Rosaline didn’t persuade him

  otherwise and gestured for him to follow after her. They left the

  library to head toward the Repository, which was under Freddy’s

  supervision.

  The Repository of the Sanctuary was

  tucked away at the end of the dimly lit corridor. And as Ulrich stood in

  front of the massive, gray stone gate, his figure shrank to the ground.

  Only by raising his head to meet the ceiling could he see the end

  segment of the gate frame.

  “Why is the gate so big?”

  “Security reason.”

  “Who would be crazy enough to rob the Ministry…” Ulrich muttered under his breath.

  Rosaline chuckled gently. Perhaps she

  was close to him that she'd heard his voice, ”It's not outsiders we are

  worried about. The repository is more than just a storage, it's a

  containment of all sorts of items and objects.”

  “These items are either cursed or

  ‘strange’ in ways you cannot imagine. We had many incidents in the past

  where some items experienced mutation due to a number of reasons and

  attempted to ‘break out’. The gate is to isolate and contain these

  anomalies, so that they do not escape and affect the public.”

  “That sounds... scary,” He hissed with cold breath.

  “One of my responsibilities as a

  Keeper of this Sanctuary is to sort and handle problems that may arise

  within the Repository. And as long as we follow the correct procedure

  when handling them, there is usually no problem."

  "Honestly, most of these items

  arrived from outside Belham. They are kept here temporarily until being

  moved to their designated location. The items that do remain here

  permanently are few and are often used by our fellow members.”

  With that said, she raised her hand

  and swiped the air. From her index fingertip, a drop of blood appeared.

  Ulrich's brows raised as he watched the drop of blood drift toward the

  groove embedded in the stone gate.

  When it landed, a small thud echoed

  in the hall. Then, a series of mechanical sounds came from behind the

  wall, followed by several loud thuds.

  “You may want to take a step back,” She warned softly,” The dust gathered on this thing is rather...”

  He

  thought. However, his mind quickly changed when the gate barely opened.

  The dust and smell of it made his nose itch, and immediately, he

  sneezed.

  By the time the gate fully opened,

  Ulrich's black coat was covered in silver dust and debris. As for

  Rosaline, she wasn’t affected in the slightest. It was as though there

  was an invisible barrier isolating her from the surroundings.

  He

  speculated with envy, patting his sleeve and pants of dust before

  following Rosaline inside. The thought that he will soon have the chance

  to obtain his own power lifted his spirit.

  After a couple of seconds, the gate finally opened completely.

  Ulrich wasn’t sure what to expect.

  Nonetheless, the moment he stepped inside, his eyes widened, and the

  smile on his face dropped to the floor.

  So massive!

  

  Just the pillar alone left Ulrich’s

  mouth hanging; his neck ached just by looking up. At the same time, he

  realized his appearance was a little shameful, so he lightly coughed,

  hoping to maintain some posture.

  When he did, Rosaline giggled, perhaps out of amusement or to mock him, the newcomer.

  “Everyone has the same reaction when they first enter the Sanctuary repository.”

  “Before the establishment of the Ministry in Belham, this place was different. It wasn’t as elegant or polished.”

  Looking at the giant decorated

  pillars and perfect arches, all carved out of heavy stone, Ulrich took

  in a deep breath and wondered,” What was it like before? I meant, was

  all of this built by the hand of humans?”

  “No, you may not believe this, but this Sanctuary was once a catacomb.”

  Catacomb?!

  

  His foot froze in the air, rooting

  him in the spot. He could imagine the countless corpses, mummies, and

  bones that are buried beneath his feet. Who knows what sort of history

  this ground possessed?

  ”That’s… too ominous,” He said, taking a step forward.

  This time, his eyes scanned the

  ‘repository’ in a different light. Indeed, some parts do resemble features of a giant catacomb. To be frank, if Rosaline had not mentioned it, he

  wouldn’t have known better.

  “I thought so too. When the first

  Keeper arrived, they had to purify and cleanse the entire catacomb

  before it could be rebuilt as a Sanctuary. After which, the overhaul was

  done with the help of various Weavers, namely Galebreather, Ironsinger,

  and Frostcharmer.” She explained, leading him down toward the wide open

  hall.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  That makes sense… It would take over decades if normal labor were used…

  

  “Of course, for physical labor, we had some help from the Jotnars up north.”

  Hearing this term, Ulrich's eyes flickered with astonishment as he whispered, ”Jotnars, as in the Giants from the Highland?”

  This term was ancient, once commonly

  used during the Second Epoch. However, after the Third Epoch, the Golden

  Era, people had stopped using the term Jotnar. It was unknown when

  ‘exactly’, but the Jotnar people, or race, were later replaced with

  ‘Giants’ by the common people.

  Even the present history book seldom

  use Jotnars, referring only to them as ‘Giants’. The reason Ulrich knew

  this was due to his own studies of history.

  “Yes. Most Jotnars are actually believers of the Night Mother. This dates back to the Second Epoch.”

  Finally, they arrived at a smaller

  room, far opposite from the giant gate. The door was ‘regular’ size,

  being about three meters tall. There was a symbol carved onto the door

  frame, a ‘star’ surrounded by ‘four light’ dot.

