Chapter 59
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Omen #4
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Silvan truly gave it his all. He toiled late into the night and brought back nineteen Kaltus, nearly double the amount Amita had requested.
Felicia rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek, and Silvan puffed out his chest with delight. It was a happy night for everyone.
And the next morning.
After ordering Silvan’s crew to gather some minor materials, the party began their full-scale exploration of the ruins.
“There are three main ways to explore underwater ruins. One is to part the water to make a path, and the other two involve entering the water directly.”
Mysterious yet extreme methods, just as one would expect from a world where magic was real. Felicia folded one finger as she explained further.
“But the first method is rarely used. It requires too much mana, and a single mistake could severely damage the environment. So, we usually use the other two.”
As if on cue with Felicia’s explanation, Delia handed out magical tools to the party, each resembling a rod the size of two fingers put together.
“If you put the middle part in your mouth, this tool will let you breathe underwater. It continuously consumes mana, but on the other hand, that means you can use it indefinitely as long as you have mana. Take one, just in case.”
To Ingong, the tool was both familiar and strange. He had used it often in *Knight Saga*, but this was the first time he had seen one in person.
“By ‘just in case,’ you mean we’ll be using a different method, right?”
“Sharp as ever. That’s right. We’ll be using the third method. After all, you have me, a specialist in ruin exploration.”
Felicia smiled at Karak’s question, then began chanting an incantation, her fingers dancing. With each party member she pointed to, a large air bubble formed around them.
“Whoa.”
Finding herself inside an air bubble in the blink of an eye, Caitlin’s eyes sparkled as she looked around. She cautiously touched the bubble as if afraid it would break, but it simply yielded like rubber, showing no signs of popping easily.
Encouraged by Caitlin’s test, the others began touching their own bubbles, and Felicia chuckled before continuing her explanation.
“Just in case, keep the magical tool in your mouth. Once we’re in the water, follow my lead. Got it?”
“Got it, sisser.”
Caitlin replied with a muffled voice, the magical tool in her mouth. The rest of the party nodded in response. After confirming everyone was ready, Felicia took the lead and entered the water.
Felicia once again adhered to her principle that dungeon explorations were best done by a small, elite group, so the party was small.
Ingong and Karak, Felicia and Delia, Caitlin and Seira, and Silvan and Daphne—the eight of them made up the entire party.
Unlike its surface, which shimmered with a golden light, the lake was quite dark beneath. Felicia had chosen a soft glow instead of a bright, harsh light to avoid provoking the lake’s creatures, so their visibility was limited.
*In a way, maybe that’s a good thing.*
This was a lake that housed giant monsters like the Sea Serpent, after all. It was bound to be home not only to small, pretty fish but also to all sorts of aquatic beasts. Facing a swarm of monsters underwater, where movement was restricted, was psychologically daunting—not to mention the existence of so-called thalassophobia.
Instead of worrying about what aquatic creatures might leap out from the darkness, Ingong focused on his mini-map. The map displayed his entire range of perception, which utilized all of his senses, not just sight, making it especially reliable in an environment like this.
*Alright, this looks like the entrance.*
Having found the entrance, Ingong signaled to Felicia with a hand gesture and began to lead the way. Even though it was underwater, pathfinding was still pathfinding, so everyone except Silvan followed Ingong without a word.
The ruin entrance Ingong found was nestled between large piles of rock. Curiously, after entering and ascending a short way, they came to a space devoid of water. There seemed to be plenty of air, as if there was a ventilation shaft somewhere.
“That’s Shutora for you.”
Felicia remarked in quiet admiration after dispelling the air bubble spell. She had witnessed Ingong’s navigational skills several times already, but this time it was underwater, not on land. It was only natural for her to be surprised anew.
“I’ll take the lead from here. Felicia, I’ll leave the directions to you.”
Silvan drew his sword and stepped forward. In terms of pure combat power, he was the strongest in the party, so his action was somewhat understandable.
But Felicia shook her head.
“Shutora is the best when it comes to this sort of thing. Shutora and Karak will take the lead, and you, big brother, will guard the rear. In the middle, Delia and I will be followed by Daphne, then Caitlin and Seira.”
