Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 108

Chapter 108

The stone tile beneath their feet suddenly gave way.

In the same instant, their bodies dropped into empty space.

Bang—!

“Ugh… Teresi!”

The section of floor they had fallen onto shattered into pieces.

“Medeus! Are you all right?!”

Fortunately, both of them had quick reflexes.

Although the tile they were standing on had collapsed, the one between them held firm.

As a result, Nataek and Medeus were able to grab onto it and hang suspended.

Nataek risked a glance into the black void below.

The memory of falling into Delam’s underground aqueduct flashed vividly in his mind, making him dizzy.

Whoa… almost fell again. What is this? Don’t tell me this place has an underground canal too?

Medeus pulled himself up first, and Nataek followed closely behind.

The single-tile surface was far too narrow for two grown men to stand on comfortably.

Medeus held Nataek tightly in his arms so he wouldn’t fall.

Nataek looked down at the space where his feet had just been.

“…”

The sunken square space was thickly lined with sharp spikes —

it looked as though dozens of swords had been driven upright into the ground.

If they had fallen straight down, they would have been instantly impaled along with the shattered stone.

“What in the world…”

No… this… this is overkill. What is this, a pirate’s hideout?

Was there anything like this in Uruk’s storyline?

Nataek thought hard.

Perhaps because he had the habit of skipping through the story, he couldn’t remember any such scene.

But he did recall a similar puzzle that involved a chessboard-patterned floor.

That had shown up in one of the second or third city conquests.

…No doubt about it — the difficulty has been raised.

This chessboard puzzle only had certain tiles that were actual floor.

If you stepped on one of the hollow-shell-like false tiles, it would shatter like the one just now,

dropping you to your death.

Medeus let out a mirthless laugh.

“What have they even done to this temple?”

My thoughts exactly…

“Medeus. There are real and fake floor tiles mixed here. We need to step only on the real ones to get through safely.”

Medeus looked at Nataek — a look that said, And how would you know that?

But neither man had the time to stand around questioning it.

“Which ones are real?”

“Well…”

Nataek studied the floor carefully.

On one of the tiles in the diagonal direction, he saw a faintly carved symbol of Inanna¹.

Could that be it?!

“I think it’s that one. Let me try first.”

What a damn ordeal…

But Medeus didn’t let go of him.

“Stay here. I’ll go.”

“You can’t!”

If that tile turned out to be wrong, and the floor collapsed —

and worse, if the impact caused the neighboring tile to break too —

Medeus could be seriously hurt or even killed.

Nataek looked up at him, face set with determination.

“I’ll go. But hold on to me.”

No matter how you looked at it, it was safer for Medeus to hold Nataek than the other way around.

Nataek had seen enough to know the immense strength and endurance Medeus possessed.

There was no time to hesitate.

Gripping Medeus’s hand tightly, Nataek stepped out of the safety of his arms.

Their fingers interlocked as Nataek set his foot onto the Inanna-marked tile.

He felt Medeus’s grip tighten.

Clunk—.

“Gasp!”

The instant the ground beneath him began to give way, Medeus yanked him back hard.

“Teresi!”

Crash—!

The sound of stone shattering rang out.

Unbelievable!

Nataek once again found himself in Medeus’s arms.

The Inanna symbol had been a bust.

Then what was the right one?

Nataek’s eyes swept over the other tiles —

and then he spotted a tile inscribed with letters.

They were in the alphabet, but unreadable to him.

Nataek knew exactly what that meant — he had handled something like this behind the reed wall in Delam.

Go, my translator!

“Medeus, what does that say?”

Medeus glanced at the tile Nataek indicated.

“Sky.”

“Sky…”

The moment he heard that word, the title of this storyline surfaced in Nataek’s mind —

The Dog that Cries Out to the Heavens.

That’s it. That’s the one.

“I think that’s the right way. I’ll try again.”

Just like before, he held Medeus’s hand as he moved —

and this time, nothing happened.

Medeus also shifted over, now enveloped again in Nataek’s hold.

From there, there were more tiles bearing letters.

Using Medeus as his translator, Nataek decoded them one by one,

moving in the order that matched the story’s title.

[To the heavens]

[Even if you gaze up]

[Your land]

[Can never]

[Become the]

[Heavens.]

