Death… And Me

Chapter 4372: Ruins and More Ruins

Back in Besgol, Moonfisc Country, the member of the Godly Subjugation Guild began to talk. "Rean, Roan, Celis, and Kentucky don’t know me, so let me introduce myself. I’m Tafael, from the angel beast races, and I’m also the one to describe your mission this time."

Tafael accessed his RC, and an enormous projection appeared in midair for everyone in the room to see. "As you can see, the area you will be investigating is even further south of the Konvey Ruins."

The images in the projection changed, showing various pictures of said ruins. Some depicted collapsed halls swallowed by vegetation, while others displayed towering stone structures whose upper halves had long since crumbled away.

"These ruins were charted just 141 years ago," Tafael explained. "Nothing strange there. There are plenty of ancient ruins all over, most of them much older than the various regions we can communicate with at the moment, including ourselves. They are a mystery, but also full of opportunities."

"Could something that is so old really have that many opportunities?" Kentucky couldn’t help but ask.

Tafael smiled in response. "You can bet it does. Without a doubt, the most important thing we can find in these ruins is ancient replacement runes."

"Oh!" Rean immediately understood. "So that’s how you manage to keep the Sacred Relic running even though you don’t know how it works after such a long time. I found it strange that only rune maintenance could make up for it."

"Yes, sorry for that," Tafael explained. "It is not exactly something we make public. The last thing we need is for experts to look for ruins and take those runes for themselves or try to sell them to us for exorbitant prices. Above all, we truly can’t afford having them take this kind of risk."

Roan could immediately understand the reasoning. "These ruins are well within the Godly Creatures’ Territories. Unless you have a certain level of strength, going that far is more likely to end in tragedy."

"Exactly," Tafael confirmed. "There have always been ambitious cultivators willing to gamble everything on a single opportunity. If word spread that Sacred Relics depended on these replacement runes, many promising young experts would throw themselves into unexplored territory, believing they could become rich overnight."

He sighed before continuing. "Most of them would simply die."

The room fell slightly quieter.

"Anyway," Tafael resumed, "you can see why these Elite Exploration Groups are so important. It is, of course, to chart new territories, but also to be the first to acquire those runes. They are of vital importance to our Besgol Region and pretty much any other region."

Rean looked thoughtful. "So we are going south of Konvey Ruins because..."

Harksha took over before Tafael could answer. "Because the existence of one set of ruins often increases the chances of finding others nearby."

She manipulated the projection herself, zooming toward the southern section surrounding the Konvey Ruins. "As you can see, everything around the ruins has already been charted. The previous exploration groups searched every nearby valley, mountain range, canyon, and underground cave they could safely reach. Unfortunately, they didn’t find much else. That is why the Guild wants us to continue farther south."

Tafael nodded in approval. "Of course, that doesn’t mean it is absolutely guaranteed that more ruins will be available. Even if there are, most of them usually don’t have intact runes to be recovered, if they have any runes at all."

The projection shifted once again, displaying statistics collected over many years. "Only a very small percentage of ruins actually contain usable replacement runes. Most are completely depleted, destroyed, or have already been scavenged by previous civilizations countless ages ago. But that also explains why the rewards for exploration are so good. Whether we wish it or not, we are forced to go further and further to find these replacement runes for the good of the region."

"So we’re basically gambling," Kentucky commented.

"In a sense," Cantra laughed. "Except the entry fee is your life."

Kentucky immediately stopped smiling. "...On second thought, maybe not the best comparison."

Several members of the room chuckled.

The twins’ group, however, had no objections. Exploring unknown places was exactly why they had joined the Elite Exploration Groups in the first place.

"That’s good," Rean said.

Tafael nodded before enlarging the map. "Alright. So, this time around, we expect you to investigate past the charted area of the Konvey Ruins. Only a hundred kilometers had been checked further south, and we need you to cover at least another five hundred."

The map shifted once more. A tiny red marker appeared before expanding into a massive highlighted section. Of course, everything was dark there since no one had charted that area yet. "This is more or less the area you will have to cover."

Harksha studied it carefully. "I would say it will take at least a week to cover all the required area. Of course, if we are lucky enough to find more ruins earlier, we can explore."

"That would actually be preferable," Tafael admitted. "Discovering ruins is far more valuable than simply charting terrain."

Rean rubbed his chin while observing the projection. "Five hundred kilometers doesn’t sound like much."

"It isn’t," Rico’the replied.

Everyone turned toward him. "...If you’re flying in a straight line over civilized territory."

He pointed toward the highlighted section. "Out there, you’ll be constantly changing course, avoiding dangerous nests, checking suspicious locations, fighting Godly Creatures, recording landmarks, gathering samples, and making sure your maps are accurate. You’ll be lucky if you advance seventy kilometers in a day."

