Chapter 59 : Mythic Era

Chapter 59: Mythic Era

“Attention, everyone. From here on, it’s the ruins. Activate the recording devices. It’s just the entrance, so there shouldn’t be much danger, but don’t let your guard down. Ah, you all know it’s a disciplinary offense if you turn off the recording device midway, right?”

That rookie, Cask.

Surprisingly, his command was crisp.

Everyone followed his instructions and activated the video recording artifacts.

With these, the research institute would both secure data on the ruins and keep watch over us.

After all, mercenaries might smuggle out precious relics. In a way, it served as a safety device.

I slowly looked around.

‘So these are the ruins of the Mythic Era.’

It was my first time seeing ruins like these, yet the moment I stepped into the entrance, I somehow felt I knew the purpose of this massive building.

‘A fortress….’

From the start, the entrance wasn’t even an entrance—it was just a smashed-open hole.

A metal wall had been burst inward from the outside.

If some enormous force had melted and crushed its way through a solid defensive wall, this was exactly the kind of “breach” it would leave behind.

And once we stepped inside—

‘I can see outside.’

It was clearly a building buried deep within the mountain, yet all around us, the outside stretched wide and clear.

I didn’t know what kind of magic had been woven here, but the fact that one could only see outside from within, combined with the thick walls surrounding us, perfectly fit the definition of a defensive structure—a “fortress.”

Cask’s following explanation confirmed it.

“This place is made up of rooms, large and small, organically connected. Each sector has partition walls. This place won’t be any different. So we’ll thoroughly search one sector at a time, release the partition, and then move on to the next.”

Partition walls dividing the sectors. Were they also meant to keep something from breaking in?

But then a question arose.

‘Just what were they fighting against to end up like this?’

The six of us scattered to begin the search, but what I saw closely was shocking.

Walls shattered and burst apart here and there.

No trace of human figures, only twisted remnants of armor and scraps of metal scattered about.

And—

Fleshy masses of something unknown still clung to the walls, squirming as though they were still alive.

I didn’t know the details, but—

I was certain that at some point, an immense terror had descended upon this place.

‘A war and devastation of the Mythic Era…?’

It couldn’t help but stir a deep curiosity within me.

We combed through the remnants of that pandemonium.

“This won’t do either… And this one… ambiguous. Pass.”

The research institute wanted samples of well-preserved relics.

So it was only after I searched through quite a large space that I finally found a single intact item.

‘But is this even useful?’

A rectangular object small enough to fit snugly in one hand.

The front was black and dark like an abyss, while the back emitted a milky-white metallic sheen.

It certainly looked unusual, but I had no idea what it was used for. Even when I touched it, nothing happened.

“Cask.”

The rookie seemed rather uneasy around me.

When I called him, he flinched, hunched his shoulders, then cleared his throat and tried to act dignified.

“W-what?”

“Look at this. Is it any good?”

“Oh?!”

Cask’s hesitant demeanor instantly changed.

“Wow! A magic terminal! Preserved in this condition? Lorraine will be thrilled!”

“Really?”

“Absolutely!”

Was it true that people resembled the things they liked…?

This guy, once hooked on something, also became incredibly talkative.

“According to archaeological research, people in ancient times used these to cast magic! Even those who weren’t mages!”

“Is it an artifact?”

“Well, yes, but its flexibility was on a completely different level! Long-distance communication and data transmission were the basics. Instead of storing specific spells, they could save whatever magic they wanted on the spot and then use it.”

I couldn’t make sense of it.

“Save magic? So you’d have to visit a mage every time, pay him, and have him store it for you?”

“I told you—it’s called ‘data transmission.’ Mana and magic are both included in the concept of data. Meaning, anytime! Anywhere! They could instantly store new magic and even modify it!”

…Was that even possible? Could you really do that?

“Then you wouldn’t need mages anymore?”

Wasn’t that way too broken?

“That’s why it was the Mythic Era! It must have been something made by the gods!”

After hearing the explanation, I couldn’t help but feel tempted.

Couldn’t this thing somehow be restored?

I wanted it…

But since research was almost nonexistent due to a lack of samples, all I could do was lick my lips in frustration.

Thus, the exploration of the first sector ended. The only result was the magic terminal I had found.

The passage leading to the next sector was blocked by a partition wall.

“So this is the partition wall…”

When I first heard the term, I had imagined something like iron bars. But in reality, what we faced was a translucent barrier radiating a faint red glow.

Wuuung— Wooong—

It vibrated faintly, pushing back the air around it and stirring up a breeze. Just standing close made my chest feel heavy.

“What on earth is this?”

I muttered without realizing.