Silvan looked unconvinced, but since the rest of the party nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he didn’t argue and trudged dejectedly to the rear.
With the formation more or less settled, the party immediately began exploring the ruins. Just as the records in Thunder Doom Fortress described, it was the lair of the Furious Kaltein, and after a short walk, vast spaces began to open up.
The party proceeded slowly, examining every corner of the ruins.
They couldn’t be sure when, but it seemed a massive battle had taken place, as traces of the fight remained everywhere.
Parts of the ruins had completely collapsed, and in other areas, the bones and remains of what appeared to be dungeon guardians and intruders—hundreds of them—were scattered about.
Unlike Thunder Doom Fortress, there were no remaining dungeon guardians, and none of the traps were active.
Felicia frowned as she examined the traces of mana left in the ruins.
“The ruins—this lair, I mean—it seems to have lost its function at least a thousand years ago. It’s in much worse condition than Thunder Doom Fortress, which was only abandoned for a few hundred years.”
A thousand years.
Ingong was instantly reminded of the Watcher Ainkel, whom he had met on the Anger Plains. She, too, had been murdered a thousand years ago.
The Great Enkidu had simply abandoned his lair and gone elsewhere. But what about the Furious Kaltein? Had he also left his lair? Or was he murdered, like Ainkel?
And if he was murdered, who on earth could have killed an Elder Dragon, said to possess the power of a god?
Ingong remembered the stone tablet he had seen in Thunder Doom Fortress. Four figures standing in opposition to six Elder Dragons.
Conquest, War, Death, and Famine.
The Final Flame had said that the Knights of the Apocalypse were beings who craved destruction and brought about the end of days.
Could it have been them?
Did the Knights from a thousand years ago—or the four entities that grant them power—kill Ainkel and Kaltein?
If so, why? For what reason?
*Master.*
Green Wind called to Ingong. He snapped back to his senses, realizing he had been walking the entire time he was lost in thought.
The party was standing before a large mural.
He couldn't tell if it was by chance or by some guidance. Ingong looked up at the mural. Many parts of it had crumbled, and it was too weathered by the passage of time to make out any clear shapes.
“There’s an inscription.”
An excited Felicia hurried to the wall, but her face soon fell. It was written in a script she had never seen before.
Ingong looked at the characters as well. It was neither Dwarven nor Draconic script.
A completely different script. One used in a far more ancient time than either of those two.
[You have acquired Language of the Extinct Progenitor Race Lv. 1.]
A clear woman's voice echoed in his ear. Ingong swallowed dryly. The word ‘extinct’ weighed strangely on his mind.
Like the mural, the inscription was also heavily damaged, making it impossible to form complete sentences. Ingong listed the words he could read in his mind.
Harbingers of ruin.
Six fallen pillars.
Could not protect.
Ten thousand years.
Of the end times ---.
They were all negative words. Ingong lifted his gaze from the last inscription to the mural. Something large and red was depicted, but it was too damaged to make out its form clearly.
The Extinct Progenitor Race.
A record of ruin.
*Master, I feel a strong pull. Focus on the Elder Dragon’s armaments.*
Green Wind whispered again. Snapping to attention once more, Ingong looked at White Eagle and Earthquaker. Though he hadn’t infused them with any power, both armaments were emitting their respective green and reddish-yellow light.
The rest of the party’s gazes also gathered on Ingong. Just as Green Wind had said, he focused his consciousness on the Elder Dragon’s armaments. A path appeared in his mind, and he followed it. Before long, he arrived at a small room.
As Ingong arrived, a wall opened automatically, revealing a small altar. It was similar in structure to the Dwarven altar he had seen when he obtained Earthquaker.
“The Furious Kaltein…”
Felicia said in a small voice. On the altar lay a dark blue cloak that emitted a soft, white light.
It was clearly an Elder Dragon’s armament. An excited Silvan unconsciously reached for the altar but couldn’t touch it. An invisible wall blocked his path.
It was much the same for Felicia. She, too, could only feel her way along the empty air of the barrier.
