I sat within my office, diligently looking over a stone slab that had been brought to me for examination. According to the team that brought this over, this was a relic from one of the last worlds visited before the memetic monsters struck, making it… difficult to visit the scene myself to get a better idea about their society.

Huh? Oh, right, I should probably start with introductions. I am Helen Dour, an archaeologist working with the Deckan College of Historical Civilizations. Our college exists for the purpose of memorializing lost civilizations that were unable to show their glory to the world before being swept away with the passing of time or other events.

There was always something to learn when you delve into these extinct civilizations, whether they had unique technology, or simply an interesting custom. For instance, on the sixty-first floor, we learned how to create a device to better channel natural energy, which has been recreated and given to the Sylvans to help with their forests.

As for this civilization, while it may not have been technologically advanced, everyone deserved to be remembered in history. That’s what I was here for! “Let’s see… It looks like they called themselves the Jahul, according to this section.” I muttered under my breath, my eyes glowing a faint gold.

As I read over the stone table, the characters on its surface began to twist, forming comprehensible words that I could transcribe onto a fresh sheet of paper. Or… I would have done, had it not been for a knock on my door that snapped me out of my thoughts. “Helen, are you in?” A voice called, and I let out a long sigh.

“If I say no, will you go away?” I asked in a half-joking tone. I never liked having my work interrupted. Though this wasn’t as bad, given that I wasn’t out in the field, it was still mildly annoying.

“That depends… are you interested in a set of new ruins found on Fyor? Due to the level, they’re only accepting god-level researchers.” When I heard that, my eyes snapped to the door, quickly standing up. If there were new ruins, that meant that it was either an unexplored floor, or something had been uncovered on a previous one.

Setting aside the Jahul tablet, I marched my way over to the door, eyes shining as I threw it open. “Jordan, please, come on in! It’s been so long since we had a good talk.”

Unlike myself, Jordan was a kitsune. His short, silver hair formed a stark contrast with his bright, red eyes. He gave a knowing chuckle as he stepped inside. Immediately, he spotted the tablet on my desk, arching a brow. “Another one of those relics from the lost worlds?” He asked in a soft tone, to which I nodded my head.

“That’s right… there’s a chance that we might not be able to find their world again, so I had been working on deciphering what I could from the relics that were brought over. Still, they won’t be going anywhere, but there’s always the risk that a ruins might suddenly collapse. Especially on an upper floor of Fyor, right?”

Jordan nodded his head at that. “That’s right. We’ll be sending you to the sixty-fifth floor this time, so there are some things that you need to know.” I blinked in confusion when I heard that.

“Sir, sixty-fifth? I thought we only just got to the sixty-third not too long ago?” When I asked that, Jordan shrugged his shoulders.

“Apparently, one of the Keeper’s servants pushed through to the next two floors in just a couple of weeks. Regardless, she made a report on the sixty-fifth floor. First of all, there are dangerous entities on this floor known as ‘bombubbles’. They are large, bubble-like entities that will explode when anyone gets too close. Mixed in with them are especially vicious ones that release a black energy that will consume anything close to them.”

I nodded my head at Jordan’s explanation, already imagining that such creatures may have been the downfall of an old civilization. “And the ruins?”

“According to the report, it is likely that the ruins belonged to an ancient form of the bombubbles, and they are located on the ceiling of this layer of Fyor. That is one reason that god-level researchers are required, to save manpower transporting them. Also, although it may be painful, you would be able to withstand the explosion of one of these creatures.”

“So the bubbles themselves were actually the civilization?” I asked, my eyes going wide. If they were in the form of a bubble, that meant that they had no limbs or distinguishing features, which would have made the development of a civilization particularly challenging. I could feel my tail wagging in excitement as I stared at Jordan, who simply chuckled.

“That’s right. How long do you need to gather your tools?” When he asked that, I immediately began walking for the door.

“I’ve got everything I need!” I asserted happily. ‘Is there a priest ready to take me to the floor, or do I need to find my own way?” It was Fyor we were talking about, so finding my own way could take… quite a while.

“There is a priest standing by at Nexus.” Jordan assured me, turning to quickly catch up as I rushed down the hall. “Additionally, another point of interest was that it is believed the variant bombubbles could be the result of a mana siphon. You’ll need to keep that in mind when you’re conducting your research.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I nodded my head, already thinking through how I would begin. First was actually getting to Fyor. We didn’t have priority use of the Fairy Ring, so I’d need to wait for the next scheduled connection. This would be so much easier if we had a void access token. I muttered to myself, but didn’t voice those complaints. These tokens were only given to those who needed to regularly travel to the void for patrols or other important business. Casual travelers were still expected to take the rings.

