Chapter 53: Traces (1)

The monument Carl pointed to was located at the very center in front of the chapel.

Unlike the other statues, it stood there without the slightest trace of being carved into any shape.

At first, Carl had thought little of it.

There had been too many relics around for him to bother with a blunt, unshaped monument.

But the moment he unconsciously glanced at the monument’s surface, he noticed something strange.

‘This smooth surface wasn’t cut with a tool.’

It was clearly shaped and sliced using sword energy—no, steel energy.

《Justice》 was a master of the sword.

So Carl hadn’t missed the possibility that this monument had been personally worked on by him.

“Hm.”

Dane, who had been looking at other statues, actually moved over to examine the monument.

“This is made from an incredibly dense material. Doesn’t seem like something suitable for making a statue. Was it made to inscribe something on it? As it is now, I doubt it holds any real meaning…”

He flipped through his notebook, searching to see if there was anything similar to the monument recorded.

“Could it be something left by a hero other than 《Rest》?”

“That’s possible. Weren’t 《Rest》 and 《Justice》 mentioned in the records related to this temple? Ah, Professor Ruiden, what do you think of this monument?”

At that moment, Professor Ruiden, who was passing nearby, was drawn over by Dane’s words.

After carefully studying the monument, Professor Ruiden pursed his lips and said,

“I’m not sure what purpose it was installed for either. It could very well be an unfinished piece.”

“In any case, we should look over the other things. We might find a clue about this monument.”

Dane and Professor Ruiden left the front of the monument and headed elsewhere.

There were fascinating relics scattered all around, after all.

But Carl alone remained in front of it.

‘My instincts are telling me this is it.’

Something 《Justice》 had left behind in this temple.

This monument was exactly what he had been searching for so desperately.

So, with his arms folded, he stared down the monument, but the blunt-looking stone didn’t so much as twitch.

‘What should I do?’

He had passed the trial set within this temple.

The trial had been proof of qualification—

a process to verify whether one possessed the ability to claim something.

‘I’ve got the key, but there’s no lock.’

The lock was surely the monument before him, yet there was no visible keyhole.

For a moment, he considered smashing it, but decided to keep that as a last resort—it would cause quite a commotion.

“……”

Carl glanced left and right, gauging his surroundings.

When everyone else was too absorbed in examining the relics, he quickly reached out and touched the monument.

According to Dane, during relic investigations it was an unspoken rule to avoid physical contact unless something truly extraordinary was happening.

But this was the only way left to try, so he made his attempt while avoiding everyone’s eyes.

At his fingertips, he felt a cold and slightly rough texture.

Of course, nothing happened.

‘Something more…’

Carl drew up his inner energy.

Pouring it into the monument was an entirely unconscious action.

If there was truly no mechanism in the monument, the inner energy would simply leak back out and dissipate.

Bzzzzzt!

But that had been the right answer.

As the monument emitted light and a resonant hum, Carl hastily pulled his hand away and stepped back.

Feigning innocence as if he had never touched it, he called to the seniors from a short distance away.

“Seniors! Over here!”

“What the—! Why’s that thing glowing?!”

“Oh?!”

In an instant, everyone’s attention turned toward it.

Laysis approached the front, ready to draw her sword at a moment’s notice, and stared at the monument.

Ssshhh—

The light surging up from the base of the monument gradually swept over its surface, forming strange patterns.

“This is…!”

“Is that Ancient Script?!”

“Write it down!”

Everyone hastily flipped open their notebooks and began scribbling.

Carl, too, fumbled for his notebook and pen, but as soon as he saw the letters floating above the monument, he froze.

“Find my sword in the Imperial Palace.”

He exhaled a shallow breath.

As he blinked and mulled over the message, the light above the monument quickly faded away and vanished.

‘Find my sword in the Imperial Palace.’

The letters on the monument had been unmistakably in the script of the Central Plains.

Among everyone here—perhaps even in this entire world—he alone could understand them.

The muscles in Carl’s hand tightened, and blue veins bulged on the back of it.

‘As I thought.’

His guess had been right.

《Justice》 was a master from the Central Plains—

someone from the same homeland as himself.

‘Imperial Palace… it must mean the Ribera Empire’s Imperial Palace. So 《Justice》’s sword is kept there?’

From its founding, the Ribera Empire had maintained close ties with heroes.

It wouldn’t be strange for relics of a hero to be preserved in the Imperial Palace.

“…It’s gone.”

“At least we’ve got the record. We can try to interpret it later.”

“Should we try touching it again?”

The cadets gave cautious nods to Professor Ruiden’s questioning look.

They, too, were curious about what had just happened.

But no matter how they tried touching the monument again, nothing changed.

“Does it only appear once?”

“We can’t know for now. We’ll have to leave it to thorough research later.”

Everyone looked thrilled.

They had not only discovered an ancient ruin—the temple of 《Rest》—but also something seemingly tied closely to another hero.

Reporting this to the academy would be recognized as a significant achievement.

“There should be plenty of experts in ancient script at the academy who can decipher this.”

