Chapter 126

What on earth is written here?

Is it some ancient language? Of course, it’s a language I’ve never seen before.

At least I could tell that at least two people wrote it.

The shapes of the characters are different, and the scars on the wall where it was carved also have subtle differences in angle and depth.

But beyond that, I couldn’t understand anything.

Still, if it’s something worth carving in a place like this, it must be important.

I’ll have to investigate it later or something.

After unwrapping a relatively less blood-stained bandage, I used the flowing blood to copy the inscription on the wall.

It was a crude writing tool, but it was the best I had. I didn’t bring any pens or paper, after all.

Other than that, there wasn’t much to gain.

I couldn’t see any path leading outside either.

All that was left were ruins, ruins, and damn ruins.

That can’t be right.

Every dungeon has a way out. Especially in such an isolated space.

At least that’s how it was in games.

Even though this is reality, that part probably isn’t much different.

Dungeons were originally areas where someone lived.

If there’s no way out, it’s like saying everyone should starve to death together.

So there must be an exit somewhere…

Please don’t tell me it’s at the bottom of the lake or something like that?

I prayed it wasn’t.

Even if I could safely make it down to the lake, I doubt I could withstand immersing myself in that massive mass of magical energy.

Even anti-magic resistance has its limits.

My anxious heart sought something to calm my nerves.

I took out a cigarette and lit it.

Though my senses would become sharper and the pain would intensify a bit, the desire to soothe my cravings was stronger.

I took a deep breath. The smoke spread deep inside me.

It still hurts a bit…

As my head cleared, intense pain surged from my wounds.

The end of the cigarette in my mouth was crushed between my teeth.

The smoke I exhaled drifted toward the ground.

The ground?

I quickly examined the floor where the smoke was seeping in.

There were very faint indentations.

It looked like something had been carved and then scraped away to erase the traces as much as possible.

I placed my hand on the floor.

The finely carved engravings gradually lit up and revealed their true form.

Just like when I touched the door and was transported to this chamber, magical energy flowed across the floor.

– Rumble…!

The temple floor shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

It wasn’t a spatial transfer manifesting.

Well, the scale of the engraving and the amount of magical energy here were on a completely different level.

The scene unfolding before me was child’s play compared to spatial transfer.

Slowly, the floor opened.

A ripple starting from where I placed my hand. The floor pushed downward, revealing its interior.

Ah, so they made a secret passage.

When the long-lasting vibrations finally stopped, a hole wide enough for three people to pass through at once was gaping open before me.

An underground staircase.

A faint blue light seeped out from inside, as if magical lamps were lit.

I couldn’t tell where the stairs led, but I guessed it probably connected to an exit…

Well, you never know until you go.

The smoke I exhaled stretched forward.

A faint breeze from behind brushed past my back.

If air flows as soon as it opens, doesn’t that mean there’s a space connected to the outside on the other side?

With the cigarette still in my mouth, I headed down the stairs.

See, this is why it’s so useful.

If it weren’t for this thing, how would I have discovered the passage hidden by magic?

Waving the cigarette up and down, I descended the temple’s underground staircase.

Not long after, familiar noises and vibrations came from above.

Probably the secret door closing again.

Even if that Undead Knight guy is climbing back up from the lake and returning to the temple, I hope he doesn’t realize I went this way… We’ll see.

—

The passage was longer than I expected.

Or should I say deeper?

The stairs seemed endless.

Just when I thought it was a dead end, it continued in the opposite direction, going deeper and deeper.

I wonder if I’ll reach the bottom and encounter the area submerged by the lake.

Fortunately, a door appeared before I hit water.

Unlike the previous doors with engravings, this was an ordinary door with a lock.

I smashed the lock and swung the door wide open.

This is…

Inside the door was a space that looked like some kind of ritual chamber.

A wide platform occupied more than half of the room, atop a two-step staircase.

On the wall beyond the platform were unfamiliar characters and complex engravings arranged around them.

I shifted my gaze to the floor. A circular engraving filled the platform’s floor.

The outline consisted of two concentric circles, surrounded by five smaller circles.

Geometric shapes and characters filled the inside of the circle.

Anyone could tell this was a magic circle.

In front was one circle, and behind were four circles.

On the four circles at the back stood four glass pillars.

Up close, the glass pillars were filled with a red liquid. Well, three of them were.

The fourth one was shattered from the inside.

A faint metallic smell came from the stains on the floor.

…The smell of blood. Though it had dried and turned into black stains, there was no mistaking it.

So that means all this red liquid is blood.

Did they perform some kind of human sacrifice?

Looking closer, something was floating in the blood-filled glass pillars.

A human skull. To be precise, what used to be a human skull.

On the foreheads of the white skulls, a single character was engraved each.

