[Chapter 216] Following the Gold Pin

A magnificent corridor stretched out beyond the bedroom. Overwhelmed by the immense space she encountered as soon as she opened the door, Neris hesitated about which way to go.

First, if this was reality, someone would surely come looking for her. So, she took out one of her hairpins and dropped it in front of the bedroom. It was the most suitable item she had for that purpose. She had quite a few of them in her neatly styled hair.

'Anyone who enters here will know I was here.'

Dropping them one by one, with a slight gap between each, would be a clue to follow. Of course, this was a precaution assuming that someone who knew her would enter this place before she starved to death.

Was there no one living here? It didn't seem like the people who lived here would have left such a magnificent space of their own free will. But if it was destroyed, shouldn't the bedroom or this corridor be a little more disheveled?

Or was someone secretly living here?

The surroundings were quiet. Neris, after pondering, chose the left. It was a choice made purely by chance, as the corridor seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction.

Walking along the corridor to the left of the bedroom, she dropped pins at intervals as she walked, and only after a long time did she finally find another door. The door was three times taller and twice wider than the bedroom door, which was of normal size.

Hesitating, she grasped the incredibly intricate handle on the door. And she gently turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The door opened more easily than she expected. There was no usual creaking sound. And inside was…

A library.

Magical orbs, tinged with a slight yellow, densely filled the ceiling. Bookshelves filled with books rose to a height of twice a person's height and stretched out as far as the eye could see, almost as if it were an optical illusion. She could smell the scent of book dust.

The end of the library was faintly visible. It was so distant, like the horizon, that it was almost comical.

'Three Imperial Palace libraries could fit in here.'

Moreover, the bookshelves were too high for ordinary people to use, yet there wasn't a single ladder around. It was as if it had been built for beings other than humans.

'Or maybe the ladder is somewhere inside the bookshelves.'

Neris unconsciously refuted the thought that had come to her mind. Yes, the books themselves were only slightly larger than ordinary books.

Most of the books were neatly arranged, but one was lying on the floor. It was open, with the spine facing up and upside down.

Neris unconsciously approached and picked up the book. The bookshelf felt old, but fortunately, it didn't crumble as soon as she touched it.

'It's written in the same script as the Imperial language. I don't know what it says, though.'

It was strange. Of course, Neris didn't know every language in the world. But if a people with such a developed culture had used the same script as the Imperial language, she should have heard about it somewhere in her history lessons…

Neris's eyes suddenly stopped on a word that felt familiar. The spelling was slightly different, but it was similar to the word 'Belio', which meant 'to wage war' in the Divine Language. The beginning letters were similar, but there was a slight unfamiliar transformation at the end.

Realizing this, she noticed familiar letters on every page. 'Kato', meaning 'cat', 'Primera', meaning 'one'…

The Imperial Language and the Divine Language were written with the same script. This book was…

Perhaps it was written in a language similar to the Divine Language.

The structure of the Divine Language was not significantly different from the major languages commonly used, such as the Imperial Language, the Common Runic Language, and the Berlen Language. It was just more complex. Much more.

If a noun changes four times according to its case in the Berlen Language, it changes twelve times in the Divine Language. If a present tense verb changes three times according to the subject in the Common Runic Language, it changes six times in the Divine Language. However, there were almost no irregular changes, as long as you memorized all the rules.

If the language of this book was one of the variations of the Divine Language and the vocabulary was similar, it wouldn't be impossible to understand the general meaning.

Then, perhaps she could read other books too. Maybe she could find out what this place was and how to get out. This library was so big.

As someone who loved books, she couldn't help but feel excited. She had suppressed herself for a long time, immersed in her work, but in her previous life, she was actually the type who wouldn't put down a book until she finished reading it.

Neris couldn't take her eyes off the book and spent a while extracting familiar roots. And after familiarizing herself with the frequently appearing words, she judged which part was the root of the word and which part was the result of the transformation.

'The numbers are almost the same as the Divine Language, but the spelling is closer to the Pizanian Language… the same word, but the spelling is slightly different… the second-person singular verb transformation always ends with the sound 's', which is the same as most other languages…'

At first, the unfamiliar words bounced off her eyes, feeling awkward. But gradually, they became familiar. All of it.

She found herself unconsciously drawn into deciphering this strange yet exhilarating language.

****

The area in front of the heavily closed door was a mess. Blood and corpses were scattered gruesomely on the door, the floor, and the surrounding area, and the scent of death lingered.

Some of the gathered monsters possessed intelligence close to that of humans, while others were more foolish than a pack of wolves. But the smell of blood, and the smell of enemies, enticed them all terribly.

The orcs were angry and afraid. Hatred arose within them at the scent of humans. The Nodels, who had been watching them coldly, were also excited.

