Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 178

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 178

 

119. Those Who Fled (1)

 

I walked with utmost caution.

 

Because I didn’t know what might emerge from inside.

 

Thanks to that, our movement speed was a bit slow, but at least my mind was at ease.

 

If this were a place I knew well it would be different, but this is a frigid land where human footsteps rarely reach.

 

“….”

 

Thanks to that, the fellows who had been chattering all the way here were following behind me very quietly.

 

Actually, it’s just an ordinary cave.

 

There are no artificial traces visible on the walls, and no particular smell or signs of traps that might spring.

 

Still, just in case, I walked without letting my guard down.

 

And how much time had passed?

 

“Be careful.”

 

I discovered a cracked floor.

 

Judging by the water slowly seeping out, there’s a possibility it could collapse downward with just a little force.

 

Thud.

 

I picked up a few stones from around and threw them, then found a place where I could land safely and jumped across first.

 

“Come this way.”

 

Fortunately, the ground didn’t collapse, and we jumped across one after another, passing safely.

 

“Puhehing.”

 

Chiron was last.

 

He’s big, but this guy is agile too.

 

Well, since he’s a horse, being agile is natural. It’s fortunate the cave is large enough for Chiron to jump like this.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

And now we slowly let our guard down. We’d walked quite a bit from the entrance but hadn’t seen any signs of traps.

 

Instead-

 

“That’s….”

 

Something else was visible.

 

“A skull?”

 

Priscilla stepped forward as if to draw upon her divine power, then shook her head.

 

“It’s not undead.”

 

Then what could it be?

 

I’ll have to go check.

 

By the way, Saint Aimar’s words come to mind.

 

He said he found this necklace in front of some remains.

 

“Then those must be the right remains?”

 

“Probably? I don’t think Saint Aimar would have gone much deeper than this.”

 

First, I examined the remains.

 

When it comes to skulls, I’m inevitably the only expert here.

 

I’ve seen more corpses and more remains than anyone else here.

 

And I’ve buried many too.

 

The corpses of my subordinates, with my own hands.

 

“There don’t seem to be any particular external injuries.”

 

Usually, the way to estimate cause of death from a skull state is to examine the bones.

 

If they died from being hit by something or stabbed, traces would definitely remain on the bones.

 

But this skull has no external injuries.

 

However….

 

The hands seem to have been tightly gripping something.

 

Could that have been the necklace?

 

“The cave is quite cold too, but for only bones to remain like this, an enormous amount of time must have passed.”

 

“Right.”

 

Anyway, there are no particular peculiarities.

 

However, since Saint Aimar discovered the necklace here….

 

If we go further inside, something will turn up.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

We started walking again.

 

Still, perhaps because we found at least one trace of something, anticipation began to rise.

 

How long had we walked like that?

 

We decided to take a brief rest.

 

“Phew. We’ve really been walking all day yesterday and today.”

 

“But I’m really excited. If it’s such a deep cave, wouldn’t there be something?”

 

“About that skull earlier. How did that person end up dying there?”

 

We found a suitable spot and instead of lighting a campfire, warmed our bodies with heating artifacts while having various conversations.

 

As expected, the biggest question was the existence of the dead person.

 

“What could their real identity be? You said the necklace was found beneath that person?”

 

Why were they carrying a necklace containing an ancient mana concentrator?

 

Could they possibly be someone related to the Arcana Magic Kingdom?

 

Various questions arose, but there wasn’t much evidence we could obtain.

 

“We have no choice but to go inside for now.”

 

“Right. But what if the path splits?”

 

“We’ll have to set up markers in the central area and move.”

 

We talked for a while, making plans to prepare for various contingencies.

 

“Let’s move.”

 

We continued moving.

 

And how much time had passed?

 

Finally-

 

“There it is.”

 

It begins to register on my sensing ability.

 

A more definite scent of ancient magic power.

 

“Really? You found it?”

 

“Yeah. It seems to be inside there.”

 

Fortunately, there were no branching paths, and the scent was coming from the end of the direction we were heading.

 

But what we faced was a dead end.

 

“It’s definitely here.”

 

“But this is a blocked path?”

 

“So now we have to search.”

 

I drew my sensing ability to its maximum, then moved my body toward where the scent was strongest.

 

“Here it is.”

