Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Master of the Forest (2)
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When the name of the Pyro Goddess was mentioned, the bear could no longer attack recklessly.
That didn't mean he could easily believe those words, though.
"You're no follower of Her Holiness. The power I blocked couldn't possibly have come from a god."
"You're right. I don't follow any god."
"Yet you dare invoke the Goddess's name?"
"I've made a deal with the Goddess herself."
The bear narrowed his eyes.
Normally, he would have crushed such absurd lies without a second thought.
Especially since this was Aptone, a region where the Pyro Goddess's influence was particularly strong.
If those words were a 'lie to save your skin,' the Goddess would have struck the speaker down with divine punishment.
"Even a beast like you seems to know the terror carried by a god's name."
The bear didn't respond.
"Say something... Ugh."
"Master!"
Jamie trailed off and collapsed to the ground.
Bena checked on him, her voice trembling with tears.
"You'll really die at this rate."
"I'm fine. It's just the lingering shock."
His recovery had slowed, but the Orb of Life hadn't lost its power.
"Hard to believe, still."
The bear sat back down as he spoke.
"But I can't not believe it, either."
The majesty of the 12 Gods transcended all races.
The bear let out a short sigh before introducing himself to the two.
"My name is Teberon."
"...Even bears have names, huh."
"It's laughable hearing that from a lowly human."
Jamie's eye twitched.
He had fought gods for the sake of humanity, so he couldn't let such disdain for humans slide.
"You dismiss us first, then act all self-righteous? How about that?"
"Whose side are you on?"
Jamie clicked his tongue at Bena's point.
She stood and addressed the bear who had introduced himself as Teberon.
"Please let us go. We don't have time to stay here."
She had no idea how many hours had passed since they fell into the ruins.
Having snuck out at night, they needed to resolve the forest issue quickly and return.
But Teberon had no intention of letting them leave easily.
"Young Valkyrie. Unless you convince me properly, you won't escape this place."
When Teberon recognized Bena as a Valkyrie, Jamie asked in a flustered voice,
"What are you? How do you even know what a Valkyrie is?"
Valkyries had vanished long ago.
Even Jamie had thought they went extinct before meeting Bena.
He knew the bear wasn't ordinary from his size alone, but he hadn't expected it to know about Valkyries.
"No human could possess such physical prowess. Above all, no matter what life they've lived, a Valkyrie's scent never fades."
"Y-You know about my race?"
"We were together when I was young."
Jamie and Bena exchanged glances at those words.
They hadn't expected to learn about her kin.
"Where are they living? Where do I go to meet my people?"
Bena felt no tribal loyalty.
She'd never even seen one, only heard tales—what did it matter if others lived?
But they might know why she was sent into the human world.
Bena wanted to know why she endured ten years of hell.
"Pity. I don't know why you ended up in the human world, but at your current level, you'll die before reaching where Valkyries dwell."
"You tried to kill us yourself, and now you call it a pity? That's utterly repulsive."
"That's a separate matter."
"So, where is it?"
"The deepest part of the Ariazad Great Forest. At the 'Spring Where Time Flows,' Valkyries exist."
Jamie's eyes narrowed.
As Teberon said, they could never reach it at their current strength.
'So that's where they hid.'
Jamie recalled the Valkyrie queen he had led as Diablo Volpir.
Her fiery red hair suited her well. After defeat by the 12 Gods, she led her people away.
That place had become one of the Six Forbidden Zones: the Great Forest.
'After so much time, it's no surprise it's changed.'
He was glad Valkyries still remained.
"Spring Where Time Flows..."
Bena repeated the name, determined never to forget.
Jamie placed a hand on her pink hair.
Startled, Bena looked up at him.
"Thanks for the info."
Jamie stood.
He still struggled for balance, but could stand better than expected.
"Impressive recovery for a human."
"Cut the chit-chat. Let's get to the point."
"About the demonkin and your power?"
"Yeah."
Jamie couldn't understand what the damn bear was saying.
The 'demonkin egg' made sense—demons, followers of the Demon King, could be involved.
But why was his own power protecting that egg? He had no clue.