  Rosaline raised her hand and produced three long knocks,” Freddy, we’re here for the Rank 1 Shadow Rune.”

  Through the thick door, they heard

  clanging, as well as shattered glasses, followed by hurried steps and

  shuffles. Immediately, Rosaline and Ulrich looked at one another.

  “He’s careless… sometimes,” She commented, helpless.

  Careless? Isn’t he the one making my rune…

  

  “Don’t worry, your rune is perfectly

  fine… I think.” Clearly, she wasn’t confident in what her own words were

  either. Seeing this, Ulrich's heart dropped a beat. Subconsciously, he

  reached his hand toward his pocket, only to find that it was empty.

  All he could do was take a deep breath and place his trust in the man he hadn’t met yet, Freddy.

  Finally, the noises stopped as the door creaked open from the inside. Immediately, Ulrich raised his sleeve

  to cover his nose and turned to Rosaline. Her hand was holding a

  saturated blue handkerchief, resting on her face.

  Rosaline noticed Ulrich glance and lightly raised a smile.

  Quickly, the smell drifted out—dried

  herbs, their oils still potent in the air, mixed with the metallic scent

  of iron and the faint zest of copper. There was something earthy

  beneath it all, like turned soil and aged wood.

  Ulrich paused at the entrance, not daring to take a single step inside.

  He

  cried out inwardly, though Ulrich could feel his eyes getting itchy.

  Was it the air that caused it, or his own emotion manifesting itself?

  Inside, the floor showed stains from years of use—spills and workings that had seeped into the stone.

  There were bundles of plants hung

  from the rafters, their dried leaves casting thin shadows in the dim

  light. Meanwhile, the shelves lined the walls, crowded with jars of

  preserved materials, their contents varied and difficult to make out in

  the gloom.

  Somewhere deeper in the room came the steady sound of liquid dripping, rhythmic and constant, like water from a slow leak.

  “Freddy, the rune.” Rosaline's thin

  brows furrowed, her voice muffled under the handkerchief. Since she was

  naturally soft spoken, it became almost inaudible.

  “Yeah, that’s right! I forgot, sorry.”

  Quickly, Freddy turned over,

  revealing his stained white shirt and leather belt. After about two

  steps, he stopped, then turned to Ulrich and Rosaline,” Do you guys want

  to come in? Have a seat, maybe? I just made some great tea if you want

  to try it!”

  Immediately, the duo blurted out,” No!”

  Hearing this, Freddy continued

  walking to the desk in the corner, then picked up a dark-brown, wooden

  box before returning to the doorway.

  “Here it is, one order of Shadow Rune, complete!”

  Rosaline glanced at Ulrich, gesturing for him to take it from Freddy’s hand.

  “Open it,” She said,” But don’t touch it.”

  He jested. Nonetheless, his hand reached for the lock on the box and lifted it open.

  Inside was a single black gem, or stone, either way, it reminded him of a certain object—Shadowfin gems.

  Indeed, the main material for the Rank 1 Shadow Rune is the shadowfin gem, but the engravings are completely different!

  The rune was unlike Gu Lan’s inscriptions.

  It had three equal vertical lines of

  differing height, separated by a uniform space. The top of all three

  lines was slashed by a horizontal curved ‘smile’. Finally, on top of the

  middle vertical line, there was a single drop of ‘blood’, or dot,

  resembling a crimson star.

  It looks like an exaggerated smile. He thought. As Ulrich continued staring at the rune inscription, he started to feel dizzy.

  “Don’t look at it for too long, it

  can affect you mentally,” Rosaline warned and pushed the top of the box

  down, shutting it closed.

  “Thank you,” Ulrich said as he swiped

  the sweat off his forehead and held it tightly to his chest. Just by

  looking at the rune for a minute, it had already affected him—What a

  terrifying thing!

  However, as much as he was petrified, the anticipation grew with it.

  What kind of spell would he obtain?

  And what sort of talents will be bestowed upon him? And more

  importantly, how different is this ‘complete’ rune from the flawed one

  he used previously?

  At this moment, Rosaline turned to Freddy and expressed her gratitude, ”Good job, Freddy.”

  “Of course, Ma’am! It’s my duty.”

  “And I wish you the best, Mr. Ulrich. May the Night Mother watch over you and grace you with ‘her’ blessing!”

  Ulrich forced a smile and nodded, ”Thank you, I hope so too.”

  After receiving the rune, Ulrich followed Rosaline to another facility within the confines of the Repository.

  This area was wide and spacious,

  filled with candles and flame. There were dozens of strange-looking

  stones with carvings on them. The room was strangely cold. Was it due to

  the hard stone floor? Or was it the fact that they were deep

  underground without a source of warmth? Either way, he shivered at the

  stale coldness.

  At the same time, a peculiar feeling

  of being watched crept on him. It was just him and Rosaline in this

  area, yet it felt like countless eyes were set upon him.

  “Where are we?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “The memorial hall of our deceased Watchmans. This is also the place where you will undergo your awakening.”

  Only after Rosaline answered did he realize that all these strange-looking stones were, in fact, memorial tablets!