Chapter 1913 – 1913. The Dark Moon
No matter how much he is Professor Hammington, he doesn’t openly tell him to die. Because you won’t be able to turn the entire expedition into enemies.
I overheard Professor Hammington’s conversation by concentrating mana into my ears and temporarily raising my hearing.
“According to my interpretation of the contents of that tombstone… I need your help.”
“My help?”
“Precisely the help of a young woman. This ancient ruin wants a young and innocent woman. It’s not uncommon. Since ancient times, virgins have been considered sacred…”
“Yeah, it is. Among the tales, there are many stories related to virgins… Even in Divine France, they are obsessed with chaste virgins.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Clara’s expression did not straighten. She asked cautiously.
“Does the ruin want human sacrifice? A chaste virgin is also the best sacrifice for human sacrifice.”
“No, it’s not like that, don’t worry. Ruins wants a young woman to dance for him. If the target is a virgin, much better. … So that’s the point. Is she a virgin?”
Clara looked around. After jaying Professor Hammington and Clive and making sure no one was listening, she blushed and nodded her head.
“… Yes. I am a virgin.”
“Don’t be shy. It’s something to be proud of being chaste. In this day and age, there are too many people who ignore chastity…”
Still, Clara’s flushed cheeks did not return to their original state.
‘I don’t think I kept it because I wanted to keep my virginity.’
Clara was a woman who could not be called pretty even empty words. Her hair was frizzy and her skin was unclean. She showed a lot of hardships going around as an expedition team. Her frame is also so stocky that if she were dressed like a man, she would not look like a woman at all.
“What exactly can I do?”
“All you have to do is dance and sing in front of that tombstone.”
“Uh, I’m not good at both of those things…”
“You don’t have to be perfect. Because what matters is the heart. Oh, but pay attention to the song. Even if the pitch is wrong, the pronunciation is important.”
Professor Hammington started talking in a completely different language, saying that he would teach me a song.
“It is the first language I have heard. Is it an ancient language?”
“That’s right. It’s an ancient language. It is a song about blessing.”
It was all lies.
That was not an ancient language, but the language of a small tribe somewhere at the far end of the continent. It means to dedicate oneself. The dance was also a dance for human sacrifice.
‘It’s flowing like the original.’
Thirty minutes later, Clara stepped out in front of the tombstone under everyone’s gaze.
Clara dances taught by Professor Hammington as her attribute. It was a dance that bizarrely broke the joints of both arms and legs. Because of her low proficiency, she was only seen as a blind dance. She subsequently sings in a cracked voice.
The dancing was sloppy and the singing obnoxious. More than half of the expedition members frowned. But it worked.
The tombstone shone softly.
And.
Drurrrr
The door opened on the floor and something like a tentacle popped out, grabbing Clara in an instant and descending.
“Kyaaaaa?!”
Bang!
The floor is closed.
In terms of time, it’s about 2 seconds. None of the people gathered here responded. The expedition team belatedly shouted.
“Clara?!”
“What is this?!”
“Trap? Why did the trap suddenly trigger?!”
Even in the midst of the commotion, Professor Hammington stared at the tombstone. The tombstone was split in half, and then opened to the side. Inside the tombstone, there was a path leading down. Hammington smiled momentarily, but he returned to his expressionless face.
“It must have been a tombstone trap. It’s an unavoidable day. Don’t be alarmed either. The ancient ruins are full of unknowns, so the moment you lose your guard, you will face death.”
Professor Hammington said in a calm voice. The expedition members calmed down even though their faces were distorted. They were used to the deaths of their comrades. Most of the ancient ruins are dangerous, so there are quite a few deaths. Besides, this world itself was close to death. However, it was not easy to accept death.
The expedition members whispered among themselves.
“I never thought that Clara would die like this…”
“I made sure there are no traps. Why did you suddenly activate it?”
“Could Professor Hammington make a mistake? Either you misinterpreted the ancient language…”
“It is not. What a great person Professor Hammington is. If it weren’t for your knowledge in the last ancient ruins, we would all be dead. You know that. The real problem is the mercenaries. I hired mercenaries just in case of this… You have nothing to do.”
“That’s right. If the mercenaries had reacted properly, Clara wouldn’t have died in vain.”
“I heard you spent close to 100 million credits hiring those mercenaries… Aren’t you just throwing money away?”
The atmosphere quickly turned mercenary hostile. It is to drive the mercenaries as criminals.
Of course, the mercenaries who listened were unfair. Even if he was stronger than a normal human, it was impossible to react to something unexpected and happening in an instant. At least I don’t know if I had more time.
