episode_0020

After looking around the city and seeing that our time was up, we headed back to the guild.

When we arrived at the guild, the old man had already finished preparing and was getting ready to leave.

“Let’s go.”

The old man said this as he saw us arrive at the guild and then walked away.

Sarah and I followed in the old man’s footsteps.

I asked, looking at the old man going ahead.

“Younggam. Which historical site are you going to?”

“Go to the Bandel ruins.”

“Bandel ruins?”

Since I don’t know the details, I don’t know where it is going. Sarah, who was next to me, heard that and her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

I was so embarrassed that I could feel my voice shaking.

“Ba, is it the Bandel ruins that I know?”

“Okay.”

Sarah looked at the old man with disbelief.

I said, curious about Sarah’s furious reaction.

“What is it?”

“… There is a legendary ruin called the Bandel Ruins. Except for one person, there is no one who went there and lived there… That’s the person in front of you.”

That meant we were heading to a very dangerous historical site.

To be honest, I don’t really care, but Sarah’s expression was worse than I expected.

I was dazed and muttered something to myself.

“I never thought I would die without being able to fully realize my dream of becoming a grave robber… Why on earth would you make a bet like that? You idiot!”

“Why is it so negative already?”

Anyone who sees me would think I’m already dead.

I haven’t died yet and I haven’t entered yet.

However, Sarah looked at me as if I had still lost my mind and screamed.

“Bandel Ruins! Those Bandel ruins! How can you not be negative when you are going to a place where many grave robbers, even S-class grave robbers, cannot escape alive!?

“Such a place is simple, right?”

I’m looking forward to it even more.

Sarah must have read my expression and shouted loudly.

“Wrong! This person is so carefree! I’m going to die!”

“If you don’t want to die like that, go. I won’t hold on to anyone who doesn’t want to go.”

“… ”

Only then does Sarah become quiet after hearing the old man’s words.

He seemed to feel ashamed of his own actions.

In that quiet state, we didn’t say anything until we headed towards the Bandel ruins.

***

By the time I felt like I had walked quite a bit.

We arrived at the Bandel ruins.

The Bandel ruins were impressive from the entrance.

There were all kinds of warning signs written at the entrance.

If you see the phrases that say you should never enter this place and the eerie entrance, anyone who comes will take a step back.

However, the old man entered the entrance without hesitation.

I was about to follow in, but Sarah was hesitant as she felt quite conflicted.

I spoke to Sarah, who was hesitant.

“If you really don’t want to go in, you don’t have to go in. I don’t want to force this.”

Everyone has no choice but to hesitate when life and death are at stake. You will be even more worried if you find out that there is only one person who has lived here.

So, I wasn’t going to stop her if she said she didn’t want to go in.

From the beginning, I had no intention of forcing anything like this.

The bet was also made verbally, so there was no problem with not keeping it.

“… ”

After looking at her without answering, I turned around.

I thought it wasn’t coming in the end.

Jeez.

Sarah followed closely behind me.

Her eyes grew determined.

“Are you going?”

“… I am coming. Although it is still scary, exploring legendary ruins is the hope of all grave robbers.”

“Then that’s it.”

I smiled and stepped into the entrance.

When we entered the historic site, the old man was waiting.

“Were you waiting?”

“Then you have to wait. Aren’t you going to wait?”

“That’s true too.”

“Be alert from now on. Because this is not an easy place.”

I could feel it without having to say it.

There are countless traps in these ruins.

Also, looking at the traces of magic or magic, it seemed like it was definitely not an ordinary ruin.

‘So it must be a place where causality is disrupted.’

When I first heard that it was the Bandel Ruins, I couldn’t quite figure it out.

I was confident because I came here in person.

This means that this is the place where causality is disrupted.

‘I understand why they say no one survived except for one.’

Usually, places where causality is distorted are not normal.

Because the laws are distorted, abnormal phenomena occur, and the causality is usually distorted, and the abnormal phenomena that are caused by evil are usually things that humans cannot tolerate.

These are not ordinary things, and things that arise due to the twisting of the laws are something that humans cannot handle.

‘Just for now… ‘

Simply put, I’m saying there are traces of traps and magic.

