After searching for quite a while, I Have A Friend finally found a few naturally formed gold nuggets and several Low-Rank Magic Gems in the Dragon Nest within the valley.
Perhaps because that Force Dragon was still in its youth and had not been born long ago, there was not much treasure. Neither Anvis nor the Duke thought much of it.
Of course, even so, I Have A Friend was quite satisfied.
Selling these things would still fetch several hundred Gold Coins, not to mention that they had been picked up for free.
Moreover, deep within the Dragon Nest, I Have A Friend made another discovery—a broad, pitch-black fissure leading underground, of unknown depth.
When he cautiously tossed a Magic Light Spell into the fissure, the deep darkness illuminated by the light revealed a distinctly unnatural cubic space to his eyes... Both the Duke and Anvis had noticed that mysterious, deep fissure in the dragon's lair.
However, after exploring it with Spiritual Power, the Duke discovered that there seemed to be nothing of value left in the ruins below the fissure.
The fissure should have been left behind by some earthquake. Due to the great age of the ruins beneath it, their original magical protections had failed, and part of the structure had been damaged by the quake, exposing it.
Judging from the claw marks around the mouth of the fissure, that Force Dragon had crawled out from those ruins.
Even if there had originally been anything good left inside, that Force Dragon had likely already scavenged it all.
After handing the Force Dragon over to the Duke to deal with, Anvis returned to the academy to await the Duke's results.
During this time, several days quietly passed.
On the Empire's side, progress in exploring the Fallen Star Remains continued