Treasure Vault

The ancient treasury lay hidden within the mountains, overgrown with vines on forgotten ruins. Scars covered the ramparts built of massive stones and metal, each mark a character left by time, and all humanity could read from these characters was the word "vicissitude."

The history of this ancient ruin traced back to the distant Gondor Empire. Its heavy, majestic style was something the people of Ansu today were utterly unfamiliar with. In Gawain's memory, by the time the northern pioneers found it, it was already a ruin—and it hadn't looked much "younger" then than it did now.

Gawain, Rebecca, Amber, and Knight Byron walked into the mountain through the largest archway. The flickering torchlight made the corridors on either side uneven with light and shadow, much like the "Soul Corridor" in legends that led to the land of the dead. Amber complained with dissatisfaction, "I knew we should have had your Aunt Heti come along. What's the point of bringing you—you can't even cast a Glimmer Spell, and you call yourself a Mage?"

Rebecca's face flushed red, "Fireball Spell... Fireball Spell can also be used for illumination..."

Unfortunately, her tone lacked any persuasive power.

Knight Byron walked a short distance behind Gawain. He looked at the ancient stone walls and the indentations on them, whose purpose was no longer discernible, and couldn't help but recall his feelings from years ago as a mercenary. "How many years has it been since this ruin was abandoned?"

"I don't know," Gawain shook his head. "When we first discovered it, it was already a ruin. Those with more knowledge in the party at the time said it was a relic from the 'Starfire Era'—that was when magic technology saw great development in the mid to late Gondor Empire. The great magic well, the 'Azure Well,' was successfully activated, and the empire experienced a wave of expansion, starting the construction of numerous fortresses and research facilities in various border areas, hoping to find super-large Magic Power Focuses like 'Deep Blue' in other parts of the continent. But later, those facilities were abandoned one by one."

Rebecca found it unbelievable, "Didn't they find even a single Magic Power Focus?"

"No, they couldn't find Magic Power Focuses like Deep Blue," Gawain recalled the history in his mind. "The power of the Azure Well is beyond your imagination. It's a super-large magic source located at the center of the continent. The energy it outputs daily could even power all the mage towers in Ansu for a month. Therefore, some scholars believe that the explosion of the Azure Well in Gondor's 1739 was actually the cause of the Magic Tide. Although that explosion didn't destroy the entire empire on the spot, it tore a large rift in the elemental plane. The imbalance of Elemental Power accumulated until the following year, which then triggered that Magic Tide. However, this conjecture cannot be confirmed. The entire Azure Well and the 'Deep Blue' Magic Power Focus were completely annihilated, so no one can investigate."

"So amazing..." As a Mage, Rebecca could naturally tell how astonishing that ancient magic well was. What shocked her even more was that humans had once been able to wield such power. "The Gondor Empire back then was truly incredible..."

"In summary, in the eyes of the Gondorians back then, the magic focuses across the continent were practically insignificant. So, after barely discovering a few medium-sized magic focuses, Gondor stopped exploring more distant regions, and a large number of fortresses and research facilities were decommissioned. This place was likely one of the facilities decommissioned during the same period, and it was probably a comprehensive one."

Amber suddenly grew nervous, "Then... then couldn't there be some out-of-control ancient magic monsters or magical traps here?!"

Gawain glanced at the half-elf with a face full of tension. "As someone who dares to dig up other people's ancestral graves, you're afraid of an ancient facility like this that's been abandoned for thousands of years?"

"That's different! Digging up graves, even if the person in the coffin comes back to life, it's still just a person—if something pops out of an ancient facility like this, who knows what it could be! I heard that some ancient facilities also seal synthetic magical beasts and colossal magic constructs created by mad mages..."

Gawain's forehead twitched. "It's really disappointing that when I come back to life, I'm just a 'person'—speaking of which, the rumors about the Dark Mountains and these modern ancient facility ghost stories, where do all these incorrect pieces of knowledge in your head come from?"

Amber thought for a moment and then said mysteriously, "Let me tell you, I'm actually a chosen one of the Goddess of the Night. Sometimes when I pray too intensely, the Goddess gives me revelations, she taught me..."

Rebecca casually conjured a thumb-sized mini fireball and threw it at Amber. Amber, caught off guard, got a face full of black ash and immediately started yelping, "Oh my god, are you crazy! Throwing a fireball out of nowhere is dangerous!"

Rebecca shrugged. "...It seems she's not the chosen one."

Gawain was too lazy to deal with these two who didn't get along.

Because that ancient great door had appeared before them.

The corridor reached its end, and a heavy great door cast from dark purple metal stood before them. This great door had the typical "Starfire Era" style of Gondor—heavy, stable, and adorned with abstract bas-reliefs of soldiers and city walls.

