(* Refers to the system of counting days in this world.)
Back at the zeppelin floating in the sky…
"Any information on those ruins?" Zero asked one of the operators in front.
"We still can't find anything about them. The runes employed in making those restrictions are unlike what we've seen before, albeit weak. Not even the ones from the Ancient era in our records match with them. With the barrier still up, we can't scout the ruins within[1] to identify their background." The operator replied.
Zero frowned at the replies.
The First Dawn academy was the number one academy of the Great Dawn kingdom and held a massive collection of knowledge and records, both past and present. However, not all of them were open to the public, especially past information and records.
Some of the special records were only available to special members of the academy, like the deans directly, or some exclusive officials like the operators, in the form of a database they could access using distinct magical technology.
Using an analogy, it was like saying the history and knowledge of the 2000s were available to the students, but from 1999 and further back, only a special category of individuals could access such records.
In this case, the information that needed special-level authorization to access it was information regarding the Ancient era.
The Great Dawn kingdom dating system was divided into three types. The first was based on the number of years since the reigning king's ascendancy to the throne. The current year under this calendar was the year 32, meaning it has been thirty-two years since Fedor Castellan became king.
The second was called the Great Founding calendar and was based on the number of years since the kingdom was founded. The year was currently 159 years, meaning it has been one hundred and fifty-nine years since the Great Dawn kingdom was founded.
The last one was the system of dating used widely by all the thirteen kingdoms and was called the South Horizon calendar. As for what it was based on or after, no one really knew. Some said it was based on a certain great between the south of the continent from years back against the central. Others said it was based on a mysterious omen that had occurred all over the region. Another believed it was brought up by historians to differentiate the era before that, which they called the Primal era, from the current era.
Regardless of the reason, the South Horizon calendar was the regionally accepted calendar, but some kingdoms would still have their own calendars. The current year under the South Horizon calendar was the year 2998 ppe (Post Primal era) or the year 2998, in short.
The Ancient era was now a time after the supposed Primal era but before the modern era, which began right after the year 1000. According to the South Horizon calendar, it was between the years 1 ppe(Post-Primal Era) to 1000 ppe. It was termed Ancient because most of the knowledge during this period was lost with only scant parts found in ancient ruins.
The Great Dawn kingdom only had a handful of texts regarding the Ancient era, although not complete. Even then, this information was highly valued and one needed special permissions or a high authority to access them, hence it wasn't available to the students, much less the public.
To have spotted some runes that were not in their records implied only two things. Either the runes were from the Ancient era but their insufficient knowledge regarding this time period led to them not realizing it, or the runes were far older than the Ancient era and dated back to the Primal era.
It was then that the operator spoke up.
"While we can't scout the ruins or identify the runes, there's a high chance it's from the Ancient era. I'm not so familiar with Ancient era scripts, but a character from these runes seems familiar in strokes to one I'm slightly familiar with. I can't say for sure, but I believe there's a 50% chance or more of these ruins being from the Ancient era." The operator said.
He was the head of the Zeppelin's staff and the third-highest ranked individual in this exercise, right after One. He had the sufficient rank to be able to browse through some of the records regarding the Ancient era, so his words couldn't be taken for granted.
"Hmm. An unexplored Ancient era ruins." Zero narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Do you really plan on letting a bunch of kids explore such a place?" One widened his eyes in shock.
It should be known that every Ancient era ruins held some form of danger to even fifth-stage Guardian mages. The students' population was currently a mix of first and second-stage Guardian mages, with only four students (five if Asher was included), being in the third stage. Letting such a force explore the ruins was no different from sending them to their deaths.
"Risks come with rewards. Since they are so interested in it, they should be prepared. The division's academics dean complained to me about the large size of the division." Zero said.
One's body suddenly went cold.
Although life in the Purple Sun sacred land was tough, it wasn't to the point that they would send you to your death simply because the class size was too big.
'You guys are all crazy.'
"Don't worry." Zero said.
"From the investigation from looking at the runes on the outside, I think it's safe to say that there would be a limited threat to the students inside. Also, this ruin is located on the outer edge of the forest, meaning it's probably not of high value or importance. Since that's so, the threats inside shouldn't be beyond what a third-stage Guardian mage can handle. Dangers on the level of the fourth-stage might exist, but the chances are below 20%, and even then, it won't be in high numbers.
"The combined force of the division is more than capable of handling that, and the strength of each team shouldn't find a third-stage threat problematic. If they do, then it means that the past two and a half years in the academy were a waste, so them dying here can't be blamed on us. They were simply too weak. Also, there's the recon team right behind them."
Zero then turned and glanced at One.
"I know what, or rather who you're worried about. You should also understand that compared to the Purple Sun sacred land, the academy as well as the royal family is even more concerned about them. Nothing will be allowed to go wrong."
One sighed seeing Zero's staunch gaze and didn't think too much about things. Zero was right, so he had no reason to be troubled. At the same time, if the ruins wasn't so dangerous, it would be the perfect training spot to help them gain more outside experience. The only problem was whether Zero's analysis was 100% accurate.
'He's known as the Great Dawn kingdom's Premonition lord which was why he was granted the rank of dean despite his average strength, as well as made the head of the Grading panel. His estimates should be quite accurate.' One thought.