Chapter 98: The Jungle of Ancient Secrets

  After emerging from the scorching, dry desert, the participants found themselves teleported into a tropical jungle filled with ancient ruins. They were met by a giant tortoise, upon whose back stood three monkey monks with shaven heads.

  Two of the monkeys sat in meditation, while the third slowly waved a strange bronze staff adorned with numerous bells. With every swing of the staff, the bells emitted a soft, gentle sound that made Emilia's heart flutter for a moment. It felt as though she might sit down on the tortoise's back and begin meditating herself at any second.

  In that moment, the tortoise opened its mouth and spoke with a human voice.

  "Greetings, participants. I am Shamuramat, guardian of ancient Assyrian knowledge. You were meant to be welcomed personally by the guardian of this place—the Queen of the Semiramides, Caucasus. However, an ancient evil has been awakened in this forest, and she is occupied searching for the jungle's salvation. Even I and my monks were forced to leave the seclusion of our monastery to come and meet you."

  The participants began to mutter quietly among themselves, discussing the strange situation. Alexander, however, stepped forward boldly and asked the tortoise with a bow.

  "Ancient and revered Shamuramat, I wish peace upon your monastery, but we seek to pass through this challenge and our time is limited. How can we move forward, or perhaps even help the Semiramides?"

  The tortoise closed its eyes and drifted into thought. These creatures were often described as exceptionally wise, but for them, time did not move quickly. Quite the opposite—they often remained untouched by the erosion of time, living for thousands of years. Because of this, everyone waited a long while until the tortoise finally opened its eyes and spoke again.

  "There are many things that could be done, but you are still young and inexperienced. Yet, perhaps like every young tortoise that must hatch from its egg and find its own way to the water, you too must learn to survive in this world."

  "Here are one thousand spirit-warding talismans and a map of the forest. Place the talismans throughout the woods, and you will be able to assist in the battle against the evil spirit and its armies. In doing so, you might earn a reward from the Queen and, if you are lucky, you will be able to proceed to the next challenge."

  As the tortoise spoke, the monkey monks on its back suddenly jolted from their trance and began a series of incantations.

  Soon, a flock of pigeons flew toward them, carrying a magical mirror. The tortoise closed its eyes, and shortly after, a multitude of paper talismans emerged from the mirror. They drifted through the air and landed before Alexander, who had been the first to address the guardian.

  Several participants rushed to ask more questions, but the tortoise did not answer them and began to turn away slowly. At that moment, Emilia, who had already examined the talismans with her "Dispel Ignorance" skill, decided to show some courage and stepped forward.

  "My name is Emilia, and I also wish to help in the fight against the armies of the ancient evil and its spirits. I have some experience in making talismans and perhaps I can help by creating and placing more of these."

  The tortoise paused for a moment and tilted its head slightly. One of the monkey monks, the one holding the bronze staff with the bells, looked at Emilia appraisingly. After shaking the staff, he simply nodded his head as if waiting for something more.

  Emilia did not know what to do, but Elion hurried to whisper in her ear. "Show them some of your talismans so they know what you are capable of."

  Emilia quickly pulled various talismans made of paper and wood from her ring, presenting them to the monk with both hands.

  He examined them one by one and finally, slowly and thoughtfully, shook the bells several times.

  Then, with a single leap, the monk landed back on the tortoise’s back, and the group slowly set off back toward the jungle.

  Emilia was completely bewildered and didn't know what to say, but at that moment, a large leaf drifted down from a nearby tree. She caught it instinctively and saw an illustrated description of a slightly simplified version of the talisman—one central and three auxiliary glyphs, along with a detailed explanation of the mental component and the necessary mantras.

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  Emilia marveled at the skill of the tortoise and the monks as she began to study the diagrams. The language and calligraphy within them felt ancient, and the formulas were somewhat archaic and long-winded, but everything was explained with perfect clarity.

  Something else, however, made a far stronger impression on her—this was one of those strange eastern talismans that Emilia had never crafted before, though she had occasionally seen them sold by ships arriving from distant lands.

  Talismans from this school also utilized the symbols of the Celestial Language, but their mental components often relied on strange mantras and chants instead of the cold, rigid rules she had learned from the Children of the Moon.

  As far as she could tell, the purpose of these mantras was to unify their effect, making it easier to place interconnected glyphs into orderly, massive structures. This allowed many apprentices and masters to set up their formations with significantly greater ease.

