Chapter 44
Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes
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Underground City of the Ancient Gods 3
Hikaru peeked through the door to check the ruckus outside . Lavia followed him, sticking her head out just under Hikaru’s . About ten meters ahead, a group of people – four on one side and two on the other – were arguing .
「I said I’m just going to get more holy oil . 」
「You probably don’t plan on coming back . This is a breach of contract! What happened to all that bragging? “We’re rank C . I’m sure we’re the best ones around here . ” We’re just wandering around areas already explored!」
「Listen, Mr . Gaf . You’re a noble, so…」
「I’m not a noble!」
「Okay, okay . You might not know this, so allow me to tell you . Undeads are way too powerful at night . Didn’t you see? Their abilities have been greatly enhanced . 」
「Well, you’re also slacking off during daytime!」
「Enemies are much stronger beyond the wall . 」
Wall? There’s a wall? They’re rank C adventurers, all right . They’re composed and know when to pull out .
Hikaru observed them calmly . The adventurers were men in their mid-twenties . One person talked, while the other three stood behind, just chatting among themselves . Either they really trusted the guy, or they were only strictly following their roles .
The old man he was talking to, Mr . Gaf, was about fifty, or sixty-something years old . He had messy hair that was almost entirely gray, but the clothes he was wearing looked fancy – the kind nobles wore when hunting and definitely not fit for exploring a dungeon .
It made sense that the adventurer kept referring to him as a noble . Although the man himself denied it .
「You know I want to go beyond that wall . 」
「Well, yeah… Anyway, let’s sit down . You must be tired from all the walking . 」
「I’m not tired!」
「Your legs are shaking . You should drink some water . 」
「Guh…」
They all sat in a circle, with the magic lamp in the center . Hikaru fixed his gaze on the person beside Gaf . He thought it was a man at first, but as it turned out, it was actually a woman . She was tall and fit . Her hair, bluish-gray, cut short . Underneath her cloak, she wore plate armor with certain parts removed that protected only the important parts of her body . Is she wearing chainmail under?
Hikaru noticed she had short swords hanging down from both sides .
A two-sword fighting style? That’s unusual . She looks like a knight, but I don’t think there are female knights around .
「Listen . We’re here right now . These parts here have been explored . You’re clearly cutting corners here . 」Gaf said, pointing at the topmost sheet from his stack of papers .
It must be a map, Hikaru thought .
「A map… I’d love to take a look at it . Wait here a bit, Lavia, and don’t move away from the range of the holy oil’s effects . 」
「Where are you going?」
「To scout . 」
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Slipping through the door, Hikaru activated his Stealth and started walking . He made sure his footsteps weren’t heard . It would spell trouble if someone among them had Instinct . Not a lot of people had “Detection”, but there was a fair amount of people with “Instinct . ”
「Just one more day . I want to at least go see what’s beyond the wall…」Gaf said, putting his stack of papers beside him . He was sitting on a collapsed wall .
Hikaru inched closer . When he was five meters away, he checked their Soul Boards . The C rank adventurers had high stats, but nothing really stood out . Bow 4 and Water Spirit Magic 4 caught his attention, and that was about it . Perhaps they fight by coordinating their attacks .
Now for this old man…
【Soul Board】Gafrasti N . Valves
Age: 62 Rank: 10
50
【Magical Power】
. . 【Mana】1
. . 【Spirit Affinity】
… . 【Earth】1
【Willpower】
. . 【Mental Strength】5
. . 【Faith】
… . 【Holy】5
【Intuition】
. . 【Intelligence】
… . 【Arithmetic】1
… . 【Language】1
. . 【Memory】2
Hmm… Wait, Gafrasti? I’m sure I saw that name in that book we read . The historian who knows about the Poelnxinia dynasty .
The N . in his name indicated that he came from a Viscount family . He might even be the head of the house himself . A bona fide noble, no doubt .
He denied he was a noble, though… Is he here in secret? He’s not doing a very good job of hiding it .
The condescending attitude towards the adventurers . The fancy clothes . No matter how you looked at him, he was a noble .
Whatever . I guess this woman’s his bodyguard, then .
【Soul Board】Aglaia Van Houtens
Age: 21 Rank: 26
12
【Vitality】
. . 【Stamina】2
. . 【Immunity】
… . 【Disease Immunity】1
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… . 【Toxic Immunity】1
【Magical Power】
. . 【Mana】3
【Physical Strength】
. . 【Strength】4
. . 【Weapon Mastery】
… . 【Sword】2
… . 【Long Spear】2
… . 【Armor】2
【Willpower】
. . 【Mental Strength】2
. . 【Faith】
… . 【Evil】3
……【Accursed Magic】1
【Intuition】
. . 【Instinct】6
Accursed magic? And what’s with her middle name? Van? Roland’s memories has nothing .
「Crap!」
Aglaia turned around and stared at Hikaru, causing him to freeze on the spot . The light from the magic lamp was being blocked by Gafrasti . He should be in complete darkness, and yet she was glaring at him .
That’s right! She has six points on Instinct! Just as good as the knights’ captain!
