Chapter 54
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: 52. Elf Ruins - Library of Records
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We arrived at the ruins portal in Seoul's Gangnam district.
"The explanation is over. This entry ticket allows you to operate in the Elf Ruins for 10 days upon use. Would you like to enter the Elf Ruins?"
No need for a second invitation.
I handed the ticket to the guide who had been droning on about the ruins for ages.
"Yes."
"Ticket confirmed. Have a great time."
Following the guide's instructions, we stepped through the portal, and a massive ruin site unfolded before our eyes.
Buildings in a style reminiscent of medieval Europe dotted the landscape, most of them in ruins.
Well, it was a ruin site, after all. But if the Elf Kingdom hadn't fallen, this would have been Reina's homeland.
"Whoa, so this is the Elf Ruins."
Having only read about it in the novel, seeing it in person was mind-blowing.
The destroyed ruins were remnants of the elves' nation.
According to the ruins guidebook, the elves who once lived in the forests finally defeated the Demon King, established their kingdom, and broke free from forest life.
"But there are really so few people here."
"It's boring."
"Even you, Eun-ha! That's too much!"
Reina huffed in anger.
No, the real problem was how truly boring it was. To get excited just from looking around, you'd need a roller coaster or something.
"But what if we added some sticky slug action to this dull place?"
"Not this time!"
I slyly reached toward Reina's crotch, but she slapped my hand away sharply.
A wave of self-loathing hit me. Was this why I'd dragged myself here for Reina's sake?
"Tch!"
"You didn't mind before. Why now, all the time?"
Before awakening, maybe she would have. She might've thought, I don't want guys sticking it in, but do I really need to grind?
But that was the past.
"Because I want to eat you up, Reina."
With a body this lewd and tempting, staying calm would make me straight. Reina's figure was enough to piss off both males and females at once.
Of course, I was joking about doing it now.
I was plenty satisfied with Dark Elf Reina for the moment.
If anything, I needed to prepare for the female-corrupted Choi Si-woo who'd ambush me later.
"Sigh, at least pick the time and place. I'll do anything when we get back. Here, I want to feel my ancestors' breath."
"I can make you feel it for real."
"Huh? Say something weird again, and I really won't grind for you?"
Reina was getting mad, clearly misunderstanding.
The Elf Ruins event crossed time and space to the Elf Kingdom, so of course you'd feel their breath.
"That's enough, both of you."
"This is all Yoo Eun-ha's fault!"
Reina pointed at me, fuming.
Hey, she'd been clinging to me happily until now.
"No, you're the problem for not being able to just say no."
Lee Yoo-jeong, who'd been watching quietly, shot Reina a jealous glare.
Should I work on her affection too?
"Sunbae, I was planning to do that 'yobai' thing in Japanese at night."
"Oh. Th-that's fine, okay?"
Lee Yoo-jeong blushed at my casual remark and hurried into the ruins first.
Hmm, one important thing: she didn't refuse the yobai idea.
I'd just said it offhand, but now it seemed like I'd have to follow through.
And so, we entered the ruins.
"This is just part of it, right?"
"Probably. Books say the Elf Kingdom was the size of South Korea. It's a shame we can only see this tiny bit."
In fantasy comics or games, countries were city-sized, but the Elf Kingdom was described as huge.
Ah, not that South Korea is big. In fantasy terms, it split the continent with the era's top empire.
"Hmm. That area's off-limits, huh?"
"They say there's nothing inside even if you go in. The building's unstable; it'll collapse if you enter wrong, so they blocked it."
It looked like it would crumble the moment you stepped in.
Temple-like, and in the original story, it was empty too.
Normally, Choi Si-woo would rampage inside, triggering an event. But with him stuck in Songdo, I had to handle everything.
"Ugh. Can't we just brute-force it? Clear it all away."
Reina mimed shoving the ruins aside, hanging her head.
"Even this fragment has value. It needs preserving for study. Can't just wreck it."
Did they really need to care that much about another world's ruins? But 'elf' made it noteworthy.
Elves had long been fantasy fodder in novels, comics, anime. Naturally appealing to people, and as half-elf human hybrids, important.