  "How interesting," Emilia thought to herself. "Perhaps I should research different glyph systems as well. And who knows—one day, maybe I’ll be able to invent my own, inspired by organized models like Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements." She began to daydream. Her eyes stared into empty space, and her lips curled into a faint, happy smile.

  "She's staring into nothing again," Rumi said quietly.

  "If she starts drooling, here, wipe it with this cloth," Elion joked, pulling out a white satin handkerchief.

  "Hey... I am not going to drool!" Emilia snapped, forced ruthlessly from her dreams by their words.

  "Aha, but every time you hear about a talisman or a formation, you become exactly like this," Rumi said casually. "You start thinking about things and grinning with a blank stare."

  "That’s because I love magic," Emilia insisted.

  "But aren't there other forms of magic? Like free casting, for instance?" Elion asked, looking puzzled.

  "Yes, there are, but they aren't accessible to me at this stage. Or they’re just too expensive. My goal is to one day become the greatest mage of all time. And the Celestial Language helps endlessly. Can I really be the greatest mage without a flying ship or a floating island? Or a magic tower inscribed with countless spells?"

  "Exactly, exactly," Rumi hurried to agree. "And your hat should have many mysterious symbols on it. Or even better, it should be alive and have a mouth and eyes."

  "And it should always speak in riddles," Elion suggested.

  "And have a stutter," Rumi added.

  "No thanks, I’ll stick with a perfectly ordinary hat... with many mysterious runes, a pointed tip, and secret magics woven into it. It will have cute little animal figures inscribed on it, and it will be blue."

  "Black is better," Rumi suggested.

  "Black is boring, like a graveyard."

  "Gold then."

  "No, I want blue!" Emilia insisted. Rumi, however, continued to poke fun at the kingdom’s future greatest mage, especially her choice of attire.

  Elion couldn't take it anymore and instead began to examine the talismans, the map, and the instructions for placing them.

  One thing was quite clear and simple—the group would once again have to stick together, reach the designated spots, and set the talismans there.

  Elion sighed and looked around—several groups were arguing over the route, Rumi and Emilia were arguing just for the sake of it, and a carriage pulled by black horses flew across the sky. To the left, several beautiful vines hung with freshly bloomed flowers, their scent drawing in mosquitoes and other annoying insects.

  "Wait a minute—a carriage?!" he suddenly realized.

  At that moment, the carriage veered toward the participants and soon landed on the ground. A young woman stepped out, dressed in clothes made of massive banana leaves.

  "I heard that some of you wish to help with the crafting of talismans," she asked.

  Emilia, looking quite confused by the situation, quickly scrambled to her feet and bowed to the woman.

  "Yes, me. My name is Emilia, and I would be happy to help," she hurried to introduce herself.

  "I am Master Cerere. Show me what you can do."

  For the second time today, Emilia presented her talismans, and Cerere examined them carefully. She lingered for a long while over those made of tree bark and even studied the formations on Emilia’s armor. Then, she paused for a moment and nodded approvingly.

  "For an outsider, you’ll do. Though there is still room for improvement. I did not know there was a student of the Children of the Moon in this group."

  The others turned toward Emilia, and some even narrowed their eyes suspiciously. No one liked the Children of the Moon and the curses they were known to bring. Especially now, during such vital challenges.

  "Oh, it's nothing special, I just learned one or two of their glyphs," Emilia hurried to explain, nodding her head bashfully. She was slightly afraid of the stares from these nobles, who were capable of harming both her and her family with a single wave of a hand.

  "Hm, you have learned them well enough to be of use to us. Come with me; you will assist the young Semiramides."

  With a gesture of her hand, she beckoned Emilia and, without waiting, climbed into the carriage. Emilia turned to Rumi and hurried to say one last time, "I'm really not one of the Children of the Moon. Everyone in the neighborhood knows my father and mother. He’s been raised here for generations..."

  Rumi simply nodded and smiled, and the tension in Elion's eyes relaxed slightly.

  "Go then. If it’s that easy to verify, then there’s no problem," he replied, slowly looking around.

  Emilia hurried into the carriage and closed the door. Just as the horses activated their magic and took flight high above the jungle, she heard Rumi’s voice.

  "And don’t forget to act like the future great mage!" she reminded her.

  Emilia’s face immediately lit up with a wide smile, and she nodded, even though no one was watching her.