Chapter 20: Operation Crisis (2)

As soon as the bookshelf opened, a red glint flashed from within.

In an instant, it lunged at the spot where I stood.

But by then, I had already thrown myself to the side.

At the same time, I hurled the cloth pouch I was holding.

Bang──!

The pouch hit the shadow squarely and burst.

White powder scattered in all directions.

Something heavy, cloaked in the powder, landed lightly on the floor.

Grrr!

I quickly got to my feet and faced it.

To my surprise, it was a leopard.

No, it only looked like a leopard—its ferocious build and those razor-sharp fangs made it clear this was no leopard, just a monster.

Its name was Berga.

A Grade 2 magical beast, a living combat weapon that moved only at Narsi’s command.

In the game, whenever you entered a boss fight with Narsi, this guy would always leap out from the sidelines, making things incredibly annoying.

The presence I had sensed with [Detection] before entering was none other than this creature’s aura.

Berga’s murderous eyes glared at me sharply.

It looked ready to charge and tear my guts out with its massive forepaws.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Berga lunged at me, swinging its forepaw.

Its movements were so swift that even with preparation, it was nearly impossible to fully evade the attack.

But what was this?

Berga, who should’ve reached me by now, hadn’t even taken a proper step and instead collapsed flat on the floor.

Seeing this, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew. It worked perfectly.”

I cautiously approached the fallen Berga.

The beast, its nose and mouth caked with white powder, was already snoring, deep in a drugged slumber.

A piece of torn cloth hung from its fangs.

A special sleep-inducing powder, made by mixing the paralyzing pollen of Meisha, a carnivorous plant from the Great Forest, with chalk dust.

The effect was exactly as you see before me.

Meisha’s paralyzing pollen was extremely hard to obtain and had a pungent stench that made it cumbersome to use.

But when crafted into a throwable form and properly inhaled, even a Grade 2 magical beast like Berga couldn’t resist.

For a creature with a keen sense of smell like Berga, it was especially lethal.

It probably wouldn’t wake up for at least an hour.

“Hm. It was expensive, and Luis nagged me about it, but this was well worth the cost.”

Having overcome the final obstacle, I finally stepped into Narsi’s secret space.

Step, step──.

The interior was a space of about 10 pyeong.

A few packed crates were stacked in one corner, and on the opposite side was a garden bed.

Under the ultraviolet light of engineered lamps, rows of Lumigan Grass flaunted their vibrant green hues.

Each one was so lush and pristine that any drug addict would go wild at the sight.

Top-grade quality.

It seemed they were grown with a lot of love and care.

“Well then, time to dig in.”

I began plucking them one by one and storing them in my subspace.

[00 : 17]

Tight, but I had enough time to collect everything and get out.

While harvesting, I occasionally glanced around.

On the opposite side of the garden bed were Lumigan Grass plants that had borne fruit.

Fruit-bearing Lumigan Grass had no commercial value.

All the nutrients went into blooming, so the leaves lacked the hallucinogenic effects they were supposed to have.

Narsi, of course, would know this well.

So why did Narsi let them flower and bear fruit? One reason: reproduction.

In other words, these were being cultivated separately for propagation.

Lucky for me.

“I’ll take these and grow them myself.”

I gathered them all and stored them in my subspace.

These seeds would later thrive somewhere on the outskirts of the Academy.

Just as I finished successfully collecting the Lumigan Grass and its fruit and was about to leave, something caught my eye.

A pile of crates stacked on one side filled my vision.

Behind them was a space I hadn’t noticed when I entered.

And so, I stopped in my tracks.

“?”

I don’t know why I did.

Honestly, I could’ve just ignored it and left.

Time was already at [00 : 20].

Narsi’s arrival loomed like an invisible spiderweb tightening around my chest, and I too wanted to escape this suffocating pressure as soon as possible.

But was it the curiosity of a seasoned player?

Or perhaps, having fully assimilated into this body through my experiences, some ability had kicked in without me realizing.

Before I knew it, I was drawn to that spot, as if entranced.

I maneuvered around the pile of crates.

A hidden space appeared.

On a desk sat a lone box.

And from that moment, my heart began pounding wildly.

From within the box, a golden aura seeped out faintly.

“…….”

It was unmistakably the same aura I had seen from Yuria.

Not mana, not aura, not any kind of Vision’s power—an unknown phenomenon.

Instinctively, I knew.

Whatever was inside that box was no ordinary item.

It was an elongated rectangular shape.

About 30 centimeters, small in size.

Made of solid wood, sealed tightly with no gaps, and locked with a padlock.

What caught my attention most was the crest engraved in the center of the lock.

I examined the lock closely.

It was the crest of a certain family.

A design resembling a blooming flower bud viewed from above, almost geometric in its intricacy.

And this crest was one I knew very well, belonging to a certain family.

“……The Gulta Family.”

Gulta.

The family with the continent’s greatest expertise in crafting elixirs and potions.

“…….”

I had a gut feeling.

If I didn’t check this today, I might regret it for the rest of my life, even after death.

I had to know.

What was inside this box.

* * *

An elixir is a potion made by combining spiritual herbs and medicines, with rare ingredients as the base.

The most famous elixir is the ‘Tears of the Goddess.’

A single drop is said to halt aging and expel impurities from the body, while a second drop awakens all the body’s senses, opening the door to new realms of potential.

Truly a potion crafted by the gods.

Naturally, it’s extremely rare.

From what I know, there are no more than five bottles of ‘Tears of the Goddess.’

Even lower-grade elixirs possess equally remarkable effects.

That’s why they’re hidden in the deepest, most secretive places of nations or family estates, treated as treasures more precious than heirlooms.

