I Became the Genius of the Gigant Academy - Chapter 51:

There are two things in this world whose origins have yet to be discovered: colossus and ruins. However, the colossus is overwhelming when it comes to what ordinary people are more familiar with. Unlike the colossus, which poses a real threat to humanity, there is a high possibility that ordinary people will never see ruins in their lifetime.

‘When it comes to being a rider, you will often be mobilized to explore ruins.’

However, this only applied to Abel and May, who had only been in school for less than a semester. That’s if things were to go their way. Abel looked at May as he thought to himself,

‘Does this apply to May and I?’

Abel has visited all the ruins implemented in the game. Although it’s not an actual experience, an indirect experience is still an experience. Thanks to that, he knew the layouts and the risk factors. And as far as Abel knows, May has also explored the ruins. It had been about 30 minutes since they entered the ruins through a passageway in a cave. May spoke up.

“I don’t think there are any Guardians around here.”

“Really ?”

“The traces on the ground were cut off from the back. I guess that means they don’t usually take this route.”

Abel listened and then decided to say something he’d been thinking about.

“Umm. Actually, I already knew that.”

“What?”

May looked at Abel, wondering what he was talking about. Abel carefully chose his words and opened his mouth.

“I have explored the ruins before. As an errand boy.”

May looked confused at Abel’s sudden confession.

“An errand boy? What kind of crazy…… people take a child to the ruins?”

“It’s not necessarily the ruins, but it happens often. No one can do anything more comfortably than a child from the slum.” Abel said bitterly.

“No one cares if you die.”

Of course, he was making that up. No matter how much he wandered the street, he knew that exploring the ruins was a high risk of death. But that actually happened–Many slum kids are hired to do dirty work, even if it’s not necessarily exploring the ruins.

This was because they didn’t have to take responsibility even if they were to die, and it saved money. That’s how the world is. May’s mouth dropped open a few times at Abel’s words, then she spoke again.

“What else do you know?”

“A few things. For one, there are traps where the Guardians don’t roam.”

“I see.”

At that, May scanned her surroundings thoroughly.

“I guess we’ll have to be careful.”

“Yeah. We should scan our surroundings as thoroughly as possible.”

The two exchanged a few words, then slowly began to move forward. The origins of the ruins are uncertain, and there are various theories. In the past, the theory that an ancient civilization simply left behind the ruins was strong, but in recent years it has been undermined by evidence to the contrary.

‘This was because there were quite a few traces of colossus in the ruins,’

The same goes for the Guardian of the Ruins. Guardians are often mistaken for golems, but in reality, they are much more similar to the Colossus. They can’t be created with current technology, but they contributed a lot to the creation of the Gigant. So what exactly are these ruins? From a gamer’s perspective, even Abel doesn’t know. This was because the ending doesn’t reveal its identity.

‘So, it’s the next game, or it’s going to be sold as DLC, or it’s just a Macguffin. There were a lot of different stories.’

This is something that he was extremely unfortunate in. It would have been of much greater help if he had known earlier. Even with those thoughts in his head, Abel did not neglect to look around him.

“Ah! Here!”

As he continued further, he noticed something strange. May, walking right next to him, froze at the sound of Abel’s voice. Abel pinpointed a spot so May could take a good look.

“The ground right there sticks out a little. Can you see it?”

“Huh….. yeah .”

“Let’s just keep some distance and pass by.”

May nodded, and the two walked past the protruding block while keeping some distance. After a while, they discovered several more traps, some of which could only be detected with magic. If May hadn’t moved while spreading her magic powers, she would have been stuck. While moving at a snail’s pace, May pointed to the floor as she spoke.

“Here, it’s the Guardian’s trail.”

They had finally passed the dangerous trap section. But that didn’t mean they could relax. In terms of risk, the Guardian was more dangerous than the trap.

“Let’s move as quietly as possible.”

“Okay .”

The two agreed and walked forward cautiously. In general, when exploring ruins, it is rare to explore without a gigant. Even Civilians tend to bring at least a Midget class somehow, and when working for the government, they bring a Tito class. Otherwise, they would have to deal with the guardian with their bare body.

‘Right now, if we were to encounter the Guardian, we’d die.’

Infamous Scans

Although the Guardian was smaller than a Tito, its fighting power was similar to that of a skilled rider and an outstanding knight riding the Tito. Therefore, the two had to walk forward slowly while breathing quietly. How long has it been? At that time their forehead was wet with sweat from tension.

Kung! Kung, Kung!

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard not far away.

‘It’s close!’

There must have been a curved road ahead, but the sound was very close. Abel, realizing it was impossible to get away, pulled May into a tight hug. May looked at Abel in surprise, but he was already concentrating with his eyes closed.

