บท 50: The Truth
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Since Mira was a Rank 3 Elementalist that knew how to boost her movement speed with the help of the elements, and Artan was a Rank 2 Battle Warrior that had higher strength and endurance compared to other people of the same rank, it only took them around ten minutes to reach the 40th floor of the Arcana Tower, which was near the middle of the extremely high tower that spanned over 100 floors.
They stood in front of the doorway that served as the entrance and exit of the 40th floor. Mira told Artan along the way that they could not enter this floor unless they had the permission of a Rank 4 High Mage or higher. Hence, being a shrewd person because of her increased intelligence, Mira asked Artan to give her the crystal that Dane gave him.
After that, Mira infused mana into her voice as she spoke into the crystal. Artan looked at this sight with confusion as he had no idea what Mira was doing. Not only that, the words that came out of Mira's mouth felt like it was muffled by a large pool of water.
"What are you doing to the crystal?" Artan couldn't help but ask.
Mira looked at Artan with a casual gaze and replied, "Since the crystal allows us to see the Spiritas' position, this meant that Dane casted a spell on the crystal that allowed us to see what he was sensing since he casted a tracking spell on the Spiritas. In other words, we can basically talk to Dane through this crystal if we knew how to do so."
As Artan was still somewhat confused by Mira's explanation, a dashingly handsome man that wore a crimson red robe and black-rimmed glasses that complemented his black hair, appeared on the other side of the doorway, looking at the two with a light smile.
"Oh, if it isn't Artan and Mira! Let's talk inside my place." This man was Dane, the one that hired Artan and Mira to catch the Spiritas he wanted to procure the special weapon needed by His Highness Prince Vanadir.
Mira and Artan looked at each other and nodded before following Dane into the 40th floor. A few minutes later, they entered a secluded room within the 40th floor that was meant for Dane's experiments and other magic-related stuff.
"So..." Dane grabbed a chair and sat on it, to which Mira and Artan grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it as well, looking at Dane with slight fear. "Did you guys catch the Spiritas?"
"We—" Artan was about to answer Dane's question, only to be stopped by Mira before he could really speak his mind. Mira shook her head as she respectfully replied, "Venerable High Mage Dane, we were unsuccessful in the capture of the Spiritas as it disappeared in the midst of our journey."
Dane raised his eyebrow and looked at Mira intently before asking, "Disappeared? The Spiritas? How would it disappear? That was a Spiritas that was inclined to the Wind element. If it had an innate spell of the Wind element that allowed it to travel far and out of reach of my Magic Tracking spell, then I can understand that." Dane did not want to use formal language like Mira, he was not only talking to Mira after all, talking in a formal language would make Artan feel left out.
"And if it was a Spiritas inclined to the Space element, I could understand that as well. But we're talking about a Spiritas of the Wind element here. Judging from the aura of energy it exudes, it wouldn't even be able to cast high-leveled Wind magic."
In an instant, Mira was at a loss for words to say. After a few moments of silence, the only words that came out of Mira's mouth was..."How...?"
"How...what? How do I know that that Spiritas can only cast low-leveled magic? How do I know that that Spiritas has a low energy pool?" Dane replied in a passive aggressive manner.
"Most of the low ranking mages don't know this, so this will pretty much give you a headstart in crafting a special staff for you, Mira. As for you Artan, it'll let you take note of special inanimate objects that might sell for a lot," Dane sighed and continued.
"Although there are some inanimate objects in the world that have an energy pool within them, a small amount only gets captured. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Artan, who was stopped by Mira from answering, looked at Dane with a curious gaze.
Dane noticed his gaze and became a bit more serious in his words.
"Most of the inanimate objects in the world that have energy...have souls."
"..." Artan and Mira were at a loss for words at the instant Dane was finished replying. The only word that came out of their mouths afterwards was..."What?"
"It was unbelievable for me as well," Dane knew their reactions far too well as he also reacted that way when he first knew of this. "To think that inanimate objects have souls and an intelligence that could be on par with humans, if it wasn't for their bodies, they would definitely become a force to be reckoned with."
