The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

Everyone’s eyes focused on Mael.

“R-Really?”

“How did you just now…”

“......”

While Chameli asked Mael out of pure curiosity, Frannan was desperate to learn anything about Alcatron as he didn’t know anything about it.

Mael, knowing that, looked directly at Frannan before continuing.

“Mm… Frannan. You know that I am a member of the Artifact Association, right?”

"Of course. How else would we have gotten to know each other if not for that? Why?"

"The Artifact Association gathers all kinds of records. While Zodiac may hold incredible amounts of knowledge, the records the Artifact Association possess don’t lag behind."

“I am,” said Mael. “Please… look here.”

As Frannan scanned the thick pages, a strange expression grew on his face.

“Huh? The Artifact Association had documents like these?”

"I spent days combing through the Artifact Association's library trying to find anything about Alcatron. I also went through countless ancient documents that we couldn't understand, and this was one of them."

“That you couldn’t understand? How come?”

“There are several reasons why. Religious texts are often so convoluted that they're impossible to understand. Most of the texts fall into that category. In such cases, they're filled with pointless words that have little to do with the context, rendering them useless.”

“And the other instances?”

"Well... there could be other potential reasons, but in the case of this book, it's because the language doesn't match anything we know."

“Hm… but it likely exists, and you just can’t decipher it, right?”

“Precisely!”

The two were having a conversation that the others felt they could understand to some extent but also didn’t.

Because the two were Frannan, who had achieved remarkable academic feats, and Mael, whose depths of knowledge they didn’t know the full extent of, the others could only listen, unable to participate.

"The language was likely lost over time."

"Is there any chance that the language was lost simply because it was a regional tongue?"

“That is also possible, yes.”

Seol skimmed through some of the book before asking Karuna and Karen in his Shadow Space.

‘Is this Montra’s language?’

The answer that he received wasn’t the one he expected.

- No, it’s not.

‘Hm…’

Mael then pointed out more points that he had questions about.

"By the way, did you notice anything strange about the paper's materials?"

"You're right. This paper feels unlike anything I've ever felt. Do you know anything about this?”

"The Artifact Association used every possible means to identify it, but... we couldn't learn anything. However, we did learn one thing... here."

Mael handed over a drawing on a piece of paper.

“Is this what Alacatron looks like?”

"Yes, this is a drawing from when we excavated it."

“Hm… there’s a similar drawing in the book.”

"Yes, and I assume that the patterns carved in front of each locked room signify their purpose."

“Right, but this…”

"Exactly. The patterns in the book are used within a specific framework, and those same patterns are used in a mixed manner in front of Alcatron's doors. Don't you think... these are extremely similar to the numbers we use?"

“There’s potential behind that. Wait, numbers in front of doors… that are locked?”

Seol, Chameli, Jamad, and Frannan exchanged glances, all wearing the same look of realization.

“A… prison?”

“I can’t think of anything else it could be.”

“Then Alcatron could be a prison used to confine something…”

"Urgh... The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. More importantly, even if we understand it's a prison, wouldn't it be difficult to confirm?"

“That’s why… I brought this along.”

Mael pulled something out from his bundle, wrapped in cloth.

Ooh ooh… ah ah…

It was a monkey inside of a birdcage.

Frannan’s expression quickly stiffened.

“I doubt this is just any normal monkey. Is this… what I think it is?”

“It is,” smiled Mael. “It’s a junkie.”

"No way... aren't junkies a rare resource in the Artifact Association?”

Junkies. They were a strange monster even Seol knew of.

‘The Artifact Association brought a junkie?’

Chameli quickly poked Mael's side, eager to ask a question.

“Urgh… that’s my weak point,” said Mael.

“A-Ah, sorry.”

Even though she had been clearly uncomfortable with him before, as it was her first time meeting a troll in human society, the two seemed to have quickly become close.

“But… What's a junkie?”

"Ah, so you don't know what it is, vicar."

"Yes, the parish doesn't have much contact with the Artifact Association, so..."

“Junkies are monkeys capable of thought.”

“That’s it?”

"They wouldn't be called junkies if that's all they did. These monkeys have phenomenal learning speeds. Regardless of the field, if you hand a junkie a paper, they learn it extremely quickly."

“Oh…”

Ooh ooh… ah ah…

The junkie munched on a fruit that Mael handed it.

“But… why can’t it talk?”

"Once it loses interest in something, it forgets all of its memories and returns to being a normal monkey."

“What is that…”

"But that's exactly how they acquire new information. They empty what they learned previously to make room for new knowledge."

