Chapter 121 Scholar

The metal platform beneath the stone stood over a meter tall, and the stone itself was around 30 to 40 centimeters high. Combined, their height matched that of an ordinary person.

This was Odis’s very first time seeing an object inscribed with Dragon mystical symbols in the real world.

Each symbol was cubic. On many of the glyphs, one could discern heads and tails, and some even bore structures resembling wings. Overall, the silhouettes of these symbols vaguely resembled Dragons of various postures.

Odis remained exceedingly cautious, making no move to touch it with his hands. Instead, he kept a measured distance, studying the symbols on the stone with meticulous care.

The others observed him closely, failing to detect the slightest anomaly from him.

Ikanser felt a faint swell of relief at this. After all, no one wished to see an intelligence officer as exceptional as Odis go astray.

Even so, he didn’t let down his guard. His hand remained tightly gripped around the mechanical lever as he maintained his sharp watch over Odis.

After roughly half a minute, Ikanser finally exchanged glances with Karl, confirming that there were no issues with Odis.

Max let out a slow sigh of relief: ‘Seems that even if Odis has issues, they are minor at worst…’

Karl took a step forward and spoke: “The scholars of our Church also said this is no common dragon script. It appears to be the most ancient dragon script, which, according to literature, only dragons can comprehend.”

Odis, who had essentially finished translating, smiled faintly and said, “That’s only because your scholars haven’t found the method to translate it.”

“Indeed, we have been striving to find a deciphering method.” From the side of the warehouse emerged three elderly figures dressed in the clerical robes of the Church of the Evernight Goddess.

Every Church possessed a circle of scholars dedicated to studying difficult problems in the Beyonder domain, assisting in translating ancient documents encountered in cases, or offering counsel for exploring ancient ruins.

Of the three elders, the one in the middle had completely white hair, while the other two had greying hair and beards. They had been examining the script on the stone just moments ago, only hiding away temporarily upon the arrival of Odis, an uncertain variable.

Having confirmed that he posed no threat, they emerged once more to resume their work.

Karl nodded toward the grey-haired elder, “Bishop Barrett, this is Odis from the Machinery Hivemind Church. He also understands Dragonese.”

“Many people understand Dragonese, but very few can comprehend these characters.” The elder addressed as Bishop Barrett remarked with a flat expression.

None of the three scholars believed that the young man before them could decipher the mystical script of the dragons.

Ikanser and Max harbored little hope either. After all, if the Church’s own scholars were baffled by the script, how could a mere Dragonese amateur make sense of it?

“Quite right.” Odis smiled faintly as he looked at the characters carved into the stone, “As early as the Second Epoch, the human ancestors formed the Dragonese language and script widely used today precisely by deciphering these dragon characters.”

This was very similar to the situation with Jotun. The Dragonese spoken and written today was likewise a product of humanization. The Dragonese spoken by true Dragons differed greatly from the one spoken by humanoids, and the same held true for the script.

The reason was simple… apart from High-Sequence Beyonders of the Spectator Pathway, humans possessed different vocal organs than Dragons, as well as distinct reading and linguistic logic.

Hearing Odis’s words, Barrett was momentarily taken aback. Having such insight proved that this young man was indeed thoroughly versed in ancient scripts.

He then asked, “What thoughts do you have regarding these characters?”

Odis looked toward the three scholars and spoke, “I began by examining the reading logic to study the mysticism symbols of the dragons. Inadvertently, I suddenly discovered that the dragons’ most mystical symbols must be read in groups of four. Just like this… grouping four symbols from top, bottom, left, and right together forms a single phrase…”

“…I suspect this stems from the difference in reading logic between dragons and humans. Our habit is to read word by word horizontally or vertically, whereas they read in entire patches.”

These words didn’t make much of an impression on Ikanser and the others; after all, they were not experts in this field and did not quite grasp the distinction between the Dragonese commonly used by humans and the language and mysticism symbols used exclusively by true Dragons.

The three scholars, on the other hand, stood frozen in place for a full ten seconds!

‘No wonder it made no sense no matter how we tried to decipher it. The reading sequence we employed had been entirely different all along!’

Ten seconds later, Barrett said with a look of disbelief, “This… this is definitely an astonishing discovery in mysticism.”

‘That’s only because you’ve all been hovering around mysticism’s front door; that’s why you’re so shocked.’ Odis thought to himself, then smiled and said, “Whether that’s astonishing or not, I wouldn’t know. Regardless, using this method allows me to understand what these characters mean.”

Still, simply possessing the reading logic was not entirely sufficient, because a Dragon’s writing logic was also vastly different from that of humans. Many symbols appeared largely identical, yet placed in different positions, their meanings changed entirely.

Without simultaneously grasping both of these systems, which to humans were extraordinarily convoluted, completing the translation would be impossible.

