The Elf's Final Promise
My next course of action was clear. I had to carefully excavate the buried elf remains as much as possible. After all, far more of the bones were still underground than exposed. There might be something else buried in the earth.
—Swoosh… swooosh… crunch!
“Damn… the bones are way too fragile.”
How long had it been since this elf died? Just pressing with my thumb made the bone crumble like a sponge.
I focused every ounce of concentration on extracting the elf's bones embedded in the strata.
—Swoosh… swoosh…
When about half the bones were uncovered, I spotted what seemed to be a stele clutched by the elf. The reason I judged it as the elf's possession was simple: the elf had been holding it to its chest.
“This is…”
I carefully pulled out the stele and brushed away the dirt on it. A portion of the unsoiled surface had something engraved at regular heights. No matter how I looked at it, it was writing.
I'd never studied it, but it was a script I could read. When people from Earth came to this world, they gained the ability to use one language—not just speaking, but writing as well. I'd seen this script countless times in documents, and now it was carved into the stele. I cleared all the dirt from the grooves and restored it enough to read.
The stele, which hadn't shattered even in an earthquake that exposed the strata, was easy to restore.
The inscription was short.
Sorry, *!%… I broke our promise. I entered eternal rest before you, leaving you behind.
This is the last one. Take this orb to the temple on the highest mountain.
Before death finds you too, hurry.
— Even in death, $&^ who loves you.
“A will…?”
I had no idea why a will would be carved on a stele, or how such precise lettering could be etched into a mere stone. Guessing the situation from this scant clue would be arrogant. In fact, there was no need to guess. What mattered to me was the content of the stele.
Among the few lines, several words jumped out.
“Temple… and orb… If it's an orb, could it be…!”
I checked the stele with the system just in case, but no additional info appeared. All I could confirm was that it was indeed a will.
Orbs brought only one thing to mind.
“The Regression Orb…?”
From the letter, there must have been another elf who was supposed to bring an orb here as promised. But that elf never came, it seemed. This one died holding the orb for ages… got buried, then tectonic shifts pushed it to the surface, and the orb rolled out? And Lee Kangin happened to find and use it?
Damn, that was too much like a coincidence from a movie or a novel…
…
Terraformingwas a novel.
“Still, I can't confirm it yet.”
I couldn't be certain based on a simple letter. I had to move forward with light assumptions only.
But one more line tugged at my mind.
“The last one… Does that mean there were multiple Regression Orbs in the past? …First, I need to head to the temple mentioned in this will.”
The temple on the “highest mountain.” But there were no mountains around here—just flat plains. Even so, I could make sense of it.
“This ‘temple’ must refer to the Temple of Time. Judging by the exposed strata, the elf originally died far lower than where I'm standing. So the temple I found was…”
In ancient times, it was probably the peak of a mountain from the elves' perspective. But I'd already searched the Temple of Time from top to bottom. There was nothing new left to discover, right?
…Still, I couldn't ignore this clue. Better to head there and sort my thoughts on the way. My vacation time was ticking down anyway.
Right before leaving for the Temple of Time, I decided to bury the elf. Leaving the bones scattered felt wrong, and someone from District 6's combatants might stumble upon them.
In the end, that turned out to be a very good choice.
“…What's this?”
Tucked between the elf's rib bones, filled with dirt, was some kind of object. It had been hidden until I removed the stele. I'd been so focused on not breaking the stele that I must have missed it.
I hurriedly dug it out.
—Swoosh!
It was a fist-sized emblem of unknown material. Given its position on the elf's chest, it was easy to guess: a pendant, its chain long rotted away. There was even a small hole at the top for threading a cord.
I opened the item info window on the emblem.
Name: ■■■ High Priest Qualification of ■■■.
Type: Other
Level: —
Effect: Opens the door to the 2nd floor of ■■■ ■■.
Details: Qualification given to those permitted to enter the 2nd floor of ■■■ ■■.
My item info level was too low to see it fully, but unlike the completely censored “orb series,” part of it was visible.
So I was certain. I'd found a key to a place in the Temple of Time I hadn't discovered.
*
No one would try sneaking into ruins in the dead of night. And even if they did, there was nothing worth taking inside. Still, they couldn't skip posting guards. The ruins held immense significance for the Shelter.
For that reason, Hansen from District 11's combatants was pulling night watch.
Shaking off yawns and creeping sleep, Hansen spotted an approaching visitor and looked mildly surprised. It was Professor Bryant, one of the lead investigators of the ruins survey.
Of course, Hansen had never met him in person. But he had to memorize the portraits of the lead investigators, so he knew the face well.
