Chapter 71 - 65: Ancient Runes?
Chapter 71: Chapter 65: Ancient Runes?
One-Eyed took out a wooden board and carved a scratch into it with his Small Knife.
The board he’d had before, the one filled with scratches, had already been thrown into the fire. Those scratches had only been to record how many days he had survived under the two Giants.
He once thought he wouldn’t need to carve boards anymore, but old habits die hard. So, he started carving scratches again.
This time, he was recording how many days he had eaten his fill.
One-Eyed found it strange sometimes. The leader was only 1.3 meters tall, yet Red Eyes and Caocao were both willing to listen to him. And when the leader had told him to take some goblins to dig a tunnel, he had simply agreed without a second thought, not feeling there was anything wrong with it.
He had asked Red Eyes if the leader was powerful. Red Eyes said he was—far more powerful than any Adventurer, Bear Goblin, or Giant. He pressed further, saying the leader didn’t look very tall or strong. Red Eyes had just smiled and said the leader’s strength didn’t come from his size; the leader had something other goblins couldn’t compare to.
One-Eyed couldn’t understand Red Eyes’s answer. He thought about asking Buck Teeth, but ultimately gave up on the idea. Buck Teeth spent his days speaking unintelligible gibberish now, and One-Eyed felt he had gone mad.
After all these days, One-Eyed had finally figured out an answer: The leader was strong.
He couldn’t quite explain this strength, but he knew that leaders of other tribes couldn’t keep their subordinates fed. Based on that point alone, the Green Egg Leader was incredible.
He was thankful that he hadn’t run away earlier and had held out until the leader’s arrival. He was also more than happy to accept the tasks the leader assigned him.
In One-Eyed’s worldview, a goblin must not betray a leader who works hard to feed you.
"Manager Du, should we keep digging forward?" a goblin asked, running out of the tunnel.
"Do as the leader said. Dig for a bit, then brace it with some wooden beams," One-Eyed said, putting down his board and directing the goblins to carry the timber.
He didn’t know what the leader was thinking, having him lead a dozen or so goblins to focus on digging. He’d even given him the title of "manager." One-Eyed didn’t know what a manager was, but the leader said it was the general commander of a work site, the lead bull among the beasts of burden.
One-Eyed didn’t understand, but he felt it was very impressive.
"Pay attention, you lot. Dig slowly. The leader said to brace the tunnel with wood after digging each section," he reminded the goblins again.
At first, they were digging out the crevice where Fulu had been hiding. The Green Egg Leader had said something about "a rabbit having three exits," which One-Eyed didn’t understand; he just followed orders. But later, they were reassigned to dig in the corner of this large stone chamber, which was filled with all sorts of materials.
"Whatever the leader arranges is definitely right," One-Eyed said solemnly.
...
"You’re saying these patterns are from the Ancient Times?" Shire was a little shocked. "How ancient are we talking?"
"Before five thousand years ago," Agatha said seriously, putting down her magnifying glass. "Remember how I told you about the legend of a superior Race that established a civilization more advanced than humanity’s and even invented Magic?"
"Are you saying this Fortress was their base?" Shire’s eyes widened. "Or are you saying this is the Heaven-Reaching Tower?"
He looked around and added, "This Heaven-Reaching Tower looks pretty shabby."
"No, Shire, this obviously isn’t the Heaven-Reaching Tower." Agatha shook her head with a smile. "My point is that the things here are related to them."
"And we can’t rule out the possibility that they built this base," she said with a smile, picking up a book and handing it to Shire.
Shire took the book and first looked at the cover. The title printed on it was *Historical Society Quarterly Journal, Issue 302*. He then flipped through the pages and read the contents carefully. A few minutes later, he looked up and said, "This article says that two strange patterns found in different places are very likely the writing of an ancient Race?"
"Correct. I’ve read many articles discussing it. Some say it’s ancient writing, while others claim it’s a hoax. After all, writing appears in full sentences, not as single, isolated characters." Agatha took the book, closed it, and carefully placed it aside.
"People have always talked about an ancient civilization, but both academia and the Four Gods Church have denied this claim." She walked over to a stone artifact and stroked the patterns carved on its surface. "I used to think it was just a legend, too. But today, I’m starting to have my doubts."
"There are so many patterns here, and I’ve even seen the ones printed in the article. No one would go to this much trouble for a prank. This might really be something preserved from ancient times."
"So what are they, exactly, and what are they used for?" Shire asked.
Agatha thought for a moment before saying, "I’m still studying them. My initial assessment is that this isn’t writing. I think they might be Ancient Runes."
"Ancient Runes?" Shire rubbed his chin. "That sounds pretty incredible."
Agatha’s long fingers traced a pattern. She then lifted her hand, gently rubbing the dust from her fingertip. "I think that must be it. The Runes used by Arcane Mages today are said to have been adapted from the Holy Runes of the Four Gods Church, and even those Runes are already very powerful. I once saw the Arcane Grandmaster Affif use a Rune Array to perform a prophecy. The effect was astounding."
"A Prophetic Technique?" Shire was intrigued. "What was he predicting?"
Agatha was silent for a few seconds before forcing out the words, "He was making a prediction for a Beautiful Person from the Red Light District... about whether she could become the headliner."
Seeing Shire’s stunned expression, she quickly added, "But the flow of Magic Power and the changes in the Magic Field at that moment were truly breathtaking! Besides, I’ve heard the Holy Runes of the Four Gods Church are also incredibly effective. Something like the Limb Regeneration Technique requires Holy Runes as a catalyst."
"So you’re saying these Ancient Runes wouldn’t be any weaker than those?" Shire asked, pointing to the stones on the ground with a frown.
"I’ll have to do more research on that. It will take more time to figure out what they are and how to use them." Agatha held up her palm, gazing at the finger that had just traced the "Ancient Rune." "If this were before, I definitely could have written a few papers that would have shocked the Historical Society. But now..."
Her voice trailed off, and her entire demeanor seemed to dim.
"Don’t worry about it. You can take your time and study them here. When you write your papers, I’ll find a friend to deliver them to the Historical Society for you," Shire comforted her with a smile. "Besides, I’m sure the forest holds even more unknown historical gems, just gathering dust and waiting for you to discover them. Humans can’t stay in the forest for long, so this is an opportunity meant just for you."
"Mm, perhaps you’re right." Hearing Shire’s encouragement, Agatha managed to pull herself out of her melancholy. "I’ll catalog these patterns as quickly as possible and try to figure out how they’re used."
"Also, I’d like to ask you for an assistant," Agatha said, holding up a single finger.
"Who?" Shire asked.