Chapter 26

Bonus chapter thanks to @Avarco for subscription to 'Position Exchange - I' tier on Ko-fi.

"This is awesome, isn't it?"

Baltan came out showing off the green leaf he was wearing on his head.

An artifact that looked like it was woven from leaves.

I was inwardly impressed by its luxurious appearance at first glance.

"Next."

After Baltan's turn was over, the other children entered the basement one by one.

I looked at the appearances of the Seven Deadly Sins children who came out one by one and laughed inwardly.

Because my prediction was correct.

Everyone did not choose weapons or armor.

If seven of them came out with artifacts, there would be nothing left to pick up.

I need to modify the plan.

'It seems better to get armor instead of artifacts,'

Armor.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was the second most important equipment after weapons.

I said I would get the artifact, but it wasn't the most important thing.

Rather, in terms of priority, it was at the bottom of the equipment.

The most important thing was the weapon, and I already had the Fang of Darkness.

So I was planning to weigh the armor and the artifact and choose the artifact that was more comfortable to wear.......

Now there was no need for that.

'There's no need to choose a crude artifact over good armor.'

The guys must have taken all the artifacts with fraudulent abilities or that looked extraordinary.

Judging from the fact that Rene was wearing the bracelet she had brought from the basement on her wrist, she wouldn't give it up easily.

I suddenly became curious and asked.

"What kind of performance does the bracelet that Lady Rene chose have......."

Rene didn't answer.

She just pointed to the basement.

"You'll find out when you go down to the basement."

"What do you mean?"

"Because there's a manual."

According to Rene, it seemed that the artifacts were lined up like in an exhibition hall.

It seems that there were also descriptions about them. Rene added to that.

"There are also some that don't have descriptions."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

There are no descriptions.

Does that mean that they are items that are not even worth writing a detailed description for?

I shook my head.

There was no reason to keep worthless items in the basement.

There must be something.

"......."

"If you have something to say, say it."

Ares, who felt my gaze, said with a frown.

At that, I asked as if I had been waiting.

"What do the items without descriptions signify?"

"Those are artifacts that we haven't been able to properly identify yet. That's why we couldn't write any descriptions for them."

"So you mean you haven't figured out what abilities they have or who their previous owners were?"

"That's correct."

Ares nodded.

In short, the items without descriptions could be good items since we don't know what abilities they have, or they could be worthless as decorations.

It's purely a matter of luck, then.

However.

'There might be artifacts that I know of.'

The Sytan students who invaded the human realm.

Some of them had fraudulent weapons, armor, and artifacts.

Those things might be in this basement.

"Adel, go down now."

"Understood."

I was quietly contemplating when I heard Ares's voice.

Since I had just finished organizing my thoughts, I immediately started walking.

Thinking that maybe it was fortunate that I was assigned to the last turn.

* * *

Inside the basement.

I walked deeply down the seemingly endless stairs while lost in thought.

Was this the reason why I could see below even though there was no sunlight?

Torches were placed all over the basement walls.

It wasn't bright enough to say that it was brighter than outside, but the darkness didn't obstruct my vision.

After walking for about ten minutes.

Thud.

I stopped at a certain point.

A huge iron door was blocking the way ahead.

Since there didn't seem to be any more stairs to go down, this was probably the end of the basement.

'Surely it's not locked.'

The iron door seemed to be tightly shut.

Did he mean for me to open this giant door myself?

Then I noticed that the lock and chain next to it were unlocked and hanging loose.

It seemed that it was usually locked but had been specially opened for this occasion.

"Let's go."

After taking a short deep breath.

I grabbed the iron door's handle and applied strength. The friction of the metal rang out.

Creak... Groan...

'It's ridiculously heavy...'

I pulled on the door while grunting.

Soon, the iron door slowly began to open.

And the interior that was revealed.

"Amazing..."

I opened my mouth wide at the spectacular sight that made me exclaim in admiration.

Weapons were neatly arranged inside a cube-shaped glass case.

Under the glass case, there were descriptions of the weapons, just like Rene had said.

I headed toward the glass case that was closest to me.

Inside the glass case was a single spear with two snakes coiled around the shaft, forming an ornate design.

I observed the spear for a moment before lowering my gaze to read the description below it.

[Twin Serpent Spear]

This spear was used by an unknown demon tribe to hunt serpents in their lairs.

The souls of two snakes, filled with resentment and tears of death, now reside within the spear, making it a special weapon.

By infusing a certain amount of mana into the spear, the user can manifest the forms of the two serpents.

"Hmm."

I glanced over the ambiguous description.

The description was quite grand, but the weapon itself was not very useful.

My main weapon was a dagger, and even if it weren't, it wouldn't be difficult to obtain a weapon with similar capabilities.

Let's move on to the next one.

///

[Starlight Crystal]

This crystal orb, imbued with countless starlight, was once used by a divine astrologer.

By infusing a small amount of mana into the crystal, the user can borrow the light of the stars to gently illuminate their surroundings.

The crystal was spherical in shape.

It seemed like a useful artifact to use instead of a torch, but...

It was completely incompatible with my Darkness attribute.

The Darkness attribute allowed me to harness the power of darkness, while the Starlight Crystal emitted light.

It was the worst possible combination.

