Chapter 125: Questions & Answers and Collapse (2)
“How come I’m not seeing any? I was seeing them like crazy until yesterday… Have they disappeared?”
Ismir grumbled as she munched on a piece of dried meat in front of the campfire.
We hadn’t encountered a single humanoid alien since our encounter last night.
Perhaps it was my orders but I don’t know exactly why.
In any case, what is happening now is a series of ‘anomalies’.
“Maybe they got scared by Aizel and ran away…!”
“Do they even get scared in the first place?”
Lucia’s cheerful shout was answered in a nonchalant voice by Yuri as she sat with her jaw clenched, staring at the bonfire and rubbing her bruises.
The march through the desolate desert was boring without the otherworldly species.
There was a moment of silence before Lucia turned to Ismir and spoke cautiously.
“Instructor Ismir, do you think we should turn back? We haven’t seen any aliens, and… And we have to tell them that a flying alien has appeared…”
“Except for Aizel and Zetto, no one fought, right? As for the otherworldly species, it flew like a ‘hawk’ earlier, so there’s nothing for you guys to worry about and…”
Ismir’s words trailed off, and she turned her head back to take in the ancient ruins in the distance.
“…If we’re this close, there’s bound to be something. I don’t think I’ve ever been this far before either, so why don’t we explore the ruins? Since it’s a ruin, there must be some treasure.”
“Let’s go into the ruins…?”
“What, are you scared, ehhhhh…”
Ismir looks at Lucia, who looks terrified, and smirks.
“No, I’m not scared…! But I thought we weren’t supposed to step foot in the ruins…”
“That’s because there are a lot of otherworldly creatures around the ruins, and it used to be quite common for archaeologists to be killed by them when they came to investigate but it’s calmed down a bit now.”
“…But how did they come to be called ruins?”
Yuri asked after listening to Ismir for a while.
“It’s supposedly a ruin because of the ancient symbols carved into the outer walls, but no one has ever been inside, so no one knows if it’s really a ruin or not. How about that, it’s interesting, doesn’t it make you want to go in?”
“Nope. It looks dangerous.”
Ismir is disappointed by Yuri’s determination.
The ancient ruins were a fairly short distance away and we had gotten a lot closer than I had expected, given that we hadn’t met any of the otherworldly species.
It was a mysterious structure with no indication of when, how, or what it was built for.
Information gleaned from the game suggests that the ancient ruins are related to the alien species and that you’ll encounter them more often around the ruins.
Even if you manage to get close enough to take them out, they’ll regroup back to the entrance and prevent you from entering…
I didn’t know if the ruins actually had technology that prevented humans from entering, but I was pretty sure I could get in now.
No, it was a ‘certainty’.
I sat at the campfire, listening to their conversation in silence, and finally decided it was time to speak.
“…I think I’ll go into the tent first, I’m a little tired.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t get any sleep last night after what happened while you were on guard, so it’s understandable…”
Yuri trails off and nods faintly since Amon, who stood guard with me, had long since retired to his tent to sleep.
“…I’ll stand guard twice today instead of Zetto.”
Aizel, who was looking at me, said.
“Really? Then…thank you, Miss Aizel.”
I smile at her sweetness since this will make things a little easier.
Then Yuri turns away from us and speaks in a low voice.
“I could stand guard.”
Ismir interrupts and points to Yuri.
“Then Yuri will stay guard in Amon’s place.”
“What? Why would I take Amon’s place…?”
“Why? I thought you said you could stand guard. Did I hear you wrong?”
“Well, that’s……Yes, sir.”
Yuri’s shaky answer brought a question mark to Ismir’s face. She looked at me like, “What’s wrong?”
I bowed appropriately, then pushed myself up from the campfire and entered the tent.
Amon was inside the tent but he was sleeping and snoring loudly.
‘He’s completely asleep.’
I don’t need to worry about Amon but how can I get to the ruins without being seen from inside the tent?
