Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Tomb of Molting
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'There's definitely more than one entrance...'
Circling the area around the entrance, Beonald struggled to recall the design of this ruin.
The man who had built most facilities tended to make their structures broadly similar unless there were special geographical factors.
Moreover, for many people to come and go and for supplies to be moved, that one small entrance couldn't possibly be enough.
'If that's a door over there... then the other door would be...'
To dredge up his memory as much as possible, he closed his eyes, imagined the structure, and began pacing to roughly gauge its scale.
It was a facility he had built himself. When he recalled the memory of going out for a construction inspection, the scale wasn't that small, and the memory of building it to a massive size came flooding back to Beonald.
Even a ruin like this would have been a project involving thousands, if not tens of thousands, of workers.
'Come to think of it... it would be foolish for me to search for another entrance. Even if I find it, it would take more time to dig through the blocked earth myself, and even if I dig, I'd just be doing someone else a favor.'
Frustrated by the stifling situation, Beonald conceived a rather desperate plan before correcting his own miscalculation.
He was someone who truly hated situations where he could do nothing but wait for the right moment.
But for now, there was no other way.
'Either wait for a gap to appear if the excavation fails, or... target the magical tools that come out from the excavation. If I have those, I might find a way to get in.'
Ultimately, seeing no other recourse, Beonald threw down his shovel and decided to pass the time by looking after Alterio.
***
And so, three days passed.
No matter how many traps and hardships filled the dungeon, the 'dungeon' was gradually being conquered through the wisdom and numerous sacrifices of the adventurers, knights, and mages hired by the Kremel family.
"They're out! The magical tools and treasures!"
"Heeheehee! We're rich!"
"Ooh... Finally! Our first success!"
'This is truly bitter. Having to just watch thieves plunder my warehouse... Sigh~'
Even though they were covered in dust and only partially revealed, making it hard to tell what they were, watching thieves steal his belongings couldn't possibly feel good.
But realistically, he was in a situation where all he could do was watch, so he had no choice but to pass the time grooming Alterio's feathers, hoping for an opportunity to come soon.
The only consolation was that he could at least observe the magical tools they were bringing out.
"Hmm... It's definitely an item from the Unified Empire period."
"By the way, this Hydra crest. It must indeed belong to that 'vanished family.'"
'It's not a vanished family! You're the ones who discarded it!'
Beonald's blood boiled. His 'Neumel Family,' whose name was known to everyone on the continent, was now being treated as a 'vanished family.' It was an infuriating situation.
However, even if he refuted it, no one would acknowledge him, so he swallowed his anger and endured. Finally, amidst his patience, he spotted an opportunity.
'The guards at the entrance have changed... from knights to soldiers now.'
Although they had finally brought out treasures and magical tools from inside, the manpower consumption was not insignificant.
Come to think of it, that dungeon interior was filled with security facilities that the past Beonald had painstakingly designed, and breaking through them was by no means an easy task. They had to throw in adventurers, knights, and laborers to break through, barely managing to open one room as an achievement.
'As expected, if you wait, an opportunity comes.'
Since even the skilled knights of the Kremel family were dying or getting injured in such a dangerous place, the hired adventurers were reluctant to enter, and the mages faced similar dangers.
Moreover, they had to allocate personnel to guard the excavated magical tools and treasures, so inevitably, a manpower gap arose until new forces arrived.
'Well, now that they've grasped the interior to some extent, they probably think that if anyone enters recklessly, they can just block the entrance. Good, the time has finally come.'
Even if Beonald's entry was discovered, the Kremel family scoundrels wouldn't care, blinded by treasure and oblivious to the value of life.
Otherwise, they'd think to block the entrance to punish anyone who comes out, or simply clear the corpses later.
So, Beonald calmly began preparing to enter the dungeon interior, targeting tonight. He went to sleep earlier than others and woke up in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep.
'...Good. Perhaps because the number of people has decreased, the number of night watchmen is also low. Now's the perfect time to enter.'
The guards at the entrance were now just two soldiers. Beonald immediately packed all his belongings, instructed Alterio to stay quiet, and had him wait. Then, carefully carrying bread and food, he approached them.
"You're working hard in the middle of the night."
"Huh? So... that... you're that young master from somewhere?"
"Haha, anyway, have this. By the way, I'm curious about something."
There was no reason to tell the soldiers the detailed fact that he came on Eskal Kremel's recommendation. Since he had been at the site together for the past few days, he wasn't a stranger, so the soldiers, with lowered guard, ate the food Beonald gave them without suspicion.
"Huh? What are you curious... huh?"
"Haaam~ Why am I so slee...py..."
'Good. They're going down easily. Good thing I prepared sleeping pills.'
To prevent them from falling to the ground, Beonald caught them and laid them down safely near the entrance.
They were sleeping pills made in the capital, which he had prepared in advance anticipating such use.
Looking around, it was still quiet, so he thought now was the timing to enter. He immediately called Alterio and entered the dungeon... no, his underground ruin.
