Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 311 Ancient Secret Archives

The Ancient Archives is located deep within the Parliament complex, in a separate three-story stone building.

The stone building has no windows, only a heavy door made of black iron and mithril alloy, with intricate protective runes etched on the lintel that operate silently.

Two guards, clad in full dark gray armor and exuding an aura as steady as a rock, stood like statues on either side of the gate. As Rolin approached, one of them extended his hand, palm up, without uttering a word.

Rowling showed off the silver-gray archives access badge.

The guard wore an inconspicuous metal ring on his wrist. As soon as Rowling brought the badge close, the metal ring emitted a very faint "beep" sound, and at the same time, a faint light flashed on the surface of the badge.

The guard withdrew his hand and turned slightly to the side, while another guard reached out and pressed his hand on a specific rune node on the gate.

The door slid open silently, revealing a deep passageway with walls that glowed with a soft white light.

"Once inside, please follow the museum's rules. Unauthorized entry is prohibited. Do not damage any artifacts or make loud noises." The guard on the left spoke in a deep, flat voice, like the scraping of metal.

Luo Lin nodded and stepped into the passageway.

The door behind them closed silently.

The passageway was unusually quiet, with only the faint echo of one's own footsteps on the smooth stone floor.

The air was cool and dry, carrying a peculiar smell of old books mixed with special preservatives.

After walking about ten meters, the passageway suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious and bright hall.

The hall is circular with a high dome that is inlaid with several huge magic crystals that emit a constant and stable light.

The floor is covered with dark wood flooring, polished to a mirror shine.

In the center of the hall was a huge, circular counter made of some kind of dark metal, behind which sat two administrators dressed in dark gray robes, with stern faces, engrossed in processing files.

The walls of the hall, from the floor to the dome, were covered with densely packed, honeycomb-like niches and bookshelves, neatly stacked with countless scrolls, books, stone slabs, bone fragments, and even some strange metal sheets of various colors and sizes.

The air was filled with the weight of accumulated knowledge, and an invisible, calming force.

Rowling walked to the central counter.

One of the administrators looked up, adjusted his crystal glasses, and glanced at the badge on Rowling's chest before looking at his face.

"A new face, a research assistant badge?"

"Access level — Hmm, level two."

"We've already spoken to Master Evelyn." The administrator's voice was equally flat, but it had a more scholarly air about it than the guards at the door.

"I'm Vincent, the deputy deacon of the archives. Is this your first time here?"

"Yes, Deacon Vincent," Rowling replied.

"The rules are very simple." Deacon Vincent pulled a thin, hardcover booklet from under the counter and pushed it in front of Rolin.

"These are the archive guidelines and instructions for using the catalog. Please read them carefully."

"With your badge, you can borrow most of the collections with level 2 and below access. Some level 1 collections require additional application and will consume contribution points."

"Borrowing requires registration, and the original documents may not be taken out of the archives; they may only be used in the designated reading room or copying room."

"You are solely responsible for any damage or loss."

Rowling picked up the booklet and quickly flipped through it.

The rules are nothing more than clauses about protecting the collection, keeping quiet, and respecting authority.

The index usage instructions introduce a special method for using a retrieval matrix based on mental connections.

"Understood." Rowling put down the booklet.

"The reading room is at the end of the left corridor, and the copying room is on the right."

"The retrieval array is present in each reading room."

"Do you need me to take you there?" Deacon Vincent asked.

"No need, I can manage on my own." Roland didn't want to trouble this seemingly busy butler any further.

Vincent nodded, said nothing more, and went back to working on his files.

Rowling walked toward the left corridor.

The corridor was lined with individual rooms, their doors tightly shut, each labeled with a room number and general category in both ancient and common languages: "Studies on Variations of Common Languages ​​in Ancient Language Families," "Semiotics and Totem Evolution," "Compilation of Early Runic Logic," and "Fragments of Lost Civilization Manuscripts (The Whispering Age)" —

He found a room marked "General Viewing Level 2 Access" and pushed open the door.

The room is small, about 20 square meters.

In the center was a large, smooth, mirror-like black stone table with intricate silver patterns etched along its edges, which must have been the retrieval array.

The room's four walls are also lined with niches and bookshelves, but the collection here is noticeably smaller and more organized, consisting mostly of edited and translated copies or research notes.

In one corner of the room, there was a comfortable high-backed chair and a small bookshelf with several general textbooks on the introduction to ancient languages ​​and the basics of semiotics.

As soon as Luo Lin closed the door, the room became unusually quiet, as if it were completely isolated from the outside world.

He walked to the stone table and placed the research assistant badge in a recessed groove on the corner of the table that perfectly matched the shape of the badge.