Caitlin naturally turned to look at Ingong. He reached out, imbuing his hand with the power of Conquest. The transparent wall blocked his hand, but only for a moment.
It was just like with Ainkel’s Dragon Heart. As if it had been waiting to be conquered, Kaltein’s armament accepted Ingong’s dominion.
As Ingong passed through the transparent wall and approached the altar, a wide-eyed Silvan tried to step forward again, but it was no use. The invisible wall still blocked his way.
Night Watch.
The cloak’s name.
When Ingong’s hand touched it, the Night Watch moved on its own, settling onto his shoulders. Its abilities naturally came to mind.
[Spirit has increased by 10.]
[Mana has increased by 10.]
[Agility has increased by 10.]
[You have acquired the built-in skill: Blink Lv. 3.]
[Resistance level to all attributes has increased by 1.]
[You have acquired Flight Lv. 1.]
[You have acquired the Awakening Skill - Black Phantom.]
That wasn’t all. The Night Watch recognized that Ingong was a martial artist. For a fighter who used his hands and feet as weapons, a cloak was a cumbersome item.
Therefore, the Night Watch changed its form. It moved not like cloth but like a dark blue liquid, settling around Ingong’s neck instead of his shoulders. It looked like a long muffler draped down his back.
Ingong stepped on the empty air. He couldn’t push off it as if it were a stair, but he felt his body gently float up.
*‘Oh, no. At this rate, my raison d'être is once again…!’*
Ignoring Green Wind’s lament, Ingong smiled. Full, unrestricted flight was impossible, but it seemed he could move through the air with a fair degree of freedom.
“So Shutora was chosen as its master this time, too. I had a little hope, but I guess not.”
Felicia said with a bitter smile. Caitlin, who hadn’t coveted it in the first place, simply watched the slightly floating Ingong with sparkling eyes.
Silvan was both bewildered and dissatisfied by the fact that everyone naturally assumed the artifact, which looked incredible at a glance, belonged to Ingong, but there was nothing he could do.
Felicia had already said as much, and it was a fact that he himself had been rejected by the artifact. He had no choice but to retreat with a sullen expression.
When Ingong landed back on the ground, Felicia and Caitlin quickly approached him. Even if they couldn’t have the Night Watch, they could at least examine it.
Shoved aside, a now even more sullen Silvan sulked in a corner. A few minutes passed.
Suddenly, Karak, Seira, and Delia snapped their heads up. Karak frantically fumbled inside his clothes, while Seira and Delia retrieved small pendants from their pockets with practiced movements. After checking the color of the light emanating from the pendants, the two women exchanged a brief glance and nodded with serious expressions.
“Delia?”
Startled by the unusual atmosphere, Felicia’s voice was somewhat anxious. Delia spoke in a voice she struggled to compose.
“It’s an urgent message from the Demon King’s castle. A general summons has been issued.”
Just hearing that was enough to know this was a rare event. Karak stared at the light from his pendant and stammered.
“Uh… ‘All princes and princesses are to gather at the Demon King’s castle within ten days from now’—that’s the message.”
Karak, like Seira and Delia, was an aide serving one of the Demon King’s children.
Karak looked at Seira as if to confirm he was right, and she gave a small nod. She then turned to Caitlin and said,
“The deadline is quite generous, so it probably isn’t anything too serious. Please don’t worry too much.”
Caitlin gave a small nod. As Seira said, ten days was a generous amount of time, but considering they still had to meet Amita and then join up with Chris, their schedule was quite tight.
“That’s it for the ruin exploration. We’re returning to the Black Flame Dragon immediately.”
Silvan said resolutely and led the way out of the room. Felicia looked at Ingong with anxious eyes, then took a deep breath. Ingong gave her a reassuring smile.
But Ingong was just as anxious. Even in *Knight Saga*, a general summons for all the Demon King’s children was a rare occurrence.
*‘The Lycanthrope Subjugation War.’*
If things proceeded normally, this was the only event where the player would receive a general summons.
Ingong watched Caitlin’s back as she left the room a step ahead of him. He pushed his anxiety deep into his chest and started walking.