Chapter 34
Chapter 34. Half-Complete Dragon Tongue
Led by Taeseong at the front, our group made its way down the flight of stairs.
Arcane light brightened our steps, yet despite the glow, a heavy, unsettling chill hung thick in the air.
Given that the solitary translated line on the monument stated an emperor rested within these grounds, this structure was almost certainly a royal mausoleum.
Such resting places were customarily fortified with numerous defenses designed to keep grave robbers at bay.
It was entirely possible that the peculiar landscape above—the Garden of Dragon Swords—had been deliberately shaped to deter intruders from ever reaching this crypt.
Perhaps it was meant to drive away anyone attempting to breach it without unraveling its riddle, waiting until another destined wielder of a Dragon Bone Sword finally arrived.
“Maybe this gives us a taste of what archaeologists feel like. It’s terrifying not knowing what might jump out at you, but there’s an undeniable thrill to it as well.”
One of the hunters spoke up, evidently trying to ease the lingering tension.
The female hunter next to him stared back, clearly baffled by his reaction.
“Oppa, are you seriously feeling thrilled right now?”
“Think about it—we’re literally the first human beings to ever step foot inside this imperial crypt. When would an opportunity like this ever come around again?”
“Sigh…”
The woman shook her head in sheer bewilderment before shifting her gaze toward me.
“What about you, Minjun?”
“Well… Provided we actually make it out alive, I’d say yes. I feel a bit of excitement too.”
The rest of the group probably couldn’t fathom it, but I possessed an additional reason to feel eager beyond simple curiosity.
There was a genuine possibility that I might stumble across a clue down here that could grant me mastery over the dragon’s power.
“Am I really the only strange one here? This whole place just gives me goosebumps…”
She shook her head once more, muttering under her breath that trying to view things positively might be the only way to endure the dread.
I could understand her point of view just as well. When all was said and done, we were trespassing in a person’s final resting place, so an instinctive discomfort was entirely natural.
We pressed further down the winding staircase, chatting quietly about the crypt for several more minutes.
“Taeseong oppa, hold on a second.”
A hunter who had been walking in tense silence with hunched shoulders ever since we started our descent called out to Taeseong.
“There seems to be an inscription right here.”
Hearing her words, everyone turned their attention toward the patch of stone she was indicating.
Just as she pointed out, miniature glyphs resembling written script were engraved directly into the rock face.
I lacked the ability to interpret them, yet their form closely mirrored the carving Taeseong had presented to me earlier—the very one from which that single line had been successfully translated.
“I’ll snap a photo so we can include it in the expedition report.”
Taeseong captured the glyphs with his device, and several curious hunters crowded around him to do the same.
I stepped forward as well, figuring it would be wise to show the imagery to Sia and Rokan at a later time.
‘There’s an odd sense of familiarity about all of this…’
Just as I finished storing the picture and began slipping my phone back into my pocket, another hunter behind me lost his footing and bumped straight into my back.
My arms shot out instinctively to steady my balance, and my open palm slammed flush against the carved script on the wall.
As I found myself propped awkwardly against the rock surface, an apologetic voice called out from behind.
“Ah, I’m so sorry! Did you get hurt?”
“No, I’m alright. But wait…”
The stone had caught my fall, but that had already ceased to matter.
‘The very second my skin pressed against it, an odd sensation flared up.’
A distinct prickling shiver had pulsed right through the pads of my fingers.
Wondering if my mind was merely playing tricks on me, I deliberately reached out and touched the inscribed symbols once again.
“Ugh.”
It certainly wasn’t an illusion. The moment my fingers brushed against the script, that exact same tingling current surged back.
“Minjun, what’s going on?”
“This surface… there’s something off about it.”
At Taeseong’s inquiry, I described the bizarre sensation I had just experienced.
“Is that so? It appears to be plain stone to me.”
Taeseong reached over and laid his own palm against the glyphs, and the instant his skin met the rock, a look of astonishment washed across his features.
He too had perceived that very same tingling pulse.
Just then, another hunter spoke from the rear of the group.
“I believe I might understand what’s happening here.”
It was the very same hunter who had inadvertently pushed me an instant prior.
Unless my memory failed me, his name was Hyunseok.
Raising a hand to gather our attention, he started to elaborate.
