Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Traces of Memory (2)
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⚙ Neutral Stage ⚙ Asral City Commercial District ‘What the hell is this now?’
After finishing my meal, I climbed up to the inn’s rooftop and quietly lost myself in thought.
The elf’s disappearance wasn’t really a big deal, to be honest.
I wasn’t close enough to the guy to call him a friend, and he wasn’t someone crucial to my future plans either.
What mattered here was the ‘mind manipulation’ magic cast over the entire city.
‘But if I’m not mistaken, this was some seriously powerful mental magic.’
I didn’t have any special resistance to mental magic.
Sure, in the game, I’d boosted my basic magic resistance to counter one of the Transcendent’s skills called ‘Oblivion’...
But still, it was weird that I was the only one unaffected.
Even Lewis didn’t remember the guy.
I’d checked Lewis’s memories just in case, but the fragments related to that elf were drowned in thick noise...
-Zzzt! In short, it had been tampered with by an external force.
Not by another person, though—it was more like natural erosion over time.
Except the flow of time here was artificial, so to speak.
‘Reading memories puts a heavy burden on the target, so I can’t just use it on anyone...’
Thanks to that, scrutinizing the memories didn’t help at all, and poor Lewis ended up passing out after complaining of a stomachache. I felt kinda bad for no reason.
Reading memories compresses and replays past events from the target’s brain—condensing hours or days of experiences into mere minutes—which puts massive strain on the mind. That’s why I can’t abuse it on others.
Plus, I can only read memories from creatures bound by contract, and weaker ones risk brain death if I mess up.
Lewis held out because he’s a dragon, at least.
“Hah, this is ridiculous. It leaves a gross, sticky feeling.”
Whatever, I shouldn’t dwell on it.
Adventurers vanishing without a trace is common enough, and since no one else remembers him, if I just ignore it, it’s like it never happened.
So I should just ignore it—
‘?’
-Shooo! Suddenly, something came flying straight at my head.
In that split second, a sharp arrow entered my vision, radiating fierce momentum.
Who knows what tricks it might have on it.
So I didn’t grab it—just tilted my head to dodge.
Most magic arrows apply debuffs on contact.
-Puk! ‘It pierced the wall.’
Anyway, the arrow flew past me, punched through the wall behind, and half-embedded itself in the pillar beyond.
Damn, what kind of arrow is this? More like a large-caliber bullet.
In fantasy worlds, bows often outdo guns, which is cliché—but seeing it in action still feels unreal.
Plus, this one was probably shot from hundreds of kilometers away.
And it still aimed dead for my head.
‘...Chasing it now would be pointless.’
Long-range sniping like this isn’t just about archery skill.
It’s archery fused with magic—something only elite archers can pull off.
Which means high chance it’s an elf, and given the timing...
Not a coincidence.
Plus, there’s a note tied to the arrowhead.
It stayed attached without falling off—why go through this cheap drama just to deliver a message?
‘Reading it should tell me.’
I’d know the reason soon enough.
So I carefully peeled the note off the arrow.
-Rustle I unfolded the crumpled paper and examined it closely.
“...?!”
What the hell does this even say?
No matter how I stared at the note or reread it, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
‘What is this? Kids’ scribbles...?’
I seriously had no clue what it meant.
‘...Hold on.’
But in the corner of the note, there was one recognizable character.
And if my memory served right, it was an English word—an alphabet one, even.
『Earth』
The word meaning ‘planet Earth.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day.
“Hmm, judging by the look, it’s like some ancient script?”
As soon as day broke, I showed the note straight to Lewis.
“Probably. Otherwise, it’s just scribbles.”
I’d hoped a dragon might know something, but nope—he was clueless too.
Besides, as a hatchling, he wasn’t that old, so he wouldn’t have the ancient wisdom of the game’s elder dragons.
Dragons with centuries or millennia under their belts were like living history books.
That’s why experience-based power was highly valued in Novel Online...
‘But Lewis is miles away from that.’
He wouldn’t have gotten caught by humans if he was wise.
“...Cyan, you just badmouthed me in your head, didn’t you?”
“Spot on.”
“Can’t you at least deny it?!”
So how do I decipher this note?
Is there anyone in this city who’d know this script?
“...For now, asking the Adventurer’s Guild master should work. As you know, Cyan, only elves use such inefficient writing.”
“Hmm, why’s that?”
Just as I was wondering how to interpret it, Lewis took another look and dropped an unexpected insight.
Thinking back on the context, yeah—it seemed like elven script.
This guy’s more helpful than I thought?
“Elves are all so stubborn. They have dwarf-level tech but waste it on ‘protecting nature’ nonsense, so their civilization never advances. High Elves are the ones who got fed up and left home.”
“Makes sense.”
I didn’t bother asking how Lewis knew that.
Recalling the lore slowly, I vaguely remembered an item with this script from an elf-related quest in old Novel Online.
So I need to find an old elf in this town—but who’d know this script...?
-Thud. ⚙ Neutral Stage ⚙ Asral City Adventurer’s Guild “Guild master around?”
After much deliberation, the Adventurer’s Guild master popped into mind.