The unreadable script carried a weighty message — something almost like a warning to someone.

Once they safely crossed the chessboard floor, Medeus asked,

“Teresi, you’re not hurt?”

“No. As you can see. But more importantly — let’s go, quickly!”

Nataek took the lead, sprinting toward where Luhal-Zagesi had disappeared.

They ran for some time down a dark, enclosed corridor.

At the end, there was a faint orange glow.

They both burst into greater speed.

When they finally emerged from the darkness—

“Aagh!”

Spread before them was the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield.

The corridor had led straight to the temple entrance.

The door they had barred was now wide open,

and in the temple’s lobby, the Kish army and Uruk soldiers were entangled in brutal combat.

Nataek and Medeus darted their eyes around, searching for Luhal-Zagesi —

but disguised in a soldier’s uniform, he had already blended into the melee.

There was no telling which one he was.

“Teresi. Don’t leave my side.”

Medeus drew his sword and began cutting down the Uruk soldiers pressing toward them.

100 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 89,300)

Nataek pressed himself to the wall, bow in hand, scanning ceaselessly.

400 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 88,900)

What should I do? Is he even still in here?

300 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 88,600)

Then, a sudden thought flashed through Nataek’s mind —

Do you remember, during the Uruk storyline, the “God’s Execution Ground” quest? Near the temple entrance, there’s a section of slightly worn bricks. Break those, and the entrance and one wall lose balance and collapse completely. Keep it in mind — use it when necessary.

It was something the diviner had once told him.

600 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 88,000)

“Medeus!”

Fwhip—!

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

Nataek loosed an arrow at an enemy lunging for Medeus, then said,

“Help me get to the entrance.”

“What?”

Clang—!

100 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 87,900)

Slashing another foe aside, Medeus glanced at the entrance.

It was crammed with soldiers — obviously the most dangerous spot in the temple.

The “God’s Execution Ground” quest was, as its name implied, meant to turn the lobby into an execution site.

If the wall was brought down as the quest described,

anyone still inside — including Luhal-Zagesi — would be trapped.

He couldn’t guarantee it,

but Nataek was strongly convinced Luhal-Zagesi hadn’t yet escaped.

“I think I might have a way to catch him!”

Medeus hesitated for a split second, then bit his lip.

“Damn it… Follow me!”

500 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 87,400)

Under Medeus’s cover, Nataek moved toward the wall near the entrance —

but there was no damaged brick in sight, only smooth, flawless stone.

Worn wall… worn bricks… Where are they? Is it on the other side?

His gaze flicked to the opposite wall — splattered with soldiers’ blood.

Damn. That side will be harder to search…

He began scanning from the base all the way upward.

Where is it? Where? Where?!

At that moment, a long shadow darted toward him.

1,000 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 86,400)

Clang—!

The sound of steel clashing rang out as Medeus’s back pressed to Nataek’s.

Spinning quickly, Nataek saw Medeus parrying Agadis’s blade —

Agadis, who had been about to strike Nataek from behind.

Medeus bared his teeth and growled savagely,

“Don’t touch him.”

1,500 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 84,900)

Staggering, Agadis steadied his grip and swung his arm again.

“I am bound to protect Uruk. You were the one who taught me never to turn my back when there’s something to defend, Medeus.”

Once, they had trusted their backs to each other —

now they opposed each other more fiercely than anyone else.

Clang—!

Nataek quickly sidestepped the two locked in battle, pressing his shoulder to the wall.

That’s when he spotted a metal plate fixed to the door pillar —

and it looked eerily like… a breaker box² bolted to a wall.

Something with a hidden mechanism?

1,000 of Medeus’s luck points are consumed. (Remaining: 83,900)

In a battlefield like this, instinct had to come before reason to survive.

Nataek trusted his gut and was about to sprint toward the pillar —

when he saw a soldier lunging to drive his sword into Medeus’s back while he was locked with Agadis.

That bastard!

“Medeus!”

notes:

1. Inanna — Major goddess in the Sumerian pantheon, associated with love, beauty, war, and justice; her symbol appears here as part of the floor puzzle.

2. Breaker box — The narrator likens the metal plate to a modern electrical breaker box; in this ancient setting, it implies some kind of concealed trigger or mechanical device.