Chapter 68

As we climbed up to the high ground, what came into view was a stone monument that looked eerily similar to the obelisks on Earth.

“…Bro, what is this?”

“…Hmm… It definitely looks like something, but…”

The monument seemed to have a purpose, given its appearance. It was strange to see such a thing standing tall in a wasteland where only rocks and dry trees existed.

Yoo Ju spoke up.

“Looks like there’s ancient script carved on the monument. Maybe these characters hold some clues?”

If Yoo Ju was saying this, it meant there was definitely something significant about the script.

I approached the monument to inspect it, but the problem was, I knew nothing about ancient script. I even tried activating my unique trait, but sadly, it didn’t include the ability to decipher ancient languages.

‘Well, Yoo Ju will probably figure it out and tell us anyway…’

Yoo Ju seemed to be pretending to analyze the monument and documents, perhaps worried that others might find it odd if she just blurted out the answer. Or maybe she was genuinely trying to figure it out. If she hadn’t been here during the first run, she might not know the details.

The rest of the party was also examining the monument, but without any knowledge of ancient script, they weren’t making any progress.

Hyeon-jin shook his head, looking utterly confused.

“…I have no idea. What on earth is written here?”

“Hey, what do you expect with your brain? Don’t waste your energy, just take a break.”

“Wow… Sis, that’s not something you should be saying to me…”

“…What?”

“I mean, honestly, even if I’m dumb, I’m not as dumb as you…”

“What are you talking about? That’s not true.”

Hyeon-jin looked dumbfounded by Kang I-seo’s shameless remark, but Yoo Ju finally spoke up.

“…According to the translation, it says: ‘Let the eyes of the highest sun all gaze at the center.'”

“…The highest sun?”

Well, the sun is the highest thing, so I get that part, but what does it mean for the eyes of the sun to gaze at the center?

‘Does that mean there are multiple suns or something?’

Of course, there’s only one sun in this world. There aren’t two suns hanging in the sky.

Yoo Rim seemed to have an idea and started speaking.

“…Maybe the ‘eyes of the sun’ refer to this monument?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you look closely at the shape of this monument, it resembles the obelisks on Earth.”

Kang I-seo, unfamiliar with the term, asked Yoo Rim.

“What’s an obelisk?”

“…It’s a monument erected during the ancient Egyptian dynasty. It might be different on this continent, but on Earth, obelisks symbolize sun worship.”

‘Sun worship…’

Yoo Rim’s words made sense.

“If you look at this monument, you can see an eye-shaped pattern. And it’s only on one side… Maybe we need to rotate the monument? Though I’m not sure if it can be rotated…”

Everyone nodded, thinking it was a plausible idea.

Yoo Ju looked at Yoo Rim with an impressed expression. It seemed Yoo Rim’s idea was correct.

“Yoo Rim’s idea seems plausible. Considering there are two other high grounds besides this one, it’s likely there are monuments there too.”

Looking at the map of this wasteland, the three high grounds formed a triangle around the center.

“Then let’s try rotating the monument.”

The monument had a square cross-section, so each person grabbed a side and started turning it. Slowly, it began to rotate.

*Grind grind grind*

“…Ugh!”

“Ugh… It’s not turning! Hey, put some muscle into it!”

“…Ugh… Sis! I’m using all my strength…!”

Thanks to Hyeon-jin, Kang I-seo, Ho-won, and Wi Ho-yeon, they managed to align the eye pattern toward the center.

It felt a bit brute-force, but judging by Yoo Ju’s expression, this was the right way.

“Good job, everyone.”

“Not at all, Clan Master. It was nothing.”

Wi Ho-yeon didn’t even break a sweat. With her high stats, it seemed effortless compared to the others.

“Phew… You’re lucky, huh? Just sucking on honey, right?”

“…What? Why are you throwing shade at me?”

“…Just saying. I’m jealous you’re taking it easy.”

“Yeah, good job. We still have two more to go, right?”

“…Sigh.”

As Kang I-seo teased Wi Ho-yeon, Yoo Ju spoke up.

“Alright, let’s head to the next high ground.”

***

At the second high ground, there was an identical monument, which they rotated as well.

On the way to the final high ground, they encountered some monsters, but as Yoo Ju had predicted, they were mostly weak, and the battle ended quickly.

It was the first time I saw Wi Ho-yeon in action, and I understood why she was called the Sword Monarch.

The wolf-like monsters fell one by one to her single sword strikes—it was a sight to behold.

‘She still seems stronger than Yoo Ju…’

Given the current gap in their stats, it was a natural thought.

‘Well, that’s why she’s assigned as a guard.’

But I figured it wouldn’t take long for Yoo Ju to catch up to Wi Ho-yeon.

Of course, Wi Ho-yeon was still growing too, but Yoo Ju’s growth rate was off the charts.

“Are you alright?”

“…Ah, yes. Thanks…”

A few monsters that had been approaching me were cut down by Wi Ho-yeon before they could even get close.

‘She’s strong.’

I thought that, given some time, Wi Ho-yeon might reach the level of the top three Clan Masters.

