Ch.291Blue sky, white sandy beach, the sound of rolling waves, and…

The Mysterious Artifact from the Evernight Mountain Ruins

Until now, I had only thought of this as some kind of perpetual motion device, never imagining it could have a direct connection to the Third Eye tribe.

I had assumed that the trigger which caused changes in the Book of Adventure through contact with the Gentleman was none other than myself.

However, the moment I witnessed the resonance phenomenon between the artifact and the dungeon core, and realized that the light produced by this resonance was identical to the gate opened through the Book of Adventure – a completely new hypothesis emerged that overturned all previous assumptions.

First, the trigger that caused changes in the Book of Adventure through contact with the Third Eye tribe is not us, but the ‘artifact.’

Second, the Book of Adventure is guiding us to uncover the secrets of the Third Eye tribe. At least for this adventure.

Third, what the artifact responds to is not individuals of the Third Eye tribe, but something more fundamental and broader in scope.

Fourth, the keyword to achieve the results demanded by the Book of Adventure using the artifact lies within the dungeon core.

Looking back at everything that has happened with these hypotheses in mind, much becomes understandable.

The changes that occurred in the Book of Adventure around the time the dungeon appeared in Korkas Gorge were due to contact between the artifact and the Third Eye tribe.

We didn’t bring Ancestor into that dungeon – meaning we didn’t bring the artifact – which is why the dungeon core didn’t cause any anomalies.

So when we destroyed the core and demolished the dungeon without knowing anything, the changes occurring in the Book of Adventure were canceled as well.

But fortunately, we made contact with the Gentleman, or rather the Third Eye tribe again during our adventure to break Calliope’s curse.

This time, unlike before, the Book of Adventure quickly completed the second phrase, providing us with a hint.

As if it couldn’t let us miss this opportunity to uncover the secrets of the Third Eye tribe.

And viewed in that context, the meaning of the newly appeared second phrase takes on a different significance.

The directive to ‘show mercy’ by lifting the veil and heading to the coastal city of the forgotten isolated island.

“…At first, I thought it meant we shouldn’t kill the Gentleman. But the fact that the artifact reacts to the dungeon core rather than the Gentleman or the Regulator…”

“Means that the object of our mercy wasn’t someone from the Third Eye tribe, but the dungeon core.”

“How mysterious. It’s almost as if the Book of Adventure has a will of its own and is sending us warnings.”

“Like, ‘This time, don’t carelessly destroy the core and do it properly’? Something like that?”

“Yeah… it might feel a bit unsettling.”

Those were the reactions of the four after I organized my thoughts and explained them as concisely as possible.

I strongly empathize with the sentiment about it being unsettling.

It’s not enough that a book of unknown origin is monitoring our actions; to exaggerate slightly, it feels like our fate is being manipulated.

“But despite that uneasiness, I think now is the time to go inside.”

“Because if we miss this opportunity, who knows when we’ll get another chance to uncover the secrets of the Third Eye tribe?”

“That’s part of it, but if we just destroy the core and leave now, all we’ve done is kill two Third Eye tribe members and destroy their home. If that happens, even if a third chance comes someday, by then we’ll have already established the worst possible relationship with the Third Eye tribe.”

“…That’s true. Even now, after killing the Gentleman and the Regulator, we can hardly expect a friendly response, but grudges tend to deepen with time.”

Just as it was with the Cat Folk, and even more so with the Water King tribe.

If our relationship with the Third Eye tribe has already deteriorated beyond repair, as the ones who caused this situation, we can’t just run away without cleaning up the mess.

“Is everyone ready? Let’s go.”

With our resolve strengthened, we took a deep breath and stepped into the glowing blue gate.

Seti and I at the front, Mina and Jessica next, and Phyllis and Ancestor at the rear.

A formation designed to respond quickly in case of an ambush on the other side of the gate.

‘Swoosh—’

‘Squawk, squawk, squawk…’

As our blue-tinted vision returned to normal, we found ourselves surrounded by a completely different kind of blue than the light of the gate.

A cloudless clear sky and a horizon stretching as far as the eye could see, the sound of waves and seagulls crying all around.

Palm trees grew sparsely on a beach of fine sand, and looking a bit further, steep hills covered in tropical rainforest displayed vibrant green colors.

It felt like we had arrived at a southern island resort, but unfortunately, we had no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

The stone building on the beach where we arrived was surrounded by more than twenty masked people.

“Stop, intruders. Raise your hands above your heads.”

The one threatening us with a trident was a man wearing a mask painted with flame patterns.

Looking carefully, I noticed that the people surrounding us were holding various weapons – not just conventional ones like swords and spears, but also harpoons, farming tools, hammers, saws, and even ladles and frying pans.

‘No one has guns or anything similar. So those staff guns weren’t standard armaments for the Third Eye tribe.’

