An Absurd Era!

The Absurd Era!

The last thing Ian saw was the control panel's red alarms flashing wildly. Then the entire Time Machine was hurled out of the time passage by an irresistible force, plunging toward an unknown time and place.

When he woke again, he found himself lying in a patch of grass. The air carried an unfamiliar scent, and even the color of the sky seemed unlike that of any era he remembered. Beside him, the once-cool Time Machine had become a heap of smoking scrap metal, with sparks occasionally crackling between severed wires.

Ian struggled into a sitting position and checked himself over. Apart from a few scrapes and bruises, he seemed to be all right. His white robes were smeared with mud and grass, but the golden glow still flickered faintly beneath his skin. The lead box he carried was still safely tucked inside his robe pocket.

The fragment of the Eye of Ra was unharmed.

"Well, at least I didn't lose the most important thing." Ian muttered bitterly, then cautiously tucked the lead box, which he had not had time to put away earlier, into his money pouch.

After Ian's repeated enhancements, his money pouch was no longer an ordinary item carrying only an Extension Charm. Numerous protective spells had also been placed on this spatial storage device.

After all, it held his entire fortune. If some accident damaged it, all his belongings would spill out and scatter everywhere.

Like that time with the fairy—who could handle that?

"Cough, cough... Who designed this landing system? They ought to be sent to mine with black guys who don't speak the language!" Ian grumbled as he got to his feet and looked around.

This was a deep forest. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, while vines coiled around