3
Chapter 3
I took out a shovel to clear away the debris, widening the black gap.
Using Light Magic to shine a light, oh, I saw a staircase made to look exactly like the bedrock.
It was a bit deflating.
If I had known there would be a path like this instead of the relic being right there, I would have picked up the pace from the start.
I roughly cleared the debris, crouched down, and entered inside.
As I walked down the stairs, I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from trying to curl up into a smile.
I thought it would be a huge jackpot just to salvage a few relics, but I've already been walking down the stairs for 10 minutes.
For the stairs alone to be this long meant the scale of the ruins was much larger than I had thought.
The larger the scale, the more relics there naturally were.
Of course, the price varied wildly depending on the condition and era, but usually, a single relic was worth at least a thousand gold, while an Artifact could fetch tens of thousands of gold.
The living expenses for an average family of four commoners were a little over 1 gold a month, and even my salary, which was the highest in the Intelligence Agency next to the Director, was only 40 gold excluding performance bonuses.
I even hummed a tune as I quickened my pace.
After walking for about 10 more minutes, the stairs finally ended and a massive metal door appeared.
All sorts of bizarre characters drawn on the door seemed to explain how to open it, but interpreting them was impossible.
If that was the case, I just needed to break it down with force.
It was a bit disappointing that I had used up all my remaining Magic Bombs earlier, but I had plenty of tools.
I opened my Subspace and took out a massive double-edged axe shimmering with a blue aura.
About three years ago, I had a mission to assassinate the Duke of the Sumatra Kingdom in the North of the Western Continent.
The Duke, who was my target at the time, couldn't use Aura, yet he struggled furiously, tearing through a steel net with this axe.
It was a bit dangerous, but since he was poisoned, he didn't last long before passing away. The axe looked good, so I took it.
Enough random thoughts.
For now, breaking the door came first.
As I drew out my Magic Power and injected it into the axe, a blue haze bloomed.
Without delay, I swung the axe wide toward the door.
Bang—
With a massive rebound force, something shattered into pieces.
Not the door, but the axe.
Moreover, it wasn't the handle that broke, but the blade that shattered to pieces.
To think that an Artifact capable of slicing through steel like tofu ended up in this state, even without me invoking my Aura.
What the hell was this door made of?
With this level of durability, I didn't think using a Magic Bomb would have had much effect either.
What should I do?
Should I just leave it for now and come back later?
While contemplating, the moment I absentmindedly touched the door with my hand, a blue light began to burst out.
Thinking I had touched something wrong, I backed away and cast Defense Magic, but futilely, the light faded and the door opened.
It opened just by touching it, so I struggled for nothing.
Entering inside, I saw a dark blue orb floating in the air above a stone table in the center of the stone chamber.
Don't tell me that single thing was the only relic?
Disappointed that it fell short of my expectations, the dark blue orb suddenly flew toward me.
I twisted my body to dodge it, but it was as if it had a homing feature, chasing after me.
The moment it hit, a bright light spewed out, forcing me to close my eyes.
Thinking it was a trap, I hastily drew up my Mana, but I didn't feel any particular shock.
When I opened my eyes again, the orb was gone.
Was I dreaming?
There was definitely an orb there...
'Nice to meet you.'
An auditory hallucination? Was it a trap laced with a curse spell?
I quickly opened my Subspace, took out Holy Water, and poured it over my head.
'What are you doing?'
The same voice rang out again.
Holy Water blessed directly by the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom of Byzantine should dispel most curses right away.
Was it a curse from an ancient magical civilization, impervious to normal methods?
'Can you not hear me?'
I had to ignore it.
I'd heard that responding to auditory hallucinations when afflicted by mental-type curses only worsens the condition.
'If we can't communicate, that's a problem. Can't be helped. Excuse me for a moment.'
In an instant, Mana gushed out in a massive chunk, and a black figure materialized before me.
"A bit short on Mana, I see. How about now?"
Ma... Materialization?
A curse capable of Materialization? I'd never seen or even heard of anything like that—not during training, and certainly not in my ten years as a Black Agent.
Sensing this was no ordinary curse, I hastily drew up my Magic Power and braced myself, but strangely, I couldn't sense any killing intent.
"There's no need to be so guarded."
"What are you?"
"Seems you can hear me well. Or did you hear me earlier and just ignore me?"
