Chapter 99 099

"My Lord!"

"Ah, Maya, were you waiting for us?"

"Yes, my curiosity was killing me! What happened? Did my customer… I mean, the adventurer win?"

"Yes, he emerged victorious."

"What?! How could he have defeated Lampert? Did he use a sword? A bow? Magic?"

"Well… he wielded a greatsword the size of a human. His swordsmanship was remarkable. Lampert did his best, but unfortunately, he was outmatched."

"No way… he doesn't even have a sword!" Maya exclaimed in disbelief, only to be met with Oldman's customary smile.

"He conjured it out of thin air. It was the adventurer's skill, I suppose. I must be going, Maya."

With that, Oldman departed as if fleeing. Maya just stood there in disbelief before turning to Lampert.

"Champion Lampert!"

"…Maya. What's the matter? You look quite urgent."

"This doesn't make sense! Did you lose on purpose?" Maya pretended to be a shocked young girl on the verge of tears to avoid implying that she doubted the honor of the duel. However, Lampert remained calm and shook his head.

"He's an exceptional warrior and deserves the title of champion. It's best not to disrespect him, Maya."

"But…"

"Winning is not the only way to maintain honor. Accepting a valuable defeat and humbly acknowledging it also reflects your character as a warrior."

Lampert tapped Maya on the shoulder and turned away, signaling that he wouldn't explain further. Maya felt like she was going crazy.

'How did he do that?!' she wondered. The situation made no sense to her, and she realized she only had one option left.

'Do I really have to go and ask him myself?' she thought begrudgingly.

* * *

Successfully persuaded key NPC!

Additional information added. Additional clues added.

* Oldman Shahav is at the core of Shahav's history. He informed you of the events that Shahav has gone through up until this very day.

* Acquired: Mysterious Old Book

* Acquired Faint Record on a Stone Tablet

* Acquired Diary with No Cover

,,,

"Perfect," Seojin muttered to himself as he was left alone in the Arena of Glory. He began sifting through the new messages and additional clues in his inventory. Oldman lived up to his title, possessing a wealth of knowledge about his own land, including some rather suspicious incidents. The clues he had just acquired were particularly impressive, including a mysterious old book, a lithographic record, and a diary, all of which contained very explicit clues.

Bunny had previously mentioned that Maya's group had existed for centuries before Oldman arrived, which explained the age of the records. As Seojin carefully turned the pages of the old book, he was stopped in his tracks by the illegible text. Many pages were weathered and the remaining text was difficult to read, but fortunately, Seojin had a Fairy Ex Machina on his side.

"Wow, I never expected to see this here."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Damn right I do. It's ancient Elvish,"

"Elf? You mean those who live in the forest?"

"Yes. They're friends of nature and partners of us spirits."

Flappy flew in front of Seojin and held out her right hand.

"You gotta pay in advance."

"Pay in advance?" Seojin repeated.

"Yes, and I'll interpret it for ye." Flappy said confidently.

"Can you really do that?" Seojin asked skeptically.

"Ye think we spirits wouldn't know the language of our partners? I could talk to a thousand-year-old elf right now if you asked me to."

Flappy boasted.

"Oh, my God…"

All of a sudden, Seojin saw the tiny Flappy as a much-needed deity.

"Please accept my gift, Lord Flappy," he said.

Flappy nodded in satisfaction and accepted the top-quality magic stone.

"Wait a moment," she said, putting on a pair of glasses that were smaller than Seojin's fingernails.

He had no idea where the fairy had obtained them.

"Turn it over," Flappy ordered, her hair tied back in a ponytail.

Seojin complied.

"The Guardians of Balance," she read aloud.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not so sure That was the only thing that seemed important. The other entries were like… I had two meals today or I'm said cuz it's all meat."

Seojin realized that most of the entries were meaningless. He had expected more from the ancient language and the date of the document, but it seemed that was all there was to it.

"Oh, one more thing. It seems that som'n was put to sleep. Though it doesn't have any details."

"Put to sleep?"

"Ush-gat-rsu. Sleep… more like an eternal sleep."

"So, someone killed something?"

"Someone put something to eternal sleep. That's what it says."

Seojin stroked his chin, thinking that eternal sleep was usually a metaphor for death.

"…Or maybe it means something was sealed away?"

"I don't dare assume."

"Okay, let's move on to the next one."

The faint inscription on the stone tablet was the same kind that was written on the old stone tablet, an ancient Elvish.

