CHAPTER 177: STORIES, MYSTERIES, AND SECRETS OF THE PAST

He found what he was looking for in another of the books nearby in the 400, 450, and 500-year regions.

There was nothing from that time surrounding other continents, only this place.

There was narration about the different beasts that came, and after a white void in many books, which could mean the extermination of many people who originally lived in these lands, came the stories since Ancestor Lee came to this place.

He was described as fighting heroic battles against important characters, such as dragons and even a leviathan that he drove back into the Ocean’s waters.

The formulation of First Nations that no longer exist, and others that still do.

For example, the first nation to be created was the Kingdom of Lux, which still exists and is currently the most powerful on the Continent, along with other guilds elsewhere.

It is the most powerful kingdom by far, and it always was, according to what the book said.

They have also usually won the Continental Championship, followed closely by other guilds of those who were created within the first 150 years of the System’s appearance.

According to this story, Ancestor Lee first appeared in the first 80 years of the system’s appearance.

The exact date was unknown.

As soon as he appeared, he restored the nearby nations and allowed the creation of various clans under his rule.

Now...

Among those clans.

He formulated the Clark Clan.

Possibly the first Clan to be created, also one of the strongest at the time.

No one knew why, but they had incredible blood, and those born in the first 30 years were quite powerful, helping Ancestor Lee enormously.

There was also the Arce Clan, the current ruler.

The Koval Clan.

’Koval?’ He remembered Andrew’s last name. ’Does he come from one of the top Clans?’ He thought.

And that clan had given birth to a top-tier blacksmith as well.

’Amazing the blood they have.’ He thought.

There were stories about each Clan, including how the Arce and Clark Clans were like Ancestor Lee’s right hand. It also mentioned other names, but they were erased.

’There’s something to hide.’ He thought, as he turned the page in the book he had.

Next to it were about six books he had read; this was one of the last ones left in this area.

As he turned the page, he was suddenly stunned.

A peculiar symbol was greeting him.

It looked like a tree and an altar at the same time.

As soon as he saw it, Jenna, next to him, couldn’t help but frown.

"That logo again?" She walked over to look at it carefully.

At the bottom was a name.

-Altarcitus.

-A sect of unknown origin, which ruled the lands before the arrival of the Ancestor Lee.

-Bloody Elf: Leader of the Sect.

-A beast or an intelligent being that came from the past?

That was the end of the book.

Elliot frowned and grabbed the next one, hoping to find a continuation of it.

This was a rather small book and also had information on Altarcitus.

It was unknown where they came from, but they had tremendous power. They fought to the death against Ancestor Lee, who eradicated them in his time and thus obtained the territory of the current Arce Kingdom.

Or so the book says.

But if they had been eradicated, how would they be here?

That meant that there had been remnants of it.

’And now they started moving?’ he thought.

But what was the intention in doing so?

It was hard to find out, but he didn’t stop reading.

Not much was mentioned about these Altarcitus people. It didn’t say anything about the way they operated or anything.

There was just some information about the past and the battle between Ancestor Lee and those guys.

Especially their battle against the Bloody Elf.

The book ended quickly, and only one was left on this shelf.

When Elliot grabbed it, he frowned.

’One leaf?’ He thought and looked inside it immediately.

Then he realized that this book only had one leaf stained in blood.

He frowned and read its contents.

-In the 17 Pieces of the Mirror of Truth and Decay is hidden... my past.

-Where is it? Only he who carries my blood, my desire, and my longing can understand it.

- Lee.

Suddenly, Elliot’s insides quivered.

17 pieces of a mirror!

The mirror he was collecting!

He immediately pulled out the main piece of the mirror, as if he wanted to see what was written there to get clues, but at that moment, the blood on the book page was erased.

No...

It seemed to come out of the book.

This blood floated between strange letters and surrounded the piece of mirror in Elliot’s hands, to later... enter through his skin.

It stunned him and frightened Jenna.

They both remembered the words written there.

Only he who carries my blood...

Jenna stared at him. "Elliot... Are you a descendant of Ancestor Lee?" she asked, in shock.

Even he was stunned.

He didn’t remember being born into any prestigious family enough to be a descendant of a legendary man like him, but that blood entering his body...

Maybe it meant he was.

But there was no one here who could tell him.

His father was gone. Neither was his mother.

His grandfather turned out to be a traitor, and the Clark Family was now full of bastards...

He suddenly frowned.

’The Clark Ancestral Lands.’ He thought.

But after thinking that, he suddenly frowned.

Wait.

He was forgetting something.

He looked at the piece of the mirror in his hand. It still had some words written on it.

The first ones were unrecognizable, but the second ones...

"Can you translate this one more time?" he asked Jenna.

But then, he heard a voice inside him.

"I know what it says, Master."

It was a hoarse, heavy voice.

The voice of the Basilisk.

He frowned. "You know what it says?" he asked.

"Yes, " he was firm. "It says Bloody Ruined Elf, DANGER, in your language. The Ancient Gods spoke this language, and I learned it because of the blessing they gave me."

Elliot nodded.

He looked at Jenna, and she told him its meaning.

They both agreed.

He immediately returned to the previous book, to which Altarcitus’ information read.

-A Sect of Unknown Origin that ruled these lands.

He read, but quickly moved on to the next line.

-Blood Elf: Sect Leader.

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

The Bloody Ruined Elf that this mirror said of had to be this very guy.

But why did it mark him as Danger inside this mirror?

Was the Mirror of Truth and Decay shattered into pieces before he fought that elf?

’No. Impossible. Normally, you resort to this kind of bloody writing when there’s no going back. When it’s the only way to leave information.’

That was an unwritten law that even his father had once told him about.

According to these history books, the Bloody Elf and Altarcitus ruled these lands at some point in history, before the appearance of the Ancestor Lee. Subsequently, he fought against them and won.

’...If he won to take back the lands, it makes sense that they would want revenge.’

He looked at the mirror in his hand again.

’Damn traitors...’

Even though he didn’t quite understand, he remembered that Jenna had translated the first words as that. There were the letters A and C...

’A and C?’ He frowned again and looked at one of the books.

’Clark Clan and Arce Clan were Ancestor Lee’s right hand...’

’A for Arce and C for Clark...’

He suddenly felt as if he had a headache. It wasn’t real...

He just thought about the possibility that the idiots in his family had chosen to betray such an eminence.

That was... stupid.

But if that were the case, it would make sense as to why these damn bastards are allied with that organization. Now, in such a case, the situation became much more complicated for him.

If the Arce Clan was also involved, he would be in grave mortal danger, as he had been fighting against them recently.

’Sigh, think about that later.’ He tried to divert his thoughts and focus on what was important.

He may have uncovered a stunning mystery about this continent and its savior, about traitors who deserve to die, and also about himself.

A descendant of Ancestor Lee.

That could mean two things.

One, the Clark Clan is descended from Ancestor Lee. If so, the Clarks are the worst scum ever, and yes, that makes a lot of sense because, indeed, they are.

It could also mean that he really isn’t a Clark.

He could be a descendant of another Clan unknown to him. But in such a case, were his father and mother also?

’Shit. Having no one to ask about this is annoying.’

He had to start connecting the dots.

Starting with the fact that... he had to get a mysterious mirror.

’Mirror?’ Once again, he frowned.

He remembered the past, again.

This time, a near past.

Andrew’s words.

He recently mentioned that it is possible that the treasure that allows Arce to exist... is a mirror.

One believed to be missing.