I can now think of the time I spent using a pseudonym while running away as a memory.
…Or at least I did until yesterday.
“Ha, life is really something.”
Now that I find myself in a similar situation again, I understand. The vivid frustration of those days is rushing back, and I can’t seem to brush it off as mere nostalgia.
I swallowed my curses while watching the Lightning Giant crawl up from the depths of the ruins.
Its human-shaped body was composed of brilliantly flashing lightning. In its left hand, it held the charred upper body of a Troubleshooter. The swirling ash was absorbed into the lightning storm’s body, sparking everywhere.
Behind the Troubleshooters facing the Lightning Giant, clusters of Silver Threads from Argyrion were stealthily approaching.
As I momentarily stepped back to observe the scene, a headache hit me. How did it come to this?
*
Orthes didn’t intend for such chaos from the beginning. Initially, he only wanted to dive into the Deep Level to confirm the existence of the Talisman of Thunder.
However, soon enough, something odd caught his attention. The excavation teams that began every morning were said to have one group on the Surface and one in the Deep Level.
Yet, the crowd gathered to depart was three.
A quick glance revealed that except for a few Mages from Torres Tower accompanying as leaders, most of the Surface and Deep Level excavation teams were composed of Troubleshooters and mercenaries. But the third group was different.
Mages from Torres Tower were mixed with an unidentifiable force. There was a sense of uniformity in their attire. Were they members from another tower?
Orthes asked nearby Troubleshooters about this third group.
For some reason, I felt that people became a bit friendlier when I covered my face with a visor rather than showing my bare face, but Orthes dismissed it as a misconception.
“Oh. It seems to be a company contracted with Torres Tower. In fact, there’s also a Middle Level aside from the Surface and Deep Level. It’s bound to have a jackpot of management systems for the ruins’ Deep Level and Surface.”
“So they can only bring reliable people, huh? Nice excuse.”
“Corruption is frustrating, but what can you do? Just assume it’s a company run by a relative of some high-ranking officials from Torres Tower.”
The Middle Level excavation team was specially managed by high-ranking officials, including the field supervisor. Orthes made sure to remember that information in case he couldn’t find the Talisman of Thunder in the Deep Level.
*
Thus began the venture into the Deep Level, where Orthes, going by the name Utis, shone brilliantly.
A pathway split into five. Those who chose the false paths would be afflicted by a forgotten ancient curse.
Without hesitation, Orthes walked toward the second passage on the right.
“Hey! You can’t just walk in without knowing which passage is safe…!”
“Lucky me.”
A stone door appeared at the end of the passage. The door had a rotating ring, and it required arranging specific symbols in order.
The Troubleshooters struggled to decipher the magical language inscribed on the walls or to glean hints from photographs of already excavated artifacts.
“Damn it. It’s a riddle from the magical age. We need to arrange the order of three symbols─”
“Lucky me.”
Guuuuuuung, the resonating sound echoed throughout the spacious area as the stone door began to slowly swing open. Orthes felt the overwhelming anticipation in the gazes of the Troubleshooters behind him, but he didn’t mind much.
“Meh, they’re not people I’ll be seeing again once this job is over!”
With squinted eyes peering through the visor, Orthes made the most of the incoming information as he delved deeper into the ruins.
In truth, considering the excavation progress so far, “going down” felt more like a “free fall.”
The number of Troubleshooters following Orthes began to increase. In their eyes, Orthes was a relic excavation specialist with unmatched skills.
Orthes didn’t command the Troubleshooters behind him. He expected a certain number of people to gather.
Yet, the reason he continued to swiftly bypass traps relying on his sight was simple. If he decided to turn back claiming, “Well, my luck has run out,” who could say anything about it?
The moment he sensed the existence of the Talisman of Thunder, Orthes planned to halt all excavation work and retreat. First, he would return to the surface and, once alone, descend into the ruins to steal the Talisman.
In other words, the current exploration of the ruins was merely groundwork for stealing the Talisman.
Orthes kept his eyes peeled and blinked repeatedly, praying that information about the Talisman of Thunder would be detected soon.
“Something feels off?”
If the Talisman of Thunder were a high-quality artifact, its presence should have been detected right away. However, quite a while had passed since entering the Deep Level without feeling its presence.
Orthes gazed at the metallic door before him.
Beyond it lay a straight passage. There was only one room beyond the passage.
As soon as he sensed something existing beyond the room, Orthes closed his eyelids again. Whatever lay beyond was definitely not the Talisman of Thunder.
A strangely dense thunder energy was condensing. If whatever was beyond the door was the Talisman of Thunder, the thunder energy would have been released relentlessly, instead of being gathered in one place as if sealed.
“Damn it. Is it in the Middle Level?”
Orthes turned his body. Dozens of Troubleshooters packed in the narrow passage were all gazing at Orthes.
It wasn’t just the Troubleshooters. A number of fully armored Mages from the Torres Faction, having arrived unnoticed, were attentively observing Orthes’s every move.
Ignoring their gazes, Orthes stepped forward confidently.
“Hey, are you sure you’re not going further?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Orthes replied.
