Chapter 24: Clues from the Past
"Phase Shift."
When I opened my eyes, a massive bookshelf stood before .
For a mont, I was overwheld by its size, staring blankly at the bookshelf.
The sharp sll of paper and oil stung my nose.
Inside the bookshelf, countless Secret Tos were neatly arranged.
All of them were pristine copies.
I could see more bookshelves just like this one, lined up like dominoes stretching far into the distance.
Even though this was my second ti seeing it in person, the sheer scale left dazed once again.
No matter how many tis I saw it, the size alone could slap any modern library across the face.
The caretakers of the Vault were three librarians in total.
From ticulously managing the archive—regulating internal humidity, classifying Visions, and keeping track of inventory—to researching the Secret Tos and even counseling cadets, the librarians were versatile talents who played multifaceted roles within the Academy.
One of them was a follower bought by the Beltus Cult.
His na was Ged.
A sudden thought crossed my mind, and I moved toward one of the bookshelves.
Step, step──
I saw familiar titles of Secret Tos slotted into the bookshelf.
[Contract and Summon]
[Contract and Summon]
[Contract and Summon]
.
.
.
.
This bookshelf was dedicated solely to Visions related to Summoning Arts.
Among them, [Contract and Summon] was the introductory and most fundantal Vision for Summoning Arts, so there were no less than ten identical copies lined up.
I ran my fingers over them one by one until I pulled out a single copy of [Contract and Summon] that felt unusually rough to the touch.
I opened it.
Where there should have been text, only blank white pages greeted .
“As expected. It’s still here.”
This was a fake Secret To I had swapped in during my last visit to the Vault to deceive the librarians.
The fact that it was still here ant the archive’s managent was currently being neglected.
All thanks to Ged.
Naturally, I had prepared plenty of these decoy notebooks for today as well.
To be honest, if the librarians were doing their jobs properly, this cheap trick would’ve been caught in no ti.
But since Ged, the one responsible for book managent, was too busy handling orders from the Cult to focus on his duties, he failed to notice even this simple deception.
Well, thanks to that, I was reaping the benefits in the anti.
Anyway, recalling my original purpose, I slid the notebook back into place and moved on.
Skipping past rows of countless bookshelves, I approached one tucked away in a corner.
Category - Non-Mainstream.
The shelf was filled with Secret Tos, but I only recognized a handful of them.
So even made wonder, Is this really a Vision?
“Dagger Shift… Dagger Shift… Ah. Here it is.”
The Vision I was looking for was on the bottom shelf, shoved into the far-right corner.
Being non-mainstream, there was only one copy.
Could this really be one of the Secret Tos lost by Shadow?
With tense eyes, I peered at the Secret To, slowly reaching out.
The mont my fingers touched it, the texture felt different from the others.
My heart swelled with anticipation, ready to burst.
In that state, I carefully flipped open the cover.
Rustle──
“…Believe in the dagger.”
The first sentence of the Secret To lood before my eyes.
Believe in the dagger.
The dagger is like a lifelong companion.
There are no secrets.
Only when you know each other best can you call yourselves true companions, and only then are you worthy of sharing each other’s blood.
Moreover, blood is the heart.
When the heart leads, the body naturally follows.
Throw with conviction.
On a fog-covered night, it will open the path for you.
“?”
The first thing that popped into my head was a question mark.
What kind of nonsense is this?
I turned the page.
The next page was blank.
Just this single page, with seven verses that could be song lyrics or a poem—impossible to tell apart—was the entirety of this Secret To.
I’d bet my life on it.
There aren’t many people who could stay calm in this situation.
A typical Secret To is packed with detailed, user-friendly explanations: the Vision’s origin, diagrams of the body with mana flow, spell-casting processes, and so on.
It concludes with practical applications, the founder’s insights, and advice.
Every Secret To is like that.
But a poem?
It’s too out of left field.
Yet, they say a shock too great can snap you back to your senses, and at so point, my mind cleared.
I looked at the Secret To again.
And I resolved the most critical question.
