Volume 15 Chapter 9 Reconnaissance Part Ii
"Ugh..., wow, it really stinks."
After being 'Transported' back to the magic bag's storage, Al muttered as he looked around.
'If there were windows, we could open them..., but there aren't any at all. Are they only thinking about storing stuff? To keep bugs out?'
"Yeah, probably. Since Guildmaster Levy lent it to us, it's been like this for a long time, so maybe animals can only survive for a little while."
'That's true.'
While Al chatted with Glee, he stared up at a part of the crumbling wall. There was a crack about a meter wide in the corner of the ceiling, and he could see another space beyond it.
He hadn't noticed before being 'Transported', but there were quite a few vertical cracks in the surrounding walls, and they looked like they might crumble even more if touched. Then, he made another discovery.
It didn't trigger the 'Detect Magic' spell, but the center of the storage was faintly glowing a bluish-white. It was probably reacting to the 'Magic Sense' spell.
He wasn't sure what it was. Was it something for security?
"Do you think we should 'Dispel Magic'? Or just leave it as it is?"
'I don't know. But if we 'Dispel Magic', we might not be able to use the button-shaped magic bag anymore.'
That made sense; it might be because they had set it up as a storage with the 'Transport' spell. So, it would be a waste to 'Dispel Magic' without knowing what it was.
It would be better to consult Malachi about 'Dispel Magic' when they got back.
'Floating Eye.'
Once again, a faintly glowing blue-white sphere, the eye, appeared in Al's hand.
"First, let's check the reactions of the two magic tools on the same floor."
"Right."
Al controlled the eye from the 'Floating Eye' spell and first peeked outside through the crack.
It looked like a corridor about 2 meters (6.56ft) wide, wrapping around the large room that was the storage where Al was currently located. The height of the corridor was also about 5 meters (16ft), the same as the room.
Al moved the eye along the corridor. There were no doors, and the corridor had corners every 20 meters (66ft). Some were in a cross shape, while others had 3-way intersections.
The walls had cracks in places, just like the room where Al had 'Transported' from, and there were spots where there were complete holes.
He peeked inside, hoping to find something, but there was nothing inside.
"Is this... a room with lots of storage for magic bags lined up?"
'Maybe? Including the first place we came out from, there are a total of 16 rooms. They're all the same size, so they might all be for storage. I wonder if there's treasure in one of the rooms.'
As they talked about this while exploring, they eventually found a sturdy iron door in one part of the wall. There were vertical windows on either side of the door, covered with fine metal mesh.
It seemed to be one of the corners of a room that was about 20 meters (66ft) by 20 meters (66ft), with 4 rooms lined up vertically and 4 horizontally.
The door was made of metal and had a handle the size of a human's hand, and it was tightly closed. Because of this, neither the door nor the windows on the sides could be passed through by the 'Floating Eye' spell.
Through the windows, small rooms could be seen, and in the middle of the room on the right, there was a round magic tool glowing with a pale blue light.
"This is tough. I can't tell if this place is really underground, and I have no idea if I can get outside."
Al scratched his head, wondering what to do.
'There were 2 responses on this floor with the "Detect Magic" spell. Where's the other one?'
"I think the other one is in the room that seems to be a warehouse next door. It's the area where there were no cracks. There are 3 warehouse-like rooms that already have cracks and are confirmed to be empty."
Al sighed as he said this.
'To open the door, we could use the 'Soften Metal' spell on the metal mesh next to the window, enter the small room where the magic tool is visible, or use the 'Soften Stone' spell to break into one of the warehouses. But we can't do any of that without leaving this warehouse first.'
"Yeah, that means the only way to investigate further is to take the teleportation magic tool with me. It's too risky to leave it behind when I don't even know where I am or if I can get back to the surface."
He paused, weighing the implications of each choice.
"So, I guess I need to decide whether to move to the research tower right away or have Tabasa stay in the border city of Parker until I return. I don't want to delay the exploration until ten days later as promised to Kane."
'That's true.'
* * *
As promised, 20 minutes later, Al returned to the research tower with Patricia's help and explained the situation to Baroness Tabasa.
"Well then, I suppose I will move to the research tower."
Baroness Tabasa answered immediately. Previously, she seemed indifferent about having acquaintances here, so it was strange to see her so eager now.
"Is there a reason you want to move to the research tower? Is the fruit delicious or something?"
"More than that, if I stay in the Viscount Parker territory, Lady Patricia will have to continue the work of identifying the poison alone in this research tower. I thought that was dangerous... just in case something happens."
I see, it does take time to confirm if something is safe to eat, and a small mistake could lead to danger. Even though Malachi and Riana are here, it might still be risky with no other humans around.
"There's no need to rush; take your time."
"Yes, but Lady Patricia wants to be of help to Sir Al, even a little."
At Baroness Tabasa's words, Patricia looked momentarily flustered and lowered her head.
"Alright. Well, I don't want Tabasa to stay in Parker forever either. Oh, is Doris okay with that?"
"Yes, she said she would come with me."
From their previous conversation, it didn't seem like she was forcing herself. For Patricia, having her around might be more comfortable.
