Chapter 137
As I looked at it and wondered why it seemed so familiar, Daniela returned from her stroll .
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“There really is nothing around here… What, that, that…!”
“Ah, Daniela . Yeah, this . I know I’ve seen it before, but I can’t remember where . ”
“That is an ancient elven crest!”
“Re-really?”
I frantically took my bag off and pulled out the ancient elven sword . On close inspection, it really did have the same crest on its handguard . I see . I rarely looked at it and so I had forgotten…
“It’s the same…”
“So this ruin was made by the ancient elves… Asagi, this is quite a discovery!”
“I guess . But if it’s so important, why hasn’t anyone realized it before?”
Supposedly this place had been investigated many times . That seemed very inept on their part .
“Well, people had long assumed that there was some value to this place . They must have been careful not to change too much . I imagine they would not have been turning everything over…”
“So in other words, I was the first person to flip this rock here . And so it was discovered . ”
It was a weird coincidence . My job when I worked the night shift was mostly cleaning, and so I liked to keep things tidy . And I suppose that tendency led to this . My days as a part-time worker were not for nothing then .
“But this building is in a lot worse condition than the other one . ”
“There would be some kind of preservation magic on the important parts . That means there could be something where we cannot see . ”
Now that was something our predecessors should have looked into . But I guess they didn’t turn things over and shovel and sweep as part of investigations in this world . In fact, seventy percent of the building had practically returned to nature .
“Well then . If we investigate this place thoroughly, that could lead to a great discovery…”
“I know that we are not exactly in a hurry, but surely you do not think we are going to set up camp here and dig around forever?”
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There was the matter of food as well . Daniela added . It didn’t seem the most convincing coming from Daniela, but it would definitely be a problem . If we stayed here for too long, we wouldn’t have enough food when crossing the mountains .
“We could return to Replant once…”
“You…spent all that time saying goodbye to everyone, and you want to return before a week has passed…?”
I have no shame .
“Ah, but one can’t ignore the possibility of a treasure right in front of him . ”
“I understand how you feel, but it will not do . If it is there, then it is hidden . You must start by searching for it . It could be underground or in the sky…”
“The sky? How would you hide something in the sky?”
Surely there isn’t a castle floating up there…
“They say that islands floated in the air during the age of advanced magic, you know? Perhaps remnants of it still remain . ”
“Huh… Must have been amazing back then…”
Islands in the sky on a sunny day . I looked up now, but of course, there was nothing there . Maybe it was hidden…
“Huhhh…I guess it’s no use then…”
“I am disappointed about it as well . ”
I get it…but I didn’t like it at all…!
“Daniela, you go on ahead . ”
“What?”
“I’m a romanticist . I cannot abandon the possibility this lies in front of me!”
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I wrung my fists and burned with the passion of an adventurous soul . Would I be a man if I gave up here?
“How will you eat?”
“I’ll go hunting . ”
“Are you stupid?”
“Maybe I am!”
She looked at me with exasperation, but it did not change my resolve .
“Huhhh… You can be stubborn at the strangest of times, Asagi . I suppose it is I who must bend…”
“I’m sorry, Daniela . I promise . I’ll finish in two days . Even if I don’t find anything, I’ll come after you once those two days are up . ”
“…Very well . Walk straight from our last camp, then you will reach the mountain path . It is an actual path with signs, so you should have no trouble catching up to me with your speed . ”
“Got it!”
I handed Daniela the hollow bag .
“I’m used to sleeping outside . You should take everything . ”
“Two days . I hope you will not forget it in your fervor?”
“Don’t worry . I’ll keep my promise . ”
I knew that I wasn’t making it easy for her . But surely it was fine to do as you want, once in a while…
To crush just a little of my guilt, I picked Daniela up and used Legs of the Forest Wolf to carry her back to our camp . This way, she wouldn’t waste any energy on me .
“Well, see you in two days . ”
“Aye . I shall have no expectations . ”
“I’ll try to bring back something good . ”
You will try . Daniela said with a laugh and waved . I returned to the ruin in a hurry . I would find what so many had failed to find in a limited time frame . I had to hurry .
And so my detour began .
And then the first day ended . I had found nothing . I even looked through the sky, but it was no use .
With the power of Legs of the Forest Wolf, I could run in the air . I could explore where no one else could . No one could search this world inhabited by the birds…I think . Probably .
I ran up directly over the ruins . As there was a danger of me running into an invisible wall, I created several ice shields above me as protection . And like that, I went up as high as my body would allow me . It became cold very quickly, and I couldn’t breathe… Still, I found nothing . Though the view was quite nice . It was so surprsingingly beautiful, in fact, that I wanted to show it to Daniela next time .
