After the old man in charge of taking him to the vault introduced himself, Kael began to walk through the mansion's corridors.
Kael advanced through the mansion's corridors, following the old man named Rhett.
As they advanced, sunlight filtered through the windows, and snow accumulated on the edges of the windows.
Servants were seen less and less as the seconds passed. They were replaced by heavily trained knights and several mages, who used observation and sound magic.
Noticing that they were getting closer and closer to reaching the vault, the elder Rhett began to speak:
"Young Kael, since this is your first time in the family vault, you need to know a few things first before entering. The vault is divided into four levels. On the first two levels, there are some valuable items, such as weapons, armor, and more. There are also different aura cultivation techniques, as well as methods to create a magic circle and other knowledge. At levels three and four, you will find most of the Zu with their rank, information, their food, and their types. However, you should be aware that at level four you will find an extremely special Zu.... Do not talk to him."
Kael memorized every word. He asked:
"What does that Zu look like?"
He was not going to repeat past mistakes. Not out of fear, but out of efficiency. Every failure was to leave a lesson, and no Zu was to be used without being properly evaluated.
Rhett put his hand to his chin and looked up for a moment.
"That Zu has a rather unique appearance: its shape is that of a purple apple tree, but its leaves are of a light trait, it has two eyes and a mouth on its trunk. It is located in the center of level four."
Kael nodded. He didn't need any more details.
The hallway was growing darker. The windows disappeared, leaving only torches encrusted with stone light. There were no knights or wizards anymore.
"By the way, young Kael, you know which path to choose? With your talent, you can choose to become a magical knight: mastering martial arts, the art of the sword, like magic?" asked the elder Rhett with curiosity visible in his voice.
"I will become a Zu Master," Kael replied in a calm tone.
Rhett paused for a second. His voice showed a mixture of doubt and sincere concern.
"But, young Kael, being a Zu Master is very difficult; it takes a lot of resources to raise, refine, use, and feed the Zu. Also, the resources of Zu Masters are very limited."
Kael let out a short laugh. Cold.
"Why do I have to worry about resources?"
"Young Kael, you are still young and have not yet seen how vast this world is. I just want you to understand that... that path is almost extinct. Most prefer the path of magic or aura. It is safer, more accepted, more efficient..."
Kael looked at him. In his eyes, there was no annoyance or disappointment. Only indifference.
Resources? Limitations? The real problem is not in the difficulty of the path, but in the mediocrity of the one who walks it. Does a hunter complain about the wolf because its fangs are sharp? No. Learn to kill better.
Then he said just as calmly:
"Why worry so much about resources? Are you underestimating our Clan Medici?"
Rhett fell silent. He did not know what to answer.
I see. Just another old man tamed by habit, unable to see beyond his limits. Such common thinking. So weak.
Kael continued walking, silently.
After about five more minutes, they arrived at a huge iron door full of seals and signs. In the center of the door was a huge symbol: a giant blue dragon.
It was the symbol of the Medici Clan.
Rhett stood in front of the door and began to speak in an ancient language:
"Oh, Great Ancestor of the age of Antiquity. ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶s̶e̶a̶l̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶v̶e̶n̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶p̶e̶n̶~̶ ̶S̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶i̶l̶~̶ ̶S̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶t̶~̶ ̶S̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶i̶n̶d̶~̶ ̶R̶e̶d̶ ̶s̶e̶a̶l̶~̶ ̶S̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶~̶..."
The huge iron door, along with all the seals and symbols on it, began to glow brightly, illuminating the entire corridor. It opened slowly, producing a loud metallic sound. However, neither Kael nor the elder Rhett seemed affected by that horrible creaking sound.
A second later, the door finished opening. The seals stopped glowing, and the old man concluded his chant in the ancient language.
"Young Kael, this is as far as I can take you. You know the essentials. And don't forget that you can only take three items, be they sword techniques, Zu, or magic manuscripts, etc."
Kael nodded. As he stepped through the huge doorway, a change occurred immediately: everything turned white. Walls, ceiling, columns, and stairs seemed to have been built with marble or snowy jade, radiating solemnity and power.
He looked up and saw a sign that said "Level 1". He began to walk through the corridors at a leisurely pace; as he had not been told how much time he had, he would take it easy to observe everything very carefully.
As he advanced through this first level, Kael saw many hóplotecas where weapons were displayed: curved white crystal swords, silver bows, spears...
The armor was lined up in circular podiums. There was no dust or wear. Everything shone as if freshly forged.
Kael recognized many of the weapons and armor, but they were of no interest to him, so he continued walking.
Later, he saw several aura cultivation techniques, with their respective ranks: "Nine-star white fire aura cultivation", "Eight-star purple water aura cultivation"....
These were low-level techniques. The term "star" was the term knights used to measure their power ranks, from nine-star knight (the lowest) to one-star knight (the highest) in terms of aura cultivation.
After taking a quick look at aura cultivation techniques, he also found methods of creating magic circles, with their respective ranks, ranging from "Manuals for beginner handling of one magic circle" to "Manuals for mages of four magic circles".
On this first level, nothing caught Kael's attention, so he descended to the second level.
As he descended, the light became denser, white as milk, with iridescent reflections floating in the air. This floor was like a living archive: diagrams of magic circles drawn in pearl ink, alchemy books with polished bone covers.
The architecture was symmetrical, perfect. White shelves floated, rotating slowly in the air, guarded by spheres of light that acted as guardians.
Kael calmly looked around the magical place. On this level, the items were of a better standard than on the first, but what he had seen so far hadn't caught his attention yet.
And he began to explore much more leisurely, taking several tomes from the floating shelves and looking at the aura cultivation techniques more closely.
After a long search on this second level, only two items caught his attention: it was a manual for magicians covering from circle one to circle four, called "Flower Hemomancy", and an aura cultivation technique called "Crimson Plum Circulation".
Choosing these two things, Kael did not stay any longer on the second level and descended to the third.
As he descended, a strange, soft white mist covered this level.