There is a simple way.
I could use Sheddie’s power, Shadow Hide and Seek, to sneak around however, there’s a catch.
The other people who would later enter the tent so I needed something to replace me, in order to create an alibi.
“Kerung.”
I held out my hand to Sheddie, who was watching from inside the tent, and used one of her skills called Shadow Mimicry.
Immediately, Sheddie’s shadowy form began to grow and take on the shape of a human.
It wasn’t long before the black liquid was wiped away, revealing a dark-haired man with white bandages over his eyes.
[Ho-ho… I guess it worked, he really does look the same.]
Sierra watched in admiration.
I had discussed the plan with Sierra before we came to the desert.
Sheddie would ‘pass’ as me, or the man they call ‘Zetto’ now.
‘I never thought I’d ever have to use this skill, but here we are…’
‘Shadow Mimicry’ was a skill that allowed Sheddie to be seen by others, similar to ‘Apparition’.
Judging by its effectiveness, it was originally created to confuse the opponent and Sheddie, disguised as me, didn’t seem to have any problems.
A creature that looked exactly like me was coming to life.
“Kerung.”
…on the outside, at least.
The voice was the same, but the content was shredded, and he let out his habitual cries.
[Phew…sorry, apprentice… it’s hard to hold back my laughter.]
Sierra bursts out laughing as she looks at Sheddie.
Scratching my head, I walked over to Sheddie, laid him down, and pulled the covers over him.
Then I whispered in his ear.
“Shady, from now on, you must not make a sound. Just lie still like this. Can you do that?”
“…”
Sheddie grew quiet at my words.
It’s not that she can’t understand me at all. No, she understood me better than I thought.
“If you do well, I’ll come back and give you a delicious meal.”
Actually, by “delicious meal” I meant my life force, which she eats all the time, but that’s not the point.
I needed to promise a reward to get Sheddie to perform well.
“Meal. Delicious.”
Sheddie responded to my whisper with a loud voice. Amon, who was snoring, stirred slightly.
“…Let’s just not make a sound, and if anyone talks to you, you just lie there and don’t answer, okay?”
“…”
Sheddie fell silent again.
‘That should be enough…’
I push myself up, and his head pokes out from under the covers.
Even though it’s disguised as me, it’s not actually wearing the blindfold and other clothes.
…It’s not very reliable, but if it keeps still, it will appear to be sleeping.
[Doesn’t seem like a big deal.]
I nodded at Sierra’s words and stepped into the shadows.
Like Sierra, Sheddie had a tendency to return to me when she was far enough away, except when Shadow Mimicry was activated.
This was something I learned through the status window.
If there was a penalty, it was that the further away I got from Sheddie, the harder it was to use her power.
Still, it seemed possible to get out of the area without being seen by the others outside the tent.
“If I were really the king,” I thought, “I might be able to stop the inexplicable killing of these machines.”
To find out, I walked out into the darkness.
***
“Could this be the entrance…?”
As Sierra and I chatted about the connection between the otherworldly species and the ruins, it didn’t take long to reach them.
We’d gotten separated from Sheddie along the way and were walking through the desert, but it didn’t matter.
[Well, it seems that way…]
The outer walls of the ruins were carved with a myriad of symbols that appeared to be ancient. They were carved so long ago that they were showing signs of wear and tear.
The passageway that appeared to be the entrance was wide and tall enough for a humanoid alien species to pass through.
There was no light in the passageway, which should have been an endless darkness, but thanks to my night vision, I could see clearly into the passageway.
The passageway was empty.
In the game, if you stepped into it, your vision would black out and you’d be sent back to the entrance with a message saying something like, “The entrance could not be found.”
I slowly stepped into the passage. Luckily, I wasn’t kicked out for some unknown reason like in the game.
On the outside walls of the passageway, I could see the occasional ancient symbol or writing, but I couldn’t understand them.
I continued on my way, stopping at a dead end.
