Kays Translations

Chapter 73: Ruin Exploration - First Day

The group continued to advance, sporadically encountering and swiftly defeating monsters. Walking a considerable distance, they realized that the main structure was made of a light gray material, and chaotic expansions seemed to have taken place around it.

Recognizing this, when they observed the main structure again, they noticed it gently drew an arc to the left in a constant 'R' shape. If this were a circular corridor, it would likely have a fairly large diameter.

Although there were small rooms here and there, there were only remnants of things that seemed to have been used as furniture or parts of shattered magic circles.

"What can I say, it's a place with nothing..."

After about three hours of exploration, Isamu spoke the obvious.

"Yeah, even in places explored by the royal family, the Kalenberg family, and Count Felker, it would be strange if there were conspicuous things left behind...If there's nothing here, you might forget that this is a restricted area."

In response to Isamu’s words, Selfers answered with a wry smile.

"Even in liberated areas, the upper parts are similar. For some reason, most ruins are simpler in construction above and more complex and extensive below. If anything is found, it's likely to be in the lower layers."

Willem, who toured various ruins, added.

"I see. In that case, I want to find a path or stairs leading down."

"Yeah, the map of this place wasn't provided, but we still haven't fully grasped the whole thing. There must be lower layers."

Since it was a limited area, they wanted to obtain something of value. It seemed that to achieve this, they needed to put more effort into delving deeper.

About 30 minutes later, they discovered something different from before.

They found structures with slits, forming squares of about 3 meters on each side on the walls. Next to them, there were recesses of about 20 centimeters on each side that had been forcibly exposed by opening the lid.

Although there were no handles or knobs, it seemed like an entrance.

Others who explored before Isamu and the group seemed to have had the same idea, as there were traces of attempts to open it, such as scorch marks and scratches all around.

Inside the recesses, it was so messy that it was impossible to know what it originally was.

"Hmm, this seems like some kind of mechanism..."

While examining the surroundings, Isamu muttered.

"There are traces of magic being cast or something heavy being thrown, but it seems futile..."

Selfers also commented while touching the wall in a similar way.

"Oh, there are several similar things further ahead."

Willem, who was looking ahead, pointed to the back. Certainly, there were several slits lined up.

While the group was checking the surroundings, unfortunately, all of them were in a similar state.

"It would have been nice if they at least cleaned up the inside of these recesses..."

Isamu, who discovered traces of magic ink used in magic circles inside the recess, expressed disappointment.

As they were about to turn around and withdraw, they miraculously found slits that were almost untouched.

These were a bit smaller than the ones before, and more than half of the large rocks covering them were hidden.

Probably because they couldn't open them despite many attempts, they didn't bother trying to move the heavy stones.

"Hmm. It's heavy labor, but should we try moving the rocks?"

“"Yes, understood!"”

In response to Selfers' proposal, the three knights stepped forward to move the rocks, but Isamu interrupted them.

"I recently learned a magic that might make it a bit easier to move. Maybe I can use it."

Saying that, he touched the rock with his right hand.

"With magic? Are you going to break it with wind magic or explosive magic?"

Not quite understanding what he was going to do, Annemarie asked.

"If I do that, the ruins might collapse... I'll make it a bit softer. Oh, it might get dirty, so please step back a bit!"

Smiling, Isamu said so and moved everyone to the opposite wall, then began chanting the spell.

"The swamp that swallows great beasts, a sludge turning from rocks. Mud Transformation!"

After casting the spell, yellow light in concentric circles spread like ripples around Isamu’s hand touching the rock.

Then, Isamu quickly moved away.

The next moment, about two-thirds of the large rock that had blocked the slit melted and collapsed like mud, spreading on the ground.

“””"Eh!!!!"”’”

Seeing this, everyone raised their voices in surprise.

"Well, the range that can be done without much trouble seems to be about this much."

Walking on the thinly spread mud, Isamu headed towards the melted rocks.

"No, no, no, Isamu-dono! Could you please explain first?"

Seeing Isamu proceed as if it were obvious, Selfers hurriedly asked for an explanation.

The other six also widened their eyes, nodding in agreement.

"Huh? I just turned the rock into mud with Mud Transformation... Was this also a rarely used magic?"

Isamu asked, tilting his head.

"Mud Transformation, Mud Transformation... I feel like I've heard the name before. Ann, do you know?"

Even Selfers seemed unfamiliar with the magic, so he sought help from Annemarie, who was likely the most knowledgeable about magic among them.

"... I think it's a spell that makes the ground a little softer, and hardly anyone uses it..."

Even Annemarie, who should have more confidence in her answer, seemed unsure about this somewhat obscure magic.