He looked like a seasoned elf.
With white streaks in his hair everywhere—signs of aging in humans, but different for elves.
He’s probably a ‘Terne’ elf: one who trained alone in the forest to become a High Elf but gave up before completing it.
Terne elves have impressive magic power, if not quite High Elf level.
And due to elven traits, they age glacially slow by human standards.
So he looks mid-to-late 20s, but could be a grandma over 1,000 years old.
Maybe even older.
“Ah, you’re...!”
The guild staffer jumped in surprise at the sight of me.
“Where’s the guild master?”
“I-I’ll let him know right away! F-follow me.”
I shook off the stares swarming me as soon as I entered and quietly followed the guide.
One surprise: unlike before, no one picked a fight.
Ah, well, rumors of me slaying the undead demon and handling the monster swarm flooding the city have spread far.
Anyone not a total idiot wouldn’t mess with me knowing that.
The stalkers tailing me since yesterday are gone too—nice bonus.
Though if a suicidal fool shows up, I’d oblige.
-Creak! I opened the door to the guild master’s office as guided.
Maybe because the city’s reconstruction is in full swing, stacks of document boxes lined the hall outside.
Processing all that would be endless.
Good thing they don’t drop dead from overwork.
“Oh? You’re that High Elf, aren’t you?”
⚔ Status ⚔ Adventurer Guild Master (Elf) Lv. 200 The golden-haired elf rose to greet me.
No need to explain she’s a beauty—elf standard.
Distinct traits: pretty golden hair with some white strands.
And another: her chest is huge.
I’m not particularly fixated on that, but in game and now, it’s always the first thing that catches the eye.
Looks 1.5 times bigger than mine.
Well, Cyan’s, technically.
Do all elves have ones that big?
I felt a tiny pang of jealousy.
...Am I nuts?
“I have something to ask. ...But looks like you have another guest first.”
Turns out, someone was already here before me.
-Clink. The guest set down her teacup.
It was the red-haired woman from the restaurant the adventurer recommended yesterday.
She was probably cloaked in her robe again, hood up, face hidden as she talked.
She’s an adventurer too, looks like—renewing an expired registration, same as me.
They made me take off my robe, but let her keep hers? Discrimination much?
“I can wait, so why not let her go first if it’s urgent? Hehe.”
“...Appreciate it. Handle her first, then?”
“Yes, got it.”
Graciously, she yielded to me.
Her creepy smile bugged me a bit, but that’s not important now.
It’s not super urgent, but I wanted to clear up this mystery ASAP.
So, time to step aside for a bit.
Could be sensitive info—better fewer ears.
-Rustle. “What I want to ask is this. Got a note yesterday in some unknown script.”
“What’s it look like? If I know it, I’ll tell you.”
I pulled the note from yesterday out of my pocket.
Handed it to the guild master and watched her reaction.
“...This is Frost Elf script.”
“Frost Elves?”
The term was totally new to me.
“Yes, I don’t know the details myself. But it’s definitely their language. We Forest Elves and Dark Elves use the common tongue, but they have their own.”
Frost Elves, out of nowhere?
Frost Elves are one of the elven races.
The usual elves we know are Forest Elves, and Dark Elves are the classic black-skinned ones.
Like Caucasians, Asians, Africans on Earth?
Fantasy worlds usually stick to those two, but Novel Online had one more...
‘This is messing up the order.’
These Frost Elves hold opposing views to other elves.
Forest and Dark Elves reconciled their differences long ago and merged, but Frost Elves, isolated in the northern continent, rejected unity and live independently.
‘Why are Frost Elves showing up already? The Demon King hasn’t even appeared yet...’
Normally, they’re only mentioned around the final showdown with the Demon King.
Not in a starter village’s neighbor town.
‘No, maybe I’ve been too complacent. I already knew this world diverges from the game story.’
Yeah, no guarantee it follows Novel Online’s plot exactly.
Especially since I, the ‘Player,’ started at max level, and my spawn point was different.
Clinging too hard to the game story is foolish.
“Can’t you translate it?”
“Sorry, no. I’m Forest Elf stock—don’t know Frost Elf tongue.”
So now what?
Normally I’d ignore it, but with ‘Earth’ written in English right there, it’s too suspicious to blow off.
She might hold clues to how I got here—or how to go back.
‘Returning to Earth is low priority, but a way to travel between worlds wouldn’t hurt.’
Plus, back on Earth, I could dig deeper into Novel Online lore.
No matter how veteran I am, I don’t remember every detail.
“Then who can? Anyone else, even if not you?”
“Probably no one in this city. Frost Elves never leave their lands, and when they do, they hide their identity—impossible to find.”
“I see...”
Guess that means trekking to their homeland?
But it’s tens of thousands of kilometers away—way too far.
Plus, the northern tundra hits -40°C; great for freezing in your sleep. I dunno how I’d handle the cold, but Lewis is 100% out.
-Creak! “?”
Then, the door suddenly opened, and someone entered.
“Did you just say Frost Elf?”
I turned to the door—the red-haired woman from earlier in the office had come in.
“I know a little of their language. Mind if I take a look, see if I can help?”