‘The coordinates are getting blocked… too much interference.’
Roland stepped through the one-way gate and emerged in another place. It was not a vast chamber but rather a small room with several entrance gates arranged along white walls. The place seemed like a mixture of modern technology and magic. Runes lit up across the walls and the ceiling, pulsing above a circular platform.
‘No doors?’
He was currently wearing his armor made from Ignisium. They had allowed him to keep it after he left the noble gathering. He was unsure whether they trusted him enough to handle his weaponry or if they simply believed he lacked both the strength and the recklessness to turn against them.
“You’re here? Good. Now, hurry and step on the platform. We do not have all day.”
The voice he had heard earlier echoed again, clearer this time and free of static. Then, without warning, something began to move. A small compartment opened in the floor and a glass case rose slowly until it stopped at waist height. Inside was an item resting on its surface.
“Be sure to put on the bracelet; otherwise, I can’t guarantee your safety here.”
The voice spoke again, and Roland stepped forward to examine the bracelet. At first glance, it did not look impressive. It was clearly designed for function rather than appearance. A single orb sat in the center while the rest of the bracelet was just rough silver. With his knowledge, he quickly recognized it as a runic device and he could tell that it was safe to touch.
‘This is not a power dampener or an explosive. It feels more like a key.’
It did not take him long to understand its purpose. Modifying it would not be easy since the runes were advanced, bordering on the higher end of tier three. Even so, he knew he would not be able to continue without it. For now, he clasped it around his left wrist and stepped onto the platform. As soon as he did, the orb began to flash. He realized that both devices were communicating, and once their connection was established, the platform began to move.
‘An elevator, carrying me even further down.’
He made a mental note, though he could not be sure whether he was actually descending or ascending. The room was saturated with magic and the reversal of gravity was entirely possible. Several explanations came to mind. He might be inside the mage tower he had seen upon arriving in Isgard. Another possibility was that he was standing in a hidden underground facility. There was even the chance that he was somewhere completely different. Still, he considered the first option the most likely since the teleportation gate he had entered was not designed for long-distance travel.
The platform jolted once and then surrounded itself with a protective shield that resembled glass. Faint lines of azure light traced across the transparent walls as he continued to descend. He placed his hand against the surface and immediately sensed its ability to conduct mana. Tiny runes were hidden within the material, which made him wonder if he could someday adapt the design for his own projects.
The descent was slow, giving the impression that the facility extended far below ground. After what felt like several minutes, the platform began to slow. For an instant, the lights dimmed, and the walls around him shifted in color until they glowed white. Sounds drifted in from outside, confirming that he had finally reached his destination. A chime rang out, and an opening formed in front of him.
“Ahh, our guest has arrived at last!”
The voice was the same as before, though now it was much closer. He stepped forward and realized that the elevator had been moving inside a tube. Beyond it lay a spacious chamber filled not only with people but also with golems standing on guard. Their design was strangely similar to the ones he had encountered at the banks.
‘This bracelet must be the key. Without it, those golems would already see me as a target.’
He figured out the secret behind the bracelet rather quickly and then continued looking around. The place carried a strange smell, reminiscent of his workshop but also similar to the magical institute where he was a professor. The chamber stretched farther than he expected, a vast circular hall lined with rows of crystalline terminals that pulsed faintly, their glow scattering across smooth white walls. Strange glyphs and runes shifted across the surfaces of these terminals, which were occupied by men dressed in tight coats.
‘This man… could he be the one who was speaking? Is he their leader?’
Not far away stood someone approaching him, and the figure had a unique look. The man appeared older, perhaps close to sixty. His hair was steel gray, unkempt and jutting in uneven tufts, and his thin frame was encased in a pristine white suit buttoned to the neck. Wide goggles magnified his eyes, and his gloved fingers twitched restlessly as if they longed to dismantle and rebuild something at once. Roland immediately thought of a mad scientist.
“Finally! Let us finish this.”
The man spread his arms, his tone carrying unmistakable impatience. He was clearly not a knight, nor did he seem to belong to the nobility. He gave the impression of a third party who cared little that Roland was a knight commander and directly involved with a descendant of the Valerian line.
“Do you know how many experiments have been delayed because of you? If this is not resolved now, I will lose weeks, perhaps months of valuable research!”