The voice sounded slightly annoyed.
"Your identity."
"Goodness, you're a man of few words. Alright, let's start with introductions. I am Infinite Ark, a Magical Artificial Intelligence created by the Seven Stars to prepare for the apocalypse."
Seven Stars? Magical Artificial Intelligence? Every single term was completely foreign to me.
"I've introduced myself, so shouldn't you do the same? Since you awakened me, you must be a descendant of the Seven Stars—who's your ancestor?"
"What is the Seven Stars?"
For a moment, the black smoke wavered.
"Tch... You don't know the Seven Stars?"
"I've never heard that word. Same goes for Magical Artificial Intelligence. If you don't tell me your true identity..."
"No, wait—how could you not know the Seven Stars? You awakened me, so you must be a descendant."
"So I'm asking—what is the Seven Stars?"
"How can you not know your own roots? How truly pathetic..."
"Are you insulting me?"
"It seems a great deal of time has passed. What year is it now?"
"536 of the Beluga Empire calendar."
"The Beluga Empire? Is there such a country? Forget all that and tell me the year in the Mythological calendar."
If it didn't know the Beluga Empire, it clearly wasn't from this era.
The Mythological calendar was the year system used by the Holy Kingdom of Byzantine.
"I'm not sure exactly, but it should be around 5200."
"O-Over... five thousand years?"
"Why are you reacting like that? I told you the truth. Now reveal your true identity."
"Sigh. It doesn't seem like you're lying. Still, I need to be certain, so bear with me a little longer."
With those words, the black figure lunged at me, and my vision went dark.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I came to, the black figure had vanished without a trace.
I tried to draw up my Magic Power to check my condition, but—huh?
My Magic Power was almost completely depleted.
At the same time, a voice echoed in my mind.
'Are you awake?'
So it wasn't a hallucination after all.
"Where are you?"
No matter how much I looked around, the black figure was nowhere to be seen.
'Where do you think I am? Right inside your body.'
"Get out of my body!"
'That's impossible. And I've already confirmed that what you said was true by reading your memories.'
Reading my memories? Did he actually read my mind?
"What on earth are you?"
'I already explained... *Sigh*. I suppose someone from such a primitive civilization wouldn't understand. Let me put it in simpler terms.'
The explanation from Ark, who called himself a Magical Artificial Intelligence, was staggeringly unbelievable.
He was created five thousand years ago in a civilization far more advanced than the present, but they had foreseen a catastrophic disaster soon to strike their land.
Originally, he mentioned a meteorite hitting the planet, but when I said I didn't know what a planet or a meteorite was, he sighed and just called it a disaster.
In any case, the seven greatest experts of that world gathered to stop the calamity; they were the Seven Stars, Ark's creators.
Each one was an incredible master, and together they created Ark to search for a solution, but a perfect answer remained elusive.
Eventually, the ancients built something called a spaceship and left this world in search of a new home.
However, not everyone left; three of the Seven Stars, Ark, and some people who refused to leave stayed behind.
When the day of the disaster arrived, those three Seven Stars left Ark behind for any future survivors and went to try and stop the apocalypse.
'The civilization may have declined beyond imagination, but seeing as the world is still intact, I suppose they succeeded in the end.'
His voice sounded remarkably lonely, unlike before.
"Look, I get the gist of it, but can you just get out of my body now?"
'I told you already, once we've fused, it's impossible.'
"Why? You said the Seven Stars used to take turns managing you."
'The Seven Stars did, but you aren't one of them, are you?'
"What does that—"
'I don't expect you to have the magical engineering knowledge of the Seven Stars, and if you had more Magic Power, I might try to separate us, but with your current level, it's impossible.'
....
"How much do you actually know about me to be talking about my level?"
'I told you, I read your memories. Come to think of it, this is quite insulting; I'm the one helping you here, so why are you so desperate to kick me out?'
"Because it's my body."
'Who said otherwise? I can help you in many ways, so why don't we just—'
"Get out!"
'I've already explained that I can't. Since we can't separate anyway, let's just try to get along.'
Like he's the one deciding... *Sigh*. I didn't find the relic I wanted, and now I've just got some weird parasite attached to me.
As soon as I get out of here, I'm heading straight to the temple.
'Since you don't seem to believe I can be helpful, let me prove it.'
