"The Zephyr Guild's reach is getting a bit too long, isn't it?"
"They should just stay put in Valemarch City. Why come all the way to a backwater like Mylanne City to poach talent?"
"I think they were completely shocked by that big shot's performance."
"But honestly, I don't think he'll agree. With his strength, he'd be the unquestioned leader of any adventuring group in Mylanne City. There's no need for him to bind himself with extra restrictions."
Many adventurers began discussing the situation in private.
"Still, don't you think the Zephyr Guild could offer him a broader future?"
"Come on, brother. Do you really think a big shot like that needs a 'broader future'? Other people rely on connections—but his strength itself is the connection!"
The discussions among the adventurers grew more and more animated.
Quite a few girls also realized, to their surprise, that Caelan was far more handsome than they had expected.
At that moment, many young women felt their hearts flutter.
After all, Caelan wasn't just overwhelmingly powerful—his looks were flawless as well. He was undeniably top-tier heartthrob material!
The thought of dating someone like him was simply irresistible.
Just as they were considering whether to strike up a conversation with Caelan or find a way to catch his attention—
His figure flickered.
And he vanished from where he stood.
Are you kidding?
Caelan was extremely busy right now.
He needed to eliminate the bosses of the ten regions as quickly as possible.
Killing these bosses would not only save more lives—it would also allow his level to skyrocket.
And there was also [Shattered Memories], which might provide even more valuable information.
By now, Caelan had fully realized just how difficult leveling had become.
With each level-up, the experience required increased dramatically.
Based on his calculations, only by killing all the bosses across the ten regions could he reach Level 60 and unlock the [Class Mutation Quest].
Which meant that next, he had to efficiently wipe out every remaining regional boss.
With that in mind, Caelan sped up his actions.
In less than half an hour, blazing miniature suns lit up one after another around Mylanne City.
After slaying these bosses, Caelan finally reached Level 60!
At the same time, all [Bloodbound Memory Fragments] were collected and successfully fused into [Shattered Memories].
[Do you wish to use the item "Shattered Memories"?]
Caelan hesitated for a moment, then chose "Use."
In the next instant, a field of white light appeared before his eyes.
An enormous flood of memories surged into Caelan's mind!
Looking at the familiar skyscrapers, highways, and flowing traffic, Caelan felt a moment of disorientation.
Wait… this place is—
A nameless sense of fear rose within him.
The owner of these memories came from the same world as he did?!
Suddenly, the scene shifted.
A bizarre four-sided structure appeared before him—its surface unnaturally smooth, its shape utterly out of place.
As he looked around and saw floating status panels in the void, Caelan became absolutely certain—
The memories had entered the game world!
But whether it was the strangely designed building before him, the clothing styles of the people around it, or even the equipment used by adventurers—
None of it was familiar to Caelan.
Why?
Was this really the memory of the same person?
Before he could think further, the memory abruptly cut off.
The following scenes all revolved around a tall figure carrying a massive greatsword on his back.
[Volibel]
[Class: Dark Titan]
[Level: **********]
The level field was completely obscured by a long black line.
Caelan frowned slightly.
In an instant, a bold hypothesis formed in his mind.
Ever since transmigrating to this world, Caelan had been deeply interested in its history.
According to the [General History of the World], the time when the game invaded reality seemed to have occurred around one hundred thousand years ago.
But the problem was—
Recorded human history only went back ten thousand years at most.
The scenes he had just seen clearly didn't belong to any known historical period.
Which meant—
The owner of these memories was very likely Volibel from ten thousand years ago!
And that Volibel had a very high probability of being a transmigrator as well.
Perhaps—
He even came from the same world as Caelan!
Just as Caelan was reeling from this realization, the contents of the memories changed once again.
This time, there was no image.
Only a set of coordinates.
[7926.4135]
It appeared only at the very end.
That meant these coordinates must have been extremely important to the original owner of the memories.
Thinking this, Caelan began mapping the coordinates to the real world.
But the moment he identified the location, he froze.
Wasn't this the Vault of Ruins?!
Caelan was quite familiar with the Vault of Ruins.
Because it was located just outside Mylanne City!
The Vault of Ruins was a famous mine, renowned for producing Azure Lapis.
Azure Lapis possessed excellent properties and was widely recognized as a foundational crafting material for equipment. Almost every awakener would purchase it.
In this world, aside from loot dropped in Instances, weapons and gear could only be forged using Azure Lapis along with other materials.
Because of that, the Vault of Ruins was a pillar industry for Mylanne City.
Many low-tier awakeners even chose to work there as miners.