Roland’s gaze flicked toward the dozen or so people scattered across the chamber. Assistants in colored coats scribbled notes, adjusted arrays, and worked the crystalline terminals. Their eccentric leader was the only one dressed in white, while the others wore yellow or brown. A few glanced at Roland nervously before hurrying back to their tasks. None dared interrupt their master.
“And who might you be?”
Roland asked with genuine interest. He had studied the names of prominent researchers, mages, and craftsmen known throughout the kingdom. If this man worked under the Duke, then he was likely famous within those circles.
“Who am I?”
The man gave a sharp laugh and pushed his goggles up to rest on his forehead. His eyes were sharp and bright despite the sleepless shadows beneath them.
“I am the one who keeps this entire facility running like a finely tuned instrument.”
Roland nodded, though that answer was not what he had hoped for. Fortunately, the man kept talking.
“I am the one who persuaded the Duke to embrace true progress. I am the one who dissects the abyss and feasts on its secrets. I am…”
He paused, lifting his arms as though unveiling some grand revelation.
“Grand Researcher and Professor Halbrecht the Third.”
The staff immediately broke into applause, though only for a brief moment, while their leader held his theatrical pose. Roland tilted his head slightly, uncertain how to respond. The name was not unfamiliar. A mage called Halbrecht had once been renowned, but he had vanished long ago. Perhaps this man was his grandson, and for reasons unknown had chosen to serve Duke Alexander Valerian.
Roland considered the runic weaponry amassed within the city of Isgard, the network of teleportation gates, and the near-impenetrable barrier that surrounded the castle. Perhaps the famed grandfather had created these magical machines, and perhaps this descendant had refined them. Whatever the truth, Roland could feel the abundance of mana radiating from him. Despite the appearance of a researcher, this man was most certainly a mage.
“Hm… now that I have you here, I see you’re wearing something unusual.”
Halbrecht the Third put his goggles back on. As soon as he did, Roland felt mana surge into them. The lenses dimmed from the outside, much like the material he had seen in the elevator. Halbrecht stepped closer, examining Roland’s runic armor without laying a hand on it, his eyes narrowing as he studied every detail of the design.
“This is a curious interpretation of magical laws… but how does it manage mana? It is terribly unoptimized. How can it even function without overloading the caster?”
It was clear that the man could see through his runes. His armor could not be worn by anyone without rune-related skills. He possessed several abilities that reduced the mana cost of casting spells, and his immense mana pool supported them with ease. For him, there was no strain, but an ordinary mage of his level would not last more than a minute while wearing any of his armors.
“Professor Halbrecht, I think we should get to work. The Duke most likely expects a prototype device to counter the cultist relic. It would be best not to keep his grace waiting.”
Roland recognized the look in Halbrecht’s eyes. Mages and researchers often shared that expression. Many of them delighted in dissecting new technologies and experimenting with unfamiliar magical laws to discover new possibilities. Since innovation in spellcraft was rare in this world, something as unique as his armor was irresistible to people like Halbrecht. Roland, however, had no real desire to linger.
His goal was to create the device and then return home, a plan for which he had already prepared. Although some of what he had seen here roused his curiosity, his freedom mattered far more. Once that was secure, he might consider returning to pursue further research, but for now, his priority was ensuring his own safety.
“Ah, yes, the Duke’s request. I am sure he would not mind if I examined that armor of yours for a while. Why not let me look at the helmet? It seems to have…”
Before the old man could finish, Roland raised his hand. The golems at the sides reacted instantly as he activated one of his spatial runes and drew out an object. For a moment, the scientist was startled, but when the item was revealed, calmness returned to the room.
“A schematic?”
“Yes. If you follow it carefully, you will be able to counter the effects of the relics. It should aid your research as well.”
Roland had already noticed the crystalline monitors. They displayed images of the small relics recovered from the scene. Although all of them had been destroyed in battle, their fragments could be reassembled and their functions restored with enough effort. The plans he had provided were for a prototype he had already completed earlier.
“Let me see!”
Halbrecht snatched the schematic out of Roland’s hand with a speed surprising for his age. He tilted it toward the nearest light source and started examining. Even though he was wearing his googles, Roland could tell that the man was squinting.
“Oh… oh, this is beautiful!”
The old man proclaimed this while turning around and walking away. For a moment, Roland just stood there without moving, but eventually he took the hint and followed after him while a few of his associates beckoned him over with awkward looks on their faces.
“Aha! So I was right, there was some kind of sound wave involved!”
