Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Deep into the Ruins
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This world held two great mysteries whose origins remained shrouded: the Gigadeus and the ruins.
But if you asked which one ordinary folk were more familiar with, the Gigadeus took the crown by a landslide.
Unlike the Gigadeus, which posed a real threat to humanity, the odds were high that a common person would never lay eyes on a ruin in their entire lifetime.
‘Riders get roped into ruin expeditions plenty, though.’
That didn’t apply to Abel and May, who hadn’t even finished their first semester since enrolling.
Or at least, it hadn’t originally.
Abel glanced at May as that thought crossed his mind.
‘Guess it doesn’t apply to me or this girl either.’
Abel had cleared every ruin in the game, after all.
Not real experience, sure, but indirect knowledge counted for something.
He had a solid grasp on their general layouts and hazards.
And as far as Abel knew, May had explored ruins before too.
About thirty minutes after entering the ruins via the tunnel path.
May spoke up.
“There don’t seem to be any guardians around here.”
“Yeah?”
“The tracks on the floor cut off back at that fork. Means they don’t usually come this way.”
Hearing that, Abel decided it was time to share what he’d been holding back.
“Hmm. Truth is, I knew that already.”
“What?”
May shot Abel a look like she hadn’t heard right.
He chose his words carefully before replying.
“I explored ruins once before. As an errand boy.”
May’s face twisted in confusion at Abel’s sudden confession.
“Errand boy? What kind of lunatic… no, what kind of people drag a kid into ruins?”
“It happens a lot, even outside ruins. Nothing beats slum kids for disposable labor.”
Abel’s expression soured as he spoke.
“No one cares if they die.”
Of course, that was a fabricated backstory.
He’d known better than to risk his neck in ruins, even scraping by on the streets—the death rate was insane.
But it was real. All too real.
Even for non-ruin digs, they dragged in slum kids for the nasty jobs.
No liability if they croaked, and it saved coin.
That was the world they lived in.
May opened her mouth a few times before managing words.
“Anything else you know?”
“A few things. For starters, sections without guardian patrols have traps.”
“I see.”
At that, May scanned their surroundings with fresh caution.
“We’ll have to watch our step.”
“Yeah. Check every inch around us.”
They traded nods and crept forward slowly.
The origins of the ruins were uncertain, with theories aplenty.
They’d once been chalked up to ancient civilizations, but mounting counter-evidence had eroded that idea lately.
‘It’s because the ruins are littered with Gigadeus traces.’
Take the guardians, for instance.
Easy to mistake them for golems, but they shared far more traits with Gigadeus.
No current tech could build them, and they’d hugely influenced Gigant development.
So what exactly were these ruins?
From a gamer’s view, even Abel didn’t know.
The truth stayed hidden right through the ending.
‘Folks speculated sequels, DLC bait, or just a MacGuffin. Every theory under the sun.’
A real shame.
Knowing for sure would’ve helped big time.
Abel mulled that over while keeping vigilant eyes on their surroundings.
Maybe that’s why.
“Ah! Here!”
After trudging on for a while, he spotted something off.
May, walking right beside him, flinched at his voice and froze.
Abel pointed precisely so she could see.
“This bit of floor sticks out a little. See?”
“Oh… yeah, it does.”
“Let’s give it a wide berth.”
May nodded, and they skirted well clear of the raised block.
They spotted a few more traps after that, including ones detectable only by mana.
Without May spreading her mana as they went, they’d have triggered them for sure.
Creeping along at a snail’s pace like that, May suddenly pointed at the floor again.
“Here—guardian tracks.”
They’d finally cleared the deadly trap zone.
But they couldn’t relax yet.
Guardians outranked traps in sheer danger.
“Let’s move as quietly as we can.”
“Okay.”
Agreement reached, they inched ahead with utmost care.
Ruin expeditions rarely went in unarmored.
Even civilians scraped together Midget-grade at minimum; state ops brought Titos.
Otherwise, you faced guardians buck-naked.
‘Us two against a guardian? Dead meat.’
Smaller than a Tito, sure, but a guardian matched a seasoned rider-knight in a Tito for combat power.
So they crept on, barely daring to breathe.
How long had it been?
Sweat born of tension soaked their brows when—
Thud, thump, thud!
