Volume 21 Chapter 5 Exploration Part Iii
Al began to carve a hole in the second-floor ceiling.
It was filled with wood, much like the room's walls, but with enough time and noise, it could be managed with a chisel and a mallet.
"Is this more about patience than ingenuity?"
By the time a hole about 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) square was opened, the sun was high in the sky.
Starting the exploration as it brightened, it must have been 6 hours already.
Half of that time was spent carving holes in walls and ceilings.
At this rate, finishing the exploration by the end of the day seemed unlikely.
Al decided to prepare mentally for the possibility of camping out tonight.
Getting anxious wouldn't help.
Fortunately, the weather was good, and the food supply was ample as usual in the Magic Bag, so there shouldn't be any particular problems.
Al finally slipped the 'Floating Eye' through the hole.
The ceiling space was thick with dust, and there were a few dried remains of what seemed to be very old rats or something similar scattered around.
The 'Detect Magic' spell revealed a response from a cylindrical object, about 15 centimeters in diameter and 30 centimeters long, with legs fixed to the floor.
From Al's position, there were 2 such objects, one to the right front and the other to the left front.
A small red light was visible on the side of the cylinder.
"I wonder what that Magic Tool is. It seems like a security device from its position. Should we try to test it?"
'Yeah, we have to if we want to move forward.'
'Telekinesis'
Al used the spell to lift a broken piece of wall lying in the room and pushed it into the hole.
As the two cylinders turned their round ends towards the wall fragment, they made a 'fsshhp' sound and fired a bolt of pale blue light in the shape of an arrow.
The light struck the wall fragment, causing it to disintegrate with a 'pash' sound.
At almost the same time, the two Magic Tools emitted a clear biiiing! sound.
"Just as I thought, a security device... It's probably 'Magic Missile' reacting to movement."
Relying on the vision of the 'Floating Eye', Al moved the fragments of the wall forward using the 'Telekinesis' spell.
Once again, a pale blue light was emitted from the circular surfaces of both cylindrical Magic Tools.
The dust from the stone swirled again, and a loud 'biiiing!' sounded.
Al then stopped moving the wall fragments and placed them with a clatter in the attic.
He waited for a while.
In that state, neither the arrow-shaped pale blue light nor any sound was produced.
"Hmm, making a hole in the outer wall or the ceiling of the first floor is..."
'There's a reaction from the 'Detect Magic' spell in a similar configuration. It seems to be the same as here.'
Glee seemed to have anticipated Al's inquiry, answering before he finished his question.
"First, the room on the third floor..."
'Based on the reaction position of the "Detect Magic" spell, it looks like it's the same over there.'
Glee's foresight was impressive.
This meant that they needed to deal with either this security device or the door's authentication system.
"It seems tough for the armor to move in the cramped ceiling, so maybe I should build a wall and give it a try..."
Al muttered this and returned to the room in front.
He gathered the stone materials from the collapsed wall.
'Soften Stone'
What he created was a stone slab measuring 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) tall, 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) wide, and 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) thick, adjusted to the height of the attic.
It had a decent weight and was supported to prevent it from toppling over.
Then, as he widened the hole in the ceiling, he pushed it up into the attic using the 'Telekinesis' spell.
Again, a 'Bing!' sounded, and a shock hit the wall.
However, the impact did not cause the stone slab to topple or shift.
The shock repeated twice but then stopped.
'Isn't this good? Should we make the same thing to surround the Magic Tool?'
"Yeah, since the Magic Tool seems to be fixed in the attic, let's move the stone slab and surround it."
Confirming that it seemed feasible, Al used the spell again to create 5 more similar stone slabs.
Then, he dragged them with the 'Telekinesis' spell and surrounded the security device.
"Alright, done!"
Al decided to take a peek to see how things were going, sticking his head out from the ceiling crawl space.
The security devices surrounded by slate were out of sight from his position, and there seemed to be no reaction at all.
Al patted his chest in relief, then slipped the rest of his body into the ceiling space.
He passed by the door equipped with an authentication device and moved beyond a room that seemed to house a guard golem.
Having come this far, the task at hand was to bore a hole in the ceiling panel, creating an opening to access the room on the second floor.
