Finally, she pointed to the symbol at the end.
After a few seconds of silence, she said slowly, “If I haven't misread it...”
“The complete meaning should be...”
“Underground Clock Tower, Seventh Storage Room.”
The room fell silent.
Matthew stared at the words on the paper, his mind spinning rapidly.
This meant the badge was not a symbol of status—or at least, not just that. It was more like a... key. Or rather, a token that corresponded to a specific location.
...
Violet gently set down her quill. She suddenly asked, “This item... where did you get it?”
Matthew thought for a moment. He still decided not to mention what had happened the previous night, simply replying, “A clue left behind by a commission.”
Violet did not pry further. She merely offered a reminder. “If it really is a storage room number, it means the Clock Tower back then wasn't just a clock tower. Beneath it, there must have been a sizable structure.”
Matthew nodded. He had already gathered as much from the map of the First Royal Capital, but now he finally had another piece of evidence.
...
Just as Matthew was about to pocket the slip of paper, the library doors were suddenly pushed open.
A deacon wearing the uniform of the Class Holders Guild walked in at a brisk pace. He scanned the room and quickly spotted Matthew.
“So you are here. The vice president is looking for you.”
Matthew asked, “What happened?”
The deacon caught his breath. “Investigator Alvin is back. He specifically asked to see you.”
Matthew was slightly taken aback. It had only been three days since their last meeting. For him to return so quickly, there was only one possibility: the investigation in the North District had made new progress.
Class Holders Guild, second-floor meeting room.
When Matthew pushed open the door, Alvin was already standing by the window. Several blueprints were spread across the table, along with an open wooden box.
The vice president sat nearby, his expression even more serious than last time.
Seeing Matthew arrive, Alvin skipped the pleasantries and said directly, “Sit.”
Matthew pulled out a chair and waited quietly.
...
Alvin pushed a drawing in front of Matthew. “Do you recognize this?”
Matthew looked down. The drawing was very detailed, depicting the collapse site in the North District. In the center was the bell-shaped stone slab and the bronze suspension loop exposed beneath it.
He nodded. “I've seen it.”
Alvin continued, “Why did you notice it at the time?”
Without hesitation, Matthew replied calmly, “The pattern. It didn't look like an ordinary building component.”
This answer was consistent with what he had said before.
Alvin nodded slightly. Instead of pressing further, he opened the wooden box. Inside were several cleaned stone fragments. One was carved with half of a bell-shaped pattern, while another bore an ancient motif he had never seen before.
Alvin picked up one of the fragments and said slowly, “These stone materials weren't used when the houses were built later. They come from an even earlier structure. Land Administration has already confirmed this.”
Matthew's expression remained calm, but he secretly noted this information. It seemed the authorities had already confirmed the existence of the ruins of the First Royal Capital; they just hadn't made it public yet.
...
Alvin set down the stone and suddenly asked, “If it were you, would you keep digging?”
This was a question with no standard answer.
Matthew thought for a moment and said slowly, “If there are survivors underground, then of course we must dig. If there are none, we need to first figure out why it collapsed.”
Alvin looked at him, a barely perceptible smile touching the corner of his lips. “Not bad. Many people only think about discovery, yet they forget to assess the risk.”
As he spoke, he pulled a report from another file and handed it to Matthew. “This is the part that can be made public.”
Matthew took it and scanned it quickly. The report was brief, but one line was particularly striking:
A large-scale man-made architectural structure was discovered beneath the collapsed area. Preliminary judgment indicates it does not belong to the current Royal Capital period.
It didn't mention the First Royal Capital, but the meaning was already abundantly clear.
...
Alvin clasped his hands and leaned forward slightly. “Now, I also want to ask you a question.”
The meeting room fell quiet once more.
“Lately, aside from the guild, what else have you been investigating?”
Matthew knew this was the real question of the day. He did not hide everything, but he did not reveal everything either.
“The library, the archives, and a scholar who studies ancient documents.”
Alvin nodded. Land Administration had clearly already investigated these matters.
“Anything else?”
Matthew met his gaze and said calmly, “No.”
This was a half-truth. He did not mention the bronze badge, nor did he mention the mysterious man from last night. Now was not the time to speak of them.
...
