Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 733 - 732: Stealing Knowledge

Although Tiel often gives an impression of unreliability, at least this time, her suggestion seems quite reliable to Gawain.

Even if the "Ultimate Tome" is truly an artifact from a long-lost ancient civilization, those dragons who get rich by safeguarding others’ treasures until the owners die might know its origin — maybe they can even dig out an intact one from their vaults...

To be honest, Gawain is still a bit unsettled over accidentally breaking the Ultimate Tome.

Upon returning to Cecil Palace, he immediately contacted that high-ranking agent through The Mithril Ring.

As expected, that blue dragon lady appeared before him in less than thirty minutes — always responding quickly when called.

"The Mithril Vault is pleased to serve you," Melita Ponia stood in front of Gawain, her features hidden beneath a light purple veil, only her slightly curved eyes revealing a hint of a smile, "This time, do you need to deposit or withdraw items, seek consultation, or... is it still express delivery?"

"Let’s not talk about those first," Gawain waved his hand, unable to resist asking a long-standing question, "Why can you always arrive so quickly — it’s as if you live around me all the time? There’s no historic event needing your observation now. Don’t you have other things to do?"

Melita’s professional smile seemed to stiffen for a moment, but upon closer look, it was just an illusion; her smile remained as warm as a spring breeze: "You are a priority customer of the Mithril Vault, of course you receive extra attention — but this time, it really is a coincidence that I’m near you. Please don’t worry, my work won’t be delayed; every employee of the Mithril Vault is dedicated to their duties."

Seeing Melita’s trustworthy and calm eyes, Gawain had no choice but to believe her, but he couldn’t help but glance up and down at her, asking, "I have another question — it might be a bit rude, but do you only have this one outfit?"

Even on this cold winter day, Melita still wore that signature, slightly exotic purple gown. Gawain never paid much attention to it before, but today, icicles hung from the streetlights in the city, and almost everyone he saw wore winter clothes — except for Kamel and Saint Nicholas Egg — so seeing the agent lady in front of him, the incongruity was particularly striking.

Melita probably didn’t expect Gawain’s questions to be so sharp today, and after hearing it, she was stunned for a moment, then smiled a bit stiffly: "... You should know, I’m a dragon. For me, this human form is only for convenience in human society, and I’m... not very keen on enhancing my human appearance."

"I see," Gawain nodded, "Sorry for asking some impolite questions."

"It’s alright, let’s consider it a casual talk between friends, I don’t mind," Melita smiled and shook her head, "So what is the reason you sought me out today?"

"You could say it’s a consultation. Recently, we acquired something, but no one knows its origin. But I think if it’s the ancient dragonkin... maybe they could provide some help."

"Thank you for your trust, but I must remind you that although dragons might know a bit more, they don’t know everything, nor can they tell you everything," Melita said as a hint of curiosity emerged in her eyes, "So... what exactly is it?"

"A book, but it’s not here. You have to come with me," Gawain stood up, signaling Melita to follow him, "I’ll explain how we got it on the way..."

With a team of attendants, Gawain led Melita, leaving the royal district and soon arriving near the Magic Guide Technology Research Institute. On the way, he gave her a rough introduction to the origins of the Ultimate Tome and also recounted the events near Sorinburg. The dragon lady was evidently very interested in the latter, and after hearing how Beltira transformed into the Sorin Giant Tree, she couldn’t help but sigh while shaking her head: "Alas... I once saw that giant tree from the sky, truly astonishing, even dragons find it amazing... but I didn’t expect the tree came to be like that."

"The Oblivion Association paid with their own lives and flesh, but the things left in the wasteland are still unsettling. A group of mutated druids surviving in the chaotic wave environment, one can only wonder what they’re brewing," Gawain said, frowning. "With your abilities, can’t you fly over the great barrier to investigate what’s inside?"

Gawain had a mind to use Melita’s power as a dragon to explore the Gondor wasteland since those lands were shrouded in a powerful interference energy field, and even his satellite surveillance couldn’t see through its interior. However, he knew that his relationship with the Mithril Vault was more of a tenuous "friendship," and he couldn’t order Melita around or ask the Mithril Vault for such "out of service" requests, so he spoke casually, without high expectations.

Melita, however, contemplated Gawain’s words seriously for two seconds, nodding: "Actually, I could fly over that barrier — my extreme flight height allows crossing it."

Gawain raised an eyebrow with a hint of anticipation: "Then..."

"But flying in would be death." Melita continued.

Gawain: "..."

What’s there to say about that! Humans can do it too — connect with the elf’s control center, open a temporary entrance in the barrier, and Gawain could lead an infantry squad to stroll inside. But what’s the point — they’d die too...

"Actually, it’s not certain death," Melita seemed to feel her answer wasn’t professional enough and added, "It’s just extremely high risk. The chaotic magical environment is very harmful to dragons, and the storm environment in the wasteland clouds is the greatest threat to entering from the air. On the ground, countless aberrations and energy hurricanes exist. According to our estimates, the mortality rate for even battle-trained young dragonkin entering the center of the Gondor wasteland within twenty-four hours is close to ninety percent..."

Gawain thought for a moment, feeling Melita’s explanation wasn’t much different from before — it’s still death.

"Then forget it," he waved his hand, "I was just speaking casually, don’t take it to heart."

While speaking, they arrived at the laboratory where the Ultimate Tome was stored.

The accompanying guards and attendants took over the defense at the laboratory’s entrance, and the staff responsible for the facility opened the lab door. Gawain led Melita into this tightly secured room, where the Ultimate Tome lay quietly on the central round platform, surrounded by a fence and a layer of shield for protection.

