Recently.
The wizards had become frantically busy researching the newly discovered spells.
In contrast, Woojin had grown rather idle. Diligent Claire spent day and night buried in books, and because of that he had fewer chances to meet her.
There was no real reason to remain at the ruins any longer. So he simply passed the time idly chatting and relaxing with the others.
Kiiiing—
He infused mana into the snake bracelet. A red sphere of light condensed in midair.
The sky squirrel watching this widened his eyes.
"Piiit!"
Coco shouted with all his might, then immediately leapt and landed right on top of the glowing sphere.
Thump! Boing—!
The sphere bounced elastically. Riding the rebound, Coco kept jumping higher again and again.
It looked just like someone bouncing on a trampoline.
"That… actually looks pretty fun."
Arwen muttered softly. She was practically staring at the sky squirrel with fascination.
Seeing this, Woojin made a suggestion.
"Want to try it too?"
"I'll try after Coco finishes playing."
It seemed she didn't want to interrupt Coco's playtime. Arwen sat beside Woojin and waited for her turn.
While she waited, Woojin asked something he had been curious about.
"Have you ever heard of the initial 'V'? It's a signature that was recently discovered in the ruins."
"Where was it found?"
"In a magic tome from the ancient era."
He explained in detail what had happened recently. After thinking for a moment, Arwen answered.
"Hmm… nothing really comes to mind. Judging by the feeling of it, I doubt it's someone from the Dark-Side priests."
"Really?"
"Yes. The Dark-Side priests would never leave ruins like that alone in the first place. The moment they spotted them, they'd strip everything clean and leave nothing behind."
The Dark-Side priests were as greedy as a swarm of starving locusts. Whenever ancient ruins were discovered, they swept away every artifact and record without leaving anything behind.
"I think it'd be easier to guess if we knew the contents of the book… Jin, have you heard anything about it?"
"I did overhear a little."
What kind of spell could be inside it? Curious, Woojin had asked Claire about it earlier.
"They say it contains several spells and methodologies specialized in driving away demonic realms."
Something the Order Alliance had always dreamed of possessing. The wizards were busy translating and analyzing it.
Arwen replied immediately.
"If that's the content, it's far removed from the doctrine of the Dark-Side priests. They'd probably consider it blasphemy."
"Yeah… that makes sense."
It seemed unlikely that the person named Vr had any connection to the Dark-Side priests.
"'I dedicate this book to the enemies of the distant future.' Since a sentence like that is written in it… it seems like the book was created with the opening of the dimensional gate in mind."
Enemies of the distant future.
It was reasonable to interpret that as the demonic realms. Considering the contents of the book, and the fact that the underground ruins were said to be an archive created to oppose catastrophes.
Arwen voiced the hypothesis she had come up with.
"Maybe a puppet wrote the book. I mean, there might be a magic puppet with enough individuality to want to leave its initials."
They thought back to the puppets they had seen in the ruins.
The brass puppet's role was preserving alchemy, while the steel mannequin preserved the etiquette and culture of the ancient era.
In other words…
"Among those puppets, maybe there's one that was created to preserve the magic of the ancient era."
"Could be."
It was a clear and logical conclusion.
But the word Vr kept bothering Woojin. He folded his arms and pondered deeply.
…Then his concentration slipped.
Crack.
The glowing sphere shattered like dry sand. Coco, who had just leapt high into the air, panicked.
"Piiieeeeng—!"
The squirrel flailed as he fell, landing with a thump on the dirt floor. It must have hurt quite a bit—tears welled up in Coco's eyes.
Coco looked at them with a hurt expression. Woojin was slightly flustered.
"Wait… aren't you a sky squirrel?"
Couldn't he just glide?
When Woojin blurted that out, Coco puffed up both cheeks. He looked thoroughly offended.
"Puch!"
Suddenly, laughter was heard. The manticore was giggling in the corner. Apparently Coco's fall had been hilarious.
Honestly… it was a funny sight.
But it was also tactless. The squirrel was already angry and clearly looking for someone to vent his frustration on.
Coco tilted his head left and right.
Crack, crack—
A tiny bone-cracking sound, like when chewing chicken wings, rang out. After a light stretch, the silver squirrel walked toward the lion-like beast.
Manta finally realized the situation.
"K-khrrm!!"
"Piiyaaah—!"
Terrified, the manticore fled out of the cave. The furious squirrel chased after him.
Woojin muttered quietly.
"There's never a dull moment."
"Seriously."
As usual, everything was peaceful.
**
Watching the lion and the squirrel squabble was amusing.
It felt just like watching Tom and Jerry.
However, sometimes there are quarrels so unpleasant that even the onlookers feel uncomfortable watching them. Arguments between fully grown men were exactly like that.
"That interpretation is absolutely unacceptable! How long does the Order Alliance intend to keep playing hero?!"
"What an insulting remark! It seems you've forgotten who made it possible to excavate these ruins in the first place. Perhaps we should settle that properly right now!"
The one shouting was Duran, the Tower Master, arguing loudly with a high-ranking priest of the Order Alliance.
Woojin recognized the priest's face.