Alvin stared at Matthew in silence. After a few seconds, he suddenly smiled. “Very well. At least you didn't tell a lie that could be easily exposed.”
With that, he stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the distant Royal Capital. He said slowly, “Sometimes, concealment does not represent hostility. Investigators all understand this.”
These words eased the tension in the meeting room significantly. The vice president also nodded gently. Clearly, this conversation had achieved Alvin's purpose.
...
Just as Matthew was about to leave, Alvin suddenly called out to him. “Matthew.”
Matthew stopped.
Alvin did not turn around, still staring out the window. He said calmly, “If in the future, someone shows you a bell, don't rush to approach it. First, count.”
Matthew frowned slightly. “Count what?”
Alvin was silent for two seconds before slowly uttering a bizarre warning.
“The bell tolls. If there is only one toll, leave immediately. If there are two, do not look back. If...”
He stopped there and shook his head gently. “Never mind. I hope you never encounter the third scenario.”
The meeting room fell silent once more. Matthew did not press further because he knew Alvin wasn't being cryptic for the sake of mystery; he was warning him about a danger he had personally experienced.
Leaving the Class Holders Guild, Matthew spent the entire walk back thinking about Alvin's final words.
One toll, leave. Two tolls, don't look back. What about the third scenario?
Alvin hadn't said. It wasn't to build suspense, but more like... he was unwilling to speak of it.
...
In the evening, Matthew returned to the inn. As soon as he pushed open the door, Aidan greeted him. “There's a letter for you.”
Matthew took the envelope. The seal was stamped with the red wax of the Class Holders Guild.
After opening it, he found only a notice inside:
Investigation Assistance Order
Gather at the Class Holders Guild tomorrow morning at seven o'clock.
Participant: Investigation Assistant Matthew.
Mission Level: Confidential.
Below that was only the vice president's signature. There was no mission location, no mission details, and no participant list.
...
The next day, before dawn, Matthew arrived at the Class Holders Guild.
There were not many people in the hall—only seven in total. Aside from himself, there was Ryan, along with five others: two high Silver Rank, two novice Gold Rank, and Alvin.
The vice president stood in the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping across everyone as he spoke slowly.
“Starting today, everyone will temporarily withdraw from your original commissions and join the special investigation team. This operation must not be disclosed to anyone.”
With that, he waved his hand, and a deacon immediately placed secrecy contracts in front of everyone.
Matthew read it carefully, and after confirming there were no anomalies, he signed his name.
...
Once everyone had signed, the vice president continued, “Our target is not Entrance 317.”
Everyone was taken aback.
The vice president turned around, pulled back the map on the wall, and slowly placed his finger on the North District of the Royal Capital.
A new location had been circled there in red ink, less than three hundred meters from the collapsed street.
“Late last night, when Land Administration re-surveyed the area, they discovered a rift valley formed by a natural collapse. Beneath the rift valley, a man-made passage has appeared. At present, we have not found any connection to Entrance 317.”
Alvin took over, his voice steady. “Therefore, we believe this is another entrance to the ruins, and currently the safest one.”
Matthew's gaze fell on the map, his mind rapidly analyzing the situation.
Entrance 317 was located in the West District, but this one was in the North District. If both entrances led into the First Royal Capital, it meant the scale of the underground ruins was likely far beyond previous estimates.
...
Alvin began distributing gear: an alchemical lantern, a coil of specialized rope, a signal flare, and a silver metal whistle for each person.
“Remember, once you enter the ruins, you must not act alone. Report any anomalies immediately. Without my command, no one is allowed to touch the bell-shaped emblems, bronze artifacts, or unconfirmed mechanisms in the ruins.”
At this point, his gaze lingered on everyone's face for a brief moment, particularly on Matthew.
“And one final point,” Alvin said slowly. “If you hear a bell toll, everyone must stop advancing immediately.”
No one in the meeting room questioned him, because Alvin's expression made it clear to everyone that this was not a suggestion, but a strict discipline.
...
Half an hour later, the group of eight left the Royal Capital. Escorted by the City Guard, they arrived at the cordoned-off area of the North District, standing before the massive rift valley formed by the collapse.
A steel lift scaffold had already been constructed. Below lay pitch-black darkness, with cold air continuously surging up from underground, like a mouth that had been silent for six hundred years, waiting for the first group of people to truly enter it.
