Chapter 197
Clunk!
In the end, the marble slab was lifted.
Just as the Elder had said, there really was a hole large enough for a person to pass through.
“Hoo, I really don’t know if we’re supposed to be doing this.”
Sonya stared blankly at the hole.
“I’d heard the Magic Tower was full of secrets, but to think there’d be a place like this….”
They often said that mages were an inquisitive bunch.
Beings who constantly researched every phenomenon they encountered and tried to put it to use.
It seemed Sonya was no exception.
“Please make a promise. You have to keep this secret. I’m only trusting you because of that genuine gold badge.”
Judging by how quickly she had started cooperating, was that really all there was to it?
Her eyes were already sparkling at the discovery of a new passage.
“What is there to keep secret? You’re already an accomplice.”
“Ah, still….”
“You’re responsible for your own actions. You’re an adult, aren’t you? If you don’t like it, you can leave right now and report it to a professor or the Magic Tower Lord.”
Of course.
If she really tried to do that, I’d have no choice but to commit the discourtesy of knocking her out for a while.
“…Umm.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Sonya finally nodded.
》Hmph, enough of this. Let’s get going already!
There was only one reason I was bringing her along.
This was the Magic Tower.
If something with an unknown function showed up, like the [Magic Training Room] from earlier, that would be a problem.
In other words, she was my guide and utility support.
Creak, creak!
Bone Five was still moving toward its destination in a daze.
It slowly climbed down the ladder fixed to the side of the hole.
“You go first.”
I sent Sonya down first.
I had to put the marble slab back exactly as it was, without leaving any trace.
“Don’t fall behind. Stay close.”
Grrrk, thud!
I gathered my strength and put the marble slab back into place.
The musty smell of dust tickled my nose.
“Ugh. I can’t see anything.”
A complaining voice drifted up from below.
Naturally.
Once the light was blocked, everything had gone pitch-black.
It wasn’t a problem for me, thanks to the skills I’d gained while playing with the Shadow Shepherds.
But for her, an ordinary student mage, it had to be miserable.
“Don’t you have some kind of Flash spell? You said you were fire attribute.”
“Ah, just a second. Wait.”
A brief silence followed.
Fwaah!
Light poured from the small staff in her hand.
Oh-ho.
I was only saying it casually, but you really did have one?
“Alright.”
She muttered to herself.
In a voice full of determination.
“I came in here ready to get kicked out of the Tower. There’s no turning back now. I’m going to uncover this secret no matter what….”
Now brimming with a different kind of drive, she hurriedly climbed down to the floor nearly 50 meters below.
I followed at the same pace.
Thud!
By the time Bone Five and I landed on the floor after her,
“…This place.”
Sonya muttered under her breath.
I looked around as well.
“…A maze?”
The passage was surprisingly long.
And there were countless forks along the way.
Just from seeing one or two every 50 meters, I could tell this place had been split into an absurd number of spaces.
It felt like an ant nest.
And when I looked up,
I could see several holes dug into the ceiling.
It seemed there were many more entrances into this hidden route besides the marble slab from before.
Was it some kind of shortcut known only to a select few?
Creak!
Even in this place,
Bone Five kept walking briskly without the slightest hesitation.
“Just what is that Skeleton? It looks like it owns the Magic Tower.”
Sonya asked as she swept back her hair and tied it up.
“It knows exactly where it’s going, doesn’t it?”
“…Probably?”
“What do you mean, ‘probably’?!”
What else was I supposed to say?
I answered that way because I genuinely didn’t know either.
Just where was Bone Five trying to go?
It was as though it had lost its mind and was moving purely on instinct….
Right, instinct.
Was it because it hadn’t awakened yet, so it was just moving without thought, following some remnant of memory buried in its instincts?
Of course, if I ordered it to stop right now, it would.
And it would go right back to creaking around and following my commands.
“What we do know for now is this.”
I spoke.
