Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 353 - 352: The Second Eternal Stone Slate

To be honest, if it weren’t for this rainbow... Miss Melita taking the initiative to come to him, Gawain would have almost forgotten about his transaction with the Mithril Vault.

He hoped that the Mithril Vault could help him find the second Eternal Stone Slate.

"I hope you haven’t been waiting too long," Melita always wore a thin veil, yet from behind that vague veil, a rather decent smile could be seen (though for some reason, whenever she turned to look at Amber, that smile would momentarily twist), "We must act according to the rules—the original owner of this slate violated the agreement with the Mithril Vault, but we also had to wait for his repayment period to exceed before we could dispose of the slate by ourselves."

As she spoke, this mysterious agent of the Mithril Vault casually raised her hand—a metallic plate emitting a faint golden glow had appeared in her hand at some unknown time: "This is the ’goods’ you wanted, you can check it."

She did not seem worried at all that Gawain would snatch the slate or tear up the agreement in another way.

Of course, Gawain had no intention of breaking the agreement either. He solemnly took the metallic fragment from Melita’s hand and couldn’t help but say, "Such an important thing doesn’t even have a matching container... you could at least wrap it in some oiled paper."

Melita smiled slightly: "A luxurious container without protective functions is just a flashy decoration. No one can snatch anything from the high-ranking agents of the Mithril Vault, so the slate requires no extra wrapping."

What she said seemed quite reasonable. Gawain’s mouth curled into a smile, and then he lowered his head to carefully observe the metallic plate in his hand.

Like the Eternal Stone Slate he obtained earlier, this metallic plate was still just a palm-sized fragment, except its edge shape differs from the first slate, making him speculate that perhaps every slate fragment is similar in size but with different outlines. The surface of the metallic plate displayed familiar straight patterns and intricate engravings, while from its back, a material of unknown origin, a slightly glowing pale blue crystal, was embedded. Just a slight sensing of the fluctuations conveyed from the crystal allowed Gawain to determine that it was genuine.

No one in this world is better than him at identifying the authenticity of the Eternal Stone Slate—in the instant of attempting resonance with the slate, the ripples in the mental world served as the best proof of verification.

The last time he resonated with the slate, he heard a report of the Zenith Fleet defeating the Gods. What enlightenment would he receive this time?

Gawain could barely restrain his urge to try, but to avoid revealing any peculiarities to Melita, he suppressed the thought of "wandering to the outer heavens," placing the slate on the table with a calm face: "I’ve checked it over, and it doesn’t appear fake."

"Then according to the original agreement, you should pay the ’reward’ sufficient to exchange for an Eternal Stone Slate," Melita laughed brightly, not even a veil could hide her smile, "It can be an ’extraordinary item’ equivalent to the Eternal Stone Slate, or a large amount of Gondor knowledge and relics, but common gold and silver jewelry in the mundane world are not acceptable—even if there’s a lot, they cannot compare to an Eternal Stone Slate."

In the end, Melita kindly reminded, "I am also responsible for evaluating whether your ’reward’ meets the requirements. If it does not, then I will still have to take back the slate—but we will reserve it for you within ten years until you can afford it. This is the treatment you receive as a high-level client."

"There’s no need to wait ten years, I have already prepared the reward," Gawain smiled slightly, raising his hand to call Amber, "Go to the treasure vault, over by the ’Deep Containment Zone,’ and bring the ’God Metal’ over."

Amber blinked, leaned close to Gawain’s ear, and whispered, "There’s a pile over there, which one should I pick?"

"Emmmm... get a bigger one, it seems more valuable. Actually, just pick one you can carry, any piece is bigger than this Eternal Stone Slate."

"Got it, I’m on it right away!"

After dropping a line, Amber vanished into the air in the blink of an eye.

"Please wait a moment, my personal guard has gone to the vault to retrieve the goods," Gawain nodded at Melita, "I guarantee that it will satisfy you."

Melita was evidently curious about what Gawain had prepared for the exchange but as a high-ranking agent of the Mithril Vault, she controlled her emotions well, merely nodding slightly: "I am looking forward to it."

Shortly after, Amber returned to the study—probably finding it inconvenient to carry a heavy object and climb through the window, she walked in through the door this time. Upon entering, she dropped the item she was holding in front of Melita with a "Duang," looking quite pleased: "Take a look! See its quality, look at its size! You could trade tons of slates if you flattened it..."

Melita was stunned upon seeing what Amber brought in, and when it landed with a clang at her feet, the typically composed high-ranking agent even made a small jump, staring dumbfounded at the huge twisted fragment of metal, evidently from some large apparatus, as she exclaimed: "What... what is this?! Where did you get it?!"

"We don’t know either," Gawain smiled before the big-mouthed Amber could babble on, "We discovered it while blasting mountains and mining in the Dark Mountain Range. It’s incredibly hard, unmelting, and has immense resistance to magic. I also found that its material slightly resembles the Eternal Stone Slate—so I named it ’God Metal.’ I believe this thing, just like the Eternal Stone Slate, might be an extraordinary creation beyond human cognition..."

