Putting it aside for a moment, Minos went through another book. As expected from the Nine Sword Divinity, all the books on the shelf were about sword usage. From the most basic fundamentals to the expert-level sword techniques.
Finally Minos reached the final book, which he left behind on purpose. Unlike the other books that were mostly leather, this book was made of a strange material that glimmered like a jewel.
Picking it out, he immediately noticed that the material was akin to jade, smooth to the touch and as cold as ice. As per usual, he flipped the book to the front before reading the title.
'Nine Forbidden Moves of the Sword Saint'
Minos was slightly shocked by the aggressive title, but the shock quickly evolved to horror as he read this incredibly fierce technique.
As said by the title, the technique was split into Nine Forbiddens. The First Forbidden was also called Forbidden Thought.
This forbidden is capable of directly cutting thoughts, leaving behind no physical damage at all. Supposedly if one was attacked by this technique, they would be left in a state of stupor as they were incapable of putting any thoughts together.
For any action, one must think of doing it first, whether it's a conscious or unconscious thought, but what would happen if that thought was severed before it could ever be completed?
While Minos had seen quite a lot in his short years of cultivation, it was still hard for him to believe that such a metaphysical technique existed, but since it was left behind by the Nine Sword Divinity, it must have its wonders.
The Second Forbidden was Forbidden Emotion, capable of cutting emotions. It's said that if one completely mastered this technique, they can forever sever an emotion, making it impossible for a person to feel that emotion ever again.
Minos wanted to keep reading, but the book came to an abrupt halt. Apparently, there were only two forbidden's in this book, and if he wanted the others, he would have to look elsewhere.
However Minos wasn't a greedy person, and the depth within these two moves alone was a tremendous amount to swallow.
It was clear that it would be a long, long time before Minos could ever make use of either technique. For now though, he was better off learning the 12 Basic Sword Moves.
Minos put the books away in his spatial ring before looking around the room for a little longer to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
Soon enough Minos finished inspecting most of the room, the only place left was the bed. He quickly searched the top, before kneeling down to look underneath.
Most people wouldn't be able to notice anything suspicious if they looked, but Minos's eye was incredibly sharp. He almost instantly noticed a floor board that was slightly out of place.
Dragging the bed out from the spot, he walked over to the suspicious area before hitting the floor slightly with the heel of his foot.
Just by listening, one would notice that the area underneath Minos's foot seemed hollow. He bent over before pulling a small dagger out of his spatial ring and using it to ply out the piece of wood.
The wood popped out with little struggle, revealing a small space below. The space was empty, except for a small ring, embedded with a glimmering green crystal.
Minos pulled the ring out, inspecting it curiously. The gem itself was made of a material unknown to Minos, but the value must be incalculable considering it was something left behind by the Nine Sword Divinity.
The question was why did he hide it, and so clumsily at that? It seemed just like his riddle, he wanted to leave it up to fate whether someone discovered the ring or if it was left untouched for the rest of time.
It seemed even in his final moments, the Nine Sword Divinity wasn't sure of himself. His life seemed to have been highlighted by moments of indecisiveness, which certainly did nothing to help him. It was another lesson to Minos, that he had to be affirmative in his actions.
Despite the ring being untouched for many years, it wasn't dusty at all, still glimmering as if it had just been created. Minos appreciated its beauty for a moment before attempting to put it on his finger.
The ring seemed to be enchanted with some strange power. The moment it touched Minos's finger, the ring immediately changed size to perfectly fit the finger in question.
The ring slid on with ease, as if it had been custom made for him. He couldn't help but test this strange power on all his other fingers, but just like the first time, the ring constantly changed sizes to fit whichever finger Minos chose.
After testing all his fingers, Minos was finally content. He finally left the ring on his index finger, leaving it for a moment as he felt a strange vitality flow out from the ring into his body.
He suddenly felt like he had just taken a long bath in a hot spring. His entire body's muscles relaxed, as they filled with power, wiping away the exhaustion of the journey away almost immediately.