Everyone chuckled for a moment, as Mael almost sounded like a monk.

Frannan then followed it up with a question.

“But… the Artifact Association really handed you that monkey too?”

"Yes, they did. It wasn't necessarily because they trusted me, though. They were simply extremely curious about Alcatron."

"They're the type of guys who'd immediately get off the toilet if they hear the word 'ancient,' so it makes sense. Regardless, was the monkey able to do anything?"

“It didn’t show much interest in the records or the other ancient texts I gave it, but… it did react to a document I brought.”

“...that you brought?”

Thud.

Mael pulled out something once more.

“Urgh… what kind of book smells like this?” said Chameli, pinching her nose.

“Hahaha… please bear with it for a moment.”

“What is it?” asked Frannan.

"We discovered this book the last time we were unearthing Alcatron, lying around randomly in the middle of nowhere. This too was written in a language we didn't understand, so we desperately needed the junkie to help us."

“So, was it able to decipher it?”

“...Kiki, what does it say?”

The monkey looked at the book for a moment before speaking in the human language.

[Within this book, I have recorded the excavation status of the ruin that has yet to be named.]

“Th-the monkey’s talking right now!”

“Quiet…”

“Ubwrgh…”

The junkie continued.

[This ruin is named Alcatron. I do not know why it is called Alcatron. The name simply entered my head the moment I entered it.]

“Isn’t this… exactly the same as the Artifact Association’s records?”

"It is. We called it Alcatron because the first excavation crew also called it that."

“Then… does that mean there were people who discovered Alcatron before you?”

“That’s something for the junkie to tell—”

Suddenly.

Creaaak…

All of the carriages stopped.

“What is going on?”

“Well…”

As the coachman hesitated to answer the question, everyone stepped out of the carriage.

There were traces of a camp, with the fire still warm and essential items scattered about.

‘A camp?’

Everyone stepped out.

“This… is Alcatron.”

“Don’t lie to me… there's no entrance, though?”

"Where are the others? Judging by this camp, it's evident that those who took the roundabout path arrived before us."

Frannan rubbed his chin before laughing.

"Right now, I'm just glad we don't have to waste time setting up camp. First, let's clear the surroundings, and those of you who need rest, take some."

“Yes, sir!”

Since the camp had already been prepared, they didn’t necessarily need to do anything further.

The only thing they would need to do was expand it once the original owners returned and plan for entering Alcatron.

‘But… Alcatron disappeared?’

Seol did not know much about Alcatron.

In fact, most of the people in the expedition likely knew only as much as he did, nothing more.

“Has the entrance disappeared?”

The only reasonable explanation would be if someone filled up Alcatron’s entrance with dirt again, but even that was ridiculous.

As everyone was struggling to understand what had happened, one of the members of the expedition party shouted.

“There’s someone here! Over here!”

“It’s a Libra Magician! He was someone who took the roundabout path!”

“Where?!”

The members of the expedition party quickly gathered around him.

He lay on the floor, cold sweat dripping down all over his body.

“Yoran?” asked Frannan. “Is that you?”

“Aspect Magician… Frannan…”

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I’m just slightly exhausted… I’ll get over it soon.”

"I'm glad to hear that it isn't too serious. But... what happened here?"

“Well… I’m not sure how to explain this…”

The magician named Yoran carefully opened his mouth once more.

“We arrived here exactly three days ago.”

* * *

3 days ago.

Yofimba leaned back as he let out a long yawn.

“You’re lying, right?”

"We've been through so much to come all this way, so what the hell is all this, Yofimba?"

“I know, but I’m confused as well. Why is the entrance gone?”

“Hm… are you sure this is the right place?”

"I'm certain. There are still traces of us excavating it around, see? So what the hell happened?"

Alcatron’s entrance disappeared.

How could this have possibly happened?

Yofimba’s expression grew worse.

‘Then where the hell did Libra disappear to?’

While finding Libra’s Tower Master was also an issue, the disappearance of Alcatron, which the Artifact Association was in charge of excavating, was also a massive concern that caused Yofimba a lot of confusion.

“How could an entire ruin disappear…?”

“What do we do now, then? Are we giving up the search?”

“Will we even be paid properly for this?”

The members began to murmur amongst each other.

"For now, let's set up camp. We can make a decision when the Aspect Magician arrives. He has the final say anyway."

“Okay. But what are we going to do about that Yoran guy?”

"People from the magic tower are taking care of him, so don’t worry. Even if a problem arises, it wouldn’t be our fault."