The same shape as the characters on the magic circle beneath the glass pillars.

The shattered pillar was probably the same. I read the characters on the ground.

[ᛏ ] [ ᚲ ] [ᚨ ] [ᚻ ]

The three were unfamiliar characters, but the ones under the broken pillar looked familiar.

They were the same characters engraved on the Undead Knight’s sword.

What did that guy say again…?

Hagalaz?

Probably something like that, I guess.

There wasn’t anything else special, but… I had a rough idea of what I needed to do.

I headed toward the empty circle opposite the glass pillar.

I mean, come on, it’s obvious that someone’s supposed to stand there, right?

I stomped out the cigarette butt and took a deep breath.

Maybe because I was a little nervous, my exhale was rough.

It was hard to suppress the rising anxiety.

A mysterious magic circle created through human sacrifice. I had no idea what kind of effect it would have on me.

In the worst-case scenario, I might end up like that Undead Knight from earlier.

The fact that only the glass pillar with the same characters as his sword was shattered was practically screaming that there was some connection between the two.

Am I gonna be okay…?

Hesitating wouldn’t change anything. There was nothing else in this room that seemed useful anyway.

Praying that the worst wouldn’t happen, I stepped onto the magic circle.

A low hum echoed, and a storm of magical energy swept over me.

The energy brushed past my body and flowed into the magic circle on the ground.

The circle, now saturated with magic, glowed a vivid red, spreading until it filled the entire room.

I swallowed hard. Am I gonna be okay? This is fine, right?

The magical energy flowing along the inscriptions eventually concentrated in one place.

Inside the second glass pillar. The blood filling it boiled up in an instant, and the skull engraved with the character 「ᚲ」 slowly melted away.

Then the magic surged back toward me.

Carrying a strange heat with it.

A vivid stream of magical energy wrapped around my body and surged upward.

Like dozens of snakes, it coiled around my legs and concentrated on my right hand—more precisely, the inside of my wrist.

Perhaps thinking this was some kind of attack magic, my anti-magic didn’t even resist.

“Ugh…!”

My wrist felt like it was on fire.

No, not just on fire—it felt like a burning blade was slowly carving into it.

A groan escaped my lips. I clenched my teeth and endured the pain.

Damn it, whatever this is, it hurts like hell…!

A minute that felt like an hour. Finally, the light faded.

Looking down at my still-throbbing wrist, I saw the character 「ᚲ」 clearly engraved like a brand.

Thinking back to what the Undead Knight had shown me, this probably had some magical significance… but how do you even read this thing?

If you’re gonna give me something like this, shouldn’t you at least explain how to use it?

Would the magicians know about this character?

Not like I could just waltz into the Mage Tower and ask, though.

High-ranking magicians obsessed with magical research are practically lunatics.

If this was some kind of magical script even they didn’t know about…

They’d probably forget all about status or consequences and immediately try to cut off my wrist to study it.

Even if Damien’s party, who had obtained the Holy Sword, went to them, if Damien’s level was too low, they’d trap him, take the sword, and disappear to “research” it. Those crazy bastards would do anything.

Thanks to my experience as a player, I made a quick decision. Yeah, let’s not ask the magicians.

If they already knew about this kind of magic, they would’ve created something like permanent magic lamps by now.

I guess I’ll have to keep my wrist covered from now on, just in case.

Alright, time to get out of here.

The blowing wind cooled my burning wrist.

One of the walls had opened wide without me noticing.

Before leaving, I glanced back at the magic circle.

Another pillar had shattered.

The second pillar was now in pieces, just like the fourth one. As if its purpose had been fulfilled.

The other two pillars… Since they’re still intact and showing no reaction, I guess this is all I’m getting.

Part of me wants to put Freide or Damien on that magic circle too, but that’s way too dangerous.

Even if their entry level wasn’t too low to get in, and even if I somehow managed to bring them here…

What if that Undead Knight showed up in front of us like he was waiting?

We’d be wiped out in an instant.

It’s a shame, but I’ll have to let it go.

I stepped through the open wall.

At the end of a short passage stood a familiar-looking door.

Finally…!

Feeling relieved, I quickly walked toward the door. It had to be a teleportation gate.

The surface was covered with the same engravings as the door that had dumped me here.

I placed my hand on the teleportation gate. Magical energy swirled, and light burst forth.

A dazzling glow filled the air, and the surrounding space began to distort.

Like wet paint melting away.

The next moment—I was back in the clearing where I had been separated from my companions.

Their wide eyes stared at me in shock.

“Ha, Ha-shal-leur?!”

Milia, who had locked eyes with me, shouted in surprise.

…Why are they still here? It’s been a while since I got teleported.

Don’t tell me they’ve just been sitting here resting instead of coming to look for me?