71
My Villains Chapter 71
19. Escape (4)
As soon as we were enveloped by the strange magical force, we fell into a new space.
"...Ugh."
As I carefully got up, Ellen also let out a small groan and looked around.
"Ellen, are you alright?"
"Yeah... Where is this...?"
"...Looks like it's the Relic Room."
The place where we woke up was a mysterious space surrounded by brightly glowing walls. In the narrow space that could barely be three or four pyeong (about 10-13 square meters), there stood a lone statue.
What's with this random development?
Dumbfounded, I turned to look at Ellen.
"What happened? The string of characters and symbols suddenly changed."
"I modified the spell formula a bit."
"Modified the spell formula?"
I carefully set Ellen down in a corner of the room. She continued speaking with a slightly tired expression.
"Those magic circles weren't traps."
"Not traps? Then what?"
"They're like... Doors. Doors that only people who know the magic circles can use."
After hearing Ellen's explanation, I held back a laugh.
So those magic traps were like password-protected doors.
If you combine the character strings correctly, you come here to the Relic Room which is the escape route, but if you combine them incorrectly, monsters are summoned or attack magic is activated.
...Even though I pride myself on knowing the dark world, this was news to me. It must be information that wasn't available in the game.
Having finished her explanation, Ellen was looking around the narrow room with an anxious expression.
"But... Are we in the right place? This place is filled with strange magic..."
"Oh, I think there was something similar in the book. Let's see... I think there was mention of a mysterious room like this."
"...Really?"
Putting aside Ellen's dubious response, we started examining the room.
The room wasn't very large, but except for the objects in the center, it was completely empty without even a speck of dust.
However, the walls made of unknown material were emitting bright light, so it didn't feel particularly desolate.
Among the objects in the center, the first thing that caught my eye was a statue of a young man.
The man wearing a small crown was dressed in puffy clothes with inflated shoulders and sleeves, and in his left hand, he held an open thick book.
The jewels decorating the crown were all intricately crafted, and the hem of his clothes that dragged on the floor had vivid wave-like patterns.
Moreover, the thick book showed signs of wear and even tiny writing was depicted.
Ellen, who was examining the statue, let out a ‘hmm’ and muttered quietly.
"Looks like an old mage's attire."
"We came here through an ancient empire's facility. Wouldn't this statue be from that era too?"
The statue was posed with its palm covering its face. Like a master's sculpture, the statue imitating a human showed no signs of awkwardness.
The masterpiece among all features was the face. With bulging eyes and a half-open mouth, the wrinkles naturally folded to create a surprised expression - it was so lifelike it seemed like it might scream at any moment.
Suddenly, Ellen swallowed hard with a slightly pale face.
"Phoenix, this isn't a statue."
"What?"
What nonsense is this now?
I scratched my chin while examining the statue again.
"Hmm, it looks like it's made of stone though?"
"No, no. This is... Someone cursed with petrification."
"...Petrification curse?"
"Yes. It's a terrible magic that turns living people into stone. It's said to be a lost spell from long ago..."
A chilling thought occurred to me and I asked Ellen.
"Don't tell me this person is still alive?"
"...Well, how should I put it... They're neither alive nor dead, you could say."
"What does that mean? They're not even undead."
"They're practically dead now, but if the petrification curse were lifted... They might come back to life."
Crazy, is that even possible?
Wait a minute. Then...?
"When did the ancient empire fall again?"
"Year 1 of the Light Calendar, so... 763 years ago."
"So if we revive this person, we could talk to someone from 763, maybe even a thousand years ago?"
"You could say that."
Ha, this is literally like a cryogenically frozen person!
In Earth terms, it would be like someone from 21st century Korea meeting someone from the Goryeo dynasty....
Seeing my shocked expression, Ellen sighed and said, "But the spell to undo petrification is also lost. When the ancient empire fell suddenly, many schools of magic were cut off. As far as I know, there's no way to revive this person in modern times."
"...I see."