Minos couldn't help but be shocked by the ring's amazing ability, but it also became clear why the Nine Sword Divinity left this thing behind.
Minos inspected the room once more, but this time he was certain there was nothing left. He didn't leave behind the Nine Sword Divinity's words, feeling that his small journal would play a critical role in the future.
The entire room was left empty in Minos's wake. Minos looked back into the room one more time before closing the door to the cabin gently. He couldn't help but feel that with this door shut, the Nine Sword Divinity had truly died.
The beautiful views of the underground world helped wipe away the strange sense of melancholy in his heart. Breathing in deeply, the fresh air filled his lungs, reminding him that he was still alive, and still had a story of his own to write.
Tearing off his clothes, Minos jumped into the large pond by the cabin. Diving head first, Minos was consumed by the cold water. He swam around underneath for a moment before re-emerging to breathe.
He found a smooth rock to lean on before closing his eyes and recalling his entire journey. Originally he had gone to Volcamie Island to find a hint as to where the Nine Sword Divinity's grave was.
Of course that mission quickly diverged, and ultimately things led here. He seemingly seemed to lose track completely of what his main goal was, but at the same time, he finally got what he was looking for.
After all, the final excerpt of the Nine Sword Divinity's journal left behind somewhat of a clue. 'Under tropical trees and blue skies, let the sword shaped mountain forever shade us under its brilliance.'
Had Minos not had a general idea where the Nine Sword Divinity's grave was, this clue would be essentially useless, but combining it with what he already knew, he wasn't far from the answer.
Tropical trees and blue skies made it obvious that his grave was likely on an island, since tropical trees weren't native to Alephora continent.
Naturally, there were an uncountable number of islands around the Alephora continent, but if the map at the auction house was correct, it must be one of the islands by Volcamie Island.
And finally, the most important clue was the sword shaped mountain. As long as Minos quickly inspected the islands on his map for a sword shaped mountain, he should be able to find the correct place soon enough.
After a bunch of twists and turns, Minos seemed to finally get what he was looking for. Of course Minos himself would have never imagined that such an inconsequential side quest would lead into such an amazing journey.
He enjoyed the cold water for a little longer before jumping out. Drying his body off with a Heat Talisman, he tossed his clothes back on before heading towards the small tunnel that led into the cave.
Minos looked back on more time, smiling as he burned the sight of this beautiful place into his mind. He had a feeling he'd come back in the future, but for now, it was goodbye.
The journey back was uneventful, and after making it through the tight tunnel, climbing up the inner walls of the volcano, and avoiding the large flock of firegulls that were still in the heat of mating, Minos re-entered the real world.
Climbing down the volcano, Minos soon touched solid earth again. He navigated through the thick foliage before finally reaching the beach.
His boat was waiting exactly where he left it. With a few pushes, it collapsed back into the ocean. With a strong leap, Minos landed on top, beginning his journey back to Volcamie Island.
…
With his tremendous memory, Minos had no problem with the return trip. Just as he thought the trip back would be as uneventful as the trip there, he noticed a large ship appearing over the horizon.
Originally he didn't think much of this, after all, most ships on the seas were peaceful, and it was relatively rare to run into pirates.
But Minos's bad luck seemed to suddenly activate in full force, and the ship that originally had no direction suddenly aimed towards Minos. Even an idiot would know something was wrong at this point, much less Minos.
Minos had no desire to fight, but his boat was much slower than the oppositions, so running wasn't an option.
He could only watch as the ship got closer and closer, the dense black aura of killing intent spilling out from the ship.
If there was any doubt before whether the ship was an enemy or not, it was abundantly clear now. Minos squinted his eyes as he tried to find the leader of the boat.
He quickly noticed a large man with a dense beard standing confidently at the helm of the ship. The killing aura on his was denser than the other pirates, but it didn't compare to the killing intent Minos had seen back at the Volcamie Island during the eruption.
This was another ability he had summarized during his repeated usage of emotion sensing. The denser a person's emotions, the stronger they typically were.