“That skeleton probably knows this hidden passage better than anyone here. So let’s just follow him quietly. Unless you want to get lost.”
“…Lost?”
Sonya flinched.
Then the curiosity on her face quickly turned into anxiety.
‘This person….’
Does she always act before thinking about the consequences?
Then again, if she thought about the consequences, she never would have followed me in the first place.
“So stop talking and keep following me.”
We walked.
And walked.
How long had it been? Long enough that we even had to go down something like stairs at one point.
The width of the passage varied wildly.
Some parts were wide enough to walk through comfortably.
Other parts were so narrow we had to crawl on all fours to squeeze through.
Then, before long,
“This… is a ventilation shaft, isn’t it?”
Clank, clank!
As we crawled forward,
I found square iron grates embedded in the walls.
Through the gaps, I could see an enormous storage space full of books.
And inside, antique-looking books filled the place to the brim.
“And… this is the archives!”
Sonya whispered as she crawled slowly beside me.
“If it’s the archives, then this should be the floor below the training room…! We must’ve gone down a level at some point!”
“…”
Even if it was the archives, there didn’t seem to be much chance of students spotting us from below.
The ceiling was absurdly high.
The students beneath us looked no bigger than fists.
With bookshelves this massive…
Wouldn’t someone organizing the upper shelves just fall to their death?
“How many books are even in there?”
“It’s amazing, right? When I first came here, I thought it was completely ridiculous. The Hunter profession has only existed for 13 years… but this much would take hundreds of years of publishing to produce.”
“…”
“But most of the books in there aren’t readable.”
“What do you mean?”
“They aren’t written in any language from Earth. They’re all filled with incomprehensible characters.”
“Ah.”
“So the most common theory among the students of the Magic Tower is that maybe the Magic Tower Lord wasn’t the one who built this tower after all. That’s what most people think. I mean, doesn’t it make sense? How could one person build something this huge all alone?”
“A reasonable conclusion. Very fitting for an Oxford student.”
“Hehe, right?”
Creak, creak!
We kept crawling.
It seemed we still had a long way to go before reaching our destination.
I asked again.
“Then what are those students in the archives doing?”
“Ah, them?”
“Yes.”
“One of two things. They’re either reading actual Skill Books, or they’re students desperately trying to decipher those characters.”
Sonya scratched her cheek.
“If someone managed to translate all of those characters… wouldn’t that be the jackpot of all jackpots?”
She was right.
You’d be able to absorb the vast knowledge stored in these archives.
For reference, a 「Skill Book」 was an essential item for mages, one that could be obtained as a dungeon reward or from a lucky windfall.
The moment you read it, it was a cheat-level item that allowed you to learn the skill written inside.
Of course, it could only be used once.
Once someone used it, the ‘special effect’ that let them learn the skill disappeared.
Only the book itself remained.
That was why an S-rank 「Skill Book」 that still retained its ‘special effect’ could sell for an absurdly high price.
Of course, there was also the restriction that only those with a magic-related Unique Ability could learn from a 「Skill Book」.
So a Necromancer like me couldn’t learn from one even if I got my hands on it.
Then why were they reading used Skill Books?
Because the books still contained explanations of the skill’s fundamentals and how it could be applied.
The books those students were reading were probably Skill Books that had already lost their special effect.
“Ugh!”
Not long after, Sonya let out a groan.
“My back hurts…! How much longer do we have to keep crawling? Ugh, was coming in here a mistake?”
She raised her head irritably.
Creak!
Ahead of us, Bone Five suddenly stopped crawling.
“Huh?”
Then,
thud, thud!
This time, it began pounding the iron grate of the ventilation shaft with its staff.
Was it trying to get into the archives?
“Move aside for a second.”
“Y-Yes!”
After shoving Sonya into a corner, I moved in next to Bone Five.
Fwoosh!
I changed my Godslayer-grade weapon into a dagger.
Then, without hesitation, I stabbed downward and began cutting.
