Chapter 106: Decoding

When the world realigned itself in front of him, Arthur found himself in a dimly-lit room. Shimmering and swarming lights, rune lines as Arthur perceived them, covered the walls from all directions. 

As if it was a giant jigsaw puzzle, the runes were there but incomplete. Gears linked to other gears made up the walls while leaving gaps of iron plates that the runes were inscribed upon. 

The air was damp and slightly shallow, but it wasn't anything Arthur couldn't survive in. His first step was accompanied by a dull metallic and the urgency of finding Tyrin. As he got closer to the wall, a question popped into his head. 

'Did Si know about this? Did he make a mistake? Maybe he never wanted me to stop the weapon. But why?' 

A cloud of mystery surrounded Sier and it only got bigger the more he got to know him. The fact that his ability allowed him to see things others can't make Arthur feel doubtful of him. As if Sier wasn't the person who helped him on more than one occasion, but a scheming mind with a dream to achieve. 

He stood in front of the walls and touched the iron plates. His hands touched the runic lines and his hand prickled with the sensation of the mana running through the paths. They were incomplete and they would listen to him to rearrange them. This did not stem from his ability, but the fortress's protection layers themselves. 

He closed his eyes and just like the time he entered the permanent runes he created; he allowed his consciousness to summon the mana paths. This trial was of seeing the 'wholeness' of the runes. To see the way they slung into each other, how they interacted with each other, and to analyze their natural order. 

It would take years of studying runes, solving their patterns, and understanding how their function came into existence to be able to decode the runes and impair the defenses the fortress had set up. 

Broken lines and misplaced runes were like encryption that only the inscriber knew their real form. And they were in such an arrangement that they bond to each other, not allowing anyone to reach the layers underneath. A layer of encryption that hid the layer underneath, to deny access for those who were unable to decode it. 

When Arthur saw the runic lines, he remembered the advice a kid told him in elementary school. 'Don't scribble over the words you want to hide,' he told him. 'Write over them! They would be more unrecognizable!' He smiled with his eyes closed, feeling this analogy befitting of the occasion. 

It would indeed be a difficult task to unearth the layer underneath without years of experience. However, his ability was a cheat in this field, to be honest. He was aware of how much advantage it gave him. Runes were an extension of himself, and he was not separate from runes. Just like how his ability became a part of him, the runes followed along to be as well. 

The lines dashed, they realigned and fitted into one another as the layer was broken. The gears shifted and a door slid away from his view, revealing a long corridor like a monster opening its maw. 

A thought, so irrelevant yet so greed-inducing, filled his mind at that time. He wouldn't allow it to blind him and make him overestimate himself, but he couldn't stop himself from getting excited. How many ancient ruins, filled with treasures, could he unearth using his ability?

He banished these images from his mind, as he knew he had a greater task at hand. The question was how to find Tyrin? In an Iron Fortress where he needed to look among a thousand contestants, it was near impossible to find him in time. 

The question was what would he do after he finds him? He could safely assume that Tyrin would face difficulty in passing the first room, not to mention the first layer. Even though the encryption runes were all basic tier, they would still require a normal contestant a considerable amount of time. 

He saw doors like the one that he passed through earlier. He thought about opening them himself until he found Tyrin, but he quickly let go of that idea after a bit of consideration. If he started letting people out, a hundred would pass the region without him and he would fail. 

'Why do I need to search for him?' Arthur realized. 'He would undoubtedly head toward the first layer. I just need to wait.' Arthur decided and kept going through the hallway until he was met with a giant hall. The hall was in the shape of a quarter of a sphere, with the far walls mounting a giant gate of gears. As for the rest of the walls, an arc from one side of the far wall to the others, doors lined up with a few meters in between. 

The ground was made of metal, one giant plate of it with no seams. There were masses of rotating gears, pillars of runic plates and machinery, and elaborate engravings on the wall. Arthur was sure he was the first one to arrive, so he took his time studying the gate. 

'The gate of the first layer.' Arthur realized and he touched the runic lines on it. The same feeling from earlier came upon him, and he felt the compulsive need to solve them. 'No, I need to wait.' Arthur stepped back and found a place to hide. 

His plan was simple but would take time. He would wait here for Tyrin to show up. He activated his camouflage skill and leaned on the wall in the corner behind one of the geared structures.

'I'll count the people until there are 90… no, 97 before I pass the first layer as well. Until then, let's wait for Tyrin.' Arthur tried to hide his presence and wait. As he did, he thought about who would be the first to show up. 

It took another ten minutes for the first one to arrive. Looking at him, Arthur didn't recognize who he was. A thin man with dark circles under his eyes, curled up hair, and a cyan hood. He was from Sourna, the port kingdom which the Yalveran enjoyed trade with.

The young man wobbled toward the gate before stopping and looking in Arthur's direction. His eyes glared dangerously but when he saw the hood, he flinched. Arthur had heard of the name they called him, and he found it slightly cool, despite how childish it sounded. 

"I seek someone else, go ahead. I swear to never lay a hand on you." Arthur said and the man hesitated before nodding. He touched the gate and the runes glowed. After a while, almost half an hour, the man disappeared from his position. 

In the time that it took for him to pass the first layer, another person showed up. It was Nera, and Arthur was startled at her being the third person, Arthur being the first, to arrive here. She noticed him as well and Arthur was already feeling a headache coming. 

"What are you doing?" Nera glared at him, recognizing him by his hood and eyes. He sighed as he pondered how to get to her leave this. 

"Princess, I have my reasons. Not selfish ones, I promise. The person I'm trying to stop is an evil one," His calm voice seemed to calm her down, but she still summoned her bow. Arthur sighed and stood up. "I guess I'll have to break your legs, princess. Would you rather if they were your arms? Nose?" He threatened and activated his Legacy rune for a moment, a pressure pressing on Nera who shook. 

She took a step back and unsummoned her bow and Arthur stepped back as well. She glared at him cautiously but Arthur didn't do anything until she disappeared as well. 

Contestants kept coming and going, some noticing Arthur and some did not. Arthur then thought of something, making him worry. 

'What if people from the Ilios empire attack me?' 

However, his worries soon disappeared when they didn't even when they noticed him. Arthur found it odd, but only Tyrin would provide him with answers. The count was already thirty when Arthur saw someone he knew.

"Go ahead." He said to Emma before she could call his name out. Emma hesitated and offered to help him, but Arthur shook his head. He didn't want to drag her into this, not after all the things she's done to him. He would also be restrained by how much of his ability he could show. 

Emma left after Arthur convinced her to, and he was alone again. Roy passed as well, being the fiftieth person to do so. He didn't notice him, making it easier for Arthur. 

When Arthur's patience grew thinner, the star of the show finally arrived. Before Tyrin could step into the hall, Arthur was already dashing toward him. He would take the battle elsewhere.