I turned my head away in disgust.

'This glass case is empty.'

The glass case was completely empty. Perhaps one of the people above me had taken it.

Just how fraudulent must this artifact have been for even the descendants of the Seven Deadly Sins to covet it?

A sudden curiosity prompted me to read the description.

And then I shivered violently.

That was because this place had once housed a truly fraudulent artifact.

[Laurel of the Victor]

In ancient times, this laurel wreath was bestowed upon the sole victor who emerged from a gladiatorial arena after defeating 77 gladiators.

The wearer of the laurel gains exceptional resilience and vitality.

This laurel chooses its own master.

Once chosen, the owner of the laurel will never lose possession of it until their dying day, and they will gain an unyielding dignity that even kings cannot defy.

Heh.

"So it's an artifact with a unique equip requirement."

I let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Unique equip requirement.

That was one of the settings that I had discarded during the writing process.

The reason was that it would have hindered the main characters' progress as they killed the demons of Sytan and looted their artifacts to grow stronger.

'I never thought the setting I discarded would appear here like this.'

Moreover, the unique ability this relic possessed was also excellent.

In terms of upper, middle, and lower, it would be around middle-level.

Considering the dignity trait granted to the chosen one and the fact that it was Unique Equipment, it seemed like the rank could go up to upper-level.

"Then what should I do?"

It's not mine anymore.

I remember Balthan returning here wearing Laurel of the Victor.

He's considered to be the strongest among the Seven Deadly Sins, but he's also very greedy.

I looked around, feeling old. The weapons that didn't exist inside the glass case.

[Orochi Knot]

[Demon Commander's Flag]

[Fallen Noble's Proof]

.

.

.

Every single description written below them was fraudulent.

However, there was no fraudulent artifact for me.

Even the armor and weapons were just so-so.

What am I supposed to do?

"......"

The guys above took all the useful artifacts.

'Come to think of it, the armor and weapons must have been destroyed or lost during the Human-Demon War.'

That's why there was nothing worth picking.

I felt ashamed for even thinking about taking the armor since there were no artifacts.

'What should I do?'

For now, I should unconditionally take one weapon.

I didn't have the slightest intention of letting this opportunity pass.

However, it was also a shame to take an artifact that was only so-so.

Then there was only one choice.

'I should take one of the weapons that doesn't have a description.'

There might be something useful.

I had no choice but to try.

I looked at the seven weapons that didn't have descriptions.

"Hmm."

I don't know at all.

Just because I keep looking at them doesn't mean I'll be able to figure out the performance of the weapons.

In the end, I have to go back to this method.

Swish.

I took out paper and a fountain pen from my arms.

I had to save Gold, so I couldn't waste Gold Coins......

But there was no other way.

I wrote a description of the broken sword on the information paper.

Information about the 'Broken Sword' that exists in this basement and doesn't have a description.

Not long after, the answer to this question appeared.

『This information requires a price.』

『Please pay a price of an artifact of Relic-grade or higher, or 100 Gold coins.』

"As I thought."

I smirked and looked away from the paper.

From the beginning, I had no intention of paying for the information paper.

What I wanted was the value of the artifact without any explanation.

I can gradually figure out how to use it, so I should choose the information paper that quotes the highest price as much as possible.

The higher the price, the more valuable it must be.

'For now, the first one seems to be worth 100 gold coins.'

Let's just keep it in mind for now.

I turned my gaze to the second one.

It seemed to have some kind of writing on it, but it was so badly damaged that I couldn't tell what it meant.

Information about the 'Damaged Robe' that exists in this basement and has no description.

『 Information that requires payment. 』

『 Please pay 50 gold coins or more. 』

This time, the answer was information that was not even worth the value of the artifact.

Let's move on to the third one.

'This one looks quite valuable.'

A small statue made of black stone shaped like an eagle.

It seemed like it would be quite expensive.

『 Please pay 1 gold coin or more. 』

'Only 1 gold coin?'

Rather, the price was so cheap that I became curious.

If it was only 1 gold coin, I could afford it, so I paid it obediently.

『 It is a stone resembling an eagle. 』

Is that the end of the explanation?

I thought it was cheap, but it was an absurdly expensive price.

'I've been tricked.'

I frowned and moved on to the fourth artifact.

『 100 gold coins or more...... 』

Fifth.

『 50 gold coins or more...... 』

And at the sixth.

『 An artifact of Legendary grade or higher, or please pay 300 gold coins or more. 』

I hit the jackpot.

An artifact with its own unique story.

It was worth so much that I couldn't buy it no matter how much money I spent.

'An artifact with a story in it.'

This might be better than the artifact the children took.

I hurriedly reached out. I didn't want anyone to take it away.

But then-.

I flinched.

I felt a tremendous sense of foreboding.

I slowly turned my gaze following the feeling, and the necklace in the seventh glass case seemed to be looking at me.

No, it was certain.

The necklace was staring at me.

Small circles clung to the large circle like raindrops.

Compared to the other relics, the necklace seemed relatively ordinary, even if it did appear to have something within it.

However, I had a strong feeling that I couldn't just hand it over.

That's why I tried writing about the necklace on the information sheet.

And then.

『 Offer a god. 』

An unimaginable response came back.

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