[The residual energy from the previously consumed Infinite Thunderstone (S) is further digested.]
[Stamina increases by 1.]
[Mana increases by 1.]
[Potential level increases by 1.]
[Thunder attribute dominance slightly increases.]
[Thunder attribute resistance slightly increases.]
Seeing the message window, I pulled up my character sheet for the first time in a while.
<Aiden Stroke>
[Level: 26/51]
[Stamina: 09] [Strength: 08] [Agility: 08]
[Mana: 15] [Spirit: 05] [Sense: 11]
[Divinity: 02]
[Traits: Thunder God Physique (S), Swordsmanship Genius (A), Reverse Veins (A), Serene Clarity (A), Magical Prodigy (B), Spirit Affinity · Weak (C), Mana Control (C), Lung Capacity (C), Adventurer (C), Alchemy Prodigy (C)]
[Skills: Alsigima Resonance Shatter Art (A), Alsigima Heart Method (A), Tranquil Heart Method (A), Brandish Harmony Heart Method · Extreme (B+), Stroke Heart Method (B), Stroke Swordsmanship (B), Spirit Step (B), Northern Advanced Swordsmanship (C), Itanga Tribe Weapon Arts (C)]
[Description: Age 16, human. Sub-master of the Blispiel clan. Once infamous across the principality as a notorious wastrel, but he has reformed.]
My potential level had only just surpassed fifty.
With such a poor base, it took forever to fully digest even a single proper elixir. Still, it felt like I’d absorbed over eighty percent now.
By the setting, the more an elixir raised one’s potential—the lower the original potential—the harder it was to completely absorb its energy. When I consumed the [Infinite Thunderstone (S)], I’d used every trick, including Ure, to suck in the thunder energy relentlessly, yet full absorption was still dragging on for months.
In contrast, Epio’s vessel was so vast to begin with that he nearly digested the [Firebird’s Heart (S)] in a single day after gulping it down.
“You ate well, so now it’s time to work.”
“Work? What kind?”
“Ruin exploration. Ple, you’ll need to shine a bit there.”
[…What did you say?]
The next day, we arrived at a village in the border region, left the carriage and coachman waiting there, and headed into the nearby forest.
I recalled the location of the ruin from the setting book.
Once the spire built in the border area was out of sight, we veered off the main road onto the outskirts path and crossed through a forest thick with Lington trees… Yes, that was it.
“After walking that far, there’s a clearing… Ah, here it is.”
“Here? There’s nothing around?”
Chesa said, looking about.
It was indeed a barren clearing.
Naturally, the entrance to the ruin I was targeting—the “Haze Cavern”—was definitely underground somewhere here.
Finding it the normal way would take days of brute labor, but fortunately, we had a cheat key.
“Ple.”
[What.]
“This is an empty clearing with no obstacles. Doesn’t your sense pick up any unusual energy?”
It was precisely this demonic sword’s detection ability.
In the original work, luck played a big role when Epio discovered the Firebird Shrine, but Plebelziam’s senses contributed to some extent. This guy, capable of feeling surrounding waves, was practically a portable ruin detector.
“Come to think of it, Ple’s instincts are insanely sharp. If we wander around here, wouldn’t we easily find the entrance to this ruin?”
[…No choice, I suppose. I’ll cooperate especially this once.]
It grumbled like that, but there was no reason not to cooperate. Strengthening Epio through ruin exploration benefited it too.
Epio drew Plebelziam from its sheath and began wandering the clearing. With nothing else to do, we trailed behind him.
Ten minutes later.
[Epio, stop! Something extraordinary fire energy is leaking from down there!]
“Really? Chesa.”
“Got it. <Mana Burst>.”
Booooom!!
At my words, Chesa lightly swung her staff, and a massive explosion erupted ahead of the party. Right below the blast site was a large hole, blocked by a stone door nearly three meters tall.
[Hoo, casually causing an explosion like that—she’s quite a capable combat mage.]
Hearing praise from someone—or something—other than me or Linia for the first time in a while, the corners of Chesa’s mouth twitched slightly.
With her mana amplified to the extreme by two S-grade traits, her [Mana Rampage (B)]-line spells packed tremendous power. Of course, without the control correction from the Ring of Eternal Snow (A), she still couldn’t aim properly. I’d need to acquire something to remove the negative trait [Mana Sensitivity Retardation (-)] as soon as possible.
Afterward, we entered the Haze Cavern’s entrance.
Unlike the Firebird Shrine, it was pitch dark without a single torch, but thanks to the <Light Lamp> spell Chesa had recently learned, it posed no issue.
“Wait.”
As we advanced inside the ruin, I suddenly felt a sense of wrongness and stopped the party. Then I spoke to Epio.
“Epio. Advance quickly on your own.”
“Got it.”
[Hey, you idiot! Have some suspicion—]
Fwooooosh!
How far had he gone—about twenty meters from where the party stopped? Gorgeous flames erupted from all directions around Epio.
About fifteen seconds later, the flames died down.
Epio emerged from the fire festival unscathed—not a burn, not even soot. His clothes were intact too, since reaching the pinnacle of attribute resistance protected even items in contact with the body.
“What was that just now? It wasn’t hot at all.”
Seeing the bewildered Epio, I curled the corners of my mouth. The Haze Cavern had almost no annoying enemies like automatons. It was filled only with flame traps like the one Epio had just experienced.
In truth, this place was set as an extremely difficult ruin to conquer. Even Estriel, who cleared the Firebird Shrine to the end, would likely struggle to reach the depths alone.
But that was without meta knowledge. With Epio, who was essentially immune to fire, exploring here was no different from a leisurely outing.
