Volume 21 Chapter 7 Exploration Results
After that, we exchanged various messages through 'Telepathy,' but the conversation was going nowhere.
In the end, I decided to have Malachi come to these Ancient Ruins and investigate together.
Patricia and the others wanted to join, but sadly, they had to stay behind since the area couldn't be guaranteed safe yet.
"What's this..."
The first to react, upon Malachi's teleportation, was a golem guarding the area.
"This is something Sir Tempest had his disciple build! It's a late work of Sir Tempest's, highly regarded as a defensive golem. The sword on its hand is detachable, allowing it to be exchanged for other forms, so it can also work as a labor golem!"
Malachi, usually calm, spoke with a hint of excitement.
Discovering something related to Tempest must have made him really happy.
Since it was made by his disciple, it had a doll-like charm to its face.
After quickly checking the state of the golem and confirming it was functioning without issues, Malachi turned his attention to a mage device that Al wanted him to examine.
"This smaller one is a management device for protective mage devices, golems, and gates. It's very similar to those we have in the Research Tower. And the larger one, as you might have guessed, is a mana generation device. However, it seems to have slightly different specifications compared to what we have at the Research Tower."
According to Malachi's explanation, this mana generation device is smaller than the one in the Research Tower, and it can only supply mana to targets within about 50 meters of its location.
To complement this, it has the ability to convert excess generated mana into magic stones.
Of course, to use that magic stone for mana replenishment, a human needs to intervene.
In this case, since the facility was unstaffed, the Magic Tool located more than 50 meters away had run out of mana.
"A magic stone that can be made? That's amazing, right?"
"I suppose so. When Sir Tempest was still alive, it was commonplace. It wasn't particularly valuable. And, of course, you need materials to make a magic stone. This black powder here."
Malachi reached out and pressed his finger to a recess on top of the mage device, revealing a drawer-like compartment.
At the bottom of the large drawer, there was just a tiny bit of the black powder accumulated.
This is the material, huh.
The generation must have stopped because the materials ran out.
"What's this?"
"It's supposed to be pulverized charcoal or wood charcoal. Sir Al, too, after using up all the mana in a magic stone, it turns into black, fine sand, right? That's it."
Al doesn't use it much, but indeed, when magic stone mana is replenished into a Magic Tool, the mana-depleted magic stone turns into black powder.
So that was charcoal dust.
Charcoal dust?
That'd be cheap stuff, right?
I've never sold a magic stone before, but the selling price is probably around 2 silver coins each.
Since it doesn't rot, I could probably get around 5 silver coins for each one.
This would be a very profitable business.
"That ceiling part up there, the roof seems to have plates installed to absorb the sun's power. It's partly damaged, but some parts are still functioning, it seems. I think it'll be possible to disassemble and transport it."
"So, magic stones can be made in the Research Tower?"
Malachi nodded at Al's question.
"We need to proceed cautiously, but relocation should be possible. Yes. I'll have some High-Rank Worker Golems brought here to do the disassembly work. If I can borrow a Magic Bag, the work here should take about ten hours. The subsequent assembly work at the Research Tower will involve building the structure, so it will probably take about 15 hours. Since I need to supervise and direct both tasks, it's not realistic to do them concurrently."
It took all day to work on patching up the holes in the ceiling and floor, and now it was almost evening.
Maybe it would have been better to leave Furless Big Grizzly Bear standing, so the magic beasts wouldn't have come close, but what's done is done.
Still, it's just a matter of a day or 2.
Al figured he could just use the "Soften Stone" spell to seal the holes, and if he left the golem behind, he'd be fine even using teleportation magic tools.
Maybe they should go back to the Research Tower together.
Al pondered for a while before shaking his head.
He took out only the "Identify" spellbook from the button-shaped Magic Bag containing all the Magic Tools they had acquired, leaving the bag itself with Malachi.
"I'm going to spend the night in the second-floor room. It's a place that's been empty for a long time, so I think it's safe, but I still feel uneasy about using the teleportation magic tool in an unfamiliar place. Plus, there's a spellbook I haven't learned yet, so it won't be boring. I'll leave the Magic Bag with Malachi, so could you please go back to the Research Tower and check what's inside? I'll contact you when it gets light tomorrow, and make sure to have everything ready for work. If everything seems alright after I spend the night here, I think Patricia can come over tomorrow too. Please use the teleportation magic tool to return, and keep it with you."
"Understood."
* * *
The next morning, Al woke up from his makeshift bed, a sofa, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
After a quick wash, he used his Ring of Pact to contact Patricia.
He hadn't encountered any magic beasts or even normal animals during the night, just a few birds, so it was a quiet night.
When he told her it was okay for her to come, she replied cheerfully that she'd be right over.