And for now, Odis only intended to reveal one of those systems to them…

Ikanser came to a realization, “You can read the words carved into this stone?”

“I can’t read them aloud, as there are sounds I’m unable to pronounce,” Odis said with a nod, “But I understand their meaning.”

Karl immediately urged, “Please, translate it for us.”

The three scholars also focused with rapt attention, hoping to glean from Odis’s translation the reading logic he had just described.

Scrutinizing the script, Odis said, “The general meaning of these words is: This is a stone that came from the Cosmos, passing through the barrier. The great Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt said: ‘It can bring disaster, and it can bring hope. It is a springboard of power, and it must never fall into the hands of the Sanguine…'”

Barrett nodded, “That is indeed reasonable. After all, during the Second Epoch, the Dragons and Sanguines did not belong to the same faction.”

Odis, however, mulled it over for a moment before asking, “What does ‘a springboard of power’ mean?”

“Is there no further explanation on it?” Ikanser asked.

Odis shook his head, “None.”

Max then asked, “And what is the ‘barrier’?”

Karl harbored the exact same question.

However, Ikanser said to Max, “Your clearance level is not high enough yet. Once you advance another rank, you will be permitted to access the relevant knowledge.”

Max nodded slowly, and Karl nodded along with him. Clearance levels across the Orthodox Churches were roughly similar. If Max lacked clearance, Karl, who held the same rank, lacked it as well.

Evidently, team/squad captains did not yet have the clearance to access it, and one had to reach the level of general Captain or Deacon before gaining access to such information…

On the side, Barrett stroked his beard and said to Odis, “Young man, to decipher these characters, it seems we indeed need to recognize their ordering in addition to having a specific reading logic!”

As an elite Church scholar, he naturally noticed that simply altering the reading logic was still not enough to understand these Draconic glyphs.

“Yes. There is an even more intricate arrangement logic involved, which could also be called a writing logic,” Odis said with a smile.

But he only stopped there, refusing to elaborate further.

Barrett smiled warmly, saying, “Young man, would you be interested in joining the Church of the Evernight Goddess?”

“Ahem.” Karl cleared his throat, reminding the highly esteemed Church scholar that members of the Machinery Hivemind were standing right beside them.

“Thank you for the invitation,” Odis replied with a polite smile, “But I remain devoted to my faith.”

Barrett nodded, then said, “I have some literature on Dragon race mysticism symbols at my place. Would you be willing to translate it for me?”

“My work keeps me quite busy, so I’m not sure if I’ll have the time.” Odis replied.

‘Until we settle on a price, of course, otherwise I’m always going to be quite busy.’ He added inwardly.

Glancing at the nearby Machinery Hivemind members, Barrett suddenly had an idea, “We can have a proper discussion when we have time later.”

He intended to have his Church directly approach the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery to see if they could pay money or offer some other compensation to learn the method for deciphering Dragon race mysticism symbols.

‘If the Church of Steam hands down an order, this young man surely wouldn’t refuse.’ Barrett thought this way simply because it never crossed his mind that a young man so proficient in ancient scripts and symbols was not actually a member of the Church of Steam.

The group discussed the passage Odis had translated for a while longer, but made little further headway. Ikanser then took his leave, departing with Max and Odis…

…

In the carriage on the way back, Ikanser said to Odis, “How about a bonus of 100 pounds for this translation work? Along with the intelligence you provided this morning, we’ll pay you a total of 200 pounds.”

This was already a very generous sum. Even in Backlund, it was enough for Odis to live on his own for over half a year without needing to be particularly frugal.

Of course, that was assuming he wasn’t a Beyonder and wasn’t conducting his own research.

Odis nodded, “Sounds good.”

Max voiced the question lingering in his mind: “How did you think to… to interpret those symbols using such a peculiar method?”

It was noteworthy that none of those three senior scholars had even known a method like that!

“My friend,” Odis smiled, “This kind of deciphering work requires talent.”

Translation -» “Don’t ask, but if you do, the answer is simply raw talent.”

Amidst casual chatter, the carriage first dropped Odis off.

Then the carriage continued its journey, and both Ikanser and Max sank into their own thoughts.

After a long pause, Max broke the silence, “As far as I can tell, Odis shouldn’t be much of an issue.”

“To think he actually understands Dragon mysticism symbols…” Ikanser murmured, “I’m no expert in this field, but I saw the shock on Barrett’s and the others’ faces.”

Max sighed, thinking if the person dwelling in that body truly was an ancient, mysterious entity…

“Still, everyone has secrets they’d rather keep to themselves,” Ikanser said, running a hand through his hair, “Especially in the Beyonder world.”

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Odis returned to his bedroom, and as soon as he sat down at his desk, he saw a short phrase on the wall in front of him: