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The Bronze Age was an era of war. In the heavens, giant gods and dragon gods divided themselves between good and evil, battling fiercely, while on earth, factions aligned with these gods clashed in endless strife.

The celestial world of the Bronze Age was a place where the Ahura gods, who enforced strict discipline and hierarchy with tyranny, clashed with the Deva gods, who practiced tolerance and mercy. The Chromatic gods, selfish and cunning without any guiding principles, and the Metallic gods, who upheld unwavering justice, all collided and conflicted in this tumultuous era.

The creatures of the Bronze Age, following their celestial gods, fought fiercely for what they believed in. Among these warring races, the giants and dragons stood out as the dominant forces.

The giants, with their robust bodies inherited from their gods and their advanced foresight, built a sublime civilization. The dragons, with their innate powerful spellcasting abilities, established the mysterious Argonian civilization. Both civilizations reached heights that other races could only dream of.

It was a pity that such civilizations were used solely for war, but that was the nature of the Bronze Age. As the era neared its end, the giants and dragons fought desperately against their impending doom. They were the leading civilizations of their time, and they would not accept their end without a fight.

One of their plans to avoid annihilation was the floating city of Teneagarth. The idea was to gather the elite in a city isolated from the chaos below, freezing the city’s “era” to escape the end. However, they failed to realize that the end of an era was not as simple as they imagined. If even one place remained frozen in time, the end could not be completed, and a new era could not begin. This would result in an endless hell of infinite conflict.

In this hell where the boundaries between life and death had collapsed, a boy dreamed of a new era. His name was Jack O’Lantern, a mixed-blood born of humans and albs, races considered weak and insignificant by the giants and dragons. He was the one who would bring down their last refuge and finally close the era.

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Rumors of Jack O’Lantern spread across the continent. Teneagarth was the first city to fall by his hand. If this dungeon is the Teneagarth I know, it must be based on the legend of Jack O’Lantern.

After finishing his explanation, the Spirit Rugus-Artaeus spoke, and the Spirit Esras-Hermes clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Fools. If such a thing were possible, we would have tried it in the Silver Age. In the end, they were all just wasting their time.”

Indeed, the spirits of the Silver Age and the Bronze Age were called differently—Spirit and Spirit respectively. This reflected the fundamental nature of those who lived in those eras. Despite the advanced spells and civilization of the Bronze Age, their essence was rooted in conflict and war, not mystery and foresight.

The giants and dragons, proud of their divine lineage, had built the most advanced civilizations of their time. But their struggles ultimately ended before the resolve of a man who sought to end the era. Now, Conra’s task was to follow the steps Jack O’Lantern took to destroy the floating city of Teneagarth.

“To isolate the city from the outside world, Teneagarth constantly exerted powerful spellcasting abilities to distort providence. To achieve this, they needed corresponding power and authority. The giants collected four powerful artifacts and placed them at key points in the city.”

The artifacts were a pair of boots, a cloak, a harp, and a sword.

“The Boots Seven League, which could shorten long distances in a single step; the Cloak Quiness, which could hide the wearer from others’ eyes; the Harp Pale Note, which could lull the Crow Dragon Haegis to sleep; and finally, the Divine Sword Catena, symbolizing the sovereignty of the Caledonian Isles and capable of cutting through anything. Jack O’Lantern freed these treasures in order, neutralizing the spells that isolated Teneagarth. This dungeon likely follows the same pattern.”

“Boots, cloak, harp, and divine sword? Intriguing.”

As Rugus-Artaeus explained, Esras-Hermes let out a sigh of admiration.

“Is there some meaning to this?”

Conra asked without stopping his steps. He was already heading towards the first artifact, the Boots Seven League, located in the southeastern part of the city.

“What is the most essential thing for a person to go out and be active?”

“Huh, I’ve never thought about it.”

“Tsk, if you want to master the path of spells, you need to develop the habit of thinking about such things.”

“Ugh, my ears hurt. So, what’s the answer?”

