I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 812 - Side Story 85: Ancient Ruins (2)

Hans gazed at the ruins before his eyes.

"Huh. I didn't expect we'd arrive this quickly already."

The ruins at the center of the primeval forest were massive. Standing tall in pyramid form, it was difficult to estimate their overall scale.

"They must be very old, yet they're so well preserved."

Hans brushed the surface of the ruins. He felt the rough texture of the stone material. It was different from ordinary rock. It was harder and more durable.

The environment of the primeval forest was hot and humid. No matter how sturdy a structure was, it couldn't last long in such conditions.

But the ruins were still intact. There was only slight damage on the surface, with no collapsed areas.

'Probably, this is because some kind of magical treatment was applied when it was built.'

Hans stroked his chin with his hand, then realized he had become too absorbed in the ruins. When he turned around, he saw the spirit beasts that had somehow grown to nearly 10 in number.

Grrrrr. Uuuuung. Muoooo.

The spirit beasts that had been tasked with guiding them to the ruins stood awkwardly in place, watching one person nervously.

The target of the spirit beasts' nervous glances, Rudger, was gazing at the ruins just like Hans.

"Brother. Is it okay to just leave them like that?"

Hans asked, pointing at the spirit beasts. When Hans spoke to Rudger, the spirit beasts looked at him with expectant eyes.

'Wait, what? Why are they looking at me so uncomfortably?'

He understood. From the spirit beasts' perspective, Rudger who was holding them captive showed no sign of releasing them, so they must be frustrated.

In that situation, Hans, who gave off a similar feeling to them, was trying to do something, so they came to support him as a comrade.

Hans also found it quite uncomfortable for the spirit beasts to keep staying. Though it wasn't what he had wanted, Rudger had dealt with the spirit beasts one by one and then handed over those materials.

'What is he trying to do with spirit beast factors I don't even need anymore? And there are almost 10 of them - can I even digest all of this?'

At this point, giving him gifts was just an excuse, and he had clearly discovered rare spirit beasts, triggering his collecting urge and gathering samples. Of course, Hans didn't reveal such inner thoughts and quickly got to the point.

"Shouldn't we send them back? The guidance seems to be over anyway."

At Hans' words, the spirit beasts all nodded in agreement. Even the spirit beasts that had recently joined showed the same reaction.

They couldn't help it. They were apex predators dwelling in the depths of the forest. Boldly stepping forward saying they wouldn't tolerate intruders violating their territory - that was a pattern shown identically by all the spirit beasts.

And all of them met the same ending.

After being half-beaten before Rudger's overwhelming power, they had their teeth, claws, or scales plucked out one by one and were assigned the role of guides.

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, you're right."

Rudger looked back at the spirit beasts. When that gaze touched them, the spirit beasts tensed their bodies, filled with energy.

Fear washed over them that this monster might suddenly change his mind and kill them.

Rudger stared at the spirit beasts intently, then relaxed his eyes and said.

"Everyone go back to your homes. You'll understand even if I say it roughly like this, right?" 

"Hey! Did you hear? Go back quickly!"

As the declaration of liberation fell, the spirit beasts were overjoyed. Even if they couldn't fully understand human language, they had enough intelligence to sense what Rudger was saying.

The spirit beasts gathered in small groups immediately fled back the way they came as soon as permission was granted.

It was like watching elementary school students running home when vacation starts.

"Good heavens. To think spirit beasts would be so happy."

Veronica looked at the joyfully departing spirit beasts with an incredulous gaze. Cassie felt similarly, but she wasn't as surprised as Veronica.

She had experienced too many things to be surprised by something like this.

The spirit beasts withdrew and silence descended around them.

"Brother. What will you do now? It seems we're the first to arrive." 

"Since we've come this far, it would be better to examine the ruins first." 

"Is it possible with spatial movement?"

Rudger shook his head.

"As long as we don't know what kind of structures are inside, moving arbitrarily through coordinates is dangerous."

If you teleported inside some structure, it would be no different from being buried alive.

"Besides, magical energy still lingers in these ruins. If you try to enter carelessly, you'll be interfered with and the coordinates will get tangled."

It was a voice tinged with half admiration. To think magical energy still remained in ancient ruins that appeared to be at least 500 years old. In cases of artifacts or relics, their functions don't deteriorate over long years, but that was possible because they were appropriately sized objects.

To maintain magical energy throughout such a massive structure required corresponding energy.

"Fascinating. Does this mean there's an element that can steadily supply energy for over hundreds of years?" 

"Aren't you sensing it too? That enormous power flowing beneath these ruins."

Cassie approached, pointing underground.

"Ley lines."

Rudger realized these ruins were built at the center of ley lines. A place where enormous energy flowed and condensed underground. The ruins were built to take advantage of that geographical benefit.

It was similar to the Kasar Basin, but in a far more sophisticated way. The Kasar Basin became an overwhelming environment where ley lines stagnated, but these ancient ruins at least knew how to handle it.

'And that was at least 500 years ago.'

It was interesting. Perhaps inside the ruins, there might be research materials on methods of utilizing ley lines.

It was technology sophisticated enough to maintain the ruins' form so perfectly. The objects inside would also be preserved in minimal form through the ages.

Initially he had come to stop those trying to claim the artifacts and relics inside the ruins, but his thinking changed.

He intended to personally find and take what was worth taking inside.

"First, we need to find the entrance."

The ruins were massive and vast. There would surely be underground spaces too. To utilize ley lines, corresponding structures would need to extend.

The ruins revealed now were ultimately just a portion, like an iceberg protruding above the sea surface. The real thing was down below.

"Can't we just break through and enter?"

Veronica asked. It was a simple question befitting a knight, but this was actually the most effective method.

With time short now, how long would they have to search for an entrance that could be anywhere?

