Chapter 24: Clues from the Past
"Phase Shift."
When I opened my eyes, a massive bookshelf stood before me.
For a moment, I was overwhelmed by its size, staring blankly at the bookshelf.
The sharp smell of paper and oil stung my nose.
Inside the bookshelf, countless Secret Tomes 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 time seeing it in person, the sheer scale left me dazed once again.
No matter how many times 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 meticulously managing the archive—regulating internal humidity, classifying Visions, and keeping track of inventory—to researching the Secret Tomes 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 name was Ged.
A sudden thought crossed my mind, and I moved toward one of the bookshelves.
Step, step──
I saw familiar titles of Secret Tomes 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 fundamental 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 me.
“As expected. It’s still here.”
This was a fake Secret Tome I had swapped in during my last visit to the Vault to deceive the librarians.
The fact that it was still here meant the archive’s management 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 time.
But since Ged, the one responsible for book management, 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 meantime.
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 Tomes, but I only recognized a handful of them.
Some even made me 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 Tomes lost by Shadow?
With tense eyes, I peered at the Secret Tome, slowly reaching out.
The moment 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 Tome loomed 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 Tome.
I’d bet my life on it.
There aren’t many people who could stay calm in this situation.
A typical Secret Tome 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 Tome 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 some point, my mind cleared.
I looked at the Secret Tome 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, some 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 me 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 Tome again.
By the third read, I realized each verse held hidden meanings.
“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 mean knowing the dagger best—in other words, reaching the level of a master.
A master is someone whose body moves before their mind, in an unconscious state.
Someone 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 someone 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 immediately.
“Blood is the heart.”
This phrase was very familiar to me.
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 moment, 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 time, I held the dagger in my other hand and cut my right palm.
Slash!
A considerable amount of time 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 me 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 time in a while? I’m dizzy.”
In truth, it might just be anemia.
“Tch.”
Where did I go wrong?
I looked at the Secret Tome again, which I’d already read over a hundred times.
Then I noticed something and blinked.
Come 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 meaning?
And what if the subject wasn’t the dagger, but me?
“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 something called the “Form of Flow.”
It was created to loosen the hand before performing Dagger Arts, but in truth, it’s the most fundamental training method 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 some 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 shimmered 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 metaphorically, but as if it had truly become 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 tremendous force pulled my body forward.
My body staggered, losing balance due to the momentum.
It felt like a strong wind had slammed into me and passed through.
I quickly regained my footing and looked up.
Before me 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 some 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 calmed down a bit, the curiosity I had briefly suppressed while learning [Dagger Shift] began to resurface.
I picked up the [Dagger Shift] tome and stared at it.
“How did this end up in the Vault?”
Now I knew.
This wasn’t some copy.
It was the original.
Considering that all Secret Tomes 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 Tome 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 Tomes 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 time for this.”
When dawn broke, the librarians would arrive.
I had to finish my work and get out before then.
I hurriedly performed the same 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 Tomes 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 merely for support and supplementation—I couldn’t forget that.
“This should do.”
I cast [Phase Shift] and left the Vault.
* * *
By the time I finished everything and returned to the dormitory, the dawn of a new day was breaking.
No windows, huh?
I lost track of time.
“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 Tomes 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 exclaimed loudly.
He looked at me 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 me feel even better.
Seeing a faint smile on Luis’s lips—someone who rarely showed emotion—made a corner of my heart swell with pride for some reason.
The reconstruction of Shadow.
Right now, I was too busy surviving, but it was a task I’d have to tackle someday.
[I’ll give you the Secret Tome later.]
[Understood.]
[By the way, what do you think? Our guild’s Secret Tome 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 outcome. 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 stormed 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 me, who had seen the ending of Heroes of Frey dozens of times, 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 someday.
[But not all the Visions were taken by them during the ‘Fall of the Moon.’]
[Oh?]
[Yes. Some comrades escaped in the chaos, taking Secret Tomes they deemed important for the guild’s future reconstruction. Just like how I escaped with the Master that day, carrying the ‘Lesser Thievery Tome.’]
[Aha.]
Then finding those should be the priority.
[You did well.]
[I know.]
[…]
[So, nothing for me?]
[What do you mean?]
[A carrot.]
[A carrot?]
[You said I did well, right? Then give me a carrot so I’ll be motivated to do even better next time.]
Luis stood silently for a moment, then, as if something occurred to him, sent another Whisper.
[Now that you mention it, I do have a carrot for you, Master.]
Huh? I was just saying, but he’s actually giving me something?
What could it be?
I looked at Luis approaching with expectant eyes.
He passed by me and dropped something with a thud.
It was a note.
[…What’s this?]
[A request.]
Oh.
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
But somehow, 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 came immediately.
[Both are requests. The Cult issued two orders this time.]
[Oh. So there are two requests this time.]
[Yes.]
[…Why’s that? Did something urgent come up with the Cult?]
[I didn’t ask for the reason, but just do them. The reward’s double.]
Sometimes I wonder.
Is Luis loyal to me, 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 treatment like this. Just watch me find them.”
Muttering complaints, I unfolded the notes.
I scanned them quickly and folded them again. No, I crumpled them mercilessly 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 something was off when they suddenly dumped two requests on me 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 me was palpable.
Their intentions were painfully obvious.
“These guys. They’re testing me now.”
The Cult was questioning my abilities.