 

It’s just a cave wall with no artificial feeling whatsoever.

 

But this is the place.

 

I feel it most strongly from here.

 

Whooom.

 

I drew up my mana and brought my hand forward.

 

Then, the cave wall began to become hazy like a mana barrier.

 

“My goodness….”

 

“It, it was real?”

 

While surprised voices came from behind, I drew my mana even stronger, and finally was able to ‘remove’ the wall.

 

“It was very well camouflaged.”

 

Probably if it weren’t for my mana, naturally no one would have discovered it.

 

Considering it’s been used as ascetic training grounds for a long time and explorers have visited several times, but it’s only being discovered now.

 

“It’s a door.”

 

Ernest let out an exclamation.

 

That’s right. What was revealed when the wall receded was indeed a door.

 

And a very sturdy-looking door at that.

 

Click.

 

Naturally, it wouldn’t open.

 

“Teacher, let me give it a try.”

 

Then Dorian stepped forward energetically and rummaged around in his subspace for something.

 

It was a gauntlet.

 

Not the kind knights wear for hand protection, but rather a gauntlet optimized for punching.

 

“I’ll try to break it.”

 

“Will that be okay?”

 

“I’ll restore the pride of the Combat Department with this opportunity.”

 

Saying that, Dorian seemed to draw up his mana and stood confidently in front of the door.

 

And then-

 

BANG!

 

Two things became clear.

 

“Uuuugh…”

 

That the door was harder than imaginable.

 

And that Dorian’s hand must hurt terribly.

 

“Why, why is it so hard…”

 

The iron door didn’t even have a scratch, and Dorian rolled around clutching his hand after taking the full recoil.

 

“Oh my, what was I thinking.”

 

Thanks to that, Priscilla sighed and grabbed Dorian’s hand, infusing it with divine power.

 

“Th-thank you, Teacher Priscilla…”

 

“Stop being so reckless!”

 

While saying that, the two exchanged glances…

 

They’re getting along quite well.

 

Well, at least we learned it’s a very, very sturdy door.

 

However, rather than being physically hard, it felt like something was preventing the door from opening or breaking.

 

Indeed, if it was Dorian’s level of punching from the Combat Department, there should at least be scratches, but seeing there weren’t any confirmed it.

 

In other words, it wasn’t that Dorian was weak, but that this door was too strong.

 

“Isn’t there some kind of device here?”

 

Ernest, who had seen me dissolve barriers and walls several times, seemed to catch on quickly.

 

“Probably so.”

 

And there was one more perceptive fellow.

 

“Kyeok! Kyeok!”

 

It was Karnas, who had made remarkable contributions when ‘melting’ things.

 

Whether dismantling the dormitory’s mana barrier, in the restricted zone, or later in subjugation battles, this fellow had accomplished much with a single flame.

 

“How about this time, think you can do it?”

 

“Kyeok!”

 

Karnas flapped his wings and chirped as if telling me to trust him.

 

“Puhiing.”

 

Chiron’s displeased-sounding cry was a bonus.

 

“What’s wrong with you now?”

 

“Puhihihiing!”

 

That’s when Chiron suddenly jumped in.

 

He approached the empty door and rammed straight into it.

 

BANG!

 

“Puhihiing!”

 

Then, like Dorian, he staggered and barely maintained his balance before shaking his head vigorously left and right.

 

“Did, did he just headbutt it?”

 

“It, it seems like it…”

 

I was speechless, and Karnas also looked at Chiron with surprised eyes, just staring blankly.

 

This guy’s competitive spirit is no joke.

 

“Puhing, puhiing.”

 

“Let me see.”

 

Priscilla rushed over urgently, drew up her divine power, and covered Chiron’s head with her hands.

 

“Please take care of him, Priscilla. Does divine power work on animals too?”

 

“It does work. Though I’m not sure how well it’ll work on such a peculiar fellow. No, where else would you find a crazy case of ramming such a hard door with your head?”

 

Apparently right here.

 

Crazy bastard.

 

I wonder if his skull cracked.

 

He seems fine since he’s not showing pain.

 

“Karnas, let’s melt it.”

 

“Kyeok!”

 

We were briefly delayed by his sudden intervention, but Karnas was already prepared.

 

“Kyeoooook!”

 

Whoooosh!

