The seemingly endless dark staircase came to an end in less than ten minutes.
As he walked along the passage that began at the bottom of the stairs, a vast cavern filled with darkness appeared.
The cavern was so wide and dark that the faint light of the magical lamp clearly had its limits.
But Kain, who carried the memories of a developer, knew exactly where to go.
He advanced with certainty.
After moving forward for about five minutes, relying on the dim glow of the lamp, a small altar finally revealed itself before him.
An altar covered in crude ornaments, as if some ancient ritual had once been performed there.
Directly behind the altar stood a large chest sealed with a lock.
Kain knew what it was.
“…A relic chest from the mythic age.”
Inside that chest were several relic-grade artifacts containing miracles from the ancient mythic age—now barely even recorded—and one Sigil.
Kain cautiously approached the chest and unlocked it.
According to the setting, it could be opened with any ring given to a member of the Felberg imperial bloodline, not just the Crown Prince’s Ring.
The royals probably never gave it much thought, but every object passed down through the Felberg house since the mythic age was magically linked to the others.
When the lock was released and the chest opened, the sleeping treasures of antiquity revealed themselves.
There were many accessories—necklaces, rings, earrings—and most were rings embedded with magically engraved gems.
But the item Kain truly wanted was different.
“Found it.”
Among them, on a single ring, instead of a gemstone, a strange seal was engraved.
The moment Kain’s gaze fell upon the seal, a new system message appeared.
[You have discovered the Sigil of the Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven.]
It was a ring that could forcibly engrave the Sigil of the Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven, onto the wearer’s body.
A ring prepared by the First Emperor long ago, in anticipation of a dark future when the Sigils would be forgotten and the very foundation of the Felberg Empire would shake.
If you think about it that way… was even this catastrophe already foreseen?
But if someone had predicted that a prince possessed by the soul of a former developer would come here, that would just be nonsense.
“Anyway… I’m glad it’s exactly as I set it.”
If this had merely been an ordinary Sigil, there would have been no reason for Kain to come all this way—he already knew every Sigil that existed.
There was only one reason he had come here and sought this ring.
It was an item that allowed him to borrow the power of a Star Throne without any special cost or condition.
“The Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven…”
Now the sole remaining royal of the Felberg Empire, Kain quietly murmured the true name of the Star Throne engraved on the ring in a calm voice.
As the epithet “Baron of Protection” implied, Vendelhaven was a Star Throne specialized in protecting someone.
The “Mausoleum of the Star Thrones” had originally been designed as a hidden gimmick known only to those in the know—a bonus stage that granted extra rewards helpful to the player.
Because of that, the artifacts obtainable here were of high rank, but none were powerful enough to trivially carry the player through the despair-inducing world and main story of the game.
They were certainly a great help in progressing the main story… but not something one could rely on all the way to the final boss.
Yet there was a separate reason Kain had chosen the Mausoleum of the Star Thrones—where the Baron of Protection Vendelhaven was kept—among the countless hidden gimmicks he had scattered throughout the imperial palace and annexes.
The Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven, is famous for being cost-effective.
Using a Sigil that contained the authority of a Star Throne was never free.
The resources required to activate a Sigil varied depending on the disposition of the Star Throne that had imbued it—sometimes mana, sometimes blood, and in rare cases, for Star Thrones with extreme tendencies close to “evil gods,” there were even settings where lifespan had to be offered.
Compared to ordinary magic, the power was often overwhelming relative to the cost, so it could feel “almost free,” but for a beginner with low proficiency, spamming Sigils was impossible.
However, Vendelhaven—also called the Baron of Protection—was relatively friendly toward the Felberg imperial house among the Star Thrones that had left traces in the mythic age.
For that reason, the resource consumption required to activate his Sigil was considerably lower than others.
That was why Kain had come here first.
“I need to engrave Vendelhaven’s Sigil first and raise its proficiency.”
Greed was unwise.
For now, he had to use the beginner-friendly, cost-effective Vendelhaven Sigil as a foundation for growth.
“Of course… the reason I postponed the coronation itself to obtain Vendelhaven’s Sigil is separate.”
The Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven, was one of the most famous Star Thrones within the Felberg Empire.
Though records of his complete Sigil had been lost, any knight of the imperial house would instantly recognize Vendelhaven’s Sigil.
A clear smile spread across Kain’s lips.