"That's definitely my power?"
"Yes. It was unmistakably yours."
"But as I said, we came here for the first time today."
"Had you not mentioned the Goddess, I would have ignored your flimsy lies and killed you."
"At least one of your limbs would have come with me to the afterlife."
Jamie shot back without yielding.
Tension crackled between them again.
"Master. We need to talk this out."
"Tch."
He really didn't like that bear.
Teberon felt the same, glaring at Jamie with displeasure.
Bena judged she needed to mediate to continue the conversation.
"Please, go on."
"About a month ago, that filthy thing appeared in my forest."
Teberon had been sleeping there as usual.
As the master of Mirene Forest and guardian of his duty, waiting through an incredibly long time.
Since Mirene Forest was part of the Great Forest, defeated monsters occasionally crossed over in territorial battles.
He thought that day was the same.
Teberon surfaced to crush the loser before it ruined the forest.
Few Great Forest monsters could match him.
A defeated straggler was just prey to fill his belly.
His keenly developed sense of smell easily located the target.
But upon arrival, Teberon realized he was completely wrong.
"It wasn't some monster beaten in a territorial fight. It was a wicked, repulsive demonkin egg. And the aura cloaking it completely blocked my approach."
Teberon frowned, recalling that day.
No attack could breach the barrier around the egg.
Impossible.
His strikes could pulverize a small mountain if he wished.
Not even a Sword Master could surpass Teberon in raw attack power.
Yet they failed.
"I had no choice but to return here. But I took one measure."
He sealed off all powers of the same nature as the demonkin egg.
"How did you block it? I sense no mana from you."
He hadn't had time to ask earlier.
Teberon had no mana, so no magic.
Not just him.
The giant armor from the first trial, the traps—all operated by unknown means.
"The power of the ruins."
"The ruins themselves hold power?"
"Yes."
"So this entire space is an artifact."
Jamie looked around the vast chamber.
A space over 50 meters across, big enough for even Teberon to roam. And there were more rooms beyond.
In scale, it was slightly larger than the Welton estate.
Crafting an artifact this size required a top-tier magical engineer.
"Wow—the whole ruins as an artifact? Must be worth a fortune."
Ignoring Bena's irrelevant comment, Jamie pressed on.
"Who made these ruins? Why build it underground in this forest, and how did they know ancient script?"
Jamie had wondered about the creator since entering.
"These ruins are about 600 years old, roughly. I don't know where my master came from. Only that he raised young me and was a mage of great skill."
600 years—about 100 years after Gannon's death.
"My master excelled in magic and artifact crafting, especially large-scale constructions."
"So you don't know about the ancient script in the ruins?"
"No."
"What was the purpose of these ruins?"
"That, I can't tell you."
Jamie held back further questions at Teberon's firm tone.
No point pressing; he wouldn't talk.
Jamie returned to the main topic.
"Anyway, you borrowed the ruins' power to block my strength."
"Correct."
Jamie glanced at Bena.
Then pointed at her and asked Teberon,
"You don't sense it from her?"
"Valkyrie power is entirely different."
"No, a different power."
Teberon examined Bena closely. His right eye twitched slightly.
"She has another power too."
"The ruins' power is annoying because it's invisible."
"That's why it's great."
Jamie clicked his tongue at the bear who wouldn't yield an inch.
"Very faint—I almost missed it—but similar to yours. Yet different. Hers is a bit off."
"Her power was blocked too."
"Makes sense. Similar enough, but not quite. You're exact. Identical. Impossible. How?"
Teberon sounded incredulous, but Jamie was the most disturbed and skeptical.
Why was his exact power protecting a demonkin egg? How did such power even exist?
'It should be unique to me.'
He recalled Riki's words.
'The Goddess said his successor—you—would know.'
He hadn't understood then.
Still didn't, really.
So he needed to see for himself.
"Let us out."
"..."
"I have to see it with my own eyes."
"Any chance?"
"If my power returns, definitely."
As the words ended, Jamie's eyes turned violet.
His emerald hair fluttered in the surging black mana.
Jamie clenched his fists against the writhing power surging through him. Then he grinned and spread his arms wide.
