Chapter 13
GARUDA SET THE WAGON down in the palace’s front plaza. The guards seemed unsurprised by the sight, and they immediately stood to attention and saluted. After Cleos emerged, they were momentarily taken aback at the sight of the young girl with shimmering silver hair hopping down behind him. When they realized it was Mira, they quickly regained their composure before anyone noticed.
“Thank you. That was quite comfortable,” Mira said before looking up at Garuda. “Well done, up there!” Garuda trilled in return as if it understood her message.
Cleos nodded and smiled. “I’m glad to have been of assistance. Take care now, Mistress Mira.”
“Hrmm. You do the same. And take care of those new summoners.”
During their flight, she had given him some Blasting Stones. The unexpected gift motivated him to face the rest of the day.
Mira watched as Cleos climbed back into the vehicle and took off in the direction of the academy. She turned and entered the palace, whereupon a maid escorted her to the archives and handed her over to Lily.
“Miss Mira, we’ve been expecting you,” Lily said, leading her further inside. “This way, please.”
White walls held up a high ceiling above a wide atrium. Around the sides of the atrium were three floors lined with gray metal shelves containing information from around the world, all carefully categorized and filed. Lily brought Mira to a room at the far end of the first level, where Solomon and Luminaria were waiting for her.
“Thank you, we’ll take care of the rest,” Solomon said.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” She bowed and turned to leave, but first she whispered in Mira’s ear. “When possible, I’d love to hear your impressions of the outfit.”
After her departure, Mira sank into one of the nearby chairs. “So you found problems. What are we looking at?”
Looking troubled, Solomon handed over a piece of paper. “This is all we were able to decode. It seems that even Suleiman’s knowledge wasn’t enough for some of the key parts.”
“Oho, even with all this reference material?” she said in surprise, scanning the document.
Suleiman’s abilities were above and beyond any ordinary scholar. Given the resources of the royal archives at his disposal, no secret should have been beyond his grasp. But the documents hadn’t been created by just any old scholar—they’d been written by Soul Howl, a former player. Suleiman was faced with countless codes and encryptions he’d never encountered before.
The paper in Mira’s hands contained all the information that had been revealed thus far. He’d discovered the base materials that would have to be acquired to create the Holy Grail of Heavenly Light. They could be found in the southern regions of the continent, but there had been issues with deciphering the exact locations.
“We think this is a riddle of some sort,” Luminaria said from her position sitting on the desk, sliding another paper over to Mira. Written on it was:
Between northern Willow and southern Peaks, where Spider Lily covers the west, and Birch sprouts in the east. There, let the sword that bled and leveled the Land become a vessel.
Mira contemplated the contents, then promptly looked up at the ceiling. “It’s gibberish to me.” If the code was unbreakable by even the kingdom’s top mind, what chance did she have?
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to figure it out,” Solomon retorted. “It’s definitely a conundrum, but we do have a lead. I called you here because I’d prefer for you to handle it personally.”
“Ugh… So what’s the lead?” She dropped her face to the table. It was hard to argue with Solomon when he was being so straightforward.
“We know it’s referring to somewhere down south.” Playing up the reveal, he looked out the window as he spoke. “And when it comes to that region, our kingdom just happens to have a valuable resource.”
“You’re talking about the Fools’ Wunderkammer.”
“Bingo.”
Beneath the Kingdom of Alcait lay a dungeon called the Fools’ Wunderkammer. Long ago, researchers known as the Fools of the Crescent Moon loved the land and dedicated their lives to its study. The Wunderkammer was a labyrinthine storehouse that contained all of the research they’d done and materials they’d collected over their lifetimes.
Mira was very familiar with the place, as it was closely connected to the founding of the Kingdom of Alcait. When the world was younger, and there was a rush to establish new nations across the continent, Alcait had faced a unique threat: a great beast dwelling within Lunatic Lake.
The creature surfaced from the lake under the light of the full moon and wrought havoc on the surrounding area. In order to establish their kingdom, the beast had to be dealt with. Any method would’ve been fine, but the monster was frightfully strong, and in those days, there were no players who could easily stand against such a foe.
