Chapter 78: The Simplest Method to Open a Treasure Chest

The information on this 【Box of Sealing Magic】 may be limited, but it’s still quite valuable. Not only have I uncovered a name of someone likely pulling the strings behind the scenes, but I’ve also confirmed that the Source of Magic, which is that little Moonshadow Magical Wolf cub, is indeed trapped inside. The skills brought by the game are surprisingly reliable.

Next, it’s time to figure out how to open this thing.

Since it’s a spiritual tool, there’s no identity binding, so it’s not too difficult to handle. However, considering there are others watching, I should save some of the more convenient but secretive methods for another time.

Let’s try the simplest method first.

Vilyric took out a 【Universal Key】 from her backpack, found the only slot on the black box, and attempted to insert it.

“……”

Well, it won’t turn.

Faced with Mona’s curious little eyes, the black-haired girl expressionlessly returned the key to her pocket.

This was to be expected; as a spiritual tool, a more versatile 【Universal Key】 wouldn’t be able to open a 【Box of Sealing Magic】—otherwise, that would just be too useless.

Looks like I’ll just have to resort to brute force.

Vilyric decided to destroy the thing.

Although it’s a spiritual tool, it’s not really anything special for the Priestess, and as stolen goods, she couldn’t just casually pocket it.

If handed over to Mona, who knows whether this high-level gear from an enemy would have some hidden backdoor? Vilyric felt a bit uneasy.

So, destroying it seemed like the most convenient way to deal with it.

Fingers igniting with a golden-red sacred flame, Vilyric carefully swept the thumb-sized flame over the surface of the 【Box of Sealing Magic】, burning away the densely packed magical inscriptions.

The magical patterns on an item are akin to the magic cores within magical beasts; they are the source of extraordinary powers. Having these magical patterns is what qualifies an item as magical in nature.

However, engraving magical patterns is incredibly difficult and requires a mix of very rare materials to create the liquid used, which is why purple-grade items and above are so rare in this world.

Spiritual tools follow the same reasoning; they simply boast more powerful and complex abilities, whereas only true holy artifacts reach a significant transformation.

Thus, as long as the magical patterns are destroyed, it’s easy to obliterate an item of purple or gold quality. The process is just a bit tedious.

After spending several minutes, Vilyric patiently burned away every trace of magical lines from the black box, even flipping it over to take care of the bottom.

In fact, if she just wanted to destroy this item, it wouldn’t require this much effort. But that little wolf cub is still trapped inside the 【Box of Sealing Magic】. She certainly couldn’t burn it along with her!

At the moment the last shadowy pattern was burned away, the strange magic lingering on the black box finally dissipated. Vilyric glanced at the now dimly glowing keyhole and the seemingly still intact box, propping her chin in thought.

“Oh! Got it!”

Like a light bulb going off, the girl raised her hand, a flash of golden light passing over her skin, and then pressed against the black box, gradually applying more force with her delicate white fingers.

“Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!”

Accompanied by a series of ear-piercing metal deformation sounds, that particular young priestess somehow forced a dent into the unknown metallic surface.

Then, she jumped atop the cargo vehicle, stepped boldly on the edge of the black box with no regard for ladylike behavior, gripped the “handle,” and puffed her cheeks to pull hard!

“Boom!!!”

With a catastrophic crash, the black metallic box that served as the spiritual tool’s shell ripped open from the top like thick cardboard being torn apart, yanked off by Vilyric’s raw strength!

“Well, done ~”

Casting a glance at the crumpled, twisted lid in her hand, the black-haired girl casually tossed it to the ground and jumped down from the vehicle. Just as she was about to peek inside, she seemed to notice something and turned, facing Mona and several Shadow People who looked as if they’d been petrified, their expressions full of confusion.

“What are you doing? The box is open; shouldn’t you come take a look?”

The blue-haired young girl in front twitched her mouth a few times, as if finally managing to recover, stepping forward a couple of paces.

“Ahem, truly, truly impressive, Miss Vilyric. I can’t believe you solved it this way…”

Halfway through her sentence, the little princess sneakily glanced at the part of the once-black box lying on the ground, and with a look commanded the equally stunned Shadow People to deal with the crowd drawn by the loud noise, gradually returning to her usual demeanor.

Vilyric took everything in, but couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

Looking at the situation, did I make too much noise?

But this was already the most low-key solution! Disassembling equipment isn’t on the same level as frying cabbage, right? Better than pulling out a tree or smashing it with a staff!

The two girls tacitly avoided discussing their earlier actions and instead leaned in to look at the insides of the opened black box.

Inside was a cute little wolf cub, about the length of a human forearm, covered in soft, dark blue fur, curled up in a ball with its head and tail connected, sound asleep, seemingly unaffected even by the violent dismantling just moments ago.

“So this is the little Moonshadow Royal Youngling that caused all the commotion? Doesn’t look like much to me?”

Vilyric reached out a hand, grabbing the back of the neck of the creature that looked more like a puppy than a wolf, lifting it up from the now-tattered 【Box of Sealing Magic】, curiously examining it up close.

“It should be right. The information mentioned that direct descendants of the Moonshadow Royal Family have a small tuft of distinctly different-colored wolf fur on their necks. See here, Miss Vilyric.”

Mona pointed to the spot on the little wolf cub’s neck that Vilyric had just been gripping. When Vilyric shifted it into a better position, she discovered that where she had grabbed indeed held a patch of smooth black fur starkly contrasting the little wolf’s dark blue coat.

“This one should be the newly born heir of the Moonshadow Clan, blessed by the God—Noviya Moonshadow. How wonderful… we finally found her.”

Upon saying this, even the usually composed Mona couldn’t help but show a bright smile.

“Hmm…”

It seemed that Mona was unaware of the 【Source of Magic】; unlike the gleeful little princess, Vilyric, with a flicker of thought, seized the moment while holding the little wolf cub to activate 【Information Detection】.

The skill operated smoothly, and various details about the little wolf swiftly returned without the chaotic backlash or rebellion Vilyric had imagined.

This was indeed a juvenile Moonshadow Magical Wolf. Its attributes, while slightly exceeding those of a human, remained nothing out of the ordinary.

In terms of levels, it absolutely didn’t exceed level 20, and there wasn’t any boundless energy within. Its soul, due to some unknown reason, was in a dormant state, seemingly not affected by the 【Box of Sealing Magic】.

Weird… is this really the 【Source of Magic】 that Tiyelu said would cause a catastrophe if it got out of control? Doesn’t look like it at all?

However, the information carried by the【Box of Sealing Magic】 previously confirmed that what was trapped inside was indeed the entity named Noviya Moonshadow…

Wait a minute… entity?

What does “entity” mean? Tiyelu didn’t mention this before, did she?

Although a bit confused, no matter what, both Mona’s judgment and the investigation skill had validated the identity of this little wolf cub, so there shouldn’t be any mistake. As for the rest, I can wait until we return Noviya to Tiyelu to ask for clarification.

With that, it seems the business here should be coming to a close.

   

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