"Well then, should we go tell Sir Naresh about Tabasa and Doris?"
With that in mind, Al went with them to greet Naresh and Guildmaster Levy. However, the two who were leaving for the capital tomorrow were out at Viscount Parker's residence, and it was unclear when they would return.
Only Lord Radyard remained in the mansion, so Al explained to him about moving the two.
"Hmm, well, that's fine."
His response was simple. Of course, he had already been informed about taking them in, and they hadn't really played any significant role in the mansion.
"Well, I apologize for the sudden news, but I will pack their things and leave by early afternoon. Please convey my thanks to Sir Naresh and Guildmaster Levy."
"Ah, understood. I'll let them know. Well, when they arrived, both of them looked quite gloomy, but if they can leave with such bright faces, that's a good thing. Wishing them happiness."
The last phrase seemed to carry some misunderstanding, but Al decided not to ask further.
* * *
"Alright, I'm off. Once I get above ground, I think 'Telepathy' will work, so it shouldn't take too long. Don't worry and just wait."
After hurriedly moving Tabasa and the others' belongings to the research tower, Al decided to head to the button-magic bag warehouse that day.
Knowing there was an ancient ruin filled with magic tools right in front of him, he couldn't just wait until the next day to go.
"Please be careful."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. 'Transport,' please."
Al lightly hugged Patricia and asked for 'Transport.' Patricia, with a prayer-like gesture, operated the button-shaped magic tool and touched Al's hand.
Then, after ten seconds of being unable to move, he found themselves in the warehouse for the third time that day.
'Now, which way should we go?'
"First, we should prioritize getting outside."
According to Malachi, the faintly glowing object floating in the middle of the room that served as a warehouse was likely there because Glee had set it up with the 'Transport' spell, so they decided to leave that alone for now.
'Fly.'
Al floated gently into the air. He cautiously peeked out through a crack in the wall near the ceiling and looked outside. Unlike the warehouse room, the corridor didn't seem to have a strong bad smell.
He carefully made his way through what seemed to be the corridor. He reached the spot where he had found a door and a window with a metal grate while using the 'Floating Eye' spell, without any particular issues.
"This window with the grate..."
As Al approached, he could faintly feel the wind coming through that window.
From the window on the right side of the door, a gentle breeze seemed to flow from the corridor where Al was, while from the left window, the breeze appeared to flow towards the corridor from the other side.
The metal-like mesh seemed very strong, and it looked difficult to remove.
"Hmm, I don't know. Let's start with the door."
'Sensory Boost'──Hearing Enhancement
After Al muttered that, he cast a spell to enhance his hearing. He pressed his ear against the door. It sounded like there was a large space beyond the door, as the sound echoed quite a bit. He could hear what sounded like a beast's cry in the distance.
The sound was quite faint, so it didn't mean that something was right behind the door; it felt like there was a large space beyond the door where the beast was making noise.
Thinking it would be okay to open the door, Al slowly tried to turn the doorknob. However, the knob wouldn't turn. It seemed to be locked.
'Open Lock'
Click, the lock opened. Al couldn't help but smile and turned the knob. It turned easily. He carefully opened the door.
Beyond the door was a staircase floor. The stairs led up, and a faint light was shining from above.
Rubble and dirt were scattered all over, and on top of that, there was a light dusting of something white. It wasn't as hard as ice... it was probably snow.
'Stairs right away! That's great. We might be able to get to the surface. Oh, the coordinate information just came up. We're quite a bit north of Border City. It's about 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) away. It's about 15,000 kilometers (9,321 miles) further northwest than where Riana (Patricia's assistant) said the Tempest Clan lived.'
Glee said that, but Al was captivated by the snow he was seeing for the first time. It was fluffy and turned to water when touched.
'Is it really that surprising?'
Glee responded with a puzzled look. However, for Al, while he had used the 'Thermos' spell to turn water into ice, this was his first time seeing natural snow.
"Well, snow only came up in my grandpa's stories and Riana's tales. I thought we must be in an amazing place."
'I see. But it might be dangerous to relax too much? I heard that beast's cry again.'
Glee was right. The sound that resembled a cry was coming from up the stairs. The staircase turned back and was about ten meters (33ft) long, and beyond that seemed to be the surface.
"Yeah, let's go."
Being careful not to trigger any traps, Al climbed the stairs. Beyond was what looked like a room in a half-collapsed giant building.
Parts of the ceiling had also collapsed, and even though it was daytime, a dark sky like a moonlit night was visible.
It was a large room about ten meters (33ft) square, but Al felt like he saw something move inside, so he quickly crouched down.
In the corner of the crumbling building, where the wall and ceiling met, 5 giant, monkey-like creatures covered in white fur were huddled together, grooming each other's fur.
Their fur colors were different, but they looked like larger versions of the Stone Hurling Bongo he had encountered before. They didn't seem to notice Al yet.
'Are they magic beasts?'
Al thought he didn't know the answer to Glee's question, but he drew 2 horizontal lines on his knee with his finger. Five of them... if they were magic beasts, they would probably attack if they saw him.
A normal beast might be different. Should he defeat them, or should he hide and step outside the building for a moment? Which would be better?
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