[A new Trait has been detected.]
[A new Trait is being added to the Trait List.]
[Trait, ‘The Chosen One,’ is now applied.]
As Louis pinned the medal on me, a flurry of sentences appeared in the system window along with a clamorous notification sound.
+
<Trait List>
■ The Chosen One (★☆☆)
[The Chosen One gains Level 3 authority to access The Order's database. You can check targets within your field of vision, with restrictions based on the importance of the information.]
■ Slaughterer (★☆☆)
[The Slaughterer gains stacks of Slaughter for each consecutive kill. It can stack up to 5 times, increasing attack speed by 10% per stack.]
+
“……”
The Chosen One.
This trait, granted only to the most outstanding among the Hero Candidates who passed the Gateway Zone, bestowed the privilege of accessing The Order's database.
Of course, some might think it was no big deal.
Being able to access a database wasn't an ability that was instantly impressive like <Trait: Slaughterer>, and frankly speaking, it wasn't a trait that increased combat power.
However, the records that The Order had accumulated over its long history of the War against Demons were not to be underestimated.
After all, the most important thing The Order had prioritized during its hundreds of years of fighting the War against Demons was ‘information’.
The Order's database, built over countless years, contained an immeasurable amount of incredible information, enough to make even ‘piercing the essence of things’ not difficult.
And it was this <Trait: The Chosen One> that allowed one to access even a fragment of those records.
There was a reason I had gone so far as to write this trait on my bucket list.
I immediately met Louis's eyes to test the ability.
And I murmured.
“Check.”
“…Wait a moment, Mr. Seo U-jin.”
Ding—!
[Do you want to check the information of <Person: Leonardo Louis Button>? Y/N]
[Target selected.]
[Searching for viewable records… Complete.]
[4,431 records can be viewed.]
[Please specify a related keyword.]
“What are you do—.”
“Keyword input. Secret.”
[Keyword: #Secret]
[Randomly selecting a viewable record corresponding to the keyword.]
[#1341. A record related to the reason why Louis Button has the appearance of a young child.]
“Hoh……”
As I let out a sound of admiration at the sentence that appeared, Louis shot up from his seat and snatched my hand with his small one.
He then spoke firmly.
“Stop that at once… That is not what The Order's trait was provided for.”
…Of course, I wasn't one to stop just because he said so.
“[#1341]. View information.”
“You really……!”
With Louis's deeply flushed face in the background, the system window appeared.
+
[#1341]
- The reason Leonardo Louis Button has the appearance of a young child is related to his magic characteristics.
- He transforms his appearance by his own will and can undo it whenever he wishes.
- The greatest value he gains from transforming his appearance is [Composure].
<※Additional authority is required to view more information.>
+
“Oh.”
Grin—
“Looks like you're not as patient as you seem, are you?”
“……!”
When I uttered a remark based on the information, Louis's already red face contorted.
Grit—
“…It seems I may have misjudged your Demonic Nature value.”
I raised both my hands and shrugged at the guy who was trembling and grinding his teeth.
“Hey, I was just. You told me to check it for myself.”
“This is as far as I let it slide… If you do something like that one more time, I will immediately request a disqualification judgment from The Order.”
“Heh heh.”
With a sigh from the guy, who clearly didn't like my laughter.
“…Let's get up.”
“……”
“There is one last place to visit.”
We moved from our seats.
*
“This was over 100 years ago, but… originally, the top-scoring Hero Candidate who passed the Gateway Zone was given one more privilege along with the Chosen One trait.”
“……”
“And that is the bestowal of an ‘Artifact’. It's a space that one can normally only enter after being officially ordained as a 1-Star Hero, but this space is opened specially early for The Chosen One.”
[<Magic Circle: Teleport> is activating.]
[Verifying usage authority… Inquisitor (Equivalent to a Bishop) ‘Leonardo Louis Button’]
[Coordinates… Verified.]
Fwoosh—
The ‘last place to visit’ Louis mentioned was The Order's treasury, called the <Seventh Door>.
A blessed repository where unique items from all over the Upper Plane had been collected over a vast amount of time during the War against Demons.
It was the greatest treasure vault in the Upper Plane, where legendary weapons from myths and legendary elixirs were literally lying around everywhere.
Thud— Thud—
The ‘Seventh Door’ we arrived at with Louis had a pristine white background, as if to prove it was a building of The Order, with a total of seven doors lined up on a huge wall.
The decorations on the doors were all different, but the most striking difference was their color.
Seven huge doors, distinguished by color like the ranks assigned to each Hero, starting from the left: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond… and after them, a white and a black door.
“Just like Hero ranks, Artifacts also have ranks, and you can think of them as being divided by the same standards as the Hero ranks.”
“……”
“For example, if you, Mr. Seo U-jin, manage to accumulate enough quest merits and succeed in being ordained as a 1-Star Hero, you will get another chance to enter the vault where 1-Star Artifacts are stored… Exceptionally, if your achievements are significant enough to be considered a great contribution to the War against Demons, a higher-ranked vault might be opened.”
