Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 63
>Chapter Title: Saint Yansk University and the Chamber of Secrets (6)
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*
"I was told you are a dear friend of my father's. My father… prefers a few deep friendships where he can bare his soul over a wide circle of acquaintances. I never imagined there was someone I had yet to meet."
Elfihera was certainly not an easy opponent. At her young age, she had already mastered the art of elven rhetoric.
That was a probing jab, elven style.
-Are you really my dad's friend? You look like an imposter. My dad doesn't have many friends. I've never seen a 'human' like you.
The 'pure-blood elf,' who had just fired a shot at both her father and Ivan with a single, exceedingly polite sentence, now covered her mouth with a gentle, shy smile.
"We served together on the same battlefield."
"Wow! So you were my father's comrade-in-arms. How incredible! If you stood on the same front line as my father during those days, you must be someone truly remarkable!"
Elfihera glanced at Ivan's worn work clothes and neckerchief, smiling sociably.
*I find your words hard to believe, but since this meeting was arranged by the eldest son of the Viscount Eastvelpen, a member of the Privy Council, I will at least hear you out.* That was the unspoken message.
In truth, this was an unavoidable reaction.
If you met a strange man who started a sentence with, "Hey, I'm a friend of your dad's—," it was only natural to be suspicious of anything that followed, unless it was, "Here's some allowance money."
And what's more, the man was human. Convincing a sensible elf about her father's human friend was an exceedingly difficult task.
So, Ivan decided not to even attempt to persuade her. It was pointless and a waste of time.
"I need help with classical spell analysis and protection spells. As you've heard, it's a matter of national security, so confidentiality is also required."
"Since you are a friend of my father's, how could I dare refuse? But regrettably, I am but a mere student. For such a crucial state mission, perhaps it would be better to utilize your country's own mages?"
It was the answer he had expected. Ivan had one more card to play.
"Do you know Veolgrin's hobby?"
"My father's… hobby?"
It was the most classic way to flaunt a close relationship. He was essentially playing the "Hey, do you even know what your dad likes?" card.
"Lost ancient magic. Particularly items from near the Age of Myths. Am I wrong?"
"Uh, uhm… that's true, but…"
This was, in fact, a hobby common to most mages. The higher-ranking and more learned a person was, the easier they fell for collecting antiques, and once they did, didn't they often become so engrossed they'd sell the very pillars of their house?
Most ancient magic lacked practical application. After all, disciplines were meant to develop with the times. Slapping the word 'ancient' in front of something didn't automatically make it powerful; that only happened in games.
However, an ancient artifact from the academy was a different story. It was a formula passed down since the days of Hogwarts that ancient artifacts buried beneath an academy were powerful.
"In the ruins recently excavated in secret beneath this university, there lies dormant magic estimated to be at least 1,500 years old. Oh, feel free to spread the word. The official position of the Krasilov monarchy will be to dismiss it as 'unfounded rumor.'"
"…Such a critical mission makes me even more suspicious. Why me, of all people…?"
"The skilled cannot be trusted, and the trustworthy lack skill."
"In your eyes, Sir, am I the former or the latter?"
"You are trustworthy, and you have skill."
Ivan looked at Elfihera with serious eyes.
"If you were to speak of this, it would be nothing more than the statement of a single student. It's not unusual for someone your age to be engrossed in conspiracy theories, and even if some fool were to believe it, they couldn't demand an investigation from this country directly, so it would never become a public issue. That is why I trust you, and why I am not seeking another 'professional' mage."
"My father would believe my words."
"But Veolgrin is not foolish enough to pressure a nation just to collect an artifact. Is he?"
"Ugh…"
Ivan continued, speaking to Elfihera who was biting her lip.
"And I trust Veolgrin. I respect his abilities. If you are even half as brilliant as your father, then your skills are already beyond question."
"For reference, he has already reviewed Miss Grikenkos's grade report," Oswald added.
"If you take this job, you will be able to gift your father an 'artifact from antiquity from the Pritzenkaya underground.' Will you do it?"
"…It seems I have no choice."
Elfihera smiled gently and extended her hand.
Ivan, who had flinched reflexively, relaxed when he saw her hand was offered for a handshake.
"I look forward to working with you. Your name, Sir?"
"Call me Ivan."
"I consider myself quite knowledgeable about Krasilov culture, you know. Even for an alias, that's incredibly uninspired."
