032. Item (2)
I wasn’t sure, but there is something in the space inside this dungeon.
That was Berris’ idea.
In fact, there was nothing to prove. I decided to explore this secret castle purely by relying on intuition.
“This is… ….”
As I entered the interior avoiding the remnants of the collapsed wall, what caught my eye were the antique-style buildings.
Since it has not been touched by humans for a long time, it has been shattered and dust has settled here and there, but one thing is for sure that the architecture is different from the buildings of the academy.
“It looks like a building from the Age of Magic. It is a style unique to the age of magic that excludes curves and expresses elegance with straight lines.”
While everyone was walking out step by step with nervous faces, Maria’s bold opinion was heard.
It’s something you don’t learn at the academy, but maybe she learned it at the imperial palace, and Maria’s face was filled with a firm feeling of conviction.
“So you are saying that this is a city from the age of sorcery?”
Gunther looked confused and couldn’t believe what she said. Well, even with Berris, it was difficult to believe right away if the castles and buildings that suddenly appeared in the dungeon were from the age of sorcery.
Why on earth is a castle in the style of the Age of Magic in the dungeon?
“I said it because it matches what I learned. I don’t know the details, but maybe a city could have been moved in the age of magic, when legendary wizards led the world.”
“I can’t… ….”
“I’ve seen it in books too. There were wizards who learned void mana, which has lost absolute power, not subdivided mana like now.”
Veris nodded her head.
Void mana. Unlike today’s mana, which has its own attributes, isn’t it a legacy of the past that has exceptional power in all areas?
The party, who exchanged their opinions, entered the depths of the city without realizing it. There was a tall tower in the center of the city, located inside the fortress, and it boasted a completely different scale from ordinary buildings.
“Crazy.”
Berrys spat out her honest and plain evaluation.
It is a majestic landscape. Perhaps in any city on this continent, it was very clear that such a huge tower would be difficult to see.
Under the sky in the dungeon, as if purple paint had been sprayed on it, a grotesquely gigantic tower towered high toward the endless sky.
“…… What was the building used for?”
In front of a structure in the shape of a tower, they stared blankly at it.
Looking like an altar for religious ceremonies, it has a charm that makes people feel sick of it without having to go inside.
“I’ll go in.”
“Yes? It is too dangerous!”
Arwen shouted in surprise at Veris’ opinion.
Just seeing this unknown world right now made my heart pound and I broke out in a cold sweat.
“I know. So I am the only one who enters.”
Everyone looked at him blankly at Veris’ firm voice.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know that he is strong? However, no matter how strong he is, his life cannot be guaranteed if the cold blade or the eerie mana penetrates his body.
Still trying to enter that unknown structure alone!
“Something…… Did you feel it?”
“Yes.”
“Feel it? Cecilia, what is that!”
“Arwen, I know. The fact that the fragments of great power that Berry possesses are at a level that ordinary people cannot possess.”
“What does that have to do with Veris-sama going inside?”
Cecilia smiled bitterly at Arwen’s unwillingness to yield.
“I’m not sure either. But Berrys-sama saw it. It is at the end of the road this dungeon led to.”
It doesn’t really feel like such a luxurious expression. Thinking so, Veris nodded his head with a trembling face.
No rhetoric needed. It would be more accurate to say that I feel a strong attraction that cannot be expressed in words.
Gunther, who had been silently listening to Verice’s will and Cecilia’s words, took a step forward and shouted.
“Please leave this place to me. I will wait for you!”
Gunter shows off his strong will like a big military dog. Veris, who eventually turned to him, started moving forward, and everyone looked at him with uneasy eyes.
─Kikik!
The giant door of the tower pushed open by Veris’ hand, which contained some mana, began to open with a terrible sound.
And soon, Veris disappeared into the darkness.
Thump!
A huge door that closes as soon as Veris disappears into the darkness. Everyone stared blankly at the door at that strange phenomenon.
* * *
“Hmm.”
As she used mana to illuminate the darkness, what Veris saw was an empty space.
The only stairs in the corner of the space were still in place, and Veris approached slowly and started climbing the stairs.
How many stairs did you climb?
Again, in the space at the end of the stairs, there was a round disk large enough for 10 people to climb. There was something like a convex switch in the center of it placed on the floor, and it felt like it was made to be able to interact with humans no matter who sees it.
─Kugugung. Profit.
When you press a button like a switch on top of the disc, the disc starts working within no time.
The scaffolding, which began to move slowly and stably, soon began to rise toward the sky.
‘Elevator?’
Yes.
This bizarre disc gives a feeling similar to an elevator that exists in modern times.
If I had to point out a little different point, unlike the modern one, which was shaped like a box for safety, the disk on which Berris is standing now doesn’t have an outer wall.
As the moving elevator began to float slowly, and soon began to rise to an unbelievable height, Veris couldn’t help but burst into small admiration.
As the sky got closer and farther from the ground, the purple sparkling stars were getting closer to him.
Proving that this space itself is a legacy of lost magic, the sky was not just ordinary minerals or rocks, but was entirely made of mana and magic.
‘It turned.’
Even the ruins of the sorcery era, which was called the golden age of magic, seemed like excessive waste to the extent that it was hard to understand.
─Koo Goong!
The disk, which had been moving towards the top of the structure for a while, stopped working, perhaps thanks to reaching the top floor.
Veris, who got off the plate, burst into small admiration.