Amber vigorously wiped the black ash from her face, her eyes shining as she looked at the door. "This thing... could it be made of a single piece of Purple Steel?!"

"That's right, it's a single piece, but I'll have Rebecca calculate the value of every chip you scrape off and hit you in the face with a fireball," Gawain tapped Amber's head with the hilt of the Pioneer's Sword. "So put away those bold ideas and just wait patiently for me to pay you; that's the way to go."

Amber turned her head and muttered softly, "...You stingy old man..."

Gawain heard her grumbling but ignored her. He took half a step back and took out the crucial "key" from his bosom.

A legacy from seven hundred years ago, the Platinum Disc.

Rebecca looked a little worried, "It's been so many years, can this thing still work?"

Gawain looked at her and smiled slightly, "This is Gondor Empire technology. As long as the main structure hasn't collapsed, its main gate will never malfunction."

As if to prove his words, at the moment he finished speaking, the intricate patterns on the Platinum Disc lit up one by one, and the bas-reliefs on the heavy metal door were followed by flowing wisps of light.

When the light filled the entire great door, a creaking mechanical sound came from deep within the door and the rock walls on either side. Everyone felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly, and with this tremor, the great door slowly opened.

Gawain, Rebecca, and the others were already prepared. As the door opened, they covered their mouths and noses and retreated to the sides. At the same time, Gawain activated one of the Knight's basic skills, "Aura Protection." A faint barrier protected everyone present—this ability was similar to the Mage's basic magic, "Breeze Shield." Although it could only provide very, very limited defensive power, it could effectively maintain a clean air environment. When entering ancient ruins or similar places, this skill could prevent the caster from being harmed by toxic gases.

There were no toxic gas traps in this ancient ruin, but a sealed space that had been closed for seven hundred years might have accumulated some gases. Having multiple layers of protection was always good.

After several minutes, Gawain removed his protection and nodded to the others, then took the lead walking through the door, with Knight Byron following closely behind.

Amber hesitated for a moment, but gave up on the idea of chipping off a piece of metal from the door while no one was paying attention—because the Purple Steel was too hard, her dagger couldn't pry it.

Inside the great door was a vast rectangular hall. Enclosed doors could be seen in the four directions of the hall, and those ancient properties were piled directly in this hall.

The sealed environment of the hall and the runes set up throughout the hall ensured that the supplies were oxidized and corroded at the slowest possible rate. To this day, many of them were still well-preserved.

Piles of metal ingots, crystals of various colors, swords, armor, and in the very center, several large chests as tall as half a person.

Gawain stepped forward, wedged the Pioneer's Sword into the gap of a chest, and pried it open with force. The chest sprang open.

One of the chests contained still-gleaming gold and silver coins, while the other chests contained neatly stacked pale purple crystals—military-grade crystals that had undergone carving and charging.

Those gold and silver coins were not the most valuable items; the crystals were.

The ancient Gondor Empire dominated the continent with its advanced magic technology. The magic from the Azure Well gave the empire's mages almost endless energy to squander. Even the most mediocre mages could achieve technological breakthroughs under such conditions. Thus, the Gondor Empire achieved something that seemed almost inconceivable to the current Four Kingdoms:

The mass production of "Extraordinary Armament."

Ordinary swords and armor had no enchantments. No matter how sturdy or sharp, they were merely mundane equipment. Only enchanted equipment imbued with extraordinary power could be called "Extraordinary Armament." In Ansu today, enchanted weapons and armor were issued only to officers of various ranks—and not always then. But during the Gondor period, it was standard for every soldier to be equipped with an enchanted longsword with the Sharpening Technique and a standard-issue crystal.

That thumb-sized crystal was pre-loaded with the spell models for Basic Shield and Explosion Spell. It operated automatically with enemy-identification. Even a grunt with no casting ability could use it—it would activate the shield upon being attacked, and when the shield was depleted, it would heat up, flash, and give a warning. Then, it would be thrown with force, and once it reached a safe distance from the wearer and nearby friendly units, it would explode. In Gawain's opinion, this was incredibly advanced armament.

If it weren't for the circumstances back then, making it impossible to carry these, the pioneers would never have left them behind. The party back then took all the more valuable supplies they could carry, and these crystals were the part they had to abandon.

Gawain reached out and picked up a crystal, gently rubbing it in his hand.

This might have been a way for ordinary people to access magic, but that path was no longer viable.

Only with the activation of the Azure Well could these things be infused without regard to cost. With the Azure Well now destroyed, these ancient crystals were a dwindling resource.

But at the very least, for now, these crystals would become the foundation for the security of the territory.