Gawain downplayed it, speaking with misplaced confidence, while Melita cast a cautious yet intrigued glance at the massive distorted metal on the ground, finally bending down to pick it up.

She could certainly see that its material closely resembled that of the Eternal Stone Slate... virtually identical!

Only this large twisted metal lacked the peculiar intricate patterns, and crystals, which indicates it certainly wasn’t an Eternal Stone Slate—its value would probably be somewhat less than an Eternal Stone Slate with engravings and crystals...

But it’s such a large piece!

The power it contains — that kind of power people cannot perceive, is truly real!

Melita was momentarily caught in a tangle of thoughts, holding the metal in a rather inelegant and unsteady posture, lost in her own world, until Gawain’s voice brought her back to reality: "Miss Melita, I think you should proceed with your assessment."

The agent snapped back to her senses, realizing she might have been overawed by the power supposedly emanating from this "God Metal," which resulted in her losing her composure. She then began earnestly evaluating the trade.

The "trade item" Gawain presented was beyond her expectations, but the Mithril Vault had to adhere to its established rules — orderliness was the first requirement of the Mithril Vault.

So she swiftly made her assessment and quickly came to a conclusion: "Its value... meets the requirement, and even slightly exceeds it."

"That’s good." Gawain sighed in relief. Although he had appeared confident before, he still felt like using such a hefty chunk of metal scrap to exchange for a clearly high-spec Eternal Stone Slate was a bit far-fetched. Though both materials were similar, it was like trading a handful of sand for monocrystalline silicon; no matter how similar their components, their prices could not be the same!

But since this agent deemed it a fair trade... Gawain decided to say nothing more.

At the same time, he grew curious — the high-ranking agent of the Mithril Vault couldn’t possibly lack sense; even if she didn’t know the secrets stored within the Eternal Stone Slate, she should be aware it contains secrets of the Goddess of the Night. The metal scrap was merely actual metal scrap; could she not discern the difference in potential value?

Or could it be... she sensed something else in that metal scrap? Maybe something akin to the "divine protective shield" technique or other mysteries those Master Mages of the Gondor Empire once deciphered from it?

Gawain’s mind filled with many speculations, but he voiced none of them. Instead, he changed the subject: "May I ask one more question — I’m genuinely curious about who the original owner of this Eternal Stone Slate was..."

He was genuinely curious about it: those who could own an Eternal Stone Slate were certainly not ordinary; even possessing a small fragment must have been limited to only the noblest aristocrats or wealthiest merchants. Who was the unfortunate collector that lost their treasure?

As he expected, Melita softly shook her head: "Preserving client privacy is basic protocol of the Mithril Vault. Although the client in question lost the slate due to breach of contract, their breach was nullified once they surrendered the slate, so I can’t divulge any details about them."

"Alright, you really do adhere to your principles," Gawain waved his hand, "Then let me ask another question: Do you have more Eternal Stone Slates available for future consideration? I mean — is there any possibility of future availability?"

Melita couldn’t help but widen her eyes, looking at Gawain in surprise: "You... want more?"

After all, Eternal Stone Slates aren’t cabbages; even kings and emperors would consider their lives fulfilled if they could collect just one. And here’s someone daring to propose a long-term purchase?!

She clearly had no idea how much "God Metal" Gawain held...

"I’m quite interested in the study of theology," Gawain concocted an excuse, "Besides, I have a penchant for collecting."

"... We’ve encountered many collectors at the Mithril Vault, but none at your level..." Melita said, her expression odd. However, after a moment, she nodded slightly, "You are a high-status client, and the Mithril Vault will prioritize your requests. Although the Mithril Vault currently has no more Eternal Stone Slates for sale, I’ll keep an eye out for you — and notify you at once if any become available."

Gawain smiled: "That would be perfect."

It seemed Melita Ponia came solely for this transaction, and she was evidently very concerned about the large piece of "God Metal" she just acquired, so she didn’t linger longer at Gawain’s feudal lord’s mansion. After completing the deal, she departed.

Not long afterward, in the affluent and prosperous Count Hosman’s Territory, quite a distance away from the Cecil Clan, Melita Ponia walked into a jewelry store.

She walked straight to the counter and asked the jewelry store owner, "Do you purchase jewelry?"

The store owner didn’t even lift an eyelid: "Yes, at a thirty percent markdown."

Melita smiled slightly, and with a flick of her hand, placed a luxuriously crafted metal box adorned with crystals and Mage threads on the counter: "Take a look at this, sir. A jewelry box made from pure Mithril, inlaid with the finest purple crystals and rubies, plus these Mage patterns, and the Adamantite trims..."

That "jewelry box" wasn’t very large, and when opened, it seemed to perfectly fit a palm-sized object inside...