Chapter 217

Chapter 213: General Language

Under the King Campus, deep within the ruins.

At the stairway leading from the fifth level to the sixth level of the ruins, Claudius stood with his mouth closed, concluding the release of poison gas, silently gazing downward at the nearly filling purple mist that engulfed the entire lower corridor.

“At this level, no one should be able to survive…”

Staring at the rolling purple poison mist below, Claudius muttered with both hands clasped behind his back.

As a superior of the Thistle faction, Claudius naturally understood the structure of this underground ruin. He knew that the ruins only comprised six levels, and the sixth level was small, consisting merely of a long corridor that led to a sealed room. Other than the approach, there were no other exits; it marked the end of the entire ruin.

Thus, Claudius clearly understood that when the group of intruders was blocked on the opposite side of the ruins, they had no way to escape. He could let them d*e from thirst and starvation inside, but to ensure their d*ath without giving them a chance to struggle for survival, Claudius chose to release the poison gas.

Now, Claudius was confident that the poison gas he had spent considerable spirituality to produce had filled the entire sixth level. At this concentration, escape was impossible for the intruders.

“Hmph… I really want to see how the extraordinary being who uses the voice of cruelty meets their end, slowly despairing and dying in this sealed space. Their final expression must be quite spectacular. What a pity…”

With a cold snort, Claudius turned and enveloped himself in a shadow, transforming into a bat and flying into the distance.

The intruding enemies had been dealt with; now he needed to return to oversee the reconstruction of the stronghold. The Eight Pinnacle Nest was not ready to give up on this place.

……

In the dark corridor, Dorothy progressed slowly under the light of her zombie puppet’s lantern. After passing through a peculiar wall, she arrived at a new space hidden within the ruins.

While it seemed that Dorothy had stumbled upon a secret passage at a critical moment, she felt no surprise; she had long anticipated such a situation.

According to Beverly, the ruins of the Star Number Repair Association had been scavenged multiple times by various societies, and logically, there should be nothing left.

Beverly was aware of the state of the ruins, and Audric certainly knew as well, yet he still recommended Dorothy come here, proving that in the eyes of a nearly golden-qualified extraordinary being like Audric, Dorothy could surely gain something from this empty ruin.

What could allow Dorothy to find something in a ruin that had been searched countless times? Naturally, it was the possibility that something existed within the “Enlightenment” society’s ruins, accessible only to the extraordinary beings of “Enlightenment.”

Audric had visited this ruin as well. As a supporter of “Enlightenment,” he must have sensed something hidden yet inaccessible, which is why he sent Dorothy, the main extraordinary being of “Enlightenment,” to take a look.

This was why, at this moment, Dorothy was not remotely controlling her zombie puppet to act but rather opted to take the risk and venture into the ruins herself. She needed to explore the ruins in person, seeking the secrets that could only be found by extraordinary beings of “Enlightenment.”

Thus, Dorothy was not surprised by the secret passage; instead, she felt somewhat annoyed that she had spent so long before uncovering it.

“Ah… Regardless, I’ve finally arrived. I hope there’s a way out in here…”

Murmuring this, Dorothy continued forward, and after a short while, she completed the corridor and entered a room.

Dorothy commanded her zombie puppet to hold the lantern up to illuminate the surroundings. The scene slowly unfolded before her, and she frowned slightly.

Before Dorothy appeared a chaotic circular room, with collapsed pillars, shattered statues, and various severely decayed metal objects scattered across the floor. At the center of the circular room was a complex magical array, with the center featuring an “Enlightenment” symbol surrounded by symbols representing five other types of spirituality, albeit smaller in size.

Surrounding the magical array were piles of scattered rubble, among which lay human bones—not just one but many, with many showing severe fractures. Some displayed deadly breaks, while others were shattered into pieces scattered everywhere, indicating a gruesome d*ath. Some bones appeared not to belong to humans but rather to some type of beast.

Clearly, this place had undergone a bloody and brutal battle, leading to the current desolate scene.

If the external ruins gave Dorothy the feeling of having been raided countless times, with nothing left, then this place appeared to have been robbed, with all inhabitants brutally killed in a malicious theft.

‘What the hell happened here? So many dead… Surely everything of value has been taken…’

Observing the scene before her, Dorothy felt a tightening in her chest, fearing that the hard-found secret room might hold nothing as well. She began to carefully search the surroundings, activating her spiritual vision to see if there were any valuable items.

After searching around, Dorothy found nearly nothing. This place seemed to have been looted as well, with useful items taken away. It was only at the last moment, in a crevice amid the chaos, that she used her spiritual vision and saw a faint glimmer of spiritual light, specifically of the purple “Enlightenment” spirituality.

Dorothy moved closer to clear away the stones and retrieved a dust-covered feather pen from within; the trace of spirituality was emanating from it.

‘This is… an extraordinary item! An extraordinary item of “Enlightenment”… Thank goodness there’s still something left!’

Dorothy thought with relief, then immediately shook off the dust from the feather pen and consumed 1 point of “Lamp” to identify it.

……

“General Language Supporting Feather Pen”

This pen can assist those who are not well-versed in General Language in writing it. By injecting a small amount of “Enlightenment,” the content written with this pen transforms into General Language. Anyone who reads the General Language will comprehend its meaning, regardless of whether the writer and the reader share the same spoken language.

For the viewer, the General Language will be subconsciously converted in their mind to the language they are most familiar with.

While writing in General Language, conditional encryption can be applied, specifying that only individuals who meet certain conditions can see it; those who do not meet the requirements will be unable to perceive it.

……

‘General Language… an extraordinary script that anyone can understand… Could it be that those strange carvings on the disappearing and reappearing wall outside are General Language? At that time, it transformed into the Prit language I frequently use and understand, indicating that the General Language on the wall was likely set to be invisible to non-“Enlightenment” extraordinary beings.’

Upon understanding the function of the feather pen, Dorothy continued to ponder, finding the possibility increasingly convincing.

‘It seems the Star Number Repair Association is using General Language to document things, so I should search for other places with those strange carvings.’

With this thought, Dorothy stored the feather pen safely and continued to search within the secret room. Before long, she spotted a stone tablet hanging on the wall, which bore a disordered array of carvings, similar in style to those she had seen at the entrance of the secret room. It seemed to be General Language.

Upon seeing these carvings, Dorothy’s expression sharpened, and she carefully examined the markings on the tablet. Then suddenly, the carvings began to move, squirming like snakes, twisting and reforming on the tablet until they transformed in Dorothy’s eyes into the Prit writing she recognized.

It read, “Ascension Hall”

‘Ascension Hall? Is that the name of this room? From this name… it seems like it is a dedicated place for hosting Advancement Ceremonies by the Star Number Repair Association… Looks like I was right; there truly is a way here for me to advance.’

With her heart racing, Dorothy continued to search the room for General Language.

Eventually, she found a stone tablet in front of the magical array in the center of the room, which had a mass of chaotic carvings. The style of these carvings closely resembled General Language.

Before the stone tablet, Dorothy bent down and focused intently on the markings, which transformed under her gaze into coherent Prit writing across the entire stone tablet.

……

“Seek the truth, gaze upon the stars”

“The time for ascension has come, apprentice; choose wisely the ladder you will tread.”

“Through the cup of enlightenment, the path of spiritual threads, Puppet Master.”

“Through the stone of enlightenment, the path of wrath, Thunder Mage.”

“Through the shadow of enlightenment, the path of confusion, Dream Interpreter.”

“Through the lamp of enlightenment, the path of foresight, Diviner.”

“Through the body of enlightenment, the path of pure reasoning, Scholar.”