?


    The diary mentioned the life experiences of a court wizard, ric, who was working in the department of ult 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 aplishing 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 thaty 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 differents. 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 manipte 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 be easier to ovee once they gain authority over space!


    Shortly after the secret order from the Queen, the wizards of the ult 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 waspleted. 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 ric, 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.


    ces 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 ult 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 waspleted.


    the diary shed light on ric''s rise following his groundbreaking sess. As the experiments were conducted covertly under the orders of Queen Victoria, his achievements weren''t publicly celebrated. However, behind the scenes, ric was the recipient of vast rewards. From the kingdom''s most beautiful sex ves 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 tter 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 pce, should he sessfully harness the space-manipting 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 urred.


    Instead of manipting space in a controlled manner, a gaping ck hole manifested, swallowing everything in its vicinity, including ric, 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, ric''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, ric 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.


    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 ept him into their society, just because he was a foreigner. However, they weed 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 ric''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 fewprehensible words interspersed.


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


    On thest five pages,rge words were inscribed.


    After Val organized them, he was able to discern a full page ofprehensible 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''sing for me. It''sing for me. It''sing for me.


    Every day, I can feel its presence growing stronger. It''s drawing nearer. What will happen once it finds me? Will I be 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 beyondprehension! Nowhere is safe. Run to the forest if you want to survive. That''s the only way out."


    These were herst words.


    Her death left both me and the Lunarians in shock.


    Just what happened during the divination that killed her?


    I couldn''t stop ming 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 stronger