"I apologize for the delay, Mister Adrian."

The man turned to face the Tower Master, who wore a troubled expression.

"There have been some unexpected complications," he continued. "We'll need to wait a little before we can begin the inspection."

Adrian stood at a distance, separated from the commotion by several tents. From where he was, he couldn't see what was going on.

"How did the Twilight Vault find out about this?" Adrian asked.

Albec let out a tired sigh. "They claim one of their officers reported it—apparently a few days before we even found the relic."

Adrian frowned. That didn't make sense. If that were true, the Twilight Vault should've arrived long before now.

But still... no point in arguing.

"They're inspecting the site with their own team," Albec added. "Once they're done, you'll lead our team in."

Adrian felt uneasy at the thought of leading a whole group. It sounded overwhelming—something he wasn't sure he could handle. But Albec had already assured him he wouldn't be responsible for the others. Adrian just had to do what he did best.

After a brief pause, Adrian asked, "If we can't inspect yet, can we at least watch?"

Albec blinked, then gave a nod. "Yes, of course. Come with me."

-------**-------

Ruby stood inside the pit, fully geared up in protective equipment—though she didn't really need it. She was accompanied by three others, all focused on the strange object half-buried in the earth.

One of them held a measuring artifact, a tool that roughly estimated the amount of mana an object contained. After checking the readings, the woman announced,

"It's A-rank."

Ruby's brows drew together. A-rank mana levels meant this thing could cause an explosion big enough to wipe out an entire village.

But that wasn't what bothered her. The mana itself didn't feel like an ordinary A-rank—it had a deep, ancient pulse. The kind only beings of immense age and power possessed.

"What runes are these?" another member asked, pointing at the glowing symbols etched onto the cube. They weren't just glowing—they were moving, shifting like they were alive.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "It's a rare dialect," she murmured. "But I think I've seen it before."

She didn't say more. That knowledge wasn't hers to share. It was a secret of the Vermillion family.

Fragments of the legendary runesmith's notes had been discovered in random corners of the world. Some of them ended up in the hands of her family. If her hunch was correct…

Either this was crafted by someone who had closely followed Avirin—or maybe… Avirin himself had built it.

Her eyes widened as the thought struck her.

This is bad…

If either Tower found out this artifact was connected to Sir Avirin, they might not just fight over it—they might start a war.

While Ruby silently debated whether or not to reveal the origin of the runes, the others were busy flipping through their notes, discussing theories, and tossing ideas back and forth.

Some believed this was a lost scripture from ancient times, possibly a key to a long-forgotten magical discovery. Another suggested it might be from an entirely different world—brought here through space magic.

The chatter kept growing, their voices overlapping—until a new voice cut through the noise.

"It's strange, isn't it?"

The team fell silent, their heads snapping toward the source. A man had stepped into the pit. The Tower members scowled instantly, bristling at the interruption.

But Ruby's eyes lit up with recognition.

Adrian stood calmly at the edge of the cube, his gaze fixed on the glowing surface. "A material that can hold more than one type of rune... That's incredibly rare."

"Who gave you permission to be here?" one of the members snapped.

"That's right! We were granted the first rights to inspect—"

"You all," Ruby's voice rang out, sharp and cold. Her glowing eyes fixed on the group, her mana flaring. "Another word of disrespect... and I will leave."

The air changed in an instant. Her aura pressed down like a heavy weight, the warning in her tone impossible to miss.

No one dared speak after that.

Adrian gave a thankful nod to the woman before refocusing on the cube.

He can see it—there were runes from three different elements.

"What do you see?" Ruby asked as she crouched beside him.

Adrian pointed toward the one that was moving, "Can you read this?"

Ruby shook her head, "But I know from which field it comes from. Darkness."

Adrian hummed, "Correct. If I am not wrong this is the reason why those people were cursed to behave like that."

Ruby had guessed it too. She has the attribute of Darkness and she can curse people too. But after hearing from the people about the behavior of those assailants who came in contact with the cube, she was baffled. That curse seemed different.

It was meant to completely make one lose their reasoning and disorient them to wander aimlessly.

Ruby couldn't grasp which spell it was but she knew it was dangerous.

Meanwhile, Adrian was looking at the other runes drawn on the cube.

The one that everyone could see was like a warning meant to let others know what could happen if they touched the cube.

However, if Adrian wasn't wrong then this cube isn't what they should be focusing on.

Glancing at Ruby he asked, "Any other rune you can see on this cube?"

Ruby blinked in surprise before looking carefully. However, even after close inspection, all she saw were those moving runes.

"No. Just the curse spell."

Adrian massages his brows.

What he believed turned out to be true.

While the others could only see that single rune he could see more.

One gravity rune.

And one barrier rune.

Two things came to his mind upon reading those runes.

First, the one who wrote these runes was the same guy who wrote his notes.

The books in the Time Chamber...yes, those books.

And second, this cube isn't the main product. It is protecting something...acting as a barrier.

And that thing was nearby.

'Now how I can reach it without letting others know?'

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Share your knowledge with everyone and be the good guy. Thanks for reading.