"I’ll handle this."

The Leader went ahead alone, warily watching the depths of the tomb passage.

The sound of flapping wings grew closer, and a completely black insect suddenly flew into the illuminated area.

Immediately after, a dense swarm of beetles, like a black cloud, surged forward. But the Leader’s expression only shifted slightly before he raised his hand, a black rune flying from his palm.

When the black rune first flew out, it was a thin sheet. Upon hitting the air, it rapidly expanded, and an inky phantom suddenly pierced through the rune and emerged.

It was a giant eagle that was still growing. The tomb passage couldn’t even contain its body; it could only huddle in the center with its wings curled.

However, it seemed to understand that it couldn’t keep getting bigger, so after blocking the passage, it stopped growing.

The black eagle looked at the oncoming swarm and simply opened its beak slightly, a powerful gust of wind swirling out from its mouth.

Black wind blades, like razors, shredded the terrifying-looking insect swarm into fine pieces.

The ferocious swarm had nowhere to escape. The dead insects fell from the air, carpeting the entire passageway.

The beetles were not an endless tide. Under the black eagle’s assault, their numbers dwindled until only a few remained, posing no threat.

Soon, no more insects flew into the tomb passage.

Seeing the battle was decided, the Leader closed his open palm into a fist, and the giant eagle vanished instantly.

When the dust settled, the Leader turned to Namiel. "Well, Mr. Namiel," he asked, his tone filled with respect, "was that to your satisfaction?"

But Namiel’s expression was a little strange. He seemed lost in thought, staring at the Leader’s palm.

Hearing the Leader’s question, Namiel finally snapped out of it.

"Of course, I’m satisfied."

Seeming to notice Namiel was a bit dazed, the Leader asked with concern, "Is something wrong, Mr. Namiel?"

"It’s nothing. Your skills just surprised me a little, Leader."

The group stepped over the thick layer of insect corpses and continued forward. But along the way, Namiel was completely silent, all his previous animated chatter gone.

When they encountered various traps, he would just state the solution dispassionately, no longer recounting their history.

"The main tomb is just ahead," Namiel said calmly. "There are no more traps here. You can proceed without worry."

The corps members quickly entered the main burial chamber, but Namiel stood in the Divine Hall before it, looking up at the lifelike murals on the ceiling.

The Leader stood behind him, looking at the murals as well.

The two of them stood in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

After a moment, Namiel broke the silence. "Go on and find what you’re looking for. You don’t need to be on guard against me."

The Leader was clearly surprised to hear this.

"You knew I was looking for something?"

Namiel sighed. "Like I said, I could navigate the Pyramids with my eyes closed by the time I was five. There’s nothing here I don’t know. The experts who study the Pyramids don’t understand them as well as I do."

He walked around for a bit, then casually pointed to a cluttered section of a mural. "It should be over there," he said to the Leader. "Go take a look."

The Leader, a look of disbelief on his face, walked dubiously toward the spot Namiel had indicated and stood before the mural.

He tentatively placed his hand on it, and sure enough, the mural began to change in a wondrous way.

The chaotic patterns began to arrange themselves neatly, then erupted into phantoms, flickering like a slide show.

All sorts of different phantoms flashed by, and the patterns followed them, leaping onto the Leader’s arm until they were arranged in a dense array.

Looking back at the mural, it had become completely ordinary, the chaotic patterns gone.

"So that’s how it works. Is it really that simple?" Namiel’s voice suddenly came from behind the Leader, startling him. "You got something the last time you were here, didn’t you? No wonder you paid so much to hire me."

The Leader looked at his pattern-covered arm, nodded, and said guiltily, "Mr. Namiel, I didn’t mean to hide it from you."

But Namiel didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he looked at the patterns with a sense of nostalgia. "Do you know what these are?"

"Some kind of relic, right? A very powerful one," the Leader guessed.

Namiel shook his head, a meaningful smile on his face, and began to ramble again. "These are hieroglyphs. Mankind’s earliest hieroglyphs."

"They are pictograms, used as a direct form of writing. With just a few simple strokes, they can sketch out the distinct features of the object they’re meant to represent."

"So the moment you see one, you know what it means."

"They’re beautiful." Namiel even stepped forward, lifted the Leader’s arm to his eyes, and began to observe them avidly.

The Leader knew he was in the wrong, so he didn’t resist.

"You said they’re relics. So what’s the price?" After observing for a moment, Namiel let go of the Leader’s arm and asked curiously.

Hearing this, the Leader raised his hand and began to read aloud the things recorded on it, one by one.

But every single word he spoke was completely wrong.

"I think I understand," Namiel said with a hint of regret. "It seems you no longer recognize them."

"There should be more over there. You can go on and collect them," Namiel said, pointing to another mural in the distance.

"Mr. Namiel, aren’t you going to take some?" the Leader asked, confused. "As compensation for me hiding this from you. They’re very powerful relics; they can significantly increase one’s strength."

Namiel waved his hand. "My job was to bring you in here, and I’ve already been paid. I don’t need them. Besides, the price is too high. I don’t want to forget these words."

"..."

’How could he not want such a powerful relic?’

But just then, Namiel made a request of his own.

"I can help you explore all the Pyramids, free of charge. But on one condition: you have to upload all of these characters for research. Can you do that?" Namiel looked into the Leader’s eyes, his inquiry sincere.

"Alright."

After agreeing, the Leader saw Mr. Namiel give a gratified smile. It seemed he had gotten more out of this trip to the Pyramid than the Leader himself had.

’Unbelievable.’

Under Namiel’s guidance, the Hunter Corps explored the entire Pyramid complex. The Leader, having had a change of heart, stopped hoarding them for himself and distributed many of the hieroglyphs to his corps members.

Namiel just smiled, continuing to cheerfully explain the history of the characters to the corps members, just like a dedicated tour guide.

"This pattern, the one that looks like a cross with a loop on top, is also known as the T-shaped Cross. Some people nowadays call it a knot handle. It represents eternal life, but the people who created these characters never achieved it."

"But these characters were carved into stone and have lasted forever. Hah, what is eternal, really? Do any of you think such a thing exists?"

Just as when they first arrived at the Pyramid, Mr. Namiel spoke on, lost in his own explanations. The corps members didn’t respond, merely staring excitedly at the characters they had acquired.

It was hard to say if they weren’t interested, or if they were no longer able to understand.

After returning to the monitoring station, the Hunter Corps uploaded the hieroglyphs as promised. Namiel helped the researchers classify and define the characters and was credited as the discoverer.

And so, this powerful relic became known to the world.

「...」

[Relic: Hieroglyphs]

[Price: The user’s understanding of the corresponding hieroglyph is completely distorted and replaced with a different word.]

[Ability: The user can summon a phantom manifestation of the hieroglyph’s meaning.]

[Place of Discovery: 2nd Floor of the Abyss]

[Discoverer: Namiel]

...