Judging by her response, she had woken up early and was already prepared.
And just as their 'Telepathy' connection was about to break, Patricia's figure began to appear in the room.
"Sir Al──"
Patricia, now able to move, immediately threw herself into Al's arms.
Al, a little embarrassed, hugged her back tightly.
"Welcome back, Patricia"
"Yes, Sir Al. It's been a while since I've left the Research Tower"
Patricia said that, looking around.
Al gave the teleportation Magic Tool to the small golem she was carrying on her back and sent it back to the Research Tower.
Baroness Tabasa and Doris would be coming soon after.
"Is it a little chilly, huh?"
Patricia rubbed her arms, shivering slightly.
This was definitely higher up in the mountains, and coming from a hot island, she must have found it quite cold.
Al pulled out a cloak using the 'Transport' spell and draped it over Patricia's shoulders.
"Whoa, thank you so much!"
"I'll warm up the room in no time,"
he replied, weaving the 'Thermos' spell to adjust the temperature just as Baroness Tabasa teleported in.
"It might be a bit cold, but just wait a moment. I think it'll get warm soon. Do you need a cloak or a blanket?"
"Thank you, but I'm fine!" Patricia quickly assured her.
Baroness Tabasa smiled at the sight of Patricia wrapped up in Al's cloak.
Before long, Doris arrived as well.
"I had Malachi and Riana identify all the Magic Tools, and now we can check everything."
After pulling out a Malachi Golem and a High-Rank Worker Golem from her Magic Bag, Patricia started retrieving the Magic Tools Al had left with her, lining them up on the table in the center of the room.
The first was a flat Magic Tool, measuring about 30 centimeters square and 5 centimeters thick.
"This one is an Identify Magic Tool," he explained. "But it seems like it can only identify plants──specifically, the content from the Botanical Encyclopedia. When you press this knob, a 25-centimeter square white pane appears on the largest face, and it quickly switches to show the view on the other side of the Magic Tool. If you project a plant onto it, after about 20 seconds, that square shrinks to about ten centimeters on each side, and alongside it, the name and details from the Botanical Encyclopedia will pop up."
"So, it has almost the same ability as the Identify spell."
That sounded like it would be incredibly helpful. Patricia had gotten leaves stuck in her hair and gotten a stomachache from trying some fruit-like thing on her island explorations.
She'd been told not to overdo it, but with this, that sort of thing would be over.
"And then..."
Everyone settled onto the sofa to listen to Patricia's explanation.
What they'd found this time was mostly Magic Tools of light──a whopping 241 of them.
Then there were 39 of water, 17 temperature control mages (big and small), 7 humidity control mages (no idea how to use those), 5 mage composters that turned waste into fertilizer over time, 4 laundry mages that cleaned clothes (put them in a box-like thing!), 8 cooking Magic Tools, 4 washing mages that cleaned dishes and armor (wouldn't repair anything, though), 4 sweeping Magic Tools shaped like brooms, 5 large mage refrigerators, 3 large mage freezers, and lastly, ten writing Magic Tools, 14 security mages, and 6 security golems.
"There were tons of them, but in the end, it was all practical Magic Tools except for the security golems, security mages, and Identification Magic Tools. Maybe I just hadn't seen mages for humidity control and composting before. Most of these look like they'd be at the Research Tower. We'll take a few to Channing Village, and the rest,we'll store them in the Research Tower's warehouse just in case of a cash emergency."
Patricia thought that if she could ever return as royalty, it would be okay to take some things back with her, but she couldn't say it out loud.
It might just come true.
She wanted her homeland to become peaceful quickly, but at the same time, she was afraid that if it did, her life at the Research Tower might end.
Still, what could Al possibly do about it?
"You're right. Also, I found the remains of a giant bear-like magic beast, so I had the work golems help me move it. I hung it up in the disassembly area next to the compost facility. I thought about disassembling it myself, but it seemed to have a preservation spell on it... How about we work on it together tomorrow?"
Oh, by the way, he forgot to mention, he left that in there too.
It's pretty huge, so he wasn't sure what to do with it, but it's good they're disassembling it.
Patricia seems to have grown much stronger.
With this, she should be able to live comfortably in Channing Village.
Come to think of it, he has experience in dismantling Hidden Badger with the people of Channing Village about six months ago.
So, he'll be able to manage somehow.
"Anyway, since you're here, how about I give you a tour of these Ancient Ruins? Since nothing came up last night, you're free to walk around, but I'll be accompanying you.Malachi, is it alright if you help with disassembling the mage devices? Patricia, hand Malachi the Magic Bag, please."
"Yes!"
Patricia happily jumped up from the sofa.
Baroness Tabasa and Doris followed her with gentle smiles.
"Alright, let's start with this building then."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)