Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Ancestor's Arrangement
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The light that had filled his vision slowly faded away.
'Huh?'
When Jeon finally managed to open his eyes, nothing but pitch-black darkness stretched out before him.
Was it possible he still hadn't opened his eyes?
The darkness was so absolute it felt that way.
'No, I'm definitely awake.'
As proof, when he looked down at his own body instead of his surroundings, he saw his flesh perfectly intact.
The strange thing was that all the zombie blood and gore that had covered him was gone, leaving him utterly clean.
Just in case, he tried summoning his mana.
Something reacted, but it didn't flow as smoothly as usual.
'I can't sense the manastone or the silver either.'
Fortunately, he was still wearing his clothes.
But he couldn't feel anything else.
It was a bizarre sensation, as if only his soul existed.
'I thought I went through the door, but did only my soul come in?'
This had happened the moment he touched the door.
It seemed connected to the door somehow, but nothing was clear.
As Jeon pondered what had happened...
"Ahem, this is unexpected."
A woman's voice echoed through the all-black space.
He couldn't see her, but he could pinpoint the direction.
Jeon turned his head toward the sound, and between the black voids, a figure approached with steady footsteps.
"I at least expected one of my descendants to enter here."
The one who emerged from the darkness was a Foxkin woman with dazzling silver hair and silver eyes.
She was a head taller than Jeon, over 170cm, and her appearance was stunningly beautiful—so much so that it sent chills down his spine.
She soon stood before him, looking down with eyes full of curiosity tinged with slight wariness.
"Who... are you?"
"Ah, is this form hard to recognize?"
Meeting her gaze directly, Jeon asked.
She clapped her hands as if she'd forgotten and smiled lightly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Marymere Silvermont."
"Uh... I'm Jeon."
She had introduced herself, so Jeon did the same.
But Marymere just stared at him blankly for a moment.
"What? Why aren't you surprised?"
"Pardon?"
What kind of reaction was this?
She acted as if he should obviously know her.
Jeon looked just as puzzled.
"Hmm, a human who made it this far doesn't know who I am? Then you must know of Silvermont, right?"
"Yes, I do... but..."
"I'm the founder of that Silvermont family."
"Ah."
The founder of Silvermont.
Since the ruins were in Silvermont territory, he figured there was some connection.
But he never imagined the being slumbering here was the family's progenitor.
"Well, enough introductions. Can I be direct?"
"Sure? About what...?"
"How do you know the Guardian rune? And how can you even use it?"
Marymere's eyes turned serious in an instant.
Jeon had thought her relaxed demeanor was constant.
But facing her sudden intensity, he answered honestly.
"I learned it by chance and could use it by chance."
"By chance? Just chance?"
She looked incredulous at his response.
"Fine, say you saw the Guardian rune somewhere by chance. But to use it, you need the Silvermont mana cultivation method. You're not saying you learned that by chance too, are you?"
"Well, precisely, I had the chance to learn it but didn't. Using it really was pure chance."
"...Are you joking with me?"
He was telling the truth, but she wouldn't believe him.
Thinking about it, it did sound like a lie.
Even Jeon himself didn't fully understand why it worked.
"But it's not a joke or a lie."
What could he do? It was the truth.
Marymere furrowed her brow slightly at his insistence.
"I'll know if it's true or not soon enough."
With that, silver light gleamed from her eyes.
Her gaze scanned him from head to toe, as if inspecting every inch.
Being scrutinized like that wasn't pleasant.
Unconsciously, Jeon drew up his mana.
"Hm?"
Bzzz.
At the same time, silver energy emanated from Jeon's body, blocking her gaze.
"...Guardian rune?"
She looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected her scan to be blocked.
Seeing the silver light from Jeon, she widened her eyes slightly.
Jeon was just as surprised.
'It activated on its own without me realizing.'
He had summoned mana, but not specifically the Guardian rune.
The mana he'd raised out of discomfort had naturally manifested as the Guardian rune.
As if the rune itself had reacted to his unease.
"It's rare for someone to build this much affinity with the Guardian rune..."
She approached him step by step, then lowered herself to meet his eye level.
"But this is a necessary procedure, so I'd appreciate it if you stayed still this time."
With those words, she flashed her gaze again.
This time, not scanning his whole body, but peering directly into his eyes.
Apart from slight discomfort, Jeon didn't feel unpleasant.
'What the hell is she doing?'
Her actions were so arbitrary.
No explanation, just doing as she pleased—Jeon furrowed his brow.
But in contrast...
Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit, mouth slightly agape, growing more shocked by the second.
"What... are you?"
"What do you mean?"
Jeon had been polite due to her status as Silvermont's founder.
But her high-handedness made his tone a bit curt.