“Research connected to heroes is part of a major field. Scholars desperate for results will throw themselves at it with their eyes blazing.”

From here on, it was beyond the level of a club activity.

Leaving it in the hands of specialists and watching from the sidelines could be its own sort of reward.

After about two hours had passed, the cadets, having explored the interior until they were satisfied, left the temple with contented expressions.

Of course, the one who felt the most satisfied among them was, without a doubt, Carl.

The achievements of the Ruins Exploration Club became a hot topic within Bayern in less than a day.

It wasn’t just any random place—it was a ruin connected to an ancient hero—so the reaction was only natural.

Once reported to the academy and officially recognized, Bayern’s prestige would rise even further. On top of that, the entire club was expected to receive bonus points and generous rewards.

“It was my first time exploring a ruin. Do you know how we first got in? We carefully dug out the space between two small cliffs so the entrance wouldn’t collapse, and…”

“Hm.”

Sunday at lunch.

Yuria was currently eating with Laysis.

She had been interested in the events of the previous day, so she listened closely.

From what Laysis was saying, it really did sound exciting.

‘I didn’t know there were ruins in that area.’

As she ate, Yuria gave occasional responses to Laysis’s story—until she paused at a certain point.

“You said a pattern appeared?”

“Yes. Ah, since you’re a mage, can’t you interpret it?”

“Just because I’m a mage doesn’t mean I know all ancient scripts. Still, if it’s in the rune family, I might be able to interpret it. Can you show me?”

“Yes. I heard it’s already been reported to the academy, so apparently there’s no problem showing it to outsiders.”

Laysis took out her notebook and showed Yuria the phrase that had been on the monument.

Yuria, with a bit of expectation, looked at it, but soon shook her head in disappointment.

“No idea. Mind if I copy it down?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m curious what it says.”

“Since it’s been sent to the academy, the scholars will probably figure it out soon. It’s not even that long.”

“You never know. If it’s an entirely new language system, they might have to start from scratch… though, really, what’s a thousand years in this world?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Yuria shook her head and twirled more pasta onto her fork.

At the very least, when it came to the hero side of things, Yuria showed plenty of interest.

…And the Ruins Exploration Club also had Carl in it.

While chewing her pasta, Yuria casually said to Laysis,

“Maybe I should join too.”

“Huh? Join what?”

“The Ruins Exploration Club.”

“…You? Yuria?”

“You said it’s boring being alone. Wouldn’t it be better if I had at least one familiar face there? Like you said, it’d also be good for socializing and such.”

“Ah, it’s fine now. I’ve gotten close with the seniors. They’re all very kind.”

“…I’m actually very interested in ruins. Maybe I could do research themed around 《Eternity》, the founder of the Magic Tower?”

“Hmm… Even though it’s a club, it’s still pretty amateur level. You’d probably find it lacking. And the exploration side means going out into the field, so it’s a bit troublesome.”

“I’m a mage, but I’m not that weak. I’ve been training hard whenever I get the chance.”

“Hmm.”

“Hm.”

At Laysis’s vague and somewhat dissuasive attitude, Yuria narrowed her eyes.

‘Is she blocking me because of Carl?’

From what she’d heard, Carl often spent time with the club.

Was Laysis trying to keep her out so she wouldn’t interfere?

‘Why is she so insistent on joining? Is it because of Carl?’

On the other hand, Laysis suspected Yuria’s interest in the club was because of Carl.

She had always disliked outside activities because she was focused on research, yet suddenly she wanted to join a club?

It was only natural to think that way.

…Not that Laysis had the authority to stop her, but club activities were a rare moment of rest amid the busy academy life.

No matter how close a friend was, she didn’t want that to be disturbed.

“Hmm.”

“Hm.”

Until their meal ended, their sighs and suspicions toward each other never disappeared.

While the cadets of Bayern enjoyed the last day of the weekend—

Carl sat alone in his dormitory, deep in thought.

It wasn’t that he had no plans.

Maximilian and Brother Darius had invited him to spar, but Carl had canceled all plans and locked himself in his room.

Having gone on a ruin exploration the day before, it hadn’t been hard to make an excuse.

‘The temple, the trial, the monument.’

These were the three things he had gained from the journey.

The temple itself didn’t matter much.

What drew his attention were the latter two.

‘The trial was good training. If possible, I’d like to do it again.’

A fight as a martial artist.

Mu-ak and Carl Leipzig.

He had gained the precious experience of sparring against both his past and present self.

It was a rare opportunity to objectively view himself from a third-person perspective.

‘And I realized I’d misunderstood part of the Bright Heaven Divine Art.’

Carl picked up the teacup on the table.

The steaming contents froze solid in an instant.

He had never been able to raise the Extreme Yin Energy so quickly before.

But after returning from the ruin exploration, he had spent the entire night reviewing the Bright Heaven Divine Art, and had finally found a clue.

‘The goal is to catch up to Nerian’s Power of Ice.’

It was the utility that came from blending the divine art.

At the very least, he had to match that level of power.

He was rather curious about the look on Nerian’s face when he found out Carl possessed an ability like the Power of Ice.

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