The Archbishop of Struggle, Eberhardt.
He was a man of extremely high rank. Within the Order of Struggle, he was among the top three most powerful clergy. On top of that, he was an old man nearing eighty.
But his opponent went even further. Duran was the Tower Master, the highest-ranking position among all mages, and he was well over a hundred years old.
Two extremely high-ranking elderly men were having a shouting match…
Naturally, the surrounding people didn't dare interfere and merely watched the situation carefully. If someone carelessly stepped into the middle of that conversation, they'd be thoroughly crushed.
I just got back… and the place is already a mess.
The Magic Tower and the Order Alliance. Why had conflict suddenly broken out between these two factions?
The last time he had come here, their relationship hadn't been particularly bad. But today, the atmosphere felt like the two old men might throw down their gloves and challenge each other to a duel at any moment.
First, it'd be best to separate them.
It was like putting fire and gunpowder together. Showing such a scene in front of their juniors wasn't good for either side. Woojin pushed through the crowd and approached Duran.
"Sir, please calm down."
"When did you arrive?"
"Just now. I could hear the two of you shouting from the entrance of the ruins."
Duran looked far more agitated than necessary.
"Why don't we step outside for a moment? We could take a walk around the camp."
"…Very well."
"We'll discuss this matter later."
After roughly smoothing things over, Woojin left the ruins with the Tower Master and spoke with him outside.
"What exactly is going on?"
"Do you remember the passage you read? The preface of the magic book we discovered recently."
"Yes… more or less."
"Recite it."
Duran demanded abruptly. Woojin searched through his memory.
"'I dedicate this book to the enemies of the distant future.' And beneath that sentence, there was an initial—V."
"That's right! Damn it, anyone can see that it's a V!"
Duran fumed while agreeing.
Woojin blinked in confusion. He still didn't understand why Duran was so angry.
"So… what exactly is the problem?"
"Those damned priests keep insisting that the V is actually a U! I bet they're planning to claim that the book is a legacy left behind by Urgis!"
The initial written in the preface of the magic book.
According to them, it wasn't Vr, but actually Ur.
Ur, the initials of Urgis.
Urgis was a hero representing the Order Alliance. The Order of Struggle intended to announce that Urgis had left preparations behind for humanity of the present age, thereby winning the people's support.
"That's quite a creative claim. That the magic book is actually a relic left behind by Urgis."
"Creative, my foot! That damned Urgis! I'm going insane. How long are they going to keep milking a man who died ages ago and is buried in the ground?!"
Duran kicked a nearby pebble in frustration. The stone skipped far away like a stone skipping across water.
Even after hearing the explanation, Woojin honestly found it hard to understand why the Tower Master was this angry.
"The letter V was written a bit ambiguously. Interpreting it as a U isn't completely unreasonable… maybe it'd be better to just humor the Order Alliance."
The Order Alliance's influence was immense.
So perhaps bending a little for practical benefits might be wiser. When Woojin cautiously suggested this, Duran let out a deep sigh.
"Jin… we are scholars. This discovery will certainly be recorded in history. As scholars, it's an unquestionable honor."
But the moment Urgis was brought into the story, the mages' efforts would lose their shine.
"To record a false interpretation in history is disgraceful. Future scholars will look at us and think we were dogs who wagged our tails at the Order."
"That would certainly be dishonorable."
"Exactly, isn't it?"
Perhaps pleased by Woojin's response, Duran nodded repeatedly and continued.
"And… imagine this. Suppose we mages work hard to restore the magic written in that ancient book. What do you think will happen afterward?"
They restored the ancient magic by researching an old book left behind by Urgis.
If such rumors spread, the world would be busy praising Urgis's name. The efforts of the mages would be pushed aside.
"The Magic Tower merely put its spoon on the table Urgis had already prepared. That's exactly the kind of rumor that will spread! The Order Alliance is trying to steal the honor that rightfully belongs to the mages!"
So much value was tied to a single letter. Duran vented his frustration.
Now Woojin finally understood the Tower Master's anger. It looked as though the Order Alliance was trying to monopolize the spotlight on the stage.
What was the right decision?
After thinking for a long moment, Woojin spoke.
"…May I share my thoughts?"
"Go ahead."
"I heard the Third Expedition will begin soon. Now that the excavation of the underground ruins is complete."
Somewhere in the north lay a legacy left by ancient humanity. To find it, the Order Alliance planned to begin an expedition that had been postponed for a long time.
The final goal of the Third Expedition was to close the Gate to the Otherworld and drive the demonic realms out of this land.
"Many people will die. It's possible that the Order Alliance's entire army could be wiped out."
"…Surely it won't be that severe."
"It'll be worse."
Urgis had become a legend by defeating one of the ancient beings once called the Outer Gods.
The Order Alliance's goal now was to destroy the nests of those Outer Gods. Even if they succeeded through sheer luck, an enormous number of casualties would occur along the way.
"The soldiers need courage. Enough that they're willing to borrow the name of an ancient hero."
For the sake of victory, changing a single letter written in an old book would be a trivial matter.
At least, from Kim Woojin's perspective.
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