Chapter 10: The Index and the Empty Throne (Part 1)
Location: The Bibliotheca of Infinity (Mental Space).
Time: One Day After the Duke's Departure.
The library was no longer a silent tomb.
Grim, the ink-doll guardian, zipped through the air like a hummingbird. He carried armfuls of books that floated behind him in a train, reorganizing Row 4 (History and Politics) with ruthless efficiency.
Ren stood at his central desk. He was staring at a specific book floating in front of him.
It was [The Sword Saint's memoir: 100 Cuts]. He had scanned it from the Arken Library two nights ago.
"Time to test the Class Skill," Ren said.
He reached out with his mind.
[ Skill Activation: The Index ]
[ Target: 'The Sword Saint's Memoir' ]
[ Scanning for Borrowable Skills... ]
A list appeared in his mind, projected from the book:
Severing Gale (Rank B) - Cost: 200 Mana. (Unavailable)
Iron Skin (Rank C) - Cost: 50 Mana/min.
Perfect Parry (Rank C) - Cost: 20 Mana/use.
"Perfect Parry," Ren selected. "Borrow."
The book glowed. A stream of golden light shot from the pages and wrapped around Ren's right arm. It felt heavy, like he was wearing an invisible gauntlet of lead.
[ Skill Borrowed: Perfect Parry. ]
[ Duration: 10 Minutes. ]
[ Cooldown: 1 Hour. ]
Ren picked up a mental construct of a sword. He nodded to Grim.
"Grim. Attack me."
Grim's white eyes widened. He dropped the books. His ink-body shifted, his arm turning into a long, jagged spike.
Swoosh.
Grim lunged. He was fast—faster than Caelum.
Ren didn't think. He didn't calculate angles. His arm moved on its own.
CLANG.
Ren's sword intercepted Grim's spike at the exact moment of impact. He didn't just block; he deflected the force, sending the ink-guardian spinning away.
Ren looked at his hand. "Muscle memory transfer. It downloads the reflex directly into the nervous system."
This changed everything. He didn't need to spend years training with a sword to be a swordsman. He just needed the right book and enough Mana.
"Enough," Ren said. The golden light faded from his arm.
Grim reformed his arm, giving Ren a thumbs-up.
"Let's go," Ren said, dissolving the mental space. "The real world is getting noisy."
Location: The Grand Hall, Arken Estate.
Time: Mid-day.
The Duke had been gone for twenty-four hours, and the vultures were already circling.
Caelum sat at the head of the long dining table. It was the Duke's chair. Caelum looked small in it.
Around the table sat the "Caretaker Council"—the senior staff and minor vassals left behind to manage the estate.
At the other end of the table sat Steward Thorne.
Thorne was a heavy-set man with a red face and greasy hair. He was the Uncle of Gable (the stable master Ren hated). Thorne had always been subservient to the Duke, but with Valerius gone, his posture had changed. He was leaning back, eating a grape, looking at Caelum with barely veiled amusement.
"Young Master Caelum," Thorne said, spitting a seed onto the floor. "Regarding your request to access the Treasury for 'Training Supplies'..."
"It wasn't a request, Thorne," Caelum said, his voice steady but his knuckles white. "It was an order. I need 500 Gold Coins to upgrade the perimeter defenses."
(Ren knew this was a cover; Caelum needed the gold to fund Ren's equipment and Kaelith's trade routes).
Thorne chuckled. The other vassals smirked.
"500 Gold is a lot of money for a boy to play with," Thorne said. "The Duke left me in charge of the finances. He said, 'Keep the estate running.' He didn't say, 'Give my son his inheritance early.'"
"I am the Acting Lord," Caelum stood up.
"You are a child," Thorne snapped, his smile vanishing. "Sit down, boy. Go play with your wooden swords. Leave the running of the estate to the adults. If you need pocket money for sweets, ask."
The disrespect was palpable. The guards in the room shifted uncomfortably, but none moved. Thorne signed their paychecks now.
Caelum trembled. He wanted to scream. He wanted to order the guards to arrest Thorne. But if they refused... his authority would be shattered forever.
"Is there a problem here?"
The voice was quiet, drifting from the shadows near the servant's entrance.
Thorne turned.
Ren walked in. He was wearing his stable boy tunic, but he had cleaned it. He walked not with his head down, but with a strange, gliding grace.
