novelraw Chapter 167: Mysterious Runes in the Glacier
Chapter 167: Mysterious Runes in the Glacier
"Professor Evans, please slow down!"
On the sprawling glacier, the elderly professor was actually the fastest walker among them.
Behind him, both the middle-aged Doctoral Supervisor and the young Graduate Students looked completely exhausted, lacking any of the vigorous spirit displayed by the old man leading the way.
"It is not that I am walking fast, but that you are moving too slow!" Tore stopped and looked back. "We need to cross the icebergs and reach that furthest volcano. If we do not speed up, we will have to make camp on the glacier tonight!"
Tore Evans, a Structural Geology Professor at ETH Zurich, was an undisputed Luminary in this field worldwide!
His reputation was not drummed up on the internet, but measured step by step across countless lands all over the world.
Although he was not the most prominent geology professor at ETH Zurich, he possessed the most extensive field experience of them all. Even at nearly seventy years old, he remained active on the front lines of such explorations!
Hearing the professor's words, the group could only grit their teeth and push forward, no matter how tired they were.
They could not even voice a single complaint. After all, the old professor was also carrying a heavy backpack and gripping an Ice Axe while marching ahead of them.
With a man in his sixties outpacing them, what else could they possibly say?Among this group, the only person not complaining was Olavur Thorsen.
(In Nordic culture, their surname is derived from their father's name. Just as Thor is called Odinson, meaning the son of Odin—of course, among modern nations, only Iceland still observes this ancient tradition.)
He carried a heavier pack than the rest, walking at the very back of the group while silently observing their surroundings.
Naturally, this was not some form of group bullying, but an unspoken understanding between him and his teacher, Tore.
Olavur was a local. Even before going to school in Switzerland, he had been chipping away at glaciers. His robust lineage and sheer adaptability made him Tore's best assistant in the Arctic region.
Compared to the two of them, the rest of the team were like a bunch of greenhorns. Olavur needed to ensure that these rookies did not encounter any accidents while trekking across the ice!
Therefore, he kept his eyes and ears wide open, watching for specific signs on the ice to prevent situations where a glacier might crack without the people behind realizing it.
It was exactly as he was scanning his surroundings and gazing into the distance that an unusual anomaly caught his attention!
Somewhere on the glacier beneath them, a peculiar light was shining. It was not the glare of the ice, nor the reflection of some mineral or volcanic rock—Olavur was absolutely certain of that!
Thus, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Professor Evans! Professor Evans!"
"Olavur?" Hearing his prized pupil's call, Tore turned around. "Did you find something?"
"Look over there! That is toward the Langjökull Glacier, but a bit before it, there is a strange Glare!" Olavur's voice reached everyone's ears, prompting them to turn their heads in unison.
At that very moment, a brilliant white light flashed across the ice, instantly drawing their gaze!
"This is... a phenomenon I have never seen before!" Tore's eyes brimmed with excitement. "Olavur, I remember there being no danger in this direction. It is all permafrost and permanent glaciers, correct?"
Having trekked through this area for years, they were naturally familiar with the topography. When traversing such a desolate, ancient terrain, anyone lacking experience would have long since become bleached bones beneath the snow or charred ashes in the magma!
"Yes, Professor!" Olavur confirmed without hesitation. "Do you wish to change our destination?"
"Of course! We can visit the volcano anytime, but a glowing spectacle like this is not something you see every day!" The old professor had already stowed away his Ice Axe and pulled out the Iceboard strapped to his back. "Olavur and I will head down first. The rest of you, follow along!"
In a place like Iceland, where glaciers were omnipresent, sliding on the ice was an excellent mode of transportation—though, naturally, it was strictly for veterans, and only safe to do around noon. Doing it in the morning or evening was asking for an accident!
Tore and Olavur were experts at this. With a single leap, they glided out across the ice, leaving the remaining staff and students smiling bitterly.
They did not dare to slide down like that, so they had no choice but to trudge over step by step.
Fortunately, the destination was not too far away. The group made their way over footprint by footprint, eventually finding the bright beacon Olavur had left at the base of the glacier.
