Both his attendants, Hume and Master, were commoners by birth.
They had no Legendary Bloodline, and their sensitivity and adaptability to magic were poor. Even Master, Aurelian's knight captain, had only barely reached the second rank of magic: Source Gathering.
For a commoner to spend their entire life breaking through to Lower Rank Magic was already considered a mark of genius.
So even if powerful magic points appeared right beneath their feet, they wouldn't sense the slightest thing amiss.
If even they couldn't, then the serfs, who had not a trace of magic, stood no chance.
But Aurelian was different. Though he was a bastard, the blood of the Star Royal Family, Archmond, flowed through his veins.
It was a legendary lineage passed down from the distant past, a Star-Forging Bloodline capable of resonating with the stars.
The power of this bloodline came from the stars of antiquity. It was also the origin of the Star Kingdom's name.
"Something's wrong beneath this land. There's probably some terrifying magical artifact silently draining all life from it. But why are the plants growing here unharmed?"
As the knights watched in confusion, Aurelian bent down and picked up a weed, examining it closely.
It was an ordinary weed, but Aurelian couldn't name it.
He plucked off a leaf, then crushed it and squeezed out a little green juice.
Strangely, the green juice quickly turned blue.
Aurelian was a little surprised, but soon composed himself.
That's pretty magical.
Hume and Master, who had been watching Aurelian closely, stared in wide-eyed astonishment.
In all their experience, they had never seen green juice suddenly turn blue.
"Could this land have been subjected to some terrifying magic? Is that why the seeds we sowed went bad?"
Hume's first thought was magic, because only bizarre magic could defy common sense and cause something so strange.
Hearing Hume mention magic, Master grew tense as well. His right hand was already gripping the hilt of his knight's sword as he warily scanned their surroundings.
Magic seemed far too mysterious to them—so mysterious that it frightened them.
In the eyes of people like Master and Hume, mages would always be mysterious. The terrifying stories passed down through the generations were all somehow connected to them.
People would always fear what they didn't understand.
"Get some shovels. Dig up the soil beneath us."
Aurelian's eyes gleamed as he inspected the ground and gave the order.
"B-but this place may have been enchanted."
Hume was nervous and tried to stop him.
"How much magic can there be? Go, now!"
Aurelian didn't want to waste time explaining. He was worried there was something strange buried below.
"All right, all right!"
Though magic had scared Hume out of his wits, his reason still compelled him to do as Aurelian said.
Before long, Hume came running over with two shovels, his bulk jiggling with every step.
"Dig!"
Aurelian handed one shovel to Master, who was still warily watching their surroundings, and gave the order. He had a strong feeling that something was definitely hidden beneath this layer of soil.
It might even be the culprit behind the charred wheat seeds!
Master opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Aurelian's stern expression, he shut it again.
The duke before him suddenly seemed like a stranger. He had never seen the bastard act so decisively.
Hume watched from the side. He was an ordinary man who had never cultivated magic and couldn't be of any help.
Aurelian and Master shoveled the earth aside, one load after another.
Soon, they had dug a pit one meter deep and more than two meters in diameter.
But Aurelian found nothing except black soil.
Still, he trusted his instincts. There had to be something strange underneath.
"Keep digging."
Aurelian continued to swing his shovel.
Master's white armor was already covered in dust. He sighed. He never would have thought that a noble knight like him would have to join a bastard in this kind of foolishness.
But he had no choice. Even as a knight, he was little more than a dog at Aurelian's side.
If he obeyed, the duke might happily reward him with a piece of meat. But if he angered the duke, his life or death would be decided with a single thought.
In this world, a person's birth determined much of their status.
That was why he desperately wanted to become a noble. Only then could he decide whether others lived or died.
One meter.
Two meters.
Three meters!
Aurelian and Master had dug down three meters. Just as Aurelian began to wonder if his feeling had been mistaken, something happened.
Clang!
The iron shovel struck something just as hard, ringing out sharply.
Aurelian saw that a corner of his shovel had chipped.
Master had stopped as well. He had encountered the same thing.
"What is this...?"
In the pitch-black pit, Aurelian tossed his shovel aside and brushed away some of the dirt at his feet with his hands.
A blue light burst forth.
Master froze. He realized that he had come across something unbelievable.
There was something buried beneath them. Could this be what Aurelian had been digging for all this time?
Aurelian paid none of that any mind. He felt a tremor from his bloodline. Beneath his feet lay a powerful magic point.
He scraped away all the soil around it.
At last, the thing beneath his feet revealed itself. It was an enormous block of ice radiating blue light!
The earth still buried its surroundings. Aurelian had uncovered only a portion of it.
The entire pit was illuminated by its immense blue glow, and both Aurelian and Master had to shield their eyes with their hands.
Hume, standing in the field above, was startled by the blue light too. Had his lord encountered some terrifying magic?
He hurried to the edge of the pit and looked down, only to have the blue light dazzle him as well.
Aurelian saw the Stone Book appear again in his consciousness. A new passage in Chinese had appeared inside it.
"Ever-Ice that never melts seals this land. A demon lurks below, and outsiders are unwelcome.
Reward received: Magic Refinement."
Before you continue