This wasn’t swordsmanship.
It was Dagger Arts.
“Believe in the dagger. The dagger is like a lifelong companion.”
That line said it all.
After all, the only people on the continent who spend their lives with daggers are one kind of people.
Thieves.
Of course, so knights use daggers as secondary weapons, and mages carry them for self-defense.
But what they spend their lives with are swords or staves—magical tools—not daggers.
The dagger is the thief’s primary weapon and comrade-in-arms.
“As expected. My hunch was right.”
Whether it was a song or a poem.
The fact that my prediction was spot-on filled with satisfaction, and my heart began pounding uncontrollably.
Adrenaline surged through my brain.
With newfound certainty, my perspective and mindset shifted.
Following that flow, I examined the Secret To again.
By the third read, I realized each verse held hidden anings.
“Only when you know each other best can you call yourselves true companions, and only then are you worthy of sharing each other’s blood.”
It was a long sentence.
I substituted “companion” with “dagger.”
Then, “know each other best” could an knowing the dagger best—in other words, reaching the level of a master.
A master is soone whose body moves before their mind, in an unconscious state.
Soone who can apply Dagger Arts in any situation, whose dagger moves freely under any constraint—that’s a master.
And only then are you worthy of sharing each other’s blood.
I asked myself.
Did I qualify?
Could I wield Dagger Arts in any situation, as naturally as breathing?
Was I a master?
There was only one answer.
“Of course.”
No need for a second word, and a third would just hurt my mouth.
I was soone who never let go of a dagger, spinning it in my hand at every chance.
I could proudly say the dagger was another hand of this body.
“Then I’m qualified. But what’s the blood?”
The next verse answered imdiately.
“Blood is the heart.”
This phrase was very familiar to .
Blood is the heart.
In the world of Heroes of Frey, it’s the most frequently quoted phrase during contract rituals.
A summoner uses blood to imprint themselves on their contract target.
That’s because the summoner’s mana is contained in their blood.
“The summoner’s blood. Then…”
Before I knew it, a dagger was in my hand.
My face reflected in the transparent blade.
For a mont, determination filled that face, and I sliced my palm with the dagger.
Slash──
Drip, drip.
Red blood droplets fell onto the blade.
The once-transparent blade was soon stained red with my blood.
I sprinkled hemostatic powder on the wound and wrapped it with a bandage.
Then I waited for a reaction.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Even after five minutes, nothing happened.
“Not enough blood?”
This ti, I held the dagger in my other hand and cut my right palm.
Slash!
A considerable amount of ti passed.
By now, I had bandages wrapped not just around both hands but up my arms as well.
Only then did I consider that my approach might be wrong.
“Maybe it’s not about coating the blade with blood?”
The scene before looked less like coating and more like the blade had been dunked in blood and pulled out.
Anyway, stuck at this point, I slumped into a corner, clutching my head in frustration.
“Ugh. Is it because I’m using my brain for the first ti in a while? I’m dizzy.”
In truth, it might just be anemia.
“Tch.”
Where did I go wrong?
I looked at the Secret To again, which I’d already read over a hundred tis.
Then I noticed sothing and blinked.
Co to think of it, I skipped over one sentence.
“There are no secrets.”
I had taken it literally, as friends having no secrets, and moved on.
But what if it held its own aning?
And what if the subject wasn’t the dagger, but ?
“Let’s try it.”
Dazed, I sprang to my feet.
This was my last shot, I thought.
If this didn’t work, then damn it, I really had no idea.
I stared at the dagger in my hand.
Once gleaming sharply, it now reeked of blood, caked with dried clots.
I lightly swung it side to side, like a leaf caught on a branch.
Swoosh…
There’s sothing called the “Form of Flow.”
It was created to loosen the hand before performing Dagger Arts, but in truth, it’s the most fundantal training thod for Dagger Arts.
Naturally, I practiced it like it was second nature, over and over.
I could do it with my eyes closed.
The dagger danced dazzlingly in my hand.
At so point, it began emitting a radiant glow, scattering light in all directions.
