C136
“Yeah, he does look strong.”
"Right."
Shirone and Amy agreed. It wasn't just because he had a tattoo. Their keen senses felt an actual latent force in the man's appearance.
But Rian thought differently.
"Hmph, just because he's straining his eyes doesn't mean he gains strength that wasn't there before. There's no need to be scared."
Rian's senses were inferior than others. That's why he couldn't open Schema, but Shirone rather felt reassured by that appearance. No matter how fearful the situation, Rian would steadfastly serve as their shield.
"Great! Let's start exploring the ruins!"
After passing through the toll booth, the formal investigation began.
The Kerugo Ruin was a temple dedicated to a god and had a square structure measuring 2 km from east to west and 2 km from north to south.
A long corridor spread out after crossing a 200-meter lake via a bridge, and it was only after passing another 500 meters along the pilgrimage route they reached the central temple.
"Wow, it's really huge. Is this really a building that was built thousands of years ago?”
"I heard from people earlier that it was buried in volcanic ash, so it’s only about this size, but it was supposedly much larger."
Shirone looked down at his feet. Since the volcanic eruption was an event 500 years ago, the layer of volcanic ash should be formed beneath the surface.
Amy, who was leading the way, turned around and yelled at Shirone.
"Shirone, what are you doing? We have to look around the central temple."
Shirone didn't answer. He was just engrossed in something with a faint smile.
Amy, puzzled, approached Shirone.
"What's wrong? What's the matter?"
“Amy, enter the Spirit Zone.”
“Spirit Zone? Why all of a sudden?"
The moment she realized, Amy slapped her palm.
"Oh, I see!"
Mage can extend their senses with the Spirit Zone. If something was hidden under the ruins, there was no way it would escape their Synesthesia.
"Got it. I'll give it a try."
Amy entered the Spirit Zone. While exploring the underground with Synesthesia, her eyebrows gradually began to narrow. After about 5 seconds, she finally released her Spirit Zone as if she realized something.
"Shirone, this is..."
"Yeah. Nothing's coming up. There should be at least some bedrock, but there's nothing."
“Isn’t it because the layer of volcanic ash is thick? How about going very deep?”
It was hard because she couldn't do it. However, after a moment of thought, Shirone caught on and exclaimed.
"Aha, there was that method."
Amy could do it. Her specialty among the four techniques was Target Type with long range.
The Target Type, also known as a cross-zone, was a form in which the mage was located at the intersection of two lines and rapidly rotating it to quickly hit a specific target.
But it didn't end there.
Amy, who had entered the graduating class, chose her major and developed the Target Type into sniper mode.
The Sniper Mode, in which the shape of the Spirit zone was perfectly straight, was characterized by the mage being located at the end of the zone to enhance the range.
This form is called a Directional Zone, and although the rotation of the zone is slow, it was able to produce a range at least four times longer than the Target Type.
Even if you expand the radius of the zone to only 500 meters in diameter, it is over 1 kilometer in the Target Type. From there, if you enter sniper mode again, you will be able to hit a target as far as 4 kilometers away.
Currently, Amy's default radius is 68 meters in diameter. When switched to Target Type, it was 143 meters, and when it entered sniper mode, it exceeded 500 meters.
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
Amy entered the zone at the same time as the sequence method. The transformation of the four techniques took place at high speed, and a cross stood upright, with the axis tilted 90 degrees.
'Sniper Mode!'
Amy's Spirit Zone started digging down like it was pouring down. A groan leaked out between her clenched teeth.
As the zone lengthens, durability inevitably weakens. It wouldn't be a problem if there were no obstacles in the way, but she didn’t know what was underground and the zone was bending here and there.
Amy infiltrated even more desperately.
And the moment she thought she had touched something for the first time, the Spirit Zone was shattered and her consciousness was shaken.
"Heok! Heok!"
"Amy! Are you fine?"
Shirone hurriedly helped Amy. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
"I’m fine. This is going to be tough. I've penetrated up to 300 meters, but it's impossible below that. From there, it's like throwing a thread into the sea and letting it drift."
Shirone could guess how powerful the force was at work. Amy's Spirit Zone is by no means weak in durability. Yet, she was comparing her zone to a fragile thread.
"But at least we found out that there's something there. That's a great accomplishment in itself."
"It's an achievement, sure. But that's not enough. We need someone who can expand Spirit Zone while maintaining its durability. Unless you are at least a high-level Zoner, it will be impossible to navigate the Spirit Zone.”
Even to Shirone, it seemed that anyone below that level wouldn't dare to explore the ruins.
“If I knew it would be like this, I would tell big brother Ares. If it's the extent of the expedition that my brother belongs to, there will be a Zoner who can explore this place.”
"Or we could ask Teacher Ethella."
Ethella, being a monk, was a Zoner specialized in durability. She was the perfect person to explore this type of terrain.
“If it's Teacher Ethella, it might be possible. I don't know how deep it is, but she could easily break through where I've reached."
Rian interrupted.
"But if that's the case, we wouldn't need to investigate, right? I heard that the principal gave a hint. Wouldn't his words imply that we should figure it out ourselves?"
