I took out a shovel and cleared away the debris, widening the dark opening.
When I shone a light using a light spell, I saw….oh, stairs carved to look exactly like the surrounding rock.
I let out a small, hollow laugh.
If I had known there’d be a passage like this instead of the relics being right there, I would’ve picked up the pace from the start.
After roughly clearing the rubble, I ducked down and entered.
As I walked along the stairs, I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting.
I thought it’d already be a jackpot if I managed to recover just a few relics, but I’ve been going down these stairs for ten minutes already.
If the staircase alone is this long, it means the scale of these ruins is far larger than I expected.
And the bigger the site, the more relics there are.
Of course, prices vary wildly depending on condition and age, but usually a single relic goes for at least 1,000 gold, and something like a sacred treasure can fetch tens of thousands.
For a typical family of four commoners, monthly living expenses are about 1 gold coin. Even my annual salary which was second only to the director in the Intelligence Bureau was only 40 gold coins, excluding bonuses.
I even found myself humming as I quickened my pace.
After about ten more minutes, the stairs finally ended, and a huge metal door appeared.
The bizarre characters engraved on it seemed to explain how to open it, but I couldn’t decipher them.
In that case, I’d just break it by force.
It’s a bit of a shame I used up all my mana bombs earlier, but I still have plenty of tools.
I opened my subspace and pulled out a huge double-headed axe glowing with a blue aura.
About three years ago, I had a mission to assassinate a duke from the Kingdom of Sumatra in the northern part of the Western Continent.
Even though the duke couldn’t use aura at the time, he still struggled, tearing through a steel net with this axe.
It got a bit dangerous, but since he was poisoned, he didn’t last long. The axe looked useful, so I kept it.
Enough reminiscing.
Breaking the door comes first.
I drew up my mana and infused it into the axe, causing a blue haze to rise from it.
Without hesitation, I swung it hard at the door.
Bang—
With a tremendous recoil, it shattered completely.
Not the door. The axe.
Not only did the handle not break. The blade shattered into pieces.
A relic that could slice through steel like tofu without even channeling aura ended up like this…
What the hell is this door?
With durability like that, even a mana bomb probably wouldn’t have done much.
What should I do?
Should I just seal this up for now and come back later?
As I hesitated and absentmindedly placed my hand on the door, a blue light suddenly burst out.
Thinking I had triggered something, I quickly stepped back and cast a defensive spell, but to my surprise, the light faded and the door simply opened.
All that effort for nothing….it opens just by touching it.
Stepping inside, I saw a dark blue orb floating in midair above a stone table at the center of the chamber.
Don’t tell me that’s the only relic?
Just as I felt a bit disappointed that it didn’t match my expectations, the orb suddenly flew toward me.
I twisted my body to dodge it, but as if it had tracking ability, it kept chasing me.
The moment it touched me, a bright light burst out, forcing me to shut my eyes.
Thinking it was a trap, I hurriedly drew up my mana, but I didn’t feel any impact.
When I opened my eyes again, the orb was gone.
…Was I dreaming?
It was definitely there just now…
“Nice to meet you.”
A hallucination? Was it a trap with a curse spell?
I quickly opened my subspace, took out holy water, and poured it over my head.
“What are you doing?”
I heard the same voice again.
This is holy water personally blessed by the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom of Byzantim. Most curses should be dispelled instantly.
Could it be an ancient magical civilization curse that doesn’t respond to it?
“Can’t you hear me?”
I should ignore it.
I’ve heard that if you respond to auditory hallucinations caused by mental-type curses, the condition only gets worse.
“If we can’t communicate, that’s a problem. I guess I have no choice. Excuse me for a moment.”
At that moment, a large chunk of mana drained from me, and a black figure formed in front of me.
“Hmm… seems like there’s not enough mana. How about now?”
Ma… materialization?
I’ve never seen or even heard of a curse that can materialize like this, not even during training or in my ten years as a Black Agent.
Sensing that this was no ordinary curse, I quickly drew up my mana and stayed on guard, but strangely enough, I couldn’t feel any killing intent.
“No need to be so cautious.”
“What are you?”
“So you can hear me. You didn’t just ignore me earlier, did you?”
There was a hint of irritation in its voice.
“Your identity.”