Buzz—

The silver patterns on the tabletop gradually lit up with a soft glow.

A semi-transparent, complex, multi-layered catalog index composed of light and shadow, like an unfolded three-dimensional scroll, floats above the desktop.

The catalog is categorized according to multiple dimensions such as language system, civilization period, research direction, and collection type, with a vast number of entries.

Rowling focused his mind, concentrating on the two keywords: "Observer Civilization" and "Protocol Rune".

The catalog of light and shadow elements was quickly scrolled through and filtered. Ultimately, it settled on a limited number of items.

"Observer Civilization (tentative name), Related Records Index (Compiled internally by the Council, Level 2 Access)"

"A Fragmentary Deduction of the Universal Rune Logic of Ancient Autonomous Constructs - by Scholar Evelyn (Level 3 Access - Additional Application Required)"

"Comparison Table of Symbols Unearthed from Pre-Silent Civilization Relics (Partial), Level 2 Access"

"Analysis of the Structural Characteristics of Ancient Protocol-Type Runes (Summary of Internal Council Research Report), Level 2 Access"

The entries are few, and most are research materials or summaries compiled within the parliament, rather than the original texts.

This is normal, as direct written records left by observer civilizations are rare, and most are stored in higher-priority areas.

Luo Lin first opened "Observer Civilization (tentative name), related record index".

The interplay of light and shadow reveals a review-like article written in a common language.

The article is brief, mainly summarizing the artifact features suspected to belong to the Observer civilization that the Secret Language Council has discovered over the past few centuries from the ruins in and around the Dustwind Plains:

Highly standardized geometric aesthetics, cool-toned metallic materials, embedded complex energy circuits, generally possessing a certain degree of self-discipline or protocol execution capabilities, exhibiting a strong reaction to rule anomalies or a tendency to clean up unauthorized contact, etc.

The article concludes with brief descriptions and image rubbings of several typical cases, including images of the Maintainer mechanical spiders and the remains of a Secondary Arbiter that Rowling encountered, but the caption under the images reads "Model unconfirmed, threat level assessment: high".

Rowling quickly skimmed through it; the content largely matched what he knew, but lacked deeper information.

He then clicked on "Analysis of the structural features of ancient protocol-type runes (Summary)".

This abstract is slightly more detailed, analyzing the common characteristics of rune arrays with clear instruction or state functions found in several different relics:

Highly abstract, logically sound, emphasizing efficiency and stability, and typically closely integrated with energy sources and feedback loops.

The abstract also proposes several possible approaches to rune parsing, including reverse energy tracing, logic chain simulation, and finding protocol vulnerabilities.

This involves taking advantage of logical contradictions or unaddressed scenarios that may exist in the protocol itself due to its age or design flaws.

The idea of ​​exploiting protocol vulnerabilities is similar to Rolin's experience of using rule substrate fragments to create interference charms and accidentally triggering protocol overwrite instructions during tag parsing.

He memorized the general content of the two documents and then applied for access to "Logical Deduction of Universal Runes of Ancient Autonomous Constructs (Fragment)".

This is a work by Master Evelyn, who has higher authority, but as her research assistant, Rowling is qualified to apply.

The application was approved quickly, but it indicated that the document could only be viewed in this room and could not be copied or taken out.

A more complex and profound document, filled with various rune structure diagrams and logical deduction formulas, unfolds on the desktop.

Rowling immediately became engrossed in it. Although this fragment was incomplete, Master Evelyn's deductions were extremely rigorous. Starting from the rune arrays on several known ancient construct fragments, she constructed a hypothetical "universal rune logic grammar".

This grammar attempts to explain how these runes express "if then", "loops", and "conditional statements".

Complex concepts such as "status feedback" are involved.

Reading this fragment directly inspired Rowling's understanding of the rune array on the rule substrate fragment.

Many connections and directions that previously seemed obscure and difficult to understand have become much clearer within Evelyn's logical framework.

Time flew by as I focused on reading and thinking.

It wasn't until a faint feeling of hunger crept into his stomach that Rowling snapped out of his reverie amidst the vast ocean of knowledge.

I glanced at an inconspicuous hourglass-shaped timer on the table and realized that nearly four hours had passed.

He rubbed his slightly sore eyes and took the badge out of the groove.

The light and shadow on the desktop disappeared immediately.

It's time to go back.

Today was quite fruitful. Not only did I gain a preliminary understanding of the Council's current research on the Observer Civilization, but more importantly, Master Evelyn's fragment on the logic of universal runes provided an important theoretical tool for his subsequent analysis of the rule substrate fragments.