Chapter 168: The real ruins.

Chapter 168: The real ruins.

Mentally, I had aimed for a spot on the other side of the gate. The fact that I could see through the bards of the gate made it easier to visualise where I was trying to end up and a split second later, my vision returned to me as I reformed on the other side.

As I had expected, the creator of that gate had foreseen such an eventuality, because before I could even catch my bearings, nearly a dozen sickly green bolts flashed into existence and raced at me. My gut lurched as I saw the bolts of mana fly right at me and held my breath as they reached me. Thankfully, they harmlessly passed right through my body, since I hadnt yet lost my intangibility. By the time my body started to reform, only one bolt hadnt made impact yet, so I stuck my arm out to block in a moment of desperation.

The green bolt dissipated, leaving a mark on the affected arm, which I quickly cut off at the elbow before the curse could take hold of my entire body. For the second time, my arm fell to the floor and crumbled to dust moments later. This time, I hadnt needed to cut my sleeve off with it to do so. For a moment, I became scared that more bolts would follow the first dozen, but nothing seemed to be happening. I could only hope that no targeting systems had been set up for intruders already inside and that I wouldnt suddenly be cursed when I had my back turned.

To that end, I didnt hesitate and headed further down the corridor and went down another set of stairs at its end. The green bolts that had harmlessly passed through me hadnt left a mark on the brick wall behind me at the time, further consolidating the hypothesis that I was dealing with a curse-based attack.

I didnt have time to consider that thought further, though, because when I turned a corner and went down yet another set of stairs, a green glow illuminated the end of the corridor. I stilled, carefully inspecting the glow from a distance, but couldnt make anything out. I wondered whether that glow was indicative of more defensive systems, or something else I had already come this far, so couldnt back out now.

With no other choice, I stealthily snuck down the remainder of the stairs, until I reached the end, where I saw something spectacular. The corridor finally ended and opened up into a gigantic cavern that had formed under the rock. As large as a mountain valley, tower-sized stalactites and stalagmites rose up and hung down everywhere. Curiously, green crystals were attached to each one, jutting out of their rocky surface and illuminating the cavern with a bright green glow, which had been the origin of the light I had been wary of earlier.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

At the bottom of the cavern, a small town lay nestled between the rock rising up on either side. Small, cubic houses had been dug into and out of the rock, with openings dotting the rock formations at periodic heights and widths. It almost resembled the termite nest from the Caltian scorch, if it wasnt so obviously of human making.

If my hunch was correct, these green crystals held value that I couldnt rightly place. After that stint with the curses, though, I was somewhat apprehensive at breaking some pieces off myself. Maybe I could do that before I left.

Apart from the mine and quarry, two other buildings stood out to me and I hadnt explored them yet. One was a warehouse in the middle of the village, while the other was a large stalagmite at its edge, that had been dug out. A large stone gate rested at its bottom, adorned with a hexagonal pattern made of those familiar crystals.

To start with, I checked out the warehouse. Well, the building looked like a warehouse to store stuff in, anyway. I pushed open its heavy door and found myself in the dark. My passive let me see regardless, though, so I wasnt bothered. With my sword still drawn just in case, I slowly advanced inside, where I found myself in one large, open space. Different parts of the place were sectioned off by stone walls that came up to my shoulders, but a few were empty. A few others had dozen of stone chests, which had remained closed. I noticed that one of them had cracked. Its lid had a large crack down the middle, which hadnt broken all the way through. A dull green light shone through the crack, making me curious. Carefully, I dislodged the chests lid, pushing the broken stone tablet off of the chest to the ground below. Instantly, a green glow came out of the chest, illuminating the warehouse a bit. Before I could inspect the chest, though, I had to analyse my surroundings, in case my actions had woken anything up. Only when I felt that I was safe again, did I take a look at what I had found. The chest was filled with green crystals similar to the one outside, though these were bejewelled ones. They had many facets on each side, though remained mostly circular. They rested on a small ring of gold below, which in turn rested on a small carving made on the stone itself.

The green gems glowed with the same lustre as the huge ones outside, but there was a small difference. These ones made noise, as well. It took me a while to notice, but they made a low, quiet humming sound. In unison, I might add. I took a moment to inspect the gems more closely, though I was careful not to touch them, just in case. From this close, I could make out a small pattern made on each facet of the gem, though each facet had a different pattern than the next. The stones themselves had the same series of patterns carved onto them.

I almost considered grabbing the crystals then and there, but thought better of it. I could always gather them the moment I left, after all.

I opened up the rest of the chests, but found nothing as valuable as the first. Most only had dust inside, while the rest had more tools and armour that had long since rusted away. Apart from a few pickaxes, nothing of interest turned up. Just in case, I put an intact lid on the chest filled with valuables to hide the gems, but I was sure nobody would get past those gates in the ruins anytime soon. If the city itself hadnt found the required key, these other explorers surely wouldnt discover it within the coming weeks either.

Or so I had thought, perhaps foolishly, because when I left the warehouse, I noticed a group of humanoid figures walking down the cobblestone path to the village. I couldnt make out who I was dealing with, but I knew this would be trouble. I quickly went back into the warehouse and slowly shut the gate, hoping they hadnt seen my movement. I would need to come up with a plan for this situation