3 bar menu

Return of the Fallen Volume 7 Chapter 15

The palm of the glove was made entirely of magic gold while each finger was a different colored crystal. The thumb was a half white/black crystal combined. One of the fingers was half grey and half purple. One was part silver and part emerald green. One was a reddish-orange and the last was a crystal colored in sapphire blue. Each color represented the 8 elements and similar to the ancient hand symbols Kazuki used, this glove with the right expert could use each element.

However, there was a limit to what the glove could do. It was a special tool for both writing inscriptions as well as erasing inscriptions. While the ancient hand symbols Kazuki used could do so much more. Still, only experts were capable of using this incredible tool, and only experts would dare to even try. Wielding different elements that are not your own comes with its own danger. Without proper understanding and experience, these different elements that one is not used to could go out of control and kill the user.

Seeing Sid pull out the glove, Kazuki remembered how skilled Tilly was with it the last time he was here. She had easily removed the limiter tattoos from Tsura’s body. With such skill, along with the glove, Kazuki understood why she was so confident back then, but he wondered where Sid’s confidence came from. Removing and changing the inscriptions upon Tilly’s ring would be no easy task for the halfhearted.

“I see now. With a Sozo glove, it can be done, but can you actually use it properly?”

Sid grinned from ear to ear.

“Do you know a man who can’t use his own tools? The old bat, Tilly, she isn’t the only one who’s skilled. If you don’t believe me, though…”

Kazuki shook his head. He trusted in old Sid, and he knew he wouldn’t brag without some ability.

“I know you wouldn’t lie about such things. I’ll trust in your ability, and with that much confidence, I believe you’ll succeed. One thing I’m still curious about, though, is the power source. The amount of energy one needs to remove, change, or create new inscriptions…no offense—is more than what you have in your core.”

Sid didn’t deny it. Walking over to the golden table, he gave it a simple tap. As soon as he did that, tens of thousands of inscriptions lit up along the edges of the table.

Kazuki hadn’t paid much attention to the inscriptions on the golden table the last time, but this time he took notice. Kazuki could read the ancient language and knew exactly what the inscriptions meant, but Sid wasn’t aware of Kazuki’s foreknowledge and began to explain.

“This golden table, even now I’m unaware of the actual name of this useful tool. Some say it belonged to the ancient dwarves but none can say for certain. Since dwarves seem to no longer exist, I don’t think we’ll ever really know of their origin. One thing we know for sure though is the count. On the Feya continent, there are supposedly 7 of these tables. All uncovered in an ancient ruin found a few hundred years ago. Back then, no one knew what these tables were capable of and for a long time, they were thought more of as decorations. Only in the last 70 or 80 years or so, did we start to understand these mystical tables. I was lucky to buy this off a fallen noble and for pretty cheap too, hehehe.”

Sid laughed mischievously as though he were the cause of bringing that noble to ruin.

“Anyway, some of the qualities of this golden table are its ability to attract the elements. With a small amount of energy just to activate it, the table can absorb magical energy from its surroundings. Not only that, but it can also amplify magic as well as improve efficacy. Usually, to carve inscriptions or remove them, an amount of power is wasted. With this table though, that waste is reduced to almost zero. Beyond those basics, there are plenty more functions that even I barely understand or have scratched the surface but with those few things, it completely changes what I can inscribe…what I can create. With it constantly absorbing power, I can use my Sozo glove to directly siphon energy from it and in that way, basically never run out. With that, I can easily do the job of dozens of 3rd stage mages and open up Tilly’s ring.”

Sid puffed up his chest in pride after this explanation before putting on the Sozo glove and extending a hand expectantly.

“The ring, I’ll open it for ya, hand it over.”

It was at this time that Kazuki felt a tiny bit of embarrassment as he explained.

“Actually about that, I’ve already opened her ring.”

Sid stared at him blankly. He knew exactly what it took to open a magic storage ring, he had just spouted how it needed an expert and blah blah blah and now Kazuki was saying he already cracked it.

Kazuki just went ahead and spilled it.

“You see before I came back to this town…er…I mean this city, I had already changed the many inscriptions on her ring while in the mountains. I’ve opened it long ago. Sorry, I kind of lead you to believe one thing and wasted your time. I was just curious as to what you would show me.”

Sid shook his head.

“Forget that, who cares. More importantly, not to call you a liar but please prove to me right now that you actually managed to open her ring. Take something out of it.”

Kazuki was surprised Sid didn’t care about the time waste and was more interested in seeing if he actually did what he said.

Kazuki shrugged his shoulders for a moment before grabbing something random from within the ring and taking it out. The ring glowed dimly before a thick rolled-up piece of parchment appeared in his hand.

Kazuki casually tossed it over.

“Will this do?”

It wasn’t the object he brought out that mattered but instead, the magic Sid sensed at the time. He could see that Kazuki had three rings on his hand and at the moment Kazuki activated his magic, Sid had sensed only Tilly’s ring activate. It was then that he knew that Kazuki wasn’t lying.

He stared at Kazuki, stunned.

“For you to be able to open someone else’s storage ring is one thing. Even I am capable of doing it but that is only because I am an expert not only in crafting and inscribing but also an expert when it comes to using a Sozo glove in combination with this golden table. Yet you managed to do it while in the middle of a mountain. The amount of power, I can obviously understand you have it, being as powerful as you are but to do so you would also need special tools yet you did it anyway. The amount of comprehension one needs in space magic…To make those calculations on your own in real-time as well as manipulate space magic, incredible.”

“Please, it’s not like that at all. I had plenty of help.”

Kazuki wasn’t technically lying. He had relied heavily on Glacious’s memories. If he didn’t have those, he wouldn’t have been able to use space magic and open Tilly’s ring not even if he had a million years.

Sid hearing Kazuki had help actually felt some relief. Whether it was his pride as an expert craftsman and master inscriber or maybe his jealousy, who knew but either way he felt better about the situation. Just as he was lost in thought, he finally looked down at the scroll in his hand and curiously unfurled it.

“By the way what is this you’ve handed me, there are all kinds of drawings and schematics written here and…

Sid froze in place when he realized what he had in his hands. Kazuki was worried and called out to him.

“Old man what’s the matter?”

These simple words snapped Sid out of it and his hands began to tremble as he looked at the parchment in his grasp. Finally, his voice came out shaky like a freshly born calf trying to walk for the first time.

“Go…Go..L.em.”

As soon as he said that, Kazuki knew right away what he had handed over. Tilly had been beyond obsessed with Golems when she discovered them in Glacious’s tiny world. She had begged and pleaded and eventually Glacious had handed over the schematics and blueprints of his Golems. He let her have them but he left out the most important aspect of them, the magic core. He didn’t care if she studied them as long as she didn’t get her hands on a magic core.

(Shit, she must have still had them in her ring and I just went and took out something at random and it had to be part of a golem schematic.)

“Sid, I know what your thinking but

“But what!”

Before Kazuki could finish his sentence, old Sid shouted over him. He had completely lost himself. Kazuki could see greed and madness in Sid’s eyes for a moment.

Kazuki’s expression changed.

“Sid, return it.”

Sid’s looked up at Kazuki and clutched the scroll to his chest as if he would fight Kazuki for even asking for his own property back.

Kazuki released a small amount of his aura and his tone grew as cold as a frozen lake.

“SID! RIGHT FUCKING NOW!”