Chapter 5 - Exploration Time
[Quest: Record the Markings in the Depths of the Tacit End Ruins]
Those words were displayed on her adventurer card as she made her way out of the city and back into the depths of the outer wilds. It took Mary a while to decide on which task to go with, and only after a thorough search did she stumble across a perfect job for her.
The task of transcribing the glyphs and writing of a nearby dig site from an unknown antiquity era was accessible to all adventurer ranks due to the lack of danger and difficulty of the job. Looking up information on the Tacit End Ruins, Mary learned that it was a place that had already been explored numerous times by other adventurers and specialists. Any treasures that could have been found there had already been taken by others, and the only value left for the place were the unknown scripts and writings that littered the various walls in the ruins.
And while the task of recording those scripts was easy, not just anyone could explore the ruins. Due to monsters settling in the building, only those capable of defending themselves could safely traverse the place. Mary made sure to read up on past adventurers’ accounts first to determine the danger level of the monsters there before deciding to take the quest.
“Still, why do you think it’s called the Tacit End Ruins?”
“From what we’ve read up on it, I can guess that it’s supposed to represent the inevitable demise of all things as the passage of time continues. Time marches on for everything, even in this bounded world that cuts itself off from flowing outward into the infinite beyond. Someday in the future, even this fleeting world will one day meet its end just like every other one before it.”
“Didn’t take you for a nihilist.”
“How do you even know what nihilism is while not knowing how to use a computer?” Text wondered. “Regardless, that’s an incorrect assumption. I know better than most that nothing is without an end. It was once thought that only the gods were forever everlasting, unchanging as they ruled over those that perished before them. But they too have a future that cuts itself off after a certain point, just like any other mortal.”
“Is that the same for you?”
“Of course. Even with my ever-enduring struggle, there must come a time where I too will eventually fade from existence. The fact that I can continue living to this day says more about my luck than any illusion of immortality on my part.”
Their conversation helped pass the time until Mary finally arrived at her destination. From an outward glance, the entrance to the Tacit End Ruins did not appear noteworthy. In fact, it was simply a decrepit building with a cubic exterior and a single door facing her direction. If not for the helpful wooden sign with the words [Tacit End Ruin Entrance] mounted on the ground next to it, she would not have even known that this was the place she was looking for.
“The door is too small for anyone other than humanoids to fit through,” Text observed. “That implies that any monsters that make their way into the ruins are limited in size, but that doesn’t discount any monsters that are born within the ruins itself being larger than you.”
Mary continued to converse with Text as she went through the entrance and walked down what appeared to be a flight of stairs. “From the records I found on this place, other adventurers mainly fought against these bat-like creatures that use sonic attacks and claws to attack. However, the limited space of corridors and hallways mean that they can’t fly overhead too high so that close-range combatants are unable to strike back.”
“Even so, I suppose it would be best if you learned a decent long-range skill that allows you to attack multiple enemies from afar.”
That caught Mary’s attention. “You’re going to teach me another spell?”
“Not exactly,” Text replied. “It’s just a variation of a spell that I already taught you. Remember how you coated your weapon with your internal energy before unleashing it against those wolves you fought? Just do the same thing while toning down the intensity while increasing the number and frequency of your swings.”
“So instead of one powerful attack, it’s a flurry of multiple weaker strikes?”
“Got it in one. Of course, there’s another spell that might be better to use depending on the situation. But try practicing this one for now and see how things go in battle.”
The opportunity to do so came almost immediately as Mary’s ears caught an approaching noise of shrieks and cries. A horde of purple ugly bat-like creatures came flying at her with bloodlust in their beady eyes.
“Echo — The War Song!”
Moving backwards, she dodged the initial attack as several of the bats plunged at her previous position. Her sword was already in her hand as she prepared her next spell, the rusted blade being coated in a soft silver light.
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“Echo — Lunar Bright Dust!”
A rain of destruction occured in the wake of her spell, the instant movement of her arm swinging her sword multiple times causing afterimages as dozens of energy blades fired from her blade. Although smaller than her other sword spell, the numerous attacks struck each individual bat with a precision and speed that was unavoidable to dodge. The sounds of bodies falling to the ground echoed in the corridor as she concluded the battle.
Text spoke once it was clear that there were no more incoming enemies. “We’re lucky that you haven’t encountered any enemies with much sapience yet. These mindless creatures aren’t exactly a challenge for you unless they come at you in waves, causing you to quickly deplete your stamina.”