“What else? It’s magic from the Mythic Era!”

Cask puffed up proudly as he stepped forward.

“Even a Peak Expert couldn’t tear this apart. That’s why magic is necessary.”

He didn’t realize.

Why I was so shocked?

‘Aura? Magic?’

My senses, refined through Rebirth of the Flesh, caught hold of the shimmering barrier.

It was clearly aura, yet at the same time, it was magic. Mana became aura, aura became mana, endlessly communicating with each other.

Mana becoming aura—I could accept that.

But aura turning back into mana…? Not scattering apart, but flowing that naturally?

It was a mysterious cycle, impossible to comprehend.

Confronted with this scene that shattered common sense, I was deeply shaken.

The Mythic Era. Was it truly an age when gods existed?

“Mm… good. The flow of mana connects here like this.”

While I was briefly lost in thought, Cask was struggling with effort.

He slowly pushed a sword, inlaid with ornate patterns that looked expensive, into the barrier of light.

Its design was slightly different from the previous one—so aside from the one I had cut in half, he must have had another spare.

But now that I looked closely, it was both a sword and a staff for supporting magic.

The more the complex patterns engraved on the blade glowed, the more cracks appeared in the barrier, and the sword dug into it like a key.

“Done. Looks like I’ll dissolve it in about ten minutes?!”

At his words, the mercenaries whistled.

“Wow\~ as always, our captain’s magic skills are impressive.”

“Right? Even professional mages specializing in Mythic Era partition walls would take seven to eight minutes.”

“Really? But for the captain, even as a magic swordsman, just ten minutes? That’s amazing.”

I could see it.

The corners of Cask’s mouth curling upward.

His eyes darting toward me.

As if to say—

‘Can you do this too?’ showing off.

So,

Swick!

I cut it.

With a single stroke.

That mysterious barrier, whether aura or magic.

In the end, whether it was aura or magic, before a stronger aura, it collapsed.

“Wha…?”

Cask turned to me with stunned eyes.

I shrugged and walked past him.

“You looked like you were having a hard time.”

“Ah…”

Cask’s shoulders and brows slumped, his emotions written all over him.

Teasing him like that… wasn’t so bad.

“Captain… still, you looked cool to me.”

The mercenaries tried to comfort Cask.

*         *         *

The exploration was a kind of repetition.

Search one sector, cut down the next partition wall, then search again.

But the deeper we went past each barrier, the more clearly I felt the difference.

Cask must have felt it too, because he came to a halt.

“Stop. From here on, we activate \[Shield] before proceeding.”

The six of us were all clad in Magical Armor.

We were both exploring the dungeon and testing prototypes of the armor… though there were other reasons as well.

Bwoooong—

When we activated the skill \[Shield] built into the Magical Armor, a faint halo of light enveloped our bodies. Since it was dark around us, our figures stood out even more vividly.

“Phew…”

“That’s much better.”

The stiff, tense faces relaxed.

Mine too. It felt good to have that unpleasant sensation gone.

Cask reminded us,

“The deeper you go into these ruins, the more anomalies occur. Hallucinations, phantom sounds, confusion get worse, and fine mana showers down to cause internal injuries. That’s why, from this point on, we’ll always keep \[Shield] active.”

And so we continued the exploration with our shields raised.

Cask kept acting awkward around me, always conscious of my presence, but whenever I discovered a relic, he treated me like a friend of ten years.

“This is a magic weapon!”

“This thing?”

To my eyes, it was just an empty rod. Only the handle was needlessly thick and extravagant.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re supposed to hold the thin end and smash with the thick one? Looks awfully inconvenient…”

When I swung the so-called magic weapon around a few times, Cask recoiled in horror and snatched it away.

“No! You rest the thick part on your shoulder and fire through the hollow end!”

“Fire?”

“Yes!”

“Like an arrow?”

“Yes!”

“But there’s no bowstring.”

Cask looked at me with contempt.

What? Why? So what.

“It’s a. ma. gic. wea. pon. A magic weapon!”

Ah, right. So it shot things out with magic.

He could have just said so. Tch… did I need to put him back in his place again?

I casually wrapped my fingers around my sword hilt and glanced at Cask’s blade.

“Your sword looks nice.”

“Huh? Uh… it’s expensive. You already cut one of mine in half, so…”

“Looks like you still have more spares?”

“Eeek!”

When I pretended to draw my sword, Cask yelped, covered his blade with his hands, and backed away.

That guy.

Kind of cute, actually.

*         *         *

Now, whenever Cask spoke, he kept sneaking glances at me.

“Let’s explore one or two more sectors and then withdraw.”

