Chapter 66: Evan’s Bargain with the Archive

The knowledge Evan accessed was quite different from the facts he already knew.

There was a lot of information, but if he were to narrow it down to the most significant points:

‘The Nervan Cult is a sacred cult that worships divinity. Moreover, its influence once spanned the entire continent.’

This was a far cry from the current reality, where they were shunned as a fanatic group.

‘As for the myth of the Goddess Nerban, there’s nothing particularly special. It’s just a story about her involvement in human warfare history. Such myths tend to be fairly ordinary.’

The Goddess Nerban is said to oversee war and primarily deals with the dead.

It seemed likely that the source of the cult’s power stemmed from this, but the detailed explanation was unavailable.

In any case, the Nervan Cult wasn’t inherently evil from the beginning.

More accurately, the cult became corrupted over time.

‘The incident presumed to be the most direct cause is this one.’

The so-called Judgment of Nervan.

From one day onward, the Nervan Cult members began slaughtering civilians under the pretext of a heresy inquisition.

The reason remains unknown.

But many people died as a result.

Voices began to arise within the cult itself.

Hardliners insisted the judgment must continue, while moderates could not understand these actions.

There were even skeptics who no longer believed in the goddess.

The cult gradually started to fracture.

‘And then, an event that sealed the cult’s fate occurred.’

One day, suspicion arose within the cult that no divine oracle was being delivered, and that the cult’s leadership was hiding this fact.

Given the cult’s previous actions, this suspicion seemed highly credible.

The collapse was instantaneous.

The Nervan Cult, which once boasted vast influence, vanished into the shadows of history.

This was as far as the recorded knowledge went.

There was no way to verify what happened afterward due to lack of documentation.

‘I don’t know how it ended up as a fanatical group, but now I know the truth.’

Evan decided to look for other knowledge after some thought.

“Successor, I will access knowledge about the Dark Age.”

There wasn’t enough information to draw conclusions yet.

He needed to understand more about the history.

However, the Successor shook his head with a troubled expression.

“Sorry, but from now on, using the Archive’s knowledge requires an appropriate fee.”

Of course, the Successor’s own knowledge can be checked anytime without such conditions.

Eleven pieces of knowledge belonging to the Successor, excluding the twelve Evan had just checked, appeared again before Evan’s eyes.

Evan wore a bewildered expression.

“What was this situation now?”

“You’ve only used it once so far.”

The Successor replied with a sly smile.

“That was the one free use granted to first-time users. Honestly, the knowledge of the Archive is priceless.”

“Shouldn’t that have been told to me beforehand?” Evan asked, raising an objection.

“Apologies. I confused you with the previous key holder. This has never happened before. Usually, the key holder of the Archive does not change.”

The Successor feigned embarrassment, but the calmness in his expression revealed his true intent.

‘So that’s how it is.’

Evan did not back down.

Regardless of the reason, the fact that the Successor deliberately hid important details remained unchanged.

If he let this slide once, there would be no end to it, and his intentions seemed impure.

Evan felt the need to fix the Successor’s mindset.

“Then, give me another chance. If it were something like that, I wouldn’t have used it so carelessly.”

Half true, half not.

In any case, Evan was determined to continue accessing knowledge about the Nervan Cult.

Pushed firmly, the Successor showed a troubled look.

Even if you say that, there’s nothing more I can do.

“But you said you allowed a free use at first? That’s within reasonable limits, isn’t it?”

“Haha, I didn’t want to mention this, but it’s because of the Archive’s maintenance rules.”

“Rules?”

“Yes. Although I was once a slave, I am also the Successor of the Archive. I have the duty to protect and maintain it.”

The Successor began to explain in detail how the Archive was managed.

The Archive wasn’t simply maintained on its own.

The Successors were not fully alive, and the Archive’s knowledge stopped after the old Successors.

Thus, the Archive was gradually becoming obsolete in the world.

An obsolete Archive would eventually be forgotten and disappear from the world.

However, if fragments of knowledge arising worldwide were continuously added to the Archive, it could avoid obsolescence and continue its existence.

The previous key owner, Velled, had put in such effort to acquire knowledge fragments.

It seemed he had greatly contributed by supplying a large volume of knowledge fragments to the Archive.

‘Well, that guy has a Legion that can share information, so he probably solved it through overwhelming numbers.’

Having multiple “selves” like ‘me’ would be a tremendous privilege.

It meant sharing secrets and working together.

But Evan did not fully trust all these explanations.

The Successor was not objective like a mediator of the world.

He was an unreliable existence.

Of course, that also meant there was a way to try.

“So, the conclusion is to continuously gather knowledge fragments for the Archive?”

“Exactly! Since the previous owner did so, now it’s your job…”

A grin tugged at Evan’s lips.

The Successor had shown his hand too easily.

The life of the Archive depended on the key holder.

Of course, Velled had provided many fragments of knowledge.

But even that couldn’t sustain it forever.