Slice, slice!
As expected of a high-grade weapon, the ventilation shaft’s frame was cut apart with ease.
Sonya looked horrified.
“Y-You just cut part of the Magic Tower so casually…!”
“If we get caught, we’re in huge trouble either way, aren’t we?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but….”
“There.”
Ignoring her, I looked at Bone Five.
“Go wherever you want.”
I’ll take responsibility for whatever comes next.
Clunk!
After removing the grate, I climbed down first.
Fortunately, the top of a bookshelf was pressed right up against the opening.
Creak!
Bone Five climbed down after me.
“Uff-cha!”
Sonya followed behind.
At the same time, Bone Five started leading the way again.
Unexpectedly, it moved freely across the tops of the bookshelves and began heading deeper into the archives.
Toward a dark and deserted area.
How long had we walked like that?
After stopping atop a certain bookshelf, Bone Five grabbed the edge and climbed down one level.
It moved skillfully, even though just beneath it yawned a drop that looked close to 100 meters deep.
“Uwaah, why there of all places?”
Sonya stamped her feet.
“I have a fear of heights!”
“Hmm, then I suppose the real question is whether your curiosity matters more than your life. I’ll respect whichever one you choose.”
Smirking, I followed Bone Five downward.
Just one shelf lower.
Unlike the other bookshelves, this ‘shelf’ was unusually tall.
Tall enough that I had to hunch my back slightly to stand there.
And then.
“Huh?”
I saw it clearly.
A black door tucked between books that had been stacked sideways….
“Woah.”
Thump, thump…!
My heart pounded.
So this was what it felt like to discover a hidden ‘windfall’ or secret ‘reward’ while exploring a dungeon.
“What! What is it?! What is it?!”
Sonya grew excited at my reaction as well.
“There’s a door here.”
“A door?!”
In the end, curiosity won out.
“Huuuuup!”
After taking one long, deep breath, she forced herself down one shelf.
It was curiosity worthy of a mage.
And then,
clunk!
The place we entered after following Bone Five was a narrow hidden chamber.
The room was simple.
A small, plain bookshelf stood in one corner.
It was filled with books that looked ancient.
And there was also a single desk and a single chair in the middle of the room.
On top of it lay a tattered sheet of parchment, dried ink, and a quill pen.
“…What is this?”
“I wonder.”
What indeed?
I wanted to know too.
Creak!
Now that it had arrived, Bone Five sat down in the corner opposite the small bookshelf and stopped moving.
It had moved here on instinct, and now that it had reached its destination, it had returned to being the usual Bone Five.
“Hmm.”
I picked up one of the books from the shelf and flipped through it roughly.
As expected, it was filled with characters I couldn’t understand at all.
“What is this? That Skeleton… how did it know a place like this existed? And why are there only books like these in a hidden room like this?”
Sonya also searched the room diligently.
“Honestly, if there was a place like this hidden in the Magic Tower, there should’ve at least been some kind of windfall. Hah, what a disappointment.”
“I know.”
I kept searching for something.
I even asked Bone Five, but
creak?*
the idiot only tilted its head, its joints grinding.
“Hoo.”
You punk.
What’s the point of only finding this place?
You should’ve at least told me what it meant.
“U-Uh?”
That was when it happened.
Sonya, who had been flipping through the parchment on the desk, gasped in shock.
“L-Look at this!”
She pointed at the writing on the parchment.
“Th-There’s English written here!”
“…English?”
I walked over and looked down.
The text naturally translated itself and became readable.
[Magic Path World.]
[Traces of the 4th Magic Tower Lord, ‘Eloise’.]
[Management Target No. 1.]
[Caution required, as this is the chamber of the worst Magic Tower Lord in history, a legendary figure of her era.]
“…This is.”
Eloise?
The worst Magic Tower Lord in history?
“…What could this mean?”
Sonya answered blankly, her voice filled with doubt.