Both of them stared at the treasury in silence for a few seconds.

The cold air of the underground still smelled of metal, ice, and age. Treasures that had been buried under this castle for years were now in front of their eyes. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But what caught their attention more than gold and jewels were two items placed in the center of the treasury.

A sword.

And a suit of armor.

Seris walked straight toward the sword with almost no hesitation. Her footsteps echoed on the stone floor.

When she reached the stone pedestal, she reached out and took the handle of the sword.

A silver-blue blade slowly rose from the pedestal.

Lines of ice crystals ran along the blade, shining like frozen veins under the weak light of the treasury.

The handle of the sword was black, with thin silver lines carved on it.

It had no special shine. No noble decorations could be seen on it.

But just one look was enough for any fighter to understand that this weapon was not made to be beautiful.

It was made to kill.

At that moment, a window appeared in front of Seris’s eyes.

[Frostfang]

[Rank: Great (+)]

[Weapon Type: Sword]

[Effect: Slight Increase To Agility]

[Effect: Slight Increase To Ice Damage]

Seris moved the sword in the air a few times. The blade moved smoothly, like cutting through water.

It was not heavy, nor too light. As if she had used it for years. As if this sword had belonged to her from the beginning.

For the first time, a very faint smile appeared on her face. Even though the sword was not among the best, it was at least much more powerful than a normal sword and could be a great help for her in this ruined realm.

Meanwhile, Lian went toward the armor. The armor was completely different from what he expected.

It was not the massive armor of knights, nor the light leather outfit of hunters. It was something in between. Dark blue metal, compact shoulder guards, a solid chest protector, arm guards, and a design that allowed the body to move freely.

Perfect for a fighter who mostly used his fists.

When he touched it, a notification appeared.

[Frostguard Armor]

[Rank: Great]

[Effect: Increased Physical Resistance by 50+]

[Effect: Increased Cold Resistance]

Lian put it on without delay. The armor was strangely comfortable, as if it was made for his body.

When he fastened the last lock, the cold around him suddenly disappeared. Even the small amount he had been feeling was gone.

"This is good." The frown on his face relaxed a little.

"I will take the sword." Seris glanced at him.

"Then I will take the armor." Lian nodded. He could fight with his fists and did not need a weapon for now.

But he could see that without a sword, Seris lost a large part of her power. And given the threats ahead, it was better for the sword to be in that girl’s hand.

Then his gaze fell on another part of the treasury, and an even bigger smile appeared on his face.

A large number of mana crystals. At least dozens of crystals, maybe a bit more. Their blue and purple light lit up the whole treasury.

He picked up one of the crystals. Pure energy pulsed from inside it.

Mana crystals were the main currency among Awakened. Of course, they could be absorbed to increase permanent mana. Each one could increase mana by between 1 and 5 points permanently.

But for Lian, their real value was something else. Money. A very large amount of money. He did not need more stat points because he already had a lot of them.

But money? Right now, he was lacking that.

"Do you want to split them?" He looked at Seris.

"I don’t need them." The girl did not even look at them.

Lian looked at her for a few seconds, then remembered. Pendragon. One of the six founding families.

For a girl from that family, this wealth was probably nothing more than pocket money.

"Your loss." And he started collecting as much as he could.

Mana crystals, gold, silver, jewels. He took everything. The more the better. When he finished, he felt the treasury had become a little emptier.

"Do you really take everything you see?" Seris looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"It’s not called taking."

"Then what is it?"

"Resource gathering."

Seris sighed and decided not to argue. After searching for a while, they were almost sure nothing valuable remained.

"I am curious why the treasury was not completely empty. Weren’t the city’s people supposed to leave?"

"Although dozens of mana crystals are not a small amount, it is not a lot for the treasury of an entire city. Most of them were probably taken by the first groups that left the city."

"This remaining amount was probably meant to be taken by the city lord, but then that incident happened." Lian answered after thinking.

Seris showed a sign of understanding, and they were about to leave the treasury.

But just as they were leaving, Lian noticed a chest in the corner of the treasury.

A stone chest, larger than the others. He and Seris went toward it together.

They opened the lid. But inside it was empty. Completely empty.

Seris frowned.

"Why would they put an empty chest in the middle of the treasury?"

Lian said nothing. He just looked inside the chest. At the bottom, there was a strange indentation. A shape roughly like a heart.

Or maybe a crystal.

It was clear that something had been kept there for years, and later taken away.

He frowned briefly.

But he did not care about it for now. In the end, both left the treasury. When they returned to the castle’s main hall, the sky had become completely dark.

Through the frozen windows, only darkness could be seen. The wind howled outside. The sound of ice hitting could be heard from a distance.

Sometimes, the howls of ice wolves echoed through the city.

But despite all these sounds, for the first time since entering Frostheart, they felt safe.

No monster could enter this castle. At least for now, they could sleep in safety, without any problems.

Lian sat by one of the walls. Seris also leaned a little farther away.

The fatigue of the past days weighed on both of them. First they had to flee from the village, then they were caught by the monsters of this city.

For a while, silence ruled. Only the sound of the wind could be heard.

"Do you think we will succeed?" Then Seris spoke, looking at him.

Lian raised his head. For a moment, he was really surprised. This was the first time he had heard such a question from her.

Seris had always been like a sword. Cold, ruthless, and direct. But now, for the first time, she looked tired.

Lian thought for a few seconds.

"Definitely." He then said.

"How can you be sure?" Seris stared at the ceiling.

"Because we are still alive. And as long as we are alive, it means we can succeed." Lian gave a small smile.

Silence followed. But this time, the silence was not heavy. Seris closed her eyes. It was clear those words had calmed her.

It was not clear if she was asleep or just resting. A few minutes later, Lian also closed his eyes.

Time passed quietly. The wind blew. The ice moaned. Darkness ruled over Frostheart.

But in the middle of the night, Lian’s eyes suddenly opened. He had heard a sound. A weak sound. The sound of something being dragged on stone.

Scrape...

Scrape...

Scrape...

He immediately stood up. All his senses activated. He looked around. The hall was empty.

The hallways were empty. He felt no presence.

A few seconds passed, and then absolute silence returned. As if there had never been a sound.

Lian waited a few more moments, but found nothing. In the end, he slept again. He attributed the sound he had heard to his paranoia.

Though this time, his sleep was lighter than before.

The next morning.

A faint blue light entered the castle through the frozen windows. Lian slowly opened his eyes. Seris also stood up almost at the same time.

Both were ready.

New armor and a new sword. More power and a clearer goal than before.

They went to the window. But when they looked outside...

Both stopped. Frowns appeared on their faces. The city streets were filled.

Dozens of monsters. Maybe hundreds. Ice creatures moved through the alleys.

They could be seen on the rooftops. They wandered through the frozen squares. As if all of Frostheart had become aware of the two.

But these monsters did not dare to enter the castle grounds where the wolves were.

Lian stared at the scene for a few seconds. Then he gave a bitter smile.

"Well..."

Seris placed the Frostfang sword on her shoulder. Her cold eyes were fixed on the city.

"Time to hunt."