Tepo couldn't tell what had been brewed in the cauldron. He turned away, inspecting the rest of the alchemy room.
His attention was quickly attracted by a workstation. Orderly tubes and bottles stood on a large stone table, with dried up herbs hanging from a rope attached to the ceiling.
A small dish was left on the desk, containing a small piece of unassuming grey stone. Next to it was a thick book, scribbles filling its pages.
Tepo took the book in his hand, looking at the clean text and images.
But he soon frowned as he recognized the written language.
It's ancient common…
Fortunately, I went to so many courses. I hope nothing too complicated is written here.
But wait, if the dungeon's language is ancient common, doesn't this mean the aristocrats can read it? Seems they aren't only boasting emptily…
Focusing on the book, Tepo began to rack his brain. Although he didn't learn much about the ancient common language yet, at least their teacher prioritized words related to dungeons.
Thus, Tepo was basically only able to understand a single word in the first few pages, which was alchemy.
Only towards the end was he able to figure out more.
Material, curse, spell, solution.
God of War… this title is the same in modern language. And a few more words haven't changed as well:
Elixir, Head Priest, Ritual…
So what does it mean?
Tepo stood in the silent room, his wrinkled head deep in thought. He tried to piece the different words together and make sense of them.
Suddenly though his eyes widened as he recalled something their teacher mentioned in passing.
Didn't they say that sometimes forbidden spells were also called cursed spells in the past?!
It can't be right…
With shock on his face, Tepo rigidly turned his head. His eyes fell on the stone silently waiting on the table. His breath quickened as he activated his [Scan].
Tepo focused on the grey stone. A spellcircle was slowly revealed.
Nine runes in a row…
It's really a forbidden spell! How is this possible? Shouldn't forbidden spells be extremely rare?!
What Tepo didn't know was that the rarity of forbidden spells was a slight misconception. Although they were indeed sparse, they weren't impossible to find.
But there were two reasons which exaggerated the image of forbidden spells in the public eye:
One, they always came with severe side effects. Thus, many warriors didn't take the risk to engrave them or worked to prepare supplementary spells to combat the side effects first.
And two, only a small percentage of warriors with forbidden spells made their spells public. After all, a trump card known to everyone wouldn't be a trump card anymore.
Still, a single warrior finding two forbidden spells could be called extremely lucky.
Therefore, Tepo was staring at the stone innocently lying there on the table in disbelief.
But what does the spell do? Just engraving it without knowing the side effects would be too risky. Could it be that I first need to learn ancient common?
Tepo smiled wryly as he continued to browse the book, hoping to find some clue. And he wasn't disappointed as a name fell into his eyes.
Xorcao? Isn't that the general's name? And this word here looks similar to heart.
Could it be? Is the general losing his heart a result of the spell's side effect?
Tepo drew a sharp breath upon coming to this conclusion. If this was the truth, he couldn't imagine what might compel one to use such a spell.
With a heavy frown the young man continued to read. Until now, he had translated everything which appeared obvious in his eyes.
But although it took some time, Tepo didn't give up, suspecting that these notes might answer most of his questions.
It all seems like gibberish to my eyes.
Here, field of battle. Battlefield? But what is this word? God battlefield?
Wait…
This reminds me, don't the followers of the God of War strive to enter an eternal battlefield after death? Many of the outsiders didn't mind throwing their lives away to fight for eternal glory after death.
But what does this word stand for? It might be no? Or not?
So, it's about not entering the eternal battlefield?
Suddenly Tepo felt as if hit by lightning. He thought about all the ghosts battling in the dungeon.
Is this the forbidden spell's effect? Saving people from death?! But on the other hand, isn't it better to die than to live as a ghost in constant battle?
Hmm, maybe that's why they worked on an elixir?
Let's look at it again.
Curse, solution, elixir, head priest?
The priests concocted an elixir to break the curse and it's with the head priest?
Tepo's mind churned, ultimately coming to this conclusion through the few words he understood in ancient common.
Still caught deep in his thoughts the warrior looked at the leathern cover of the book in his hand. He pondered on how to proceed.
But a few words dominated his thoughts, mainly God of War and outsiders. This was the first time in his new life that he found hints closely connected to the catastrophe in his old life.
If others raided this dungeon, they might only see religious fanatics, but for Tepo alarm bells kept ringing in his head.
Tepo took a deep breath as he made up his mind. He decided not to dismiss anything, stuffing the entire alchemy room's inventory in his storage bag. Including the notes and the material carrying the forbidden spell.
Although he didn't plan to use it, maybe he had to change his mind if the situation called for it.
Thus, an empty room was left behind when Tepo returned to the altar room. Only the confused priest still stood on the stairs, his ghostly brain unable to form clear thoughts.
Tepo listened to the aristocrats in the hall for a moment, hoping to gain any new clues, mainly about the head priest's whereabouts.
But the youths appeared to be idle and confused, with no idea about how to solve the dungeon.
Tepo wasn't surprised. He only had a guess because he was able to pass the secret door through his knowledge about the God of War. He wondered how the single team to clear the dungeon so far did it.
Could it be that they were just extremely reckless…?
Shaking his head Tepo returned to the head priest's office. There was one rather obvious detail he hadn't cared about so far. The socket on one of the walls.
The dungeon is only so big and it's not impossible to clear. Everything points to this place. But I might have to stake my life to confirm it.
Tepo stared at the wall with a solemn look. He first approached it, punching the walls carefully. Focusing on his ears he noticed an obvious difference in some parts of the wall.
At this moment the young man wished to have the dungeon for himself, so he could patiently wear down the wall. But with the aristocrats downstairs it was time for him to take a risk.
Ok. Focus. You have to do it! No hesitation! It's only for one purpose:
Confirm the existence of outsiders!!!
Steeling his mind, Tepo repeated the last sentence like a mantra. His entire being was focused on this single purpose.
Almost as if in trance the young man with a mature mind took out his knife.
He didn't hesitate even one moment, knowing that any delay could cause his determination to crumble.
Tepo stretched his arms forward. He took the knife in both hands. Turned it. The threatening tip appeared unnaturally big in his eyes. But he gritted his teeth and stabbed.
The knife plunged into his own heart. He even suppressed his own defense. Time seemingly slowed down as cold steel cut into his flesh, puncturing his vital organ.
Tepo's entire body froze. His mind was sluggish, but it repeated the same sentence over and over.
Confirm the existence of outsiders!!!
He felt incredibly tired, his legs giving in, his vision turning black.
Tepo was back in the empty alchemy room. He walked up the stairs, stopping before the illusionary door.
Saying the God of War's name and repeating the religious hand gesture, nothing happened, but Tepo walked through the door anyway.
The warrior sneaked along the hallway, not letting out a single sound.
He waited outside the temple's main hall for a moment. He couldn't hear the aristocrats' voices but was glad to confirm that they were still in the main hall.
Subsequently Tepo walked up the stairs, entering the headmaster's office.
None of the documents on the floor were pushed around as he approached the wall. Knocking a few times, the investigator didn't hear any sound. He knew that there had to be a way behind the wall.
With this confirmation in mind, the warrior focused. A sentence suddenly repeated in his mind.
Confirm the existence of outsiders!!!
Tepo frowned as he took out his knife and directed it towards his own heart.
Confirm the existence of outsiders!!!
Tepo hesitated for a moment. His arm shook slightly. But he did what he had to do! The knife plunged into his heart!