Once Evan realized this master-servant relationship, his attitude shifted completely.

“Sorry, Successor. I don’t have time for that.”

The Successor began to panic.

“…W-Why all of a sudden?”

“I don’t like being deceived from the start.”

Evan waved his hand and turned his body to leave the Archive.

“Anyway, the knowledge here looks dangerous, so I’ll keep the key safe. I might return someday, if it even exists by then.”

Evan’s words only made the Successor more desperate.

Who would have guessed he lacked any desire for knowledge so utterly?

“The Archive holds knowledge beyond your imagination! Eternal life, resurrection of the dead, secrets of ancient alchemy…”

But Evan did not stop.

At last, the Successor spoke in a trembling voice.

“A-Alright! I was wrong. I’ll give you one more chance! Beyond that, it’s out of my authority. If you’re still dissatisfied, there’s nothing I can do…”

Evan stopped.

“Now, that’s the answer I wanted.”

As expected, he was able to wrest another chance.

Evan was pleased and turned back toward the Successor.

“…Will you access the knowledge now?”

“No, I’ll do it later.”

There wasn’t much knowledge available at the moment.

It was better to hold off and increase the knowledge he could gain later.

“By the way, how do I obtain knowledge fragments?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

The Successor created a scroll above his hand and handed it to Evan.

“What is this?”

In response to Evan’s question, the Successor explained.

“It’s a map of the continent from when I was alive. It marks the locations of knowledge fragments.”

It may differ somewhat from the current geography, but for relic-related maps, this one is more accurate.

Evan examined the scroll carefully.

It was densely inscribed with runes, making it look like a magic scroll rather than a simple map.

As Evan tried to unfurl it, a message window appeared.

“Would you like to acquire the Archive’s map? (Y/N)”

‘Acquire a map?’

It wasn’t a simple item.

He also realized for the first time that maps could be acquired like skills.

Without hesitation, Evan accepted the map acquisition.

***

[Archive’s map acquired.]

[Real-time map viewing is now available.]

A system window-style map appeared before Evan’s eyes.

A half-transparent map.

It showed the entire continent.

Unknown kingdoms and ruins were visible.

Blue dots marked the knowledge fragments.

But Evan’s eyes couldn’t focus on anything else.

Obtaining a complete map of the continent was huge, but being able to view it via system was even more incredible.

Although an old map, the continent was essentially the same.

Excluding natural disasters, the terrain wouldn’t change.

‘Maps never match 100% anyway. Even human-built structures can change within a day.’

Regardless, this map from the Successor would greatly influence the direction of the quest.

***

Sweat streamed down Jena’s forehead like rain.

“Huff!”

She gasped harsh breaths, barely maintaining her protective barrier.

She lost track of time.

All she did was continuously block the enemies’ attacks.

“Priestess…”

Celia, watching her from the side, could only feel sorry.

Alan and Reynold both felt anger at their own helplessness.

Even with their auras activated, they didn’t know how long they could hold against Magia.

The mediocre knights were hitting a wall here.

Celia ground her teeth.

They simply couldn’t find any way to turn the situation around.

The enemies were stationed throughout the entire ruins and steadily tightening their grip.

There wasn’t a single opening; escape seemed impossible.

And most importantly, Evan’s whereabouts were unknown.

They didn’t want to think about it, but it was likely Evan was already dead or had been kidnapped by the enemy.

The thought only deepened their despair.

“Ha, ha…”

A bitter laugh escaped Celia’s lips.

Jena forced herself to speak.

“If we’re just going to die here, we might as well do something!”

Everyone focused on her.

Jena continued.

“There’s only one way. Either break through one spot no matter what, or die as we are.”

Alan cautiously asked, “Is there… a way?”

“No! What way could there be? I’ll just squeeze out whatever holy power I have left and break through!”

Alan nodded silently at her fierce spirit.

Trying something before dying was better than dying quietly.

With that signal, they began to move.

As they stepped out from between buildings where they had been hiding, arrows rained down once more.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Jena did her best to maintain the barrier and charged forward, breaking the encirclement amid the volley.

At that moment—

“This way!”

A voice called out from somewhere.

“Didn’t you just hear the young master’s voice?”

Reynold, with sharp hearing, shouted, and Alan and Celia nodded.

Alan pointed somewhere.

“It should be over there.”

Though vision was obscured by Magia, they saw a human figure.

He seemed to be waving his hand, beckoning them.

They all started running toward that place.

Just as they thought they were about to reach him, he vanished.

But surprisingly, upon arriving at where he had been, the number of incoming arrows lessened.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s keep pushing through like this!”

Celia shouted, pointing ahead.

As they continued to run forward, unseen to them, somewhere else—

[You have judged Zerbarrhan.]

[You have judged Argen.]

[Holy Power has increased by 4.]

[Holy Power has increased by 2.]

Evan began his judgment against the Nervan Cult members stationed there.