If luck was on their side, they might uncover a companion ore vein and completely change their fate overnight!
Caelan shook his head, unease rising in his heart.
Could something dangerous have happened at the mine?
With that thought, Caelan immediately quickened his pace.
After using [Flashstep], he appeared directly at the entrance of the Vault of Ruins.
The interior of the Vault of Ruins was extremely spacious—the entrance alone was wide enough to allow ten carriages to pass side by side.
Yet at this very moment, the normally bustling area outside the mine was completely empty!
Not a single person in sight.
Neither the low-tier monsters in the area nor the miner awakeners could be found anywhere.
All of them had vanished.
That was impossible!
Caelan frowned.
According to his memory, a massive herd of low-tier monsters called [Shaelor Sheep] lived outside this area—numbering in the thousands!
But now?
There wasn't even a single Shaelor Sheep to be seen.
They had all seemingly disappeared into thin air.
All that remained outside the Vault of Ruins was endless blood and drifting blood mist.
Caelan's brows furrowed as he began exploring deeper into the Vault.
This search still yielded no trace of the miners.
Instead, he encountered a rescue team dispatched by the Adventurers' Guild.
Caelan couldn't be bothered to greet them and continued heading deeper inside.
About ten minutes later, he came to a halt.
At the mid-level platform of the Vault of Ruins, the [Miner's Hut] that once stood there had been completely destroyed.
The entire platform was in utter chaos, drenched in crimson plasma.
It was obvious that something utterly horrifying had occurred here.
As Caelan was thinking this, his ear twitched.
He caught the sound of flesh slamming heavily against the ground—mixed with agonized groans.
Instinctively, Caelan rushed toward the source of the sound.
What greeted his eyes was a massive flesh sphere—over 50 meters in diameter!
At that moment, Caelan finally understood where all the monsters and miners in the Vault of Ruins had gone.
They hadn't escaped.
They had been affected by the blood mist and fused together—
Into a single, grotesque monster.
The rescue team arrived as well, and upon seeing the enormous flesh sphere, they froze in shock.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Pete—that's Pete's head! Damn it, this thing swallowed them all!"
Caelan ignored the rescue team entirely.
He decided to personally put an end to the suffering of those adventurers.
Having made his decision, Caelan immediately drew his sword and launched an attack at the massive flesh sphere.
Boom!
With a single strike, the enormous flesh sphere was blown completely apart.
Countless chunks of blood and flesh exploded outward, scattering in all directions like a grotesque shower.
Faced with this scene, most of the rescue team immediately hid behind rocks.
The unlucky few wrapped themselves tightly in their clothes to shield their bodies.
Despite defeating the massive flesh sphere with ease, Caelan's expression did not relax.
He was almost certain—
Such an important coordinate could not possibly point to just one of these things.
At the same time, as the flesh sphere collapsed, a massive fissure began forming inside the Vault of Ruins.
The crack expanded rapidly.
Five meters. Ten meters. One hundred meters…
The fissure continued spreading until it reached over two thousand meters, only then gradually stabilizing.
For a moment, Caelan even suspected that such a massive rift might tear through the entire world.
Then—
From deep within the fissure, he sensed an unprecedented, terrifying energy.
The fragments of the flesh sphere on the ground had somehow liquefied, flowing into the fissure.
At the same time, Caelan was shocked to discover—
The entire Vault of Ruins was slowly lifting into the sky!
No—
To be precise, it wasn't the Vault of Ruins at all.
It was a gigantic palace with a unique and unfamiliar design.
As vast amounts of earth slid away, an enormous palace ruin emerged before everyone's eyes.
…
At that moment, the strange phenomenon at the Vault of Ruins attracted the attention of many within Mylanne City.
Standing atop the city walls, the city lord gazed at the palace floating in midair, a trace of urgency flashing across his face.
"So it's true after all. The Vault of Ruins really does contain relics from the previous era."
"So this outbreak of blood mist… is it because the ruins are about to surface?"
The city lord frowned and turned his gaze toward a nearby guard.
"Has there been any response from the High Archbishop yet?"
"City Lord, the High Archbishop has already prepared to intervene."
Hearing the report, the city lord's expression immediately relaxed.
"I understand. With the High Archbishop taking action, Mylanne City should be safe."
Meanwhile—
Atop the cathedral.
Clad in long robes, High Archbishop Austin stared solemnly in the direction of the Vault of Ruins.
"So everything recorded in the holy scriptures… was true after all."
"A structure from ten thousand years ago…"
"What kind of secrets does it hold?"