Next page password is bold portion: RiniYES3U$o
Translator: SumTLMan
In a flurry, Angel pressed Rosset for more details regarding this information.
According to Rosset, the individual in question had arrived at an unknown time, possibly a millennium ago or even earlier. The Shannon Royal Family had not chronicled these events in books, but passed them on orally. This method, unfortunately, was prone to memory gaps.
Nonetheless, Rosset was certain that these events took place at least a thousand years ago.
He was unsure if the visitor was an extraordinary being, but their visit to the Shannon Royal Family was a fact. Not only had this individual visited the royal family, but they had also left behind an artifact, a legacy that continues to this day.
This artifact was the same that Shannon had mentioned earlier, linked by bloodline and required a blood sacrifice every time it was used.
When the Heart Eater attacked the palace, it was this very artifact that the Shannon Royal Family used to defeat the monster.
“What is this artifact? Could I take a look at it?” Angel inquired.
After pondering for a moment, Rosset nodded. He had already exposed the deepest secrets of the treasury, and since the artifact could only be used by those with a blood connection, there was no harm in showing it to Angel.
With this in mind, Rosset ordered a loyal retainer to retrieve the artifact from another location within the treasury.
When Angel saw the retainer bring in a scroll, he was somewhat perplexed. It wasn’t until Rosset gradually unrolled the item within the scroll that Angel realized it was a skin parchment painting.
The quality of the parchment was superb, and Angel could tell that it was made from the hide of a void creature – an excellent medium for carrying elemental forces.
As the parchment was unrolled, Angel’s pupils contracted sharply the moment he made out the design at the center of the scroll.
The first thing that caught Angel’s attention were the incredibly tiny but unmistakably elemental creature figures on the parchment. Among them, he even recognized the fiery little dragon that he had previously seen on the door.
The painting style was consistent with the figures on the door, undoubtedly drawn by the same hand!
Presumably, the door depicted at the end of the tunnel, drawn onto the paper by someone, was the one Rosset had spoken of – the mysterious visitor to the Shannon Royal Family many years ago!
While some of the mystery seemed to have been unraveled, a larger cloud of uncertainty once again descended.
That’s because, upon closer inspection, the parchment wasn’t intentionally filled with elemental creatures. Instead, it depicted a…
Map!
What’s more important was that Angel found the general layout of this map strangely familiar!
The whole map looked like a blooming flower, and at the same time, like a dove spreading its wings. This peculiar topography was something Angel had seen before during his time in White Shell Sea City.
It was in the Savage Grottoes’ outpost within White Shell Sea City where he had seen it. At the time, a faded, dust-covered sea chart hung on the side of the rotating staircase in the outpost.
This nautical chart has stood the test of time, originating from the southeast coast of the vast mainland, extending southwards, and diligently labeling every continent, islet, and maritime region. Locations such as the Feran Continent, Revelation Continent, Magic Eaves Corridor, and Spirit Illusion Continent were all distinctly marked on this map.
However, when Angel’s gaze fell upon the Old Land Continent, he noticed a geographic structure that directly contradicted his understanding. It was the same topography that is on the present-day maps. He was confident that the shape of the Old Land Continent he had seen in numerous records did not align with the one depicted on the chart, implying that this landform couldn’t possibly be the Old Land Continent.
Angel had even asked the person in charge of the outpost, an old man named Boro, about this discrepancy. Boro had shrugged it off, claiming ignorance about the chart hanging on the wall. He had said, “This nautical chart is from an unknown period long ago. Its scale is somewhat off and outdated. It’s hung up here merely to cover the bare wall. I randomly picked it from the warehouse to hang it here.”
At that time, Angel had merely been puzzled and had not thought much of it.
However, he was now astonished to find the same topography in the collections of the Shannon Royal Family. Could it be that the nautical chart hanging in White Shell Sea City outpost and this map were drawn by the same person?
Angel focused his attention back on the map. Various regions were divided on the map. For example, in the southeast corner, a region was cordoned off by dotted lines and contained an image of a winged fairy. Similarly, in the northwest corner, a lurking turtle was illustrated within a region defined by dotted lines… Various elemental creatures were depicted in different locations on the map.
It seemed as if the artist was indicating that these delineated regions were the territories of these elemental creatures. But where does this map point to?
Suddenly, a conjecture formed in Angel’s mind. Could it be that the door behind the hole leads to a world filled with elemental creatures, and this map is a representation of the landscape of that world? He felt that this possibility might actually hold water.
Why else would there be a door there, and a map left here?
“Lord wizard, every time we open this scroll, we have to sacrifice a person, let the scroll be saturated with blood, in order to summon the powerful creature from the scroll to help us fend off enemies,” Rosset spoke, recounting the time when they used the scroll to defeat the Heart Eater. It was the third prince who had offered himself as a sacrifice, and as a result, the scroll emitted a bright light. A small mouse that could emit lightning jumped out from within, crushing the Heart Eater.