Saaa──
When the dagger’s dance stopped, the blood that had coated the blade was gone.
The dagger had returned to its original transparent state.
No, it was slightly different.
The blade now faintly shimred with a red aura.
And unless it was my imagination, the pounding of my heartbeat in my chest was now echoing and felt within the dagger itself.
Not taphorically, but as if it had truly beco a part of my body.
A racing heart.
A trembling vision.
“When the heart leads, the body naturally follows.”
“Throw with conviction.”
I placed the dagger on the floor and slowly stepped back ten paces.
“Dagger Shift.”
In an instant, a trendous force pulled my body forward.
My body staggered, losing balance due to the montum.
It felt like a strong wind had slamd into and passed through.
I quickly regained my footing and looked up.
Before stood a massive bookshelf.
I had moved.
…To the spot where I had placed the dagger.
“On a fog-covered night, it will open the path for you.”
At so point, the dagger I had left on the floor was back in my hand.
“Ah.”
A faint gasp slipped through my lips.
Uncontainable joy and electrifying thrill.
And an intense euphoria surging from deep within my core.
My entire body trembled with exhilaration.
Argh. How do I even describe this feeling?
I wanted to scream and let it all out, but I couldn’t.
Unable to hold it in, I jumped up and down, flailing my arms wildly.
Afterward, drenched in sweat, I collapsed onto the floor.
“Haha.”
Once I cald down a bit, the curiosity I had briefly suppressed while learning [Dagger Shift] began to resurface.
I picked up the [Dagger Shift] to and stared at it.
“How did this end up in the Vault?”
Now I knew.
This wasn’t so copy.
It was the original.
Considering that all Secret Tos in the Vault are copies from the Vision Star Coffin in the royal palace, this was an irregularity in itself.
“A mistake by the palace?”
It was impossible to know.
Wondering if other Shadow Visions might be here, I got up and scoured the Vault.
But it was a futile effort.
The only Shadow Secret To in the Vault was this [Dagger Shift].
How did the original [Dagger Shift] end up stored in the Vault?
And where were the other Secret Tos lost by Shadow?
What exactly was in the palace’s Vision Star Coffin?
Lost in deep thought, I shook my head and stood up.
“No ti for this.”
When dawn broke, the librarians would arrive.
I had to finish my work and get out before then.
I hurriedly perford the sa qualification ritual on my remaining daggers.
Coating them with blood, spinning them.
Coating them again, spinning them again.
After feeding all my daggers with my blood, I made a round through the Vault.
Like shopping in a mart, picking ingredients off shelves and tossing them into a cart, I pulled the necessary Secret Tos from the shelves and stored them in my Subspace.
Just as more ingredients don’t guarantee a tastier dish, mastering more Visions doesn’t make you stronger.
The key was the sense to use them appropriately and the skill to wield them effectively.
So I took only what I needed.
Martial Arts to aid in evasion and Magic to compensate for my lacking damage output.
The foundation of my Vision tree was the thief’s Visions, and these were rely for support and supplentation—I couldn’t forget that.
“This should do.”
I cast [Phase Shift] and left the Vault.
* * *
By the ti I finished everything and returned to the dormitory, the dawn of a new day was breaking.
No windows, huh?
I lost track of ti.
“Almost got trapped and screwed.”
Sleep? Well, I’d consider it done.
But my mood was light, like I could fly.
After all, I got the Secret Tos I needed and most importantly, I mastered [Dagger Shift].
Of course, I’d need more personal training to use it effectively in real combat, but just having it was enough for now, right?
So I shared this joy with Luis.
“Is that true?”
As soon as he heard, Luis exclaid loudly.
He looked at with disbelief, even dropping his broom.
I thought my heart would stop.
Okay, I get that you’re shocked, but you’ve got to maintain Whisper, man.
I hurriedly used [Detection] to check the surroundings.
Thankfully, there was no one around but us.
[Hey, why’d you shout like that?]
[Sorry. I couldn’t help it.]
[Was it that big a deal?]
[…Well, it’s unexpected.]