The reason was simple: the crests symbolizing the five great imperial knight orders of the Felberg Empire were all designed with reference to parts of Vendelhaven’s Sigil—a fact known to every cultured person in the Empire.
In other words, the symbol of authority most familiar to the imperial knights is Vendelhaven’s Sigil.
If the Sigil of the Crimson Archduke Rydel had still remained, there would have been no need to delay the coronation.
Unfortunately, after manifesting the miraculous authority of a Star Throne at Canossa Fortress, the Sigil of the Crimson Archduke Rydel had gradually faded over time and was now completely gone.
Of course, the connection to the Crimson Archduke Rydel had not been entirely severed.
Kain could still feel the lingering embers of Hellfire on the back of his hand.
If he paid the proper price at the proper time, the Crimson Archduke would lend his strength again.
The immediate problem was that he could not make the Sigil visibly reappear.
Naturally, the true identity of the soul inhabiting the Third Prince Kain was not merely a wastrel, but Kang Ji-hoon—the lead developer who had created the world of Empire Heroic Legend.
Of course he knew ways to make a faded Sigil vivid again.
But the issue was…
I must not use that power at the coronation.
Though now hidden, the Sigil of the Crimson Archduke Rydel was probably still engraved in some incomplete form.
He had used a loophole, but the authority of a Star Throne had undeniably manifested in his body.
Even if he somehow forced the authority to awaken again, manifesting the power of a ducal-rank Star Throne with a fickle temperament in an unskilled body was practically impossible.
No one knew what price the Archduke would demand the next time he lent his strength.
Moreover, the uncontrollable authority of a ducal-rank Star Throne could produce unpredictable results.
A single misstep could deliver the final blow to the already crumbling Felberg Empire.
Thus, Kain chose the risk-free option: securing the Sigil of the Baron of Protection, Vendelhaven.
“Sometimes staging is the most important element.”
Before gathering what he needed immediately, Kain reviewed his future plans in his mind and grinned.
Word that the authority of a Star Throne had returned at Canossa Fortress had surely spread across the entire Empire, but there would still be doubters.
Nothing would silence them more effectively than displaying the Sigil and its authority directly before their eyes.
Yet even after obtaining Vendelhaven’s Sigil, Kain did not stop; he rummaged through every corner.
He still had business here.
“There should be a subspace pouch somewhere nearby…”
Possessing a developer’s memories, Kain knew full well that the contents of the chest were not the only rewards.
If his recollection from designing the mausoleum was correct, a “subspace pouch” capable of carrying the other artifacts existed somewhere.
Some relic-grade artifacts in the chest could not be used immediately, and others could trigger uncontrollable events just by being carried.
He could not leave them here nor keep coming and going while triggering alarms every time.
Right now, Kain had no separate subspace pouch of his own.
Therefore, the jewelry-form artifact that should exist somewhere in this place according to the setting—the subspace pouch—had to be secured first and foremost.
“Is this it?”
Near the altar, Kain discovered and picked up a small leather pouch that served as a subspace pouch.
Externally, it looked barely large enough to hold three or four rings and necklaces, but a system message that appeared in the corner of his vision soon explained its true value.
[You have obtained the relic-grade artifact: “Subspace Pouch of the Forgotten Pilgrim.”]
[Due to the Wanderer privilege, additional information about this artifact can be viewed.]
Confirming the message that additional information was available, the moment Kain wondered how to view it, the relevant details already surfaced in his mind.
[Subspace Pouch of the Forgotten Pilgrim]
Grade: Relic
Overview: A subspace pouch used by pilgrims in the ancient mythic age. As befits an artifact created in the era when magical civilization shone brilliantly, it boasts outstanding performance.
The additional information was not particularly detailed, but it was enough to jog the game developer’s memories.
Finishing the artifact info view, Kain Felberg naturally began recalling various settings from Empire Heroic Legend.
In particular, he could pull up the information about artifact grading criteria from memory.
Artifacts were broadly divided into seven grades, and only those confirmed to have been made in the ancient mythic age were classified as “relic” grade.
However, simply being confirmed as mythic-age creations earned the relic classification, so it was not necessarily guaranteed that relic-grade artifacts were more powerful than high or unique-grade ones.
“Still, I have to take what I can.”
Unable to leave precious artifacts behind, Kain muttered to himself as he returned to the chest, gathered the relic-grade artifacts, and placed them inside the Subspace Pouch of the Forgotten Pilgrim.