Chapter 904: Anomalous Records

The subtle details revealed in Modir Velde’s notes piqued Gawain’s interest.

No matter how he looked at it, the food and water mentioned by that adventurer from six centuries ago seemed to be… canned goods and bottled water.

This seemingly trivial detail sparked deeper reflection in Gawain. Although he had long known that dragons were an ancient, intelligent race predating human history—likely possessing civilizations far more advanced than any human kingdom on the continent—it wasn’t until now that he seriously pondered just how advanced a civilization could be that continued to develop uninterrupted despite the magical cataclysm.

Canned food and bottled water themselves were hardly remarkable—Cecil could easily produce such items now (in fact, similar products already existed)—but the fact that Melita had given Modir canned food was a symbol, a sign that triggered Gawain’s thoughts. His mind wandered down strange paths, even considering questions like “Do dragons eat in their human or dragon forms?” and “Is there a huge difference in appetite between the two forms? How does eating in human form sustain the massive energy consumption of the dragon form?” Yet soon, his scattered thoughts converged on a question he had long overlooked:

A race like the dragons, unaffected by the magical cataclysm and clearly as curious as humans… after all these years of development, why hadn’t they entered the space age?

Did they not yearn for the stars? Or were dragons so dependent on their planetary environment that they hit a bottleneck when trying to leave their homeworld? Or was it simply a matter of their technological progression never unlocking the right breakthroughs, so that after countless years they still couldn’t break through the atmosphere?

Vaguely, Gawain felt this was a crucial question—one no one here could answer.

“I’ll ask Melita next time…” After a moment’s thought, he murmured to himself. “Her name actually appeared in this travelogue… it’s about time I got some answers from her.”

As he spoke, his gaze returned to Modir Velde’s written record:

“…Over the next few days, I explored most of the accessible areas of this Steel Island. I say accessible because many places remain sealed off. This ruin has clearly been abandoned for countless years, and a pervasive loneliness hangs in the air. Yet the ancient structures themselves are incredibly sturdy. Despite enduring untold years of wind and rain, they remain unyielding. Aside from some minor structures, the pillars, foundations, and roofs are made of materials far stronger than any man-made substance I’ve ever seen, and they possess excellent magical resistance…

“…On the appointed day when the dragon lady promised to return, my uneasy premonition came true—she did not show.

“After waiting an extra day, Melita still did not appear… I couldn’t help but recall her strange behavior before she left, her poor mental state… It seems she truly forgot, or perhaps mentally blocked out all memories related to me. It’s an incredible but the only plausible explanation. I find myself deeply concerned about what might have happened to that dragon lady to cause such a disturbing outcome.

“I know no other dragons to compare with, so I can’t say if this is some kind of ‘illness’ among their kind, but I suspect it’s connected to this Steel Island itself. This place is forbidden, even dragons fear it… Now I’ve been left here, a pitiful soul with no right to worry about a dragon’s health—I must first solve my own survival.

“There’s still some food in iron boxes and water in bottles, enough to last three days easily. Even if they run out, I can still gather supplies from the sea. As a powerful mage, I’m not worried about starving or thirsting to death—unless some chaotic surge crashes onto the island, I could probably survive here for a long time… but I don’t want to grow old alone in this eerie, cursed place!

“I’ve devised some plans to leave the Steel Island and return to the human world, but before executing them, I decided to explore the entire ruin, hoping to find resources or something useful… Well, I can’t lie to myself—it’s my damned curiosity driving me. Modir Velde is a reckless, incorrigible fellow; I simply can’t resist the urge to adventure!

“Now, I’ve toured the whole island except for one place—the colossal metal tower that inspires awe.”

From here, Modir Velde’s handwriting suddenly became wildly erratic, as if he had entered a highly agitated state while recording these words—

“…I must document everything I see—everything shocking and unbelievable!

“Today is X day of X month. As expected, Melita did not appear. After a night’s rest, I am fully recovered. Today is the day to act. Taking the few supplies I have, I approached the base of the giant tower. Finding its entrance was not difficult; in fact, I had already discovered several large doors at the tower’s foundation during earlier explorations. Most excitingly, some of these doors were not completely sealed—they were slightly ajar.

“For the first time, I passed through one of those open doors and entered inside. After walking through some dark, abandoned corridors, I heard sounds and saw lights—by the goddess of magic, Mylmina! The tower’s interior was alive!

“Well, that’s not quite right. What I mean is, the tower was still operational! Despite being abandoned for who knows how many years, and its exterior weathered and lifeless, inside it was still running!

“I saw a cylindrical hall, brightly lit, with massive pillars stretching from floor to dome. Countless flickering lights moved around the hall, humming and clicking. At the center stood a huge column made of metal and crystal, hollow inside, with flashes of something moving rapidly within. Magical projections floated throughout the hall, covered in countless characters and geometric shapes—writing I did not recognize, of course!

“A surge of ecstatic emotion overwhelmed me. Suddenly, my failed expedition felt worthwhile—what an astonishing discovery! A prehistoric relic still functioning, a legacy of a civilization unknown to humanity! It stood before me in all its grandeur. I couldn’t help but loudly invoke the name of the magic goddess, more devoutly than ever. Of course, the goddess gave no sign, no response, but I didn’t mind… I approached the central column, and then made an even more astonishing discovery.