"I know."
"…Humans."
Watching the two shake hands, Oswald had to slightly revise his assessment of Ivan in his mind.
*Why is he so well-spoken…?*
*Why isn't he usually like this…?*
Unfortunately, this transmigrator, who had not yet fully adapted to this pre-modern world, was unaware that some things held greater persuasive power than words.
But Ivan was a rational man; he knew that the faster the persuasion, the greater its effect.
The swiftest persuasion in the world always arose from a choice between one's life and a nod of the head.
*
Even in pre-modern times, large-scale construction was preceded by site preparation. This meant they knew how to conduct civil engineering, starting with the underground foundations.
Moreover, this was a world with 'sewers.' While most of the sewer system spread throughout this city was older than the city itself, new buildings still required starting with subterranean structures.
And one more thing.
Saint Yansk University was less than twenty years old.
It was a new university built during the war. It was a structure in the middle of the city with no reason, purpose, or capacity to have something like a chamber of secrets.
For mysterious ancient ruins to exist beneath such a building, and for no one to have noticed, they would have to be physically deep.
Deeper than the sewer facilities beneath the university.
Deep enough to reach the lowest levels of the 'Pritzenkaya Underground Waterway,' said to be older than the city itself.
"Ugh, uuugh…"
Ivan ignored Elfihera, who was covering her nose and gagging beside him, and continued walking.
The Pritzenkaya Underground Waterway was certainly not a pleasant space. It was damp, dark, narrow, and filled with the viscous flow of putrid sewage.
Rats, roaches, and other vermin scurried about everywhere. It was not a place a young elf could stroll through unfazed.
"How much… *uurk*… farther do we have to go…?"
"We're almost there."
"You've said that… *uugh, ugh!* ten times already!"
"Hmm."
Ivan scanned his surroundings as he walked.
His eyes read the countless marks on the sewer walls.
Unmaintained artificial structures inevitably crumble with time. The Pritzenkaya Underground Waterway was no exception. Unmanaged sections were always at risk of collapse.
Signs of deterioration, like the degree of cracking and erosion on the bricks, could reveal these risks.
He ignored rounded bricks, worn smooth by stagnant water and time, and focused only on the sharply carved marks, from whose edges stone dust still trickled.
These were distortions caused by the Dwarven Excavation Artifact.
After walking for some time, following the traces that spread out like an increasingly dense spiderweb…
"W…wow…"
Elfihera stood frozen, forgetting to even cover her mouth.
-Swoooosh….
A vast cavern, where rainwater had collected and now poured down like a waterfall, spread out before them.
Small, glowing blue mushrooms and shimmering motes of light that had drifted in from somewhere circled the edge of the cavern, shining brilliantly.
The stream of water, pouring from the broken pipes of the underground waterway, cascaded into a waterfall, plunging into a dark abyss in the center of the massive cavern.
"Is this… the ancient ruin…?"
"No. This is its entrance."
Ivan took a step forward, reading the tracks. Though they were less than a week old, they were already worn and eroded by the fierce current.
*A collapse is imminent. It would have been dangerous if I'd delayed.*
A week at most. The ground would give way within that time. Ivan scanned his surroundings with a sharp gaze.
"This is just the entrance? What, is some ancient demon sealed here? How can it be on this scale…?"
"It's the work of Dwarves."
"Dwarves?"
"This cliff itself has nothing to do with the underground ruins. This is merely the place where a Dwarven artifact 'was.'"
Ivan straightened up. He cracked his neck with a pop and drew his axe.
"A Dwarven artifact? Was? What on earth does that, no, please explain."
"The earthquake in Pritzenkaya a week ago was the work of Dwarves. They brought an excavation artifact and dug into this underground."
"What?!"
"That cliff. What looks like a cliff is the precipice where that artifact once stood."
Just as the elves had their flying warships, the Dwarves had their excavation artifacts.
What reason could there be that those masterful craftsmen didn't dare to rebuild their artifacts?
It was because rebuilding required too many resources, and the design techniques for their massive volume and complex, precise components had been lost.
Just as the Calion flying warship was nicknamed the 'Fortress in the Sky,' the Dwarven excavation artifact was called the 'Siege Tower of the Underdark.'
The artifact's only function was to carve through the earth. Its sole purpose was to transport Dwarves deep underground.