Ah, I was getting excited since it was a situation that strangely stimulated my imagination... But it ended up being disappointing.
I licked my lips and looked around the statue. While everything the young mage was holding had turned to stone, the items that had fallen away from him remained intact.
These items consisted of a wand about two spans long, a small box, and a leather case.
As expected of items left behind by a petrified mage - while they were all ancient, they somehow gave off a mysterious feeling and were surprisingly well-preserved.
The wand was made from a branch and had a light gray color. Despite having no decorations, it somehow gave off an luxurious aura.
Ellen picked up the staff as if enchanted and began examining it intently.
"It's a wand made of birch. Cinnabar? No, it seems to be plated with platinum..."
"Is it good?"
"...I'd have to try it out, but it seems like quite a useful magical tool. We're lucky."
Lucky? We nearly died getting here.
Just looking at it, it's not unique, at best it's rare, or maybe just a magic item.... All that trouble for just this?
No, no. This can't be all there is, right?
Putting aside my disappointment for now, I examined the box.
The box, slightly smaller than a brick, was made of carved ivory. Looking at the gold decorations on the outside, it seems to be some kind of jewelry box.
As expected of such a precious-looking box, it contained all kinds of jewels and gold items inside.
"...Are these all real?"
Naturally, having lived as a poor person all my life, I had no ability to appraise jewels. Well, I doubt there's anything like cubic zirconia in this world, so they're probably real?
When I held up a pendant with a ruby the size of my thumbnail,
"Well, it doesn't look fake."
Ellen replied half-heartedly before going back to examining the wand.
"...You're completely distracted."
I grumbled while rummaging through the jewelry box. Silver rings with embedded gems, solid gold bracelets, gold coins with faces engraved on them - everything looked quite valuable at first glance.
...Am I really rich now?
While gleefully thinking to myself, something particularly caught my eye.
"Ellen, look at this."
"What now?"
Ellen turned around with an annoyed look, but when she saw what I was holding, her eyes went wide.
"What kind of magical power is this? It doesn't seem like pure magic..."
What I found was a pair of earrings, no, ear cuffs (accessories that are worn by clipping or hanging on the ear rather than piercing the earlobe).
The ear cuffs were made of silver shaped like wings with turquoise around the wing edges. The craftsmanship was so delicate that it looked like each feather might flutter away.
This was something I had seen in the game.
The name was... 'Aelo's Feather Ornament'? It was quite well-known among rare items, and I remember playing with it a few times because its activation effect was quite useful.
"It doesn't seem to have any inscriptions on the outside.... But to contain such clear power, what is this?"
Ellen was making a fuss trying to figure out what the accessory was by examining its structure and flowing magic into it.
Hmm, should I just tell her what it is?
...No, no. There's a limit to lying about reading something in a book. How suspicious would it be if I suddenly listed off all the effects of an item we just found?
I watched Ellen's examination for a while before shrugging and saying, "It doesn't seem to have any problems, why don't you try it on?"
"Is it safe?"
"If you're worried, should I try it first?"
"...Hmph, forget it. You don't know the first thing about magical tools."
She snorted and held the feather accessory up to her ear. Then she started struggling to put it on.
"This, this isn't, working well."
"Good grief, what are you doing? Let me see that."
"Eek!"
I crouched down beside her and snatched the feather accessory. Then I slightly spread the ring part, fitted it to her small ear, and pushed it up slightly to secure it completely.
"How is it, comfortable?"
"...Hmm, seems fine."
Ellen touched her ear, closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"As I thought. It seems to have a spirit dwelling in it."
"Really? What's the effect?"
"Just a moment."
Ellen raised her magical power to activate the effect dwelling in the accessory.
Actually, the reason I let her have this accessory was because of its characteristics.
With Ellen's magical power, which was top-tier for our level, she should be able to properly utilize this item.
Whoosh.
"Ah, aah!"