I chuckled, looking at Luis, who had already reverted to his old janitor disguise.
I understood completely.
I was shocked too when I found out it was in the Vault.
That made feel even better.
Seeing a faint smile on Luis’s lips—soone who rarely showed emotion—made a corner of my heart swell with pride for so reason.
The reconstruction of Shadow.
Right now, I was too busy surviving, but it was a task I’d have to tackle soday.
[I’ll give you the Secret To later.]
[Understood.]
[By the way, what do you think? Our guild’s Secret To being in the Academy’s Vault and the original, no less.]
[It’s entirely possible.]
[Huh? Really?]
[Yes. In a way, it’s a natural outco. Weren’t they the ones who destroyed us?]
Ten years ago, on a dawn shrouded in thick fog.
Shadow vanished from the continent.
By the hands of the Central Knights and the Special Magic Corps.
In the dead of night, while everyone slept, they stord in without warning and obliterated the thieves’ stronghold that had shared a history with Icata in a single sweep.
Luis called this event the “Fall of the Moon.”
The moon, alongside the night raven, was a symbol of Shadow.
[It’s not strange that one of the Visions lost back then ended up in the Academy.]
[Then most of them probably went to the palace?]
[That’s the most likely scenario.]
The Vision Star Coffin.
Even for , who had seen the ending of Heroes of Frey dozens of tis, it was an unknown territory.
Because it was a place players couldn’t enter.
[If you’re thinking of infiltrating the palace, forget it. That’s truly suicidal.]
[I know.]
I said that, but I had a gut feeling.
The Vision Star Coffin in the palace.
It was a place I’d have to set foot in soday.
[But not all the Visions were taken by them during the ‘Fall of the Moon.’]
[Oh?]
[Yes. So comrades escaped in the chaos, taking Secret Tos they deed important for the guild’s future reconstruction. Just like how I escaped with the Master that day, carrying the ‘Lesser Thievery To.’]
[Aha.]
Then finding those should be the priority.
[You did well.]
[I know.]
[…]
[So, nothing for ?]
[What do you an?]
[A carrot.]
[A carrot?]
[You said I did well, right? Then give a carrot so I’ll be motivated to do even better next ti.]
Luis stood silently for a mont, then, as if sothing occurred to him, sent another Whisper.
[Now that you ntion it, I do have a carrot for you, Master.]
Huh? I was just saying, but he’s actually giving sothing?
What could it be?
I looked at Luis approaching with expectant eyes.
He passed by and dropped sothing with a thud.
It was a note.
[…What’s this?]
[A request.]
Oh.
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
But sohow, there were two notes in my hand.
So I called out to Luis, who was about to leave.
[Hold on, Luis. Which one’s the request?]
[Both of them.]
I blinked, thinking I misheard.
But confirmation ca imdiately.
[Both are requests. The Cult issued two orders this ti.]
[Oh. So there are two requests this ti.]
[Yes.]
[…Why’s that? Did sothing urgent co up with the Cult?]
[I didn’t ask for the reason, but just do them. The reward’s double.]
Sotis I wonder.
Is Luis loyal to , or is he actually loyal to money?
A carrot, my ass.
I trudged back to the dormitory, grumbling.
“Ugh. What’s the point of finding lost Visions? With treatnt like this. Just watch find them.”
Muttering complaints, I unfolded the notes.
I scanned them quickly and folded them again. No, I crumpled them rcilessly in my hand.
A sly grin curled at the corners of my mouth.
But my eyes, reflected in the mirror, weren’t smiling.
“Unbelievable. These bastards.”
Sparks flickered from my fingertips, burning the notes to ash.
“So that’s what it was.”
I knew sothing was off when they suddenly dumped two requests on without prior notice.
But there was a real motive behind it.
I brushed the ashes off my palm and leaned back in my chair.
The two requests in the notes were simple.
But.
Within those seemingly simple requests, the Cult’s distrust toward was palpable.
Their intentions were painfully obvious.
“These guys. They’re testing now.”
The Cult was questioning my abilities.
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