Chapter 127 – Ruins Conquest

250 years after the fall of the Ardenia Empire.

Human civilization on the Ardenia Continent rapidly declined.

This was because the Dragon’s Guardian Law, which suppressed the Awakening of Awakened Monsters and exploited their Achievements to aid human growth, had disappeared.

All manner of flora and fauna absorbed Mana, Awakened, and became Monsters, causing the danger level of nature to rise steadily.

The time it took for humans to learn and master magic increased by at least tenfold, so the driving force to maintain a magic-based civilization gradually weakened.

In less than a hundred years, human civilization perished.

However, that did not mean humans went completely extinct.

Even after civilization perished, humans tenaciously survived and began adapting to the changed environment of the Ardenia Continent.

After another hundred years passed, a new civilization began to emerge.

Starting with the invention of a method to operate Artifacts—relics from the Imperial era—as a substitute for magic, which took a long time to master to a sufficient level.

Because excavations to obtain Artifacts began occurring everywhere.

Obtain Artifacts from ruins, hunt Monsters to power the Artifacts.

Through this, obtain higher-grade Artifacts from new ruins and hunt stronger Monsters.

Repeating this cycle, Ruin Hunters who grew powerful rapidly instantly replaced the position of mages from the Imperial era.

The era Rian lived in was the Great Ruins Era, overflowing with Ruin Hunters who were both archaeologists and Monster hunters.

Humans settled near ruins and built cities, and naturally, there was also a city near the tomb of an Ancient Emperor.

The ruin city of Kalian.

In this city where Rian was born, Decal, a 4-Star Rank Ruin Hunter who could be counted on one hand, held a wine glass with his Dwarf-made mechanical prosthetic arm as he listened to the news that had just arrived.

“Rian, that guy showed himself at the Imperial Tomb again?”

“Yes, although there were some dangerous-looking people with him, it was definitely Rian.”

“As expected! I knew he’d come back.”

Decal pounded the table hard, expressing his joy at the news of Rian’s return.

Unfortunately, he had been away on an expedition to another ruin city when Rian returned alive from entering the tomb a few months ago, so he had missed him.

But Decal did not give up on catching Rian.

For him, who had already conquered all the nearby 4-Star ruins, Rian, who held the key to conquering the Imperial Tomb known as a 5-Star ruin, was not someone he could easily give up on.

“Right, there’s no way a 5-Star ruin would have only one artifact.”

Given Rian’s skill level before entering the tomb, it was unlikely he had properly conquered the Imperial Tomb.

Judging that Rian would eventually return to obtain the remaining artifacts in the Imperial Tomb once he grew stronger, Decal settled in Kalian, stationed watchers near the tomb, and waited for the day Rian would show himself.

And finally today, as expected, Rian appeared again.

Decal had no reason to stay still any longer.

“Brothers, prepare for the excavation!”

“Got it, Hyung-nim.”

“Kehehe. Finally, we’re moving.”

Thus, the Ruin Hunter group called the ‘Decal Brotherhood’ set off for the Imperial Tomb, following Rian.

* * *

Passing through the entrance of the Ancient Imperial Tomb, which began halfway up a peak as large as a hill, one enters inward via a sloping passageway.

Swish!

The passage had traditional arrow traps.

Clunk!

Traps where the floor gives way.

Bang!

Traps where the ceiling collapses.

Zzzzing.

Traps where heat rays shoot from the walls.

Pat.

And even magic traps like Transference Tiles that teleport the stepped-on target to a random location.

Various traps were installed.

But Rian led the party forward without any damage, as if he could see right through all those traps.

Seeing this, one of the Elders of the Golden Dawn Society asked Rian a question.

“May I ask how you discerned the locations of the traps, Your Majesty?”

“I did memorize them from passing through once before, but that alone wouldn’t have allowed us to proceed this smoothly. The traps here change locations frequently.”

“Then how…?”

“It’s thanks to the <Mysticism> I have Awakened. The one who designed this place seems well-versed in the Empire’s mysteries. Thanks to that, I can see very well where the traps are.”

Magic traps could be sensed through Empathy with magic from the start, so they weren’t a problem.

Physical traps also used magic as the power source to change their locations, making it possible to calculate the changed positions.

But if the obstacles were only traps, the Imperial Tomb wouldn’t be known as a 5-Star ruin.

The moment the slope ended and flat ground appeared, Rian’s unwavering footsteps halted.

Before him stood a door.

“From here on, everyone must be alert. If we fail to follow the rules inside, a 5-Star Rank Slaughter Doll army will immediately emerge and begin attacking.”

The true conquest of the Imperial Tomb could be said to begin here.

Countless rooms arranged in a honeycomb structure, and the rules present in each room.

And the thousands of 5-Star Rank Slaughter Dolls that swarm from all directions when the rules are broken.

Within this Imperial Tomb, even those with power of 5-Star or above could die if they made a single mistake.

Creeeak.

Upon opening the door and entering the first room, a hexagonal room and three doors, each on the three walls opposite the one they entered from, greeted Rian’s party.

Rough glanced over the three doors briefly and was the first to speak.

“Three doors. According to my Divination, the fastest path is the middle door.”

Rian, who had been interpreting the Ancient Language inscribed on the room’s ceiling to read the room’s rule, looked at Rough upon hearing that.

“Wait, the rule says women pass through the left door, men through the right door?”

“Would breaking that rule cause a problem for us?”

“Didn’t I just say? If you break the rules, 5-Star Rank Slaughter Dolls will…”

Rian, about to retort, suddenly looked at Blundell and closed his mouth.

With a 10-Star Rank combatant on their side, there was no need to strictly follow the rules.