Stone, wood, stone.
He punctured a hole through the 3-layered ceiling and peered inside.
There was one large room.
Metal shelves lined the walls, and next to them were 4 desks.
A sofa and a table were placed near the center of the room.
Dust had accumulated, and many items remained, yet everything gave the impression of being neatly organized.
Where had the owner of this place gone?
The shelves were stacked with a large amount of parchment tied in bundles, and there were also 5 scrolls resembling spellbooks, and 3 flat Magic Tools, each about 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) square and 5 centimeters (1.97 inches) thick.
Not just the spellbooks and Magic Tools, but the mass of stacked parchment also seemed to have some sort of enchantment on it.
Probably something like 'Retention'.
Each desk had drawers, and some of the items inside responded to the 'Detect Magic' spell.
"Yes! This is..."
'There might still be security devices inside. Don't let your guard down.'
Glee warned the excited Al.
Lately, Glee had been quite strict.
"Ow, I got it."
Al sent his 'Floating Eye' into the room to scout the area.
The room's door only led to a chamber guarded by a golem.
He threw a stone inside, but there was no response.
It seemed like there were no security measures in place.
Al spent another hour widening the hole in the ceiling.
He cautiously poked his head into the room.
It appeared to be safe.
"I'm going in slowly."
'Okay!'
Al floated down slowly with 'Fly', keeping an eye on everything in the room.
There was nothing moving.
His feet touched the floor.
"Alright, I did it!"
It seemed to be alright.
Al clenched his fist in triumph.
* * *
Having confirmed it was safe, Al began to rummage through the room.
The first thing he noticed was a spellbook.
There were 5 spellbooks, but unfortunately, 4 of them contained spells he had already mastered: 'Packing', 'Retention', 'Refine', and 'Extract'.
The only one he hadn't learned was a spell called 'Identify'.
On the shelf, there were 2 large bundles of parchment, each covered in the same script as the spellbook, titled 'Botanical Index' and 'Botanical Encyclopedia'.
Flipping through them, he found that the 'Botanical Index' contained only a list of numbers and plant names, while the 'Botanical Encyclopedia' provided detailed illustrations and descriptions of plant names, flower and leaf characteristics, cultivation methods, and even their uses as food and medicinal herbs.
"Wow, this is really detailed. So, this must be a herb garden after all."
'With this much information, it could be.'
However, the amount of material was overwhelming, and it seemed like it would take a long time to research.
At the very least, he couldn't spread out this material every time he went to gather herbs in the forest.
In the case of minerals, he could quickly figure out the basics with the 'Analyze' spell and the substance index.
One might be able to do the same sort of thing with a botanical index, they pondered.
According to Malachi, the 'Analyze' spell is one that examines the components of matter.
With the addition of the botanical index, could it be possible to analyze a vegetable soup and determine which vegetables are used?
They had high hopes for the Identify spell and the botanical encyclopedia.
'Let's head back to the Research Tower and ask Malachi about how to use it,' they thought.
If the Identify spell lives up to its name, it should be able to identify plants based on the information in the encyclopedia.
It would be amazing if it could be done so easily, but there are some things, like mushrooms, that are truly difficult to pinpoint.
Could it really be possible?
Conversely, could it be that the Identify spell is completely useless without the encyclopedia?
The imagination runs wild, but either way, reading the spellbook should shed some light on things.
They were looking forward to learning.
Among other items on the shelf was a mysterious Magic Tool of unknown purpose.
Al cautiously picked it up.
It was a flat, square object about 30 centimeters to a side and 5 centimeters thick.
However, just by looking at it, there was no way to tell what kind of Magic Tool it was.
All 3 appeared exactly the same.
There was no choice but to examine the magic circuit.
For now, they put everything into the Magic Bag and turned their attention to the desks.
They began to open the drawers of the 4 desks one by one.
Inside, they found a bundle of sheepskin parchment in less than perfect condition, a list of delivery destinations that seemed to be preserved well due to a 'Retention' spell, ten writing Magic Tools, and 2 cards labeled 'Administrator License Card.'
"An 'Administrator License Card'?"
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