Looking around, the others were wiping blood off their weapons.

“Bro, these guys are nothing special.”

“That’s probably because they’re just common and rare-grade monsters.”

One thing I learned from this battle was that my unique trait…





It turns out it works. Upon checking, it was a group of monsters consisting of normal and rare grades.

“More than that, oppa. These monsters don’t seem much different from wolves…”

“You’re right, Ha-eun. Except for being a bit more agile, there’s almost no difference.”

In fact, I knew the names of the monsters due to my unique trait, but I didn’t bother to mention it.

Seo Yoo-ju, perhaps wanting to satisfy the party’s curiosity, opened her mouth.

“These monsters are called Black Pangs. You can pretty much consider them wolves.”

Indeed, looking at their corpses, their teeth were black.

“These guys are normal-grade monsters, as Yoon Seong said. The larger ones are at most rare-grade, so they’re not too dangerous.”

“I see. No wonder they seemed a bit weak.”

“Actually… the reason we decided to target the Ashen Wasteland for this expedition is because only Black Pangs appear here. It shouldn’t be dangerous.”

‘That’s a lie.’

A lie to justify her actions. There’s no way she chose this place just for that reason. There must be some benefit, regardless of the rewards.

“Also, other clans or parties… they judged that this place has no exploration value since only Black Pangs appear here… but you never know.”

Well, it’s not common to expect to find something extraordinary in a place where only such monsters appear.

“Alright, let’s move to the final high ground.”

After arriving at the final high ground, what came into view was, of course, that familiar monument.

“…Yoo-ju unnie, what happens if we turn this monument too…?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure either. Maybe a dungeon will be discovered or something?”

‘…Is it similar to the tutorial?’

Through Seo Yoo-ju’s words, I thought it was highly likely that a dungeon would reveal itself, just like in the tutorial.

“Yoo-ju noona, should we… turn the monument?”

“Yes. Let’s all try turning the monument.”

As the last monument faced the center of the wasteland, the ground began to shake, and a loud noise started to echo.

Kugugugugung—!

“What the hell, what, what is that?!”

“Noona. Th-the ground is shaking too much!”

‘Crazy…! What is this?’

The noise didn’t stop, and a large, tower-like building began to rise from the center of the wasteland.

Everyone, caught off guard by this unbelievable situation, tried to maintain their balance while staring at the spectacle in awe.

The tower was so massive that it kept rising for a while before the noise gradually subsided and it finally stopped.

“Ha…”

Everyone was dumbfounded by the tower’s majestic appearance. Even Seo Yoo-ju, a Returner, was staring at it as if entranced, so no further explanation was needed.

The peculiar thing was that the tower-like building was entirely white. It was the same color as the building at the starting point in the tutorial.

‘…Is it even a tower?’

The reason I had this doubt was because the tower was just too big. Its height was beyond sight. The sight of it piercing through the clouds was beyond ridiculous.

Wi Ho-yeon spoke with a trembling voice.

“This is… I’ve never seen anything like this before. What on earth…”

Even she, who had been active in this world for three years, was seeing this for the first time.

“Crazy… What the hell, it’s freaking huge… Is this even a dungeon?”

I shared Kang I-seo’s doubt. If that tower was a dungeon, it would have to be at least Legend Grade or higher.

‘Damn… Yoo-ju noona, is this for real?’

I trusted Seo Yoo-ju’s decision, but no matter how I thought about it, if that was a dungeon, it didn’t seem like it would be an easy one. Just looking at the building’s exterior gave me a certain feeling.

I glanced at Seo Yoo-ju’s expression, but her face didn’t show any worry. If anything, she looked like she was expecting something great.

‘…There must be something.’

Judging by her expression, it was clear that there was something in that tower that would benefit her or us.

I wondered if my unique trait would work on the tower, so I activated it.

[Library of Records (No Grade) – Detailed information about the library cannot be confirmed.]

‘…That’s a library?’

First of all, I was surprised that my ability worked on the building, but the fact that the tower-like structure was a library was beyond ridiculous. After all, it didn’t look like a library at all.

‘How is that a library… And what does “No Grade” mean?’

While everyone was still in shock, Seo Yoo-ju spoke up.

“…Let’s head to the tower’s entrance first.”

Everyone slowly walked towards the building. We stayed on guard in case any monsters appeared, but thankfully, none did.

When we were about 30 meters away from the building’s entrance, everyone gasped.

‘Seeing it up close… the size is just insane. Crazy…!’

Curious about what Seo Yoo-ju was thinking, I asked her.

“…Yoo-ju. What do you plan to do now?”

“…I think we should enter.”

“Y-Yoo-ju noona…! Isn’t that… dangerous?”

I knew the building was a library because of my ability, but Hyeon-jin and the others seemed worried.

If they misunderstood the building as a dungeon, it was understandable that they’d be concerned.

“Yoo-ju unnie… I agree with Hyeon-jin oppa. Isn’t it… dangerous? If it’s a dungeon, the size…”

While Yoo Rim was speaking to Seo Yoo-ju, a sound echoed from the building.

– Congratulations on discovering the Library of Records for the first time.