Chapter 53: City Museum
[But wouldn't that expose your identity to others? If she reveals your name to Count Spade, you'll be in deep trouble, lad.]
'She's smarter than that. There's no way she'd expose me so easily. Even if she did, I'd change my identity in a few days anyway. I used her name because... I want my friends to know I'm still alive. Chris, Robert, Dante, and Daisy—they're the only ones I trust. They must've been worried all this time.'
[Tsk, you've grown attached to them. And wiser, too.]
'Heh… how wise am I compared to Charles?' Raven couldn't help but ask.
[You? Compared to Charles? Humph. You still need a thousand years of experience to reach his cunning. That sly fox once fooled a god when he was only Rank-4. He acts ten steps ahead and never hesitates to kill when needed.]
'Wow. Just hearing that gives me goosebumps.'
[He's a lone wolf, lad. He never trusts anyone completely—and he always puts himself first.]
'I want to be like him someday,' Raven muttered, noticing that he'd already reached the big mansion.
If he had returned empty-handed, the guards would've questioned him. But seeing the new bag in his hand, they ignored him. Raven walked past the estate and continued toward the Bristol Street entrance.
"Oh? Back already?" a muscular officer asked, surprised.
Raven waved casually.
"You've got a new bag there," another, round-bellied officer added, eyeing it curiously.
"It's a gift from Daisy, sir," Raven replied politely.
"Mind if we check?"
"You can. Just clothes and a few gifts." He opened it to show them.
"Oh? Potions and silver coins, too? Your friend must care a lot about you." The officer chuckled and waved him off. "Go on, lad. Head home."
Raven nodded, thanked them, and slipped away toward the eastern district. Within a minute, he vanished from sight and turned toward the junction.
'Why the City Museum?' he asked.
[I want to confirm something. If your luck's good, you might gain a valuable ability there.]
'Don't tell me this is about that goblin's corpse that destroyed Azmar Town twenty years ago.'
[Do you really think a goblin did that?]
'Didn't you tell me there are goblins stronger than wizards?'
[I did. But most of them here are under the Empire's thumb. Goblins can evolve into shamans or hobgoblins, but even a Rank-1 shaman can't wipe out an entire town. And isn't it odd that there were no survivors? Hardly any records exist about that event, either.]
Zera paused, then added,
[I'm curious about that "goblin." If it really cast a spell strong enough to erase a town, imagine what you could learn from its remains.]
Raven said nothing for a moment. Then—
'You're right. It's worth checking out.'
He soon reached Knight Street, home to the Police Headquarters, County Court, City Museum, and other government buildings. Compared to Bristol Street, security seemed strangely relaxed.
The road was quiet. Few pedestrians walked by, and none spared him a glance. Raven slipped into Shadow Stealth, his figure fading into the air.
He moved past the gates. Two guards stood at the entrance, alert and vigilant.
'Both are Elite-rank Walkers. I'll need to be careful.'
He vaulted over the compound wall without a sound and approached the museum's entrance. Locked.
[Of course it is. Find another way in.]
Circling the building, he found a smaller wooden door at the back. The lock was basic—too basic. He yanked it free with a soft clank.
[Keep it quiet. Elite Walkers have sharper senses than humans.]
'Got it.'
He eased the door open and slipped inside. Darkness swallowed him whole, but Night Vision painted the hall in shades of grey.
Dusty corridors stretched ahead. Old weapons—swords, spears, amulets, and armor—lined the rooms.
He reached the main hall. Skeletal remains of monsters and magical beasts stood displayed, their empty eyes staring through glass cases.
Raven climbed the staircase to the second floor. Here, artifacts were sealed in frosted containers, preserved by ice enchantments—rare plants, strange creatures, and things that defied logic.
Finally, at the end of the corridor, he found it.
A humanoid goblin encased in a massive block of ice. Magic circles glowed faintly around it.
'Are those trap runes?'
[No. They're preservation circles—to keep the ice from melting.]
Raven stepped closer. The "goblin" looked wrong. Its skin was crimson, not green. Horns jutted from its skull. Fangs. Scales. Gills.
'That's… not a goblin.'
[It's a Blood Imp. A lesser demon. But the gills—did it try evolving into a Syreni Demon? It must've died mid-transformation.]
'A demon? They actually exist?' Raven's heart raced.
[Don't waste time. Break the coffin and absorb its bloodline essence. The room's soundproof.]
'What if I turn into a demon myself?'
[You won't. The system only extracts essences tied to strength, spirit, vitality, agility—and spells.]
'What about luck?'
[I don't know. You haven't killed anything blessed by luck yet.]
'And affinities?'
[That's what the devourer inside you feeds on. Before you were born, it had already fused with your soul, draining your essence. If I hadn't merged it with my core, you'd be long dead—or consumed.]
Raven clenched his fist. Then he punched the ice with full force.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the block, shards scattering across the floor.
The imp's corpse slumped forward.
'It doesn't look that powerful,' Raven muttered, crouching beside it.
[Now it makes sense. This imp must've performed a large-scale sacrificial ritual—used the townsfolk as offerings to the abyss. For that, it would've had to disguise itself as a human and live among them for years.]
'But how did a demon appear in the first place?'
[No idea. But this proves something: your world is connected to the abyss. Demons might resurface again. Be prepared for the worst, lad.]