"Not to mention," Senkiyu added, "Harksha is a Zone God, but against Godly Predators while outside the Sacred Relic’s influence, she is likely to be on the back foot. You need to avoid these creatures as much as possible."

Kentucky blinked. "...Right."

Tafael smiled before changing the projection again.

This time, another Godly Creature appeared.

Its body resembled an ancient tree whose trunk had twisted into the shape of a hydra. Thick roots acted as countless legs, allowing it to move across the ground despite its quite large size. Every head possessed glowing emerald eyes and mouths filled with crystalline wooden fangs.

"This is the Thousand-Vein Root Hydra."

Several people instinctively narrowed their eyes.

"Your other objective is to find this Godly Creature Territory and kill a few for us. According to the reports after investigating the Konvey Ruins’ area, we believe these guys will be somewhere in the area you need to check."

The projection zoomed in, highlighting several points. "You are looking for Regeneration Heartwood, Spirit Sap, and Root Tendons, all from this same creature. Of course, the Godly Crystals too. These Creatures’ Godly Crystals are especially effective for cultivators with Earth or Wood Element Affinity."

"The materials are used for the concoction of Pills. The tendons are used in Aura-God Level puppets, and the Spirit Sap is useful for living arrays."

Rean’s eyes lit up. "Living arrays?"

Tafael nodded. "They are still experimental in our region, but Spirit Sap is one of the few natural materials capable of carrying living Godly Energy over long periods. Some Array Masters believe future arrays may eventually repair themselves by using it."

"Oh..." Rean looked genuinely interested. "Now that’s something worth studying. Self-Repairing arrays are nothing new, but this approach seems interesting."

Flugel would probably lock himself inside the Arrays Guild for another decade if he heard that, Rean thought to himself.

Cantra raised her hand. "Are they all Godly Beasts? Should we expect any Godly Predator level of these guys?"

Tafael’s expression became noticeably more serious. "As a rule of thumb, you should always expect a higher-level one, even if the clues and traces say otherwise. But, as far as we were able to find when fighting these guys around Konvey Ruins, we didn’t detect any that were at the Predator Level, nothing close to it. They were indeed mostly at the Godly Beast and Spawn Levels."

Harksha nodded. "So we treat every encounter as if the worst-case scenario could happen."

"Exactly."

"How many should we take down if we find them?" Senkiyu asked.

Tafael answered without hesitation. "The Guild is in need of thirty Godly Beast Crystals from these guys. The other materials are basically bonuses that the other guilds will buy, so they will be part of your payment as well. Of course, if it turns out that you can’t find their territory in the investigation area, feel free to drop this matter. There is no guarantee they will really be there. Or maybe they were, but moved out in the past decades since we last went to the Konvey Ruins’ area."

Harksha mentally reviewed everything. "So, check for new ruins further south, chart the area, and get the Thousand-Vein Root Hydra’s materials if we find them. Got it."

Tafael smiled. "Great! But remember, coming back alive is, and will always be, your top priority, especially Harksha and Rean. That’s all for now. You are free to depart at any time you wish."

The meeting had essentially ended, yet no one hurried to leave immediately. Some began discussing supply arrangements while others examined the projected maps one last time, committing the terrain to memory before they departed.

Rean also kept observing the images of the ancient ruins.

The more he looked at them, the stranger they felt.

There was something oddly familiar about the architecture, though he couldn’t quite explain why.

Before he could think further—

Pin!

At that moment, Sister Orb’s voice echoed in the twins’ group’s minds.

[The ancient ruins have long since been a source of wonder for the various regions. Without them, keeping the sacred relics working is simply not possible. However, the most important point is that a new energy signature can be found there.]

[New Quest Available: Investigate the source of energy and its possible applications.]

[Reward: 100 Orb Points.]

[Reward Two: Possible further understanding of what these ancient civilizations were and their connection with the Sacred Relic.]

Rean’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

’Well, that seems interesting,’ he commented through their soul connection.

Roan’s expression remained calm. ’We just so happened to want to know more about the relic not long ago. Seems like the destiny attraction is still working just fine.’

[Don’t you dare blame me! I worked very hard to allow for such a high reward to be given, alright?!]

Rean laughed inwardly. ’You sound awfully proud of yourself.’

[I should be! One hundred Orb Points isn’t something I can just hand out whenever I want.]

Roan simply shook his head. ’Whatever the reason, one thing is certain.’ His gaze returned to the projection of the ruins. ’The System rarely gives quests like this unless there is something interesting waiting for us.’

That thought alone was enough to make the four of them considerably more interested in the exploration than before.

After all, a reward of one hundred Orb Points was already extraordinary for that point in time.

Of course, the second one seemed just as interesting.