“The entire column… I don’t know if my eyes deceived me or if my excitement clouded my judgment, but it seemed to be made of ‘Eternal Stone Tablets’! The whole column!

“I had seen the Eternal Stone Tablets preserved by the Holy Light Church—only one foot square, edges broken, treasured by priests and buried deep beneath the tombs of successive popes. Such precious artifacts! Yet here before me was a pillar like a clock tower, seemingly made entirely of that material!

“Filled with excitement, I write these words now. I will try to touch that ancient metal—if it truly shares properties with the Eternal Stone Tablets, my touch should trigger some reaction…”

At this point, Gawain frowned.

Modir Velde’s behavior… seemed off.

Though he was indeed a bold adventurer prone to impulsive actions driven by curiosity, his conduct inside that metal tower was reckless to a fault—far from the measured judgment expected of a wise, learned, and powerful mage confronting the unknown.

Moreover, the wildly shaking handwriting and somewhat exaggerated tone suggested something was amiss. It was as if another consciousness had secretly and gradually infiltrated Modir’s actions, subtly altering his behavior while the adventurer remained oblivious.

But since this journal had survived, and Modir Velde had returned safely and continued adventuring for many years afterward, Gawain figured there must be some explanation or reflection from Modir later on (if not, that would be truly alarming). So he steeled himself and continued reading—

“…When my hand touched the column, all doubt vanished.

“Without question, it was an Eternal Stone Tablet—or rather, another ‘artifact’ of vast scale made from the same material.

“I felt knowledge flood into my mind. The place suddenly became familiar. The floating projections’ writing became legible, and I instantly knew the name of this place… Ah, it is called the ‘Monitoring Tower No. 1,’ also known as the ‘Arctic Foundry Center.’ It is a factory, once used to produce weapons…

“I also learned of two other monitoring towers in the world, but they are not factories—they are some kind of… portals? Bridges? I do not fully understand these details…”

The handwriting suddenly grew even more chaotic and illegible, the trembling lines seeming to contain a hint of madness. Gawain furrowed his brow tightly. Beside these words were annotations left by scholars who had restored the ancient text—scrambled, meaningless letters currently undecipherable.

Amid the chaos, Gawain found only a few useful passages:

“…I know how to operate this machine! I know… I also found forging materials; the former users hadn’t fully consumed them… I must record the operation method… (unintelligible)!”

“Knowledge! Precious knowledge!! I must write it all down (scribbles), not a single word can be lost!”

“I plan to craft something to prove I was here, oh… I have an idea… (messy scrawl)”

Each passage was marred by heavy scribbling, unsettling marks that seemed to express some kind of… resistance, as if Modir was repeatedly writing something and then erasing it himself. After several barely readable lines, Gawain’s eyes caught a huge, forceful word scrawled across the next page:

“LEAVE!!”

An entire page contained only those two words.

Gawain’s gaze locked onto them, his brow twitching involuntarily. He was now absolutely certain that Modir Velde had run into serious trouble after entering the tower—his behavior had spiraled out of control, yet not completely. His remaining sanity and near-reflexive habit of recording events had left behind these disturbing words. In the end, he had been incredibly lucky to break free from that state.

The word “LEAVE” marked the final victory in this battle of wills. Yet strangely, the handwriting of these letters differed from any of Modir’s previous styles… Gawain even entertained a bizarre thought—that these letters were neither written by Modir nor by the intrusive consciousness influencing him, but by… a third consciousness.

Following this chilling word, Modir’s handwriting returned to normal:

“I woke up outside the tower…”

A terrible dizziness and headache gripped me for several minutes, and I found that I had no memory whatsoever of what had happened inside the tower—only a lingering, chilling sense of dread.

I found my notebook lying right beside me, as if I had staggered outside and dropped it there myself. Opening it, I saw the words I had written earlier… and a cold sweat broke out across my back.

Goddess of Magic, what on earth had happened?

I had almost no recollection of that experience. From the moment I stepped through that door, everything afterward was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog. I only remembered wandering through some strange place. Had I shouted? Had I written anything? Why had I touched that mysterious, ancient relic? None of it made any sense!

The only thing I could recall was a flash of light—a golden glow—that seemed to bring me back to my senses. Then a scene came to mind: I was furiously scribbling, and suddenly, as if possessed, I wrote the word “Leave” on the paper. I stared at it in horror, as if it held some dark power. Then I turned and ran. More memories surfaced—I remembered sprinting out of the tower like a terrified, foolish child.

As I checked myself for injuries, I found something in the pocket of my robe: a snowflake-shaped amulet. I had no memory of ever having it, but it bore my family’s crest engraved on its surface. It radiated a powerful magic—clearly infused by me—and its material seemed to be none other than eternal stone.

This object unsettled me deeply. It seemed to confirm the madness hinted at in my earlier notes. I instinctively wanted to throw it far away, yet I hesitated. Perhaps this was the only thing I had gained from that mysterious place, the only thing I could bring back. My memories of the tower had been wiped for some unknown reason, and I had no intention of returning.

I needed to think this through carefully.

X Month, X Day. This is an addendum to my earlier notes—after a night of tossing and turning, I still hadn’t decided what to do with the amulet. Then, that very morning, someone—or rather, a humanoid dragon—suddenly appeared.

She was a woman with long golden hair, regal and elegant, breathtakingly beautiful…

(End of chapter)