However, once an item is chosen, you cannot return it or swap it with other items."
A Red Genie appeared in front of William with his hands crossed over its chest. It was the caretaker of the Treasure Vault, and it was very displeased with the Half-Elf's act of prodding one of the items under his care.
"Are you planning to take that item?" the Red Genie asked with impatience. "If so, go get it and stop wasting your time, and mine."
William glanced at the displeased genie who was giving him the impatient gaze. It was at that moment when an idea came to his mind.
"Excuse me. But, who are you?" William inquired.
The Red Genie snorted as if it couldn't be bothered to answer the question of a mortal. However, it was his duty to assist those who had gained the right to pick one of the treasures in his domain.
"My name is Plutus, and I am the caretaker of the Vault of the Vanquished Warlord," Plutus answered in an arrogant manner. "Enough rubbish, Mortal. Just pick a treasure already and leave!"
The corner of William's lips twitched, he wanted to ask the Red Genie so badly if it was on its period because of how irritable it was.
William's eyes widened because he had forgotten such a simple thing. Fortunately he had a good sidekick by his side.
"I still haven't decided what to pick," William said. "However, this box caught my interest. Can you tell me what is inside it?"
The annoyed genie gave the box a side-long glance. However, its body stiffened after seeing the emblem that was placed on top of the cover of the box.
"I don't have any idea what is inside that box," Plutus' tone immediately changed and became a little more formal. It knew all the items inside the Treasure Vault and a glance was enough for it to know that the black box was not among the treasures under his safekeeping.
Since that was the case, it could only mean one thing. One of the Three Masters of Babylon had placed the box there on purpose.
"Um, you don't know?" William tilted his head in confusion. "You're the caretaker and you don't know what is inside this box? Aren't you being too sloppy with your job?"
The Red Genie wanted to slap the boy silly for his ignorant words. If it were asked any questions about the items inside the Treasure Vault, it would immediately know the answer in a heartbeat.
However, this time, it was different. How could it possibly know what is hidden inside the box that had come from one of its masters?
"Look here, Kid." Plutus was doing its best to control its temper from flaring. "You should jus–"
The Red Genie halted its words mid-way because it had received a message from one of its Big Bosses. After its short chat with its Boss ended, the genie eyed William with a mischievous glint.
"I already said that any damages on the items here will automatically register them as your own right? Since that is the case, you had already damaged that black box when you prodded it earlier," Plutus stated. "Go on and take responsibility for your actions and take it."
William glared at the Red Genie because it was clearly making things difficult for him.
"What damage are you talking about?" William asked in a challenging tone. "Just look at the box. See it's clearly undamage–"
Before William could even finish his words, a soft crack echoed inside the Treasure Vault. The lid of the box that William had prodded earlier started to have cracks in it.
Plutus looked at the Half-Elf with contempt and gave him the "What were you about to say?" glare that made William speechless.
"Go on and take it already, or do you want me to kick you out of the treasury without taking a single treasure from inside it? I will be a bit more accommodating and count to ten. If you still didn't choose an item then I'm sorry, you've lost your chance. Better luck next time."
The Red Genie didn't even wait for William's reply and started its countdown.
Given no other option, William gritted his teeth and grabbed the Black Box just before Plutus finished counting.
"Thank you for visiting the Vault of the Vanquished Warlord," Plutus sneered. "Good riddance."
The Red Genie waved his hand and William was automatically sent out of the Treasure Vault. Clearly, it didn't want to deal with the Half-Elf for another second and ended their meeting.
Plutus was not as ignorant as William. Whoever cleared the 51st Floor would be given an opportunity to gain a special reward from the Tower as its first conquerors. This was a one time thing, and only William and Chiffon would be granted this opportunity.
However, those who were able to clear the 100th Floor would once again be given the opportunity to enter the Vault of the Vanquished Warlord. This was like a bonus stage where challengers could get an extra reward for doing their best in climbing the Tower.
Of course, there were other rewards that would be given to those who had reached the 100th Floor. One of those rewards was a wish.
Regardless of what kind of wish it was, it would be granted without fail. Aside from the wish, the first to clear the tower would receive one Divine Artifact from one of the Three Masters of the Tower of Babylon.
The Black Box in William's possession was one of those Divine Artifacts. Plutus' boss didn't expect for the boy to take the path towards the Emblem of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
It just threw the Black Box to the pathway of one of the three Mythical Items inside the treasury. Since the Half-Elf had already moved in that direction, the owner of the Black Box decided to play a little dirty and ordered Plutus to cooperate with his plan.
'That kid got lucky,' Plutus thought. 'The Boss took a liking on him.'
The Red Genie turned into a red mist and disappeared.. It would wait for Chiffon to enter the vault and assist her one time, before the Treasure Vault completely disappeared from the Floor of Valhalla.