Volume 15 Chapter 8 Reconnaissance Part I
"...That's how it is. Of course, I want to go, but if possible, I'd like to bring a teleportation magic tool just in case the worst happens."
After hearing Al's explanation, Patricia and Baroness Tabasa exchanged glances.
"Sir Al, isn't that dangerous?"
Baroness Tabasa asked, and Al shook his head.
"I don't know. Of course, since I'm going to an unknown place, I can't say it's completely safe. But I want to explore the ancient ruins. My sister, Ingrid, and I were attacked by goblins when we were young."
He continued, determination in his voice. "Just like that, many people are still facing threats from barbarians and magic beasts. There must be wisdom left in some ancient ruins to deal with the barbarians."
Al paused for a moment before adding, "Of course, I'll send livestock to check for dangers, just like the last magic bag incident where they died in minutes, and I plan to act carefully in other ways too."
After Al answered, Patricia briefly showed a slightly sad expression but quickly smiled.
"I understand, Sir Al. Please don't push yourself too hard."
"Of course."
Al smiled.
"Are you leaving soon? Will you be gone for a while?"
Patricia asked, and Al shook his head.
"Hmm. I want to leave as soon as possible, but I don't think I can go right away. Today, as I mentioned earlier, I'll go to Border City of Parker to buy livestock, store them, and observe for about half a day, I we'll probably leave tomorrow at the earliest."
He continued, his voice steady. "Over there, I plan to use the 'Floating Eye' spell to look around, so I think I'll only stay for about an hour before coming back. After that, it depends on the results. Still, I'll prepare food and blankets just in case."
Hearing Al's answer, Patricia nodded, looking a bit relieved.
"Then, should I plan for Tabasa to be in the border city of Parker tomorrow?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. We'll see the results of tomorrow's exploration afterward."
* * *
"Alright, I'm off now. Patricia, please store me."
Al said as he slowly waved his hand.
"Okay, please be careful."
Patricia fiddled with the button of the magic tool that acted as a magic bag and touched Al again. Al accepted the action without resistance.
Unlike animals, when it comes to intelligent beings like humans, if there's even a little reluctance to be stored, it seems the process can fail.
As soon as Patricia touched him, Al's view switched from the tower to the storage warehouse of the magic bag. However, he couldn't move right away.
It felt similar to when he teleported using the teleportation magic tool. He was probably starting to appear vaguely at the teleportation destination.
Using the 'Thermos' spell, it wasn't too cold, but the air he breathed was quite chilly. More than that, there was a strong smell, like something rotten, mixed with mold, making the air feel stagnant.
After about ten seconds, Al finally managed to move his body and hurriedly took an old cloth from his pocket to cover his nose and mouth.
"Just like 'Teleport.' When I put things in and out, the item disappeared right away, so I didn't think about it, but I guess it takes time to move to the storage."
'Hmm, seems like it.'
Glee's whisper echoed in his ear. Although there was an unexpected discovery, it seemed that 'Transport' had worked without any issues.
Fortunately, before being 'Transported,' the 'Detect Magic' spell he had prepared showed a significant number of responses that seemed to be magic tools. 1, 2... counting them, there were quite a few.
It looked like there were over 20. Most of them were located about ten meters (33ft) above where Al was, and only 2 were on the same level.
"Where am I? Is this underground?"
'I'm not sure of our exact location, but it must be underground.'
Glee murmured. Now that he thought about it, he remembered asking Glee something similar while flying in search of a research tower.
At that time, she had said that she could usually determine coordinates, but it might not work underground or underwater. This place might be one of those locations.
The large number of magic tools suggested that this was an untouched ancient ruin. There must be useful items among them.
Al waved the Ring of Pact to try to communicate with Patricia. However, he couldn't connect. Until now, he had never failed to connect, but maybe it was similar to the coordinate information.
'The 'Telepathy' of the Ring of Pact might not work when underground or underwater.'
Glee seemed to think the same way. So that's how it is... Al didn't fully understand the principles of the Ring of Pact's magic circuit since he had never studied it in detail, but it could be possible.
However, not being able to contact anyone was quite painful.
"There's no choice. While we wait for them to retrieve us, let's continue our investigation."
'Right.'
'Floating Eye.'
A faintly glowing blue-white sphere appeared in Al's hand. Of course, this was only visible because Al was using 'Magic Sense'; to an ordinary person, it would look like a transparent sphere.
Just as he was about to send it flying, Al found himself unable to move.
Had he been paralyzed by a spell or something? Feeling anxious, he scanned his surroundings. There shouldn't have been anything moving. Then, he noticed that his own figure was gradually fading from the Floating Eye's view.
Was this due to the 'Transport' spell? If so, it might mean that when retrieving, there was a ten-second period of immobility, unlike 'Teleport.'
Perhaps Patricia or Baroness Tabasa had retrieved him.
About ten seconds later, Al's vision switched from the warehouse to the familiar room in the research tower, where he saw Patricia with a tearful face and Baroness Tabasa looking worried.
"I'm back."
"Thank goodness. Sir Al."
"Welcome back."
When Al spoke, the two of them changed to relieved smiles.
"I was really worried because I couldn't reach you with 'Telepathy.' Malachi said that when you go into old mines, you can faint from the bad air..."
"I'm sorry. I only mentioned it as a possibility because I heard that 'Telepathy' wasn't working with the Ring of Pact..."
Malachi, the golem, bowed his head.
"Thank you for worrying about me. I haven't checked in detail yet, but it seems like it's underground over there. So, I think that's why 'Telepathy' didn't work. The air is definitely stale, though."
Al sighed in relief, glad that he hadn't been attacked.
"Did it seem okay?"
"Well, the smell was strong, but it wasn't enough to make me faint. I'm testing things with chickens and pigs, so you can relax. It shouldn't be as bad as Malachi said."
Saying this, Al smiled. Seeing his smile, Patricia hugged him with teary eyes. Al gently patted her shoulder to comfort her.
"It's okay, it's okay. But since 'Telepathy' isn't working, it's hard to time things. Can you take me out once in about 20 minutes?"
Patricia looked up and slowly nodded.
"Okay, Tabasa, please take care of Malachi too. Patricia, please store me."
Patricia touched the button and then, feeling a bit scared, reached out her hand to Al. Then, once again, Al's figure disappeared from the research tower.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)