Even when he spoke like a proper Expedition Leader, checking the Mana Hearts that powered our Magical Armor, he kept stealing nervous glances at me and edging away.

He didn’t need to.

And yet, the way he still carried out his role properly was admirable.

“Everyone, stay alert. This is the deepest I’ve ever come. On the mountain’s far side, the outer sections were wide, but that was it.”

He said this just as a large chamber appeared beyond the passage.

“Hold it.”

I stopped Cask as he tried to step inside.

“W-what?”

He flinched at my approach.

“Step back first.”

So even a magic swordsman couldn’t sense this?

Well, to be fair… its presence was incredibly faint.

But still.

“Farther back. Keep going.”

Once I had pushed the party far enough behind me, I picked up a stone and tossed it into the chamber.

Tak! Ta-ak! Tak. Degurur—

The stone rolled alone in the silence.

And then—

—Kyaaaaaaah!

—Kraaaaaaaah!

With hideous shrieks, ashen Demonic Beasts shot up from every corner of the chamber and rushed forward.

There were a lot of them.

Roughly 150? 200?

Disgusting creatures.

They had human-like heads and limbs, but grotesquely twisted.

Some had massive jaws growing where their arms should be, others sprouted fleshy wings, and some crawled spider-like with four arms and four legs.

Even I, who had lived in Roberland where Demonic Beasts ran rampant, had never seen such monstrosities before.

I drew my sword at once.

From behind, Cask shouted urgently.

“Ransen! You can’t handle this alone! Everyone cover me! While I cast a wide-area spell…!”

I didn’t listen.

There was no need to.

No—because I didn’t want to.

Kwaaaaang!

The moment I kicked off the ground, thrill surged as every hair on my body stood on end.

‘This is it.’

Even without using any special technique, my speed rivaled that of \[Tempest], the royal secret art.

Magical Armor.

From the moment I first put it on, I had wanted to use it in real combat.

The horde of monsters closed in instantly. Normally, even with Aura Threads—specialized for many-against-one battles—it would take a long fight to wipe them all out…

But now, I was wearing Magical Armor.

This—this was something I had really wanted to try.

\[Awakening of the Sword Spirit]

My Magical Armor carried four skills in total. I activated one of them.

Wuuuuuuung—!

My sword resonated like a great bell.

I had never felt vibrations like this before.

Pashshsh—

Aura Threads burst forth, burning the air as they scattered.

Sharper than usual, greater in number, reaching farther than ever.

‘Ahhh…’

Awakening of the Sword Spirit. A skill that, just as its name implied, awakened the sword spirit even further.

It was the first time I had ever felt the sword spirit’s will this vividly.

At least, aside from when I had achieved Rebirth of the Flesh.

Bwooooooong—!

The flying Aura Threads shimmered with my deep blue aura intertwined with the transparent aura born of the blade itself.

Every time that razor-sharp aura brushed past—

Hudududuk!

Speckled flesh tore apart, and ashen blood splattered everywhere.

It took less than thirty seconds.

To cut down every last one of those beasts.

“Haaah…”

I exhaled a long breath.

‘The power is even greater than I expected.’

Just how many times stronger had I become with only a single set of Magical Armor?

An explosive surge of strength beyond imagination.

It was electrifying—

And frustrating.

‘If I push this further, maybe… I could feel that sensation again.’

The state of Unity of Sword and Self—

The realm I had briefly stepped into, the one that had led me to Rebirth of the Flesh.

If I continued to commune with the sword spirit, strengthened by the skill… I felt I might once again grasp a thread of that realm.

But for that, I’d need a more fitting opponent.

Only in the extreme, in battle where blows were exchanged and focus was honed to the limit, might I feel that sensation again…

In that sense, the foes just now were far too weak.

I sighed deeply in disappointment, and from behind me, Cask muttered,

“…Do it all yourself then.”

A voice laced with emptiness, jealousy, and shock.

I lightly ignored him. That wasn’t important now.

‘Yes, this is it. This place is connected to the cultists.’

Those beasts earlier—

They gave off a similar feeling to the vampires, or to the wolf-monsters I had fought at Glowingsteel.

Which meant, deep within these ruins, there was something here I had to deal with.

The growing madness and the violent flow of mana as we went deeper—wasn’t that the reason?

“For today, we withdraw here! We’ll return to search this sector tomorrow. Everyone, check your gear! Let’s move out!”

Cask’s voice rang in my ears.

I cast one last look at the ruins of the Mythic Era before stepping away.

I had no way of knowing just how vast they were,

or how deep they stretched.

The ruins of the Mythic Era.

What other secrets might they be hiding within?

I was getting more and more intrigued.

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