The steel cable was slowly lowered, the screech of metal friction echoing through the rift valley.
Matthew stood at the edge of the lift platform, looking down. The lantern's light could only illuminate a dozen or so meters; further down remained pitch black.
The air was noticeably damper than on the surface, carrying a smell that mixed old lime and rust. It didn't feel like a tomb, but more like a long-sealed underground building.
...
“Prepare to descend.”
Alvin was the first to step onto the platform, with the two Gold Rank combatants flanking him. Matthew, Ryan, and the other Silver Rank Class holders entered afterward.
As the safety latches clicked into place, the lift began to descend slowly. No one spoke; only the slight vibration of the steel cable broke the silence.
Time seemed to stretch on incredibly long.
...
About a minute later, the lift gave a slight shudder as it landed on the hard stone ground.
“We're down.” Alvin raised his lantern, its amber glow spreading outward.
Before them was a wide stone passage, its walls built from neatly cut giant stone blocks. Even after several hundred years, there were no large-scale collapses.
Matthew squatted down and gently brushed away the dust on the floor. The stone bricks fit together seamlessly, with barely any gaps visible.
Such craftsmanship far surpassed that of the kingdom's ordinary buildings today.
...
“Footprints,” one of the Gold Rank combatants ahead whispered.
Everyone immediately looked over. On the dust-covered floor was a series of chaotic footprints.
Alvin walked closer to inspect them. “They aren't ours. At least two days old.”
He didn't jump to conclusions but continued to examine them.
There were five sets of footprints in total. Four of them were complete, but the fifth set... only went halfway down the passage before suddenly vanishing.
They hadn't turned back, nor had they changed direction; they simply seemed to cut off into thin air.
The air instantly turned cold and silent.
A Silver Rank Class holder couldn't help but whisper, “Could it be that the dust didn't catch them?”
Alvin shook his head. “No. The thickness of the dust layer here is uniform. If they had continued forward, they would have left a mark.”
Matthew remained silent, but his Spirit quietly swept across the area.
There were no traps, no hidden doors, and no spatial fluctuations. At least, with his current perception as a Tier 2 Wizard, he found no anomalies.
But that was precisely why it was even more bizarre. How could a living person simply vanish mid-stride?
...
The team continued forward. Alvin ordered, “Do not step on the old footprints.”
Everyone carefully bypassed them.
Matthew noticed that the sole patterns of those footprints did not match the military boots used by the kingdom today; they were closer to the outdoor boots commonly worn by Class holders.
In other words, the people who left these footprints were highly likely another exploration team. But where they had gone afterward, no one knew.
...
After walking about a hundred meters, the passage suddenly opened up. A spacious underground hall appeared before them.
The ceiling of the hall was over ten meters high, supported by several thick stone pillars. Despite having long lost its lighting, the entire structure still appeared grand and solemn.
In the center of the hall sat a circular stone platform. The platform was already ruined, with a large amount of rubble scattered around it.
There were no bones, no weapons—only a thick layer of dust.
Alvin raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to stop, before slowly walking toward the stone platform. Just as he was three steps away, Matthew suddenly spoke.
“Wait.”
Everyone turned their gaze to him.
Matthew did not explain immediately, but pointed in front of the stone platform. “There. The thickness of the dust is different.”
Everyone followed his finger.
Sure enough, about a meter in front of the stone platform, the dust layer was noticeably thinner. It was as if... something had been pressed there for a long time and was only recently removed.
Alvin did not rashly approach. Instead, he picked up a stone fragment and gently tossed it over.
The fragment rolled across the area, and nothing happened. Yet, he did not let down his guard. Instead, he turned to look at Matthew. “Can you see anything else?”
Matthew slowly walked closer, squatted down, and carefully examined the ground.
After a moment, he reached out and picked up a tiny fragment from the dust.
It wasn't stone, but a small piece of bronze that had oxidized and blackened. Its edges had a regular curve, looking like a piece that had broken off from a larger object.
Matthew gently wiped the dust off its surface with his thumb, revealing an extremely faint etching.
It wasn't a pattern, but a character. A character written in the Ancient Kingdom Tongue.
Although he didn't fully know the language, he had seen this character in Violet's materials a few days ago.
Its meaning was—
“Seven.”
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