How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 101



Only Noblemtl

Episode 101. The Guardian of the Old Place (1)

“It seems like we weren’t on good terms.”

Illua nodded at Ossian’s words.

“That old man was Aaron Bertin. He’s an explorer with the Archaeological League. He used to be my father’s colleague.”

“It doesn’t sound like it right now.”

“That’s right. Our personalities didn’t match. It’s more like Aaron was unilaterally jealous of our father.”

To summarize Illua’s explanation, it was like this.

Illua’s father and Aaron were once part of the same team, but it is said that they often clashed with each other.

The cause was Aaron’s jealousy. He could not acknowledge Illua’s father, who was superior to him, and he left the team.

The problem was that the team was so broken that it was difficult to recover.

“Aaron may not have much ability as an explorer, but he was very good at managing his connections.”

Balud nodded as if he understood.

“I see. You don’t often see that type of person in any organization. People who have little ability or talent, but use connections, flattery, and politics to get a position.”

“Aaron was exactly that kind of person. He was sneaky when he had to be sneaky, and he would crush anyone he judged to be weaker than him without hesitation. When he separated from his father, he dragged away the people he had been keeping an eye on, and the party fell apart.”

“Did your father just watch that happen?”

Illua smiled bitterly at Ossian’s question.

“My father was, in common parlance, an idealistic person. He was the opposite of Aaron. He rose to his position solely on the basis of his outstanding abilities and talents, and he didn’t care about anything else.”

The father of Illua, who is very talented.

On the other hand, Aaron is a person who only does politics without any talent.

If you ask who is better between the two, you would pick the former without hesitation, but if you ask who will survive longer, everyone would pick the latter.

Unfortunately, that’s the way the world is.

In the end, Aaron, who had been doing nothing but politics, rose to a position of some recognition in the Archaeological Federation, but Illua’s father’s power gradually declined.

There were also quite a few instances of Aaron secretly blocking and interfering with him from behind.

“My father thought this ancient ruins exploration was important. He was really looking forward to it, and this is what happened.”

Her father is hospitalized by Kursha, who is after Balud.

The same goes for other team members who decided to move together.

“I can’t do anything on my own, but I couldn’t just sit still. If I let this rare opportunity slip away, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. That’s why I decided to go.”

Illua had a reason to successfully complete this exploration of the ruins.

Of course, Aaron must have been quite upset that Illua had come forward himself.

Because she was also the daughter of the man she was so jealous of and hated.

“I see.”

Ossian just remembered Aaron. Or, more specifically, the augmented humans who were with him.

‘They were like lab rats.’

The appearance of the enhanced humans was heterogeneously identical. They had pale white skin and white hair. The only differences were their gender, hair style, and physique, but everything else was the same.

What I especially remember is the way he looked at the people around him.

There seemed to be no emotion in those inorganic eyes, but that couldn’t be true.

Ossian could sense the sky-piercing arrogance they possessed.

‘They didn’t treat the people around them as the same people as themselves in the first place.’

If those kinds of guys were involved, it would be difficult to see a good outcome even if they entered the ruins.

But even if you warn Illua here, she won’t accept the offer.

There was a reason why Illua had to go to the ruins.

‘then.’

As an employee, I can only do my best to help.

In fact, Ossian wanted this too.

There was something about the guy named Aaron that I didn’t like, but the look in the eyes of that enhanced human who looked down on me as if I was inferior.

A little, no.

Because I didn’t like it that much.

*

People with tickets entered in an orderly manner.

There was no need to rush, as moving quickly would not cause the ancient ruins to disappear.

Rather, since it was an ancient relic, calmness was the most necessary virtue.

This was because it was impossible to predict what kind of traps might be lurking here.

Ossian, Balud, and the North Blinders family, who have the tickets to Illua, are almost at the end.

“It seems to me that this side is telling us that we are blatant latecomers.”

Balud muttered, adjusting his glasses.

Even though I lobbied the Archaeological Association and spent money on it, I was quite hurt by the way I was treated.

But I understand. No matter how strong the North Blinders are, they are ultimately a criminal organization.

It couldn’t be helped, considering that the other competitors were warlocks, wizards, the military, and large corporations.

The inside of the cave had pillars erected and lights hung, giving it the feel of a coal mine.

As we went deeper, the dirt turned into hard rock, and even the rare traces of human hands became invisible.

Instead, what took their place were strange stone structures that appeared one by one.

“Is this a historic site?”

“This is my first time here.”

The members of Balud’s organization were muttering and murmuring.

If it were a normal Balud, he would have pointed out the unruly behavior, but this time he didn’t.

Not only did he not show any sign of it, but Balud was also amazed at the fact that he had entered the ruins.

“Wow. Finally!”

It was the same with Illua.

This was the first time I encountered in real life the relics I had only seen in books and writings.

Even though it was only the beginning, it was bound to be a new experience.

‘Hmm. Maybe it’s because some time has passed, but it seems to have worn off a lot?’

The only one who showed a lukewarm reaction in this place was Ossian.

Illua couldn’t hold back and asked.

“No, Mr. Ossian, aren’t you surprised? We’re in a ruin! A relic from the past that’s so old that it’s hard to even guess when it was built!”

“What’s the big deal about the legacy of the past?”

Ossian has cleared 100 dungeons in the form of ruins like this.

He only thought that something like this still exists in this day and age, but he didn’t feel that it was particularly amazing or new.

Of course, it might be a little exciting to experience in real life something you’ve only seen in games.

