Power of Runes

Ash hurried toward the direction Taylor had taken. As he moved past multiple rooms, each one contained something, but it was useless for him, nothing he needed or cared about.

He must be at the end...

And sure enough, at the end of the corridor, here also, the hidden wall was closing and was almost fully shut.

Ash hurriedly teleported himself inside, and just as he appeared within, the Red Dragon was standing right in front of him with his back turned toward him.

Seeing that, Ash froze for a moment as he looked around.

Treasury...

What stood before him was the treasury, and it was even larger than the library he had seen before. It was grand, vast, and filled with an ancient silence that made it feel even more imposing.

But Ash ignored that.

And looked up at one of the corners of the roof, and quietly appeared there. He left another one of his teleport anchors at that spot.

With that bastard here, I won't be able to look at the things in peace or explore properly. I will return after some time, once he is gone...

Thinking that, just as he was about to teleport himself away, he heard Taylor mutter in a low and annoyed voice, "I don't understand why Alarion sent me here. I wanted to catch that rat bastard instead."

Hearing that, Ash stopped in his tracks.

Sent them here...? Weren't they supposed to be searching for me? Wait... does that mean Alarion gave Ariel and Taylor different instructions other than what I heard? Something specific...?

"I don't get it. Why does he think that brat would even try to enter the treasury or the egg chambers? They are so well hidden, I doubt he could even find them, no matter how much he tries..."

From Taylor's words, Ash could sense the irritation in his tone, but more importantly, he understood the hidden meaning.

Alarion must have given them different instructions separately, possibly through telepathy or some secret method of communication.

That's why they had gone to these two locations instead of searching elsewhere.

So that means the egg chamber is also here? But I felt the security here was pretty lax. If someone knows the pattern, they can easily enter it.

What Ash failed to consider in that moment was that simply reaching this place was the real challenge, not just opening the hidden door.

That's when Taylor stepped forward and raised both of his hands toward the small dragon statues placed symmetrically on either side of where he stood. As his palms made contact, he infused them with his dragon mana.

In response, the statues pulsed faintly, and the floor in front of him slowly began to shift, revealing a hidden passage leading downward.

These lizards really are overly cautious...

Ash muttered in his thoughts, reflecting on the elaborate ways the dragons had gone to conceal their secrets.

Taylor proceeded down the revealed path, vanishing into the depths below, but Ash found himself pausing in place, conflicted.

My mana... it's too low...

His mana reserves, which had already been worn thin, were now nearing complete exhaustion. And to make matters worse, it wasn't regenerating like it usually did.

Most of the ambient mana must be blocked by space interference... but even then, shouldn't space mana at least be flowing into me? That's strange...

He didn't understand why this was happening, but the uncertainty made him hesitate about whether he should follow Taylor deeper into the hidden chamber.

At some point, he had stopped supplying mana to his armor, finally starting to grasp how to manage his strength and presence without drawing too much attention.

I still have enough mana for a single escape with concealment activated... it should be fine.

Making up his mind, Ash silently leapt down from his perch and landed lightly on his feet with practiced ease.

But before going down... should I grab the most valuable things from here first?

Ash looked at the large amount of treasures scattered throughout the room, but his priority remained unchanged in his mind.

Let's head deeper. I don't think anything truly valuable would be placed near the entrance. And if I happen to miss something right now, I can always come back later to check properly.

With that thought, he moved forward quickly, relying only on his physical strength. His movements were smooth, fluid, and fast enough that he seemed like a blur passing through the halls.

While advancing, he activated his [Omni Thought] ability, allowing his mind to process everything around him with clarity, even as his body moved at high speed. Every item, artifact, and object that entered his vision was briefly analyzed.

Ohoho, it looks like they really have almost everything stored here…

His steps came to a stop in front of a small, grey space ring resting on a pedestal. The band was engraved with the shape of a dragon, its carved eyes staring lifelessly forward. A plaque stood beside it, providing details about the item's function and capacity.