But then Solomon had the idea to negotiate with the creature. He ventured into the Fools’ Wunderkammer and used the information he learned as a bargaining chip to pacify the monster. In a historical sense, Alcait existed thanks to the Wunderkammer.
Danblf had aided Solomon in his search and was well aware of the value of the stored research. There was no better place to hunt for information in the southern region of the continent. But the Fools’ Wunderkammer was extremely challenging to traverse, and this mission required Mira’s personal attention.
“Hrmm, and I’m to conduct the search?”
“Exactly. Can I count on you?” Solomon asked casually, turning from the window to look back at Mira. He seemed to already know what her answer would be.
“Oh, boy. Well, if there aren’t any other options…” She yielded, leaning back in her chair and stretching. “Wait, it’s a dungeon, right? I suppose that means I need to get a permit from the Union?”
“Ah, that won’t be necessary,” Luminaria said, pulling out a silver key.
“That’s quite fancy. What’s it for?” Mira leaned forward and inspected the key’s elaborate detail.
“The Wunderkammer is under the special jurisdiction of the kingdom due to its historical significance. And because the entrance is under the academy.” Luminaria handed the key to Mira before gracefully recrossing her legs.
“Hrmm, all right, then. And this is what I need to get in?” The key was a fair bit heavier than it looked. She stashed it in her Item Box. “I’ll keep it safe.”
“See that you do. Solomon and I both have keys, as do each of the acting Elders. You’ll need two to gain entry.”
“Will I, now? Well, then give me the other one.” Mira testily held out her hand to Solomon.
“Just a moment… Huh?!” He switched from scrolling through his Item Box to searching his pockets in a panic. After a moment of fumbling around, he walked over to Mira and put his hand over hers. “Shake.”
“I don’t know what sort of comedy routine this is, but it’s not funny.” She batted his hand away with a scowl.
“Well, it seems I’ve misplaced mine.” He laughed, looking rather unbothered.
“You’re a mess. Luckily for you, Cleos is at the academy. I’ll get the other one from him.”
Last night, Cleos had mentioned he was giving a safety lecture to future summoners, so he should still be at the academy when she arrived.
“Oh, right. That’ll work.” Solomon patted Mira on the shoulder with a big phony smile. Then he opened a box on the table and pulled out a book. “All right, now about the Wunderkammer.”
“What’s the book?” Mira asked.
“This is an inventory of the Fools’ Wunderkammer,” he replied, removing a sheet of paper that was tucked between the pages and handing it to her.
Taking the paper, she glanced over it. There were three titles listed: On Ancient Species and Divergence in Evolutionary Processes, Map of Presumed Flora Distribution with Regards to Sediment and Climate Categorization, and Adelheid Report #47.
She grimaced. “These look like snoozefests.” With a sigh, she dropped the paper to the table.
“Suleiman looked over the inventory list and said those three were the best chance of deciphering anything. According to the inventory, you should find all of them on the third level.”
“Wait, the third level?” Intrigued, Mira leaned forward to have a look at the book. There among the countless entries was indeed a mark indicating the third level of the Fools’ Wunderkammer.
Mira’s brow furrowed and she stroked her chin as she considered this development. From what she remembered, the Wunderkammer only had two levels.
The dungeon resembled a massive museum, with the materials and collections becoming more technical and specialized as one progressed from the first to the second level. Given that it was related to the founding of the nation and that it was so close, Mira was very familiar with the dungeon’s layout. She’d never heard of a third level.
“Once a game, now reality. You’re still new here, but there are all sorts of new places to explore. The third level is one of them.” Solomon smiled joylessly. “Sometimes we find extra levels in old dungeons. There may be entire areas, once sealed off by the game system, now open to this world.”
“Really now? No wonder I wasn’t aware of it.” Mira’s curiosity grew. This just meant there were more opportunities for adventuring. She was an explorer at heart. “Now, I don’t mind going, but I seem to recall anti-theft measures that keep one from leaving the dungeon with any of the materials. What do we do about that?”
Nothing from the Fools’ Wunderkammer could be removed from the premises. Any attempt would trigger the alarms, flooding the area with security golems, and the removed item would be whisked back to its original location.
Solomon pulled out a bundle of papers from a drawer. “These will make a copy of any flat surface they’re pressed against. We’ve been using them to copy texts from the Wunderkammer whenever we need something.”
