Chapter 82: The Treasure of the Town Guard Captain

"What is this?" After all the town guards had completed the follower's ceremony, Keen looked curiously at the wooden chest wrapped in copper that Bard held out with both hands.

Bard knelt down on one knee, raising the chest high and presenting it to Keen. "Sir Keen, this is Brent's treasure from the town bank!"

"Oh?" Keen's interest was immediately piqued at the mention of treasure. "Is this what you told me about before?"

"Yes, Sir Keen!"

"Heh! I thought you meant those shabby pieces of equipment." Keen chuckled and reached out to take the chest, only to find that it was so heavy he couldn't even lift it. That was awkward.

Shabby equipment? Bard was speechless. Everything on the wagon was the uniforms and weapons that the town guards had purchased at high prices! Wearing these, any young man outside would be envious, desperate to join the town guards. But it seemed Sir Keen really didn’t care for them; he could casually produce a whole set of iron armor, equipment that rivaled the Imperial Guards of the Empire of Valor.

Noticing Keen’s embarrassment, Bard realized that he was a "Magus," whose physical strength was nowhere near that of a warrior like the town guards. Bard respectfully placed the chest on the ground. "Please, Sir Keen!"

"Ahem!" Keen coughed awkwardly and bent down to open the lid.

[Message] You have opened the Town Guard Captain's Treasure Chest!

[Message] You have received 1000 gold coins!

[Message] You have received [Town Guard Camp Construction Blueprint]!

[Message] You have received [Potential Potion]!

[Message] You have received [Cleave Skill Book]!

[Message] You have received [Ascendant Slash Skill Book]!

[Message] You have received [Sword of Splendor]!

[Message] You have received [Basic Invisibility Potion]!

[Message] You have received [Snowpeak Cabin Key]!

Truth be told, the Town Guard Captain's chest contained quite a few valuable items! For ordinary people, a thousand gold coins was a fortune they could scarcely hope to earn in several lifetimes—anyone who received such wealth could instantly become a local tycoon. Of course, compared to real tycoons, or aristocrats, officials, and business magnates, it was still nothing.

[Town Guard Camp Construction Blueprint] (Special Building, cannot be upgraded): Allows construction of a Town Guard Camp at a designated location. By spending gold, you can recruit or train town guards. Required materials: 25,000 units of wood, 1,500 bricks, 100 iron swords, 100 town guard uniforms, 100 iron ingots, 1 gold ingot.

The material requirements were extravagant, and it even required a gold ingot! Fortunately, there was a gold mine near the base, so that wasn’t an issue. As for the iron swords and uniforms, the wagon Bard brought back had just enough.

[Potential Potion]: Increases the user's potential value, enhancing the speed and comprehension of learning skills!

A fine item! But Keen didn't need it—he could learn and master skills directly from skill books.

[Cleave Skill Book]: Grants mastery of the sword technique, Cleave, upon use.

[Ascendant Slash Skill Book]: Grants mastery of the sword technique, Ascendant Slash, upon use.

[Sword of Splendor]: Attack 40, Agility +10. Physical attacks have a 1% chance to interrupt spellcasting.

[Basic Invisibility Potion]: Grants invisibility for five minutes upon consumption.

[Snowpeak Cabin Key]: This is Captain Brent’s key; it can be used to enter Brent’s home.

For Keen himself, the useful items were the Town Guard Camp Construction Blueprint and the Basic Invisibility Potion. As for the Snowpeak Cabin Key, he had no idea where the Snowpeak Cabin was, nor did he know whether Brent’s home contained any spoils worth collecting. That property meant nothing to him anyway.

The Potential Potion, Cleave Skill Book, Ascendant Slash Skill Book, and Sword of Splendor were all things he did not need. After a brief consideration, he decided to give the Potential Potion and Ascendant Slash Skill Book to Perrin—after all, she was now his woman, and that made her closer to him than the newly recruited followers like Bard.

Of course, Bard couldn’t be neglected either. He was the first to surrender voluntarily, and a good example needed to be set. With this in mind, Keen took out the Sword of Splendor.

Bard’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had no idea that Captain Brent’s wooden chest had become a spatial item; how could such a long weapon fit inside? He remembered it only holding gold coins.

Keen, after all, had crossed over with his game system, so whenever he opened a treasure chest item, it would randomly generate related loot. No wonder Bard and the guards were puzzled!

"Bard, I bestow upon you the Sword of Splendor!" Keen said with a smile. "Put it to good use!"

Bard gazed at the sword, which was far more magnificent and obviously sharper and sturdier than his own blade. His eyes shone with excitement as he took the Sword of Splendor from Keen, gave it a swing in the open space, and was thoroughly satisfied. Even Captain Brent had only wielded a common iron sword!

"Thank you, Sir Keen! Bard shall pledge his life to your service!" Bard was now utterly grateful for having made the right decision, lovingly handling the Sword of Splendor while the other town guards looked on with envy.

"Which of you hasn’t learned Cleave?" Keen asked.

"Me!" Nearly all the town guards, except Bard, raised their hands.

"Uh..." Keen was a little embarrassed by this; he had assumed the guards all knew Cleave.

"Reporting, Sir Keen!" Noticing Keen’s discomfort, Rabby hurried over. "We're all less gifted candidates, so we've never had a chance to learn battle skills!"

"Oh..." Keen finally understood. He thought for a moment, then handed Rabby the Cleave Skill Book. "Rabby, this book is for you!"

"What is this, Sir Keen?" Rabby asked, puzzled, holding the skill book.

"Open it and see," Keen replied with a smile.

"Oh!" Rabby tried to open the skill book, and immediately a ray of light shot out, merging into his body. In an instant, new knowledge flooded his mind, and he looked at Keen in astonishment, unable to speak.

"Rabby, what’s wrong?" several guards behind him asked in concern.

"Sir, Sir Keen has imparted the Cleave battle skill to me through memory transmission!" Rabby answered in disbelief.

"Impossible!"

"Memory transmission is the exclusive divine power of Flara, Goddess of Knowledge in myth—how could Sir Keen possess it?"

"Are you joking?"

"But the book disappeared right before our eyes!"

"Rabby, are you telling the truth?"

The guards gathered around in a clamor.

"Step aside!" Rabby asked them to clear the space, then drew his sword.

Boom! Before everyone’s eyes, he performed Cleave—and did so with a proficiency nearly equal to the captain’s!