"The Null?" Thorne laughed. "What is the stable rat doing in the Grand Hall? Gable! Get your boy!"
Gable, standing by the door, stepped forward. "Sorry, Uncle—I mean, Steward. Come here, you little—"
Gable reached for Ren's collar.
Ren didn't look at Gable. He looked at Thorne.
[ Skill Activation: The Index ]
[ Source: 'The Butler's Etiquette: 100 Ways to Serve' ]
[ Borrowed Skill: The Iron Grip (Rank D) ]
As Gable's hand came close, Ren's hand shot up.
SNAP.
Ren caught Gable's wrist.
Gable froze. He tried to pull back. He couldn't. Ren's hand felt like a hydraulic clamp.
"I am not speaking to you, Gable," Ren said softly.
He squeezed.
CRACK.
"AAAAH!" Gable screamed, dropping to his knees as the bones in his wrist ground together.
Ren released him. Gable curled into a ball, sobbing.
The room went dead silent.
Ren walked past the weeping man. He walked up to the table. He stood next to Caelum's chair.
He looked at Thorne.
"You are confused, Steward Thorne," Ren said. "The Duke left you in charge of the ledgers. He left his Son in charge of the House."
Thorne stood up, his face purple with rage. "You... you dare assault my nephew? Guards! Kill this malfunction! Cut him down!"
Two house guards drew their swords. They advanced on Ren.
Caelum looked at Ren. Ren gave a micro-nod.
Trust me.
Ren reached into his tunic. He didn't pull out the Shiv. That was too crude.
He pulled out a book. A simple, leather-bound book he had taken from the library earlier. [Basic Geomancy].
[ Skill Activation: The Index ]
[ Borrowed Skill: Tremor Stomp (Rank D) ]
Ren dropped the book on the table.
Then, he stomped his foot.
BOOM.
It wasn't a loud noise. It was a vibration. A localized earthquake that traveled through the stone floor, directly under the feet of the two charging guards.
The floor tiles buckled.
The guards lost their footing. They crashed to the ground, their armor clattering loudly.
Ren didn't move. To the observers, it looked like the guards had just clumsily tripped.
"Clumsy," Ren deadpanned.
He looked at Thorne.
"The Young Master asked for 500 Gold," Ren said. "I suggest you provide it. Unless you want to trip, too."
Thorne stared at Ren. He looked at the groaning Gable. He looked at the guards on the floor. He looked at Caelum, who was now smiling—a cold, Arken smile.
Thorne realized something terrifying. The Null wasn't a Null. And the Boy Lord wasn't alone.
"Fine," Thorne hissed, sitting back down. "500 Gold. For... perimeter defenses. But I will log this. When the Duke returns, you will answer for it."
"We look forward to it," Caelum said. "Dismissed."
Thorne stormed out, his entourage scrambling to follow him, dragging the injured Gable.
When the doors closed, Caelum slumped in his chair.
"Holy hell," Caelum whispered. "You broke Gable's wrist."
"He touched me," Ren said, picking up his book.
"And the floor? How did you do that?"
"I borrowed some gravity," Ren said vaguely. "You have your gold. Give 300 to Kaelith for the market. Keep 200 for bribes. We need the guards loyal to you, not Thorne."
Ren turned to leave.
"Ren," Caelum asked. "Where are you going?"
"Floor 3," Ren said. "Thorne will try to kill us tonight. Assassins cost money. I need to make sure we're stronger than whatever he buys."
Location: The Root-Cellar of Gluttony.
Depth: Floor 3 (The Banquet Hall).
Time: 4:00 PM.
Ren stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Floor 3 was different. It wasn't a cave or a locker.
It was a ballroom.
Chandeliers made of bone hung from the ceiling. Long tables were laden with food—roast boars, mountains of fruit, towers of cakes. But the food was rotting. Maggots crawled in the roast. The fruit was covered in gray mold.
And seated at the tables were the guests.
[ Monster: Gluttonous Ghoul ]
[ Level: 8 ]
[ Count: 20 ]
And at the head of the High Table sat a creature that made the Pigmen look cute.
It was a woman. Or it had been. She wore a tattered red evening gown. Her mouth was stitched open, revealing rows of shark-like teeth. She held a goblet of blood.
[ Monster: The Banquet Mistress (Elite) ]
[ Level: 10 ]
[ Ability: Scream of Hunger (AoE Stun) ]
Ren adjusted his Gauntlets.
