How can she speak Latin? Adyr felt the conflict stir within him.
In the Twelve Cities, only a single language was spoken—and it wasn't anything remotely close to Latin.
Also, throughout all the history classes he had attended at the university, he had never once encountered a language that even remotely resembled those from his old world.
Sure, countless tongues were spoken across this world—endless dialects and accents—but every single one was utterly alien to him, none bearing even the faintest trace of the languages he once knew.
Also, it couldn't just be a coincidence, could it? They had wanted to create a new language for the game, and somehow ended up creating Latin? It was simply not believable.
While Adyr's thoughts surged, the girl seemed to realize that her choice of words had sounded absurd, and she quickly spoke again.
"Um… sorry," she said, hoping to clear up any misunderstanding. After a brief pause, she added, "Can I ask... who are you?"
As Adyr heard more of her speech, his certainty grew—she was speaking Latin.
"I'm Adyr. Just a player," he replied in Latin as well.
He was fluent in Latin; it was one of the many languages he had picked up in his previous world.
Due to his former profession, he had moved through countless countries, adopting new identities as easily as changing clothes. One of those identities—requiring him to blend into a very specific environment—had forced him to learn Latin.
[Talent Recognition: "Linguistic (Lv1)" confirmed.]
-Talent has been identified based on fluent adaptation to foreign speech.
-Proceed with registration to the Status Panel?
-Cost: 1 Energy
-Reward: 1 Free Stat Point
Adyr saw the system message acknowledging the talent, but he chose to ignore it for now, intending to reserve his energy to upgrade [Observer] to Level 2 later.
"Player?" the girl asked, tilting her head in confusion. There was also a hint of worry on her face, as she wasn't sure whether this so-called player was a friend or a foe, whatever the word even meant to her.
It was exactly the reaction Adyr had anticipated. He had only said it out of curiosity—to see how an NPC might respond if he identified himself as a player.
Choosing to ignore both her confusion and her question, he crouched down to bring himself to her eye level, making his posture less intimidating. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he casually threw out his own question instead.
"What's your name?" He asked, keeping his tone light, just enough to ease her tension and nudge the conversation forward.
The girl stared at his face for a full second, then forced herself to sit up straighter. She shifted onto her knees, adjusting her posture to appear less haggard and shameful before finally speaking.
"It's Vesha," she said, pausing briefly before continuing, her voice steadier than before. "Vesha Draven. Citizen of the Velari Kingdom, youngest daughter of Lord Orven Draven. Follower of Astra, and believer in the god Astraeus."
Adyr raised an eyebrow, faintly amused.
She had offered far more information than he asked for—not out of innocence, but careful calculation.
She understood her situation well: a lone, vulnerable figure trapped in a crumbling prison. By revealing her identity and status, she wasn't just answering—she was positioning herself, trying to appear valuable rather than expendable.
Quite the subtle thought — especially for an artificial intelligence.
And without waiting long, she openly stated her true purpose. "Can you help me escape? My father will make sure you are properly rewarded for it."
"It's locked," Adyr said, pointing at the prison door with a slight glance.
"You're tall," the girl added quickly, then clarified, "You're even taller than the royal guards of the kingdom. You must be strong."
Hearing her reasoning, Adyr chuckled quietly. He had just uncovered another piece of useful information.
It was now obvious that Vesha wasn't human—at least, not fully. Her race's average height was likely shorter than humans', and she had mistakenly assumed he was one of her own.
"Why are you here?" Adyr asked, once again ignoring her question and plea.
A brief flash of disappointment crossed her eyes, but she quickly masked it and said, "I wanted to find the Spark."
Spark? He quickly glanced at his status panel and saw a section labeled [Sparks].
Not wanting to expose his lack of knowledge—or seem even stranger than he already did—he decided against asking directly.
"And were you able to find it?" He asked instead.
Vesha hesitated, wondering for a moment if he was mocking her, but answered politely nonetheless. "The six guards who accompanied me died while helping me escape a skeleton ambush. I didn't even get the chance to see the Spark."
As she spoke, her eyes grew red and wet, guilt clouding her expression. But she was a strong woman—or at least she believed herself to be—and she held the tears back, refusing to let them fall.
"I see," Adyr said, pretending to share her grief while carefully choosing his next words.
But before he could ask another question to gather more information, a sound echoed from the end of the corridor.
"They're here," Vesha blurted out, panic flashing in her eyes. The monsters responsible for her ruined state had finally found her.
Frozen in fear and panic, her eyes drifted to the tall man—her only hope for survival. She watched him slowly rise to his full height, once again mesmerized by how tall he was.
But then, she noticed something she had overlooked until now.
The man was wearing strange, unfashionable clothes made of thin fabric, clearly not designed for defense. To make matters worse, he was barefoot and armed with nothing but a broken, rusty spear.
I'm going to die here. The grim reality struck her like a truck.
Even if he somehow manages to open the prison door and free her, then what? They were still trapped inside the dungeon.
Sure, he was tall—maybe strong enough to take down one or two skeletons—but there were many lurking in these halls.
The fragile hope that had briefly taken root inside her quickly crumbled as she watched him calmly walk toward the oncoming skeleton.
She waited tensely, listening as the sharp clash of weapons and the cracking of bone echoed down the corridor, and then—silence.
Relief washed over her; at least it had only been one skeleton, and the man had dealt with it easily enough.
But that changed nothing. One dead skeleton wouldn't stop what was coming. More would arrive sooner or later.
As she sat there, letting despair creep back in, she heard his footsteps approaching—and then his voice.
"Stay back."
She lifted her head, puzzled, and saw him toss a small purple crystal into his mouth.
"Wha—what are you doing?" She gasped in shock, staring at him as if he had lost his mind.
Adyr noticed her sudden outburst, silently noting that she seemed familiar with energy crystals, but chose to ignore it for now.
He simply repeated, "Back."
This time, it didn't sound like a request—it was an order, one delivered with a quiet authority that left no room for argument.
Instinctively, Vesha drew on a scrap of strength she hadn't realized she still possessed. She pushed herself back, pressing against the wall and putting as much distance as she could between herself and the cell's iron bars.
Meanwhile, Adyr was busy with his character panel. He checked the previous logs and found the [Observer (Lv2)] talent registration.
[Talent Recognition: "Observer (Lv2)" confirmed.]
- Talent has been identified based on further demonstrated behavior.
- Proceed with registration to the Status Panel?
- Cost: 10 Energy
- Reward: 10 Free Stat Points
He confirmed it internally and immediately felt the familiar draining sensation as his energy was consumed.
Now, with 12 free stat points at his disposal, he allocated 7 of them to his [Physique] stat.
This should be enough to break the cell door now, he thought, feeling a surge of raw power coursing through every fiber of his body.