Kung, kung, kung!

The sound of footsteps got closer, and it wasn’t long before the guardian appeared in front of them. May’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at the Guardian, who was holding a sword that looked terrifying at first glance, And after a while…

Kung, kung , kung, kung

The guardian passed by as if he hadn’t seen anything. Abel and May took a breath long after they stopped hearing the Guardian’s footsteps.

“Whoa.”

“What just happened?”

May asked Abel, who took a long breath. Abel briefly answered.

“It’s a vision.”

“Did you have a vision like that?”

“Yes. It’s a vision within a vision.”

What he used was none other than the ‘assimilation’ ability. He had obtained the assimilation after defeating the Ironwolves, but Abel said that without thinking.

“I see…”

May eventually nodded as if she was convinced and spoke to Abel with an expressionless face.

“Do you think you can let go now?”

“Oh, yes.”

Abel realized that he was still holding her and quickly stepped back. May didn’t seem to mind.

“Let’s go. We don’t know when it’ll come back.”

“Okay.”

With that, the two walked toward the direction the Guardian had come from. For some hours, the trap section and the guardian patrol section were repeated several times.

‘I don’t know if we’re going in or out.’

Abel thought as he walked forward. If they had entered through the main entrance, he would have at least had a rough idea of where they were going, but the two entered through a side passage. So they decided on a path and kept going, not knowing where it would lead to

‘We must be heading inward.’

Abel thought as he took a step forward.

Boom!

A strange sound was heard from somewhere. Abel turned his head towards the source of the sound. It was May’s right foot. Abel and May’s eyes met.

“This is a mistake…”

“Run!”

Abel held onto May’s hand and immediately ran forward.

Kugugugugugugung-!

A loud noise began to sound from behind as if it was on cue. Abel looked back for a moment and saw that the pathway was collapsing from the point where May had first stepped on the trap. Abel immediately turned his head forward and started running again with all his might. May also ran eagerly with a pale face.

Kugugoogung!

They didn’t know how far they had gone, but the sound followed them. Thanks to this, the two had to run forward like crazy without paying attention to other traps.

-crrrk!

There was also a time when a guardian broke in. However, because the trap had already been activated, he was unable to enter the collapsed passage.

“Aaaah!”

Abel’s legs were hurting as if they were going to burst, but he gave his legs more strength as he released his energy.

Kugung…….

They had been sprinting like that for almost 10 minutes. Slowly, the noise began to recede.

“Hyuk, whoa. Abel, I think it’s over.”

Abel, who was running frantically, looked behind him at the sound of May’s voice. Just as she said, he could see the collapsing pathway slowly approaching a halt. Abel didn’t let his guard down and he moved forward a little more before he stopped.

“Whoa, whoa.”

“Whoa.”

For a while, the only sound that could be heard in the passageway was the sound of the two’s heavy breathing. They ran so hard that their lungs felt like they would explode, and they were drenched in sweat. When their breathing calmed down a little, May opened her mouth.

“……I’m sorry .”

At her apology, Abel shook his head.

“It’s fine, I didn’t notice it either.”

It wasn’t just a comment. It was true that Abel had been scanning the floor and hadn’t spotted the trap beforehand. Before May could say anything else, Abel changed the subject.

“Where are we anyway? It’s loud, and if there’s a Guardian nearby, they’ll be here soon……”

Abel, who had been talking, suddenly dropped his mouth in disbelief. May, who had been watching him, turned her head to follow his gaze at Abel’s strange reaction, and soon did the same. Where their gazes were directed, there was a small door. It was the same color as the walls of the passageway, and it was dark, so they didn’t notice it immediately.

“A door…”

“It’s a door.”

The two turned and made eye contact again. Abel said with sparkling eyes.

“Let’s go.”

It was a moment of happiness for him.

»————- ★ ————-«

kuguguguguugu——

The passage shook with a distant sound, and a man in a white robe holding a cane narrowed his eyes at the sensation.

“Sounds like it’s coming from quite a distance,”

He muttered, and a similarly robed figure behind him bowed as he replied.

“Yes, that’s right .”

“Didn’t you say there was no sign of anyone else coming in first?”

“That’s……there was certainly no sign of any entrance.”

“So you’re saying this just happened for no reason?”

The man in white said with a sharp reprimanding tone in his voice, and the man at his back replied, sweating profusely.

“I’ve heard that some of the ruins are so old that the traps or guardians malfunction due to age.”

“Hmm,”

The man with the cane gritted his teeth in disapproval and looked ahead.

“We’ll see if that’s true or not as we go on. Let’s go.”

“Yes, yes.”

The two ended their brief conversation and moved forward, leaving the remains of a destroyed Guardian.

[To be continued.]