"Why so complicated?"
"That's not even the entrance. Our spot's elsewhere."
I led them from the collapsed building entrance, turning beside it.
At a glance, it looked like a spot where delinquent girls would chew gum and corner some chick. But per the novel, this was it.
"What're you talking about?"
"Before the Elf Kingdom fell, its leaders recorded their end in the archive of history left by their founder."
Not just an end—a testament.
Hoping elf descendants would see it, sealed with a barrier only pure elf blood could open.
"What?"
"That archive survived dozens, hundreds of barriers amid countless worlds' cataclysms."
Canonically, Earth took the least damage from the Great Cataclysm.
No, monsters invaded here, but other worlds had worse—like massive sinkholes swallowing nations.
"That archive site's now a ruin open to Earthlings."
Though Earthlings didn't know about the archive.
"This place?"
"Yeah. They barely touched it for preservation, so no one suspected an archive."
Who'd think an elf archive was here?
Humans only knew elves from ruins and otherworlders. Otherworlders raised on Earth since childhood wouldn't know either.
Plus, info was scarce. Even in the kingdom, only elites knew; it never leaked.
When the kingdom fell, the royal library burned, burying the archive forever.
"How do we get in?"
"Elf blood. Half or not, we need yours. Right here."
I pointed at the dirt-caked floor.
"This..."
I kicked the ground a few times; dust billowed, revealing a hidden pattern.
The Elf Kingdom's crest. Seemed decorative, but it unlocked the barrier.
Not just any elf descendant—only royal bloodline.
"A magic circle."
"Chance to see your ancestors' history. Might not come back anytime soon."
Originally, Choi Si-woo rampaged, accidentally scratched Reina, and a drop activated it.
Not this time. I'd dragged Reina here despite hating ruins. She had to bleed herself.
Pssshhhhhh!
"Kyaaaaah!?"
"Eun-ha, is this okay!?"
"Everyone, hold hands tight!"
Just go with the rhythm flashed in my mind.
And I sucked at rhythm; we trembled in the space-time storm.
You have entered the Elf Record Repository.
Aura of humans and alien lifeforms detected. Blocking intruders.
Intruder’s stature too high! Barrier failing to activate!
Barring barrier activation, relocating intruder to the Library of Records as fallback!
A cold wind grazed my skin with a filthy sensation, jolting me awake.
Scanning around, I was in a space piled high with books like mountains.
Weird. From what I knew, the novel described floating mana orbs glowing brightly, orderly bookshelves, and a magic record device in the center.
But this was just endless book piles.
Come to think of it, the last message mentioned "Library of Records." What was that? I needed Akashic Record's help. At least, it wasn't the normal repository.
Never appeared in the original.
"Hey, Akashic Record. What's the Library of Records?"
The Library of Records is a trap created within the Elf Kingdom's Record Repository. It’s meant to bar intruders with barriers, but if their stature overwhelms the barriers, it’s the fallback: a prison stocked with discarded knowledge, flawed logic, obsolete ancient info—the repository’s trash bin for junk data.
My head ached a bit. Was this place that crucial?
Repository. Library. Not outright calling it a trash bin means it's still part of the repository.
Probably hard to rig traps inside the main repo, so they repurposed the junk dump.
"So this is still the repository?"
Yes. Think of it as the library’s dumpster.
"Got it."
In other words, we're fucked.
Master could escape using the Black Dragon’s authority, but it risks incinerating the entire repository—not recommended.
"Reina and Yoo-jeong are the issue."
However, Master’s authority transcends mere high-stature intruders. An inescapable zone for others, but this place couldn’t handle Master—an exit has opened.
Trapped in a dungeon, basically.
"I see. Alright, first find the exit."
I dusted myself off and stood, checking surroundings. Right next to my left wall was a weird bulletin board-like thing.
From afar, some looked erased and rewritten.
"What the hell? Safety rules?"
Welcome to the Elf Kingdom Library of Records. These rules ensure staff safety. Never leak them outside. The administration bears no responsibility for accidents from ignoring or violating them.
