Ch.30The Secret of the Ancient Ruins

To begin with, the conclusion is that there were no other monsters or wild animals inside the ruins.

All that was found inside were traces of the floor that had been smashed by a large club being swung down. There were no living animals, nor any corpses or bloodstains that might have fallen victim to the clubbing.

After confirming there was no danger inside, we lit a bonfire outside the collapsed wall and set up Jessica’s barrier magic “Repellation Field.” Although the firmly closed main entrance wasn’t a problem, this was a precaution to prevent wild animals or monsters from entering through the collapsed wall while we investigated the ruins.

The interior of the ruins, measuring about 15 meters on each side, wasn’t divided into walls or rooms but was designed as one large open space, with four square pillars about 1.5 meters wide supporting the ceiling in the center.

The walls on all sides were filled with stone tablets, each about 1.2-1.3 meters wide and 2 meters tall, covering the entire wall like mosaic tiles. Gray stones the size of ping-pong balls embedded between the tablets and throughout the pillars emitted a soft light, providing minimal visibility inside the ruins.

“Are these glowing stones what they call luminous stones?”

“Yes. Normally, ones this size would burn out in less than a month, but for some reason, the luminous stones embedded in closed ruins keep shining indefinitely.”

“They’re not that bright, but it might be useful to keep one or two.”

“Don’t you think someone would have tried that already? They say the moment you remove them from the wall, they go out, and even if you put them back, they never light up again.”

“I guess that’s why they’re still here…”

Seti must have had the same thought, as I saw her quickly pull her hand away from the luminous stone in front of her. Fidgeting like a child caught doing something wrong, she hardly looked like the brave female warrior who had faced a troll head-on.

“Anyway, there’s an incredible amount here. I thought an archive would store books or something, but I never imagined this kind of structure.”

“These ruins are estimated to be about 300 years old, and according to the natives, paper and parchment were already in use at that time. Despite that, the reason most records found in ancient ruins are engraved on stone tablets is probably for preservation… suggesting an intention to leave them for posterity.”

“There were stone tablets on this collapsed wall too, right?”

“Ah, I see… that would have been quite valuable academically. What a shame.”

“That’s actually fine. When the ruins were first discovered, they weren’t damaged, and the contents written there have been compiled into books and preserved.”

“That’s fortunate, at least. Now, we should begin our proper investigation…”

“Are we going to examine all these stone tablets?”

Hearing Seti’s words, I tried to estimate the total number based on the approximate size of the tablets.

Assuming 60 tablets arranged in 3 rows of 20 on each wall, even excluding the area occupied by the main entrance and the collapsed wall, there would be roughly 200 tablets—certainly not a small number.

Moreover, despite the luminous stones, the light was weak and sparse, making many tablets completely unreadable, and the tablets in the top row were too distant to make out their contents.

“In the worst case, we might have to, but first I plan to check the most suspicious parts.”

“The most suspicious parts? Do you have any idea where to look?”

“Why do you think Will thought of these ruins when he heard about Arcane Words in the first place?”

“Well, from past experiences or rumors… Wait a minute.”

Before our fight with the troll, Jessica had explained that this was her first time visiting these ruins.

Moreover, considering Garia’s statement that Arcane Words couldn’t even be detected by those unable to understand them, there was no possibility that Jessica or any adventurers or scholars who had previously investigated these ruins could have discovered any “suspicious parts.”

“…Why did Jessica suspect these ruins? She said she’d never been here before, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have found any traces if she couldn’t understand Arcane Words.”

“That’s right. No strange traces have ever been found in these ruins. But there’s something suspicious apart from the Arcane Words. If you look at these tablets, you’ll notice the amount of text varies on each one, right?”

“I can’t read what’s written, so I don’t know the details, but that’s certainly true.”

The content written on the stone tablets lining the walls of the ruins was in text I couldn’t read, but the amount varied greatly.

Some tablets were densely filled with text, while others had only five or six lines with the rest of the space filled with simple shapes, or some were only half-filled with the rest left blank. Judging from this lack of uniformity, it seemed they were organized by specific topics rather than by the amount of content.

“Actually, among these tablets, there’s exactly one with nothing written on it.”

“Oh, that is suspicious.”

“Right? When it was discovered, they suspected some secret might be hidden there and conducted an investigation, but ultimately found nothing. Now it’s theorized that the ruins’ caretaker had to leave before completing the record.”

“So you think Arcane Words might actually be written on that empty tablet.”

“Correct.”

After hearing Jessica’s explanation, I looked around again and realized that only about a quarter of the tablets had enough light from the luminous stones to make out that they contained writing.

If we could find the empty tablet among the rest that were too dark to see, and if Jessica’s guess was right and it contained Arcane Words, our investigation of the ruins would be complete.

However, this wasn’t as easy as it sounded. At first, I thought of casting Fire Enchant on Seti’s spear and holding the end of the handle to illuminate the higher places, but since the effect of Fire Enchant was merely to imbue it with fire attributes, the reddish light from the spear blade didn’t spread as far as I’d hoped, requiring us to bring it almost right up to the tablets.

As a makeshift solution, we lit a lantern and hung it from the tip of the spear. Since Seti’s spear resembled a sword with an elongated handle, it was possible to secure the lantern to the crossguard-like part below the spearhead, but it was no easy task to hold up and maintain the long spear while gripping the very bottom of the handle.

