Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Wigon Ruins (2)
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[Chapter 107 - Wigon Ruins (1)]
The Wigon Ruins lay to the northwest of the city, almost directly opposite the east gate where Arsen's group had exited.
Even so, they had chosen the east gate because skirting around the outside would be faster than crossing the bustling city streets fully armed.
In fact, thanks to the space-expansion bags lightening their load, the group's pace was much quicker than expected.
In group marches, speed was dictated by the slowest member, and simply eliminating the rider burdened with massive luggage made a huge difference.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few excavation teams.
The eastern and southern regions Arsen's group had passed through were already picked over and sparse in relics, but the north still had many untouched ruins.
New sites even emerged when the ground was dug up, which went without saying.
Some passersby recognized Arsen and showed awe or wariness, but most excavators regarded him with bored indifference, unaware of his fame circulating in the city.
Many excavators spent months immersed in ruin delves, cut off from urban gossip.
Thus, after three uneventful days of travel, the group finally arrived at the Wigon Ruins.
The domain of the steel giants infamous for devouring a thousand knights in the past.
Bazkal eyed the site dubiously.
"Is this really the Wigon Ruins? It's... smaller than I thought."
Compared to other ruins, the exterior was pathetically shabby.
The haphazard structures of wood and stone resembled shacks or thatched huts more than anything, and half of them had collapsed.
It looked less like an ancient mystical construct and more like a ramshackle village thrown up by passing nomads.
"Those are for people prepping their delves. The real stuff's below."
"Below?"
"Right here."
Arsen manipulated Jin to stamp its foot firmly.
Before Bazkal could ask what that meant, Anon piped up, gazing skyward.
"Looks like rain."
Glancing up confirmed it: thick storm clouds loomed. They promised downpours within hours, maybe any minute now.
A deep breath filled his lungs with damp air that moistened his sinuses.
"Let's head in quick."
No people lingered around the ruins—just four or five magic beasts drawn by their human scent.
To clear them preemptively, Arsen unleashed his soldiers.
"All clear!"
"This side too!"
Mounted on riding beasts, the soldiers used their new spears and javelins to herd and hunt the beasts down with ease.
The cleanup ended with a scaly raccoon the size of a large dog flopping over dead.
Confirming it, Arsen calmly called them to assemble.
"Open the door first. Everyone ready!"
The entrance was as simple as could be.
The brown metal door was sizable but trapdoor-style, hard to spot amid the surroundings.
Had the ground been plain dirt, distinguishing it would have been impossible.
Fortunately, prior explorers had marked it thoroughly to ensure no one missed it.
One such aid was the pulley for opening it.
Gleaming on the door's side, the pulley looked newly made.
"Pull! One! Two!"
Several soldiers heaved the chain together, and with a grinding rumble, the massive door swung open.
Unlike magical doors, this one lacked enchantments and wouldn't budge to Arsen's command.
Only physical force worked.
After fully opening it, they placed a inscribed stele beside it and stepped inside.
Last time, bandits had ignored the custom and paid in blood, but it was a well-respected rule otherwise—no reason not to follow.
"Whoa..."
Maroon let out the first gasp upon seeing the interior.
The marble stairs stretched downward, so wide that forty men shoulder-to-shoulder could descend abreast.
Flanking walls of seamless rock gleamed mirror-smooth up close.
Intense white light poured from the ceiling, illuminating the descent and lending a sense of ascending to some sacred realm despite going down.
"There it is."
After a hundred steps, a vast plaza opened up.
At its center protruded a stone platform large enough for a hundred people, jutting head-height.
This was the descent mechanism, one of the Wigon Ruins' defining features.
Arsen dubbed it an elevator.
Though calling it that was a stretch scientifically.
As Arsen approached the numbered metal plate, Maroon asked,
"You know the code?"
"Yes. Sir Rasur told me."
Answering Maroon, Arsen checked everyone aboard the platform.
Unlike Earth's elevators, this one had zero safety features for passengers.
Stepping wrong between platform and edge mid-descent didn't bear thinking about.
'Let's see...'
