"A crate?" EeDechi's eyes flew wide in disbelief.
"Grab any crate from the warehouse," the man ordered. His tone was so casual it sounded like he was telling someone to pick up a single grain of sand from a dune.
The tall silver doors on the right side of the great hall boomed open. Two humanoid armored Constructs marched out, carrying a massive nail-studded wooden crate between them, and set it down in front of EeDechi.
She yanked the lid off with her bare hands. The crate was crammed full of resurrection items! Precious little copper cans stood neatly inside like rows of canned goods—at least seventy or eighty of them.
The corners of EeDechi's mouth curled into a grin. She had just gained a whole new appreciation for the Eight Greed Kings' staggering wealth.
5th Tier Magic: Artifact Appraisal, activate!
A stream of text appeared before her eyes:
[Item Name: One Crate of High-Grade Resurrection Items
Materials: 縈鎩霬礫, 𓀭𓇳𓏤𓇳𓄿𓇋𓇋𓀢𓀀𓁐, 𒀭𒂗𒆠𒆗𒋫𒁺𒉈, 𐀋𐀍𐀎𐀏𐀐𐀑𐀒𐀓, 𑀈𑀉𑀊𑀎𑀔𑀕𑀖𑀘𑀙𑀜
Quality: Divine Artifact
Function: Revives a whole bunch of low-level characters from memory.
Note: This is only the tip of the iceberg of the Eight Greed Kings' fortune.
Additional Note: The sole rule of resurrection is Equivalent Exchange. Of course, what gets exchanged is the resurrection item itself.]
Barrett, Franco, and Cheeko immediately crowded in, pawing through the copper cans. Even Antilene's eyes went wide, shining with naked envy.
"You lot look pretty broke," the man said, eyeing the Last Defender of the Way adventurer team with amusement. "We can throw in a few more things if you want."
After crossing countless mountains and rivers, surviving every kind of danger and hardship to reach this lost empire, it would be a crime against their adventurer souls if they left without any treasure.
"I want a box of treasure," Barrett said, eyes shining with anticipation.
"No problem!" the thirty level-100 guardians answered as one.
The golden doors on the north side of the great hall boomed open. Twenty humanoid armored Constructs marched out in perfect formation, each carrying a colossal treasure chest on their shoulders. The chest was so enormous it could have swallowed an elephant whole.
BOOM!
The chest slammed onto the floor, its crushing weight making the stone tremble.
Barrett gazed up at the gigantic box, heart pounding with excitement. Since it was far too big to carry, EeDechi stored it inside her Aetherial Secret Coffer for the time being.
"I also want a two-handed sword that cuts iron like mud and can break through anything—the absolute best weapon. Oh, and a sturdy set of leather armor," Barrett added eagerly.
"Our treasury holds countless blades of unmatched sharpness and power," the man said with a smile. "But we cannot simply hand you one."
"Why?" Barrett was stunned. Why the sudden stinginess?
"Grabbing any old weapon off the shelf could never suit you properly," the man clapped his hands once. "Weapon smiths! Forge the strongest blade for this brave warrior!"
From the open bronze doors emerged a team of dwarf artisan servants, hauling hammers, anvils, bellows, wheeling a forge, and a cart piled high with mithril, refined iron ore, and every tool a master smith could need.
The dwarves set up a complete sword-forging workshop right there on the spot. Iron ore and mithril went straight into the mana-powered furnace, and the forging began.
One dwarf rolled over a measuring ladder and took Barrett's full height, limb lengths, and arm span to craft a longsword perfectly fitted to him.
Clang! Clang! Clang! The steady ring of hammers echoed through the hall. Barrett waited, barely able to contain himself, for his new weapon to be born.
"I want the strongest magic staff, and the emperors' spellbook!" Franco declared, practically bouncing with excitement.
"No problem," the thirty level-100 guardians agreed at once, clearly pleased.
After that, Antilene stepped forward with her own list—divine artifacts, piles of treasure, and rare magic tomes—and received every single thing she asked for.
"Meow~" Cheeko crouched beside EeDechi's pant leg, staring at the small mountain of gold and silver treasure heaped in front of them. Its obsidian eyes glittered like polished gems.
EeDechi thought for a moment and realized she didn't actually need anything. The things she truly wanted were probably beyond what these thirty guardians could give.
"Can I have a few World Items?" EeDechi asked, hope clear in her voice.
This time the thirty guardians were no longer so generous. They put their heads together and whispered for a while. The man in the lead finally spoke. "What do you need World Items for?"
"Evil is spreading across this world. There's an organization called the Great Tomb of Nazarick that wants to conquer everything and drown the land in darkness," EeDechi said earnestly.
"We lived through the level-100 wars and we know the ambitions of level-100 warriors. I'm sorry—I understand what you're thinking. But World Items are far too rare. We cannot give them to you.
"However, before the eight emperors launched their great expedition, they used World Item Fusion to merge three World Items and create the strongest ultimate World Item—Destiny!
"Destiny was carried to the battlefield where the eight emperors fought the World's Will. We call that place the Godfall Grounds. Board the Apocalyptic Mourning Bell skyship, reach the Godfall Grounds, and you may find Destiny. Whoever obtains Destiny can control their own fate!"
"The strongest ultimate World Item—Destiny." EeDechi burned those words into her heart, already planning to set out in search of it the moment she could.
EeDechi thought for a moment, ready to launch into a full-blown persuasive speech. Maybe she could talk these thirty level-100 guardians into marching out with them to crush the Great Tomb of Nazarick together.
But all thirty guardians refused. They said they were bound to stay here and wait for the Eight Emperors to return; they would never set one foot beyond these walls.
EeDechi frowned in annoyance. In the end she could only ask for a crate of gleaming pure gold ingots and tuck them into her spatial ring.
"Do you have an army?" asked the level-100 guardian holding the battle banner.
"No army," EeDechi shrugged.
The banner guardian rubbed his chin and turned to the man in armor. "I believe we must give our guests real help. Once the Great Tomb of Nazarick finishes conquering the rest of the world, they will definitely cast their eyes on our desert and send troops to invade us.
"We both know the ambitions of level-100 warriors have no limit. Even if the Great Tomb of Nazarick's strength is nothing to fear, if they come here to stir up trouble it will still be an unnecessary headache."
Disagreement broke out among the thirty guardians. They argued back and forth, unable to reach a decision.
"Give them one World Item. They have no army to command, so in a fight against the Great Tomb of Nazarick they'll definitely get crushed."
The man in the golden-red armor pondered for a moment. A magical item condensed in his hand: a dark grandfather clock whose hands were a dull antique bronze.
The heavy clock floated up and drifted gently into EeDechi's grasp. She stroked the cold metal casing.
"This is the World Item—Worldflattener. It can call down solar storms from the sky. The eight emperors created it after they were inspired by a meteor shower. 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for you all.' You're going to love it."