Moreover, in situations like this, the desired object is always found in the last place you look. Isn’t it always the last key on the ring that fits, and don’t USB drives only go in correctly after being turned three times? Following this worst-case law of fate’s mischief, we found the empty tablet on the last wall we checked—in the corner of the second row on the side with the collapsed section.

“Of all places… at least it’s not part of the collapsed wall.”

“Good work. Are your arms sore?”

My irritation at Murphy’s Law instantly melted away thanks to Seti and Jessica, who were massaging my shoulders and arms from both sides.

What mattered now was examining the empty tablet, our investigation’s target. But I didn’t need to look closely to be certain that this ruins investigation was a “winner.” Why? Well…

“So this tablet appears completely blank to both of you?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re saying that means Will can see something? The Arcane Words?”

“Ah… without a doubt.”

That’s because nowhere in my sight was there an empty tablet.

The tablet that Jessica and Seti pointed out as “empty” appeared to me to have writing on it, just like the others. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same as the other tablets. Unlike the other tablets whose writing I couldn’t read, the characters inscribed—or rather, written—on this tablet were legible to me despite being unfamiliar.

If I had to describe it, it was similar to an e-reader. It wasn’t carved into the stone or written with ink, nor did the text itself emit light or appear projected—it simply seemed to float above the empty tablet, with no other way to describe it.

“What does it say?”

“Let’s see, ‘If the one reading this…'”

{If the one reading this is of elven lineage, avert your eyes and pretend you saw nothing}

{If not, then read aloud the contents of this tablet and accept the gift I have left behind}

{Though it is a humble gift, I hope it will be of some help to you and the friends you hold dear as you navigate this harsh world}

As I finished reading, the tablet began to emit a bright light, which flowed like water toward the floor of the ruins a short distance away, forming a large magical circle of light on the ground.

Just as the massive magic circle, about 3-4 meters in diameter, was completed, it flashed once more, and the next moment, a huge horse stood before us, its height from hoof to back nearly matching my own.

Unlike the sleek, nimble image commonly seen in Western movies, this massive black horse looked capable of easily carrying a knight in full plate armor, exuding an overwhelming presence beyond the category of herbivores.

“This is… even to a novice like me, it seems extraordinary.”

“Could it be a type of war horse? It’s definitely not a common breed.”

“This horse isn’t a living animal.”

“What?”

“I can’t hear a heartbeat or breathing, and there’s no scent of a living animal.”

“…Now that you mention it, it’s not moving at all. Is it taxidermy?”

Cautiously approaching the black horse and touching its back, I confirmed Seti’s observation. The temperature felt by my palm wasn’t the warmth of a living animal but rather slightly cool, and beneath the glossy, velvet-like black surface, a solid texture could be felt. As I was examining it closely, touching here and there, suddenly there was a rustling sound, and I felt something under my foot.

“Huh?”

Looking down at my feet, I found a piece of paper about the size of a diary page. It must have appeared from the magic circle along with the horse, but due to the darkness inside the ruins and our attention being drawn to the horse, we hadn’t noticed it. Worried that the horse might suddenly move and kick me in the face, I slowly bent down to pick up the paper and found more Arcane Words written on it.

{This creation, modeled after a horse, requires neither food, drink, nor rest, and its strength equals that of eight ordinary horses}

{Once named by the one who uncovered the tablet’s secret, it will come to life and serve loyally until its master’s death}

“…it says.”

“If it’s modeled after a horse, could it be some kind of golem or automaton? Either way, it could be considered an artifact-class treasure.”

“Since Will is the owner, hurry and give it a name. I want to see it move.”

“Hmm~ I’m not really good at this sort of thing.”

Actually, from the moment I first saw this horse, the name of a certain end-of-century conqueror’s black horse came to mind, but using that name directly would be problematic in terms of copyright.

What about translating it into a foreign language? Black King… too simple? Black Emperor? Or perhaps in German, Schwarz Kaiser… no, that would be a disaster.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can only think of embarrassingly cringeworthy names that would make me writhe in shame for the rest of my life…”

“Cringeworthy? Black history…”

“Hey, wait.”

“What? I think it’s quite clever. It’s an artifact sealed in ancient ruins from 300 years ago, and it’s black.”

They say the interpretation is better than the dream itself. Certainly, considering it’s an artifact discovered in ancient ruins, it might be a fitting name.

But if I named the horse “Black History” and happened to meet another drifter from Earth like myself, and if they understood the meaning of the name, I wouldn’t have the confidence to live my life positively going forward.

“Let’s refine it a bit more. The ruins are dark, so it looks black, but it might actually be dark brown or purple.”

“Then, excluding color-related words… forgotten history… ancient being…”

“Ancestor?”

“Come to think of it, it is 300 years older than us. Ancestor… Ancestor. Hmm, not bad?”

“Ancestor… that sounds good!”

For a name that evolved from Schwarz Kaiser to Black History, it seems quite well-refined. Indeed, it’s better to put heads together than to struggle alone.

“Alright, from now on, your name is {Ancestor}.”

As if it had been waiting for those words, the explanation paper in my left hand scattered like dust and disappeared, and the massive horse that had been motionless until now raised its head and let out a loud neigh.