“Was our pace too fast? I should’ve known that magicians had awful stamina.”

There were no issues the first night. However, a massive one arose the next day.

“...We’re missing members?”

“Yes, even a few of the night guards disappeared as well.”

“Oh my god…”

Yofimba and the mercenary group leaders increased the number of night guards as a temporary measure. However, that was a huge mistake.

The next day, even more people had disappeared. It was already too late to regret their decision.

“Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”

“What should we do?”

“No one’s allowed to sleep! It’s obvious that something is happening at night!”

* * *

Back to the present day, Frannan asked Yoran more questions.

“So what happened after that, Yoran?”

"Everyone... went there as if they were possessed. Even though I told them not to go... and tried to stop them."

“By ‘there’ do you mean…”

Yoran weakly nodded his head.

"Yes, Alcatron. The ruin didn't disappear. It reveals itself at night, opening its maw to lure people in. In the end... everyone went there."

"...So we have to wait until nightfall. Yoran, will you recover before then?"

“If the pilgrims take care of me, I should be fine, yes.”

“That’s good.”

Seol couldn’t help but laugh in defeat.

‘A ruin that only appears at night?’

It wasn’t as if Seol hadn’t heard of ruins like that in Pandea before. However, it was his first time seeing one with his own eyes so he was a bit shocked.

Seol and the party immediately began a discussion.

“What should we do? Even if Alcatron appears at night…”

“Do you think there’s a chance the earlier expedition party could come back?”

“Likely not, right?”

“Our manpower’s been halved.”

“It won’t be if we enter Alcatron, though.”

“Damn it… How troublesome…”

Frannan thought for a while before heartily making his decision.

“We should go in. Thinking about it like this won’t do anything.”

“I agree. Too many brothers have already entered.”

"It would be a bit strange to back out after coming all this way..."

"Then we should quickly prepare to enter Alcatron tonight before it's too late."

With that, the meeting was over.

Seol believed the situation was already beyond salvage, and it was too late to do anything else.

‘Alcatron… What are you hiding? And why did Libra come here?’

Though Seol only came here at first to pay the price for Frannan’s services, as more strange occurrences unfolded, even he became intrigued by Alcatron.

‘Regardless of what it is, we will find out tonight. We'll discover what happened to the earlier expedition party and what Alcatron truly is.’

As the sun began to set, darkness took over the camp.

“Nothing… happened…?”

“Right…?”

“For now, let’s all stay awake and be ready.”

A few more hours passed after nightfall.

Contrary to what Yoran had said earlier, the situation didn't rapidly change, nor did strange events unfold.

Well, they believed that nothing was happening.

Fwoosh… Fwoosh…

Every torch and fire in the camp suddenly extinguished.

Even though there was no breeze, it all extinguished very naturally.

“L-Look over there!”

“Alcatron! It’s Alcatron!”

“The ruin appeared!”

The eerie entrance to the ruin revealed itself, its passage leading directly underground and into the earth.

[A grand experience! You have discovered Alcatron.]

[All stats have increased by 2.]

As Alcatron revealed itself, the party donned their backpacks and stood before it.

"It seems like... I will be able to make quite the interesting memory in my later years as well."

“Mael, you’re next to me, right?”

“Can you not see me? Even though I’m this big?”

Agony squirmed in Seol’s lantern.

[Hehehe… I will make an eerie whistling sound as you guys go down the stairs. Hehehe… I’m getting excited already. I want to see you crying until boogers start coming out.]

“Don’t do it! Don’t do it, please! Someone stop it!”

"Those with torches, stand at the front, and the rest of you, don’t stray too far from them!" shouted Frannan with a severe expression. "We don’t know what could happen in there!"

Step… Step…

The expedition party made their way into Alcatron’s entrance.

Ooh ooh…

Ah ah…

Chameli pinched Mael.

“Wh-what was that just now?!”

“It seems like the junkie has finished interpreting the next sentences.”

“Oh, that’s it? That’s a relief…”

“Kiki, could you read the next lines?”

[You have entered Alcatron.]

[Rewards are being arranged.]

[The Linked Adventure continues.]

[This Adventure is very dangerous.]

[You can only collect your rewards after all of the Adventures have been cleared.]

The junkie began to speak.

[Alcatron is a prison.]

“I knew it!”

However, their expressions all turned for the worse as the junkie continued.

[I believe that something horrifying is slumbering in here.]

Their footsteps slowly descended deeper and deeper into the darkness.

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