“My luck has run out. Only misfortune awaits beyond this door.”
*
The Mages from the Torres Faction found it hard to believe the news. The sluggish exploration of the Deep Level had suddenly picked up pace dramatically.
The rookie, who had assumed a guiding role in the Deep Level and rushed back up, exclaimed breathlessly.
“That lunatic in a visor… claims to be lucky and is dismantling all the traps as he goes!”
At first, they thought it was just reckless bravado. Maybe it was a one-off thing. Overcoming a 1 in 5 chance was one thing.
Yet, when it became more than just one time, and he couldn’t count the number of traps he had evaded on one hand, the guide panicked and rushed toward the surface. At this rate, they might really reach the end of the Deep Level today!
The Mages from the Torres Faction exchanged glances. Normally, if a Troubleshooter discovered an artifact, they would recognize some ownership, but they couldn’t simply hand over the sealed Thunder Spirit in the Deep Level.
The Thunder Spirit in the Deep Level was the very reason why the Torres Faction was excavating this ruin. The spirit, sealed on Crete Island, was unlike any other spirit.
Unlike ordinary spirits born from the gathering of natural energies, that spirit had once transformed from the master of the tower that had existed on this island.
The art of transformation that changes humans into spirits. It was ancient magic the Torres Faction sought after.
Fundamentally, it was a well-known fact that spirits, as ethereal beings, have greater freedom in the Ether Space than humans. However, if the Ether Space to be hacked comprised about ten commandments, ordinary spirits would have their mana reaching ten commandments sucked away during attempts to connect.
However, attempting to procure a powerful spirit would already involve prior contracts, or the movements of spirits had been detected by the Ten Towers. The Torres Tower sought to employ the art of transformation to find a way to hack the Ten Commandments.
Their desire was based on that sudden emergence of a guest potentially stealing their magic.
The hurried Mages from the Torres Faction reached the Deep Level and witnessed exactly what the guide had described. The figure in the visor engraved an unwavering path, unhindered by ancient riddles or traps.
Occasionally muttering, “Lucky me,” it was clear to everyone that these were not traps that could be resolved through luck. He must have come here with some sort of confidence and clues.
Thus, when the visor-wearing figure turned around in the sealed tower master’s research room, the Mages from the Torres Faction thought he would negotiate with them for monetary compensation or share some secret.
But no such demands came.
With nothing but the chilling prophecy of “only misfortune awaits beyond that door,” he headed toward the surface.
The Troubleshooters shifted their gazes from the visor-wearing figure to the Mages from the Torres Faction. They were urging the senior officials to make a decision.
The Mages from the Torres Faction exchanged glances.
“Who is he? A pawn from another faction?”
“When I checked the contracts, it said his name is Utis. No doubt a pseudonym. He’s unidentified.”
“Did anyone see what he did with the door?”
“No. He just got closer to the door for a look and then stepped back. No traces of curses or enchantments detected.”
The Mages exchanged eyes. Normally, it was customary for specific explorers who made a significant contribution to artifact discovery to be awarded possession of the artifact…
But now Utis had abandoned the excavation and left.
The Mages cried out in greed.
“If we unlock that door by today, we’ll double the contract fee! To whoever played a crucial role in opening the door, I’ll give five times the reward!”
The Torres Faction decided to embrace greed instead of warning.
*
While it was expected for the influx of Troubleshooters, it was surprising that the Mages from the Torres Faction who had been waiting on the surface came down as well.
“Well, if word spread that the Deep Level of the ruins was nearly exhausted within half a day, they’d want to come check it out out of curiosity.”
This was a favorable opportunity for me. With so many personnel diverted, it should be easier to infiltrate the Middle Level.
I sense footsteps trailing behind me. I was planning to remove my visor or armor anyway. The magically powered armor was originally too hefty to sneak around in.
I entered a path I had scouted while descending. It was a complex and twisting structure that would take some time for them to find me. That should be enough time to shed my armor and avoid the gaze of other Troubleshooters.
The armor I acquired locally this time had a simple mechanism to enter through the rear that opened and closed. Once accustomed to the controls, it merely took several seconds to don or doff.
After stripping off the armor, I still had a bit of time before the pursuers arrived.
It would be best to leave the discarded armor standing there to attract attention. It feels wasteful to dispose of it like this, but it’s not something I can retrieve again.
It’s unlikely that such a gap in the surveillance personnel of the Torres Faction will last for several more days. I’m diving in right now.
*
The ones following Utis discovered him standing still as if he were a statue.
“Why is he standing still?”
In a state of extreme tension, the Troubleshooters scanned their surroundings.
Nothing at all.
Absolutely nothing.
The only sound filling the ancient passage was their breaths. One Troubleshooter, summoning his courage, approached Utis.
“Hey! What exactly is that misfortune you mentioned─”
As the Troubleshooter’s hand touched Utis’s shoulder, his form tilted and fell.
Crash!
Utis’s body collided with the ground, and the visor popped off.
Inside the visor, inside the armor, there was nothing.
Only a chilling emptiness remained.
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