This world was certainly round, I thought, as I descended, having depleted quite a lot of magical energy . And so the first day ended .
I was very tired as I searched for a place to sleep . I had given everything to Daniela, so the only thing to do was to make some vine ropes and sleep in a tree . It would be impossible, if there were any blood apes around, but they have never been known to live around here . They stayed in the northern forests of Replant .
Still, I set up some animal traps on the ground before climing the tree . Besides, if something got caught in it, I would have something to eat later… Well, I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high . And with that, I tied the vines around my body so I was secure, and closed my eyes .
The next morning, I woke up without having had any dinner the previous day . I sighed as I looked down to untie the rope around my stomach, when I noticed there was a racoon caught in the trap below me . Oh, so I suppose there would be breakfast after all . I untied the ropes and then launched an ice arrow into the brain of the squirming animal . I landed on the ground and saw that it had died with one hit . After joining my hands in front of it respectfully, I began to gut it . Then I gathered some branches together and used way too much magic to create a fire . I disliked fire magic a lot… I understood it for the most part, but I didn’t have the right attributes, which made it irritating to use . Otherwise, I would be causing explosions with a snap of my fingers… Well, maybe I would just have to settle with freezing things .
Freezing an entire area with a snap… That would be so cool…
The fire went out as such stupid thoughts distracted my mind . I felt very miserable as I wasted even more energy in making the fire again .
I walked around the ruins while stuffing racoon meat in my mouth . If it wasn’t in the sky, then it must be in the ground . After all, things always tend to be buried when it comes to ruins . They were always excavating things on TV . Buried gold or earthenware . All underground . If it was one thousand years ago, it could easily be buried, with trees growing over it .
Of course, that was my view as a modern man, and that wasn’t very useful here . After all, this ruin wasn’t even underground . It didn’t matter if it was a thousand years ago .
Unless they hid it underground from the beginning . They hid it there and built a building on top . Yes . They put a building here to draw all the attention, all the while hiding what is really important . But they still wanted someone to find it, so they left a hint . Otherwise, why leave any kind of marking on the surface?
In that case, what ever is hidden must be incredibly valuable . I told myself this as I spat out the bones from the meat and marked the place that I would dig .
I couldn’t turn the whole place upside down . I would concentrate on one point and cause an explosive wind with Legs of the Forest Wolf . Obviously, it would use a lot of magical energy, so I would not be able to do it many times .
First, the center of the ruins . That is where I would dig . I used Jack of all Trades, Master of None to visualize it . It allowed me to try different methods through simulation, and pick which method would be the most effective . The unique skill was really good for that reason…now if only my techniques could catch up with it .
After a few minutes, I concentrated the green and silver wind around my legs to the underside of my feet as I levitated in the air . It went from my legs to a single point below me . It was like piercing the ground with a needle and allowing the energy to explode from that point . The power of the Forest Wolf caused a great wind directed towards the ground . I was blown up into the air by the force of it, but it was all according to my predictions .
“Hmmm… It must be a success then…”
The dust slowly blows away in the wind . And the hole in the ground shows itseld . It worked . There was now a two meter deep hole there . However, there were no visible traces of anything being hidden . Once the dust had settled completely, I went down and inspected it .
“Hmm…mmm…? What’s this?”
I had tried using Presence Detection, and that’s when I noticed that there was magic flowing inside the ground .
I wondered if maybe I had made a mistake, and so I tried again after getting out of the hole, but everything was normal again . So then I went back in the hole and activated Presence Detection . Same strage feeling . It was like I was inside of a dragon vein .
“Is there some magic at work here…?”
Maybe this was the preservation magic? But I wasn’t strong enough to be able to analyze it . Though, there was definitely something here . I knew that . The ruins were quite broken down, and yet, it was somehow still a vehicle for this magic . It was when I thought this, that something started to bother me .
“Could it be…that it was made like that from the beginning?”
How…aged it looked . Broken down…that atmosphere . And that ancient elven crest that had been flipped over almost purposefully . What if it acted as some kind of magic circle?
I was afraid to find out . What if I destroyed it and it exploded… No thanks . I didn’t want to meddle with it if it really was what was preserving the place . Someone who knew about these things should look at it . But then again, no such person existed in this world anymore .
“If there is preseveration magic, and I can dig up the earth here . That means the ground is not protected…so it only affects manmade things?”
I should dig a little more . This is the place where the crest had been . Maybe I would find something . Treasure Hunter Asagi smirked as he gathered a second wind to his feet .