Along with her surprised cry, Ellen's body began to float in the air. As her body, which had been rising slowly, began to wobble, she opened her mouth in panic and her eyes went wide.
"P-Phoenix, help me-"
"H-help me!"
Since Ellen's lower body was paralyzed, she couldn't kick her legs, but she flailed her arms trying to maintain balance.
...She'd probably be fine if she just stayed still.
"What are you doing just watching! Hurry!"
"...Sheesh,"
I quickly grabbed her hand, but Ellen's body kept rising like a balloon filled with helium.
"Hey, how high are you going to go?"
"This, this isn't controlling well!"
"Oh geez, *nngh* try adjusting your magical power!"
"You think that's as easy as it sounds!"
Ellen cried out with a tearful face, and I pulled her down as she tried to stick to the ceiling. However, soon the magical power from the feather accessory began to envelop me too.
Whoosh.
"Ah, aah- I'm floating too!"
"Urgh, what are you doing, you fool!"
"Fool? You're the one who made us float!"
"I-I didn't do it on purpose!"
But... This is kind of fun? It feels just like swimming in zero gravity.
I quickly adapted to the strange floating sensation and easily maintained balance before letting out a laugh.
"Hey, stop struggling and try staying still."
"I'm not struggling- *eek!* My body keeps flipping over!"
"That's because you're waving your arms around!"
...What a mess.
The activation effect dwelling in 'Aelo's Feather Ornament' was none other than 'flight'.
Of course, not just anyone could use it.
Since the duration and speed of flight were proportional to magical power, characters with low magical power could only fly slowly for a very short time when using it. I thought Ellen with her high magical power would be able to use it well... But she had no talent for physical activities and couldn't use her lower body, so she was having quite a struggle maintaining balance.
After flailing around in the air for a while, the wind supporting Ellen began to dissipate.
"Ah, aah, Phoenix, I'm fall-"
Ellen screamed in a high-pitched voice, and I quickly caught her.
Thud.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yeah."
Ellen's face turned red belatedly, seemingly embarrassed by her unseemly display.
Only after the commotion ended could we examine the last item. It was a leather case, and inside were five magic potions.
Wait, other items are one thing... But magic potions?
"...These aren't spoiled, are they?"
Ellen shook the potion bottles and held them up to the light before saying certainly.
"They seem fine."
"Hey, didn't you say they're from seven hundred something years ago? If they're still intact after all this time, they must be magical preservatives, not magic potions?"
"Is that so surprising? This space isn't normal to begin with."
...Well, she has a point. Just looking at the smooth walls completely filled with flowing light shows this isn't an ordinary space.
Besides, in seven hundred years, not just magic potions but wooden wands and leather cases would have all rotted away. It makes sense to think there's something special about this space.
"Let's keep them for now. We can examine them later."
It's a bit concerning but... Well, it's easier to follow Ellen's lead when it comes to these matters.
I wrapped the jewelry box and potion case in my half-cloak and tied them to my waist. Ellen, who was watching me, suddenly looked around and spoke.
"So, how do we get out of here?"
"There must be some kind of mechanism, right?"
"Hmm. Give me a piggyback."
While riding on my back, Ellen started scanning the walls and soon discovered a magic circle engraved on one of them. She traced the magic circle with her fingertip, her eyes lighting up.
"This looks right."
"Can you activate it?"
"Yes. Looking at the structure, it seems we just need to flow magic into it."
I took a small deep breath. In the game, you could return directly to South Harbor through the Relic Room, but I'm not sure how it will work in reality.
Ellen also muttered ‘alright’ as if steeling herself, then asked me, "Ready?"
With Hrunting in one hand and firmly gripping Ellen's wrist around my neck with the other, I nodded.
"Let's go."
Woong.
As blue magic flowed from Ellen's hand, the magic circle began to glow. A strange magical power enveloping our bodies... A sensation that was starting to feel familiar. Finally, the light emitting from the magic circle reached its peak, and unable to bear the brightness, I tightly closed my eyes.