…It wasn't a place I could say I was familiar with, but I had been here before.
In my past life, I had come in without knowing anything and always picked a dud, but I knew all too well what kind of good artifacts were stored here.
After scanning all seven doors, I feigned ignorance and pointed to the black and white doors on the far right.
“…Didn't you say earlier that artifact ranks only go up to 5-Star?”
“…That is correct.”
“But there are seven doors? You even said this treasury's name is the Seventh Door. Something doesn't add up.”
After a moment's hesitation, as if he was thinking, Louis answered.
“…Those are places where ‘Divine Artifacts’ and ‘Demonic Artifacts’ are stored, not regular artifacts. It's a place where items that cannot be assessed by artifact ranks, unrankable items, are gathered.”
“Hoh……”
“…Don't even think about wanting to go inside. I'm not saying this just in case; at your current level, you would literally be crushed to pieces by the pressure of the Divine and Demonic Artifacts the moment you step in… Not that they would open even if you wanted to.”
Pfft—
“What, you think I'm a child or something?”
“…A newly-arrived Hero Candidate is certainly a child in my eyes.”
Shrug—
“Well… I don't think that's something you should be saying.”
“……”
I mimicked his earlier words back at him.
Now, as if he was used to it, he turned around and walked directly to the brass-colored door where the 1-Star Artifacts were kept and placed his hand on it.
Then.
The door opened with a creak.
As the door opened, a long corridor appeared inside.
“…Just get in.”
*
Although he called it a treasury, the scene that was revealed inside the door was closer to a museum than a warehouse.
As in.
A pristine white, endlessly stretching corridor with items placed at regular intervals on the left and right.
“Hmm… What should I take to make a name for myself?”
“…The entry and exit records of the Seventh Door are treated as confidential, so no matter what item you choose, Mr. Seo U-jin, no rumors will spread.”
Glare—
“…It's just an expression, you inflexible bastard. Don't you know what a joke is? A joke?”
“This priest considers the weight of words to be quite important, so……”
“Get lost. I'm not playing with you.”
Actually.
There were a few items I had already thought of choosing from here.
Weapons that were rated as 1-Star artifacts but could display performance beyond that depending on the user or method of use.
For example, the <Nameless Ninja's Dagger>, which transforms into a unique weapon the moment its user is acknowledged and its name is engraved, exhibiting 1.5 times its performance.
Or weapons like the <Mountain-Shattering Sword>, which was single-use but could unleash a sword strike powerful enough to destroy a mountain.
I had been aiming for The Chosen One from the start, so it wouldn't make sense not to have thought about what to take from the Seventh Door.
‘…….’
But were the few weapons I had come up with after much deliberation truly the best choice?
They weren't.
Having regressed, I knew of a few useful artifacts that would be left around this time, but even I didn't know exactly which artifacts existed here at this precise moment.
+
<Artifact: Weapon>
■ Name: [Mountain-Shattering Sword]
■ Rank: ★☆☆☆☆
■ Description: [Using the mana contained in the sword, you can unleash a mountain-cleaving sword strike one time. (Note, this weapon is destroyed after the strike is unleashed.)]
■ Special Ability: [Mountain-Shattering Strike]
+
“……”
“The Mountain-Shattering Sword. It's a decent item. Its versatility is low, but in a critical situation, it can be considered an extra life.”
Was that why?
Even looking at the artifacts I had thought of beforehand, I didn't feel particularly impressed, nor did my hand reach out.
It felt like something was slightly missing.
As I passed by a few artifacts I had glanced at, Louis gave a warning.
“…Normally, a priest cannot interfere with a Hero's artifact selection, but… the entry permit for the ‘Bronze Door’ given to you, Mr. Seo U-jin, is for one hour. Please keep that in mind.”
“…I know.”
“You seem to have a good eye… but excessive greed can sometimes bring misfortune. I'm telling you this just in case… you have already passed by many good artifacts.”
“……”
Thud— Thud—
Ignoring his words, I continued down the corridor.
<Large and Giant Bat>, <Old Wizard's Magnifying Glass>, <Beautiful Bare Face Mask>, and so on.
I passed by many artifacts whose effects I already knew well without even a second glance.
…The reason I passed those artifacts wasn't very rational.
It was simply because my hand didn't reach for them.
The thought that they would only be consumables I'd use for a short while wouldn't leave my mind.
In truth, even if their performance was solid for a 1-Star item, in the long run after my regression, it felt like no matter which one I chose, it wouldn't make a significant difference.
Yes.
Just as Louis said, this was greed.
Hoping for something more while I was only in the Bronze Door.
Baseless greed.
“Oh.”
“…What is it?”
Halt—
…But sometimes.
That kind of greed could bring about unexpectedly great fortune.
“This is……”