Humans… enemies. Beings who had come to kill them… things that should disappear. And they were good food too…

'The room' was a place they couldn't enter at will. If they did, 'she' would be angry. But if there was a human inside, wouldn't it be okay to enter?

Thump. Thump. The Stone Golem stepped forward and knocked on the door. It was twice the height of an orc, with a heavy body made of rock. The force of the Stone Golem's strength made the entire corridor tremble.

Crack! Crack! The door soon broke. Unable to contain their anger, the orcs slipped past the Stone Golem's legs and entered the room.

The place they entered was a warehouse. Countless chests, where treasures lay dormant, were piled haphazardly like bales of straw. They were priceless objects from the outside, but none of the monsters touched them.

The warehouse seemed empty at first glance. It was quiet and peaceful. But the monsters sensed that the human scent was stronger than before.

Kii-i-i-i-ik, Kr-r-r-r-r-r! The monsters growled, each tracking the human scent. Most of them ran towards one place. The tower of chests to the right of the door, right behind it.

But when they reached their destination, the monsters were bewildered. Behind the bookshelf was only a piece of cloth that looked like a human's belongings. The smell must have come from there.

Pick, pick, whoosh. Before the orcs could sniff, a sound like a light breeze came, and several monsters fell dead. The intelligent monsters raised their heads, seeing the golden pin that had been embedded in their back of their heads as smoothly as butter.

A human was standing on top of the tower of chests, at a height invisible to the orcs.

Whizz! Whizz! Come down, human! Cowardly… gurgle!

The orc that was shouting had its neck pierced and died. One Nodel approached the Stone Golem and whispered.

Hiss, that chest, hiss, collapse it. Hiss-ss!

The Stone Golem wasn't very intelligent, but it was the strongest among them. Soon, the pile of chests that the Golem was holding collapsed heavily, as if a building were falling.

The chests broke, and countless gems the size of plums poured out endlessly. Cledwyn, who had jumped down from the pile of chests, was dumbfounded.

"What kind of gems are stored like this?"

He had more than enough gems. He had inherited an old title, and he had continued to make money ever since. He couldn't even count the number of gem mines he owned.

But this size, this clarity, this craftsmanship. The sight of gems, illuminating the surroundings with thousands and tens of thousands of rays of light, rolling around like pebbles, was closer to the delusion of a greedy person than something from this world.

Cledwyn clicked his tongue and threw the pin he was holding. He had picked it up on the way here.

Neris's hairpin. She was 'definitely' inside. Seeing them placed one by one, with gaps between them, meant that she was free to move her limbs.

It was a good thing. That's why he could use it as a mnemonic device. The monsters near him screamed and fell dead.

The startled Nodels retreated into the shadows. Those stupid orc fools, those stupid goblin fools! This human was strong. So they had no choice but to wait until the Stone Golem killed the human. The Stone Golem wouldn't eat the human, so they could have the meat all to themselves.

But before their eyes, the Stone Golem shattered in an instant. And it shattered once more, like grains of sand, before it could regenerate from its core.

Let's run. The Nodels gestured to their companions. But they too met the same fate as the other monsters in this room, except for one.

Cledwyn, who had spared only one of the monsters he could sense, held the tip of his sword to the Nodel's throat and asked coldly.

"Is there another human around here besides me?"

The Nodel made a quick judgment. This human seemed to have lost his companions. Then there was only one lie that could save his life.

Hiss-ss! Y-yes! We Nodels! Hiss! We're keeping her! Hiss! If you hurt me, that human will! Hiss! Die too!

"Is that so? What does she look like?"

Hiss! I d-don't know! Hiss! I only heard she was human!

"A clever answer. Are you trying to keep me from killing you?"

Hic. The Nodel hiccuped. The human knew his intentions.

Cledwyn smiled and tickled the Nodel's throat with the tip of his sword. It didn't matter if it was a lie or not. If she was here, he had to clear the area.

"Get up. Let's see if you can lead me to where your companions are and try to kill me. But if the person I'm looking for isn't there, all your companions will die."

The Nodel nodded.

****

She thought she heard something collapsing in the distance.

Neris, who had been looking at the book for a long time, raised her eyes. And reluctantly, she approached the library door and looked outside.

Woo-woo-woo-ong. Kudangtang… Tadang. A loud echo reverberated several times. Something must have collapsed.

'Or it could be worse.'

Neris looked back at the book she had been reading.

Although she didn't know the language precisely, she understood roughly what most of the pages were discussing. And she still couldn't believe the content.

'…Anyway, I can't just sit here.'

She had to move. She had to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Neris pulled out another one of the many pins that held her hair in place. And she dropped it on the floor.

Clang. The pin fell on the floor tile, making a subtle, clear sound. She started to run.

The gargoyle carved on the pillar suddenly opened its eyes and looked at her back.