CHAPTER 50— The RUNE ISLAND(5)
Umhmm… Ugh…
At first—
Everything was pitch black.
Then slowly…
Very slowly…
Rowan opened his eyes.
"…Ouch."
He winced as he sat up while rubbing his temple.
Something hard must have struck his head during the fall because a dull ache still throbbed near the side of his forehead.
For a few seconds, Rowan simply sat there blankly.
Then—
His eyes flickered.
"…?"
Right in front of him—
Two glowing stones rested quietly on the ground.
Their light softly illuminated the darkness around him.
They looked similar to runes—
Yet completely different at the same time.
Their color was strange.
Neither crimson.
Nor blue.
Nor silver.
The stones possessed a deep iridescent hue that constantly shifted between colors like liquid aurora trapped inside crystal. At one angle they appeared dark violet, then suddenly changed into luminous teal before fading into a faint starlit black.
The glow they emitted felt… unnatural.
Almost alive.
Rowan unconsciously stared at them in silence.
The strange light reflected softly within his pupils.
Slowly—
He picked both stones up.
Cold.
The moment his fingers touched them, a faint chill traveled through his palm.
Rowan frowned slightly.
Instructor Valeria's words surfaced within his mind.
Crimson for Flame.
Blue for Water.
Silver for Wind.
Brown for Earth.
Yellow for Thunder.
Those were the five elemental runes known to the Mage Council.
But these—
These stones carried colors he had never heard about before.
"…What are these?"
"ROWAN!!"
Two familiar voices suddenly echoed from nearby.
Rowan turned his head immediately.
He quickly slipped one of the strange runes into his pocket while still holding the other in his hand.
Soon—
Ritvik and Sarina came running toward him from the darkness.
"Rowan!" Sarina called out.
"Haha… I'm oka—"
Before Rowan could finish—
Ritvik suddenly grabbed both his shoulders aggressively and started shaking him.
"Oh my god Rowan!"
"H-Hey—?!"
"Do you even realize what kind of genius guide you are!?"
Rowan blinked repeatedly from the violent shaking.
"…Guide?"
"Yeah!" Ritvik nodded excitedly while gesturing dramatically around them.
"LOOK AROUND!"
Only then did Rowan finally notice it properly.
The cavern around them was filled with glowing stones.
Runes.
Dozens of them.
Some embedded into walls.
Some scattered across the ground.
Some partially buried beneath crystal dust.
The entire underground chamber looked like a hidden mine of runes.
"…Oh."
Ritvik immediately released Rowan and rushed toward the scattered runes like a starving man discovering treasure.
"This one…"
"No no no… too pale…"
"Ah! This one looks better."
He crouched down and started examining runes one by one with terrifying concentration.
Meanwhile Rowan blankly stared at him.
"Are you okay?" Sarina quietly asked.
Rowan rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"Yeah…"
Her gaze suddenly lowered toward the strange rune still resting in Rowan's hand.
"…What's that?"
Rowan looked at the stone.
"I… don't know."
Sarina stared at him silently.
And Rowan stared back.
An awkward silence followed.
Then Rowan abruptly turned his head.
"Hey Ritvik!"
"Hm?"
Ritvik was currently crouching while holding two yellow thunder runes close to his face.
His eyes moved between both stones like a pendulum.
"Hmm…"
"This one has a deeper color."
He nodded seriously before selecting the rune in his right hand.
Meanwhile—
Rowan and Sarina simply watched him blankly.
Ritvik finally turned around.
"Yeah? Were you saying something?"
Rowan let out a deep sigh.
"Look at this."
Ritvik walked toward them curiously.
Then his eyes landed on the strange rune in Rowan's palm.
"…Whoa."
He leaned closer.
"What the hell is this?"
Rowan looked at him expectantly.
"I was literally about to ask you the same thing."
Ritvik carefully poked the rune with his index finger.
The strange aurora-like light reflected against his glasses.
"So…" Rowan asked slowly, anticipation visible within his eyes.
"Do you know anything about it?"
Ritvik kept staring.
And the longer he stared—
The more Rowan's anticipation grew.
Finally—
Ritvik opened his mouth.
Rowan instinctively leaned forward.
"…No."
The hope inside Rowan's eyes shattered instantly.
"What?"
Ritvik crossed his arms while continuing to stare at the rune thoughtfully.
"No matter how much I look at it, I can't remember reading about anything like this."
He lowered his head slightly.
"Honestly…"
"This whole dungeon is strange."
His voice became quieter now.
"A small abandoned dungeon in a remote location…"
"No monsters…"
"And then suddenly we fall into a hidden rune mine…"
Suddenly—
Ritvik stopped speaking midway.
Silence fell.
A strange silence.
Rowan and Sarina both stared at him.
Something about Ritvik's sudden quietness felt unnerving.
Very unnerving.
"…Hey Rowan."