“The answer is good shoes. Comfortable, durable shoes that allow you to walk anywhere without wearing out. Good shoes directly translate to the wearer’s range of activity, and range of activity means influence. In this context, the ‘boots’ were likely used by the giants to expand the range of their mystical influence across the entire city.”

If the boots symbolized the range of mystical influence, then the cloak must represent the implementation of that mystery as a barrier. As for the harp and the divine sword?

“I think I know.”

Rugus-Artaeus stepped forward to explain.

“Rumors I heard in my lifetime said that playing the Harp Pale Note could put enemies into a deep sleep. In this case, it was probably used to neutralize the waves of doom approaching the city by deploying its power as a barrier. And the Divine Sword Catena, well, that’s self-explanatory.”

“Indeed. Since ancient times, divine swords have been symbols of rulers. They bind the sovereignty of the land in one hand, adding authority to their influence. Measuring the land, dividing it, and repelling invaders to protect the territory. You, Conra, should know well what the sword symbolizes in the spell diagram.”

The boots expanded the city’s mystical influence, the cloak transformed that mystery into a barrier to hide the city from the eyes of doom, the harp lulled the clear direction of doom into stagnation, and the divine sword established all of this as an eternal decree.

By now, Conra could roughly grasp the spell diagram.

“So, the order is boots, cloak, harp, and divine sword?”

First, reduce the influence, then remove the protective barrier, allow the waves of doom to approach from all sides, and finally strip away the highest authority that could restart everything.

“In terms of difficulty, it’s the same. Running across this vast city on foot would take too much time. Once the raid begins, it becomes a race against time. If the time limit is exceeded, the freed artifacts will return to their original positions and regain their functions. That’s why it’s crucial to secure the boots first.”

“Indeed, taking away the opponent’s range of action and making it your own.”

Once the boots are freed, the giants will realize something is wrong. So, before they can track you down, you must free the cloak to hide yourself from their eyes. Only then can you free the harp within the time limit.

“The harp is essential for freeing the divine sword. If my guess is correct, the Crow Dragon Haegis is likely guarding the Divine Sword Catena. Without the harp, which was used to lull it to sleep, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

Rugus-Artaeus smoothly explained the raid’s progression. But Conra noticed something odd.

“Wait, this is a city of giants. From what you said about the Crow Dragon, Haegis must be a dragon. Why is a dragon guarding the giants’ sword?”

“The reason is simple. The Divine Sword Catena originally belonged to the dragons, not the giants. Specifically, it was a royal sword offered to the giant king by the dragons to ensure their safety when the giants dominated the region. Haegis was sent as the sword’s guardian.”

There might have been complex political dealings and power dynamics involved, but that was unnecessary to delve into here. Conra didn’t ask further, and it was likely Rugus-Artaeus didn’t know the full details either.

As they shared this information, Conra found himself before a tower protected by a pyramid-shaped barrier, resembling a lighthouse.

“Before entering, you should know that aside from the divine sword guarded by Haegis, the other three artifacts are likely guarded by high-ranking giants.”

According to rumors from Rugus-Artaeus’s time, Jack O’Lantern defeated a three-headed giant to obtain the boots, cloak, and harp. Of course, from Rugus-Artaeus’s perspective, this was an absurd rumor.

“Perhaps it was a distortion of the truth, where Jack defeated three separate giants guarding each artifact. In any case, don’t underestimate them as ordinary giant soldiers. They are entrusted with guarding the artifacts for a reason.”

“Noted!”

From here on out, it was the real deal. Conra gritted his teeth and stepped into the tower.

The tower was protected by a barrier, but Conra, fully prepared with the help of the spirits, didn’t hesitate. A pre-stocked “Barrier Penetration” spell activated at the perfect moment, allowing Conra to pass through the barrier as if it were water.

The problem arose after passing through the barrier.

“Ugh, my bad premonition came true.”

“The tower is farther away now!?”

The tower, which had seemed right in front of him, was now far in the distance. Looking back, the barrier had been successfully crossed, but no matter how much he ran towards the tower, it didn’t get any closer.

He needed to find a solution, fast.

 

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