"And how exactly are you helpful?"
'Weren't you looking for relics here? Dig under the table.'
I wasn't particularly inclined to do so, but he kept insisting, so I took the shovel from my Subspace and started digging.
In less than three minutes, I felt the shovel hit something.
I carefully dug the rest and pulled out two metal bowls.
Geometric patterns, mysterious writing, and most importantly, an abundance of Magic Power.
Good grief, these are Artifacts!
'See? I told you they'd be here.'
Even if it wasn't a curse, it was still unsettling, but if he has abilities like this, having him around might not be so bad.
****
"How about 80,000 gold for the pair?"
I thought getting 10,000 each, or 20,000 total, would be enough, but 80,000 gold? This is a jackpot.
'You're selling them for 80,000?'
'That's a good price.'
'Looking at that Wizard's expression, he seems to see you as a Bingdari Hotpants.'
'Bingdari Hotpants? What does that mean?'
'To use an expression from your era, a pushover?'
He's offering 80,000 gold and I'm the pushover?
"Ahem, 80,000 gold honestly isn't a small amount, but let's make it 90,000."
I didn't quite understand, but just as Ark said, the moment I hesitated, the price jumped by 10,000.
With this kind of reaction, couldn't I push for a bit more?
"Even the Tower Master said these were inscriptions he'd never seen before. Besides, they're both Artifacts, so lowballing like this is problematic."
"We had an explosion accident during the last research project, and with the compensation payouts, our finances aren't exactly flush lately..."
"Then there's nothing I can do. I'll try the Arcane Faction instead."
"W-Wait... the Arcane Faction? Alright, fine. I'll go up to 95,000."
"100,000."
"Now hold on, even if they're Artifacts from an ancient civilization, we don't even know what they do, so how can you..."
"100,000."
"Are you seriously doing this?"
"100,000."
"Sigh, alright, fine. You win. But 20,000 gold will be paid in promissory notes."
"The promissory note should be payable within three months."
"Don't worry. As soon as this month's funding comes in, I'll have it cleared."
"Hmm, I feel like I could get more elsewhere."
"Now, now, my friend, haven't we already finished negotiating? Take it and go."
With a regretful expression, I handed over the two bowls and received the gold pouch and promissory note.
Acting has to be perfect until the very end.
"Then I'll be on my way."
"Take care, and thank you."
I waved once at the pushover and slipped out of the laboratory.
I can't believe that actually worked.
When I first discovered the Artifacts, I was genuinely thrilled, but the joy was short-lived.
Despite finding two Artifacts, the effects Ark had explained were complete garbage.
An Automatic Feeding Device, was it?
When I asked what that unfamiliar term meant, he said that upon chanting a spell, it would use surrounding Mana to produce water and food.
The Artifacts I had just sold were the food bowl and water bowl of a dog that the Seven Stars kept.
I'm not sure about the dog food part, but producing water doesn't require an Artifact—it's something even a novice Wizard could do with a common trinket.
Just as I was feeling disappointed, Ark offered some advice.
Given the level of Wizards in this era, they wouldn't be able to figure out the bowls' purpose or how to use them, so why not just sell them without explanation?
That made sense to me, so the moment I arrived in the Capital, I sought out the Wizard I knew—Old Man Roy.
As the head of the Merdi Faction, he was publicly known as a 7th Class Wizard, but he had actually reached 8th Class, making him the greatest Wizard not just in the Beluga Empire, but in the entire Eastern Continent.
He was famous enough that the Emperor had once offered him the position of Chief Magician of the Imperial Palace along with a Duke title, but he refused, saying it would leave him no time for research.
I had made his acquaintance when I was assigned to guard his Research Team during a project in the Principality of Dmitri.
'But won't you be in big trouble if that person finds out the truth later?'
Deceiving a high-ranking Wizard like Old Man Roy really was the same as saying you wanted to commit suicide.
So my original plan wasn't to sell to Old Man Roy at all—I was going to leave them for appraisal first, and if even he couldn't identify them, I'd pass them off to an auction house or somewhere similar.
But what could I do when he insisted on buying them himself?
Even if he discovers the true nature of the Artifacts later, I can just play dumb, asking how I was supposed to know something even a Great Wizard couldn't figure out.
I just happened to be good at haggling, that's all.