The reason such things were called 'artifacts' and became strategic targets that had to be thoroughly destroyed was simple.
*They're too big.*
Immense mass is a weapon in itself. The ground an excavation artifact burrowed through would inevitably collapse, and its very operation was so massive it could cause earthquakes.
And magic powerful enough to make such an object—no, a 'structure'—vanish in an instant had been present in this very spot.
"Is there anything you can interpret?"
"W-what?!"
"I'm asking if you see any traces of magic, or any signs that it was used."
"No. Just, water and… the mana density is high, but it's only at the level of a natural phenomenon…"
"We'll have to use the alternative."
He hadn't expected much in the first place. What he needed Elfihera for was not finding the entrance to the ruins.
If that had been possible, Elizaveta's preliminary analysis team would have detected it. That was a given.
So, he had to do what needed to be done. Ivan slowly settled into his stance and took a deep breath.
"H-hey. What…? What are you doing now?"
"Prepare a protection spell."
"…I'm getting a really bad feeling about this. Why, exactly?"
"You'll need it."
Mana seeped into his bloodstream. With a tingling sensation, time began to slowly fragment.
The floating motes of light bent sluggishly, and each speck of dust in the air became traceable to the eye.
As mana accelerated his neural network, his head grew hot. It was a flood of sensory information.
A tidal wave of sensation brought on by a heightened sense of touch, a sharpened sense of sight, a tense sense of smell, and a delicately opened sense of hearing.
Enhanced senses were an act that overworked the brain's capacity. Human sensory organs were not designed to absorb this much information.
So, he cut off his hearing.
-Snap!!
Just as one's hearing sharpens when the eyes are closed.
Human sensory organs were not made to function independently. When one sense was limited, the total sensory capacity increased dramatically.
The moment he lost his hearing, a brief ringing was followed by mana running wild through his nervous system. He delicately tuned it, and once more.
-Crack!!
After hearing, smell.
In exchange for sacrificing two useless senses, his reaction speed forcibly broke through a limit he could never have reached before.
Within this rift where time had warped and tilted.
-Shhhring….
'Feeling' the axe blade slide out with an eerie sound, he quietly settled his stance.
His eyes looked straight ahead as a shade of red washed over his vision. The blood vessels in his eyeballs had burst.
But there was no need to worry. They still functioned properly.
So, he confirmed it. The 'direction' the Dwarven excavation artifact had been heading.
The traces. One by one.
*Front right, 15 degrees. Center bottom, 22 degrees.*
He reverse-engineered the direction the Dwarven artifact had operated, pinpointing the traces with precision.
Simultaneously, he spun the axe blade back.
-Creeeeak!!!
His legs planted on the ground, his waist twisted, the bundle of muscle fibers connecting from his external obliques, his deltoids, to his tensed triceps.
The activation of his mana-flowing nerves, the tension in each tendon peaking at its highest point.
What he pictured in his mind was the single, most perfect strike.
*Maximilian's.*
The posture of that brilliant, blond-haired youth as he had looked up at the night sky back then.
Recalling the most powerful strike he remembered.
*Morning Star Slash.*
-Fwooo….
A low breath escaped.
-Piiing…!
A flash violated the air.
-KRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The impact arrived a moment later.
*
"What… is this?"
Elizaveta had to read the short, concise report three times over.
Even though it was written in the Krasilov common tongue and perfectly adhered to the reporting structure, it was incredibly difficult to understand.
She slowly put the report down and picked up her teacup.
-The magical reaction at the relevant ruins was confirmed only from the Dwarven Excavation Artifact.
>-Therefore, to specify the existence and location of the ruins, cross-verification under the same conditions is necessary.
>-The Dwarven Excavation Artifact has been lost, so there is no way to reuse it for verification.
-Therefore, to match the conditions as closely as possible, at the discretion of the field agent, an impact equivalent to the estimated shock of the excavation artifact will be projected onto the relevant area.
-Addendum) The mage assigned to analyze the ancient ruin's magic must be capable of using a high-level 'Protection Spell.'
"What is he trying to do…?"
Elizaveta gave up trying to understand, pressing her hand to her forehead and letting out a sigh.
When he comes back, she definitely, this time for real, absolutely will…
She swore to herself that she would teach this bastard about 'adherence to pre-reporting protocol' and 'leaving on-site judgments to Elizaveta.'
*