Nine numbers adorned the plate.
Like an Earth door lock, punching in the code activated it.
The code was no secret, known across the ruin city.
Each press emitted a faint glow.
'1, 4, 7, 2, 5, 8, 3, 6, 9.'
A lazy sequence fitting a military site's admin who hated memorizing passwords.
Who first cracked it didn't matter—even a child could.
After entering all, Arsen warned,
"Going down!"
He hit confirm, and the platform dropped abruptly.
A few shrieks echoed from behind.
"Eek!"
"Squeak!"
Arsen stood steady, savoring the rushing wind.
It evoked elevator rides, if not perfectly.
Upon landing, Arsen looked unfazed while others appeared half-dazed.
Even Maroon, who knew what to expect.
"Good lord."
"What in the world was that...?"
"We have to ride that back up too?"
Bazkal's last question drew Arsen's nod, twisting his face in horror.
Dismissing descent woes, the regrouped group opened the massive front door ahead.
A handy pulley aided again.
As the iron door creaked, a terrifying sight awaited within.
Eloise let slip a soft exclamation.
"Steel giants..."
Six metal giants stood in the chamber, three per side.
Unarmed, their massive fists balled like gloves, radiating menace.
"Fighting those would be..."
"Not fun at all."
Rasur had said even one knight struggled to gain edge over one giant.
And if knights or soldiers outnumbered them enough to overwhelm, the ruins deployed more.
Even tailoring reinforced giants to strong knights explained its impregnability.
One step in, a familiar voice intoned.
-Welcome, visitor. Activate combat test units in Sector 1 viewing area?-
Arsen pondered responding.
Saying no tempted, but prior successors passed silently, so mimicking worked best—stick to proven paths.
Leading cautiously, the giants remained inert, guarding the silence.
Long tense minutes later, they cleared the first floor.
"Phew, safe."
Maroon wiped mock sweat, joking.
His face hardened at the next descent platform at floor's end.
"We riding this again?"
Pre-entry, Maroon noted from Starburi's records: four floors total.
Floors 1-3 defended by giants, floor 4 a residence-like zone.
But elevator count wasn't specified.
"Four floors means three more down, seven including return."
Maroon's expression soured.
Floor 2 proceeded similarly.
Eight giants this time, plus a larger crimson-black one in center.
"That's the reinforced type."
Eloise noted, but they didn't stir.
Activating floor 2's lift drew ominous words.
-Foreign visitor clearance ends at floor 2. Floor 3+ restricted to republic citizens or permit holders.-
Its meaning dawned on floor 3.
* * *
-Warning: This sector accessible only to permit holders or republic citizens. Test site defenses may activate. Visitor, return upstairs, consult administrator. Repeat, visitor...-
The warning hit as Arsen moved to advance on floor 3.
Stunned briefly by the nonsense, he swiftly raised a hand, halting the group.
Then asked Maroon,
"Sir Maroon."
"Yes?"
"How'd you pass floor 3 before?"
"Wait, just walked through... That voice?"
"Back to the lift first. Can't stay here."
At the platform, Arsen gathered officers for a meeting.
He shared first: ruins deemed him unqualified, threatened attack if not retreating.
"Good lord, impossible."
Maroon gaped, shocked.
Trained on successor purity as Starburi knight, the breach rattled him.
Others took it less hard.
If anything, prior smoothness fueled eagerness.
"Let's challenge it? Real delves need hot fights."
"Yeah! Big bro's here—no sweat for one floor."
Anon and Bazkal brimmed differently, but Arsen stayed pessimistic.
The ruins' words most tangled his thoughts.
'Without a republic citizen escort...'
From the message, Arsen imagined.
Both he and prior successor recognized as 'human' by ruins. But Arsen lacked 'republic citizen' status.
Why? What differed?
Prior might've had a permit via special means, or inherited citizen blood unlike Arsen.
Unclear which.
To clarify premises, one check first.
"Bazkal, here. Sir Anon, help too."
"What're we doing?"
Arsen stated firmly to Bazkal's query.
"Test it. See if it really blocks or just bluffs."