1. If wandering corridors or the control room’s magitech detects a ‘sealed bookshelf,’ halt all actions and exit immediately to report to the supervisor. Never look inside a sealed bookshelf or enter it. Sealed bookshelves do not exist in the Library of Records. Thus, you should never see one.
2. If the control room magitech announces the ‘Records of Rebellion’ shelf missing rebel Ralph’s record, do not search for it. Reply ‘We’ll handle it immediately,’ then replace the magitech and seal the shelf. Library magitech has no comms function; only one guard manages the Library currently.
3. Corpses occasionally appear. Common even in other libraries—follow safety rules. But if wet paper covers the corpse’s face, do not approach; seal the area and notify other staff.
4. Heading to the back door but looping the same corridor spot? Face a corner, crouch, close eyes, cover ears. Day staff checks back corridor first daily. Stay until morning discovery.
5. If sudden page-turning sounds, drop flat to the floor immediately, hold breath until gone. No need to hide behind cover or enter rooms—just flatten fast. Then call cleaners to remove bookshelf stains. If rules continue after this, ignore them.
6. Burn marks in corridors? Trigger control room fire alarm, evacuate all researchers. Check headcount, re-enter after 2+ hours. Tell users a researcher smoked in the bathroom. If missing personnel on check, head to burn mark area post-2 hours; follow marks to a bookshelf. Find a mummy-dry unconscious elf.
7.Sexual activity strictly forbidden anywhere, regardless of gender.
8.Never answer purple magitech in control room. It receives no mana and has no comms.
9. On rainy days, if a pale-skinned, white-haired, bloodshot-eyed human woman arrives—if she’s dry sans umbrella/poncho, do not eject her. Check 3-year-old control room log doc, tell her sealed bookshelf location only. Ignore screams of dusty-beaten man caught cheating later. Don’t get involved.
—xxxx year xx month x day, Admin Maxim Western—
10. Ignore rules 1-9. Control room exploded and sealed. Staff: light patrol to the back, then clock out.
—xxxx year xx month x day, Admin Raina Silverluk—
11. Rule 10 does not exist. Ignore whatever’s written there. If signed Raina Silverluk, disregard—she’s a dead elf, can’t edit rules.
—xxxx year xx month x day, Admin Maxim Western—
Years and dates erased.
Fuck. I hate this creepy shit. Wait, before that.
I eyed the door to my immediate right.
Elf script sign hung on it.
Ominous vibe.
"Akashic Record. What’s that language say?"
‘Control Room.’
"Oh God."
What a bullshit safety guide. What to believe?
No.
Think positive. Rationally, it’s interpretable.
Elf Kingdom ruins. Elves: masters of knowledge and magic.
Pre-cataclysm Earth sans magic? Maybe not. But this is decipherable.
1. Sealed shelf’s gone. Means: sealed when due, but control glitch resurfaced it—don’t approach or suffer. Or skilled intruder could restore vanished shelf.
2. Hacker sent voice via magitech whining Ralph’s record missing. Routine, so seal intruder’s shelf for justice.
3. Book-nerds invaded, defiled records, died. Warn others not to freak on corpses.
4. Maze corridors loop you silly. Lost? Crouch in corner till morning patrol.
5. Defilers messing shelves—duck low till safe, call cleaners for stains. Post-this, other rules might be their fakes.
Problem starts at 6. Defilers’ fake rules. Watch for traps.
6. Fake fire to clear users for 2-hour orgy. Lone guard, yet evacs all? Means idiots unaware or plotting exclusive book-banging. Dumbasses.
7. “Only I book-fuck.” Monopoly declaration. Ties to 6’s scheme.
8. Purple magitech works fine. They disabled external comms.
9. Defiler’s wife hunting rainy-day cheater hubby. Send her to sealed shelf. Rival defiler wrote this. Maxim Western did 1-4; rest hijacked empty slots. 10 by Raina Silverluk—royal surname.
10. Royalty pissed at confusion—blow it all up.
11. Sealed? Defilers fucked—pretend fixed, resume depravity. Fake Maxim for cred.
Yeah, trash bin fits.
Probably tuned to deter repo intruders.
"Gotta find that back door."
Damn nerds even ruin ruins.