Alon and Evan, along with Liyan’s group, began their journey toward the ruins of Malacca.

“Marquis… It feels like it’s getting more humid the deeper we go,” Evan muttered, clearly displeased.

“Indeed,” Alon replied, nodding as he noticed Evan’s grimace.

‘I knew this place was supposed to be humid, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. It’s unbearable,’ Alon thought, trying to hide his discomfort.

He fidgeted with his clothes, feeling the damp texture under his fingers.

‘We need to handle this quickly and get out of here.’

As they continued walking for a while, someone suggested, “Let’s take a short break.”

They had reached the midway point of their journey.

During the rest, Alon struck up a conversation with Liyan and learned why she and her group were heading to the ruins of Malacca.

“…Malacca is a magical ruin?”

Magical ruins.

Ruins discovered in Ronovelli came in various forms—treasure ruins, heritage ruins, and knowledge ruins, among others.

Among them, magical ruins were especially prized by wizards, as they often contained artifacts from the era of forgotten gods.

However…

‘Wasn’t Malacca just another ordinary ruin in the game?’

He had visited this area countless times while playing Psychedelia, searching for jungle-exclusive artifacts, just as he had during the Raksas segment.

The memories of mini-games in this jungle were still vivid.

“It’s not confirmed yet, but there’s a chance,” Liyan replied.

“Do you have evidence?” Alon inquired further.

“Yes, explorers recently compared certain structures of Malacca’s ruins with those of previously discovered magical ruins. They found striking similarities using maps created by explorers,” Liyan explained.

This was new information to Alon.

“I was aware of Malacca’s ruins, but I never thought it might be a magical ruin. That’s intriguing.”

“Right? I wouldn’t have known either if it weren’t for Theon. Based on the reports sent to the camp, I thought it was just a typical ruin. This discovery is all thanks to Theon,” Liyan said.

At her words, Alon glanced at Theon, who was resting a bit further away.

Theon briefly met his gaze but quickly looked away, as if feigning ignorance.

Alon found it odd but didn’t dwell on it.

“So, could Malacca’s ruins hold artifacts from the forgotten era?” Alon asked.

Liyan tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Hmm, I think it’s unlikely. When explorers and wizards first discovered Malacca’s ruins, they reported finding nothing. If anything, we might only find academic materials.”

Alon nodded in agreement, but then Liyan turned the question on him.

“By the way, Marquis, what brings you to the ruins?”

Alon hesitated for a moment before giving a vague response.

“Someone I know made a request.”

“A request?”

“Yes, they asked me to visit the ruins of Malacca.”

Liyan seemed curious but recognized Alon’s reluctance to share more and chose not to press further.

Alon appreciated her discretion and changed the subject.

“By the way, is it alright to share this kind of information so casually? I didn’t know any of this before.”

“Oh—” Liyan nodded, understanding his concern.

“It’s fine. Even though the ruins bear similarities to magical ruins, the chance of them being one is extremely low. And the likelihood of finding artifacts is practically zero. Any academic findings would end up being shared publicly anyway, so there’s nothing to hide.”

When she finished her explanation, Alon asked, “So, is your purpose here simply to confirm whether Malacca’s ruins are magical ruins?”

“Exactly. The Red Tower excels at ‘interpretation,’ while the Green Tower specializes in ‘detection,’ so we’ve collaborated for this expedition.”

Liyan then explained how the magical exploration team had come together for this mission.

“Once this expedition is over, you’ll be leaving immediately, right?” Alon asked.

“Unless there’s another unexplored area up north waiting to be examined, that’s probably the plan.”

“…An unexplored area in the north.”

Alon muttered to himself, recalling what he knew about that northern region.

‘That place… In the future, it’ll undoubtedly become one of the territories of the Four Great Factions, the Hyakki (Hundred Ghosts).’

The Hyakki.

They emerged in the mid-to-late stages of Psychedelia, wreaking havoc alongside the Five Great Sins that descended during that era.

Known for transforming an already crumbling allied kingdom into a complete disaster, the Hyakki’s members, including their boss, were infamous for their nightmarish difficulty.

‘Especially the boss of the Hyakki, the “King of Aberrations,” still makes my blood boil just thinking about it.’

“The unexplored northern region… it might be better to avoid exploring it.”

“? Why is that?”

“I’ve heard from someone I know that it might be a bit dangerous,” Alon replied.

The Four Great Factions, much like the foreign gods in the setting, typically remained dormant unless the Five Great Sins awakened and descended.

Alon, in a rare show of goodwill, offered his advice.

“Let’s move out again!”

He stood up, leaving behind a confused Liyan.

‘…Hopefully, it’ll be fine,’ he thought, though a fleeting unease crossed his mind as he briefly recalled Deus.

The damp, oppressive morning carried on…

***

After some time had passed, the group finally arrived at the temple of Malacca.

With the sky overcast, it was difficult to gauge the time.

“Let’s head straight in.”

Knowing the ruins weren’t a designated danger zone, the wizards wasted no time.

They entered the inner areas with their hired mercenaries and guides, each eager to begin their exploration.

“Shall we go in as well?” Evan asked.

“Yes.”

Alon, who had been observing the ancient pyramid-like structure of the ruins, stepped forward alongside Evan.

Inside, the ruins bore signs of long-standing moisture, with moss covering the crevices between the stones.

As they ventured further, Alon suddenly recalled something Cretenia Siyan had said:

—…You’ll understand why once you’re there.