As Rosset was speaking, a wave of sorrow permeated the atmosphere. The grief of losing a loved one was a heart-wrenching pain that seemed to scrape at their bones every time they thought of it.
After listening, Angel looked at the map, a gleam flickering in his eyes. He attempted to appraise it using the Eye of Nalda. Although he felt the chance of success was slim… astonishingly, he was able to appraise it.
Upon establishing the “server” within his cognitive space, Angel’s eyes bore witness to the scroll in his hand beginning to emit various data. However, as he had surmised, more than 80% of these data points surfaced as question marks.
The Eye of Nalda, a method of evaluation based on information aggregation and logical deduction, measures success rates by examining the knowledge structure and accumulation of the caster. For instance, Angel’s highest success rate was in identifying enchanted alchemical items because his knowledge was rooted in enchantment systems.
If there were elements Angel was unaware of during the assessment, a multitude of question marks would appear, representing unknown data. The more unknown data accumulated, the lower the odds of a successful appraisal.
Currently, with 80%—or even an increasing amount—of unknown data, Angel held little hope for a successful evaluation.
Yet, at the end of the appraisal, this map suddenly unveiled a plethora of lucid, detailed data, all of which flooded into Angel. At that moment, many previously unknown data points were deciphered.
This phenomenon left Angel utterly perplexed, and when the appraisal signaled success, he stood frozen in disbelief.
He had no idea what had transpired, as he had never encountered such a situation in past appraisals. Intrigued, he delved into the “server” to scrutinize the results of the evaluation.
He dismissed information such as the parchment-like material, instead focusing on the primary details revealed post-appraisal.
Title: —The Tidal Realm Map (Abridged)—.
Cartographer: Mirafel Von.
Information: A general distribution map of representative creatures of the Tidal Realm.
Effect: Activated by the Shannon royal bloodline and supplemented with an energy source, it can conjure simulated structures of corresponding creatures.
Remarks: “Oh dear, I’m not very good at drawing maps, but please bear with it.”
Upon reading the entire set of information, Angel was left dumbfounded. Setting aside everything else, the name of the map’s creator alone was enough to baffle him.
Mirafel Von was a name known far and wide in the Southern Wizarding World. This was because he had another well-known moniker: “Magic Painter.”
The Magic Painter, who could connect planar and three-dimensional worlds, was none other than Mirafel. His most famous work, —The Apocalypse—, depicted the disastrous scene caused by the descent of the Great Demon God in the Southern Wizarding World at dawn, and it remains a favorite illustration used in many Frost Moon Alliance magazines to this day.
It was rumored that the Magic Painter had left the Southern Region thousands of years ago, and it was unexpected to find one of his treasured ink creations here.
In the world of wizards, any painting crafted by a Magic Painter, carries an inestimable worth. Even if they serve no special function beyond being pieces of art, their collectible value remains significant.
Angel gazed upon the map, an unexpected surge of greed welling up within him.
Yet, this fleeting avarice diminished gradually as his eyes fell upon the explicit annotation, “Activated by the Shannon royal bloodline.” The idea of claiming the map for himself faded away slowly.
The map was evidently intended for the Shannon Royal family. Even though Angel was uncertain as to why Mirafel would do such a thing, he dared not cross the line and claim it, given Mirafel’s reputation as a legendary wizard.
Perhaps the nautical chart at White Shell Sea City was also crafted by Mirafel. He could consider acquiring that one instead.
Angel’s attention, having moved away from Mirafel’s name, fell upon the additional details related to the parchment. The Tidal Realm, he surmised, was probably some sort of fascinating elemental world. He speculated that the door he was certain was painted by Mirafel might lead to the Tidal Realm. Given his current inability to investigate further, he decided to set it aside for the time being.
Finally, Angel focused on the appended note.
—”Oh dear, I’m not very good at drawing maps, but please bear with it.”
How could such a subjective comment appear in the appraisal result? Angel had never encountered such a thing in any of his previous appraisals.
At this point, he recalled how the unknown data during his previous appraisal, which should have led to a failure, had suddenly been decoded, resulting in an unexpected success.
Angel had been puzzled about this, but now, from this note, he caught a glimpse of the truth.
Mirafel was the artist who crafted this painting and had the absolute authority to decide whether to disclose this information. Given Mirafel’s stature, if he chose to reveal this information, Angel would indeed be able to perceive it.
In other words, if Mirafel wanted to facilitate the appraisal, he could reveal the information. If he didn’t want to, he could completely withhold it.
Apparently, the fact that Angel was able to appraise it implied that Mirafel did not mind others knowing this information. He even left a note, making his presence felt in a conspicuous way.
“Do all these high-profile individuals share a peculiar sense of humor…,” Angel sighed inwardly.