Lian stood motionless in front of the stone platform for a few seconds.
His gaze was fixed on the cracked red core, the dark and ominous aura coming from it could not be compared to anything else in the Celestial Treasury.
Even many of the legendary treasures he had seen until this moment seemed insignificant in front of this strange and terrifying aura.
And in terms of destruction and deadliness... the aura of this core had completely destroyed every trace of vitality and life around it, this place was so abandoned that it was like entering a cemetery.
He knew very well what he was facing.
Monsters had cores, and not just one or two, the number of monster cores could reach tens and hundreds, so a simple monster core should not have any special value.
But what was in front of him was a Demon core, which was a completely different matter.
Demon rank monsters were so rare that many awakened ones spent their entire lives without even seeing one.
Those creatures alone could destroy a country, turn entire armies into killing fields, and could bring hell to any place they passed through.
And now the core of one of those creatures was in front of him.
Its value? Probably this core alone, this same cracked core, could be sold for tens and maybe over a hundred million dollars.
But the problem was that Lian did not know what to do with it, he could not use it like a skill book, he could not read it.
He could not wear it, and he could not use it like a weapon.
The only use that came to his mind was selling it, and he had not come here to find something to sell, he had come here to find items to become stronger.
And at first glance, this thing should not be of any benefit to him.
But... why did his entire being want it?
Why did he feel his blood was going crazy in response to this core? Why was every cell in his body screaming to take it?
And more importantly... why did he feel that if he left it behind right now, he would regret it later?
His gaze fell on the core once more.
"Maybe it has to do with my class..." he then whispered quietly.
This was the only option that seemed logical, he still knew almost nothing about his real class.
The system had given no explanation, no book existed about it, and no teacher could be found to teach it.
The only one who could uncover its secret was himself, and it was possible that the core in front of him was important for his class.
But what importance? What use? What benefit could it have?
Lian sighed and then reached out his hand.
"Even if it has no use right now, I will take it." The moment his fingers touched the core, its dark aura intensified for a second, then disappeared, and the core entered his storage space.
At that same moment, the treasury’s voice echoed in his mind.
"An unexpected choice." He felt that voice was truly surprised.
It seemed it did not expect him to take such a useless thing.
In fact, he himself did not expect it either... he could only hope that his intuition was trustworthy.
At that same moment, part of the space began to ripple.
A corridor that did not exist before appeared in front of him, as if the treasury had decided to show him something more.
Lian entered it without hesitation, and the further he went, the heavier the mana pressure became, and the treasures around him became more valuable.
Along the way he passed by items that each could create a legend.
A black spear that was said to have been used by one of the most powerful awakened ones in the history of the Vorhelms.
A skill book whose pages were shining.
A green crystal that could increase a human’s lifespan by dozens of years.
But none of them caught his attention, not like what was waiting for him at the end of the path.
A few minutes later his steps stopped.
In front of him was a corpse, but not the corpse of a human, not even the corpse of a normal monster.
The massive body of a creature whose size was equal to a multi-story building.
Dark skin, massive bones, and muscles that even after death were releasing a terrifying pressure.
"World Devourer Giant..." Lian’s eyes widened slightly, memories from books of the Ruined Realms appeared in his mind.
An ancient race from the fourth Ruined Realm, creatures that grew stronger by swallowing cities.
Monsters that ate civilizations, a monster that was known for having the strongest defense among all the monster races of the fourth Ruined Realm.
A defense that was said to be as strong as the strongest mountains.
The system immediately appeared.
[ World Devourer Giant ]
[ Rank: Unholy ]
[ Level: 77 ]
Lian let out his breath quietly, an Unholy... and not just any Unholy, but a monster that had passed through three evolutions.
If his guess was correct... this creature had been the leader of its entire race.
The body of such a creature was a complete treasure in itself.
Bones, skin, blood, everything had legendary value.
He had seen several incredible armors in the treasury, but he suddenly understood that none of them could compare to this, with the materials from this body, an armor could be made that would last for generations.
An armor that might even reach Ancient rank, which was a full rank above S rank armors.
For someone like him who fought most of his battles at close range, such a thing had indescribable value.
Lian made his second choice without the slightest hesitation, he could find a ready-made armor, but he had not seen any Ancient rank armor here.
Most of the armors were A rank and S rank, and all of them were inferior in every way to an armor that could be made from this monster’s body.
Now only one choice remained, and time was still passing, he only had 3 minutes left.
He continued searching again, he found many skill books, some so powerful that even looking at them was tempting.
But none of them created that strange feeling, until...
he reached an area that was different from all the other sections of the treasury.
The atmosphere there was heavier, quieter, and more importantly... more protected.
"I suggest you choose another path." Even the treasury’s voice seemed to change for the first time, sounding worried.
"A suggestion, or worry that I might take what is here?" Lian stopped and raised an eyebrow.
The treasury’s voice was silent for a few seconds, and that was enough for him to realize that the second option was true.
The treasury’s consciousness was worried, but this only made Lian more curious.
A few minutes later he reached his destination and was stunned by what he saw in front of him.
In front of him was a massive container, a transparent layer that looked like glass, but only its appearance looked like glass.
The pressure coming from it was insane, even without touching it he could tell that this protection could withstand attacks from level eighty awakened ones.
And in its center... a book was floating.
A golden book, a book with thousands of unclear words engraved on its cover, and the moment Lian’s gaze fell on it, the system notification appeared.
[ Celestial Book of Treasure ]
[ Rank: Mythical ]
Lian just stared for a few seconds.
Mythical... the highest possible rank! Higher than anything he had seen until today.
And suddenly... the transparent container opened without any sound, as if the treasury itself had allowed it.
Although that was not really the case... if the treasury’s consciousness had a visible face, one could see how worried and terrified it was right now... terrified that if the elders of the Vorhelm clan found out this book had been taken, how furious they would be.
Lian calmly moved forward and read the system’s description.
[ Celestial Book of Treasure ]
[ Ability: Identify and display all valuable treasures within a ten kilometer radius, display location, description and approximate value of treasures ]
[ One of the five Celestial Books ]
Lian was completely silent for a few seconds, now he understood, this book was the real reason for the formation of the Celestial Treasury.
The Vorhelm clan had probably used it for centuries, this same book was what guided them to hidden treasures.
This same book was what had made such wealth possible.
And now... it had fallen into his hands.
Another notification appeared.
[ Celestial Books: 1/5 ]
Lian’s heart beat faster, so there were four other books as well, and this was only the beginning of the story, he made his choice without the slightest hesitation and took the book.
He was a little curious to know how the clan had found and obtained this book.
And he was also curious to know how shocked they would be when they found out this book had fallen into his hands, they would probably be more terrified, right?
He chuckled inwardly, even he himself had not expected such a book to exist, he had not read about anything like this in any book.
It was not hard to guess that the Vorhelms had probably hidden it as well as possible.
The treasury’s consciousness, seeing that the book had been taken, cursed inwardly, but it could not interfere against the rules, it felt resentment toward this boy and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"Three choices completed, time has ended."
Lian was about to look around when suddenly everything turned white, space broke, light filled his entire vision, and the next moment... the ground beneath his feet changed.
When he opened his eyes, he was once again standing in front of the treasury entrance.
Damian was there.
Nova had already returned and was standing a few meters away, and Seris was also standing there.
Both turned their gazes toward him, Damian also seemed curious, everyone wanted to know what he had chosen.
But Lian just smiled.