Chapter 7

I’ve heard tales of how the dark dragon Murakhan fell into a long slumber following its defeat against the forefather. But do you mean to say he was sleeping here?

Jin didn’t know much about Murakhan. The number of instances mentioning the Dark Dragon was extremely rare, even within the clan.

It was mostly owing to the fact that there was more to discuss about active dragons than the ones that had disappeared.

The glass coffin was clean, without a single speck of dust, not because someone had wiped it clean every single day, but because of the faint magic that surrounded it.

He placed his hand on the glass and felt a chill run down his spine. He gulped his saliva and set off on his foot once again.

That was an interesting sight.

An active dragon would have helped, but there was nothing to gain from a sleeping dragon like Murakhan. The bigger priority at the moment was finding the secret tomes, not staring blankly at a sleeping dragon.

It’s bigger here than I imagined.

The dungeon seemed to be more vast than the central hall at the Storm Castle. And since it was empty and completely devoid of any ornaments or decoration, finding the archives holding the tomes was a breeze.

Creak...

Jin opened a sliding door to reveal the archives. The so-called hidden archives of the Runcandels had but a single bookshelf and a couple of chairs, but that was more than enough.

It wasn’t like there were many secret tomes written by the warrior clans in the world.

The secret tomes!

The books filling the shelf—which barely rose a couple of feet off the ground—were objects that were once guarded by various clans around the world. They’d protected the tomes with their lives.

These were the pinnacle of martial arts that could only be accessed by the Runcandel flag bearers.

Jin calmed himself and started checking each of the tomes in the bookshelf.

Combat techniques of the Myer and the Tyfen clans, spear techniques of the Euron and the Chagaulle clans, sword techniques of the Attila clan, and others. There’s plenty in here.

He also spotted a few tomes from the Kunhgen clan, who were wiped out of existence following their attack on the Storm Castle two hundred years ago. Jin’s hands shook slightly as he held and scanned each of the books.

His hands were shaking out of excitement.

How I had longed to come here as a flag bearer one day, before I was banished from the Runcandel clan. The memories of his woeful days flashed in his mind.

Of course, he wasn’t here as a flag bearer at this moment either. He did come as a Runcandel, but he was no different from a burglar breaking in.

But Jin couldn’t care less.

Wasn’t it the virtue of a Runcandel to stop at nothing if it meant he would grow stronger? Besides, he would be coming back to this dungeon in a few years, as a true flag bearer.

Which one should I start with?

What a delightful thing to worry about. Would his brothers have felt this way when they were little, as they gawked at lewd illustrations when their nannies weren’t around? Jin smiled widely as he scanned the different books.

He didn’t have much time to spend here. Just two hours.

That was the free time allotted for him to mourn the bird. Once those two hours were over, Gilly would come looking for him.

This realization was the same feeling of sadness one would experience from having to select a single dish from an entire feast.

I’ll have other opportunities. I can excuse myself by saying I’m mourning for the bird, or meditating, so I can keep coming down here.

He slid out a book from the shelf. The first tome Jin picked out was a collection of sword techniques from the Kunhgen clan.

My third brother told me there was much to learn from this book. I guess I’ll start with this.

There were three tomes from the Kunhgen clan in total. Jin took out the other two books arranged alongside and sat himself on the chair.

Originally, there had been more than ten secret tomes kept by the Kunhgens, but most of them were lost when they were wiped out by the Runcandels two centuries ago.

The Runcandels had purposely destroyed them.

In other words, it meant that the three volumes that remained contained the pinnacle of the Kunhgen swordsmanship.

Jin quickly flipped through the pages. Secret tomes as they were, the early sections of the first volume delved mostly into the fundamentals of swordsmanship and the code of honor for the knights.

He was midway through the book when his page flipping came to an end. Jin’s eyes widened as he carefully studied the inscribed words within.

The tome, which had only covered the fundamentals so far, suddenly started displaying texts vastly beyond his comprehension.

Wow. So it was a secret after all, huh. This is quite hard to understand.

Although the texts were written in the standard continental language, the bulk of the text addressed topics far beyond his understanding.

The level of swordsmanship Jin had reached prior to his unexpected demise in the Kingdom of Arkhin was three-stars.

He was slower than the so-called pretty good group of people, and by Runcandel standards, he was pathetic beyond comparison.

However, as it had only taken him half a year to reach three-stars following his contract with Solderet, it was actually a tremendous achievement.

The bigger problem now was that one couldn’t expect to comprehend the secret techniques of the Kunhgens with a three-star level of swordsmanship.

But of course, he had expected as much.

Jin brought a notebook and a pencil with him for this very purpose.

He took them out and started copying the texts, transcribing the contents. In two hours, he’d be able to copy down about ten pages.

Back when he was studying magic, he used to transcribe so much text that his fingerprints faded away.

Ten pages a day.

Jin still had three years until he would leave the Storm Castle. If he could transcribe ten pages a day for the next three years, he would have enough time to transcribe all the tomes.

And once I start studying them, I’ll be able to understand them little by little, which means I won’t have to transcribe some of the books.

Scribble, scribble...

The silent dungeon was filled with the sound of his pencil scratching on paper. It took him exactly an hour to transcribe ten pages, after which Jin doubled back through the path he took and left the dungeon.

He covered the hole in the wall with soil and by using earth resonance.

# # #

And so, two months flew by. In that time, Jin was able to transcribe the three tomes from the Kunhgens, along with two tomes of the Myer clan which delved in hand-to-hand combat.