At those words, Mary realised that her arm was getting a little numb. “I guess I’ll have to make sure I pace myself.”
“I’ll try and keep track of your internal energy expenditure as well,” Text said. “Killing monsters is fine and all, but the goal is to reach the depths and leave with the information that our requester is after. These kinds of mobs won’t even have anything worth extracting for materials, so there’s no point exhausting yourself trying to fight everything that wants to attack you.”
“What about their meat?” Mary questioned. “Maybe not these bats, but are monsters in general edible?”
“It’s a case-by-case basis, but generally it’s wise not to consume monster meat unless someone tells you it’s safe to do so. Some monsters are poisonous or have their bodies contaminated by foreign energies that interact dangerously with your body.”
“Foreign energies?”
“Either some kind of strange magical energy or exotic radiation from unusual materials they come across. In any case, just stick to hunting normal wildlife or get some emergency rations from cities instead.”
As she continued her exploration, Mary came across several more monsters along the way. The ones she was unable to avoid were simple enough to defeat, and Mary continued to practice her spells until she didn’t exhaust herself as much anymore.
Eventually, her surroundings began to change the further she descended into the labyrinth of ruins. Walls started to have strange markings and words appeared etched randomly along the sides and corners of the surface, and Mary stopped to have a look at some of them.
“I can read them, but what language is this supposed to be?”
“Huh.” Text sounded surprised. “This looks like a variant form of Belskrit that was once used in past eras of the Magic Nation. I’m surprised that this building is old enough to use them.”
“Belskrit?”
Text began to explain. “You recall that I mentioned the former Magic God is named BEL, right? Belskrit was supposedly the first written language, literally meaning ‘BEL Script’, that he created in order to teach his followers how to communicate with one another better. Over time, Belskrit changed a bit due to the complexity and development of ideas, but even the latest version is at least tens of thousands of years old.”
“These ruins don’t look tens of thousands of years old.”
“True, but maybe they were carved into the walls later. Since Belskrit died out a long time ago, people of the modern age somehow got the idea that it is the language of magic, believing that words written in Belskrit can enact magical phenomena in a similar manner to spells and rituals. And while they can function as runes and glyphs, only a small dedicated number of people would actually use it as some kind of mystical runic alphabet over more established magical systems.”
“Do you think I should record this?”
“I suppose it depends on the contents of the writing. If it’s just some scribbles about a random person’s thoughts, it might not be worth transcribing.”
Mary shrugged and pulled out a pen and paper, one of the few things she brought with her after asking for some from the Adventurer Guild. Starting with the nearest wall, she began writing down words in Belskrit while mentally translating what they said in her head.
I can’t believe it, he actually did it and announced it to everyone. I never even knew that he had a daughter, let alone the fact that she’s human. How exactly does a god sire a child, and what does that make his offspring?
Instead of being some kind of demigod, **** does not appear any different than a regular human. Her magical potential is no better than most, and her physical parameters are even lower than the average person. If he hadn’t said anything, I would have never guessed that **** was actually his daughter all along.
Some parts of the wall were illegible, but Mary went over the whole message once again before she spoke with Text.
“Do you think whoever wrote this is talking about the former Magic God picking his successor?”
“It could be. The parts that appear illegible might be ABEL’s former mortal name, which makes the fact that you can’t read them somewhat suspicious. It could be that someone is censoring it, but as to why they would do so remains a mystery for now.”
“Do you know her former name?”
“I do, but it’s not my place to say what it is. The fact that she abandoned it isn’t only for the sake of accepting her role as the new Magic God, but also due to another reason. Revealing it would be a slight against her, and I’m guessing that whoever wrote this message might also feel the same way as myself.”
“Speaking of which, it doesn’t appear as if the writer was trying to write out a spell or ritual using Belskrit.”
“That’s a good point. For someone to naturally use Belskrit as its intended use of a written language, the writer might be someone extremely old. Maybe even a person who lived during the early times when BEL was still the Magic God.”
“But that goes back to my previous point where I said that the ruin isn’t that old.”
“True. ABEL’s appointment was after the decline of Belskrit, but even that event was at least a thousand years ago. I highly doubt that this building is more than a few centuries old.”
Her curiosity was piqued by this point, and Mary felt a desire to learn more. Seeing that she had finished transcribing everything here, she continued her way deeper into the depths of the ruin.