"Let's say… it's gist uh more complicated version uh thuh same words, Ah thank. Guardians. Balance. Eternal sleep. Oh?"

Flappy pushed up her glasses in surprise.

"It says thus place used to be a forest. Damn, the whole of Salevania, for real?"

"…?"

"Nuh huh, I'm not believing it. Is this record reliable?"

"I can't say for sure."

"Ridiculous… okay, here's what it says. There is now a desert in Salevania, but som'n disrupted the balance, and the guardians tried to stop it."

"So, that's why it says they protect the balance."

"At last, it fell to its last sleep and Salevania regained balance… That's when the desertification stopped. Quite something, I must say."

A system message popped up with Flappy's surprised yell.

Additional bookmark added.

Seojin's eyes narrowed the moment he saw it.

They were elves, not accustomed to fighting or war, yet their mentality had hardened over time, allowing them to adapt to the changing tides. Their duty was bestowed upon them by history, and their responsibility weighed heavily upon them, like the weight of the passing years. The elves did everything in their power to maintain harmony and feared even the slightest changes.

"…Elf."

Personal information updated.

* Maya's race has been added.

* Jin's race has been added.

Seojin let out a sigh upon reading the information.

"So, they were elves… I had a feeling they weren't human."

"Elves? Who?"

"Jin and Maya."

"The little ones were elves? No way, they didn't seem familiar at all."

"That's because they've been away from the forest for hundreds of years. You sense the energy of nature, don't you?"

"I suppose so."

Spirits were the closest beings to natural energy, and although elves were not as powerful as spirits, they were still closely connected to the forest. However, in the dry land of Shahav, there was no forest for them to call home.

"Now… this."

Seojin picked up the diary, noticing that the text was not written in Elvish.

I'm hungry. My mind is drying up. My skin's cracked.

Seojin turned the page and read records written in Valaranian.

* * *

Seojin found Maya waiting for him as he exited the arena.

"Sir! You took a long time!" she exclaimed.

"I had something to sort out. You've been waiting for me?" he replied.

"Sure, and by sorting out you mean…" Maya trailed off.

"It wasn't an easy battle," Seojin explained.

"The duel?" Maya asked.

"Nothing's better than fighting extraordinary warriors to level up. I'm sure you know what it feels like, judging by your skill," Seojin replied.

"Of course, but… did you really fight with… am I being rude now?"

Maya hesitated as Seojin made a face, but he quickly shrugged and moved past it.

"Yes, but ask me. I'll answer you. I have something to ask you, too."

"Was it a real duel?" Maya asked.

"It was a real duel," Seojin confirmed.

Maya knew that he was lying the moment he spoke, which meant two things.

'So, my ability is working…' she thought.

Seojin really wasn't using the Power of Darkness, which meant that he used his abilities in some way during the duel.

Maya used Insight.

At the same time, Seojin became aware that Maya had been using her powers, and his lie was exposed as well.

'It's not like she can do anything to me,' he thought.

Maya couldn't be too curious, and Seojin had no reason to cooperate with her even if she was.

"Let me ask you a question this time," he said.

"I can't answer anything related to the contract," Maya replied.

"I understand. It's not that kind of question."

"Well then…?"

"The Guardians of Balance."

"…!"

Seojin's mention of the Guardians of Balance made Maya flinch and broke her poker face. She quickly tried to hide it, but Seojin nodded as if he was about to call checkmate.

"Bingo," he said.

Maya murmured in panic as Seojin revealed a secret that was never supposed to be leaked. It was the whole reason someone like her had to follow adventurers around like a dog!

"I had a clue about it and just poked you," Seojin explained.

"Huh?" Maya asked, confused.

"I just found out about two words. Balance and Guardians. I think your group is really old, at least hundreds of years."

"...."

"Looks like another bingo for me. Your secret society has been maintaining balance here even before Shahav arrived. I wonder what you're protecting though…" Seojin grinned at Maya, who was in shock and awe.

"I'll find out soon enough, right? I just need to complete one more contract."

Maya remained silent; her mind filled with confusion. The clues that Seojin seemed to have obtained and the promise she made were both overwhelming, and the thought of being the first member to reveal the secret to an outsider in a thousand years was daunting.

Seojin, however, paid no attention to her mood and glanced at the newly appeared status screen.

Encountered: new language.

Hidden characteristic of Silver Tongue: Natural Sense applied!

Silver Tongue: You can speak low-level Ancient Elvish!

The system message had appeared just as Flappy mentioned Elvish.