Gawain pointed at the Black Leather Tome on the platform: "This is it, you..."

He spoke while glancing at Melita beside him, but the second half of his sentence stuck in his throat.

Melita was fixated on the Ultimate Tome with intense concentration; the usual nonchalant demeanor of the dragon lady vanished without a trace. She barely hid the gravity and vigilance in her gaze, and her serious demeanor made Gawain instantly aware of one thing —

Melita knows the secret of the "Ultimate Tome"!

"Judging by your expression, you probably know the origin of the Ultimate Tome," Gawain quickly composed himself and spoke to regain Merita’s attention. "It seems I’ve found the right person this time."

Merita snapped out of her daze, turning sharply to stare at Gawain, her gaze intense and her voice exceptionally serious: "You just said this book was found in the lair of the Oblivion Association? The Oblivion Association has been using this book for centuries to develop itself, formulating various plans to influence the continent’s situation?"

Gawain looked at Merita seriously, deliberately pausing for two seconds before nodding slowly and asking in a deep voice: "What exactly is the origin of this book? Why are you so tense?"

For a moment, Merita seemed caught in hesitation and conflict. After a full half-minute of contemplation and silence, she finally shook her head lightly: "...I don’t know if I should tell you this... but I must warn you, it’s extremely dangerous, incredibly hazardous to the progression of civilization, and you should stay away from it as much as possible. As for those Oblivion Association believers... fortunately, their minds are twisted, and their actions lack logic. Perhaps that’s why they haven’t been able to fully exploit the book. Otherwise, the trouble on this continent... would be much more severe!"

This agent of the Mithril Vault was clearly tense and vigilant to such an extent that she even forgot to include the formal "you" when speaking with Gawain.

Gawain didn’t mind Merita’s slight change in address; he just calmly reminded the overly tense Lady Dragon, "It’s already defunct."

"Regardless, you all had better not continue to interact with it..." Merita spoke instinctively but then reacted mid-sentence, "Huh? You said it’s defunct?"

"Yes, though the reason is unclear, it is completely unusable," Gawain said with a calm face. "If you don’t believe it, you can check yourself."

As he spoke, he deactivated the laboratory’s safety barriers. After the steel railings and energy shields were deactivated, he reached for the Black Leather Tome, but before handing it to Merita, his motion suddenly paused: "Let me confirm first — you’re not going to destroy it immediately after getting it, are you?"

Judging by Merita’s tense vigilance, Gawain was genuinely concerned about this.

"I swear by the honor of the Dragon and my name," Merita promptly and seriously stated, "I won’t do such a thing without authorization — I just want to check its condition."

Gawain decided to trust her.

On the one hand, Merita’s oath sounded quite solemn, and on the other, she didn’t seem like someone who would act recklessly. Of course, the more important reason was his confidence in his own abilities — destroying an ancient artifact before a legendary powerhouse can react, even if a dragon is involved, is not that easy.

Merita took the Black Leather Tome, her breathing slightly quickened, and her expression was as serious and tense as if she were holding a half-ton bomb — and the bomb’s safety was off.

She opened the book and saw the full pages filled with information indicating broken connections, red warning characters filling her vision.

Gawain thought this must be akin to seeing nothing but 404 errors...

"...It’s indeed unusable," after quickly flipping through it several times, Merita finally sighed in relief, her tone somewhat lighter, "But you’ve got one thing wrong, it’s not broken, at least not physically, but... the end result is much the same, it’s unusable, and theoretically, no one can restore it to its previous state, unless... no, nothing."

Gawain, although curious about what came after the "unless," was more concerned at this moment about what the Ultimate Tome was: "Now can you tell me, what is the origin of this book?"

Merita hesitated for two seconds, and through that thin veil, Gawain vaguely saw her biting her lip — after this obvious moment of hesitation, the high-ranking agent exhaled lightly: "You should be aware that in the Ancient Era, the Dragonkin and one of the civilizations on Loren Continent went to war..."

"The Inversion Tide War?" Gawain immediately reacted.

"Yes, I mentioned it to you..." Merita said in a low voice, "And I also told you that in the history of the Dragonkin, that war is called the ’Inversion Tide Disturbance.’ It carries the term ’disturbance’ because it was far more than just a war — it was a crisis that almost resulted in the world’s utter extinction due to a recklessly developed race taking the wrong development path, and the book you found..."

Merita gently raised the Black Leather Tome in her hand, waving it slightly in the air.

"...was created by The Inverted Tide Empire."

Gawain’s eyes widened.

This piece of ancient lore that had intrigued him for so long and seemed to have some connection with the Black Pit was unexpectedly partially unveiled at this moment!

"May I ask one more question?" He looked into Merita’s eyes, "Why did you say this book is extremely dangerous — what was the purpose of The Inverted Tide Empire in creating this book?"

"To steal knowledge," Merita stated calmly, "stealing knowledge beyond their control, and that knowledge eventually almost destroyed the world’s future."

To steal knowledge!!

This simple word struck Gawain’s mind like a bolt of lightning, stirring up a storm within him.

If it were someone else, they probably wouldn’t associate anything from this simple word of Merita, but he knew what the data source linked to the Ultimate Tome was —

It was the satellite array in space!

(Pushing a new book, fantasy category, "Raising the Coffin Ride," yes, some may have noticed, the author’s previous book is no longer around... but this one should be steady, no problem, and the concept is nice, worth checking out.

Additionally, the voice-enabled Chapter comment is available! Fans with over 500 points can send voice messages now!)