I was secretly relieved that we wouldn’t face concentrated gunfire immediately upon passing through the gate.

But regardless, the atmosphere here was undeniably tense.

I nodded to my companions, then slowly raised my hands and addressed the man in the flame mask.

“As expected, this isn’t exactly a welcoming atmosphere. Do you want us to turn around and leave?”

“The fact that you’ve come this far means you’ve defeated the Regulator, Se-Tan-Hum. You’d be wise not to think you can leave without incident.”

“Even though the Regulator attacked us first? We’re just adventurers who want to uncover the secrets of old Grantis, we have no intention of becoming enemies with the Third Eye tribe.”

“Silence! Walking harbingers of disaster, evil destroyers blinded by greed!!”

The one who shouted hysterically was a woman in a horned mask standing next to the flame-masked man.

Walking harbingers of disaster and destroyers blinded by greed… quite grandiose epithets.

“The Prophet foretold! The one who leads humans, commands beasts, and brings Lyos, Svart, and Dverg will destroy us with thunder and starlight! Isn’t that exactly what you look like!”

“That’s right!”

“Harbingers of disaster! We must kill them here and now!”

As the Third Eye tribe members were being incited by the horned-mask woman, creating a hostile atmosphere, after a while, the mood began to change with murmurs.

“Wait… why are there only five?”

“Two humans, a beast, Lyos, Dverg…”

“There’s no Svart?”

“Was the prophecy wrong? That can’t be!”

Confusion spread quickly among those who had examined our group composition carefully.

No Svart… the fact that they couldn’t see a dark elf seemed to be throwing them into confusion.

‘A prophet, huh. Whoever they are, they seem to be quite the skilled fortune-teller.’

If ‘Lyos’ and ‘Dverg’ referred to Phyllis and Mina respectively, then this prophet person’s words weren’t wrong.

Iris, the dark elf, was simply invisible to these people, having entered with us while hiding in the Stone House.

But the Third Eye tribe, unaware of this fact, exchanged confused opinions, and two or three of them hurriedly ran toward the jungle-covered interior of the island.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure either… but it seems they’re confused because the current situation differs from what their prophet predicted.”

“Well, let’s just wait quietly and see how things unfold.”

There was no need to inform them that a dark elf was indeed with us, that their prophet wasn’t wrong after all.

Everyone nodded in understanding at my meaningful glance.

After waiting about five minutes with weapons pointed at us amid the confused murmuring, the people who had run into the jungle returned with a new member.

Walking with a slight limp, he wore a mask like his fellow tribespeople, but unlike them, his entire body was covered in dense black tattoos.

It was an appearance that suggested a special position in Third Eye society.

“Kin-Ra-Dol! Kin-Ra-Dol is here!”

“Ohhh… the Prophet, Kin-Ra-Dol!”

“Look at them! Look at their appearance!”

“There’s no Svart! It’s different from the prophecy!”

Kin-Ra-Dol – that seemed to be both the tattooed man’s real name and the ‘prophet’ they had been talking about.

He examined our five-member group slowly with sharp eyes behind his mask, then stroked his exposed chin beneath the mask and muttered in a trembling voice.

“How can this be… How can this happen? For the prophecy to be wrong…”

No, that prophecy was quite accurate, Mr. Kin-Ra-Dol.

But I’d like to object to the part about us bringing destruction to the Third Eye tribe.

We only want to gain knowledge from the Third Eye tribe to uncover the secrets of Grantis, with absolutely no intention of driving them from this island or committing any massacres.

“The prophet, Kin-Ra-Dol, was it? It seems you foresaw our visit… but as I told the others, we have no intention of harming the Third Eye tribe. I won’t ask for a welcome, but could we at least put down our weapons and talk?”

“…Before that, answer me this. What happened to Ul-Ga-Han?”

“Ul-Ga-Han… if you mean the man in a suit wearing an opera mask, he was killed by the man calling himself the Regulator. He said it was to gain an advantageous position in the fight against us.”

“His mask?”

“It was broken. The same goes for the one the Regulator was wearing.”

“I see…”

After hearing my answer, Kin-Ra-Dol fell into thought for a moment, then issued instructions to the surrounding Third Eye tribe members.

“Take them to the ‘Room of Black Stone.'”

“Is that really necessary? It’s just a difference of one person…”

“Prophecies are absolute, and must remain absolute. Since it has gone astray, we cannot make any decisions carelessly.”

“…Understood. You lot, put away your weapons and follow us. If you comply with our instructions, we won’t take anything from you.”

The Room of Black Stone.

It sounds like a prison, but given that they won’t take our weapons, it seems they’re not treating us simply as prisoners.

With that assurance, we decided to comply with the Third Eye tribe’s instructions and made our way into the lush jungle at the center of the beautiful island.