"Darkisher..."
A name given by another race with various meanings.
"It's not in the best condition, but it's still an interesting object... I could go into dangerous areas much more comfortably with this treasure."
The young man was becoming increasingly convinced, but there were other objects in the room, and nothing could save him from the impelling curiosity within him.
In fact, he started inspecting the other objects covered in a purple glow.
Among them was a pair of gloves reinforced by some precious metal and boots created from crimson leather.
The former was beautifully made and in perfect condition. The metal placed at the top of the palm was incredibly durable but, at the same time, soft. In fact, it adapted perfectly to changes in the glove. The magical runes were also excellent, but speaking of strategic utility, they did not reach the level of the cloak.
The other item, very conspicuous because of the crimson skin, indeed of some creature, was not suitable for the young man because it was evident that they were created for petite people or a woman.
"These two objects are Primordial Artifacts... That means that the purple glow refers to this Artifact Rank..."
Having ascertained that the other items were not as valuable as the cloak, Atlas decided: "Hmm... I'll take the cloak..."
The young man descended the prized cloak from the dummy and, as usual, opened the dimensional space on the mark of his finger to deposit his new treasure inside.
It was evident that the young man had forgotten the guard's words. But that instinctive action led to an unexpected result. Indeed, the dimensional bag opened without any problem, allowing the young man to deposit the cloak...
As soon as his gaze rested on his finger, Atlas realized something: "Wait a minute... how on earth is this possible?"
The young man was well aware of the restrictions imposed by the Chaos Formation in that room. In fact, they were of a high degree, at a level way above his own.
Such a thing couldn't be possible...
"What the hell is going on? Maybe the protective arrays are not working properly?" Atlas thought to himself but quickly changed his mind: "No... No... it's impossible... Maybe Nihilir used some unorthodox method to recreate the dimensional space... and the formation can't stop it."
Coming to a possible answer, Atlas calmed down, and seeing all that empty space inside, an unhealthy idea brutally formed in his head.
"Hehehe... that bastard called me Atlas, the poor guy being abused by the bandits... Hmm... Maybe I should take some interest..."
Atlas could attempt his crazy plan, but he had to be careful.
He certainly could not steal easily recognizable items arranged in plain sight in the treasury, so he aimed for the pile of items stored in a corner.
At first glance, they all looked like ruined items or too old to be used, but to Atlas, they were perfect.
There were even a few blue items in the pile. It was a true blessing.
So, Atlas didn't think twice and started pulling out those hidden treasures, looking for the most valuable to protect him in his future travels. There were not many items shrouded in a blue glow within that pile. Still, they were more than enough to complete a nice full set with light torso armor, lightly reinforced pants, a pair of gloves, boots, and a belt, and he even found a mask, an extraordinary and helpful item.
The items were not particularly incredible. However, after a first look, Atlas found that the material was well-balanced, with decent defensive properties and excellent mobility.
The only out-of-the-ordinary item was the bronze mask that could perfectly cover the young man's face. The material was incredibly tough, with excellent defensive properties. But what made it unique was the rune located precisely above the position of the mouth. In fact, it allowed the voice to be altered, giving some secrecy to the wearer.
"I wonder why such an interesting object was discarded in this pile... Hmm... it's not in perfect condition and looks plain, but it's still a valuable object. After all, it is a Martial Chaos Artifact."
After inspecting the blue-glowed object, Atlas found out what its actual value was.
The young man was somewhat intrigued, but this was not the appropriate time or place to let himself become estranged from reality. After all, he had been in the treasury for too long.
So, after one last look around, Atlas walked out of the treasury with the cloak in one hand, a bag with one hundred Low-Grade Chaos Stones in the other, and a calm smile on his face.
He maintained a calm appearance and went far from there, unaware that his petty thieving actions had not wholly escaped the watchful eye of the treasury guard...
|||
Once out of the palace, Atlas headed to Uncle Beard's stable at a leisurely but swift pace.
Before leaving the town for good, he had to reward the faithful horse, Bolt, who had brought him back to town with the apples he had promised him.
It took the young man almost fifteen minutes to reach the barn, and what he found amazed him.
In front of the entrance to the stable was a crazy crowd.
The astonishment did not last long, and ignoring the strange looks of the crowd, Atlas entered through the side door.
The inside of the stable was still the same. However, Uncle Beard was busy with something in a corner. He had to escape from the city very quickly, so he interrupted the man: "Uncle Beard... where's Bolt? I want to reward him for the good work..."
Hearing the familiar voice, Uncle Beard turned to him and exulted: "Hmm... Atlas, is that you?"
Atlas was still a little upset by the absurd situation that had happened earlier, but it wasn't the case to argue with Uncle Beard further, so he replied with a smile: "Hmm... Where's that old horse?"
"Bolt is in the back... why do you need him? Are you going on another trip?"
"No... No... I want to reward that big fellow and say thanks to you. After that, I'm going home..."
"You're going home? So soon? But you're so famous here... Why don't you stay..."
'Are you kidding me?' Atlas looked at him speechlessly.
But Uncle Beard did not interpret his expression well and continued: "Hehehe... so you're undecided. If you want you can sleep at our house for as long as you need. Besides, my niece will be back soon. So why don't you wait? Like I said, you're even the same age..."
'Again, with this shit?... No thanks... Besides, who the heck is hesitant? I can't wait to get away from this crazy city!' Atlas shouted internally but replied with a fake smile: "Hehehe... maybe another time. I'll definitely be back!"
"Ohh... too bad..." Uncle Beard sighed in disappointment but fortunately stopped bothering him and returned to cleaning Geltrude's mane.
In the back of the barn, Bolt was surrounded by a group of mares who kept circling him as if they were evaluating a precious stallion.
Intrigued, the young man approached the group and noticed that Bolt had assumed a peculiar pose, showing the mares his prized merchandise.
Looking at him more carefully and with his new eyes, Atlas found something strange. A vigorous Chaos Energy surrounded the old horse, utterly different from before.
It was dense with energy and as pure as he had ever seen before.
Moreover, the old Bolt looked younger and also more vigorous.
'Could it have been the new irons?' Atlas thought, uncertain.
The situation was odd, but time was short, so he approached the group and showed two juicy Flaming Apples to Bolt.
Lured by the delicious smell, the horse hurled himself at the apples and devoured them in one gulp...
"This is the reward I promised you... Thank you for saving me..."
Atlas heartily thanked the horse and turned around, ready to leave that damned city, but...
"You stingy brat... I carried you all the way home. I want another one."
Suddenly, the horse's neighing turned into a voice that Atlas could clearly understand.
Hearing that voice, Atlas couldn't help but turn his body and look at the creature in shock. He couldn't believe his ears and inevitably opened his mouth: "What did you say?"
Still, Atlas wasn't the only one in that state. In fact, even the horse was shocked…
"Bloody hell... do you have blood horse in your vein?!"