“My older cousin works as an archaeologist specializing in Gates. She often shares stories about her expeditions, and she mentioned that this sort of phenomenon happens on rare occasions.”
“By phenomenon, do you mean a stone surface that prickles with energy when touched?”
“Precisely. She explained that whenever that occurs, the masonry is almost invariably infused with a unique type of mana.”
This was entirely novel information to the rest of us, so everyone listened intently.
“So you’re saying the wall holds an embedded spell,” Taeseong summarized.
“Correct. From what she said, if a person channels even the faintest trickle of mana into the surface, whatever magic is etched into the stone should awaken.”
It was undeniably the tomb of an emperor. Even its bare walls were treated with extraordinary enchantments.
“In essence, it functions like an artifact.”
“Exactly. That’s the comparison my cousin used as well.”
Hyunseok bobbed his head in confirmation, then stepped forward eagerly. “Would you mind if I give it a shot?”
Since he had brought up the concept, Hyunseok volunteered to direct his own mana into the stone, and the rest of the team readily stepped back to let him try.
Yet, even after a stream of mana soaked into the rock, the wall remained completely inert.
“…How odd.”
The magical traces were unmistakably present, prompting Hyunseok to attempt a second infusion of power.
Once again, the wall showed no sign of activation.
“Step aside for a moment. Let me give it a try.”
Seeing Hyunseok struggle without success, Taeseong—the most proficient spellcaster in our ranks—came forward and poured his own magical energy into the carved rock.
Just like Hyunseok’s attempt, however, there was not the slightest reaction.
“Hyunseok, are you entirely certain your cousin was correct about this?”
“I swear it! She’s an actual licensed expert in the field. Damn it all, there’s no signal down here, so I can’t even double-check the details online.”
After defending his claim, Hyunseok shifted his eyes toward me.
“Minjun, would you mind giving it a go? I have a feeling it might react to you.”
The surrounding hunters mulled over his thought and quickly voiced their agreement.
“That makes sense—Minjun might actually trigger it. After all, he was the one who unlocked access to this hidden Dungeon in the first place.”
Even from my perspective, the reasoning held weight.
I walked up to the wall, placed my hand upon the stone, and channeled my mana outward just as they suggested.
“…!”
All at once, the carved inscriptions burst into a bright luminescence.
The party stood frozen with parted lips, their initial shock transforming rapidly into breathless suspense.
Moments later, the radiance clinging to the glyphs began to recede, giving way to a shimmering, translucent projection that manifested in midair before us.
“A record spell…!”
I had never witnessed such an enchantment firsthand, but I had heard tales of its existence.
Every now and then, preserved record spells were unearthed deep inside Gates in this very fashion.
It had never crossed my mind that the magical weave etched into this masonry would turn out to be one of them.
Soon, the floating projection began to move like a living scene.
The opening visual depicted a young boy of around twelve years old, weeping in absolute despair.
“That child… could he be the ruler resting in this crypt?”
“That seems very likely.”
Given the atmosphere carried by the recording, it appeared to be chronicling the life of the emperor entombed here.
We had no means of deciphering the spoken dialect, but the unfolding events made the narrative easy enough to comprehend.
The boy belonged to the lineage of a modest sovereign realm.
In stark contrast to his siblings, who were exceptionally gifted in the martial path, he possessed virtually no natural talent for battle.
The realm’s founding ancestor had been a celebrated Swordmaster, and nearly every heir who carried that bloodline was endowed with remarkable mastery over the blade. For reasons unknown, however, this particular boy’s aptitude was painfully subpar.
From what could be gathered through the scene, he was not merely the youngest sibling, but an illegitimate offspring holding virtually no claim to the Throne.
Because of this, both his royal half-brothers and the kingdom’s courtiers looked down upon him with quiet disdain.
The sorrow and despair the child experienced were conveyed with such staggering realism through the enchantment that I momentarily forgot we were standing inside his actual grave.
Then, after endless days steeped in torment so profound he looked ready to surrender to death, a shadowy figure materialized inside the youth’s private quarters.
This enigmatic intruder bore a lone sword at his side.
Regardless of being born out of wedlock, the boy remained of imperial blood, meaning his quarters should have been enveloped by impenetrable security.
And yet, this stranger had slipped through the perimeter as though the guards and wards did not even exist.