Following the beacon, the group turned into an inconspicuous Glacier Crevice and spotted the old man staring intently at the wall ahead of him, as if he were entranced.
"Professor Evans..." A student stepped forward, preparing to ask a question, but was stopped by Olavur. "Stop yelling. He cannot hear you right now!" Hearing this, the group finally realized that Tore Evans was a famous research maniac at the academy. When he was deeply immersed in his studies, let alone shouting, even an earthquake would struggle to snap him out of it.
"Then what exactly is this place..." the middle-aged professor asked. As an instructor, he had an obligation to figure out the situation.
"If my guess is right, we have stumbled into a legendary Viking Ruins!" Olavur said slowly, pointing at the stone wall in front of them. "The writing on this wall is Runes. The light we just saw was emitted from them!"
"Runes?" Upon hearing that word, everyone looked up in astonishment.
Before recent events, there might have been quite a few people who had no idea what kind of script this was.
But the Divine Descent Crisis in Sweden a week ago had reintroduced this Divine Pantheon to the entire world, and naturally, it brought Norse-Germanic Mythology to the attention of the masses.
And since they were geology students, they frequently mingled with people from history and archaeology departments, so they were naturally familiar with Runic Script, otherwise known as Runes.
According to the legends of Iceland, this was the unique script that Odin obtained after hanging upside down over the Well of Wisdom for nine days and nights. They contained Magic Power, and even held the Secrets of Divine Ascension!
Thinking of this, many sets of eyes began to gleam. Someone even blurted out, "Glowing text... could it be that these are genuine Runes?"
"They are the script of the Norse gods. Could they be imbued with mystical power?"
Hearing this, many of them could not hold back anymore. They pulled out their Cell Phones, preparing to document the discovery first.
Some were even getting ready to post it on X, when they suddenly heard a series of sharp crackling sounds.
The noise was so crisp and continuous that it even caused Professor Tore to turn his head, only for him to see a row of smoking Cell Phones dropped on the ground!
The moment they tried to take a picture, the phones were instantly fried.
"Since you all know that these belong to the mystical realm, why would you assume you could record them using mundane methods?" Professor Tore asked, turning back to stare at the text with an inscrutable expression.
Those whose phones had been ruined looked a little embarrassed, but the majority of the group was overcome with a distinct mix of nervous anticipation and joy!
Because this was not a bad thing—it was a phenomenally good thing!
The cost of a few phones had successfully tested the true properties of the script. The characters before them were genuine, mystical Runes, not the powerless scribbles found on city streets!
The implications of this could not be clearer!
They were visibly thrilled. Stories of mystery and Transcendence had been circulating non-stop on the internet lately, and now, it felt like they had become participants in those very tales!
The young students were even more excited. After all, nosy netizens had already compiled lists of all the Transcendent Beings that had appeared so far.
There were figures like the Bishop of Destiny, the Prophet, and the Divine Agent Bennett Angus; or the Holy Maiden, the Pure Nun Blessed by God Caroline; and, of course, the Divine Warrior, the Undying Warrior Evan...
Some people had dug into their backgrounds, revealing that before attaining Transcendence, they had all been perfectly ordinary people. This realization had sparked some rather ambitious thoughts in the minds of the masses.
Was it only because of Transcendence that they were so powerful? If they themselves got lucky, could they also attain such status and abilities?
'If others can do it, why can't I?'
Once this mentality took root, it spread like a raging wildfire, completely out of control!
In the eyes of these young students, the flames of Ambition were burning brightly!
However, right at that moment, Tore Evans's voice suddenly turned hoarse as he began to mutter words that no one else could understand:
"Oh, great Odin! Mighty God!
Please protect us, spare us from the wrath of the Behemoth!
We shall offer Sacrifices to you, we shall worship you,
Until all the glaciers melt into the sea!"
After Tore finished chanting these words, the stone wall in front of them emitted an even brighter light.
Every single character seemed to come alive, radiating its own unique hue!
These letters danced and transformed into exquisite patterns that melded into the stone. Under the stunned and dumbfounded gazes of everyone present, the entire wall slowly began to open...