“Wow, you’re a blunt one. Fine, I’ll introduce myself first. I am Infinite Ark, a magic engineered intelligence created by the Seven Stars in preparation for destruction.”
Seven Stars? Magic engineered intelligence? Every single term was unfamiliar.
“Now that I’ve introduced myself, shouldn’t you do the same? Since you awakened me, you must be a descendant of the Seven Stars. Whose lineage are you from?”
“What are the Seven Stars?”
The black smoke wavered.
“Y-You don’t know the Seven Stars?”
“First time I’ve heard of it. Same goes for magic engineered intelligence. If you don’t properly explain what you are—”
“No, wait. How can you not know the Seven Stars? You awakened me, so you must be their descendant.”
“I asked what the Seven Stars are.”
“How can you not even know your own origins? That’s just pathetic…”
“Are you insulting me?”
“…It seems a great deal of time has passed. What year is it now?”
“Year 536 of the Beluga Empire calendar.”
“The Beluga Empire? Never heard of it. Don’t use that…tell me in the Mythic Calendar.”
If it doesn’t even know the Beluga Empire, then it’s definitely not from this era.
The Mythic Calendar is used by the Holy Kingdom of Byzantim.
“I’m not sure exactly, but it should be around year 5200.”
“F-Five thousand two hundred?”
“What’s wrong? I’m telling the truth. So explain what you are.”
“…Haa, it doesn’t seem like you’re lying. Still, I need to be certain, so cooperate a little longer.”
As soon as the words were spoken, a black form lunged at me, and my vision went dark.
I don’t know how much time passed, but when I came to my senses, the black form had vanished without a trace.
I tried to gather my mana and check my condition, but something felt off.
I had almost no mana left.
At the same time, a voice echoed in my head.
You’re awake?
So it wasn’t a hallucination after all.
“Where are you?”
No matter how much I looked around, the black form was nowhere to be seen.
Where else? Inside your body.
“Get out of my body!”
That’s impossible, and I’ve confirmed that what you said is true by reading your memories.
Reading my memories? Don’t tell me it actually read them?
“What the hell are you?”
‘I already explained earlier… Haa, right. With such a primitive level of civilization, you wouldn’t understand. I’ll lower it to your level.’
What Ark who introduced itself as a magic-engineered intelligence said was so shocking it was hard to believe.
It claimed it had been created 5,000 years ago, and that the civilization back then was incomparably more advanced than the current era. However, they had foreseen a catastrophic disaster that would soon befall their land.
At first, it talked about a meteor crashing into the planet, but when I said I didn’t know what a planet or meteor was, it sighed and simply called it a disaster instead.
Anyway, to prevent this disaster, the seven most exceptional individuals in the world at the time gathered together. They were the Seven Stars, Ark’s creators.
Each of them possessed incredible abilities, and by combining their strength, they created Ark and tried to find a solution, but they couldn’t arrive at a perfect answer.
In the end, the ancients built something called a “spaceship” and left this place in search of a new home.
However, not everyone left. Three of the Seven Stars who created Ark, along with Ark itself and some people who refused to leave, remained behind.
When the day of the disaster finally came, the three remaining members of the Seven Stars decided that, in case the world didn’t end, they would leave Ark behind for any survivors and set out to stop the catastrophe.
Even if civilization has declined beyond imagination, the fact that this world is still intact means they must have succeeded in the end.
Unlike before, its voice carried a noticeable loneliness.
“I think I get the general situation now, so how about you get out of my body?”
I told you before, once we’ve fused, it’s impossible.
“Why not? You said the Seven Stars took turns handling you.”
They did. But you’re not one of the Seven Stars, are you?
“What do you mean by that…?”
I’m not even expecting Seven Stars level knowledge from you, but if you at least had a large amount of mana, I might try to separate us. At your current level, it’s impossible.
“How well do you even know me to be talking about my ‘level’?”
I told you, I read your memories. Come to think of it, this is rather unpleasant. I’m helping you, not harming you, so why are you so determined to get rid of me?
“Because it’s my body.”
Who said it wasn’t? I’m saying I can help you in many ways, so let’s just…
“Get out!”
I already told you that’s not possible. You can’t separate us anyway, so let’s get along from now on.
Like hell I will… Haa… Not only did I fail to find the relic I was looking for, I ended up stuck with some weird parasite instead.
Once I get out of here, I should head straight to a temple.