Seized by sheer panic, the boy cried out for the palace sentries, yet some power wielded by the intruder swallowed his screams, ensuring no sound carried beyond the chamber.
As the mysterious guest drew closer, the terrified boy shook violently from head to toe.
Was this figure a hired blade dispatched to execute him?
Or had he arrived to abduct the boy for some sinister motive?
Instead of violence, the mysterious man revealed a gentle smile and softly whispered a string of words to the trembling child.
Under ordinary circumstances, it was impossible for me to comprehend a foreign tongue I had never encountered in my life.
“’…You carry an innate talent that even you yourself have yet to recognize.’”
Yet at that exact instant, I instinctively felt as though every syllable the man spoke was crystal clear to me.
Without realizing what I was doing, I translated those foreign words into Korean and spoke them aloud, drawing every set of eyes in the chamber straight to me.
“Minjun, what did you just murmur?”
Caught off guard by the hunter’s question, I hastily waved my hands and scrambled for an explanation.
“Oh, it was nothing. I was just making a rough guess at what he might be telling him, based on the atmosphere of the scene.”
“…Well, that does sound pretty fitting for the moment.”
The moment the visitor ceased speaking, an immense darkness expanded behind his back like a living cloak.
It was the sweeping, ominous silhouette of a dragon.
“…I’m getting chills.”
“Wait, are you telling me the occupant of this tomb was truly gifted a weapon by a dragon?”
“Then that explains why this whole site is referred to as the Garden of Dragon Swords.”
It seemed the hunters had previously assumed the phrase “a blade blessed by a dragon” found on the monument was purely symbolic.
Most of them could scarcely conceal their disbelief, having never seriously considered that genuine dragons had walked this earth.
The projection rolled onward without pause.
From the instant the boy accepted the sword directly from the dragon, his destiny underwent an absolute upheaval.
The youth once branded as talentless began wielding an unprecedented power, thoroughly crushing the very siblings who had treated him with contempt.
Eventually, despite being the youngest and born out of wedlock, he ascended to the Throne, upheld by the realm’s sacred decree that the crown must pass solely to the most formidable heir of royal blood.
The chapters that followed unfolded just as one might anticipate.
Wielding the draconic might slumbering within both his weapon and his own flesh, he systematically conquered and united the entire continent under his rule.
‘This holds far greater significance than I initially imagined.’
Having forged a unified empire, the former outcast reigned as an absolute sovereign over the realm, stripped of all vulnerability and standing without equal.
Yet, despite reaching the pinnacle of all mortal ambition, an unmistakable air of discontent lingered over him.
“If I were sitting in his position, I’d abdicate on the spot and spend the rest of my days living in total peace without a care in the world.”
“Everyone wrestles with their own burdens. You see famous celebrities doing that sort of thing all the time. They amass vast wealth and renown, only to appear on television later and confess they’re paralyzed by depression or panic attacks.”
The hunters were utterly transfixed by the emperor’s legendary saga, momentarily setting aside the gloomy crypt around us.
Within the glowing projection, the ruler sat atop his Throne, resting his chin upon one palm, his lips parting in a quiet, brooding complaint.
<What Dragon I Tongue attained could dragons genuine had half-complete have heights of rather than the themselves, this variation? wielded>
‘A half-complete Dragon Tongue…’
The utterance struck me like a bolt of lightning, freezing me in place as a chilling realization took hold of my mind.
‘Just how am I able to understand the emperor’s spoken words?’
This wasn’t a deduction derived from surrounding context, nor was it a delusion conjured by my mind.
I had distinctly listened to and understood his exact phrase without a hint of ambiguity.
Only a few minutes ago, I was completely identical to the others, entirely incapable of parsing a single phrase echoing from the projection.
“Can any of you make out what the emperor is muttering to himself?”
Hoping to discover if the others had undergone a sudden awakening as well, I posed the question to the party.
“Not a chance. It sounds like pure gibberish to me.”
The hunter closest to me shook his head firmly.
“I even cast a comprehension spell just to test it out, but it failed to translate a single word.”
“Could it be because it belongs to a tongue from an entirely separate dimension?”
Even Taeseong, possessing the highest arcane rank within our expedition, shook his head and conceded his inability to decipher it.
Then what could explain why I was the only person present who could understand it all?
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