"...I see. Originally, it's a magic that turns the ground into a swamp, stopping movement. So, I thought if I used it on standing rocks, this might happen. Well, it consumes quite a bit of magic power, so it can only be used in this range."

Isamu explained with a laugh, sharing various experiences with Earth Magic, including the previously used Grand Spike against the Mage Ogre.

"Really... Mud Transformation is such magic. It seems like it could be applied in various ways, especially on the battlefield."

Felix, the vice-captain, who learned about the magic's effects, muttered to Selfers.

"Yeah, there's an unexpected harvest... Let's consider it when we return to the territory."

"Understood."

While the lord and vice-captain were already making plans for practical use, Isamu was examining the slit that became visible after the rock disappeared.

"Hmm... Annemarie-san, could you use water magic to clean the wall a bit? Just in case, I'd like to avoid further magic consumption..."

Feeling apologetic, Isamu asked Annemarie, who was looking at the wall together with him.

"Yes, leave it to me!"

With a quick agreement, Annemarie used Water Ball to clean the wall several times.

"Thank you! Now, let's see how this recess looks..."

After thanking Annemarie, Isamu inserted a knife into the gap that seemed to be the lid of the recess and opened it with a crack.

"Oh!?! It's a magic circle after all!"

Seeing the inside that came out, Isamu’s face brightened, but he soon became clouded.

"...But, I can't read this one."

Dropping his shoulders with a slump, Isamu examined the magic circle carefully. And then...

"Huh? I can understand some parts of this... why... Ah! If you look closely, it's an Activation Array!? I didn't realize it because it's almost completely integrated!! That means, there should be a place around here to insert magic stones...Geh! What's with this magic power consumption!? 2FFF (hexadecimal) with small magic stones? This is impossible! Or even with medium magic stones, isn't it impossible? Damn it, I only brought small magic stones today!!"

Continuing to grumble, Isamu was immersed in his work.

Knowing that in such a situation, the surrounding voices would no longer reach him, the onlookers could only watch with stern faces.

"Nyaff!"

After about five minutes of trial and error while grumbling, Orihime hit Isamu’s head with pats from inside the backpack.

"Nn~ Orihime~ I'm a bit busy right now, later..."

Without turning around, Isamu tried to immerse himself in his own world.

"Nyaffuuu!!"

Growing impatient, Orihime finally scratched Isamu’s ears vigorously.

"Ouch! Wait, Orihime, what are you... wait, huh?? Wow, I'm sorry, everyone!!!"

Although Isamu turned around unintentionally due to Orihime's mischief, he quickly apologized while looking at the seven people with a wry smile.

"Nyafu."

Orihime made a small sound as if saying, 'Oh well.'

"Pfft... A-are you okay?"

With a chuckle, Annemarie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Isamu scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"So, what did you find out?"

"I don't know what kind of magic circle it is, but I figured out that if you set a magic stone in the Activation Array, you can probably move it."

Isamu casually answered Annemarie's question.

"Eh!? Can you really move it!?"

Surprised, Annemarie and the other seven members expressed their astonishment.

"Well, you see, it seems to require quite a strong output of magic power... The usual limit for output with small magic stones is about 500, but this thing seems to need about 20 to 30 times that."

"30 times!!!"

The group was once again astonished by the number that came out of Isamu’s mouth. After deciphering the Activation Array, they found a check mechanism for the amount of magic power sent to the Functional Array, and the value was slightly over 12,000 in decimal, or 2FFF in hexadecimal.

"However, I think there's a way to do it, so when we get back, I want to come up with a plan and try again tomorrow."

"What, are you saying you can move something that requires that much magic power?"

"Yeah. I'm not certain, but if we were to directly generate this much magic power from magic stones, no matter how many we have, it wouldn't be enough. Probably, the approach is correct."

Acknowledging Isamu’s answer with some confidence, Selfers nodded.

"Understood. It was a good time to turn back anyway. Let's wrap it up here for today and make a fresh attempt tomorrow. Hehe, it seems like quite an auspicious start."

Selfers declared the end of the first day, but it seemed he couldn't completely hide his joy at the unexpected progress. As a precaution, using the magic of Liddell and Annemarie, the Rock Fist Lock Fist, a softball-sized rock, was created again to conceal the slit. Then, the group set out on the return journey.

Returning to the city of Bellcoure, Isamu headed not to the noble inn but to the Zambrotta Trading Company, where Eto and the others stayed. After requesting the branch manager and Silvio to clear out the workshop after closing, Isamu, along with Eto, began working on creating magic circles for countermeasures.

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