"Jasmine, you must have a high position in the guild to be able to access the 99th floor—one that even guild elders cannot," I asked, impressed.

"Rather than a high position, I'm someone the Guildmaster and Vice-Guildmaster trust the most," she replied with pride.

After a few minutes, the lift stopped, and the doors slid open, revealing a long hallway ending at a massive metallic gate.

There were two more gates parallel to each other on the side walls of the hallway.

"The front gate is where the mana stones of the guild are stored. The left has rare artifacts, and the right gate contains all kinds of weapons you can think of."

Jasmine drew a key from her pocket and inserted it into the keyhole of the iron gate. A security camera on the wall activated and scanned both of us from top to bottom. Then another camera popped out in front, scanning our eyes, followed by one more that focused on our heartbeat.

"Jasmine and Raj are allowed to enter the weapon treasury!" an AI voice announced from the camera above. With the mechanical sound of rotating gears, the heavy iron gate slowly lifted upward.

The tightened security didn't stop there. The entrance was covered with a thin energy sheet of translucent blue light.

"What is this for?" I asked.

"We can pass through it," Jasmine said, stepping forward. "This energy barrier makes sure that the people entering are the same ones whose data the cameras just stored. If the data doesn't match, or if a greater number of people than authorized attempt to enter, the gate will immediately shut down and all the alarms in the building will ring out."

"Woah! My brother is very thorough with security!" I gasped, stepping in.

"He has to be. Some of the treasures here are more expensive than an entire major city."

Stepping to the side, Jasmine announced with a smile, "Take a look at Black Raven Guild's pride, Mr. Raj. The Guildmaster has said that you may take anything that seems fit to you from here."

The large room inside was decorated with numerous weapons placed on the pedastals or mounted on the walls.

None of the weapons there looked ordinary.

"Silver Fang Dagger — C-rank, Windpiercer Longbow — B-rank, Skullcrusher Hammer — C-rank," I murmured, touching the weapons and reading their descriptions written below them.

"We are in the weapon vault of a national guild, so why are most of the weapons only B or C rank here?" I sighed, feeling disappointed.

"Y-you must be the first and only person who could say something like that after seeing B-ranked weapons," Jasmine stammered, giving me a dumbfounded look.

"Ranked weapons can only be formed by infusing mana stones with the teeth or bones of monsters killed in dungeons, which skyrockets their value and cost. Awakeners would die for these weapons that you are casually insulting, Mr. Raj," Jasmine hissed, feeling offended by my remark as she continued, "There are only a handful of A-rank weapons in India, and they are all possessed by S-rank awakeners. A D-rank weapon is more than sufficient for an awakener who plans to enter an E- or D-ranked dungeon. So don't be picky, Mr. Raj."

"Al-alright, I got it, so calm down," I said, surprised by her sudden outburst.

Slowly gazing at the weapons, I reached the other end where more eye-catching weapons were placed.

On the wall in front, a crimson-colored scythe was mounted, its surface gleaming like freshly spilled blood. Unlike a regular scythe with a smooth blade, its edge was carved into a series of small, interconnected semicircles designed to tear apart anything it touched.

"Burning Scythe — B-rank

Description: Formed from the fang of a Hellhound beast.

Suitable for awakeners with a fire attribute."

"Hmm, this one seems interesting," I murmured, reading its description.

"You certainly have taste, Mr. Raj," Jasmine said, gazing at the scythe. "The Burning Scythe was wielded by the Guildmaster when he was A-rank. This is the legendary weapon that earned him the title of Blood Demon!" she announced, her eyes almost sparkling with excitement.

"This girl is definitely a die-hard fan of that geezer," I sighed before announcing, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I will be taking this one!"

I grabbed a rusty katana that was placed on the floor below the scythe like abandoned scrap.

"Huh!? Why are you taking that junk, Mr. Raj?" Jasmine asked, confused. "Unlike the other weapons, which were carefully crafted by some of the best blacksmiths in the country, that katana was wielded by the boss monster of the only S-rank dungeon that appeared four years ago. We took it for research purposes but realized it was complete scrap, and its metal cannot be sharpened by our technology. It was only kept here for decoration."

"I'm taking this because I felt bad for this katana to be abandoned like this," I replied nonchalantly, having already made up my mind.

"Give me the katana so I can remove the tag from it," she sighed, clearly disappointed.

When I handed her the sword, she took out a card with a digital display from her pocket and touched the hilt of the sword with it.

After a moment, an approved sign appeared on the card's display, and she handed the katana back to me.

"You may take weapons from here anytime you wish," Jasmine said. "You must have taken that sword for practice purposes, right? I will inform the weaponry department to prepare a proper katana for you before you join the academy."

"No, you don't have to. I'm content with this one, but tell me," I asked, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know I'm going to join the academy?"

"Hehe~! Isn't that obvious? If you want to become a full-fledged Awakener, you have to join the academy."

While having a casual conversation with Jasmine, we exited the vault and came outside the building.

"Once again, thanks for the help, Jasmine!" I said, extending my hand for a shake.

"I was merely performing my duty, Mr. Raj," she replied, shaking my hand with a smile.

The car was already parked at the building's entrance, waiting for me to ride in again.

"Hehehe~! I'm so excited to check this baby out," I said, brushing the box in which the katana was placed on the front passenger seat.

"Vivi sure is helpful in finding the diamond within the coals."

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