Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 105

Chapter 105

 

If it had only been about notifying him of a limited amount of time, it would not have been a big deal.

The problem was that the system had arbitrarily shortened that time. The fact that Nataek’s lung capacity was now noticeably reduced compared to what his body could actually endure confirmed that point.

In contrast, the time it took for the gauge bar to fill up in order to break the brick wall was unbearably slow.

Why does it suddenly feel like the difficulty has gone up…?

“Ah.”

All of a sudden, one piece of information about Sununki¹ flashed through Nataek’s mind. He squeezed his eyes shut. There was something he had overlooked.

Sununki’s difficulty increased as one conquered cities over and over again. It wasn’t that the story itself became more complex — rather, tedious little aspects gradually got harder, wearing the player down.

For example: shortening the amount of time you could hold your breath, lengthening the time it took to break a wall, raising the defensive power of enemy troops compared to the first city, or, in addition, removing the friendly signposts that guided you in the first city.

Nataek’s first real conquest had been Delam.

The second was Uruk.

That meant restrictions that hadn’t been there in Delam had now been introduced.

Just how much harder had it gotten…?

After thinking for a while, Nataek shook his head and drew in a deep breath.

From the beginning, Uruk had been set as the default first target of conquest. Even if the difficulty went up in a tutorial-level city, it would cancel itself out and be manageable. No — it had to be.

With a splash, Nataek’s body sank into the water again. He brought the sharp tip of the chisel to the gap, and again the green ring appeared.

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Simply touching it didn’t make it fill. Only when Nataek began scraping downwards with force did the ring begin to charge.

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I don’t even have to press that hard.

Nataek moved the chisel with all his strength.

■ ■ ■ □ □ □ □

But with that, his air also depleted faster.

Don’t let go. Don’t let go.

Nataek gulped the air stored in his mouth.

■ ■ ■ ■ □ □ □

Then, when there was nothing left to swallow, the air he had been holding began to run out, his throat squeezing shut.

“Ugh…”

He puffed his cheeks to endure to the limit. Suddenly, a red warning light began flashing before his eyes.

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“Pff—khh!”

His face twisted into a grimace. His cheeks were puffed out like a blowfish, but his throat was drawn as tight as a deflated balloon. It didn’t feel like his own will — it was as if the system had stuck its hand down his throat and was strangling his windpipe.

No! Just a little more! No, no—!

With a foop! sound, bubbles burst from his mouth, followed by a gurgle. Instead of coughing, water poured into his throat. In the dark water, a red siren wailed. Even then, Nataek didn’t release the chisel.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ □

“Kk—pff!”

Damn it! Please, just a little longer!

Water finally entered his nose. Seeing Nataek’s back convulse, Medeus pulled the rope up in alarm.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

With a cheerful ding! the green light met at the twelve o’clock position on the ring. The completed green donut blinked once, then with a rumbling sound, a massive block of stone began to crumble. The pieces were swept away by the river.

“Pwah!”

“Teresi! Are you okay?!”

“Cough, cough, kkhh—kk! Uwaahh! Ugh…”

“What are you doing!? If you’re out of breath, you can come up and go down again later!”

“Pffhh… khhhng!”

Nataek blew his nose, forcing the water out. The inside of his nasal cavity stung so much that tears welled up.

Like I wanted to do that? If I came out, I’d have to start over from the beginning…

“You sure you’re okay?” Medeus placed his hand on Nataek’s cheek in concern. Nataek nodded, voice nasal.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Medeus sighed shortly and wiped under Nataek’s nose with his wet hand. Regardless, Nataek still couldn’t open his eyes from the stinging in his nose.

“It’s broken, so we should be able to go in now.”

Medeus nodded with a troubled look and once again wiped Nataek’s face.

Medeus, holding the rope, dove in first through the hole. Nataek had feared the broken stone might bring down the whole wall, but it was needless worry — the wall’s bricks, tightly bound inside and out with bitumen, were sturdier than expected. He swam through the opening, following Medeus.

“Pwah!”

As he emerged, the sky above Uruk’s walls came into view. It was the very place where he and Medeus had first bathed together.

Time flies. Back when we bathed here, I never imagined we’d get tied up in something like this.

Looking back, Nataek was struck by how much had changed. The tall pair’s bodies dripped water as they left the pool.

Medeus swirled his hand in the river, retrieving a large leather bag. Held down with a rock, it had been waterproofed with a thin layer of bitumen inside and out. Cutting it open with a sword, two sets of Uruk army uniforms spilled out — the goods Nataek had asked Hak for via the diviner.

Nataek took one and said,

“These clothes are really filthy…”

“They must’ve stolen one from the laundry pile.”

He brought it to his nose and caught the sour stench of sweat.

What a life I have…

Nataek squeezed his eyes shut and put on the uniform. Medeus’s outfit must have been just the same, but his drooping eyes didn’t so much as twitch in distaste.