Yet Ossian’s mind was at peace, and the reason for this was not special.

‘That’s because the dungeons and ruins in the game aren’t places that make your heart race in the first place.’

This vicious game instilled immense fear and terror in players just by the name of the dungeon.

Aside from the confusing maze-like structure, there are also monsters that attack from outside your field of vision, traps that activate without warning, and fields of poison and swamp spread across a wide area.

Once you get past that, the dungeon’s boss monster will greet you.

Naturally, the difficulty level was quite high, and there were many cases of people dying there.

It’s better if the dungeon has a save point, but what if there isn’t one?

I had to start from the entrance again.

They say that difficult memories usually become memories after they pass, but if it was too horrible, it wouldn’t even become a memory.

Having had such vicious experiences so often, it is natural to be suspicious when you think of ruins or dungeons.

Ossian was a veteran, so I wasn’t too worried, but that was why I wasn’t particularly happy.

“Just go in. It looks like the others have already gone.”

This is now the entrance to the ruins.

Those who had gone in first had already rushed inside the ruins.

“Mr. Ossian, there is no romance. There is no romance.”

Illua grumbled, but did not deny Ossian’s words.

Now was the moment to really get tense. Since it was an old ruin, even though most of the traps had worn away and disappeared, there might still be traps left.

In particular, guardians of relics were often unaffected by the passage of time.

“Let’s go this way. Everyone else has probably already gone to the main road, so let’s go the other way.”

Towards the main road, strong competitors would have moved first.

Following them was a way, but then I would have to pick up the scraps they left behind until the end of the expedition.

As we entered the full-scale ruins section, stone structures taking up a wide underground space came into view.

Despite its age, its majestic appearance still asserts its presence.

The ruins were underground, but that didn’t mean they were completely dark.

It was actually surprising that it wasn’t so dark that I couldn’t tell anything apart.

“It’s amazing. It’s not dark even though it’s a basement where no light comes in. There are also subtle light sources here and there on the ceiling.”

Illua immediately took out her notebook and quickly wrote down what she saw.

Meanwhile, Balud and his men explored the surroundings.

It was to prepare for any possible threat.

The overall structure of the Ossian ruins was captured in the eye.

‘Hmm. It’s hard to tell what kind of underground ruins this is.’

If you’ve played through as many rounds as Ossian, you should know the structure of the dungeons and ruins, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

This is because I sometimes look at the walkthrough rather than trying to remember it, and sometimes I never visit again after clearing it once.

Moreover, in the case of some dungeons or ruins, the structure itself was often pasted, making it impossible to distinguish them.

‘I think it’s the same type of thing here too. I’m not sure.’

Because it was old, some parts had worn away or collapsed, and because more time had passed than I remembered, there were many parts that did not match up clearly.

I thought I would have to go a little further in to find out.

‘The best thing is to see what kind of monsters or guardians appear here.’

That was just too risky.

Illua finished exploring the surroundings and put her notebook in her pocket and shouted.

“Okay! Let’s move on to the next one!”

A voice filled with curiosity rather than fear, wanting to explore as much as possible now that they had come to the ruins.

As an employed person, I had no choice but to follow her.

Illua might find this unpleasant, but it wasn’t necessarily so.

“Stop over there!”

Illua stopped the Balud family from stepping on a block just now.

“There, it’s a trap. I saw it in a book. Do you see it here?”

Illua, who had bitten people to safety, threw a rock at the block he had just nearly stepped on.

The block went in with a jerk and a spear blade popped out from the side.

A trap that is still functioning properly despite being old.

If I had moved without thinking, my temple would have been pierced.

“You can’t go this way. This is a dead end. The structure here makes it impossible for there to be anything further up.”

Illua was quite capable. Even though this was her first time in combat, she made the right decisions based on the information she remembered.

Even though it wasn’t all accurate, having a hit rate of over 80% was definitely a great feat.

‘If I gain more experience here, I might become a truly great explorer.’

Even Ossian was secretly amazed.

Illua’s keen eye for detail, which allowed him to quickly analyze even the smallest of traps that he couldn’t remember, was certainly not ordinary.

The group moving along had no choice but to stop at the sight of a whitish shadow in the distance.

“atmosphere.”

Balud stepped forward for a moment and looked straight ahead.

Because it was too far away to see well, he took out the chemical light he had brought with him and threw it far away.

A liquid stick filled with a green light flew and rolled across the floor.

The identity of the grayish shadow was another team that had entered the ruins first.

They were all dead on the spot.

Thanks to Illua, there was no major damage, and the atmosphere that had been relaxed now felt tense.

My skin was pulled taut like a rubber band and my hair stood on end.

‘These are the victims who went first.’

Ossian had to recall the feeling by tapping the sword on his waist.

Yes. This is a ruined site where it is unknown what kind of death lurks.

It was inevitable that people would die like that.

‘The only question is how he died.’

Ossian and Balud exchanged glances.

The two nodded silently and slowly approached the place where the body was.

Fortunately, there were no traps along the way, so I was able to examine the body up close.

The condition of the body was not very good, as it was covered in sharp wounds that looked like it had been cut by something.

There were also dismembered corpses.

“This is… … .”

“Yes. It seems like we’ve encountered the Guardian of the Ruins wandering around here.”

People over twenty years old were hit without even being able to fight back.

Did they suffer because they were weak? Or because they were unlucky?

That’s not it.

It was said that the guardian of this relic was a monster.