The tedious and dreary days in the Storm Castle were now filled with vivacity. Waking up in the mornings had never felt so joyful as it did now.

What should I use as my excuse to go down to the dungeon today? Mourning? Meditation, perhaps? No. I already used those excuses yesterday, and the day before that too.

The servants in the Storm Castle were gossiping about how Jin was possessed by the spirit of the dead bird lately.

It wasn’t much of a surprise, considering how he had visited the grave nearly every day for the last two months, citing mourning and meditation as the excuse. Moreover, the Tona twins got wind of the rumors and now feared Jin more than ever, for some reason.

Hmm. Should I come up with a new excuse? One that will allow me to visit the area every day?

He racked his brain for ideas for some time but was unable to come up with anything. How was he supposed to make it acceptable to visit the hole by the grave every single day?

Soon enough, Jin changed his mind.

Why should I come up with a reason they can accept? I wish to go there every day. Who in this castle will dare stop me?

The guardian knights no longer viewed him as a child, but obeyed him as Jin Runcandel, and the servants were never a consideration in the first place. The Tona brothers no longer posed a threat, as they feared him now.

No, Gilly was the problem.

Nannies were different from guardian knights or the servants. They actually held some influence over the child who they were put in charge of.

“Gilly?”

“Yes, young master.”

“I was thinking I’d go there again today.”

“Today as well?” Gilly’s eyes immediately filled with concern.

Gilly let out a deep sigh and patted Jin on his head.

“Young master, it truly is a shame, but the bird is already dead. It’s been two months. I am so worried about you that I can barely sleep in peace.”

“I have long forgotten about the bird. The reason why I keep going to the graveyard is actually because I like it there.”

“Wha- What do you mean you like it there? Young master, you mustn’t take a liking to graveyards. You’ll attract bad luck!”

“Why would I attract bad luck?”

“Graveyards are homes to the dead. There’s nothing good to gain from being around such places. You should be filling yourself with positive energy instead, young master.”

Even the nannies of the Runcandel clan took superstitions seriously, Jin thought as he shook his head.

“No, I will continue to like graveyards.”

“Young master!”

“Nanny, consider my words. I am the youngest son of the Runcandels.”

Gilly’s eyes widened as Jin feigned a serious tone. “Why would you suddenly....”

“As long as I am born a Runcandel, I am bound to contribute quite a number of graves to the world in my lifetime. Actually, I’ve been trying hard to understand death on my own terms lately. That’s why I’ve been going there every day, just to get used to it.”

“Oh.” Gilly’s mouth failed to contain her remark.

For some time, she stood there dumbfounded, gazing blankly at her young lord.

She looked at her young master who was already confronting his fate of being born a Runcandel, a predator, at mere seven years of age.

Of course, that was Gilly’s incorrect misinterpretation.

Jin was merely manipulating Gilly, who was now younger than the total sum of his two lives.

Truth be told, how would anyone manage to say such a thing at seven years of age anyway, regardless of whether one was born to this dreadful clan or not?

However, there was no room for suspicion, because neither Gilly nor anyone around him could fathom that Jin was, in fact, living his life a second time over.

I’m sure something must’ve changed in his mind ever since he met the Patriarch. The Patriarch must’ve told him something of importance.

Gilly changed her expression and bowed her head.

“If that’s the case, I will not stop you, as I have no doubt that you will one day become a great knight who will lead the clan. In fact, I even feel proud after hearing your honest opinion, young master.”

“Thank you, Gilly. From now on, I will visit the graveyard for an hour or two every day, until the day I leave the Storm Castle.”

“Yes, young master.”

“And I do not wish to be disturbed during that time. Do you understand?”

“I will inform the guardian knights on the matter. And one more thing, young master.”

“Yes?”

“If I may add, as your nanny, and as a grown-up. I can’t say it’s too healthy for you to be holding so many heavy thoughts at your young age. Please, try to enjoy pleasant things in life from time to time.”

“Okay, I’ll remember to do as you suggest. Gilly. Hm. If that’s the case, why don’t you bake me a strawberry pie as my snack later? With lots of honey on it too.”

Gilly’s stern expression brightened with joy. “I shall bake you a very delicious pie then. Be back soon.”

Jin left the room with a big smile.

I did it! Now, I can focus on transcribing without being on guard.

He had been anxious on countless occasions in the last two months while he was down in the dungeon. If Gilly or any of the guardian knights ever came to the hole and saw him there, the entire clan would be in an uproar.

I doubt they would kill me even if they found out, since my father has taken interest in me. But things definitely will get troublesome if they do discover what I’m doing.

His delight was enough to make him hum tunes to himself. Something about the earth resonance spell he used to dig out the hole seemed to have an upbeat rhythm to it as well.

He planned to continue transcribing the last chapter on the combat techniques of the Myers.

Scribble, scribble!

He indulged in the success at which he secured freedom for himself for the next three years, as he continued to transcribe the secret combat techniques. This was truly the bliss of a second life.

The combat techniques of the Myers don’t seem as difficult as the sword techniques of the Kunhgens. But the line about merging one’s body along with the aura, what’s this about? Well... I guess I’ll find out in time.

An hour passed.

His thin, soft fingers felt sore from writing without pausing, so he was just about to take a three-minute break.

Click...

The sound came from the other side of the sliding door. Jin quickly rose to his feet in surprise.

It was the sound of the glass coffin that held the dark dragon Murakhan. It was opening.