Roland moved forward without saying anything while the man examined the schematic. He muttered to himself as he tried to decipher the design, and Roland had to admit that the man was quite intelligent. It did not take him long to grasp the concepts behind the drawings. If he was working with someone like this, then perhaps building a prototype and finding a way out of here would not be that difficult.
“This way is highly inefficient…”
They continued walking, passing the initial chamber he had first arrived in. At first, there did not seem to be a way out, but when Halbrecht approached one of the walls, the surface shifted and allowed him through at the last moment. Roland quickly followed. The new room was smaller and filled with several tables covered in relic fragments. Multiple researchers were poring over them, trying to reassemble the pieces while others worked on diagrams and additional schematics.
“Don’t need this!”
After approaching one of the tables, the man shoved aside various pieces of expensive-looking equipment. His many assistants rushed in to catch everything before it hit the ground. They performed the task with such ease that Roland could only assume this had happened many times before. Once the table was cleared of clutter, the man placed his schematic down.
‘Interesting, a device to analyze schematics? I can feel the presence of a tower spirit; it’s not quite the same way Sebastian works, but similar.’
This was fascinating for Roland to witness, as the man was demonstrating technologies that felt closer to the modern world and his own creations. A scan was performed on his design, and the glowing table displayed the results. When the process finished, a device resembling a rectangular modem with two antennas appeared on a larger crystalline terminal. Although the projection was not perfect at first, the magical machine continued scanning until the image aligned more closely with what he was envisioning.
Roland did not move and instead allowed Halbrecht to examine his prototype. He had created it after analyzing his encounters with the cult. The entire incident had already proven that it worked, yet there was still one flaw in the device, a flaw that this man seemed to notice immediately.
“Intriguing, but how will this apparatus identify the correct mana pattern to counter the sound trigger? Even if someone is awoken, if the cult’s device is reactivated…”
That was the true weakness of his solution. Roland could easily apply it to himself and to those close to him, since he was the one performing the calculations and altering the runes as needed. If the device were ever to function independently, it would have to be linked to a tower spirit such as Sebastian, who could handle the calculations in his place. Fortunately, he had already begun researching how to make that possible.
“For that, Professor, you should look at this.”
“Oh? You are quite prepared. Tell me, are you truly a knight? Or did someone else make all of this?”
Halbrecht was clearly surprised when Roland set aside not a schematic but a thick notebook filled with additional research material. Roland did not respond to the man’s question and simply handed him the notebook to read. Inside were various solutions that described the most effective runic programs to support the device he had designed.
“This… this is not a standard research script.”
The professor muttered, his voice taking on an almost reverent tone.
“The rune layering… no, the layering of concepts. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Did you truly devise this notation yourself?”
“...”
For a moment, Roland considered whether he should lie about his research. For most of his life, he had tried to keep his skills hidden from others. He knew that powerful figures existed in this world who would force promising talents into contracts that resembled slavery. However, sometimes it was best to just say the truth as these people here could probably very easily confirm his lie and the last thing he needed was someone going to his house to bother his wife or ask the Institute leader if she had anything to do with it.
“Yes, I’ve made this; if you have a smithy and some competent craftsmen, I can guide them through the process.”
“Fascinating!”
Halbrecht’s goggled eyes shone like twin beacons as he flipped through the notebook with reverence, muttering half-formed words in between pages. His assistants leaned over his shoulders, eager but hesitant to intrude.
“Do you fools see this?”
Halbrecht snapped suddenly, smacking one page with his gloved hand.
“The rune sequencing isn’t linear. It’s recursive, recursive! Not just efficient, but also adaptive!”
Eventually, the researchers gathered around him. All of them were eager to see the new device and read through the notes of someone they now regarded as an equal. Roland however, only stood there, urging the leader to begin the actual work. He had no need to study his own research and only wished to be finished with the whole ordeal. Once the prototype was assembled, he wanted nothing more than to leave, though he could not forget that the man responsible for his freedom was this peculiar scientist.
“Haha, my friend, your name was Wayland, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You must tell me how you reached this conclusion. Wouldn’t a different rune serve better in this place?”
“...”
‘I hope Arthur is doing better than me.’
He sighed inwardly before beginning his explanation. It seemed wiser to answer their questions quickly, since none of them appeared ready to move the project forward. Once he started speaking the other researchers abandoned whatever they had been doing in order to listen. The sight reminded him of the Institute students during his lectures, and it also made him wonder how severely the Archmagus would punish him for taking so long to return to his duties…
182