“How long is it until the next connection?” I asked, glancing over at Jordan, who gave a slight smile.

“Actually, because of the circumstances, we’ve decided to pay to let you use the temple’s services.” My eyes widened slightly when I heard that. There were two methods of getting around the queue for the Fairy Ring. The first was to have the void token, which would let you directly leave the world and bypass the void defenses to travel. The second was to submit a payment at the Church of Aurivy. Before the reinforcement of the Hyperlane barrier, these fees were expensive, but still manageable if you were in a hurry.

Nowadays, the price had skyrocketed, especially if you sought to travel outside of your original universe. Of course, you could still only travel from one church to another, so it wasn’t as if they could send me directly to the ruins with this. “You must really place a lot of importance on this.”

Jordan nodded his head in agreement. “The ruins are apparently quite fragile, due to their position hanging from the ceiling. Some buildings have already fallen after they were just discovered, so we want to get our people there as soon as possible. Out of everyone we could send, you have the best chance of producing results without damaging the environment.”

I smiled proudly at that, turning to head towards the temple. “I’ll do my best.” I knew what he was talking about with that, as I had tailored my domains specifically towards uncovering the truth of ancient civilizations.

Originally, I had been inspired by the tales of the old civilization from Lorek. After obtaining the History domain, I went to cultivate in Lorek, cultivating the Understanding domain there. In doing so, I uncovered the amusing truth of Lorek’s ancient civilization, the fact that it was a facade orchestrated by Tubrock alone in order to guide the first cultivators.

When I found this, I considered reporting it to the college, as the topic of Lorek’s old civilization was the subject of much debate. However, despite how amusing it was to see the great dwarven god frantically running about to set up entire ruined cities, I thought it best to allow him to preserve his dignity. Instead, I treated it as an amusing easter egg, curious if I would ever find another such instance in any future ruins I visited.

Finally, after I obtained my second domain in Lorek, I returned to have my third forged, completing my Trinity. Now, I was the proud Lycan Goddess of History, Understanding, and Observation.

Jordan quickly led me to the temple, where I found a halfling priestess already waiting for me. After bowing respectfully to her, Jordan explained that we were there by appointment, and she nodded her head. With a flourish of her staff, she opened a golden portal. “Step through here, and you will be at the church in Nexus.” She said with a gentle smile.

“Thank you, priestess.” I gave a respectful bow of my own, before turning to walk through the portal. On the other side, another priestess was already waiting for me, though she looked confused when she saw my red hair, canine ears, and tail.

“You are the researcher from Deckan, yes?” She asked, to which I nodded. “My apologies. Most experts from Deckan--”

“Kitsune, I know.” I shrugged my shoulders with a grin. “I’m used to it.” It’s not like there was any real discrimination or anything among the worlds. Rather, if someone wanted to settle down and pick up a high level profession, they typically chose the world that was home to their race. Naturally, there were exceptions to this as well. As for me, there was no such college in Kione, and the best facility that I could find was in Deckan. “I was told that you would be expecting me, and know where I needed to go?”

“Yes, that’s right.” The priestess nodded quickly, happy for the change of subject. She tapped her staff on the ground, focusing as another portal appeared. “This will take you to the sixty-fifth floor. When you’re ready to leave, please send a message to the church, as the sixty-fourth floor is home to an extremely violent race.”

I blinked in surprise, but nodded my head. It would be nice if I could open these portals on my own, but I wasn’t a particularly fervent follower of Aurivy. In fact, I didn’t have that much true faith for any of the Greater Pantheon.

Admittedly, I respected the Greater Pantheon for all that they had done and the power that they wielded. However, in my line of work, I was able to see just how well other civilizations had developed outside of their protection. There may have been some disasters in the past that the Greater Pantheon saved us from, but I wasn’t of the mind to devote my body and soul to them.

I turned, walking through the portal. As soon as I emerged, I could see the clouds of floating bubbles in the air, and feel the weight of gravity pressing down upon me. Unconsciously, I let out a low grunt, having to take a moment to stabilize myself before looking upwards.

“The ruins were damaged in their first discovery, right…? Whoever found them must have flown directly.” Shaking my head, I focused my mind to draw a teleportation spell in the air, sending me high above my current location.

After my teleportation, I was shocked to find that the sky seemed no closer than before, even though I could confirm by looking down that I had risen far above the clouds. Gritting my teeth, I activated another teleportation, increasing the distance, and then another. After nearly an hour of teleporting, I could finally see the ceiling, and the sprawling ruins that hung down from it. Of course, by this point, my mana was almost entirely spent, so I had to grab a blue crystal from my inventory to help me recover.

Regardless, I had arrived at my destination, and it was finally time to get started on my research.