Volume 21 Chapter 2 Arrival At The Ancient Ruins
Al had traveled through Marlow's town, Outis's town, and the capital before finally reaching the northern mountain range known as the Mehtabel Mountains.
There was no urgency to his journey. He took his time, browsing markets in large towns and cities, hoping to find interesting spellbooks. A week had passed before he arrived.
Everywhere he went, talk of the knights at war with the Tempest Kingdom filled the air. The capital was chaotic. When he stopped by the house where his brother Gustave and the others were staying, they were all on duty—nowhere to be found.
The spellbooks had been a disappointment. In the end, he purchased only one: Create Wind (Second Tier, 10 gold coins).
A simple spell. It did exactly what the name suggested—created wind.
Not useful in battle, but when the shopkeeper recommended it, Al recalled an ancient ruin to the north where he had once encountered the White Long-Haired Bongo. The ruins had magic tools for ventilation, and this spell might serve a similar purpose—dispersing stale air during future explorations.
The Mehtabel Mountains weren't as tall as the Nash Mountains west of the Sipree range, where Al had been born. Only about three thousand meters high, their slopes were gentle, and the forests stretched deep with rich greenery.
Flying over the vast landscape, he scanned the terrain for the ruins he had seen before.
Glee, his companion, remembered the coordinates, but the season had changed. Summer was near, and the mountains were covered in thick foliage, making the ruins harder to spot.
"What should I do?"
Al muttered after circling the area for three hours, frustration creeping into his voice.
'It has to be around here. It hasn't even been half a year... Ah, there! See those three trees sticking out? Beside that.'
Following Glee's gaze, Al caught sight of something white. Dirtied by time and weather, but unmistakably unnatural—not rock, but a structure.
He swooped lower for a better look. Trees obstructed much of the view, but there were four large buildings.
One stood out: a three-story structure, roughly 70 meters wide and 40 meters deep, though parts of it had collapsed.
The other three were large, dome-shaped buildings, each around 30 meters in diameter. Two had gaping holes in their ceilings, exposing the interiors.
Inside, the atmosphere felt untouched—forgotten by time.
"Wow... there it is. Amazing. You found it well. But why would they build something like this out here?"
Al murmured in awe.
'Hard to say. It's in such a remote area... definitely not a building from our time.'
Glee's words made sense. The Mehtabel Mountains formed the border between the Sylvester and Messina Kingdoms. Hardly anyone settled here—perhaps only hunters.
No one would build something this massive. Judging by the state of the walls, it was undoubtedly ancient.
"For now, let's find a safe spot. Then we'll use 'Floating Eye' to investigate."
With parts of the buildings collapsed, infiltrating with the 'Floating Eye' spell would be easy. But caution was necessary—he wouldn't repeat past mistakes.
---
Al let out a deep sigh, exhaustion settling in.
The sun was sinking.
After spotting the ruins from the sky, he had secured a small clearing in the forest and begun his investigation using 'Floating Eye'.
The ruins were old. Inside, dust and fallen leaves had accumulated, and there were no signs of recent human presence.
Next to one of the dome-shaped buildings, he spotted a large mage device—likely for temperature control. The walls were lined with light magic tools, their surfaces faintly pulsing with a bluish-white glow.
It suggested other magical artifacts were still inside.
But one problem stood in his way.
One of the dome structures wasn't empty.
Something massive lurked within.
A Furless Big Grizzly Bear.
A magic beast.
Its silhouette resembled a bear, but it had no fur and possessed a long, lizard-like tail.
Only once before had one been spotted near the capital. That individual had been 2.5 meters long and 400 kilograms heavy. It charged at magicians at nearly 60 kilometers per hour, hurling shielded warriors over 10 meters.
The one here?
Four meters long. Over a ton in weight.
A direct hit from it would be far worse than just getting knocked back.
Al grimaced.
One of the dome structures and parts of the three-story building had collapsed walls and open windows—places the 'Floating Eye' spell couldn't reach.
"The sun's setting. Other magic beasts might start appearing at night."
'True.'
Glee agreed.
Al hesitated. Then, he made his decision.
He would retreat for now.
He didn't know the area well, but heading south would take him to the road leading from the capital—there had to be a village nearby.
Only one recorded case of the Furless Big Grizzly Bear being exterminated existed. It had never been reported using flight or magic.
Theoretically, he could kill it with 'Piercing Spear' from above. But after maintaining 'Floating Eye' for so long, he felt drained. There was also the possibility of smaller magic beasts or security mechanisms within the ruins.
No need to take unnecessary risks.
"Let's go back. We can return later."
Activating 'Fly', Al slowly lifted into the air, leaving the ruins behind.
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