What goes around comes around.
Lynch had nowhere left to run and was forced to face the bitter consequences of his own actions. No matter how stealthily he hid, he would still be dragged out of history and thoroughly trampled.
Yes, upon receiving the letter delivered overnight by a fast rider from the Milt family's servants, members of the Archaeological Association had rushed straight to Wilson Town.
Ms. Skye had already ducked back into her safe house. Before leaving, she had solemnly entrusted the duty of greeting the guests to Lynch. Her excuse—no, her reason—was that she could no longer conceal her marks and needed to retreat to her room to hide from the hounds. But judging by the gloating expression on her face right before she vanished, Lynch could have sworn her eyes were saying, “Make sure you don't splash your blood on me.”
Aren't we friends? Why treat us like this? And you two ladies—aren't we on the same side? Why are you giving me that look of “it serves you right, karma's finally caught up to you, what took it so long?” And are you seriously taking several steps back right now?
Lynch sighed, feeling a bit guilty as he took in the scene before him.
Six carriages crammed the modest courtyard to capacity. A crowd of familiar faces entered his line of sight; though their hair was graying or white, they walked faster than anyone.
Why the hell are there so many people? Did I make a mistake or something?
In reality, when Lynch asked President Olei for help, he had been certain the man would give him face. He believed that even if he simply asked for assistance, the president wouldn't refuse. Given everything he had accomplished over the past few months, Lynch was confident he possessed enough leverage to enlist a rank eight expert. Especially now, with the excavation of Zur-Baha-Sahr placed on the agenda, not to mention his recent rescue of the association's reputation at the Duke's ball, there was no way the president would turn him down.
So he had concocted an excuse about leeching information regarding the Third Age plague, taking revenge for the blood feud of them leeching knowledge off him last time.
The problem was, it was one thing to show up, but why bring so many people? And why did every single one of them have a fierce, hungry glint in their eyes, as if they wanted to devour him alive?
“Hehe, Lord Lynch, allow me to introduce them,” President Olei said. “These are my colleagues from the association who specialize in researching the late Third Age. The moment they heard you had information related to the plague at the end of the Third Age, everyone rushed over. I couldn't hold them back even if I tried. Hm? Student Levive, judging by your expression... don't tell me you have no idea what the things you mentioned mean for archaeology and history?”
???
What the hell? It actually has significant meaning?
At that moment, Lynch didn't merely feel like an academic failure; he genuinely questioned if he was intellectually deficient.
“Student Levive! Sir Levive, you...”
Sure enough, his former professor looked ready to burst out of a coffin in rage, his glasses practically falling off his nose. Lynch could only offer a tentative, sycophantic smile, trying his best to look like an honest, well-behaved student.
“Sigh... In truth, the great catastrophe at the end of the Third Age, especially the plague phase, was extraordinarily unique. I definitely covered this during class. You ought to remember, shouldn't you?”
Lynch immediately nodded with deep solemnity, putting on the exact look of an attentive, deeply moved student—the very same expression he used back in high school whenever he raised his head from reading novels to meet his teacher's gaze.
“You don't remember a damn thing! I should have given you zero for your participation grade back then and made you retake the year!” The old professor cursed angrily before relenting and explaining, “All we currently know is that it was a plague spanning over a century, resulting in a drastic collapse of the population. People first turned to medicine for aid, then to arcana, and finally to sacrificial offerings to evil gods. When all those efforts proved futile, people ultimately sank into despair. And amidst that despair, someone remembered the existence of the gods once more and began praying for divine salvation. Only then did the three gods awaken from memories. Thus, the history of the Third Age catastrophe holds immense value for researching the process of divine revival. Yet, for various reasons, this piece of history was intentionally obscured—so much so that after thousands of years, even those who obscured it no longer know the truth.”
Lynch sensed something unusual in the air and asked in a hushed voice, frowning, “Is there... something wrong with this piece of history?”
“If we knew what was wrong with it, would we have chased all the way out here over a single letter from you?”
“No, I mean, is there something off about it? Why was it kept so secretive?”
“Don't casually pry into forbidden knowledge you shouldn't ask about. It isn't something ordinary people ought to know,” the old professor reprimanded. Then he glanced toward President Olei, and only after seeing him give a slight nod did he lower his voice to whisper, “How exactly did the gods revive?”
???
Lynch couldn't quite fathom the experts' doubt for a moment.
“An enigma has long existed within academia,” President Olei took over, speaking in a measured, unhurried tone. “For over thirteen hundred years, historical researchers have sought answers, even coming into intense conflict with the Church over it. The Church wanted us to abandon our search, claiming it was divine secret lore meaningless to mortals. But to scholars, even if the truth possesses no practical value, its very existence is the greatest meaning of all. Even knowing it to be forbidden, we are willing to risk our lives for it.”
Lynch couldn't judge whether this attitude was right or wrong, but it at least earned his solemn respect.
“The story I told you this morning hid these very mysteries,” Olei continued. “So many fallen gods existed, yet why were only those three Major Gods revived? Around the time of their resurrection, humanity just so happened to master the method of twisting souls to become Soul Severers, giving rise to a surge of Soul Severers—including many exceptionally powerful individuals. And shortly after, many Soul Severers tied to different fallen gods emerged, followed by the revival of nine more gods. Is there a connection between all of this? Could it really all be a coincidence?”
Lynch's expression darkened. Olei's questions triggered a flood of rich, terrifying associations in his mind—each one dangerous enough that, in his former world's Middle Ages, uttering a single word of them would get him burned at the stake. But in front of his “neighbor,” he didn't dare dwell too deeply on them. He did his best to pull his thoughts together and asked in a low voice, “You suspect it was...”
“We don't suspect anything,” Olei replied. “I told you before: we study history, we don't invent it. We don't form preconceived hypotheses. Instead, we use rigorous evidence to slowly reconstruct a reality as close to historical truth as possible. As for what the truth actually is, we truly do not care.”
“I see. So you hope to deduce the truth from the details I provide?”
However, the group looked at him with sympathetic eyes, as though gazing upon a disabled person. President Olei sighed. “You're overthinking it. Even if you had read the most detailed historical texts, it would be impossible to deduce the truth solely from the information you provide. This is an extraordinarily long and tedious process requiring the efforts of untold generations. Yet on this path, every piece of information and every detail could conceal a fragment of the truth. Thus, even if it's merely a few words, we will give it our utmost attention—not to mention that you happen to bring details from the plague era.”
“I understand,” Lynch said. “I can tell you everything I saw, but I can't let you walk away with it for free this time. You have to do me a favor in return.”
“Escort you back?”
“No, that was the original price. The price has gone up now. You also need to protect us for a while. As for the reason, I'll explain it to you later.”
“Fair enough,” Olei agreed. “But first, tell us one thing: how did you come to know the information you mentioned?”
“I encountered a mystery relic. It happens to contain memories from that era.”
“Hss... Mystery relics from the catastrophe era are never low in danger level; none of them are ordinary. Since you even need protection, is it disaster grade or annihilation grade?”
“Um... manifestation grade, I suppose.”
“Oh, then that's... Wait, WHAT did you say?”
Meeting the president's bizarre, bewildered expression, Lynch spread his hands, looking entirely innocent.
Rate on N.U.
