Watching this scene, Pekala's disappointment was practically spilling over. Her rosy cheeks puffed up in dissatisfaction, and with a casual, venting gesture, she pointed at and opened the other metal cabinet as well.
Unlike the first metal cabinet, the second contained only a single shelf, upon which rested a stone slab carved with densely packed Strange Symbols.
The slab was made from an ancient type of Black Gneiss. Its four corners were slightly damaged, and it bore obvious traces of weathering.
The symbols written upon the slab belonged to none of the languages known to the three of them—they had sharp turns and deeply pointed angles, giving off a bizarre sense of discord.
The shapes of these characters somewhat resembled the Ancient Dragon Language Anvis had studied, yet they were clearly different.
However, despite its incredibly ancient and mysterious appearance, the slab itself had no fluctuations in mana. It seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary artifact excavated from some Ancient Ruins.
Sensing this, Pekala, who had been briefly excited by the slab's appearance, let her expression fall once more.
"What a shame—hidden so carefully, in a Secret Chamber made of Anti-Magic Alloy too. I was expecting some high-level Magic Curios to be hidden inside."
Pekala squeezed the Staff in her hand and muttered softly, dissatisfied by the gap between reality and her expectations.
"Pekala, our purpose is to learn in the end, isn't it? From a certain perspective, this slab may be a better find than high-level Magic Equipment."
Anvis carefully examined the slab before him, smiling slightly as he gently comforted the Girl.
Indeed, to his Spiritual Power, this was merely an ordinary relic slab of considerable age, without anything unusual about it.
But this very ordinariness, this complete lack of anything wrong, was the greatest problem.