“Huh? Professor Bryant? What brings you here in the middle of the night…”
“Hansen, right? Nice to meet you.”
“Haha. You even know my name, someone you've never met? You're thorough.”
“No big deal. Anyway, I stopped by the ruins for a bit.”
“For what? Why not come during the day instead of late at night…”
“That's just how researchers are, isn't it? Can't sleep until we check an idea that pops up.”
“…Is that so? I didn't go to school much… haha!”
Like most combatants, Hansen hadn't excelled in higher education. On Earth, he never could have chatted so casually with a renowned scholar like Professor Bryant. But here, Hansen was a combatant—equal in status to a decades-long academic.
Aware of that, Professor Bryant flattered him.
“Isn't the Shelter safe thanks to sacrifices like yours, Hansen? Don't downplay yourself. You've saved countless lives.”
“Kind words, Professor. Then sign the visitor log, and head on in…”
“Hold on, Hansen?”
“Yes?”
“Could you skip writing my name in the log?”
“Pardon? Why?”
“I have a strong feeling I'll discover something on this visit… But my fellow professors might notice. If they find out I came alone, I could get backlash.”
“Hmm… Even for you, Professor, this is my duty…”
“Haha, combatants' ranks are set by their strength, right? This is a humble gift—no need to feel burdened.”
—Swoosh.
Hansen watched the professor's arm closely, intrigued. Combatants often took bribes from civilians to look the other way—it was common. Hansen and some others were used to it.
The professor pulled a common leather pouch from his pocket. Hansen feigned ignorance and took it.
Peeking inside, he jolted in shock.
“My god… How many are in here?”
“…It was extremely hard to obtain.”
The pouch was stuffed with Prum fruit. Hansen believed him—this world reserved Prum for elites; it was precious. Counting: one, two, three… ten in total.
For a lazy, unremarkable guy like Hansen, even one per month was rare. This haul could make a real difference. His heart pounded.
A professor who could enter freely during the day was bribing him just for nighttime access. Hansen's not-so-great brain spun quickly. The professor claimed academic passion kept him up. He could come tomorrow morning openly, no issue. This chance wouldn't come again.
Taking this won't cause problems! Morning or night, it's the same visit. He'll keep quiet anyway…
The deliberation was brief. The Prum's value overwhelmed him. Hiding his rising smile with a fist, Hansen said,
“Ahem! Go on in. Signal quietly when you're leaving; I'll check if anyone's around.”
“Thank you so much. Hansen, you're a soft-hearted guy.”
“Hope you get what you want, Professor.”
“Thanks.”
Hansen watched Professor Bryant's back as he entered the ruins. No reason to doubt—it was unmistakably the professor from the portrait, the only image Hansen knew.
*
“Hoo…”
—Ziiing.
Once fully inside the temple, I released the Deceiving skill I'd kept active on my face. No one would be here anyway. Sleeping in ruins that couldn't take a single scratch? A hearing the next day wouldn't be surprising.
Staying too long might make that idiot Hansen suspicious. I had to finish quickly.
Still, the timing worked out perfectly. Arrived right at night…
After finding the pendant, I had to return to the District 6 combatants, including Blanc, and wrap up scouting. They wouldn't let me return alone from the forest to the lodge.
By the time scouting ended and I returned, it was evening. Perfect—I needed to wait for night to infiltrate anyway. Travel from District 6 to 11 took just enough time to hit full dark.
Where is it? The spot to use this pendant…
I scoured for something matching the pendant's emblem. My wide field of view swept the space.
Soon, I found it easily. The emblem was at the base of the altar where the orbs had been placed.
I quickly pulled homemade screens from my inventory and set them around the altar. Every orb I'd used had emitted light on activation. This pendant might too. Crude screens might not fool Hansen outside, but better than nothing.
How do I use this pendant?
Screens up, I took it out. First, no mana—just align it with the emblem.
—!
My body shifted.
“Gasp?!”
No light, no transition time, no sound. Opening my eyes, I was in a completely different place.
I calmly surveyed surroundings.
And spotted thousands of bones.
“What the fuck!”
A wave of white. Not one or two bodies—thousands.
I quickly opened my status window to check the bones.
Elf Remains
“Elves? All of these are elf bones?”
What the hell happened here for hundreds of bones to be piled in one spot?
The rising confusion was suppressed by Natural Healing. I calmly looked around more.
And faced another wave of white.
Not bones this time.
“H-Ha… white orbs…?”
A stone pool brimmed with white orbs—the same size as the red, blue, and yellow ones.
Over a thousand, easily.
“All of these…?”