Chapter 560 – The Investigation Begins

The investigation of the underground ancient ruins began the next day, with the quest leader, the Blue Thunder Beast, at the center.

They started with the large building that had been guarded by the Guardian Rock Golem. Even at that stage, they discovered numerous items that appeared to be from a civilization that was more advanced than the present day.

However, after the passage of many long years, most of them had weathered and fallen into disrepair, or showed signs of having been destroyed intentionally, making it seem impossible to restore them.

“This ruin is an extremely valuable cultural heritage site for researchers, but there’s hardly anything here that looks like it would fetch a price. One thing we do know is that magical culture was quite advanced here. And then, at some point, the inhabitants suddenly abandoned this place. And of course, the greatest shock was seeing the guardian rock golem moving. As for that—everyone, keep it strictly confidential. When I think about what would happen if that kind of technology was misused, I’m not sure I could take responsibility for it afterwards.”

“These ruins are a valuable cultural heritage for researchers, but there’s almost nothing there that could be monetized

As he explored the central building with Tauro and the others, Jack, leader of Blue Thunder Beast, spoke in a tone of firm reminder.

Jack, the leader of the Blue Thunder Beasts, spoke again to Tauro and the others who were touring with him as they each explored the central building, and then continued.

“We can tell that the writing in this ruin is ancient script, but it would require deeper study before we’ll be able to decipher them. It looks so old that even specialists might not be able to read it.”

Returning to the grand mausoleum hall where the Guardian Rock Golems had once stood in silent rows, Jack let out a sigh at the sight of the largest tombstone. The carved letters upon it were so weathered they were barely legible.

“…It says, ‘Here lies King Gif, the last king of the dynasty, resting in eternal sleep.’ —If that’s the case, then after the final king’s death, as you speculated, Jack-san, this ruin may indeed have been abandoned.”

Tauro casually read the faded inscription aloud and offered his honest thoughts.

“W-What!? Tauro-kun! You can read that!?”

Jack was an adventurer who devoted himself to discovering ruins like this and even conducted investigations and research on ancient sites, so he could read some older scripts.

But this ruin was so ancient that he had never even seen this script before. He couldn’t read a single character.

Naturally, he was stunned that Tauro had read it so easily.

“Ah…! (This must be related to the fact that when I was reincarnated here and my memories returned, I suddenly became able to read and write the characters of this world… I guess that includes ancient script too…) —I wonder why? I just somehow understood it. Ahahaha…”

It was only at this moment that Tauro realized he had gained the ability not only to read and write the modern script of this world, but even ancient writing.

“I don’t know where you learned it, but you truly are something else… I wish you could read the other inscriptions too, but most of them are too weathered to make out.”

Though surprised by Tauro’s talent, Jack prioritized investigating the ruins and chose not to pursue the matter further.

“…Tauro, are you still keeping secrets from us?”

Aeris asked, half exasperated by his unexpected ability.

“No, I’m surprised myself. I didn’t even know I had this talent…”

Tauro raised his hands and shook his head to show Aerith he had nothing to hide.

“It can’t be helped. He is leader, after all.”

Ank placed a hand on Aeris’s shoulder as if calming her down, speaking about Tauro as though he were some rare creature.

“That’s right, Aeris. Tauro has always been strange. Just the fact that he has the Garbled Text skill makes him rare, and the fact that he awakened it is unprecedented. In that sense, if you say it’s because of his skill, that basically explains everything…”

Ragune offered an explanation that seemed reasonable enough.

“…You’re right. It’s Tauro, after all!”

For some reason, Aeris accepted that explanation simply because it was him.

“you agree with that?! It’s not because it’s a garbled text skill or anything?!”

Tauro protested indignantly.

“Please calm down. We’ve all thought from the very beginning that anything is possible if it’s Lord Tauro!”

Zion added what she believed was supportive encouragement—though it wasn’t exactly reassuring.

“…it’s fine. Anyway, all we really know is that this tombstone belongs to the final king of these ruin.”

Tauro refocused the discussion.

“…Right. Let’s check for traps and take a look inside. We might find some other information.”

Jack began circling the massive tombstone, searching for traps.

Originally a claw-blade user, Jack also possessed the advanced thief skill “Ranger,” so he had excellent trap-detection skills.

Likewise, Buder of Silver Twin Magi, who was both a Ranger and an apothecary, also joined in and began investigating the area around the tombstone.

Tauro also decided to inspect the tombstone in his own way.

Using his “True Eye,” he examined every detail.

Yet even with True Eye, he couldn’t see inside.

That likely meant some form of defensive magic had been applied. Considering Tauro possessed the “Anti-Inhibition” skill, it was probably not simple obstruction magic, but something else entirely.

The lid of the tombstone was enormous—so large that it seemed questionable whether all of them combined could even move it.

“…Nothing suspicious. For the tomb of a civilization that supposedly possessed such unknown technology, could there really be no magic to prevent theft?”

Jack exchanged a glance with Buder, confirming that it appeared safe.

“Ah, Jack-san. This tombstone. I think there’s a spell cast on the inside. It might be designed so it can’t be detected from the outside.”

“Inside? You can tell that? …Hmm. There are precedents for mechanisms like that. It might be dangerous to open it immediately.”

Jack looked disappointed.

“No, I think there’s another option. I could use my Magic Storage to collect this entire tomb.”

Tauro made an outrageous suggestion.

“Are you serious!? …Well, considering you have enough Magic Storage capacity to store entire Guardian Rock Golems, I suppose it’s possible for you. No one else could do—or even think of—such an idea…”

Rather than being appalled, Jack was impressed.

“Alright then, I’ll try it. ‘Storage.’”

As Tauro activated his Magic Storage, the enormous tombstone vanished in an instant.

“““!”””

Everyone present stared in stunned silence as the massive block of stone that had stood before them disappeared.

“N-now, we can safely bring it back and examine it thoroughly.”

Jack voiced a practical conclusion, once again astonished by Tauro’s overwhelming abilities.

Just then—

“Jack, this is bad! A horde of monsters is heading our way!”

Longa, the longsword user, Ack, the battle-axe wielder, and Bomane, the explosive flame mage—who had been keeping watch and scouting outside—burst into the hall in a panic to deliver the warning.