Sierra looked at the wall and shook her head.
‘…Nothing.’
The wall was a dead end, but the waves I sent didn’t pass through it.
I pressed my hand against the wall and it was the same material and age as the others.
It had been built this way originally, which didn’t make much sense given the size of the ruins.
It was too large a structure to have been built to create a single passageway.
Ostentation or achievement?
I was thinking of modern pyramids, trying to figure out the design intent when a voice echoed from the outer wall.
Yes, it was Korean again.
“King’s visit confirmed. Prepare for the descent.”
Along with a voice of unknown gender.
Kugugung…
The floor I was standing on cracked and began to vibrate.
No wonder I couldn’t feel anything.
I quickly grabbed Sierra, and the floor immediately gave way.
I thought it was going to be rough, but it was smoother than I expected. That doesn’t mean it’s slow, though, and we’re quickly descending into the depths.
[Mu, what’s happening…?]
Sierra, who was in my arms, continued to stare at the ceiling, which was getting further and further away, and panicked.
…I’m sure Sierra has a lot of questions, but I can’t afford to answer them right now.
My senses were beginning to pick up the signs of the otherworldly species.
Kugung…!
Soon after, the floor that had been descending endlessly stopped moving with a loud bang.
Push!
We’re blocked in on all sides, but then one of the walls goes up and splits in half as another long corridor is revealed.
I walked forward without a guide since there was only one path after all.
There was still nothing at the end of the passage, but it was definitely lurking behind that wall.
A nondescript round sphere…A grotesque thing, and a group of motionless humanoid alien species.
The passage was equally massive, but different.
Unlike the aged stone walls of the previous passage, this one was made of flat metal with no patterns.
[Disciple, we can’t go any further, I have a bad feeling about this place…]
Sierra said in a worried voice as she examined the surroundings. There were no lights, so it seemed like she was walking blindly through the darkness.
“But we’ve come this far… we have to see it through, don’t we, and we don’t really know how to go back…”
[If you turn back and run against the wall, you can climb back up.]
“…”
I wonder if Sierra could have done that but I don’t think it’s possible for me to do it now.
With Sierra’s absurd words behind me, I approached the wall.
-Push!
This time, the wall opened without delay.
The first thing I saw when the wall opened was light. This place was lit up.
Humanoid alien species lined up on either side of me, bent on one knee and among them was X-05, the one that lost his arm.
In the center was a black sphere of light embedded in the wall, but I still couldn’t figure out its identity.
A throne stood out next to the sphere. It was a throne that seemed to have been made to fit the size of a human being, and it dwarfed the others around it.
[What…?]
As Sierra had muttered, this space seemed to be the king’s palace or realm.
It was a space that captured that atmosphere in its design and construction.
[They had a king, too? An otherworldly king…Who could such a dangerous man be?]
Just as Sierra was about to say this, the sphere in front of her interrupted her and spoke.
“I greet the king.”
“”We greet the king.””
Mimicking the sphere, the kneeling humanoid alien species call out in their own voices.
[…I see.]
Sierra looks at me with a meaningful glance.
‘They’re just calling me king for nothing…’
Even Sierra, who couldn’t understand the Korean they spoke, couldn’t help but notice at this point.
“…”
I clamped my mouth shut and walked towards the sphere.
Somehow…I needed someone to explain to me what this was all about.
The black sphere, which was, to all intents and purposes, unlike any other alien species, seemed to be the one who could do that.
As I approached, the sphere spoke first.
No, it muttered to itself.
“Detecting supernatural energy. Determined it would interfere with our conversation. Opening a virtual space to exclude the energy.”
By supernatural energy, it meant Sierra.
The sphere’s voice was an odd one, not sure if it was a woman’s or a man’s, or even its gender or age.
Following the murmur, the cord attached to the sphere moved and plugged into the floor nearby as a flash of light appeared and in an instant my vision was bathed in white.