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
Fwoosh!
Pass.
Fwoooom!
Pass.
Boom! Boom!
Pass.
Blaze!
Pass.
After roughly ten trap sections like that, we reached the deepest part of the Haze Cavern.
The deepest area was curtained off by a large tent-like fabric. Parting the seam and entering, we saw numerous artifacts preserved over long years.
I appraised them one by one.
First, eight [Attribute Absorption Orbs (A)].
A short sword that caused burns on hit, [Burn Sword (A)].
Salamander leather imbued with fire resistance (A).
Multiple elixir/materials wrapped in that leather, [Flame Salt Crystals (A+)].
“These are artifacts from the Magitech Empire era? They’re certainly impressive.”
Chesa let out a slight admiration while examining them. Thanks to her [Analytical Mana Eye (A)], she could roughly gauge the power dwelling in these items.
In fact, everything on the table was national-treasure level, so normally one would jump for joy rather than just mildly admire—but having experienced all sorts of fortunes with me, her standards seemed a bit skewed too.
Besides those, a dozen or so decorative gems that looked valuable were scattered about.
But for a ruin harder than the Firebird Shrine, the artifacts were surprisingly not that high-grade—which was, of course, a deception.
If the rewards were truly lackluster, I wouldn’t have bothered coming here.
Just as the S-grade elixir heart was hidden in the Firebird Shrine’s secret room, the most important artifact in this Haze Cavern was concealed in an unexpected place.
“The darkness under the lamp, I suppose that’s the saying for times like this.”
“What do you mean, young master?”
“Watch closely.”
I returned to the entrance direction and grabbed the large tent fabric enveloping the entire room. Then I poured my mana into it.
To original size.
I recited briefly.
Shhhhk!
Amazingly, the massive tent compressed in an instant into my hand.
Appraisal.
[Formless Robe (S-)]
- Completely blocks presence when worn
- Camouflage effect when worn
- Size/shape adjustable via mana
※ Concealment functions only activate in “Insulation” state
This was what I’d come for.
“Insulation” state referred to forcibly halting the constant circulation of mana through the meridians, completely blocking any leakage outside the body. Mainly used to evade detection magic, but it was helplessly caught by high-grade detection spells.
Moreover, it was akin to holding one’s breath to hide breathing sounds—prolonged maintenance caused internal mana to explode, leading to death.
Of course, even considering the penalty of Insulation state, the ability to completely hide appearance and presence was immensely appealing.
If used well, there was one important MacGuffin I could likely recover with this.
The [Formless Robe (S-)] was, in the original work, used by the notorious continent-wide thief known as “Iron Mask.” Since that guy was capable enough to live well even without it, taking it myself shouldn’t cause much butterfly effect.
Infusing mana to adjust the robe to a suitable size, I draped it over my body. Then Plebelziam sent telepathy with a tongue-clicking vibe.
[That thing Aiden just took is the most valuable item in this ruin. Watching us break through traps from behind, yet so sly.]
“Who was it that readily handed Epio an elixir containing divine beast energy?”
(…)
Perhaps at a loss for words, Plebelziam stopped clacking its ridge and quietly sheathed itself. In the original too, it always went silent like this whenever losing a verbal spat.
We’ve seen everything here, so time to grab the other rewards and leave quickly.
Jaela at the reception desk said to me.
“Sub-master, there’s a letter from the principality.”
Upon returning to Elanore, a letter from Ridle had arrived. Regular correspondence inquiring about my well-being for months now.
On fine paper were long accounts about the Stroke bloodline.
Skimming the parts about my other brothers, I shifted my gaze to the paragraph about Father Foden. This was around when the Grand Duke’s illness should worsen, but unexpectedly, he was holding up well.
Whether the elixir worked, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps… the fact that I—Aiden—hadn’t gone to Schpiol and died had some positive influence, I speculated. After reading the letter carefully, I wrote a reply and sent it to the principality.
Looking closely, behind Ridle’s was also a letter from Great-uncle Ebel.
It was lengthy, but in one word: “Abusing the Seal of Struggle’s authority tires me, the original owner, so stop flashing it around so much.”
“Hm, if that’s already a hassle, what will he do later? We’re just getting started.”
Regrettable for him, but the seal would prove extremely useful going forward. It was slated for use once before exploring the “Snowflower Swamp” too.
Now, time to work.
“We need to send an official document to the Church of Utility branch. Move early so we secure priority for the next ruin exploration.”
“Understood.”
Clan Master Arent nodded at my words.
A continentally significant event would soon occur in the yet-to-be-discovered “Snowflower Swamp” ruin. Participating there would be an important turning point for us.
I gazed at Epio snacking at the table.
“…Yes. With the protagonist here, the heroine should come too.”
The Snowflower Swamp exploration involved the heroine of Reca Chronicles—the Priestess of the Sun, Clara Rephindarx Aldemar.
And a few days later.
Unexpected news arrived.
“Young master. Recovering ruin exploration rights is hitting obstacles.”
“What? Why?”
“Chloeria Altus, an executive of Caracol, has stepped forward openly. She formally raised an issue claiming Blispiel lacks the capability for ruin exploration…”
“That woman? Did she do anything else besides that?”
“Chloeria sent a message through someone. She said if you beg forgiveness for the previous incident, she’s willing to withdraw the issue regarding ruin exploration…”
Linia’s face darkened as she spoke.
I slightly furrowed my brow.
“Ha…
More dumbfounded than angry.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
“I’m going to Caracol. Tell that woman I want to meet.”
“…Understood.”
Who’d have thought she’d act so childishly.
A woman who deviates from expectations in many ways.
Time to teach her a lesson.
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