A chill suddenly ran down Rowan's spine.
The tiny hairs on his arms stood up instantly.
He swallowed hard.
Ritvik slowly lifted his head.
His expression remained mostly blank as always—
Yet somehow—
It looked terrifying right now.
The reflection of the glowing runes beneath them cast unnatural shadows across his glasses, hiding his eyes in darkness. His usually bright and composed face now carried an unsettling seriousness, as if he had just realized something he genuinely wished he hadn't.
Then—
Very slowly—
Ritvik opened his lips.
---
Tttrruusstt—!!
A spell pierced straight through the monster's head.
The beast staggered for half a second before collapsing heavily onto the dungeon floor.
THUD—
"Wow!!"
Several students immediately cheered.
"Nice shot!"
"Haha! Did you see that?"
"Great teamwork!"
The group high-fived each other excitedly while magical smoke still drifted through the air.
"Great job, guys." Kaizen clapped while grinning.
The monster's corpse lay near a pile of gathered resources.
Monster cores.
Runes.
Fragments of mana crystals.
The accumulated materials were already enough to make most first-year students envious.
Kaizen's eyes sparkled while looking at them.
'Wow… We seriously gathered a lot.'
He rubbed his hands together excitedly.
'This should be more than enough.'
A proud smile appeared on his face.
'I should tell Ashwin.'
"Hm?"
Kaizen suddenly looked around.
"…Where is Ashwin?"
His eyes drifted across the dungeon.
Several students were still talking.
Some rested near the walls.
Others collected the remaining monster materials.
Then finally—
He spotted him.
"Hey! Ashwin!"
Kaizen walked toward him while raising his hand casually.
Ashwin stood near the dungeon wall silently.
His fingers slowly traced across the rough stone surface.
"…?"
Kaizen blinked.
"Hey, what are you staring at the wall for?"
Ashwin didn't answer immediately.
His silver-gray eyes remained fixed on the marks carved into the stone.
Then—
"Hey, Kaizen."
"Hm?"
"Don't you think something is strange?"
Kaizen frowned in confusion.
"Ugh… I don't know."
He scratched the back of his head.
"What exactly do you mean by strange?"
Ashwin's fingers slowly brushed against another scar on the wall.
"How long has it been since we entered this dungeon?"
Kaizen thought for a moment.
"Maybe… thirty or forty minutes?"
"And how many monsters have we encountered?"
"Umm…"
Kaizen counted mentally.
"Ten or twelve, I guess."
Ashwin finally turned slightly toward him.
"Isn't that strange?"
Kaizen opened his mouth casually.
"What's so strange abou—"
Suddenly—
His words stopped midway.
Ashwin calmly continued.
"This is a large dungeon."
His voice remained composed.
"Yet we've barely encountered any monsters."
He slowly glanced deeper into the dungeon.
"In most large dungeons, monsters are everywhere.You don't search for them."
"..."
"They find you."
A brief silence followed.
Slowly—
Kaizen's expression began changing.
The excitement from earlier disappeared little by little.
Meanwhile Ashwin remained calm.
Too calm.
"And these battle marks…"
Ashwin's gaze shifted toward the damaged walls around them.
"Most of them are obviously from students of previous years."
His fingers brushed against one particular slash mark.
"But…"
Kaizen followed his gaze.
Among all the faded and dusty marks—
One stood out.
Sharp.
Clean.
Fresh.
Unlike the others.
Ashwin narrowed his eyes slightly.
"As we moved through this dungeon…"
"I noticed several marks similar to this."
His finger tapped lightly against the stone.
"The older ones are dull.Worn down by time."
"But these…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"These look recent."
Kaizen unconsciously swallowed.
Ashwin's eyes remained fixed on the mark.
"Not a year old."
"Not months old."
"…A week old at most."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The dungeon suddenly felt colder.
Kaizen stared at the mark with stiff eyes.
"…So…"
His throat felt dry.
"Are you saying… There were other people here a week ago?"
Ashwin finally turned fully toward him.
"They might still be here."
The calmness in his voice somehow made those words even more unsettling.
"Oh my god…"
Kaizen exhaled deeply.
Thoughts immediately began racing through his mind.
Who could it be?
Students? No.
Academy staff? No.
Treasure hunters? That's can't be possible.
So what could it be.
Some special monster?
Or... Something worse?
For the first time since entering the dungeon—
Actual unease crawled into his chest.
"Kaizen."
Ashwin's sharp voice immediately pulled him out of his thoughts.
Kaizen looked at him instantly.
"Have we gathered enough resources?"
Kaizen nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
Ashwin's expression didn't change.
"Then we leave."
His tone sounded less like concern—
And more like an order.
"Before something happens."
Kaizen's fists tightened unconsciously.
The atmosphere around him suddenly felt suffocating.
He immediately turned around toward the other students.
"Everyone—!!"
---
CHAPTER ENDS