“Oho, that’s useful. I see. Definitely easier than transcribing by hand.” Accepting the bundle, Mira took one of the sheets and looked it over front and back, admiring what appeared to be a regular blank piece of paper. This was new to her.
“Oh, one other thing,” said Solomon. “To get down to the third level, you’ll need Firefly Ore from the Raggett Copper Mine. It only lasts for twelve hours after it’s excavated.”
Mira knew that the Raggett Copper Mine was dug in the side of a mountain, and it was a ten-hour round trip.
He sat down across from Mira and folded his hands beneath his nose, elbows on the desk, eyes sparkling. He seemed to be emulating a well-known commander.
“What? You want me to go fetch that too?” She scowled at him with annoyance.
“No, no, no. I wouldn’t send you all the way out there. I’ll be sending someone else. Garrett did return with you, after all, and he can make the trip there and back in three hours if he takes the FAV.”
“Great. So, I just need to be ready for when he returns. Fine. When are we expecting him back?” Mira assumed that without the Firefly Ore, there was no point in immediately heading to the Fools’ Wunderkammer.
Solomon smiled devilishly. “Well, this was all a bit sudden, see? And we don’t have the extra manpower at the moment.”
He explained that the military was currently short-staffed and on high alert in order to deal with hordes of monsters. This was only amplified by the increased incursions of said monsters throughout the continent and great beasts wandering from their established territories. Some areas had guard details consisting of just four combat-ready soldiers. Raggett Copper Mine, too, was short on protection, so Garrett couldn’t go to the mines alone.
Then Solomon let slip his true intentions. “It would also be the perfect test for the FAV’s ability to negotiate steep terrain.” He glanced at Mira with hope-filled eyes.
“I’m not riding in that thing again.” Just the mention of the armored car summoned up vivid flashbacks, and she purposely avoided his gaze. Mira summoned a Dark Knight and said, “This is the only armor I need.”
Armor spirits were among the most versatile of the lower-level summons. Depending on instructions, they could serve as escorts or even act autonomously. Mira’s in particular had accumulated an incredible amount of experience under her control and thus exercised even more freedom.
“Oh, perfect. That should do nicely. Thank you,” Solomon said almost automatically as he looked at the summoned knight with satisfaction. It seemed like he’d planned for this to happen. “Let’s hurry up and see it off, then.”
He stood and made his way out of the archives, leaving Mira and Luminaria to trail after him a moment later.
The group made its way to a garage that Mira was well acquainted with. Three soldiers saluted as Solomon and Luminaria entered, one of them being Vice Commander Garrett. The other two men looked younger and seemed unaccustomed to their uniforms—privates, perhaps. Behind the three sat the FAV, ready and waiting to go. Mira’s face twisted as she laid eyes on it.
“At ease,” Solomon said before giving Mira a pointed glance.
On cue, she summoned a Dark Knight with increased duration and stamina, intended for escort duties. The privates were rattled by its sudden appearance.
“This is the fourth member of your mission. Play nice,” Solomon joked.
After a crisp salute paired with a chorus of “Yes, sir!” Garrett murmured approvingly at the Dark Knight while his team loaded some sort of prospecting instrument into the FAV. Then all four members climbed in themselves.
After that, they set off with the Vice Commander at the wheel.
***
Having finished their business at the garage, Mira and her two friends headed to Solomon’s private dining room for lunch. It would be three or four hours before the team returned, giving them plenty of time to eat, discuss, and plan. Lunch at the palace was a sumptuous affair, and an hour later, Mira collapsed onto one of the dining room’s sofas as she tried to digest.
“You don’t have to gorge yourself like that. It won’t be the last time we ever serve lunch, you know,” Solomon said, handing her a glass of water and sitting down beside her.
“I couldn’t help myself…”
Sitting up slightly, she took a sip and then passed it back with a rueful grin as she fell back down on the sofa.
“Remember that time the three of us went to that all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet?” Luminaria asked, gently rubbing Mira’s tummy.
“Oh, that’s right. Mira did the same thing back then. Just because it’s vegetarian doesn’t mean it’s healthy to overeat.”
The two chuckled at the memory while Mira rolled over and pouted.
“Hush, both of you.”
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