"That's the most certain method, but I don't recommend it. These ruins are a structure that has endured over long years. You can tell just by looking at the mana dwelling here."

Rudger brushed the ruins' solid surface. Vines were growing and there was damage here and there, but that was only on the outside. Inside, solid and enormous power still lingered. The inability to use spatial movement was also due to this mana's interference.

As an 8th circle mage, he could sufficiently respond to crises, but there was no need to take such risks.

"If we try to forcibly break this, who knows what might happen to the entire ruins. The ruins' function might stop, or the opposite might happen." 

"The opposite?" 

"It becomes a fortress to counter external enemies. If it's ruins of this caliber, the people who built it would have anticipated the existence of potential intruders." 

"I see. As long as we don't know what devices or traps exist, touching it carelessly carries too much risk. But then how do we find the entrance?"

Even if Veronica lacked knowledge in this area, that only applied when compared to experts. She was also a knight with considerable experience, a master-level knight at that. Just from news and information picked up in passing, she knew vastly more than ordinary people.

Even with Veronica's knowledge, ruins like these likely had even their entrances hidden by magic.

The possibility of an entrance just being there plainly was low. Finding a hidden entrance would consume considerable time.

Considering the ruins' expanse, at minimum an exploration team of over several dozen people would need to spend an entire day searching to maybe find it. With just four of them, there were too many places to check...

"Found it."

At Rudger's words, Veronica's eyes widened.

"What?" 

"Since it's hidden by magic, it's easier to find. Follow me. It's this way." 

"No, what on earth..."

As Veronica still didn't understand the situation, Cassie spoke instead.

"Just follow. At least regarding magic-related parts, there's nothing more reliable than that man's words."

Even Cassie said so, and Hans followed without a word, so Veronica couldn't question further.

In fact, considering what Rudger had shown coming this far, it would be strange to have doubts.

Had they moved for about 5 minutes? Rudger's party stood before a wall with nothing on it.

"Is it here?"

Rudger caressed the wall with his hand. Just as one might think he was searching for a hidden entrance.

Thwoom!

The mana flowing through his palm spread across the wall's surface like ripples.

The wall surface undulated greatly like water. The undulating illusion gradually faded, revealing the ruins' entrance that had been disguised as a wall.

"This is the ruins' main gate." 

"Good heavens."

This wouldn't be the only path leading inside the ruins. However, finding the 'proper' entrance was not easy even for experienced explorers.

"Let's go."

Hans, about to follow Rudger inside, inadvertently stopped.

Rudger looked back at Hans.

"Hans. What's wrong?" 

"Uh, well...I'm getting an eerie feeling." 

"An eerie feeling?"

Rudger stroked his chin with his hand. Hans seemed not to understand why he felt that way even after saying such words.

Rudger's eyes gleamed sharply.

'It seems the beast factor Hans possesses has detected something.'

Sometimes Hans' intuition showed perception close to precognition. What he was showing now was probably also an extension of that sense sending a warning.

'I'll have to see whether it's the same reaction for all of us, or if it's reacting particularly to Hans individually.'

Rudger asked the hesitating Hans.

"Can you enter?" 

"Uh, um. I don't think so. The more I resolve to go inside, the more discomfort and nausea wells up from within. Ugh."

As if proving it wasn't an exaggeration, Hans' complexion was unusually pale.

"Hmm. It seems you're particularly having a rejection reaction. Come to think of it, the forest's spirit beasts were also especially reluctant to come to these ruins."

The closer to the forest's center, the stronger the residing spirit beasts were. Then a truly strong spirit beast that could be called the king of the forest should have made its lair at this central area, the ruins.

However, no spirit beast dwelled in the ruins. They only lived in the forest keeping a minimum distance.

"It's certain there's something inside. I understand, Hans. I can't force you to come." 

"You understand?" 

"It's not bad to have one person waiting outside." 

"...Thank you."

Hans was greatly relieved. His head said he should go to the ruins with Rudger, but his heart absolutely wouldn't. Though he was no longer affected by the wildness of the Beast of Gevaudan, the intense beast instinct that occasionally surged was still often hard to endure.

"Return safely. I'll be waiting outside." 

"We will."

Rudger, Cassie, and Veronica entered the ruins' entrance as a trio. Their figures disappeared as if snuffed out after moving a certain distance, as if hidden by a curtain.

Besides hiding the entrance, it meant some magical treatment was also applied to the passage leading inside from the entrance.

"Fine. I'll just rest outside."

Though he ended up isolated alone in such a place, so what? No one else could come this far anyway.

'In a forest full of spirit beasts everywhere, would explorers even come here? Even if an army pushed through, it would look difficult.'

Besides, since other beasts and spirit beasts didn't approach the ruins, there wouldn't be much danger.

It was the moment Hans was trying to rest with such relief.

He heard rustling sounds from behind. Thinking perhaps a spirit beast that had left was approaching, he turned around to find dozens of pairs of eyes staring at him.

At those gazes that seemed to wonder why on earth there was a person here, Hans wanted to ask the same thing.

'Who the heck are you people?'

Come to think of it, those people's attire was rather peculiar. Pure white hoods and robes. Clothing that seemed to flaunt "I am a sacred person," along with their distinctive aura.

'Oh, damn. They're people from the Lumensis Order!'

Why of all places would he encounter them in a place like this? There's a limit to how rotten one's luck can be.

Hans first raised his hand as naturally as possible with a smile, as if proving he was a harmless person.

"Oh, nice to meet you?"

The other party's expression became even colder.

"Capture him."

The moment he heard those words, Hans immediately ran away at full speed without looking back.

"Chase him!" 

"Ahhhhh! Brother! Please save me!"

Though he cried out so desperately, there was no way Rudger, who had already entered the ruins, could help.