A beautiful purple sky. Filling the space in this dungeon, surprisingly, it spread around the castle.
“This?”
While appreciating the scenery from the top floor, which was shaped like the top of a tower, Veris soon witnessed a surprising scene.
Thanks to the small box on top of the altar-like stairs in the corner of the top floor of the structure.
The box, small enough to hold with one hand, was not made of ordinary wood. A small amount of mana was flowing on the outside of the box made of shiny ore.
─Shredding!
Verys unlocked the box through a series of mana actions and opened it.
And Veris couldn’t keep her mouth shut at the shocking sight.
* * *
“Um, over there…… Majesty. Do I really need to go there?”
“Yes.”
At the cold man’s answer, the middle-aged man cried.
It’s just a letter. The shocking content contained in that one letter turned the great royal family of the Vera Empire upside down, so what could this be?
“But…… Aren’t you busy with work yet?”
“No, even His Majesty the Great Emperor will understand. He cannot vacate the throne, but my case is different.”
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At the answer of the man who brushed up his beautiful pink hair, the middle-aged man had a tearful face.
Can you believe that the prince who rules this huge empire is about to leave for Vera Academy after reading her sister’s letter?
As if he seemed to want to go and kill someone, the prince even wore a golden sword, a sacred object of the prince that he did not normally wear.
“Really, if His Highness leaves like this, I might really die of overwork.”
A middle-aged man who blocks the prince with a sorrowful face as if he is about to shed tears at any moment.
Did you even know his heart? The prince nodded his head with a heavy face.
What does that mean? The middle-aged man, who thought that the prince had finally made up his mind to stop his immature behavior, soon heard the dry prince’s voice.
“Then let me die.”
“…… Yes?”
“Die. I am going.”
Hee hee hee!
The middle-aged man had a blank face when he saw the back of the prince as he spurred on the horse’s belly and proceeded towards the main gate of the palace.
Even though the prince was crossing the bridge over the entrance of the great imperial palace, the middle-aged man stood blankly there like a manger seat.
“Crazy.”
That was a simple but sure word that replaced the middle-aged man’s state of mind.
Everyone knows that the people of this imperial family are afraid of her princess Maria. However, she doesn’t even have a problem with her, but seeing the emperor who goes wild on her way and the prince who decided to go to the academy right away, it seems that something is going on with her.
“Does he even have a man?”
After muttering that, the middle-aged man smiled and shook his head.
She is the princess Maria, who cares very little about her man enough to break off her betrothal foretold by the great emperor. If a man were born, would he be able to handle this rich man?
* * *
“Wow. Wow.”
It’s like jam…… No, Cecilia, her eyes wide open like a child, exploded in admiration.
It was yesterday that she safely returned from the dungeon. When Berrys said that she had something to show because of that, the group gathered at the mansion in the commercial district were quickly surprised.
“It is truly disappointing. I am aware that I am a sword user and the other three use magic or spiritism, but this is clearly discriminatory treatment and the loot acquired by chance must be divided equally according to the dungeon law… ….”
“I’ll give you yours next time.”
“Thank you. I was counting on you.”
With a single word, Veris subdued the whining Gunther, and turned her head to look at the three women.
What was in the box Veris picked up was, surprisingly, a ring. There were three rings in total, but a total of five people were involved in cleaning the dungeon, so the two had no choice but to give up the rings.
“Can we really take this?”
Maria couldn’t believe the current situation.
At first, she was unfounded curiosity. A small number of students, including Berris, heard that they were going to the dungeon under the order of the dean, so it was Maria who joined in a group. What on earth could this be?
In Berris’ opinion, the party who went into the ‘door’ created in the dungeon found a ruin that was presumably from the Age of Magic. And from inside the ruins, Veris brought what seemed to be a magic item.
“Tell us this… ….”
Arwen’s face was reddened as if he was thrilled.
At first glance, she looked like a girl who had received an unexpected gift, but Maria, who was somewhat expected inside, looked at her with her eyes narrowed.
What Veris brought was a ring.
What is a ring? You can see it as an accessory that decorates your fingers, but people in the world attach great importance to it and wear it.
For example, it means putting a ring on the ring finger of the left hand of a married person.
“This ring has the power to permanently increase the wearer’s mana.”
Everyone was surprised by Veris’ explanation.
Permanently increase mana? That means that the value of this ring is of a phenomenal level, worth even a thousand gold.
But the loot was shared with those who shared it!
“My God.”
Berris explained, Gunther was now salivating as he stared at the ring.
Compared to wizards or elementals, even a swordsman who is less affected by mana would be desirable.
“So, are you really giving this to us?”
“Yes. Because we all worked hard together.”
At Veris’ calm voice, Maria stared blankly at him.
The more I look at him, the more I covet him. He must have known the value of this ring, but such a calm attitude!
Looking at that dignified attitude, something tickled me, and my cheeks turned red. The strangely rough breathing there, Maria thought to herself, was due to the value of that ring.
“Put me in first!”
Cecilia was the first to react to Veris’ decision.
She jumped from her seat and handed the ring from her box to Veris, but what she said was quite obvious.
‘Ask for a ring?’
“Yes.”
Maria felt like her stomach was burning at Veris’s casual answer.
Watching the saints of the Holy Kingdom and the Order of Light slightly raised their left ring fingers and held out their left ring fingers, I felt discomfort twisting in her stomach.