‘Well, I was able to.’
I knew it would be like this. If he had used telekinesis, he could have saved Clara.
‘It’s necessary to go down.’
Clara thought about why she had to save the expedition team. There was none.
Can you buy the favor of the expedition team? Professor Hammington said things were messed up and he would rather hate it. And in the end, he intended to kill them all. Because I have to monopolize the treasures of Edinburgh’s ancient ruins.
The hostility towards the mercenaries was blatantly felt. Jin frowned and glared at the expedition members, and Josh and I remained still without a change in expression.
“Stop the chatter and pay attention.”
Professor Hammington stood in front of the way down and looked around the expedition.
“It will be more dangerous down there. If anyone wants to quit here, I won’t take them by force.”
“Professor. Do you mean that? I’ve come this far, how can I stop? That is an insult to our Hammington Expedition.”
“We have already completed all our resolutions. Clara will too.”
They can’t go back because it’s dangerous. If you give up here, you will only be waiting for a huge pile of debt.
“Also! I knew you would say that! Our Hammington Expedition Team walked through all kinds of adversity. Clara’s death is sad, but it’s not too late to mourn after the exploration is over. We must move forward as we always have!”
“You’re right!”
“The Hammington Expedition cannot stop here!”
“The more dangerous the ancient ruins are, the sweeter the reward!”
Raising the morale of the expedition, Professor Hammington took the lead and moved forward. Jin followed right next to her.
I moved with the expedition members. I was walking quietly, and I felt the wind in my ears.
– It’s Josh. What just happened… It’s strange no matter how you think about it. He was watching Professor Hammington from the back. Professor Hammington never panicked. As if he knew things would turn out this way.
Josh felt good. But I didn’t really react.
Rather, I wondered how Josh brought his voice to me now.
‘The mana feels very weak. First off, it’s not magic. I can’t feel the magic at all.’
It feels like the wind carried my voice and blew it away. In other words, he manipulated the wind. In martial arts, there is a technique called transmission, but… It didn’t feel like that. Because I felt the wind in my ears.
‘Is it the ability to manipulate the wind?’
That makes sense. Unlike magic, supernatural powers could be carefully controlled. That’s great application.
‘If this wind came into my head through my ears… ?’
Isn’t that a good skill to kill?
‘It’s going to be difficult because you have resistance, but… It’s not impossible at all. I’ll have to be careful.’
A tombstone came out. And behind the tombstone, the road was divided.
Everyone looks at Professor Hammington. Because she is the only one who can interpret the ancient language written on her tombstone. She crossed her arms around Hammington and glared at the tombstone. As soon as she saw it, she would have interpreted the ancient language. You must be thinking about what to do now.
-Life is on the right, death is on the left. Life and death are one.
Simply put, if you go the right way, you live, and if you go the left way, you die. However, you cannot choose only one or the other. You have to go to both places at the same time.
‘It’s a vicious ancient ruin.’
The reward will be that sweet.
“They say there must be two destinies to open the way.”
Hammington opened his mouth.
Frankly speaking, only one person needs to be sacrificed here. It makes the most sense to send one of the mercenaries down the left path. The reason is to send it to reconnaissance. If the mercenary does not want to go, send an expedition member with him. Then you should do it even if you don’t like it.
Professor Hammington intends to split the party in half. He kills half of the expedition. Why? To monopolize the treasure at the end of the ancient ruins.
“I think we will have no choice but to split in half and advance each one.”
“It is a peculiar ancient ruin.”
“I will give you a choice. Do you want to go right or left?”
“Which way are you going, Professor?”
“I don’t think my opinion will be of much help here. I will choose at the end.”
The eyes of the explorers became uneasy.
“Can’t we all move together?”
“You guys know that too, don’t you? That this kind of ancient ruins are safe only if you act according to the rules. I think I’ll join you again later. Don’t take it seriously.”
After meeting for about 30 minutes, the expedition members were divided in half. Professor Hammington also spoke to the mercenaries.
“You guys should talk and divide the number of people.”
“…”
The mercenaries made an impression. But I couldn’t refuse. Escorting the expedition is a mercenary’s job.
“I go right.”
I said right away. The right road was the way to live.
“Right.”
“… You want me to go left? What about this My intuition is also right.”
Jin laughs.
I clicked my tongue and looked at Jean and Josh.
“I don’t think opinions can be easily reconciled. What are you going to do?”
Paper weave. An electric current spurts through his right hand. Their eyes grew heavy as if my intention to fight was conveyed.
“Wizard. Your attitude has been a bit cocky since yesterday… What do you know?”