No matter how many 5-Star level Slaughter Dolls swarmed, they would be like paper before Blundell unleashing the power of the Formless Sword Demon Armor.

“I see. Now I understand why you said it’s the fastest path.”

Just as Rian was about to suggest taking the middle path by force, he felt a sense of incongruity upon seeing Rough’s smirking face.

Was forcing a breakthrough through the middle path truly the right choice?

He reconsidered Rough’s words.

He didn’t say they must take the middle path.

He merely said that path was the fastest.

“Hmm. Then which path is most beneficial for Us? With thy Divination, thou shouldst know that too, right?”

At Rian’s question, Rough’s smile deepened as if it were the correct answer.

“The path most beneficial for Your Majesty is the right path. For now, that is.”

“So, following the rules is beneficial for now, thou sayest. Then let us go that way.”

Fortunately, all members of Rian’s party, including the Elder, were male, so there was no need for the party to split due to the rule.

Creeeak.

Upon entering the second room, three doors greeted them again.

Two sides of the hexagon were blocked by walls, one was the door they came through.

The remaining three were new doors.

Among them, the left door, structurally, connected to the room accessible via the middle door from the previous room.

Rian once again read the Ancient Language on the ceiling to grasp the room’s rule.

“……”

Tsk.

Then, silently and quietly, he placed his index finger to his lips, signaling the others to be silent.

Because this room’s rule was a prohibition on speaking.

Swoosh.

Those accompanying Rian were not without perception, so they quickly caught the signal and closed their mouths.

In that state, Rian examined the three doors.

Unlike the first room, each door had different drawings and Ancient Language inscribed.

From left to right, symbols and signs representing fire, lightning, and wind.

It meant to manifest the corresponding Elemental Power to open the door.

Amidst the inability to communicate verbally due to the rule.

Rian’s gaze reached Rough.

He gave a knowing look, signaling that if his Divination pointed to anything, he should give a sign.

Whoooosh.

Then Rough unfurled his Great Fortune Circulation and summoned the Wind of Heavenly Fortune.

Creeeak.

“……!”

The rightmost door inscribed with the wind symbol opened.

Rian’s party moved through the opened door.

Step.

“This room’s rule is a prohibition on combat acts.”

Once the no-speaking rule vanished, Rian stated the new rule.

“But why did you arbitrarily open the wind door in the previous room, jester?”

“Didn’t you leave the choice to me? I merely acted as Your Majesty wished.”

“Then, which door should we open in this room?”

The structure of the third room was identical to the second.

It was a room connected by proceeding diagonally right from the first room.

However, the symbols inscribed on the doors had changed again.

From left to right, Ancient Language and symbols meaning lightning, cloud, and blade.

The door Rough chose this time was also the rightmost door.

“My choice is this one. Mr. Blundell, if you would.”

At Rough’s Command, Blundell silently nodded, stepped forward, and lightly applied Sword Qi to the blade door.

Creeeak.

The door opened.

The Elder raised a question about the choices consistently leading in one direction.

“We seem to be going only to the right. Is this correct?”

“His Majesty Rian chose the most beneficial path, so there’s no helping it. To gain the greatest benefit, one must often take the longest way around.”

“What does that…?”

“It means that for His Majesty Rian to properly obtain what he can gain here, he must tour all rooms included in the honeycomb structure.”

So the plan was to start from the outermost perimeter, spiral inward toward the center.

“What We can obtain…”

Rian did not voice any particular objection to Rough’s words and began passing through the rooms from the outer side as Rough intended.

It seemed the conquest would take longer than expected, but if a being like Rough spoke like that, what could be obtained at the end wouldn’t be insignificant.

‘Indeed, what can be gained is not small.’

The rules inscribed on the ceilings or the Ancient Language regarding the symbols on the doors were things he already knew before, but seeing them again after learning Mysticism and Ancient Magic, there was much new understanding.

It’s not yet certain as only a few things have been realized, but if he examines the Ancient Language in all rooms like this, he might even be able to create magic himself.

Thinking that, Rough’s footsteps subtly quickened.

* * *

Meanwhile, while Rian’s party wound their way through the honeycomb maze.

The Decal Brotherhood, who had followed them, had also broken through the passage traps and arrived at the maze entrance.

“For a 5-Star ruin, the passage traps aren’t much, Hyung-nim.”

“Don’t let your guard down. The real thing starts from here.”

“Don’t worry. If we just follow the footprints of those who went ahead, like we did through the passage, it should still be safe, right?”

“That only holds true if the structure doesn’t change. Look.”

When Decal pointed to the passage they had come through, a faint mechanical sound was heard from the distant entrance side.

Girik… Cheolkeok…

“The trap structures are changing.”

“What…!”

Decal said, his right Artificial Eye glowing.

The Detection Eye, one of his main favored Artifacts along with his right prosthetic arm.

It was an artifact inscribed with three magics.

Keeeing—

The aperture opened, activating the first effect, which showed fluctuations of magical power as distortions.

“With this level of distortion… As expected, it seems this entire ruin is managed by magic.”

“Then, doesn’t that mean following them is pointless?”

“No, a change on the level of the structure altering requires time, so if we hurry, it won’t be a problem.”

By utilizing the Detection Eye’s second effect, Psychometry, they could follow Rian’s traces before the structure changed.

Just as the Decal Brotherhood thought that, upon opening the first room door of the maze and entering the second room via the right door.

“The traces are gone? Has the structure already changed?”

The Psychometry, which had clearly shown them heading from the first room to the second, became useless the moment they entered the second room.

It was an unintended effect created by the Wind of Heavenly Fortune.