The next day, Valen, Asta, and Yuno headed toward the treasure location that the caravan leader had hidden, after a day of walking, during which everyone remained silent.
Valen thought to himself, "It seems Asta hasn't gotten over it yet, and Yuno is silent as usual."
He glanced at them from the corner of his eye without bothering to speak. To him, they were the heroes of this world, but for Valen, as long as they didn't stand in his way, he wouldn't care or chase after villains out of a sense of justice.
After a day, they arrived at the location indicated by the caravan leader, which turned out to be a cave.
After avoiding some simple traps, they reached the depths of the cave, where there were houses.
Valen said, "Alright, let's search the houses and gather anything valuable."
He didn't wait for their response and headed toward the largest house, which should have belonged to the caravan leader.
But Asta noticed something; Valen had begun to change. Although the change was slight, Asta, who had been training with Valen for the past three months, knew him well—or so he thought.
The Valen before him was different; unlike his usual kind demeanor, he now displayed a certain harshness.
As Asta stood in shock, Yuno snapped him out of it.
Yuno said, "Asta, don't be in shock; we need to search the houses."
Asta replied, "Ah, yes, I'll go."
Asta went to the left while Yuno went to the right.
At that moment, Valen had begun to search the caravan leader's house, where he found a lot of gold and jewels, along with three spell books containing two pages on wind and fog elements.
Valen said, "Alright, I think that's everything here."
Suddenly, Valen felt something calling to him.
He looked around but saw nothing; even his spell book didn't react.
Suddenly, the call became stronger and stronger.
Valen started searching every corner of the house as the call intensified.
Valen said, "It must be here."
He looked down at the ground, where there was a bear skin rug. Valen pushed aside the rug to find a secret passage.
He opened the passage, revealing a small chest.
Valen picked up the chest, but strangely, there was no lock.
Valen said, "Weird, how am I supposed to open it if there's no lock?"
He began to turn the chest around, and suddenly an idea struck him. He started to channel mana into the chest, but strangely, the chest began to absorb the mana greedily.
If Valen hadn't possessed the Sacred Mana Cup and the lineage of Alif, he would have died from this terrifying drain.
Suddenly, words appeared on the chest in a beautiful and captivating way, but he couldn't understand them. Suddenly, those words began to spread through Valen's hand like dragons. Valen felt unbearable pain; his skin began to crack, and he felt his bones being crushed and his internal organs being squeezed.
Valen screamed loudly from the pain he could no longer endure.
Asta and Yuno heard Valen's scream and rushed toward him.
When they reached Valen, a dome of flames surrounded him.
Both drew their spell books and tried to attack, but it was useless.
Suddenly, they felt the presence of someone looking at them, eyes of fire staring directly into their souls, making it hard to breathe.
Inside the dome, Valen was screaming, and he was left with only bones and a little flesh.
Suddenly, the chest opened, revealing a pair of eyes, and flames began to wrap around Valen as those eyes turned toward him and began to merge with him.
Tissues, muscles, and flesh began to emerge, and Valen started to return to his form.
Valen gasped from the pain and struggled to stand, but he was taller, his black hair had grown longer with red tips, and while his eyes remained the same, they now glimmered mysteriously.
Before Valen could comprehend what had happened, a voice from the system appeared:
[Congratulations to the host, you have discovered traces of the dark age.]
[You have gained an opportunity for registration.]
Valen said, "Is the chest an ancient artifact? What is the dark age? What is this chest? And those eyes? Damn, this wasn't mentioned in the anime or the manga."
Valen placed his hand on his face, pondering, but no one knew the answers.
Valen thought, "Alright, whatever, when I join the Magic Knights, I will seek information. I also need to learn ancient languages. Where do I start the registration?"
[Ding ding]
[You have obtained the Eternal Hell Flame.]
[Eternal Hell Flame:
The Eternal Hell Flame is a type of ancient fire with tremendous energy, known for its black and bloody red color, symbolizing chaos and destruction. This flame does not extinguish easily; instead, it grows stronger over time and has the ability to devour everything in its path, even souls. It is said to represent flames that never go out.]
Flames surrounded Valen, black and blood red.
His spell book flew and began to absorb them, altering its form.
The new form of his spell book:
After absorbing the Eternal Hell Flame, Valen's spell book changed to have a black cover etched with glowing red symbols, as if living flames were moving across it. Its pages looked ancient and were made from a material resembling burnt leather.
Valen felt a tremendous power emanating from his spell book and smiled slightly.
Valen said, "Well, it seems I've gained a lot, but I don't like gaining it this way. It hurt, and what about those eyes?"
Valen tried to understand how it worked but to no avail.
Valen thought, "Let me forget this; I'll figure it out when I find information about the dark age."
Valen exited the house as the dome gradually faded.
Asta and Yuno rushed toward Valen, who had part of his upper clothing burned.
Asta asked, "Valen, what happened? Why were you screaming, and why did your appearance change?"
Valen replied, "It's nothing important."
Asta exclaimed, "How can it be nothing important? You were screaming in pain, and there was a dome around the house!"
Yuno said, "Yes, what's going on?"
Valen explained, "It's a price I paid for the benefits."
Asta asked, "What did you gain?"
Valen replied, "You'll know when the time comes. Did you collect everything?"
They all nodded.
Valen said, "Good, let's go."
Flames erupted behind Valen, heading toward the house and gathering all the treasures.
Asta admired Valen's skill while Yuno looked on in shock.
Yuno remarked, "He's become stronger."
Afterward, the treasures were divided among the three, and they all headed toward the capital.
This time, each one of them trained their special powers after witnessing Valen's strength.
Throughout the journey, Valen used his eyes, but to no avail.
However, he felt a change; his body had grown stronger, his vision sharper, and his control over mana had become more precise. His magical power had also increased, awakening a new magic.
**Forbidden Magic: Awakening Flame**
It stemmed from the power of the Mera Mera no Mi fruit, transformed into a forbidden spell.
After three months, Valen, Asta, and Yuno arrived.
The Magic Knights' exam was in two days.
So there was still time to rest, gather some information, and buy new clothes.
After registering in the capital, Valen heard a voice.
[Ding ding]
[It has been detected that the host is in a special location.]
[Capital Clover]
[Beginning registration.]
___
End of the chapter ❤️