If you look closely, this was an environment in which humans could not survive from the beginning.

‘If you were to judge a person who can survive, he or she would have to be known as a strong person.’

The standards of that strongman were quite high.

If we had to be honest, it’s an environment where you need to have the strength of a party member of a hero’s party to survive. There was no reason for such people to come here, and there were almost no such strong people.

‘Even if he were an S-class grave robber, he wouldn’t have that level of force.’

The fact that the old man came back alive right before my eyes could be considered a miracle.

It makes me wonder how on earth he survived.

‘I understand.’

When I looked at the entire historic site with a sense of humor, I could see traces of a considerable amount of time having passed.

Several traces that seem to be at least several years old.

These are probably traces of exploration by you and your colleagues right in front of your eyes…

‘Just sleep. ‘How many years?’

I look around again and see how it feels.

The traces were quite old.

‘It was a year ago that I came here. Even if the causality was disrupted because of me, it wouldn’t last for a year.’

So, this meant that this place was disturbed by causality even before I came to the lower world.

I don’t know what caused that.

‘I guess this isn’t something I just know.’

I was convinced that there was something I didn’t know about.

I’ll have to check for myself to find out what it is.

“Younggam. But why did you come here?”

The old man, who was entering the ruins, stops.

Sarah and I also stopped walking.

“… This place is called a legendary historic site by people. Because no one survived except me. And I saw it here. Traces from 500 years ago when the Demon King first appeared. But in the process, all my colleagues died, and I was the only one who barely survived.”

“That means.”

“Reason for coming here. To find traces that I couldn’t find back then.”

To some extent, I understood why the old man came.

However, there were also parts that I did not understand.

“Do you really need to go that far?”

What is the reason to look for traces of the past even at the cost of giving up one’s life?

At least, I wondered what value there would be in searching for traces of the past even at the cost of sacrificing oneself.

‘It may be worth it.’

I personally didn’t know if it was important enough to risk one’s own life.

After hearing what I said, the old man was silent for a long time and then opened his mouth with difficulty.

“I don’t know now, but at least when I was young, the meaning of being a scholar was not only related to money like it is now. The same goes for grave robbers. The reason why the grave robbers and scholars like me at that time explored old ruins and found old records was because we just wanted to let people know.”

Saying that, the old man sat down nearby and continued speaking.

“There are so many things we don’t know. In particular, there are things I have dreamed of while doing this job. I wanted to find traces of heroes of the past who only exist in fairy tales. Because their stories are only told as fairy tales. Because in reality, they left nothing behind.”

He takes out the stick from his pocket and lights it on fire.

After drinking as much as he could, he exhaled the smoke and sighed.

“What did they go through and what kind of ending did they face? I really wanted to find it. My parents always told me that we are who we are today because of the sacrifices of the past. So you shouldn’t try to forget the past. And I always wondered when I heard that.”

A sighing laugh passed by the old man’s lips.

It was a laugh filled with many emotions.

“If we are living like this thanks to their sacrifices… Why are there no traces or proper records of them left anywhere? I think it’s so sad.”

After saying that, the old man’s eyes turned to me.

The old man’s eyes contained a strong will that would not break no matter what hardships and adversities came his way.

“Did you ask why you did it that way? The answer to that is that it was necessary to go that far. Because I believe that, as a scholar, I have a duty to inform those living in the past about things from the past. I thought that if the sacrifices of the past were what allowed us to survive, we should remember them, and my colleagues also agreed with me. Was there an answer?”

The atmosphere calms down to his sincerity filled with many experiences.

Sarah looked like she didn’t know what to do and shed tears.

I never thought I would explore a historical site with such meaning.

It must be a truly terrible experience for a young child.

Because the old man’s words were so sincere that you could understand how lonely and noble it was even if you had not experienced it.

‘If there is someone like this, there is nothing that makes me happier.’

To remember the sacrifices of the past and to make them known, he also sacrifices himself.

I know very well what a great determination and strong determination this is.

I chuckled at the old man’s words.

“That was a sufficient answer.”

“Then let’s start again.”

After saying those words, the old man went on his way again.

Sarah and I walked forward, looking at the old man’s shoulders, which were carrying a lot of weight.