"Finally here. Ah... my creation... my... traces... finally......"
As soon as he entered, Beonald lit a torch and moved deep inside.
Though the walls and stone floor were worn after 500 years, seeing the patterns, styles, and everything engraved there, an overwhelming feeling began to rise in his chest.
"Ah... Ahhh......"
Though reborn by the Goddess's command and descended to the earth, he was unmistakably a person from 500 years ago. While he felt mentally rejuvenated by being reborn in a young body, he wasn't completely devoid of longing for the past.
Especially since he died from betrayal in his past life, and after being reborn, he heard that not only were all the legacies he built lost, but his name had also disappeared, making him even more eager to find his own traces.
"This is why... I never brought anyone. This appearance... I could never show it......"
A noble, the head of a family, and the master of a garden must always be lofty and dignified.
Only then could the family members and subordinates follow with peace of mind, and external enemies would not dare to even think of challenging.
In his past life, Beonald had tried to discard all weak appearances during his time as heir, and after becoming family head, he strived to maintain dignity and loftiness even in the most difficult situations.
Kuu?
"Ah, right, Alterio. You're here. Yes, yes, thank you. Phew~"
Hugging Alterio, who comforted him, Beonald felt his warmth and breathing and composed himself.
Having regained his composure, Beonald opened his eyes wide again, touched the wall, and began searching for something.
When he built such a facility 500 years ago, he had created an authentication system in case the future family head, his descendant, ever visited.
"Let's see. There should be a call panel......"
500 years ago, Duke Beonald von Neumel conducted numerous researches for the eternal glory of the Neumel Family, using wealth gathered from across the Unified Empire, magic from the Magic Tower, and alchemy.
As a result, his world and garden became like another dimension or era even in the same time period, and Beonald firmly believed that through this, the Neumel Family's glory would be eternal.
"Found it."
*Click!*
Among the stone walls, there was a nearly worn-out 'Hydra Crest'. Beonald pressed it and slid it sideways, revealing a small metal plate with characters inscribed on a keypad.
It was a simple structure where sending a password from the keypad would transmit a call to the central control room's magical device.
Because the ruin was built so vast and wide, it was installed for quick reporting and management, but it held one more secret.
'Let's see. First, the facility lockdown password is......'
"Kuaaaak?"
*Tap tap tap... Grrrrr!*
As he entered the password with the rough sound of metal buttons, the earth trembled, and several metal walls began descending toward the entrance direction behind Beonald.
Each one was a custom-made wall forged from Beonald Steel, refined in the best facilities, and inscribed with grand magic formulas.
This was an emergency password used when thieves or enemies invaded the interior, serving a triple effect: sealing off the enemies inside, dividing them, preventing escape, and blocking external enemy support.
"Good. Thankfully, it still works. It was built on a super-large leyline... and after my death, it must have been sealed."
Though not as good as the Star Veins, the world's source of magical power, it was built on one of the large, massive leylines where magical power circulating through the world accumulates, so it was still operational.
'The password... only Alterio besides me would know it, but that guy... just as I rejected Velix, he rejected me too. In this aspect... like father, like son? Sigh~'
'No, did that guy hate me that much? Phew~ He clearly could have... sold or traded these away to get rid of them.'
Judging by their intact state, it seemed his son, Alterio, hadn't laid a hand on his legacy after his death 500 years ago.
While feeling bittersweet, he was relieved that since it hadn't been touched for 500 years, he could utilize it again. Beonald entered the next password.
'This is the password to deactivate traps and security facilities.'
'This is probably the password that shows the way to the management room in the center. Good!'
As he entered the pathfinding password, tiles before Beonald's eyes began to glow one by one, creating a path.
Since the traps were also deactivated, he could safely follow that path to reach the central management room.
After walking up stairs for about an hour with Alterio, following the glowing path, Beonald was able to enter a certain room.
"Ah! It's been so long since I've been here."
Beonald arrived at the central management room. And the name of this ruin gradually came into view before his eyes.
This place was named the 'Tomb of Molting'.
Snakes molt to grow, leaving their skin behind. Therefore, 'molting' was commonly used to mean rising after overcoming trials, regeneration of life, or resurrection, and it held such meaning for Beonald as well.
"Good... it's done."
*Tap tap... Thud!*
As Beonald pressed the giant keypad and panels in the center of the management room, lights turned on everywhere, and it began operating. Before his eyes, images sent by magical tools inscribed with illusion and sight detection magic showed the status of items in each room.
"Ooh......! It's been a long time! My failures!"
And the items in this ruin were all things Beonald had 'failed' at during various researches and developments.
Almost no research or development reaches success without failure.
Countless attempts and trial-and-error processes involve struggling, failing, breaking, and only then barely managing to obtain one or two achievements in numerous cases.
However, that doesn't mean failure is meaningless. Since it could become the starting point for another idea someday, Beonald had built this massive facility to collect all the outcomes of such 'failures'.