Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"..."

Dale approached the table with David, but before he checked anything else, he crouched in front of the Commander's body first.

There was an obvious reason for that…

[Adamant Heart (Broken) (Shatered) (???)

Rating: 5-Stars -> ???

??

Gives the temporary Skill, Barrier of 100 Souls 6.5-Star, ??? …

Set Bonus -> ???

Requirements: ???

Description:

The glory of a warrior is passed down to each generation through the equipment he once wore, their souls carrying on their eternal will.

??

]

He checked the description of the items he wore, just to get an understanding of this Character's past... Or better put, person.

And he was amazed at what he saw.

'5-Star even when it's broken? And the first Skill is 6.5-Star…'

'Shattered?... Is it a higher stage of being broken?...' He thought as he tilted his head

'Although everything else is grayed out, this chest piece was a monstrous item…'

'Most importantly, it's a set… Likely with the sword in its stomach… And the rest of the armor itself, perhaps more if there are any items hidden in his body...'

'Though it wouldn't be polite to go over his body with Trestos behind me.'

"Hum..."

'A pair of gauntlets, shoulder pads, boots, a helmet, and a waistbelt, but no pants as the waistbelt and boots cover that already…'

'All of it together must be the main part of this set…'

Dale quickly inspected the rest, confirming his suspicion.

'Everything else is just named "Commander gauntlets", "Commander boots" and so on…'

'It seems they aren't as important as the center Chest piece, but they are all of a high grade and they do have a set property, confirming that they are indeed linked to it.'

Dale did a small bow to the commander before proceeding.

[Promised Dusk (Broken)(???)

Rating: 6-Stars -> ???

??

??

Gives the temporary Skill, Declare Existence 5-Star, ??? …

Set Bonus -> ???

Requirements: ???

Description:

"Cowards, ignorants…" Is badly scratched on the back of the blade, the rest is too faded to be read.

??

]

'This sword is of an even higher grade… But it may be due to its more pristine state as although its handle is half melted, its edge chipped, and a part of its blade seemed to have been scratched, it's still in a much better condition when compared to the chest armor…'

Dale then stared at the strange-looking thorn stabbing through the Commander's heart…

"Lastly…"

[???]

This surprised Dale.

'Really? Nothing at all?'

'This only happened once… And it was before I inspected Caladbolg… And that sword is Legendary grade.'

'More information only appeared when I was given a context into the Sword.'

Speaking of it, due to its humungous size, Dale left Caladgold on the staircase next to the entrance…

'Could this also be a Legendary or similar item?'

'Hum… Perhaps not, it would be too much for it to be one.'

'And since I don't have much of an idea of the grading system, I still don't know what is the highest grade I can inspect if there is even a limit...'

'Albeit the tendency seems for the answer to be yes.'

'Legendary Grade might just be Unique, or my Luck was bad so far regarding that... If I can call encountering High-Class items that I can't identify unlucky...'

'For example, the commander's armor and sword are clearly not Legendary, but they are still blocking most of their information since their quality is still very high.'

'Considering what happened to me when I got Caladgold, perhaps there is a clue somewhere here that could reveal its information to me…'

"Though... How valuable is Legendary?"

'If I take it based on the previous game... But that was a different time and context, it wouldn't work very well...'

[Dale, focus, even if you wanted to you can't bring those with you else the old man may become upset, so get up and start investigating the table]

"..."

'What a party proper...'

Dale did not feel too bad for leaving these items behind, they were already broken, and it would surely be very hard to fix them.

Besides, it was impossible for any player to come here…

…

'There isn't much here... Apart from a carpet of dust.' Dale thought to himself as he looked at the table, dusting it off as he coughed loudly

There were only a few items scattered on top and around the table, they were probably knocked around during the chaos.

A stack of old papers under a heavy weight, a fallen, golden desk lamp, a black pen, and a carved dried ink bottle, probably made of stone or mineral similar to Jade.

Dale grabbed the weight, trying to see what the papers below it were all about.

The crystal itself seemed to be some sort of smooth crystal about the size of his hand…

"?!... Urg... Huh?!"

'This weight… What is this shit made of?'

"HUFF!..."

