When the plot-skips players into the game world
Chapter 1107 - 438: Not "Learned", but "Remembered

Chapter 1107: Chapter 438: Not "Learned", but "Remembered

Compared to the friends in Avalon, who live in a peaceful world, these experienced Transcendents truly are exceptional talents...

Aiwass sighed in his heart.

No wonder the Avalon timeline was so fragile in the original historical record.

Transcendents of the Fourth Level in the Arbitration Hall might go their entire careers without facing any tough battles — as soon as they advance, they’re equipped with weapons forged by Elf Craftsmen, armor blessed with Authority Force by the Royal Family, Gryphons capable of supersonic maneuvering, and dozens of comrades who can be summoned at any time. On top of that, if injured, they have bishops and even archbishops who can heal them instantly. And if the odds are truly unfavorable, they can always summon a Fifth Level leader to handle their strongest enemies.

With such a high-level configuration, the battles they fight are usually one-sided. Since the founding of Avalon, the Arbitrators have never faced an evenly matched battle—after all, their profession is "Arbitrator," isn’t it?

But these individuals, also Fourth Level, are all incredibly experienced.

Aiwass had made no tactical arrangements, and they had minimal understanding of each other, let alone knowledge of the enemy’s abilities and mechanisms. Yet, just through observation, they had quickly identified their roles.

Their coordination was seamless, causing no interference with one another—which, in fact, is the hardest part. Nearly everyone has played a three-legged race. Compared to the theoretical "working together," not hindering, injuring, or affecting teammates is far more difficult.

Especially this Martial Monk... so this is what a protector from the realm of live combat is like?

Aiwass looked up at Mu and sighed internally.

Indeed, tank classes really require battle experience—this Martial Monk who’s toured the world is so much stronger than Hayna!

During Aiwass and Hayna’s brief time as a team, he had rarely felt any sense of security from her... It’s said Hayna has now transferred to a Royal Guard position. Hopefully, she’s grown a bit since then.

After the battle ended, the Little Cat conscientiously started cleaning the battlefield—it was the duty of an Adaptation Path Transcendent, with their keen senses and quick reflexes, to confirm enemy deaths and secure the spoils. She clearly had a lot of experience with this.

In no time, the Little Cat had dismantled all the Puppet Guards into components, ensuring they couldn’t resurrect. She then returned, carrying two gemstones.

From the red and green Puppet Soldiers, she had extracted two massive, olive-shaped gemstones, each larger than an adult’s heart. The earth-yellow and blue Puppet Soldiers also contained similar gemstones, but those were already dim and shattered.

"Mr. Encyclopedia, what are these?"

The Little Cat asked the Dream Traversing Monk in the team.

Holding the vastest repository of secret knowledge, the Dream Traversing Monk was essentially the most learned person in the group.

As authors of the Codex Books, they had seen countless secrets in the Dream Realm and mastered many lost knowledge inheritances. Even if a craft was entirely lost, it was still possible for the Dream Traversing Monk to recover it from the Dream Realm. When it came to questions involving the Transcendent domain, it was much better to ask them than a mere human archaeologist.

"I think I recognize this, let me recall..."

Encyclopedia muttered softly, rummaging through his mind for relevant information.

At this moment, Professor Bard and Sine both came over. The two old men were clearly very curious about these gemstones.

"...Is this... some kind of ancient rune? Maybe prehistoric writing? Let me make a record..."

"Let me record as well. Little Cat, could you hold them up for me?"

Sine said as he pulled out a small rune camera from his satchel.

Compared to Professor Bard’s meticulous sketches, this palm-sized camera seemed quite advanced.

The Old Mage waved his hand, illuminating three floating light spheres around the Little Cat to make the gemstones appear even more transparent. Then, he turned on the camera.

A golden, intricate rune-constructed halo emerged before the camera lens. The Old Mage pressed the shutter repeatedly, and soon, exceptionally clear close-up photos began ejecting from the device. One of the clearest images even showed the grooves and dust on the gemstone’s surface in such detail as if it were held just centimeters from the viewer’s eyes.

Seeing Professor Bard’s curious expression, Sine the Great Mage chuckled with pride.

"Not bad, huh?"

He was clearly pleased with himself: "I invented it."

"Where can I buy one of these?"

Professor Bard immediately recognized its value. "With this, I wouldn’t have to sketch by hand anymore!"

"You can’t buy it."

Sine said leisurely, "We mages aren’t like those Alchemists—always eager to parade their minor findings for the whole world to know; it’s just rediscovered knowledge anyway. They don’t even fully grasp the principles before rushing to mass-produce and sell it. With such an attitude, how could they create anything truly exceptional?

"I’ve always had an interest in optics. This is just a by-product of my research. This is the 14th prototype my apprentices and I have developed. By the standards of those Alchemists, they would’ve started selling by the third prototype. Then they’d launch a new version every year, milking a fresh batch of fools... Haha, someone always has to profit off the ignorant.