And they can’t be made easily.

The ingredients are all rare spiritual herbs, and even if you manage to gather them, only the Gulta Family knows the crafting method.

The recipe for elixirs is a secret passed down only to a select few of Gulta’s bloodline.

So, could what’s inside this box be an elixir?

I should take it back to the dormitory and safely──

Swoosh.

But the box didn’t budge, as if it were one with the desk.

“?”

What’s going on?

Why’s it like this?

I pulled with force.

A futile effort.

The box showed no sign of leaving the desk.

When I applied more strength, the fixed desk began creaking ominously, as if it might break.

If the sound of it breaking echoed outside, getting caught would only be a matter of time. Reluctantly, I let go of the box.

“……Damn it.”

The reason became clear immediately.

The box itself was imbued with powerful magic.

Magic, [Phase Lock].

The caster was undoubtedly Narsi.

This meant the box wouldn’t leave the desk unless Narsi himself moved it.

“Or unless a mage of a higher caliber shows up.”

Unfortunately, that’s not me.

Breaking the box was, of course, out of the question.

Not only would it make noise, but there was a risk of damaging the contents, and the box was likely enchanted with reinforcement magic as well.

That left one option: unlocking the padlock.

I checked the time again.

[00 : 22]

No.

The second hand just moved, so I had roughly seven minutes left.

I was in deep trouble.

The last shred of rationality held my hand back before I acted.

Coldly speaking, leaving now was the right move.

It was.

But what if the thing inside was really an elixir?

Fine. I’ll admit it.

My brain had already decided that whatever was in there was an elixir.

My head was so far gone that I couldn’t see or hear anything else.

Clatter.

I shook the padlock.

It wasn’t too big or too small.

Made of solid metal, it had nothing special about it except for the Gulta Family’s crest engraved on it.

I immediately cast [Telekinesis].

A strong repulsive force surged, and with a bang, my right arm was flung backward.

Damn it.

I nearly dislocated my shoulder.

Looking ahead in disbelief, the Gulta crest was glowing with a blue light.

This was the effect of a sealing array.

And an incredibly powerful one at that.

A sealing array of this caliber would render even the thievery skill [Disassemble] useless.

So what now?

My calculations quickly reached a conclusion, and that conclusion translated into action.

I reached into my vest and pulled out a tool.

For moments like this, thieves always carried one skill and one Thief Gadget.

The manual skill of picking locks, Lockpicking, and the equipment that made it possible: a lockpicking kit.

Sometimes, the classics were the answer.

I needed two tools.

A tension wrench to apply pressure to the lock’s core and a hooked pick to manipulate the internal pins.

I pulled the two tools from the kit, held them in both hands, and applied oil to their tips.

That’s when it happened.

Chirp!

Sylph, who was supposed to be waiting for me on the balcony, suddenly flew inside.

My heart sank.

Sylph flying to me meant the worst-case scenario had occurred.

He was here.

Narsi.

At the same time, my trait [Instinct] rang alarm bells in my head.

There was a faint but noticeable vibration coming from the floor, traveling up the walls.

The sound of people talking.

Narsi and the adventurers who had woken up.

But the panic lasted only a moment.

My hands, gripping the pick and wrench, were already working the lock.

Click, click.

I was a thief.

When a target was in front of me and there was a way to obtain it, I acted without hesitation.

That was the thief’s code I had to uphold.

Narsi arriving a bit early changed nothing.

He was just early.

I still had time, and I trusted myself and my hands.

The task required delicate handwork and intense focus.

I concentrated all my nerves on the lock and the sensation at my fingertips, moving my hands.

“Phew…….”

The key was staying calm.

The noise climbing the walls grew closer, but the movements of my hands, probing the lock’s interior, remained steady.

I extended at a consistent pace, tapping calmly.

Click, clatter.

They must’ve trusted the lock’s sturdy body and the sealing array on the crest too much.

Fortunately, the lock’s internal structure was simple and straightforward.

My fingertips felt only three pins.

Once I understood it, confidence surged.

Click, the first pin released.

I held it in place with the tension wrench and moved the pick toward the second pin.

Not long after, with a creak, the second pin gave way.

Only the third and final pin remained.

The lock’s shackle seemed to loosen slightly—surely not just my imagination.

Maintaining this momentum, I reached for the last pin with the pick.

And then.

Thud.

A heavy sound came from beyond the door, in the hallway.

Someone had come up from below.

But it wasn’t just one person.

Multiple.

A group was moving from the fourth floor to the fifth.

Why?

Had they realized there was an intruder in the building?

No. No way.

If that were the case, they’d be moving more stealthily and swiftly.

They wouldn’t be leisurely chatting as they climbed.

[Haha! Did that really happen?]

[Yes. With Viscount Adriel backing us, the Central Knights won’t dare interfere with our event so easily anymore.]

[That’s great news.]

[All thanks to the Lumigan Grass. You should’ve seen the viscount’s greedy eyes staring at it. Such a pity you missed it.]

A bead of sweat trembled at the tip of my eyebrow.

Some trickled down, stinging my eye.

But I had no time to blink.

With bloodshot eyes, I kept working the wrench.

Step, step.

The footsteps were now close.

The voices sounded as clear as if they were right beside me.

The fifth floor.

Right beyond this wall I faced.

They were walking down that hallway.

[That guy acted so noble at first. Turns out it was all a facade, huh?]

[That’s how nobles are.]

Hahaha! A burst of laughter erupted.

And that laughter reached the door to Narsi’s room.

At the same time, the weight of the wrench in my hand lightened.

Click!

The final pin released.

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