Due to the object's size, Dale had a hard time properly grasping it, and he also had to be careful so as to not damage the papers below it…

In fact, those papers were also something else, since ordinary paper would've been long damaged by the weight of this object…

"DAMN... Cough!..."

'This shit feels heavier than Caladgolg... A fucking paperweight...'

After a lot of effort, Dale successfully lifted the crystal and stored it in his inventory, letting out a sigh of relief.

And no, he couldn't store it from the start, he tried.

He felt humiliated and beaten, it took almost all of his power to lift a desk weight?...

Yet, it made him realize the power of the person who was once the Commander...

Unless this was some sort of prank...

"Hm…"

Turning his gaze to the paper's content, he tried to read them.

'I can't read shit.' Dale thought as he moved through the papers, immediately understanding what they were

'Are these letters?'

[Correct] David replied

'But why... Letters of all things?'

[It's probably a conversation, this is normal as sometimes, the most secure method of communication is the old and reliable letters instead of the complex and expensive 'Weave', though I wonder how much it changed in the turn of a Century]

[These types of letters would be sent together in a big pile, allowing the receiver to review the entire conversation at once since sometimes, it could take a few days for even the fastest letter to make its way across the Continent]

[And people who can afford such letters would be normally very busy, so remembering a conversation perfectly is not an easy task...]

[Albeit, I am surprised these even exist, it wouldn't be unsurprising for the Commander to destroy ever single letter of this kind as it could be used against him]

[Given by the markings around them, I imagine he intentionally placed them here to attract our attention, the truth of this matter may as well be written here]

'A bit odd, but okay.'

[You would be surprised at how determined people are at passing down their own stories when they realize their end is imminent, perhaps the Commander saw that ahead of time and decided to preserve the letters so others may understand how shit went down in a more streamline way...]

[Either that, or he is trying to manipulate us, as even in death, some people would desire their enemies dead, and changing the contents of a few letters to incriminate others would be a simple thing, though a rather risky plan as one would never be able to see what came of it...]

[Though that seems unlikely given the nature of the morals and code of conduct of the Corps]

[Lastly, these letters could just be something he treasured, as the Commander was still Human at the end of the day]

[Regardless, since we don't have much time, let me read these letters as you investigate the rest, just put me on top of them and I'll do the rest]

'Can you at least tell me who was talking with who?'

[Of course, let me see... This first letter was written to the Commander himself…]

[And the sender… Was the King, Leoseus Armiral Roy G. Phalex Edimirius Igvi... Salbatur...]

'Please stop...' Dale pleaded as he couldn't bear to hear the King's name anymore

A rather unsurprising revelation, but one that sedimented the reality of the Corps.

The Crown was very aware of its situation given how it kept contact even till the end, but it did nothing to stop its downfall…

Since everything pointed to them actively trying to make that happen in the first place.

"..."

As David silently read the letters, Dale opened the first drawer.

In there, he saw a bunch of metallic badges, all very well preserved…

'Now that I think of it, this place is rather tight for a ruin…'

Due to his doubt, David said:

[We can infer it from watching everything around us...]

[First, everything in the South seems to be a bit tougher than normal, and coupled with the solid craftsmanship all of these items were made with, it isn't surprising to see they lasted this long]

[Remember that people, especially Nobles, tend to do things with the intention of them lasting for long periods of time... Though some tend to fall to the other side of the spectrum...]

[This is because they expect their name to spread out and for them to be remembered for generations untold. So their things need to last as a testimony of their existence and achievements]

[Although I can see certain signs of decay, it is lucky this window was built like this, preventing most of the water and wind from falling inside this office even when broken, else, a lot of things would've been in a worse state]

[Although there are signs of bird poop all around, those aren't major as they don't compromise the structure of these items... Unless you wanted to bring the carpet with you, though there may be some leverage to clean it up]

[Just look at the edges near the window, the wood in there is thoroughly rotten]

As he said, the wood and carpet near the window were both completely rotten.

'At least everything else is in good enough condition…'

'It would've been quite the letdown to come all the way here just for a bunch of broken and rotted things like in the Catacombs…'

Dale stored the badges in his inventory, and it was then he noticed a major problem…

'My inventory! It's almost full dammit!'

He had forgotten that his inventory was filled with useless crap and items from his previous adventure...

And sure enough, these books and items would fill every inch of it on their own…

'Will I have to throw them away? Urg…'

'I'll just think about it when it actually happens...'