"Twenty enemies," Ren calculated. "And an Elite."
He couldn't use The Index again immediately; the cooldown was still active from the Tremor Stomp.
He had to do this the old-fashioned way.
"Shadow Veil."
Ren vanished into the gloom.
He crept toward the nearest Ghoul. It was gnawing on a thigh bone.
Ren didn't stab it. He placed his hand on its back.
[ Mana Drain. ]
The Ghoul stiffened. Its mana—the energy animating its dead flesh—was sucked out. It crumbled into dust without making a sound.
One.
Ren moved to the next.
Two.
Three.
He was a ghost at the feast. He moved silently, harvesting them.
But as he reached the fourth Ghoul, the Banquet Mistress stood up.
She sniffed the air.
"Fresh... meat..." she shrieked.
Her scream wasn't just sound. It was a shockwave.
SCREEEEEE!
Ren's Shadow Veil shattered. He was revealed.
The remaining sixteen Ghouls turned to look at him. They hissed, dropping their food, and scrambled over the tables toward him.
"Well," Ren drew his Shiv. "Dinner is served."
He didn't run. He charged.
[ Flash Step. ]
He teleported into the center of the horde.
Slash. Kick. Stab.
He was a whirlwind of black iron. His Agility (8) combined with the Strength buff from the Gauntlets made him a blur.
A ghoul bit his arm. The teeth sank into the leather gauntlet.
[ Life Steal Activated. ]
The ghoul withered as the gauntlet sucked the death-energy right out of it.
"Wrong choice," Ren snarled, bashing the dried husk of the ghoul into another enemy.
He fought his way toward the Mistress.
She opened her mouth to scream again.
Ren reached into his pouch. He threw a single item.
[ Item: Moon-Shade Mushroom ]
It landed in her open mouth.
She choked. The scream died in her throat.
Ren vaulted off a table. He landed in front of her.
"Cheque, please," Ren said.
He grabbed her face with his left hand (Mana Drain).
He stabbed her heart with his right hand (Prisoner's Shiv).
Double Tap.
The Mistress exploded into red mist.
[ Defeated The Banquet Mistress. ]
[ XP Gained: 800. ]
[ Level Up! ]
[ You are now Level 11. ]
Ren stood amidst the carnage. He was covered in rot and dust.
He looked at the High Table. Behind the Mistress's chair was a small, golden door.
[ The Boss Room. ]
"Not today," Ren panted. He was tapped out. His mana was low, and the Gauntlets were humming dangerously loud.
He turned to leave.
But as he walked away, he saw something on the Mistress's table. A letter.
It wasn't a dungeon item. It was a real letter, somehow brought into the dungeon.
Ren picked it up.
It was addressed to "The Keeper of the Root."
He opened it.
"The Shipment of 'Livestock' from the Slums has been delayed. The Duke is asking questions. Keep the entrance hidden until the Expedition leaves. - V."
Ren froze.
V?
Vargo? Or... Valerius?
"Livestock from the Slums..." Ren whispered.
He remembered the missing children. He remembered his mother telling him to hide.
This dungeon wasn't just a monster spawner. It was a disposal site.
Ren crumpled the letter.
"Thorne knows about this," Ren realized. "That's why he wanted to stop Caelum from getting funds. He didn't want us poking around."
Ren looked at the golden door.
"The truth is behind that door."
He pocketed the letter.
"Grim," Ren said to the empty air. "File this under 'Revenge'."
Ren began the climb back to the surface. The war for the Estate had just begun.
End of Chapter 10 - Part 1
Summary of Events:
Index Test: Ren tests [The Index] skill, borrowing Perfect Parry from a book. He learns he can instantly gain muscle memory.
Power Struggle:Steward Thorne tries to bully Caelum and deny him funds.
Ren's Intervention: Ren enters the hall. He uses [The Index] to borrow Iron Grip (to break Gable's wrist) and Tremor Stomp (to trip the guards), masquerading as immense physical strength/clumsiness.
Victory: Thorne yields the gold. Caelum asserts dominance.
Dungeon Raid: Ren clears Floor 3 (The Banquet Hall), defeating the Banquet Mistress and reaching Level 11.
The Clue: Ren finds a letter implying the Dungeon is being used to dispose of "Livestock" (people) from the slums, signed by "V".