An Immortal Legend: The Tale of the Sightless Wanderer

Chapter 17: Family Heirloom

Magnum arrived quarter an hour later and by that time, Wanda had already dug halfway to the bottom of the corpse pile.

“You used the serpent?” Surprised, Magnum inquired after sniffing the air.

“The likelihood of me regressing into a kid was high,” he replied. “I did not take it.”

“Anyway, what are we looking for?”

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “But before confronting me, the Queen Maverbane was snuggling underneath here.”

The Maverbanes are creatures with a strong sense of camaraderie. If one is harmed or killed, the rest will avenge them. However, the Queen Maverbane never made such move not until all of her brethren on the surface were defeated, an indication that whatever is underneath is the topmost priority over everything else including her bond with her kind.

Tentatively, there’s only one item in existence that can do that, not just exclusively to the Maverbanes but to all demonic beasts as a whole.

“So I’m assuming a dark core, maybe.”

A dark core is an item created from the concentration of Mana extracted from the dead, something which demonic beasts find to be extremely irresistible. From the death-dyed Mana to the Fenrir mass grave, the confirmation of its presence would explain everything that had been going on here.

“But a dark core can’t do this much,” Magnum wondered.

“No, it can’t,” he replied. Dark cores can accumulate then convert Mana but certainly not to this extent. “That’s why I’m digging. Now, help me out.”

With Magnum’s assistance, the remaining dig was accomplished faster and a couple of minutes later, they’ve reached the bottom.

As it turns out, it’s not really a dark core or cores just as the likelihood dictates. More surprising, it’s a gear.

“A shield?” They cited at the same time.

A shield emitting all these death-dyed Mana to be precise and probably, the item Gwyn was aiming for coming here.

When he spoke his assumption, Magnum then asked, “Then why is it still here? Why didn’t she take it?”

“Maybe she couldn’t,” was his next guess. “We’re about to find out.”

He said and reached for the shield and when his fingertips touched it, information immediately flooded into his head. At the same time, the layer of Mana that had been serving as the seal of the shield disappeared.

The shield then morphed and attached to him as a ring wrapped around his right ring finger.

“So that’s how it is,” he told Magnum at the end of the shield’s theatrics.

“What?”

“It’s a family heirloom.”

“Family heirloom? Whose family?”

“Mine.”

It belonged to his people, his family, more specifically to his Uncle Achdoes.

“This is Bandersnatch,” he declared, introducing the shield’s name. “My Uncle Achdoes used to tell me stories of wielding it in the past.”

Countless of eons ago, his kind was originally an army created by the Omni-King as his direct enforcers until the start of the Age of Liberation, the start in which his creations were granted freewill. At the dawn of that age, they were decommissioned and then sent to the realm of Mal to live their lives retired from the battlefield.

His Uncle Achdoes was the Captain of the Shielders Unit and like several of the army’s members when they were retired, they also retired their armours and weapons, scattering them all over the Tree as inheritances for later generations of cultivators worthy of wielding them. However, they’d also placed an instant claim to these weapons if the claimant is a former army member or are their descendant which is what Wanda is.

Wanda sighed. The revelation of the shield’s identity had also wholly pieced together what truly transpired here a couple of years ago.

Gwyn, very likely collecting items and weapons dense with Death Mana, arrived here after tracking the shield only for it to deny her. Thus, while she conditions herself to meet the shield’s standard or until she finds an alternative to pull it out, she buried it underneath the pile of the Fenrirs she might have hunted previously and then released the Maverbanes, creatures that are both attracted to Fenrir corpses and Death Mana to establish a security system. The mine aboveground was an added bonus. By revealing it, the worst and the most powerful in Authon will have the entrance restricted, adding another layer of security.

Given the number of corpses parallel to the deployed Maverbanes and then the spells applied to keep everyone in and delay the decay, it’s an estimate to last for five years.

The option of waiting her out is out. It’s barely halfway through so the likelihood of her returning anytime soon is nil.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here.”

“Hey, did we even find anything that might help?” Magnum inquired as he flew upward.

“As a matter of fact, we did. We now know what she’s looking for.”

They also have something that she might want.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Returning to Eluard, within his secret chamber, a week had already passed since his return from Authon and since then, Lugiel had been in meditation.

“Yah!”

*Bang!

In his Soul Realm, Magnum is smashing down one obstruction after another.

Thanks to the recent improvements in the Tower, it allows him to increase the production of spirit strengthening pills intended for his personal use, tripling the usual amount he secures.

As a result, during the span of the week of his uninterrupted cultivation, the sixth and the seventh peaks had long been bested while the next journey to the eight had already reached the 16% mark.

Finally, after consuming all of the reserved pills, he opened his eyes at the break of dawn just as he reached the 25%. Given the obvious decline in progress, the spirit strengthening pills are starting to become insufficient in assisting Magnum.

Still, the progress is substantial enough to place him among the most formidable of the Grimland youngsters and even among the experienced warriors. Strength he will need if he wants to further assist his main body.

From then, a month had passed and so far, the progresses in both Witch hunts were gradual but steady. There’s still no sighting from the Hounds but her track remains clear. Meanwhile, after marketing Bandersnatch in the black market – of course he has no intention of selling it – there had been some potential candidates closing in.

It’s second nature to Wanderers to be overly cautious. Thus, if Gwyn is among those shadowy candidates, she’ll gather as much assurance first before revealing herself.

“Young Master?”

At the moment, one of his servants informed him of a messenger from the main House, the House of Leoric, from his Grandfather.

“Head of House Talene, you’re being summoned by the Clan Master,” he relayed after paying his respect. “As soon as possible, preferably today.”

Lugiel nodded, “Then I’ll accompany you back.”

“Thank you, Young Master.”

The messenger saluted again and bringing two of his aides, they joined him in his return to the main House where he is entertained by his Grandfather right away.

“Clan Master,” he saluted.

“Have a seat,” he said and gestured him to occupy the prepared seat across his table. Once he was seated, he immediately delivered the reason for summoning him, “I’ll go straight to point, for the mission in Treval, Athena and Merek were already chosen and we want you to fill in as the final member.”