Dale opened the second drawer…

'A picture?...'

It was a picture of a beautiful red-haired lady holding a small, smiling girl, however, her hair wasn't red like her mother's but black…

There was a small kid behind the lady, he seemed shy but he was also smiling, his hair was as just as red as hers.

There were also other pieces of paper inside the drawer… Dale could tell what they were without thinking…

"His family… And the letters he exchanged with them…"

[Wait, show me the picture, I need to confirm something] David said suddenly as his eyes sharpened

"All yours..." He mumbled in a low tone as he put the papers atop the table

'Although, what is there to confirm?...' He asked as he showed him the picture

He made sure that Testros didn't see it though…

[Hum... I see]

[Things are starting to make sense] David said as he looked at the picture

'Can you explain?'

[Yes I can, but not now…]

[But let's just say there may have been more at play than just the Crown suppressing the Southern Corps out of fear]

'... Seems complicated.'

[Politics were never supposed to be simple, those that can dance on the stage of the Royals are supposed to be fearsome]

Dale stored everything in his inventory before he bent down to open the last drawer.

'It's empty?'

Dale tried to remove the drawer to have a better look but he failed, it was tightly locked in place.

That in itself was weird…

[It seems you are starting to realize. This isn't just a simple table]

[Below the chair, try lifting the carpet]

"..."

'This…'

Dale did just as he was asked, he had no idea how David found this out, but there it was, some sort of small key.

[Pay more attention to your surroundings, do you see the blood on the ground? It's clear that the Commander tried to hide something before his death]

[The blood is in places it shouldn't have been, if you follow those traces you'll be able to find out what he was trying to hide]

'Got it… But uh...'

'I'm not that bad okay?...'

"It seems the Commandeer's murderer had absolutely no interest in anything within this room, he was just here for his blood and that was all..."

'Was it really just a monster?...'

Still feeling a bit embarrassed for having his investigative skills made fun of by a talking head, Dale started to search for the dried blood stains…

And he finally found them, below the table, several bloody finger marks…

Touching them didn't do anything, but when he tried to mirror their position…

/CLACK!/

The last drawer suddenly became loose, allowing him to pull it quite easily.

It revealed a small keyhole... And he just happened to have gotten a key.

/CLACK!/

/Thud thud thud!/

Almost immediately, one of the shelves made a loud clicking sound, and one of the books fell in a disorderly manner, revealing a hole in the wall…

"Is everything okay back there?" Testros asked as he heard the slight commotion

"Well… My investigations seem to be going somewhere…"

'This was rather simple.'

[I doubt a dying man would have had the time to thoroughly prepare a puzzle... Besides, if even he was dying, would anyone ever arrive at this place?]

[In the middle of a dangerous Forest at a time an entire Army collapsed... Who would dare come here?]

[And even now, no one did]

[It's strange to think he was preparing for someone to retrieve whatever he left behind, so the best answer may be that... He was safekeeping something]

'You do have a point, he must've aimed at safekeeping the items from decay and corrosion.'

'I'm already impressed his Family's photo remained intact...'

Dale made his way to the hole in the wall, looking inside.

There, he saw a wooden ball and a book.

The ball had no in-game explanations, and Dale almost felt like throwing it away, but he isn't stupid, as if a useless item would be hidden in such a place.

So his compulsive gaming sense made him store the item…

Next was the book, so he extended his hand to grab it…

[DING]

[You have found the book, Records of the Mirrored Planes(Incomplete)]

[The book contains within it the fragments of a Tale of untold heights… A Fable left unfinished, a prophecy left to be fulfilled]

[Within all possibilities, all reveal truths, yet all tell lies...]

[Consuming the book will give you access to a new compatible Class]

[Only one path may be chosen]

[Alma Conqueror (Spear) (93%)]

[Alma Conqueror (Sword) (77%)]

[Alma Conqueror (Self) (98%)]

[Sentinel of Fallen Embers (91%)

[Fallen Crusader (36%)

[Nihilith Abyssal (9%)]

[Demonic Champion (50%)]

[Arcane Incarnate (76%)]

[Storm Caller (42%)]

"Wh…"

Dale couldn't comprehend what he was seeing…

…

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Notes

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