The Lowest Royal Returns
Chapter 76: Vault

Chapter 76: Vault

As expected, the headmaster didn’t show them the way to the vault. Instead, they were teleported right in front of it.

The vault resembled the entrance of the academy. It was a large metal door, and surrounding it was a pool of magma, warding away anyone who tried to find a way in.

At the same time, Raelis could feel a faint forcefield created not only by Magitek but also reinforced by high-ranked magic itself.

Basically, this place was impenetrable, and Raelis was sure that even his father would have trouble getting in.

Even so, the headmaster took careful steps toward the giant metal door, and when he arrived, he turned toward the three of them.

"Follow my steps. If you stray too far away from where I walked, you will be incinerated on the spot."

He chuckled. "Treat this as an observation test. If you’re not feeling confident in going through, then you may stay behind. However, do note that your Vitriol Roses will be taken back and graciously given to the emperor for supper."

Raelis rolled his eyes as he perfectly traced the headmaster’s steps, and so did Clea.

Less than a minute later, they arrived right in front of the headmaster.

But there was one person missing, Mathieu.

He had remained a few dozen meters away, shivering in his boots as he didn’t dare take a single step forward.

Seriously...? Raelis’s eyes narrowed.

Mathieu was a familiar figure. After all, he had met him not only in the preliminary exams but also during the second exam. They were teammates.

But he was also someone who nearly cost Raelis and Clea their lives.

He had accidentally fallen backward, and because of that, Alice had no choice but to break formation, save him, and come back when it was all over.

Yet for him to still be a coward... it rubbed Raelis the wrong way.

How did he get this far...? He’s going to be nothing but a nuisance on the battlefield.

And it seemed like the headmaster had that same thought process as he let out a sigh, then clapped his hands twice.

"Mathieu. Why did you come to the academy?" Arius asked. "Was it for fame? Power? Maybe you just wanted to get strong enough, then settle with a wife. Whatever it may be, it’s something not out of the realm of our imaginations."

After a brief pause, Mathieu gulped, then met the headmaster’s gaze.

"I... I came here because I wanted to get money."

"Mercenary work?" Arius mused. "That’s not bad. With the Furnace Academy’s training, you’ll be a spectacular mercenary."

Mathieu’s gaze trembled. "Not a mercenary... I want to become a merchant... I came to this academy because I wanted to find people who would work with me. Investors and—"

"Noble family support," Arius chimed in. "I understand. It’s not a bad goal, however..."

He narrowed his eyes. "The academy’s main focus is to mold fighters. Ones that would be able to fight against anything and everything that came at them. They are meant to be the empire’s elite. Soldiers where even a single one of you could take out a hundred demons. Can you take out a hundred demons?"

"No." Arius finished. "You can’t even overcome a simple challenge. You will never get anywhere if you set a mental barrier for something as feeble as a few steps."

"But if I—"

"Die? So what?" Arius chuckled. "We will all die someday. And believe me, dying from incineration is much better than being eaten alive by demons."

The moment he finished his words, a deathly silence ensued over the surroundings, until Raelis broke it with a whistle.

"You do know the headmaster said as long as you don’t stray too far away from his steps, you’ll be fine? Just walk in a straight line."

"Or just begin walking with your right foot," Clea chimed in with a shrug.

Hearing that, Mathieu’s eyes flickered with hesitation for a few moments as he glanced down, weighing his choices.

He could either take a step and get a treasure that could potentially change his life for the better, or... he could die.

But being an orphan in the empire was already a death sentence, so with that in mind, Mathieu closed his eyes and took a single step forward using his right leg.

To his surprise, nothing happened, so he continued walking slowly.

And eventually, when he arrived in front of the headmaster and the others, his legs turned to noodles as he fell to the ground, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Sniff... I thought I was going to die..." Mathieu mumbled, his hands trembling.

"Well, you didn’t." Arius patted his shoulder. "Oh, and I lied. There’s no incineration function. There’s no need for something like that when the intruders wouldn’t even be able to get this far, you know?"

Raelis froze, then nodded with a sigh.

Yeah... I should’ve known better.

But that brought back the fluffy atmosphere as Arius helped Mathieu to his feet, and in the next moment, he proceeded to walk toward the giant metal door.

He extended his hand and gently brushed his fingers on the metal, causing a low echo to resound.

But what followed was the ground shaking and the metal door parting slightly.

It reminded Raelis of that time he had gone to get the Ancient Flame remnant. The door was shut just like this as it contained something extremely valuable inside.

And of course, when the inside of the vault came into view, Raelis had been absolutely right.

It was a large room covered entirely in the densest metal the world had to offer, and it resembled a local library.

There were several sections with all sorts of items. Some were extremely valuable, while others seemed plain at a glance.

But as someone who had read quite a lot of the world’s history, Raelis was able to recognize a few.

A broken-down katana. It didn’t emit any mana, so it had long lost its properties as a magic sword.

And yet, it was the first-ever mana weapon to exist in all of history.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg, as there were special items scattered all around.

So without hesitation, Raelis began roaming the sections, looking for one thing in particular.

I wonder... Can I find purified Phoenix Tears here...? I would cross out the hardest-to-acquire item from the Phoenix Tear potion...

But there was only one way to find out, and that was by scouring the entire vault to his heart’s content.

Or so he thought.

"You have only an hour. If you don’t pick anything before the hour is up, you’ll get nothing."

The headmaster smirked.

"So choose carefully..."