「What’s wrong, Aglaia?」
「Sir Valves, I don’t have proof, but there could be a rat snooping around . 」
「What?!」
Gafrasti quickly stood up and turned to look around .
「Is it someone from the royal family?!」
「I don’t know…」
「Kill him!」
「Yes, Sir . 」
The adventurers had no idea what was going on .
「What are you saying, Sir Gaf? That woman didn’t even fight once . Is she a Mage or something? She has two swords with her, though…」
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Aglaia ignored the men and started chanting a spell .
「O’ great god residing in the abyss, I ask for your power . My name is Aglaia Van Houtens . Cast slumber on my enemies . 」
Faint, purple-colored mana rose from her body that slowly expanded around her, like a gust of wind .
「Wh-What’s this? Oh, it’s nothing . 」
「No, leader! Something’s wrong with Olhunte!」
One of the adventurers suddenly hung their head low before collapsing on the ground .
「Hey, what did you do?!」
「Quiet . You look pathetic . He’s just sleeping . It’s a spell that only works on those hostile towards us . 」Gaf said .
「Hostile?」
「Oh, so your archer had ill feelings towards us, your client . He was glaring at us a lot . Anyway, what’s the status, Aglaia?」
Eyes fixed at the darkness, she shook her head .
「There’s no one there . It seems it was just my imagination . I apologize . 」
「Don’t worry about it . I brought you as my bodyguard for extra precaution . You can be proud of that . 」Gaf said, before freezing on the spot .
「Sir Valves?」
「I-It’s gone!」Gaf exclaimed, pointing at the place next to where he was sitting .
「My files are gone!」
The moment Aglaia suspected someone was snooping around, Hikaru was quick on his next move . While his Stealth was still in effect, he quickly closed the distance and snatched Gafrasti’s files, then bolted . The papers were actually behind the stones when Gafrasti stood up, so they didn’t notice they were gone right away .
For a moment, Hikaru felt guilty stealing from someone who hadn’t even done anything wrong, but it was already too late . He already stole the papers .
They wanted me dead . Besides, I can return them after I’m done . Is this really okay? I guess I’ve gone numb after stealing something back in the after life .
Something was bothering Hikaru too .
That old man sounded wary of the royal family . And he’s here in secret . Something’s fishy .
Hikaru returned to the house they were hiding in and shut the door tightly so the light didn’t slip through . He felt some magic being used right after, but he was sure they were out of range . Lighting up the magic lamp, he went over the documents .
「What’s this, Hikaru?」
As he suspected, the file on top was a map . There were a lot of tiny notes, but overall it reminded Hikaru of a certain place .
「Lavia, does this remind you of something?」
「What? Um, let’s see . Wait, seriously?」Lavia noticed it as well . 「It’s similar to the royal capital . 」
「You think so too, huh? Just the central part of the capital, though . 」
Hikaru had been to the center and remembered the general layout of the place .
「Let’s both go over them quickly . I’ll explain things later . 」
「Okay . 」
With his Mana Detection, he knew Gafrasti and company hadn’t moved from their spot . The old man was throwing a fit . Hikaru could hear the words “Go after them . ”
The files were bulky, but most of them were maps and charts, so fifteen minutes to skim over them were enough . Maps . What’s been discovered so far . A study into the ancient Poelnxinia dynasty .
『The Poelnxinia dynasty, although known as an “ancient” regime, actually existed no more than six hundred years ago . And yet strangely enough, despite the fact that they had a very powerful army and almost united the whole continent, not a lot of written accounts about it remain . Other foreign countries from back then still exist today . Only a poem verse referenced the dynasty’s collapse . 』
The next page was the last .
The king of Poelnxinia, gifted in sorcery
Compiled spells more powerful than spirit magic earnestly,
Utilized them as a cornerstone for his dynasty
He brought glory and claimed divinity
Set to conquer the continent entirely,
G . Poelnxinia vanished on Day of Dawn completely
Vanish . Does this refer to the fall of the dynasty?
There were plenty of parts that caught his attention . Sorcery powerful than spirit magic . Not “magic” but “sorcery” .
Using one’s own mana to manipulate the power of the Spirits and cause supernatural phenomena – that was Spirit Magic .
Healing magic involved expending one’s own mana to directly manipulate someone’s natural healing power and multiply it .
Sorcery, on the other hand, referred to a different kind of arcane arts that didn’t rely on the spirits or gods . An example was the art of crossing worlds that brought Hikaru to this world . It was, however, extremely inefficient and required large amounts of catalyst – like magic rocks – to use .
The term “Day of Dawn” also bothered him . This world had a calendar as well, but there was no “Day of Dawn” . What does it mean?
There was one thing he noticed too .
「The underground city of the ancient gods…」
The origin of the dungeon’s name . The word “divine” came up in the poem as well .
「Hikaru, does this mean this dungeon is the ruins of Poelnxinia?」
「Yeah… Wait, actually…」
Then, Hikaru sensed movement with his Mana Detection . Slowly, Aglaia got up and carefully walked towards their location .
Not long after, the door opened . Aglaia found Gafrasti’s files, but no sign of the one who took them .