And waiting there already were three other figures whose faces were similarly concealed.
Two of them stood together and appeared to be companions.
The third was a hunched old man standing alone beside the well.
The moment Audrey arrived, the old man spoke:
"I'm certain there's a worthwhile ruin down below. There should be quite a few valuable things inside. Everyone here knows my reputation."
"As for what kind of ruin it is exactly, I'm not entirely sure. But based on some of the things I excavated, I suspect it dates back to the Cromwell era."
The moment the words "Cromwell era" were spoken, everyone besides the old man, including Audrey, visibly reacted.
Ruins from the Cromwell era.
As long as their luck was not terrible, they would almost certainly find plenty of valuable treasures inside.
After all, during that period, Grand Duke Cromwell had launched the Fog Capital Coup and dispersed Parliament with military force before beginning a massive suppression of nobles across the Empire.
He confiscated lands and assets on a huge scale.
To avoid losing their wealth to the unstoppable Grand Duke Cromwell, many noble families had chosen to secretly hide away their treasures for future use.
Unfortunately for them, a large portion of those nobles later ended up on the guillotine thanks to Cromwell himself.
Naturally, the locations of the hidden treasures died together with them.
As a result, ruins from the Cromwell era were often filled with hidden riches.
And if one was truly lucky, they might even discover complete advancement potions prepared by noble families for themselves or their heirs.
The moment the old man finished speaking, he already knew these people were tempted.
Which meant they would not hold back once the exploration began.
Thinking this, the smile hidden beneath the old man's mask widened further.
Then he continued:
"In that case, we'll proceed according to our prior agreement."
"I'll lead everyone through the passage I excavated."
"Afterward, we'll explore together, and everything we find will be divided equally among us. Agreed?"
This had already been discussed beforehand, so the other three simply nodded in agreement.
Then, under the old man's guidance, all of them entered the abandoned sewer entrance.
---
Meanwhile, Mozo had already arrived at the library early and begun his self-study for the day.
He had already completed all his coursework and credits.
All that remained now was graduation itself, after which he could take the recommendation letters jointly issued by the university and his professors and apply to major companies.
But that did not mean he could relax.
He was a powerless commoner.
In this world filled with nobles and exploitation, he had no choice but to continuously improve his knowledge and abilities.
So even though graduation was already guaranteed, he still came to the library to study.
After all, in an era where the illiteracy rate exceeded eighty percent, knowledge truly was solid gold.
Just as Mozo selected today's study materials, he suddenly heard a series of small exclamations and disturbances nearby.
Immediately, Mozo rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
Libraries were sacred places.
Places that demanded silence.
Under normal circumstances, even instructors and professors would remain quiet and respectful upon entering.
But there were exceptions.
Namely, the great nobles.
They were the Empire's true ruling class, and even sacred places like universities and libraries were expected to yield before nobility of even greater "sanctity."
Sure enough, moments later, a young nobleman entered the library surrounded by a group of attendants.
At the same time, Mozo noticed a beautiful young woman intimately holding onto the nobleman's arm.
That was the Rose of the Flower Court, Anna.
One of the famous beauties of the Flower Court alongside Audrey, and one of the most stunning girls in all of Krenwell University.
The difference was that Audrey was a commoner, while Anna was a noble.
Though merely the daughter of a baron, that status alone was enough to create an enormous divide between herself and ordinary people.
Thus, this Rose of the Flower Court naturally found it easier to appear beside great nobles.
Still, according to what Mozo had previously heard from classmates, Anna had never been particularly close with any specific noble heir before, though she had kept several of them hanging around her.
And yet now she was behaving so intimately beside the son of a great noble house.
Had her family finally decided which major house to align themselves with?
Or had something else happened?
But the thought only lingered briefly before Mozo stopped caring.
Instead, he looked toward the second floor of the library with unconcealed envy as the two of them headed upstairs together.
That place contained knowledge only nobles were allowed to access.
Although Krenwell University was a national university and officially permitted commoners to enroll, many restrictions against commoners still existed openly.
For example, the library.
Commoners were only permitted to study and borrow books on the first floor.
The second floor belonged exclusively to nobles.
Above that was the third floor, a place even ordinary nobles were forbidden from entering.
It seemed to be reserved solely for great nobles and high-ranking officials.
Every floor was guarded by armed guards carrying loaded firearms.
Though the weapons looked like outdated muskets in Mozo's eyes, they were still more than capable of killing people with ease.
It was one of the most heavily secured locations within the university.
And soon enough, another wave of whispers spread through the library.
Because the Rose of the Flower Court had accompanied the noble heir directly toward the third floor, a place almost nobody ever entered.
This only made Mozo even more envious.
Being a noble really was wonderful!
If he ever had the opportunity, he absolutely intended to climb into the noble class himself.
---
Deep within the sewer ruins, the mask on Audrey's face had long since disappeared somewhere unknown.
Even her newly purchased knight attire, designed specifically for mobility and combat, had already been torn in multiple places.
Combined with her frantic footsteps, it was more than enough to reveal that Audrey was currently facing enormous danger.
Within the maze-like ruins, Audrey repeatedly looked back in terror to see whether the monstrous guardian was still pursuing her.
At the same time, regret flooded her heart.
This place was not some ruin from the Cromwell era at all.
It was something far older.
An elven ruin.
And worst of all, there was still a functioning guardian inside!
Suddenly, the wall in front of her exploded apart.
A gigantic steel arm smashed through the stone with a deafening crash, blocking Audrey's path forward.
At the same time, another steel arm burst through the wall behind her, sealing off her retreat as well.
The next moment, a massive and bizarre steel puppet forced its way through the shattered walls.
Its crimson eyes locked directly onto Audrey, the intruder.
Faced with such a scene, Audrey's pupils contracted sharply as she reached toward her waist.
Then her face turned bitter.
She had run out of runes.
It was over.
She no longer possessed any means of escape.
Her legs trembling uncontrollably, Audrey collapsed against the wall behind her and stared despairingly at the guardian puppet before her.
Her beautiful face had long since gone pale.
At the same time, the puppet spoke.
It was an awkward and elongated language, yet strangely beautiful and oddly familiar.
"Intruder, die in fear and repentance!"
(Ancient Elven)
With a sharp metallic sound, a runic greatsword extended from the steel arm before slowly lowering toward Audrey's swan-like neck.
Hearing those words, Audrey, now completely cornered, could only curl herself into a ball while crying desperately.
She screamed prayers toward every god she knew, begging for divine mercy.
But it was useless.
The gods did not hear her voice.
And even if they had, they would never answer a prayer lacking sacrifice or ritual.
Finally, just as the blade lightly cut across Audrey's beautiful neck, she suddenly remembered the awkward phrase Mozo had once spoken.
Then she instinctively shouted it aloud:
"The King of Glorious Radiance Greater Than the Sun!"
(Ancient Elven)
And at that moment, a miracle occurred.
The steel puppet halted its movements entirely before speaking in astonishment:
"You actually know the King's honorific?!"
"Could you be a slave?!"
(Ancient Elven)