“I hope the smell doesn’t stick after we go back.”

But then he frowned and muttered under his breath,

“…I’ll scrub it off you as soon as we get back.”

Sniffing his own uniform, Nataek tilted his head sheepishly.

True. Even Medeus probably can’t easily stand this stench.

It was a quiet night in Uruk, everyone asleep. The two moved from building to tree trunk, back pressed to the walls.

“This way.”

Medeus gestured, and Nataek followed quickly. Two guards stood at the East Gate of Uruk. Looking around, he spotted one patrolling along the wall and another on the stairs up to the bastion. No other movement.

“Incredible,” Medeus clicked his tongue.

“They’ve halved their defense force.”

After they had been driven out, a middle gate had been erected at the far end of the market — blocking the road to the temple and mansions. Closing at sunset, it made the inner districts where nobles and priests lived even more secure. At the same time, the East Gate’s defenses had grown lax.

“Idiots.”

All thanks to an agreement with the Gutians²: aid in invading Ur in exchange for Uruk’s safety. The newly built middle gate was essentially the dividing line between those worth protecting and those who weren’t.

“Teresi. Stay hidden here.”

Nataek grabbed him.

“I’ll help too.”

He hadn’t come along just to watch Medeus’s martial arts from the front row. Swiftly, Nataek took a Potion of the Archer from his chest, downed it in secret, and set the bottle silently on the ground.

Effect of ‘Potion of the Archer’ has been activated.

Effect lasts for 3 hours.

Four guards. That meant he had to handle about two. Nataek slung his bow from his back and nocked an arrow. Seeing this, Medeus also carefully drew his bow.

“That one on the stairs — can you hit him?”

“Yes.”

Nataek aimed at the stairs. To protect Medeus, he had to hit any target without fail.

The bowstring grew taut with a whoomm sound, and a small circle appeared in his vision.

Tighter, tighter—

Thwip—!

“Urk!”

An arrow in his chest, the guard toppled forward and rolled down. As the other three turned their focus there, Medeus shot the one on the wall, then dashed forward like the wind and finished off the two on gate duty. It happened in a blink.

Reality’s more unreal than the game.

Nataek crouched and hurried toward Medeus. Together they unlatched the bar and cracked the gate open. As if waiting, the infantry captain and several soldiers slipped inside.

“Clear them out. Until the signal’s given, don’t get spotted.”

“Yes.”

Leaving the Kish³ troops to execute the plan, Medeus grabbed Nataek’s wrist.

“Teresi.”

Okay. Let’s go!

Nataek nodded and dashed into the market after Medeus. Their infiltration was aimed less at conquering Uruk itself and more at capturing Luhal-Zagesi⁴. When real battle broke out, soldiers and commanders alike would head outside to confront the enemy — but Luhal-Zagesi was the kind to hide at the first sign of danger. Without finding him, they couldn’t claim complete conquest of Uruk.

Thanks to tightened security past the middle gate, they needed another route to the temple. As they crept through the dark, Nataek spoke cautiously.

“The market’s layout has changed a lot. Do you think the temple area is still the same?”

He had entered Uruk’s market daily for his duties as a servant. But back then, the layout had been different. They must have cleared some stalls when installing the middle gate.

“They probably changed it just for the gate. The temple side should be fine.”

“Then as planned, let’s go to the tav—”

“Shh!”

Medeus suddenly covered Nataek’s mouth and pulled him into his arms. As Nataek blinked and pressed the back of his head to Medeus’s chest, a torch’s light poked from around the corner, followed by a tired voice.

“I’m dead tired. The East’s been quiet lately — wish they’d shorten our shifts.”

“Right? Lord Ensi⁵ struck a great deal with the Gutians.”

Nataek’s ears pricked up.

“A great deal? More like he threw Ur to the wolves so we could live.”

“Hey, come on! What matters is we lived, right?”

So Ur was devoured by the Gutians — and it seems Luhal-Zagesi was involved. Truly a cursed bastard.

The yellow light wavered away along the ground and slipped into an alley. Only then did Medeus let Nataek go. In the dark, just meeting each other’s gaze was enough for Nataek to read his thoughts.

You think Luhal-Zagesi’s the worst kind of scum too, huh?

Medeus caught Nataek’s look and smiled softly, pressing a pale index finger to Nataek’s forehead and rubbing it.

“Follow me. We’ll have to move quickly.”

notes:

1. Sununki — A fictional in-universe game system/mechanic in the story, where difficulty rises as the player conquers more cities.

2. Gutians — A real ancient people from the Zagros Mountains who, historically, invaded parts of Mesopotamia.

3. Kish — One of the ancient Sumerian city-states, allied with the protagonists here.

4. Luhal-Zagesi — Likely a fictionalized version of historical Lugal-Zagesi, king of Umma, later ruler of Uruk, known as an enemy to Sargon of Akkad.

5. Ensi — A Sumerian title, roughly meaning “governor” or “city ruler.”