Grand Olympia - Chapter 29: Knowledge

Grand Olympia: Further Horizon - Chapter 29: Knowledge

The temple's silence stretched long, the air thick with dust and the scent of old stone. Now that they weren't distracted by the mural, Billy found himself lost in thought.

He glanced at the others, each one moving with an understanding that should've been unnatural—yet wasn't. No one questioned how they could communicate so effortlessly despite coming from vastly different times and places. 

The knowledge settled in their minds like it had always been there, like they had always known.

Billy exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ever stop to think about how weird it is?"

George gave him a sideways glance. "You're gonna have to be more specific."

Billy raised his left mechanical arm, its dull metal glinting in the dim light.

"The way we just—know things. Like we know we came from different times, different places, and yet we're able to understand each other like it's second nature." 

He flexed his fingers, the artificial joints clicking softly. 

"And it's not just the language. It's—" 

He hesitated, then waved his hand vaguely. 

"It's like there's something settling in our heads, making us understand things we shouldn't."

They all stopped in their tracks, looking at each other for a moment. Jeanne's brows furrowed. Fu Hao folded her arms. 

Even Musashi, usually relaxed, had gone still.

Billy pointed his revolver at Lapulapu—not in aggression, just gesturing. "You know what this is, right?"

Lapulapu frowned. "It's a gun."

Billy smirked. "Now tell me, without anyone explaining it to you, what type of gun is this?"

Lapulapu's expression darkened slightly as he considered the question. His lips pressed into a thin line. "Revolver," he said after a moment.

Billy's smirk didn't fade. "Yeah? And how'd you know that?"

The ancient hallway sat in silence once again.

It wasn't just a language thing. It wasn't just basic survival knowledge passing between them. It was something deeper, something unnatural.

George cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"Alright. Let's test something. Who here knows basic math?"

Everyone immediately responded with "Yes."

George raised a brow. "Multiplication? Division?"

Another round of nods.

Lapulapu adjusted his grip on his kampilan and spoke. "As a chief of my tribe, I was taught addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But—"

He hesitated, expression shifting, as if the words in his mouth felt foreign.

"Yet, I also know how to multiply and divide with complicated decimals or fractions at ease—something that was never part of my education. Even though I received better schooling than most of my people, I was only taught the essential basics needed for a chieftain."

Fu hao looked at him carefully. "Are you sure? How about your people? Do they receive basic education?"

Lapulapu shook his head. "No. My people, my warriors, they never needed such knowledge beyond the basics. I was given slightly better education than most, but nothing beyond what was necessary for a leader."

Jeanne nodded. "I came from a peasant background, and as a woman, I was never taught this kind of knowledge."

Fu Hao tapped her fingers against her arm. "It's the same for me. I was trained in strategy, war, and logistics, but I know things that I shouldn't. Concepts of engineering, knowledge of structures, even things about medicine that weren't common in my time."

Musashi hummed thoughtfully. "I have never seen these type of firearms before, yet I know their function. I know how they should be used. Strange."

George ran a hand through his hair. "So it's not just language. It's… implanted knowledge. But for what reason?"

Billy chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Ain't that the real question?"

Fu Hao raised an eyebrow at Billy, arms crossed. 

"What made you think of that anyway?"

Billy smirked, tapping his mechanical arm against the wall. 

"Well, when no one was looking, I secretly touched the light in the mural with this bad boy." 

He flexed his metal fingers.

"Didn't get mesmerized nor did the trap activate." His tone was as smug as ever, daring someone to challenge him.

The group fell silent. Deadpan stares locked onto Billy like he had just admitted to dive in the waters to check for sharks.

Jeanne sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

George muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Of course, it's Billy."

Lapulapu crossed his arms. "And you're just now telling us this?"

Billy shrugged. "Figured I'd let y'all have your fun first."

Musashi exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "So it only works on living flesh?"

"Looks that way." Billy grinned. "Which means this whole temple leads somewhere. We've got some clues about how things work and what to avoid touching."

George rubbed his chin, his curiosity outweighing his frustration.

"If there's a pattern to things, we can figure it out. The murals show a civilization has a temple either the same one was standing in or not, worshipping the light, then being wiped out by a flood. What if it's a warning, not just decoration?"

Fu Hao narrowed her eyes. "A warning about what? That we're all going to drown?"

Billy chuckled, but there was little humor in it. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened to us."

Lapulapu, still watching the mural in silence, finally spoke. 

"If we keep moving forward, we need to assume everything ahead will test us. We've seen the traps. We know they react to flesh but not metal. We should use that."

Musashi cracked his knuckles.

"So, we go in knowing this place wants to kill us." He smirked. 

"Fine by me."

Billy smirks.

"Then let's make sure we don't end up like the people in that mural."

George tapped his fingers against his arm, eyes scanning the others. "What do you think makes us different from each other—aside from the obvious?"

The group stood in silence, the weight of George's words settling over them like dust in the temple air. He had a point, but none of them could quite grasp what it meant yet.

They exchanged glances. Fu Hao furrowed her brows, clearly unsure of where he was going with this. Musashi crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. Billy clicked his tongue, unimpressed. Lapulapu remained as stoic as ever.

Then, unexpectedly, Fu Hao spoke up, though there was hesitation in her voice. "Me and Lapulapu… we both have one of the three pieces of a golden medallion."

George nodded. "Exactly."

Billy raised a brow. "So what? You think owning a piece of that thing actually means something?"

The idea settled into the air, thick with unspoken thoughts. No one answered right away. Jeanne shifted, gripping her spear a little tighter. Musashi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. 

Then Fu Hao crossed her arms. "What's so special about that?"

George exhaled through his nose. "I don't know yet. But I think it's important. We could be granted special privileges by having one of the pieces."

George muttered, his mind racing. 

"Without any tests, we could easily wander through this temple—no, this entire strange place—like lost souls. But let's not forget what Qin Shi Huang said, whether it's true or not: he got a medal for being the first to find a temple. That hint might just point us toward more treasures hidden in the shadows."

The silence stretched again. Everyone was turning the thought over in their heads, trying to find the missing piece in an invisible puzzle.

Finally, Lapulapu, ever calm and direct, spoke up. "Let's test it, then."

They all turned to him.

Lapulapu gestured back toward the mural. "Let's see what happens."

No one objected. Without another word, they turned and made their way down the dimly lit corridor, back toward the mural that had almost gotten George and Musashi killed.