Dane leaned forward by a bit and whispered, "You guys have heard of myths and legends of heroes being born from inanimate objects right? In truth, these heroes evolved from inanimate objects, becoming species that didn't lose out to our intelligence."
Being bombarded with a shocking fact one after the other, the two were left speechless as Dane said, "Give me the crystal."
Mira, who grabbed the crystal from Artan, absentmindedly gave it to Dane, to which Dane looked at it from all angles.
After a few seconds of scrutinizing, Dane couldn't but say in shock, "You're right, the red dot that represents the Spiritas is gone."
At this moment in time, Artan and Mira finally processed the information they got from Dane and kept their mouths shut for the time being as Dane was seriously examining the crystal.
A few seconds later, Dane noticed something off and said, "Wait... that's not right. Although the Spiritas is gone in the crystal, I can still sense it." He then scrutinized the crystal one more time and finally found the thing he was looking for. "Aha!"
Hearing this come out from Dane's mouth, Mira and Artan knew at first glance that they forgot something.
"W-What did you find...V-Venerable High Mage D-Dane?" Mira, being the one to break the ice, asked.
Dane, who finally realized the mistakes of the two, looked at the two with a serious glance and said, "The Spiritas isn't gone."
"Eh? How could that be?" Artan couldn't help but blurt out. "I double checked it every time I looked at the crystal! I looked at it from every ang...le..." As Artan was still talking, Dane rotated the crystal 90 degrees, letting Artan and Mira seeing a blinking red dot on the tip of the crystal.
"This dot must have been covered by your fingers hence you didn't see it," Dane couldn't help but sigh as he replied. Not long after, he placed the crystal on a nearby desk and grabbed a small pouch, to which he gave to Mira and Artan.
"You've already exert a lot of effort into capturing the Spiritas. Although you failed in capturing it, I won't let you leave empty-handed. Within that bag is 500 gold coins."
Even though the amount of gold they received was one-tenth of what was promised, Artan and Mira bowed respectfully towards Dane and said a few words of gratitude before leaving the Arcana Tower and parting their own ways.
As for Dane, he looked at the crystal that had a blinking red dot on its tip and sighed. He lied his head down on the desk as he muttered, "If I try and capture the Spiritas myself, I would of course become successful in doing so, but if my presence were to be gone for a small bit within the Seraph Kingdom, the Eighth Prince would lose his standing and perhaps lose his right to fight for the throne."
"If I don't, the weapon that the Eighth Prince can wield would only be a Magic grade weapon at most if infused with my magic."
"What should I do..." Dane was at a crossroads in terms of what to do. Not long after, a flame of firm determination appeared in his eyes as he used the crystal he used to contact Prince Vanadir and Artan to contact another person he knew.
"Hello? Is Jihan there? Tell him that I want the highest quality wood of the Wind element as fast as possible."
"Oh. I'm talking to him right now? Well hey, it's Dane. Anyways, you've heard what I wanted right?"
"What am I going to use it for? I'm going to infuse it with magic and craft a weapon with it?"
"Eh? You want to buy the finished product from me? Impossible. That weapon will be used for another purpose."
"Alright. Contact me if you have the goods prepared, okay?"
Putting the crystal down that was known by many people as the Communication Crystal, Dane let out a sigh and muttered, "If that Spiritas was used as the main material for the weapon, it would definitely make the weapon an Evolving Weapon and even perhaps reach a grade beyond Myth."
Putting this weapon problem to the back of his head, Dane placed the crystal he used to track the Spiritas under the desk and decided to create a special Wind element spell for the weapon that was going to be used by Prince Vanadir in the future.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
TrueDawn
TrueDawn To expand the world of Erudinia, I've decided to make this chapter dedicated to the happenings within the world of the Animate existence level.
Plus, this won't be the only chapter about the world of Erudinia, so treat this as the first true chapter to a side story, a side story that happens alongside Aurus' journey.
And also, all of this will make sense in the future so keep an eye for when that happens.
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