Truthfully, Alon still couldn’t fathom Siyan’s intentions in sending him here.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t even guess a plausible reason.

‘What could it be?’

Lost in thought, Alon was jolted back to reality by Evan’s comment.

“Oh, it’s cooler in here.”

At that moment, Alon finally took in the interior of the ruins.

“…”

There was truly, quite literally, nothing.

Apart from moss-covered rocks, the only notable feature was a massive stone slab at the center, large enough to easily accommodate a hundred people.

Beyond that, it was just an expansive empty space.

‘What could anyone hope to learn from this place?’ Alon wondered.

As he stood in the slightly cooler interior, Siyan’s cryptic words echoed in his mind.

Alon scanned the barren ruins once more.

As his gaze slowly shifted upward…

“?”

He noticed something.

What appeared to be a drawing was, in fact, text.

Alon immediately recognized it as “writing” in his mind, understanding it naturally as though it were ingrained in him.

He’d experienced something similar before when examining a tablet in ruins once inhabited by the Dragonkin.

—Egg of the Sacred Dragon.

Despite the wear of time, the inscription was clearly legible.

“…‘Stasis’?” he murmured, reading the phrase beneath it.

Thunk.

From somewhere far away came the sound of something massive shutting.

Crack!

A sharp, shattering noise followed.

***

So it really isn’t likely that this is a magical ruin, even if it bears some similarities, Liyan thought, still gazing at the previously empty ruins.

But then, a sudden cracking noise pulled her attention.

“!?”

One of the Green Tower wizards, who had entered with her just moments ago, lay collapsed on the ground.

His head had been blown apart.

Crunch, crunch. Whirrr!

Nearby, grotesquely large insects feasted on the wizard’s corpse.

“Ugh!”

“What… what the hell is that!?”

“This is insane—”

One wizard, unable to contain their disgust, vomited, while others screamed in horror.

But soon, they all began preparing spells, directing their focus toward the monstrous insects, which were now emerging in greater numbers throughout the vast ruins.

‘Why are jungle mutants here?!’

Liyan couldn’t comprehend the situation, but there was no time to dwell on it.

She too began preparing her magic.

However, she soon realized a shocking truth.

‘Why… isn’t magic…!?’

It was simple yet terrifying: magic could not be manifested.

As the insects began to gather, Liyan frantically tried again to cast magic, her expression growing more desperate, but her efforts were in vain.

‘The mana… it’s dispersing…!’

The moment she released her mana for spell formation, it scattered uncontrollably into the air.

Realizing this, she was struck with terror.

“Hah—”

A sigh echoed through the chamber, drawing the attention of Liyan and the other wizards.

“Close call,” said Theon, standing tall among the swarm of insects.

“Theon…?” Liyan called his name in disbelief.

Theon, standing over the corpse of a Green Tower wizard, wore a clear smile—a grin filled with mockery.

“You look like you don’t understand,” he said, his tone dripping with derision.

Liyan’s face hardened at his obvious sneer.

“…Do you even realize what you’re doing?” she demanded.

“Oh, are we doing this? A lecture? Sorry to disappoint you, but spare me. I’ve heard enough sermons to last a lifetime. And don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing.

Seems like you’re the one in the dark here, though,” Theon replied nonchalantly.

“What?” Liyan asked, her confusion deepening.

Theon chuckled.

“If you knew what I was about to do, you wouldn’t be looking so calm.”

With that, he drew a dark, pitch-black staff from his robes and waved it lightly.

At that moment, one of the insects—resembling an oversized mosquito—stabbed its sharp proboscis into the chest of the wizard’s corpse.

In a grotesque display, it tore out the heart with a spray of blood.

Theon retrieved the heart from the insect’s maw and tossed it to the center of the arena.

The heart thumped violently, spreading blood across the enormous space.

Liyan tried again to use magic, but Theon cut her off.

“Oh, don’t bother. Now that the ‘trial’ has started, magic won’t work inside this ruin.”

“Trial?” she asked, alarmed.

“That’s right. A trial to determine who’s worthy of claiming the magical relics in this place,” Theon explained with a casual shrug.

“I should mention,” he added, “I don’t hold any grudges against you all. The only reason I brought you here is because I needed the hearts of at least ten wizards.”

With a sly grin, he continued, “Apparently, only wizard hearts will do—something I heard from… someone. Anyway, I had no other choice.”

Theon’s demeanor turned unnervingly jovial, as though all his prior silence had been a façade.

“Still, I’ll admit I was worried for a moment. Bringing the Marquis of Palatio wasn’t a problem since he’s a wizard, but that monster with Caliban’s sword? Now that was nerve-wracking.”

“I even debated how to hold out until the Marquis left. But now that I can begin the trial on the very first day? Well, I’m just incredibly grateful.”

Theon shot a mocking glance at Alon before turning back to the others.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Don’t worry—your hearts will be put to good use.”

With a wave of his dark staff, the mutated insects spread their wings and took flight.

‘So… this is the end?’

Liyan watched in despair as her mana, no matter how much she poured out, dispersed uselessly into the air.

Her face twisted with hopelessness.

Crackle—

A sharp sound broke through the chaos, drawing her gaze.

There, in front of Alon’s outstretched hand, glowing magic shone brightly.

The wizards, who moments ago had been drowning in despair, stared at the light as if entranced.

“!?”

Theon’s smug grin faded, first into confusion, then into sheer disbelief.

“Stasis.”

Alon, having deciphered the only solution to using magic in this space, calmly recited the incantation.