Shirone and Amy closed their mouths as they looked at each other. In their focus on efficiency, they sometimes forgot the meaning.
Amy admitted frankly.
“Rian is right. But it's too precious. But it's such a waste. If we could just break through here, we wouldn't need to investigate the ruins. How about continuing to think this way?"
Shirone understood Amy's feelings. This journey wasn't about playing explorers in the ruins, but finding clues about Miro.
"Let's try various things for now. It's not something we can do right away. Now that it's come to this, I'm more curious. I think I'll be satisfied only when I see it with my own eyes."
Leaving only vague imaginations about the underground, Shirone's party continued their exploration.
However, the Kerugo Ruins were really just a common tourist destination.
As if mocking those who were seriously investigating, the men were chatting and the children were running around spinning pinwheels.
"Amy, are we doing this right?"
"Don't ask. I'm feeling a sense of self-reproach right now."
After visiting the last route, the Central Temple, the party eventually halted their investigation. They couldn't find anything unusual in the ruins above ground.
"I don't get it. The principal said we could find out if we came here. But what does a ruin from thousands of years ago have to do with Miro?”
"Anyway, it's certain there's something underground. We have to explore with the Spirit Zone, don't we?"
Rian's eyes lit up as if he had remembered something.
"I have a good idea. If we can't break through with the Spirit Zone, why don't we dig the ground and go in? Won't something come out eventually?"
Shirone and Amy looked at Lian as if he was ridiculous, then resumed their conversation.
"How about contacting the locals? Since they live with the locals, there must be someone who speaks the common language."
"Hmm, yes. But I don't think those people would know anything important. Maybe a if we have interpreter..."
Rian screamed in agony.
"Hey! Why aren't you responding? I said let's dig!"
Tess intervened.
“You idiot, how could you put a shovel in a ruin that even the Autonomous Government can’t touch? If you do such a thing, you will be severely punished for damaging cultural heritage."
After scolding Rian, she turned to Shirone.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. Inquiry would be best, but I think it will be difficult right now. We would need to find an interpreter and also need a permit to enter the native autonomous region."
"Really? Then, I do have one method we can try immediately. Want to hear about it?"
"Oh, really? Tell me! What is it?"
Rian said with a hateful expression, as if he couldn't be embarrassed alone.
"You're not suggesting that we dig the ground secretly, are you?"
Tess desperately suppressed her anger and continued.
"…Anyway. This is what I thought. While you guys were focusing on the ruins, I was looking around. I found one peculiar point."
"A peculiar point? What is it?"
Tess scanned the surroundings with her gaze.
“Look closely at the people. Most are tourists, but there are a few that are not. The ones who walk in groups, are armed, and don't care much about ruins.”
The three of them looked around. Certainly, there was. There were obviously not many, but armed men were walking around.
"Aha! I see!"
"Yes, those are mercenaries. Why would mercenaries wander around a tourist spot? Some of them look quite strong. In the end, there must be something about this relic."
"And the mercenaries know that?"
"That's right. After all, contacting the natives takes time, and they might not talk to us, right? But mercenaries are different. The fact that they came here itself means they know something."
Shirone admired Tess' insight. While others were concentrating on the ruins, she alone observing the external circumstances.
If one knew Tess's background, it was natural. The Elzaine Family has historically knownto have produced numerous commanders and diplomats. But their true strength lies elsewhere.
It was in espionage activites.
Of course, they were viewed as spies from the perspective of enemy countries, but the information they infiltrated and sent from various nations made a significant contribution to the diplomatic strategy of the Kingdom of Tormia.
'It's definitely a good idea. No, it's the only idea for now.'
Shirone decided to adopt Tess' strategy.
"Alright. So, do we just follow the mercenaries from now on?"
"Follow? Hmm, I'm honestly not confident. Getting caught by a high-level mercenary is a headache. In particular, if they have Sensory System Schema, we should consider ourselves definitely caught. It might work if I follow them alone."
"I see the problem. I don't even know how to hide my presence. So, what do we do?"
“Huhu, do we really need to go looking for them? If they're mercenaries, there's a place teeming with them, isn't there?"
"Huh? There's such a place? Where is it?"
Tess winked and pointed somewhere.
"Want to have a drink in the daytime?"
----------------------
On the southwestern inner wall of the ruin site, there were a series of shops made of wooden boards.
In the order of restaurants, bars, and snack shops. Compared to general stores, the scale was shabby, but the earnings were much better.
It is located inside the ruin site, and even the price was expensive, but people still chose this place for the sake of convenience.
Shirone's group entered a bar. They wondered how many people would be drinking in broad daylight, but almost every table was filled except for two.
Shirone's group chose a corner. Amy sat next to Shirone, and across from them, Rian and Tess took their seats.
"Are you going to drink?"
"I guess we should order something? This is a bar, after all. But let's focus on the snacks. It's probably better to have lunch here."
Tess placed an order. Traditional liquor from Galliant Island and hot noodles with minced meat were served.
The four people who had a poor breakfast stopped talking for a while and focused on eating.
At that moment, a chuckling sound was heard from the next table. At first, they tried not to care, but the annoying laughter continued and they couldn't help but be upset.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