Ash glanced at the description and raised his eyebrows slightly.

The size of this space ring is actually twice that of mine.

His current space ring was already massive, almost the size of a football stadium, and it wasn't even half full. But the one before him could hold twice as much.

I can store those bones in this. It will come in handy later.

Without hesitation, he bound the ring to himself and continued moving deeper into the treasury.

On his way, he passed by all sorts of valuable items—precious dragon hearts, rare materials, ancient artifacts—but he didn't stop.

Right now, he needed to hurry. He had no idea when that underground passage might close again.

As he reached the center of the treasury, something familiar caught his attention.

It was the Cursed Eye and the Fragment—items he had earned in the trial which the dragons had taken from him.

Both were lying there casually, placed together as if they were of little value.

Without pausing, Ash quietly picked them up and slipped them into his pocket, not sparing them another glance, before continuing his path forward.

[A/N: I had completely forgotten to mention the Cursed Eye and the Fragment in the previous chapters, but I've fixed it now. You can check it if you want in the chapter: Torture]

Just as he moved twenty steps forward, he found exactly what he was looking for. There, placed carefully on a pedestal, was an hourglass filled with shimmering sand.

Rune of Time…

Without wasting even a second to glance at the description written beneath it, he immediately shoved it into his pocket and turned around, moving quickly back toward the entrance.

I can't absorb the Rune of Time yet. There's still a hidden condition I need to fulfill before I can truly claim it… but the artifact's ability on its own is already valuable enough.

It can speed up the flow of time for the person using it, and that alone holds incredible potential.

But it's not suited for combat. It can only accelerate time for one person, and the moment someone else steps into the area of effect, the power immediately cancels out.

That's why, despite its usefulness, its practical value among dragons was limited. After all, dragons already lived for thousands of years—there was hardly any reason for them to rush or slow down time.

What use was temporal acceleration to a race that already viewed centuries as fleeting moments?

He already knew the artifact's functions, so there was no reason to waste more time standing there. He had already spent far too long wandering the Dragon Continent.

I've obtained what I came for. Still, if I could also secure a dragon egg, that would make this trip truly worthwhile.

Ash had been planning to steal one or two dragon eggs—one for himself and another for Elysia.

I'm pretty sure she would love a dragon as a pet. It can also protect her in the future, and she would definitely take care of it better than most.

Reaching the entrance again, he saw that the door on the floor was still open, which brought a bit of relief. Without hesitation, he descended the stairs quickly, wasting no time.

He moved swiftly, and within minutes, he descended deep beneath the surface, where his eyes were met with a sight that truly deserved to be called an egg chamber.

The chamber was huge, made of old stone, with high ceilings that curved like the inside of a grand temple.

Soft light came from glowing runes carved into the walls, filling the space with a calm, golden glow. The air felt warm and thick with mana, giving the whole place a quiet and powerful feeling.

Dragon eggs were spread all across the chamber, each one sitting in its own black stone socket.

There were almost a hundred of them, and every egg was different—some were blue, some gold, some silver or green, and even a few were pure black.

Some eggs had tiny sparks of energy on them—small flames, bits of lightning, or light frost gently covering the shell.

All of them gave off a sense of life, like they were waiting for the right moment to awaken. The place felt like the beginning of something big, like the future was sleeping in front of him.

But even with so many eggs, one stood out right away.

In the center of the room, placed a little higher than the rest, was a small red egg. It was much smaller than the others, almost fragile-looking, but somehow it grabbed more attention than any other.

Its shell looked like red crystal, shining like a ruby, smooth and glowing softly. A golden mist swirled around it, floating gently like a soft breath, making it feel even more special.

Ash narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed.

He couldn't quite explain why, but from that egg, he felt a strange purity—something untainted, ancient, and sacred in a way he had never felt before.

A small grin formed under his mask.

Hehe

***