CH.0007 - Letter, Gift And Request

Although it is not possible to interfere with physical phenomena with the soul power, it can be used to create a short-term interruption by creating fluctuations in the mana, which is a type of energy like itself. Of course, only by those who have enough knowledge and soul power...

--- Crack... crack crack... crack crack crack... smash.

As a result of the power distribution point losing its function, the barrier cracked in a way to center the core part, resembling a spider web, and finally broke completely and disappeared.

Instead of a rocky wall, a dark cave entrance stood before Ezar's eyes now.

Without wasting any time, Ezar reactivated his spirit vision and began scanning the inside of the cave. If he sensed danger, he intended to leave immediately. After all, no matter how precious an opportunity it was, it couldn't be more valuable than his life.

--- Huuuu

After scanning the cave with his spirit vision, Ezar let out a sigh of relief. Judging by his relaxed features, it was easy to see that he didn't need to run.

With the risk of danger gone, Ezar began walking with ease into the cave. Although it was pitch dark inside the cave, darkness and light did not matter much to Ezar, who used his soul vision to see.

After walking about 20 meters, Ezar came to the end of the corridor, which was the same width as the entrance to the cave. What awaited him at the end of the corridor was a niche with a ceiling of 5 meters high and an area of ​​​​about 20 m²… no, it was a room.

The room could be said to be completely empty. There was nothing inside except a stone bed and a stone table and chair.

On the table was a shrink-wrapped leather bag about 30 cm long, a wooden cube box measuring 10 cm, and a rolled-up animal skin parchment tied with string, while on the stone bed lay a skeleton with its hands clasped on its stomach.

The clothes on the skeleton kept their first day's novelties as if they had resisted the wear and tear of time until the end.

If Ezar hadn't seen this corpse with only bones and had judged only by his clothes, he might even have thought it belonged to someone who had just died.

Ezar shifted his gaze from the skeleton back to the items on the table. If he wanted to know more about this situation he faced, the answer he was looking for should be in these items.

Ezar slowly approached the table and, taking the parchment made of animal skin, began to untie the string.

Undoubtedly, the master who had breathed his last in this cave must have left this scroll for the person who would find it after his death.

Ezar rolled the parchment open.

Even though seeing someone reading the parchment in the pitch dark looked strange from the outside, it was an easy thing for Ezar to perceive the inks on the parchment with his soul vision.

As he scanned it with soul vision, all the writings on the scroll suddenly appeared in Ezar's mind:

"Hello, fellow seeker. If you found this place it means our fates are somehow connected, although I am no longer living in this world as you read this scroll…

I am aware that I will die soon, so I decided not to write these lines. To clear some doubts in your mind and... to ask you for a favor.

As you can see, after a while I entered this valley, and I realized that I lost control of my sense of direction but it was too late for everything.

For a long time, I searched for a way out of the valley, but every method I tried was in vain.

Finally, I fall into despair and carved out this cave in the hope that someone would break into the valley and find me.

But apparently, I just didn't have enough time. You came, but I am no longer in this world.

The reason I entered this forbidden valley is that this is my last resort while escaping from someone, but that is a topic for another day.

The two items on the table contain everything I have achieved in my life. You can take them with peace of mind. I hope they will be useful for you.

However, the object inside the wooden box is an item that I found in an ancient ruin as a result of long struggles and dangers.

Although it is damaged, even in its current state, it is so valuable that people would shed blood without hesitation if they knew about it. So you have to hide it well and make absolutely sure that no one knows about it. Otherwise, you may not even realize how you died.

But if you want to know what this precious object is for and what it contains, you must first overcome a small obstacle I left behind and prove yourself worthy of it.

As for the favor I ask of you. If you can get out of this valley one day and if you can be strong enough, I want you to complete the revenge that I couldn't.

Although my vengeance means nothing to you, if these gifts you have received here today will be useful to you and a feeling of gratitude arises in you, please fulfill my last wish. Otherwise, it is impossible for my soul to rest in peace.

I won't go into detail about my story as it won't work for you right now. After all, talking about revenge without getting out of this forbidden valley and gaining enough power is a waste of time.

If you can pass the exam in the wooden box, you will be able to access all the information you are curious about.

PS: I still have a few jewels on my body. I'm asking you to leave these family heirlooms untouched along with my body. They are very important to me and even though I am dead, I do not want to leave them.

Lumos – 196473"

After Ezar had read these last words from the master, he rolled the parchment again, tied it, and placed it on the table. Then he put his hand to his chin and began to think.

The letter was not much different from what he had expected. It was normal for master seekers to leave their wealth and unfinished business to their heirs, students, or apprentices before they died. Although Ezar didn't have that kind of affinity with the master seeker, Ezar knew that he didn't have much of a choice in his situation.

Ezar's main interest was not this master seeker's demand for revenge, but the two words used in the letter. The first was the word "Seeker".

Ezar began to scan his memories on this word, and some memories soon began to come to his mind.

[So the people at Lumos call those who cultivate their antra using their mana and inspiration energies as Seekers. The title of the Secret Seeker, or simply the Seeker, is given to those who understand the workings of the universe and seek its secrets.

Searching for the secrets of the universe huh... I really like it.

When I was on earth, I was the only antra developer. That's why it didn't occur to me to derive a word that distinguishes antra developers from normal people.

That means I'm a seeker as well. At least I will be after I find a way to heal those crippled mana meridians and start using mana energy]

After obtaining the necessary information, Ezar switched to the second expression that piqued his curiosity; Lumos – 196473

It wasn't hard to understand what the expression meant. It was written to briefly show the world we live in and the year the letter was written.

But the phrase 196473 caught Ezar's attention.

[Aside from the 6-digit year, if the letter was written in 196473, what year are we now? If it's been too long, are these master seeker's enemies still alive?]

Intrigued, Ezar began scanning his memories again. It seems that the current year system started when Lumos completed his mana transformation, and it was clear that more than 190,000 years had passed since Lumos's mana transformation.

[No wonder it has so much natural wealth. It seems like earth still has a long way to go.]

According to Ezar's memoirs, the year he was in was exactly 196481, and according to this calculation, 8 years had passed since master seeker's death.

Considering that Antra cultivators lived much longer than normal people due to the increase in energy in their bodies, 8 years was a pretty short time for a seeker, and there was a high probability that his enemies were still alive.

Another thing that caught Ezar's attention was the length of years on Lumos. According to the annual calendar in Lumos, a year consisted of 900 days and a month consisted of 90 days. There were 9 weeks in 1 month and 10 days in each week. Of these 10 days, 9 days were considered a working day and the last day a resting day.

[Uvvah... It seems Earth's and Lumos' concepts of time and perspective are quite different.

I hope I can adapt to this new information as soon as possible. Who would have thought that a world guardian would one-day experience culture shock…]

After clarifying everything in the letter, Ezar looked at the other two items on the table.

[According to the words of the master, I need to overcome an obstacle before I can use the item in the box, so it would be wiser to leave it to the end.]

Ezar concentrated his soul power on the leather bag, trying to understand what was inside, but the response he received only left him in awe.

No matter how hard he tried, Ezar's soul power could not reach the inside of the bag.

Unwilling to admit defeat, Ezar approached the bag and placed his hand on the bag, focusing his soul power. Ezar, who had been scanning the bag with his soul power for a while, finally found the answer he was looking for, but the answer he found caused him to be even more surprised than before.

[Is this a… spatial mystic item?]