It seems you don’t believe I can be of help, so I’ll prove it.
“And how exactly are you supposed to help?”
Weren’t you looking for a relic here? Dig under the table.
I wasn’t thrilled about it, but the voice kept insisting, so I pulled out a shovel from my subspace and started digging beneath the table.
In less than three minutes, I felt the tip of the shovel hit something.
I carefully cleared away the rest of the dirt and pulled it out, revealing two metal containers.
Geometric patterns, unfamiliar inscriptions, and most importantly, they were brimming with mana.
My god… these are artifacts!
See? I told you there’d be something.
Even if it wasn’t a curse, it still felt unsettling. But with an ability like this, maybe having it around wouldn’t be so bad.
***
“How about 80,000 gold for both?”
I figured I’d be satisfied with just 10,000 each for a total of 20,000….but 80,000 gold coins? That’s a jackpot.
You’re going to sell them for 80,000?
It’s a good price.
Judging by that mage’s expression, he seems to think you’re an easy mark.
‘An easy mark? What does that mean?’
In terms from your era… a sucker.
He’s offering 80,000 gold, and I’m the sucker?
“Ahem, 80,000 gold isn’t exactly a small amount… how about 90,000 then?”
I didn’t quite understand, but maybe Ark was right. When I hesitated for a moment, the price immediately went up by 10,000 gold.
At this rate, couldn’t I push a little further?
“Didn’t the Tower Master say this was a script he’d never seen before? And both are artifacts…undervaluing them like that is a bit much.”
“There was an explosion during our last research project, so we’ve been paying compensation… our finances aren’t exactly in great shape right now…”
“Then it can’t be helped. I’ll take them to the Arcane faction.”
“W-Wait… you’re going to the Arcane faction? Fine. I can go up to 95,000.”
“100,000.”
“No matter how you look at it, we don’t even know what these ancient artifacts do, so how can I possibly—”
“100,000.”
“Are you really going to be like this?”
“100,000.”
“…Tch, fine. You win. But 20,000 of it will be paid in a note.”
I was worried he might back out, so I’m glad I pushed hard.
“The note must be paid within three months.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll settle it as soon as the funding comes in at the end of this month.”
“Hmm, I feel like I could get more elsewhere.”
“Hey now, haven’t we already settled everything? Just take it.”
With a reluctant expression, I handed over the two containers and received a pouch of gold along with the promissory note.
You have to keep up the act until the very end.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Take care, and thank you.”
I gave a small wave to the sucker and left the laboratory.
I can’t believe that actually worked.
At first, I was thrilled to discover the artifacts, but that excitement didn’t last long.
I had found two of them, but according to Ark, their effects were complete garbage.
What did it call them again….automatic supply devices?
It was a term I’d never heard before, so when I asked what it meant, it said that by reciting a spell, they would use the surrounding mana to produce water and feed.
The artifacts I had just sold were nothing more than the dog’s food bowl and water bowl used by the Seven Stars.
I wasn’t sure about the dog food part, but the ability to produce water wasn’t anything special. It was such a common artifact that even novice mages could create it. Just as I was feeling disappointed, Ark offered some advice.
It said that, given the level of mages in this era, they wouldn’t be able to figure out the purpose or how to use the bowls anyway, so why not just sell them without any explanation?
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, so as soon as I arrived in the capital, I went to find Roy, an old mage I knew.
He’s the head of the Merdi faction, publicly known as a 7th-class mage, but in reality, he has reached the 8th class. He was basically the greatest mage in the Beluga Empire, no, on the entire eastern continent.
The emperor once offered to grant him the rank of duke if he accepted the position of Chief Court Mage, but he refused, saying it would leave him with no time for research. That’s how famous he is.
I first got acquainted with him when I was assigned to escort his research team during one of his trips to the Duchy of Dmitri.
But if that guy finds out the truth later, aren’t you in serious trouble?
Deceiving a high-ranking mage like Roy is basically the same as asking to die.
So originally, I wasn’t planning to sell them to him. I was just going to have him appraise them, and if even he couldn’t figure them out, I’d send them to an auction house or somewhere similar.
But when he personally insisted on buying them, what choice did I have?
Even if he discovers their true nature later, I can just deny it and say that if even a great archmage couldn’t tell, how could I have known?
All I did was negotiate a bit better than usual.
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