Footsteps echoed from not far off.
‘Too close!’
A bend up ahead? The sound was right on them.
Realizing flight was impossible, Abel yanked May into his arms.
She startled and looked at him, but he’d already shut his eyes in focus.
Thud, thump, thump!
The steps drew nearer, and soon the guardian loomed before them, sword in hand—terrifying at a glance.
May held her breath, staring up at it.
Then, moments later.
Thump, thud, thud, thud.
It lumbered past like it saw nothing.
Abel and May didn’t exhale until the footsteps faded completely—and even then, not right away.
“Whhew.”
“What the hell was that?”
May asked Abel, who’d let out a long breath.
He kept it simple.
“A secret art.”
“There’s a secret art for that?”
“Yeah. Secret of secrets.”
What he’d used was none other than the ‘Camouflage’ ability, gained from downing the Iron Wolf last time.
Abel didn’t bat an eye claiming it.
“I see…”
May nodded like she bought it, then deadpanned at him.
“You can let go now, right?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Only then did Abel realize he was still hugging her. He backed off quick.
May seemed utterly unfazed, though.
“Let’s go. No telling when it’ll circle back.”
“Right.”
They headed the way the guardian had come.
More trap stretches and guardian patrols repeated after that.
‘Are we heading deeper in or out? No clue.’
Abel pondered as they pressed on.
Main entrance would’ve given a progress gauge, but they’d slipped in a side path.
They’d picked one fork and stuck to it, but who knew where it led.
‘Better be inward.’
Such thoughts in mind, he took a step forward.
Click-.
An odd noise rang out somewhere.
Abel whipped toward the source: May’s right foot.
Their eyes met.
“My bad…”
“Run!”
Abel seized her hand and bolted.
Ruuuumble—!
The rear exploded in roar, like it’d been waiting.
A quick glance back showed the tunnel collapsing from the tripped trap onward.
Abel faced front and sprinted full tilt again.
May, pale as death, pumped her legs hard.
Ruuuumble!
No end to the trap chain—the din chased them relentlessly.
They couldn’t spare a thought for other hazards, just hauled ass straight ahead.
—Groooarrrgh!
A guardian crashed the party midway.
But with the collapse triggered, it couldn’t enter the crumbling stretch.
“Arrrghhh!”
Legs screaming like they’d burst, Abel bellowed and pushed harder.
Rumble…
Nearly ten minutes of balls-out sprint later.
The roar began fading.
“Hah, huff. Abel. Think it’s over.”
Abel, flying blind, glanced back at May’s call.
Sure enough, the collapse slowed to a halt not far behind.
Still wary, he ran farther before halting.
“Huff, huff.”
“Whhew.”
For a stretch, only their ragged breaths filled the tunnel.
They’d pushed so hard their lungs burned and clothes clung sodden with sweat.
Once breathing eased a bit, May spoke.
“…Sorry.”
Abel shook his head at her apology.
“Nah. I missed it too.”
No empty words—he’d been scanning the floor obsessively and still whiffed it.
Before May could press, Abel changed tack.
“Anyway, where are we? That racket’ll draw guardians quick…”
Mid-sentence, Abel’s jaw dropped.
May, watching him, followed his gaze—and matched his reaction.
A small door sat where they stared.
Blended with the dark tunnel wall, same shade. No wonder they’d overlooked it.
“A door…”
“It’s a door.”
They turned, eyes locking.
Abel’s lit up.
“Let’s check it out.”
For him, this was disaster turned gold.
* * *
Ruuuumble…
The tunnel shook with distant thunder.
The man in pristine white robes frowned at the vibration.
“Sounds like it came from pretty far off.”
His murmur drew a deep bow from the robed figure behind, laden with a backpack.
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“No signs of anyone else entering first, right?”
“Well… the entrance was spotless, no traces at all.”
“So this just happens for no reason?”
The backpacked man sweated bullets under the sharp rebuke.
“I’ve heard some ruins glitch out—traps or guardians malfunctioning from age.”
“Hmm.”
The staff-bearing man shot him a sour look, then faced forward.
“We’ll see if that’s true as we go. Move.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Short exchange done, they advanced.
Behind them lay the totaled wreckage of a guardian.
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