Chapter 196 196: The Diary



The diary mentioned the life experiences of a court wizard, Alaric, who was working in the department of Occult and Mystical Studies.

It was the department where all sorts of weird and innovative experiments were conducted.

The diary hinted that Queen Victoria had a vast ambition. She desired to expand her kingdom, much like the monarchs before her, but she sought to do so through unconventional means – a path no one had previously considered. Besides, she believed that by accomplishing grand feats, she could solidify her influence in the court and ensure she ruled the kingdom for her entire life.

Owing to this ambition, the wizards, under her directive, began to investigate the secrets that lay behind the altars, better known as dungeon entrances. They hoped to harness the power of the altars to not only establish teleportation points between all the regions of the kingdom, but to also open pathways to different planets. They didn't know how they'll achieve so much, but that was their ultimate goal, and they were being funded by the Queen herself, so money and resources weren't a problem.

The altars, known for their unique ability to teleport those with distinct bloodlines, was also determined to possess the power to manipulate and warp space. Queen Victoria was convinced that if they could unravel their mysteries and harness this power over space for themselves, her kingdom would be unstoppable, achieving dominance that would echo through the ages.

The threat of the Durcal Empire would also become easier to overcome once they gain authority over space!

Shortly after the secret order from the Queen, the wizards of the Occult and Mystical Studies department began experimenting with the altars to unover their secrets.

However, they were met with challenges.

Foremost among these was the altar's inherent instability: it would start to deteriorate and eventually shatter once the associated dungeon was completed. This transitory nature of the altar made research extremely challenging.

However, after years of tireless effort and countless experiments, a breakthrough was achieved in the study of the altars by none other than Alaric, the department head.

He discovered a method to halt the altars' degradation, preserving its structure for a long period of time and, more importantly, their capabilities.

The altars could be preserved for a long time by submerging them in soul power.

Places like soul crystals mines, with an abundance of soul power in the air, were ideal for storing altars.

Thus, once the Queen found out about this, the Occult and Mystical Studies department was relocated to a mine in close proximity to the kingdom's divine capital. It was a strategic move to maximize their experimental capabilities, minimize their expenses, amd reduce the time spent looking for altars that were out of service. Altars were immovable unless the associated dungeon was completed.

the diary shed light on Alaric's rise following his groundbreaking success. As the experiments were conducted covertly under the orders of Queen Victoria, his achievements weren't publicly celebrated. However, behind the scenes, Alaric was the recipient of vast rewards. From the kingdom's most beautiful sex slaves to the best resources a wizard could ask for, everything was bestowed upon him.

In essence, wealth, prestige, and beauty—everything a man might covet—were handed to him on a silver platter for making a single discovery.

By then, he was considering calling it quits to enjoy a peaceful and luxurious life in the confines of the protective walls of the capital.

However, the Queen had long seen through him. She promised bim a marriage with a princess he had developed a one-sided crush on when he visited the palace, should he successfully harness the space-manipulating power of the altar.

Although he had everything a man could ask for, now that they were in his possession, they had lost their undeniable charms, but he was still to grasp the heart of his first love, the kingdom's princess.

He wanted to make her his!

Thus, he continued experimenting with the altar.

However, it turned out to be his life's biggest mistake.

One fateful day, as he channeled an immense amount of soul power into the altar, an anomaly occurred.

Instead of manipulating space in a controlled manner, a gaping black hole manifested, swallowing everything in its vicinity, including Alaric, his entire team, and their equipment.

He found himself teleported to a forest. This forest differed greatly from the ones within the Victoria kingdom.

Stranded in an unknown realm, with all he had worked for lost, Alaric's spirit was crushed.

The forest was full of danger, teeming with beasts and devils. Just as he arrived there, he was attacked. However, being an elemental wizard, a title synonymous with mid-level wizardry, he felt no fear and easily dealt with the troublemaker.

In the next ten days, Alaric confronted and defeated every devil and beast that crossed his path until eventually, his aimless wandering led him out of the treacherous forest, bringing him face to face with a civilization of humans.n0velusb.C0m

These people identified themselves as the proud children of the moon. In other words, the Lunarians.

At first, the Lunarians were quite apprehensive of him.

While they refrained from harming him and released him after a brief interrogation, they refuse to accept him into their society, just because he was a foreigner. However, they welcomed him into their fold with open arms when he saved a bunch of them and showed he could help them in more ways than one.

Thus, he began his new life amidst the Lunarians.

A bunch of things were mentioned about the Lunarians. This information could help Val if he ever encountered them.

After that part, the diary was missing dozens of pages.

There was barely any mention of Alaric's time with the Lunarians.

On a half-torn page of the diary, something weird was written:

"I can hear the voices."

Scribbles dominated the subsequent pages of the diary, with only a few comprehensible words interspersed.

It seemed like the writer of the diary was slowly losing their grip on reality, descending into madness.

On the last five pages, large words were inscribed.

After Val organized them, he was able to discern a full page of comprehensible sentences:

"The monster I saw then wasn't an illusion. It was real. Every second of the day, it would talk to me. It had been saying the same thing over and over.

It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me.

Every day, I can feel its presence growing stronger. It's drawing nearer. What will happen once it finds me? Will I become its meal? No, I can't sit around doing nothing, waiting for death. I went to the High Priestess of the moon for help. She holds an esteemed position in the kingdom, and rumors have it that the High Priestess of the moon can divine the future.

But when she began to divine mine out of pity, she started bleeding from her eyes and mouth.

"Eyes. So many eyes. You... You've attracted a being beyond comprehension! Nowhere is safe. Run to the forest if you want to survive. That's the only way out."

These were her last words.

Her death left both me and the Lunarians in shock.

Just what happened during the divination that killed her?

I couldn't stop blaming myself. She wouldn't have died if not for me seeking her assistance.

For the same reason, my Lunarian friends ostracized me.

While my life took a turn for the worst yet again, its presence was getting stronge