"You bastard!"
Teberon shouted urgently, but it was too late.
The black mana touched the ruins' walls and seeped inside.
Teberon felt the ruins' system shake.
"What have you done?!"
Roaring like a beast, Teberon charged at Jamie.
"Master! What are you doing?!"
Even Bena panicked at Jamie's sudden action.
Jamie faced the charging Teberon.
"No one!"
Jet-black lightning arced through the black mana.
"Controls me!"
Flash—!
Black light exploded.
Vast formulas flooded his mind. The mana circuits spanning the ruins and their system began computing at tremendous speed.
The ruins' structure mapped in his head.
Jamie grinned widely at the ingenious design.
He could see everything.
Everything about these ruins!
'Incredible!'
The creator possessed truly astonishing skill.
He wanted to admire it leisurely, but no time.
Not knowing when that monster bear would crush him, he needed control fast—
'What's that?'
Beyond the left wall of the third trial room, he sensed a space.
Directing his consciousness there revealed a storeroom. Nearly empty, but one item remained.
A ring.
'That ring...'
A plain gold ring, but its aura marked it as an artifact.
A powerful weapon, clearly.
Bena came to mind.
It would suit her perfectly. Not just aesthetically—perfect compatibility. Experience told him so.
'Later.'
Couldn't retrieve it as consciousness alone.
Secure control first, then fetch it.
Finishing the thought, Jamie expanded his consciousness. To overview the ruins, reach its core.
And found it.
The core—if dyed black with his mana, the ruins would be his.
Then, an old man appeared. His face was blurry overall, but his smiling lips were clear.
His consciousness snapped back to reality.
"Ugh!"
Jamie clutched his head, staggering to one knee.
"You! What did you do to the ruins...!"
Teberon recovered and lunged again.
"Stop. Or I'll destroy the entire ruins."
Jamie warned, still gripping his head.
"What did you do?!"
"I'll explain later. Shut up—my head hurts."
He hadn't pierced the deepest layer.
The old man at the end must have set powerful security. But it was fine.
'Didn't uncover the ruins' secrets, but I get how to use it.'
The giant bear was just the administrator; he didn't fully understand the system.
Teberon grimaced, trying to neutralize the black mana again.
But the ruins couldn't touch Jamie.
"Why isn't it working?!"
"You can't block my power anymore."
"What?"
Jamie smirked unpleasantly at the flustered Teberon.
"I set myself as 'sub-master.' Too bad, but my authority outranks yours."
Not full control, regrettably, but sub-master privileges allowed much.
"You're not the only expert on artifacts, bear."
Diablo Volpir had crafted the Three Divine Artifacts.
The ruins' creator was skilled, but once Jamie regained his former level, breaking that security would be easy.
"Anyway, everything I said is true."
"I don't believe it!"
"Believe it or not, doesn't matter. Bena, grab me."
"Y-Yes!"
Bena hugged Jamie's neck.
He almost protested—that wasn't what he meant—but it wasn't urgent.
"Don't bother following."
"You!"
"Think you can?"
Teberon swung a massive paw in rage at the taunt.
"Damn it!"
The two had vanished.
Using the ruins' power for spatial transfer to the surface.
Alone, Teberon slumped in emptiness. Then chuckled.
"Master. What do you think? Was that boy the one you've been waiting for?"
No answer would come, yet Teberon muttered alone and lay down.
"If so, he'll return someday to devour these ruins."
"You okay?"
"I'm not..."
Jamie peeled the limp Bena from his neck.
The spatial jump was disorienting, but easy coordinates made surfacing simple.
'If only I could use the blocking function too.'
Unfortunately, it required someone inside to maintain.
That's why Teberon couldn't use it while surfacing simultaneously.
No more obstacles—relief washed over him.
'Who does that arrogant bear think he is, blocking my power?'
In the past, he'd have tortured it endlessly, leaving it neither dead nor alive.
"But... this is insane."
"Master. That aura is definitely..."
Jamie gave a wry smile at the energy felt nearby.
"Yeah. It's mine."
His black mana, which shouldn't exist here. Undoubtedly.