Elemental Cats

Down in the Bunglehoppers' treasury, there wasn't much left to go over, so Brunswick began inspecting the items he couldn't see through as easily as everything else.

There was a significant pile of them gathered in the same chest, probably because the Blue Lounge pirates knew they were special but couldn't find a use for them. There were also some who looked like ordinary treasures at first glance but that Brunswick noticed had hidden functions.

One of the swords Brunswick picked up was about to go into the pile for decent but ordinary swords. However, after looking at it for a few more seconds, he noticed enchantments hidden inside the sword. Brunswick wasn't too curious, but he had to spend some time figuring out what those enchantments did so he could evaluate the weapon properly.

After some time, Brunswick managed to activate the enchantments by infusing the sword with his mana in a very particular way. Since he practically never had to use his mana, Brunswick wasn't very adept at controlling it, and it took more time learning how to control his mana than it took figuring out what to do with it. However, since Brunswick had an easy time seeing the flow of his mana, he quickly got the hang of how to control it so that it followed his will.

Brunswick infused the insides of the sword following the enchantments. The connection between the hilt and the blade lit up, after which the blade detached and dropped to the floor with a clanging sound.

Brunswick's attention followed the blade to the ground, so he wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him when he looked back at the weapon in his hand. The short-sword's blade hadn't been very long, but it had looked sturdy and solid to Brunswick's eyes. However, when it dropped to the ground, it revealed a hollow interior.

But the sword had still been solid, despite the blade itself being hollow, and it was thanks to the dagger hidden within the sword. The dagger was about half the length of the sword and about as long as two hands. The dagger's blade was bloodred, as if it was freshly pulled out of a person's body, and not as if it had been hiding within the sword for who knows how long.

The hilt was still the same, but to Brunswick's eyes, it looked as if the dagger's bloody atmosphere had dyed the hilt crimson.

Brunswick was startled to suddenly hold an ominous weapon like that, especially when it looked like the bloodthirsty aura was about to extend to his hand and creep up his arm. Brunswick dropped the knife.

The dagger fell blade first, and the red blade pierced through the floor like a warm knife through butter. The dagger sank into the ground all the way up to its hilt with only the force of being dropped from the height of Brunswick's sitting position.

The sword's clanking as it dropped to the ground had directed everyone's attention to Brunswick, so they all saw the bloody knife's blade fall to and through the floor. The dagger's sharpness stunned everyone, especially Wulf, who knew how sturdy and littered with enchantments the treasury was.

No one moved to pick up the dagger since Brunswick dropped it with a frightened expression. They all kind of just waited for Brunswick to calm down and explain what happened.

However, Brunswick didn't waste time talking since he could see a blood-colored energy spread through the air from the knife.

Brunswick took a deep breath before he grabbed the sword blade and the dagger before reconnecting them and hiding the dagger within the sword again.

Brunswick sighed with relief as he saw the hilt and blade fuse back together with a flash of light. He had been worried that it would be impossible to restrain the dagger's murderous intent after it was released, but it seemed like the sword wasn't a single-use thing.

The others looked at Brunswick with questions in their eyes. After the dagger dropped into the floor, they had sensed something prickle their minds, at least Toz, the cats, Wulf, and Hayar had. So they hadn't pressed Brunswick into explaining what the dagger was. However, now that the possible danger had passed, and Brunswick sighed in relief, they were interested in what he had to say regarding the knife that was sharp enough to cut through solid stone like nothing.

Brunswick looked up while still holding the sword.

"Where do we place possibly haunted weapons?"

Toz, who sat next to Brunswick, immediately scooched away upon hearing that the sword was haunted. Nil, Lucy, and Mindle joined him, which earned curious gazes from the other cats and humans in the treasury. But everyone soon focused on Brunswick again.

"Is it actually haunted?"

"I can't be sure since I don't want to look at it for too long, but there's an ominous bloodthirst surrounding the dagger that seemed to have a will of its own."

Brunswick answered Wulf's question with some hesitation while he looked at the sword again. Even after he knew that there was a dagger hidden within the sword, he couldn't see anything beyond the layer of enchantments hiding it.

"It might also be a trap or something. There are enchantments that hide the digger itself, but the enchantments themselves are visible to detailed inspection. Maybe the creator wanted to bait people into using the dagger or something."

"Well. It doesn't really matter. It's an awesome treasure, even if it is dangerous. Let's place it on that shelf and make that a shelf for potentially dangerous items."

Brunswick followed Wulf's directives and placed the sword on a shelf much too simple for the weapon it held.

Since Brunswick was the only one who saw the bloody mist, he was also the one most afraid of the knife. But the others easily moved on to continue sorting and storing the treasure without caring much about the sword and dagger. Brunswick also continued inspecting the other items, occasionally throwing a glance at the sword to make sure it hadn't disappeared or something.