Ignoring that...
Still shocked, she leaned in close, bending at the waist to stare directly into his eyes.
"Why is your body's age different from your soul's? No, the soul's composition is completely different. What are you? A soul from another world?"
Jeon was the shocked one now.
'What? How did she know?'
She had seen right through his otherworldly origin.
Did that gaze pierce souls?
'Is that even possible?'
A soul-seeing eye.
Unbelievable, yet her words were too accurate to dismiss.
The empire's first emperor had golden eyes that read mana.
So eyes that saw souls might exist too.
"...I don't know the exact reason. I thought I died, lost consciousness, and woke up here."
Jeon answered her question honestly.
'This seems to be a space only for souls anyway.'
Marymere was Silvermont's founder, likely not alive.
Telling her wouldn't spread to others.
She'd already pierced his soul; hiding it was pointless.
"Ha, you really do learn something new every day. Shame I didn't see a case like this in my lifetime."
"...Is someone like me the first?"
"Of course. A soul from a completely different world possessing a body—unheard of."
"I see."
Since arriving in this world...
Jeon had wondered if others like him existed.
But Marymere's words suggested it was nearly impossible.
Anyway...
"Well, the basic check is done. Sorry for peering without explanation. I had my reasons."
Finishing her procedure, she bowed her head apologetically.
Arbitrary as she was, a family founder apologizing sincerely left no room for complaint.
She mentioned reasons, piquing his curiosity more.
"I was wondering about that. What are those reasons? And what is this place?"
"Ah, this? Hmm... How to explain..."
Marymere pondered his questions.
Jeon pressed her.
"My comrades are fighting outside right now. We don't have time for this."
Before the door...
They'd barely cleared a path, but that meant zombies surrounded them with the door at their backs.
Initially disoriented by the space, Jeon grew anxious as time passed.
"Hmm, you're right. Zombies swarming the door, and a few people fighting them."
"Yes, so please tell me quickly. If you won't, just send me back. That's better."
Uncovering the ruins' secret and Marymere's purpose was important.
But his comrades outside mattered just as much.
Gillard, who taught him magic for two months.
The expedition team risking their lives for him recently.
All precious.
Wasting time on chit-chat meant nothing if they weren't gaining rewards.
"No need to worry. This is a space for souls, so time flows much, much slower here than outside. By external time, less than a second has passed since you entered."
Did she like his concern for his comrades?
She grinned reassuringly.
Her eyes still held curiosity, but the wariness was gone.
"Fine, you're not the necromancer who made those zombies, so I'll explain this place."
With that, she snapped her fingers in the air.
Landscapes hidden in the darkness behind her began to emerge.
"This is the arrangement I prepared for my descendants—a place only Silvermont heirs should access."
With her words, a history unfolded.
Like a 360-degree movie playing on surrounding screens, living scenes of history surrounded them.
"Why... prepare something like this?"
The cinematic spectacle was amazing.
But why preserve history this way? A history book would suffice, he thought.
"You saw those zombies outside?"
"Yes."
"That's because of their creators. I fought those bastards endlessly in my lifetime."
Jeon had wondered why zombies unrelated to the Foxkin ruins were there.
Apparently, enemies had hijacked the arrangement or sabotaged it to prevent anyone from claiming it.
'They went that far?'
Whoever the enemies were, they were ruthless.
At least, if they fought the founder, they were probably gone now.
"Oh, right. I don't know exactly how much time has passed outside, but don't assume those guys are gone."
"Pardon?"
"If they vanished from this world, this arrangement would be gone too."
"What does that...?"
Jeon didn't know Silvermont history in detail.
But a founder was centuries old at least.
Their enemies still lingering? Unbelievable—he asked again.
"It must be at least a few hundred years. And they're still around?"
"That long? Those bastards really are tenacious. But if this arrangement remains, they're still active."
Even hearing centuries had passed, Marymere nodded calmly.
As if it was obvious.
"I embedded my fang in their symbol. As long as it's intact, the arrangement persists."
She bared her teeth.
Indeed, one canine was missing.
'She actually embedded a real tooth?'
He thought it metaphorical.
How does one even do that?
"That's... Then what exactly are those guys?"
"Hmm, explaining everything would take too long."
Surviving centuries...
Jeon was curious, but Marymere had no intention of spelling it out.
There was a far better way.
"You'll understand once you see this."
With that...
The surrounding videos surged toward Jeon and seeped into his chest.
"W-What is this...!"
Startled by the sudden change, he tried to speak, but Marymere vanished.
Two letters floated before him.
Staring at them, Jeon's head buzzed sharply.
"Th... This is?"
The two letters were runes.
Soon, the buzz intensified, his mind racing furiously.