Chapter 95: Primordial Runes

In the game, the “Gap of Ages” was an exceptionally unique hidden dungeon, and its designers had clearly gone out of their way to make every step infuriatingly difficult. Simply finding the entrance was the first challenge.

The “Gate of Bedrock” before them was the second.

During the early stages of the game, players generally lacked both levels and equipment. Trying to force open this massive gate, reinforced by both Tyrian craftsmanship and runic magic, was nothing more than a fantasy. Even a Gold-rank powerhouse would never be able to smash through it by brute force, completely cutting off any possibility for opportunistic “door-breaking parties.”

The proper way to open it required players to complete a long series of complicated quests and puzzles. They first had to uncover a research journal on Ancient Vaughn, then use the clues inside to deduce and decipher the correct incantation.

How many players that process trapped, Nolan had no idea, but the last time around, it had taken several months at minimum.

Now, however, with Nolan acting as a human cheat code, everything became far simpler.

“Come here, Renee.” Walking to the stone gate, Nolan placed his right palm gently against its cold surface. “Like this. Put your hand on the gate.”

Renee approached nervously and copied his movements, pressing her own delicate hand against the stone.

“Now close your eyes. Don’t think about anything else. Focus all your spiritual power on sensing the gate beneath your hand. Feel the earth elements flowing inside it.” Nolan’s voice was low and steady, almost hypnotic. “Then repeat after me.”

Renee took a deep breath and obediently closed her eyes. As a born elementalist, her spiritual perception far surpassed that of ordinary spellcasters. The moment she concentrated fully on the gate, she immediately saw it. Though the massive stone door appeared lifeless from the outside, inside it lay countless energy pathways woven together like a giant spiderweb. Dense earth elements flowed through them slowly and rhythmically, like the breathing of some colossal living creature.

This gate… was alive.

Just as Renee was still reeling from the discovery, Nolan’s voice sounded beside her ear, “Nos D’uses.”

The word was strange and awkward, its pronunciation unlike anything she had ever heard before. Not daring to hesitate, Renee focused completely and carefully repeated the unfamiliar sounds as accurately as she could.

“Nos… D’uses…”

Her voice was soft and slightly trembling.

But the instant the word left her lips, a strange pulse of magical energy erupted from her palm and swept across the entire gate.

Bzzzz—!

The stone gate released a deep, resonant hum, like an ancient beast awakening after ten thousand years of sleep. The once-dark runes carved around the frame suddenly lit up one by one from bottom to top, glowing with a faint yellow radiance.

None of the others reacted particularly strongly. Aside from Nolan, none of them understood runic magic or ancient languages.

But if a Tyrian archmage specializing in ancient runes, or a great scholar devoted to deciphering Ancient Vaughn, had been standing there at that moment, hearing Nolan utter that word would likely have driven them to faint on the spot from excitement.

Because “Nos D’uses” was a true and complete Primordial Rune from the long-lost Ancient Vaughn tongue.

Its meaning was: “Beginning.”

Ancient Vaughn was the language once spoken by the Primordials. Unlike modern languages, every syllable contained the power to resonate directly with the world’s foundation itself, capable of triggering magical resonance through speech alone. This phenomenon was known as Word Spirit.

In many ways, it resembled draconic magic. Dragon speech could only be pronounced properly by dragons because of their unique vocal structures, and their language itself carried power.

Language itself was the medium.

The sacred hymn spells used by modern temple priests had actually evolved from Ancient Vaughn, but countless priceless records had been lost to time. What survived today were only degraded remnants, shallow imitations of true Word Spirit.

Yet even those inferior versions remained extraordinarily powerful in the modern age, which spoke volumes about the terrifying might of the original language.

Because of the immense span of time that had passed, this ancient tongue had long vanished from the world. Later scholars had exhausted themselves attempting to reconstruct fragments from ancient ruins.

A Primordial Rune like “Beginning,” one that possessed both immense power and symbolic meaning, was known by fewer than a handful of people across the entire continent.

Nolan himself possessed terrible magical talent. If he tried speaking the rune personally, he would never trigger magical resonance. But Renee was different. As a born elementalist, she was beloved by the elements themselves. Her spiritual affinity with elemental forces was absurdly high. Although the power system of an elementalist differed from that of traditional mages and witches, the underlying principles were fundamentally connected.

The moment she spoke the correct “key,” the sleeping Gate of Bedrock immediately responded.

Rumble!

Amid a deep and solemn grinding of stone, the enormous gate slowly opened inward. Beyond it appeared a dark and endless corridor.

“It… it worked!”

Renee opened her eyes wide as she stared at the slowly opening gate, her face filled with disbelief and joy. Looking at her own hands and then at Nolan, she felt as though she were dreaming.

“Well done, Renee.” Nolan smiled and gently ruffled her hair.

Behind them, Vivi wrinkled her nose slightly.

“I-I only repeated what you told me to say…” Renee lowered her head shyly.

“Come on. The real show’s only just beginning.”

With that, Nolan withdrew his hand and became the first to step into the darkness beyond the gate.

Vivi, Little Donnie, and Romina quickly snapped out of their shock and followed after him.

The corridor beyond was extremely broad, stretching several hundred meters long and wide enough for two large carriages to travel side by side.

The walls on both sides were covered in magnificent relief carvings. The torchlight was too limited to reveal everything clearly, but they could vaguely make out scenes of an unimaginably grand and brutal war.

Towering giants.

Dragons soaring through the heavens.

And all manner of grotesque, monstrous creatures.

“Whoa, these carvings are amazing!” Holding the torch high, Little Donnie eagerly walked toward the wall and instinctively reached out to touch the reliefs.

“Don’t touch them!” Nolan reacted instantly and yanked him back. “This is the interior of an ancient seal. There could be mechanisms here beyond anything you’ve ever seen. This isn’t some museum, so stop touching things and running around.” Nolan shot him a glare before adding dryly, “And honestly, don’t do that in museums either.”

Little Donnie swallowed hard and nodded frantically.

Without another word, Nolan reached into the food pouch at his waist and pulled out a small strip of dried meat, tossing it toward the wall carvings.

The instant the meat was about to touch the reliefs, a flash of blue light suddenly burst from the wall.

Crackle!

A hidden defensive array activated immediately.

Several thin magical beams crossed together into a deadly web of firepower, instantly reducing the dried meat to blackened ash. The smell of scorched meat and burning filled the corridor.

Little Donnie sucked in a sharp breath, his face turning pale. If he had touched the wall moments earlier, losing an arm would probably have been the best-case scenario.

Vivi and Renee also felt cold sweat run down their backs. Vivi in particular had been tempted to examine the carvings more closely herself.

“Don’t worry.” Nolan smiled at their lingering fear. “Just stay close to me and step where I step.”

Then he moved forward along the exact center of the corridor, drawing upon old memories as he slowly advanced into the darkness ahead.