Chapter 224 - 161: Ancient Heritage

Before human civilization appeared in this world, there was once a civilization even more powerful. However, for unknown reasons, that civilization vanished without a trace, leaving behind very few basic markers of its existence. Even the Elves knew nothing about the state of that civilization, as it appeared they arrived in this world only after it had disappeared. Yet, the occasional unearthed ancient relics all indicated just how powerful that lost civilization was, a level of advancement our world could never possibly surpass.

Several countries have attempted to recreate that past splendor by interpreting the unearthed findings. However, disappointingly, the power relied upon by that civilization far exceeded the understanding of humans. Without understanding the source of that mysterious power, all attempts at recreation were nothing but wasted effort.

Nevertheless, setbacks didn’t hinder humans’ cravings to seek the unknown. They continued to pursue the remnants of the ancient civilization relentlessly. Even though it was impossible to discern what the mysterious power was, some ingenious theories still left scholars awestruck. Much of what modern humans use today is reproduced from archaeological discoveries.

The dim, yellow street lamp that Long Yi saw on both sides of the road was one of them.

According to interpretations of ancient ruins, these lamp posts should be capable of illuminating the night as if it were daylight. However, due to energy constraints, they could only provide ordinary lighting. Regardless, these lamps have made nighttime travel safer than before.

As he listened to Dean Ma Deburg’s narration, Long Yi grew immensely interested in the remnants of the ancient civilization. Back on Earth, he was fascinated by urban legends such as Atlantis, the mysterious Bermuda Triangle, and others. However, most archaeological evidence had proved that the embellishments attributed to ancient people were likely fictive. In this world, however, the tales of the ancients were real!

There was a special warehouse in the institute for storing archaeological findings, of which the great majority were currently dormant. Researchers from different institutes could only select items suited to their own knowledge, but none would dare to claim that these would not turn invaluable some day!

Access to the warehouse required passing three checkpoints, each progressively more stringent than the last. By the time they got to the third checkpoint, Long Yi’s permit had already become useless, then Dean Ma Deburg’s status came into play. As the dean could bring an assistant under his escort, Long Yi was able to pass through smoothly.

The first thing Long Yi saw upon entering the warehouse were the pieces of enormous shattered rocks that must have been excavated underground. They were covered in soil, with faint traces of text that could be deciphered. A group of young people were meticulously cleaning the soil and creating rubbings of the inscriptions. A few elders were having an animated debate about something.

"Flames sprout forth! Light finally arrives!" an elder exclaimed.

"What nonsense, is that even proper grammar? It’s Light sprouts forth! Flames finally arrive!"

"Hey, hey, you two are translating completely different meanings!"

"Did you learn your grammar from a P.E. teacher?"

"You old fossil! Did a music teacher teach you grammar?"

The heated exchange continued, the elders too absorbed to even look up from the rubbings.

"Wow, this excavation has yielded so much! I didn’t believe it at first! Long Yi, feel free to take a look! I noticed my team! If you need anything, come find me!" Dean Ma Deburg darted off after speaking, leaving Long Yi alone.

After scanning the surroundings and finding nothing particularly interesting, Long Yi decided to stand behind the bickering elders to watch their argument, and incidentally have a closer look at the text.

The elders were deeply engrossed. While they did notice Long Yi, they did not pay him any mind and carried on with their argument. They cited literature and documents to debunk each other, and their opponents wouldn’t back down and attempted to prove each other’s foolishness with a series of archaeological discoveries.

But as soon as Long Yi saw those characters, he couldn’t divert his gaze away.

He was far too familiar with those characters — simple yet filled with a sense of nostalgia.

Long Yi couldn’t understand them at all, but the strong sense of familiarity made Long Yi feel extremely close to them.

He turned his head back to glance at the clean stone block.

The imprint on the paper simply couldn’t convey the charm of the characters on the stone.

The glyphs were composed entirely of straight lines. Every character size was palm-sized, with varying lengths and weaving horizontals and verticals, yet no oblique lines. From afar, it looked like a grid, but the details were totally unique.

What could this stark sense of familiarity be?

Long Yi leant against the stone, instinctively raising his hand and lightly pressing down on a symbol. Simultaneously, the symbol lit up in golden light. It was brief, nobody else noticed, but the golden light had already merged into Long Yi’s hand.

The hand Long Yi raised was made of Fine Gold.

When the light entered his Fine Gold arm, he felt as if his mind was suddenly enlightened.

These were in fact, the characters of the giants!

Long Yi finally understood where the strong sense of familiarity came from! Although the memories from his giant lineage were sealed, the giant language was something innate to him. That was why he subconsciously felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the giant characters!