 

Soon flames burst forth and struck the door.

 

After a while-

 

“It’s disappearing.”

 

I can feel it.

 

Whatever was blocking it has disappeared.

 

In the midst of this, as if a shell was being peeled away, the door slowly melted away…

 

An old, worn door appeared.

 

With paint peeling off in places.

 

But one peculiar thing caught my eye.

 

“This crack… looks like it just happened?”

 

The crack in the door.

 

Though old, the sturdy-looking door was split open.

 

And the grain was sharp as if it had just cracked.

 

“No way. Even Dorian’s punch couldn’t break through?”

 

“Really Chiron?”

 

Thanks to that, Dorian fell into despair.

 

“My, my fist… is weaker than a horse…”

 

Actually, if you think about it, a horse weighs much more than a person, so it’s natural.

 

Though humans are usually superior in terms of being able to use mana…

 

“Wait.”

 

I tilted my head, wondering.

 

“Do horses use mana?”

 

“No way.”

 

“That’s impossible.”

 

Right?

 

There’s no way.

 

I suppressed my doubts and approached the door.

 

There was a brief commotion, but now it’s time to investigate.

 

What’s inside.

 

Creak.

 

“Stand back.”

 

I drew my arcanium sword.

 

Beautiful green light flows in the dark cave.

 

“Wow…”

 

“It’s really pretty when you see it in the dark…”

 

Right.

 

It is pretty.

 

That’s why I can’t use it at night.

 

Except in situations like this.

 

Slash!

 

I sliced through the door with my sword. The door split as lightly as cutting cloth.

 

“That sword could cut through anything, right?”

 

“No matter how I think about it, really… Is that why you can’t use it at night?”

 

Amid my friends’ admiration, I sheathed the arcanium sword again.

 

It’s pretty, but it hurts my eyes.

 

“But what’s the name of that sword?”

 

“This? Just sword.”

 

“…That’s so like Dane. You didn’t even give it a name.”

 

Unless it’s necessary like with the club, there’s no need to.

 

“If I absolutely had to name it… Sparkle Sword?”

 

“Never mind. I was wrong to ask.”

 

As Leila sighed, I frowned. Why? It’s simple and pretty.

 

“Anyway, let’s go in.”

 

What we encountered after that was-

 

“What… is all this?”

 

Skulls scattered everywhere, in other words…

 

It looked like a massacre site that had been left alone for a very long time.

 

“My goodness…”

 

Everyone was speechless at the surreal sight.

 

Dozens of human corpses.

 

More precisely, dozens of skulls.

 

“What on earth happened here?”

 

Deep in the cave.

 

A space secretly hidden inside.

 

There are dozens of skulls in here.

 

Who were these people, and how did they end up flowing here?

 

Fortunately, so much time had passed that there was no smell of rotting corpses…

 

“It doesn’t look like they were killed by someone.”

 

Another fact I could determine was that not all of them had been murdered to end up like this.

 

“How can you tell?”

 

“Look. Most of them are leaning against the wall at an angle, and there are no marks on the bones.”

 

Then it’s one of three things.

 

Either an epidemic broke out among the group.

 

Or they fell victim to something we can’t guess.

 

Or else…

 

They starved to death.

 

“Let’s look around more.”

 

In the space wide enough for dozens of people to gather, there were quite a lot of various items.

 

Blankets, old weapons, or daily necessities.

 

But food was very scarce in comparison. More precisely, bowls that contained food or packaging materials.

 

“Dane, could you come here for a moment?”

 

Decisively, Ernest found evidence.

 

“Look, something’s written here… This is that, right?”

 

It was a small diary.

 

More precisely…

 

“Yes. That’s right.”

 

It was a diary written in Ancient Arcana Language.

 

Then the speculation converges to one place.

 

Then these people are…

 

Ha.

 

I feel like some clue is being unraveled.

 

Saint Aimar discovered a necklace containing an ancient mana concentrator in this cave, and inside this cave there’s a diary written in Ancient Arcana Language.

 

“These people are Ancient Arcana People.”

 

That was the conclusion.

 

Then, now it’s time to find out the details.

 

A kingdom that perished without even leaving proper traces.

 

And the remains of people presumed to have lived there.

 

Indeed-

 

What happened?

 

Rustle.

 

I opened the diary.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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