"Most buyers would just be after novelty. They neither care about the technology itself nor have a real need for it. They’d flaunt it among other bigwigs for a while, then leave it to gather dust. These crystallizations of wisdom weren’t meant for that kind of nonsense!

"That said, if you’re interested, I could send you a sample from the pre-12th prototypes later. No need for money. We’re not short on funds."

"Thank you kindly," Professor Bard replied brightly. "But for now, could I have a duplicate of those photos?"

"Of course."

Sine nodded obligingly and lifted the camera. "Which angle would you like? Point it out for me."

"Oh, start with a full view, then, if possible, capture each rune clearly..."

Professor Bard hovered behind Sine, looking over his shoulder at the same lens. "Yes, just like that..."

"Don’t worry, I’m a professional."

Sine stated calmly.

The prideful Old Mage noticeably treated this world-renowned archaeologist far better than he did other Transcendents of the same level.

Meanwhile, Encyclopedia finally found the knowledge he was seeking.

"I’ve got it," he exclaimed in delight. "These runes likely have no linguistic meaning! That’s because this is from the Second Solar Era, a time when even Elves hadn’t yet been born. Language itself hadn’t evolved yet... In other words, each of these ancient runes serves exclusively to channel Extraordinary Power."

"How did they communicate then?"

The Wanderer leaned in and asked in puzzlement, "Even if the runes don’t inherently have linguistic elements... couldn’t they still use them for dialogue if enough people mastered them?"

"...That part I’m not sure of. I don’t have related knowledge on hand."

Encyclopedia shook his head. "Perhaps this ruins site might help fill in the gaps..."

After the photo session, Aiwass, curious, approached as well: "Let me take a look."

Taking the gemstones from the Little Cat, who had been holding them high the entire time, he wanted to see if the system could identify these treasures. They seemed undoubtedly like some kind of ancient relic... and they clearly emanated elemental power, visible through Aiwass’s special vision, which could discern the unique energy rippling around them.

—However, the system showed no reaction.

"Hmm?"

Aiwass paused.

Even this thing gave no response?

He suddenly recalled that neither the "alcohol liver" nor Sister Sasha’s eyes had received any system response when he obtained them earlier as well.

For instance, even ordinary firearms obtained during his promotion ritual could be identified with attributes by the system; not to mention common daggers or ritual knives slightly imbued with Transcendent energy. Usually, the system could detect anything with even a hint of Extraordinary Power...

These gemstones were clearly crystallizations of some ancient, potent energy. So why didn’t the system react?

This was the third time such an anomaly occurred.

The first two times, Aiwass had reasoned that those items’ energies might have been adequately sealed, isolated within crystal spheres that didn’t constitute direct contact. But this time, the Extraordinary Power was visibly overflowing.

The heat from the red gemstone alone was palpable to Aiwass—it felt akin to holding a glass filled with 50-60°C water or touching a computer case running a heavy game. Prolonged exposure could likely result in burns.

The Little Cat, unaffected, continued holding the hot gemstone without any noticeable discomfort. She was truly a marvel at heat tolerance.

Such potent elemental energy—it could even be fitted with a mop handle and function as a magic wand. However, no matter how Aiwass engaged with the gemstones, no attribute panel appeared...

Strange. So, what’s the shared trait among these three anomalies?

Could it be... that the "normal" Aiwass couldn’t interact with them?

Even the Serpent Celestial Marshal couldn’t access them—

The two crystal spheres could block the Marshal’s perception, even preventing the Banquet Master from tracking the liver’s location. Now here in this Preservation Arts-protected ancient ruins site, it was even less likely for the Serpent Celestial Marshal to sense it.

Suddenly, Aiwass remembered something.

After he became the Pope, the Pure White Saintess mentioned during a conversation that the former Pope had taken an interest in Aiwass even before their first contact. This was largely because Mathers had written to her, praising Aiwass’s astonishing mastery of Fire Rite Skill.

"That feeling wasn’t so much ’learning’ as it was ’recalling.’"

At the time, His Holiness had commented, "If it weren’t for Aiwass being human... I might’ve considered making him the next Pope. Who knows, he might even ’recall’ Advanced Divine Arts just as effortlessly."

—That, in turn, was why she later invited Aiwass to study abroad in the Holy Nation.

While this might have been an innocent observation from their perspective, it carried a very different implication for Aiwass.

Though this was undoubtedly Aiwass’s first life in this world,

...for the Serpent Celestial Marshal, this marked its ninth cycle.

In previous cycles, the Banquet Celestial might not even have existed.

That could only mean the crystal ball storing the dragon liver had been drained and destroyed even before being unsealed!

And the "universal experience" that allowed Aiwass to rapidly grasp a skill... perhaps it was because these were techniques the Serpent Celestial Marshal had once mastered!

Which meant...

Aiwass became contemplative as he gazed ahead.

If his theory were correct, then this ruins site held unparalleled significance for him.

Under normal circumstances, Aiwass would never have been able to access this site. Moreover, the Serpent Celestial Marshal couldn’t sense it either.

Thus, any knowledge and power obtained from this ruins site would be entirely beyond the Celestial Marshal’s plans!