Leo stood at the edge of the enormous cavern, forgetting to breathe.
It was an underground world that stretched beyond the reach of his eyes.
Countless glowing crystal clusters jutted from the ceiling and floor, bathing the entire space in faint light.
The brightness made Leo feel as though it were sunset.
The waterway he had emerged from joined an underground river here, which surged through the center of the cavern and vanished into the distant darkness.
Along its banks grew all manner of strangely twisted supernatural plants.
The air was thick with ether.
Every breath made the flesh throughout his body tremble with excitement.
This was the source.
Beneath Graysea Marsh lay an Ether-Rich Zone with an even higher concentration!
Leo's body trembled slightly with excitement.
He knew he had discovered a secret capable of changing the balance of power throughout the Gray Marsh Fief, Sabertooth Province, and even the entire kingdom-throughout the Duchy's history, every newly discovered high-grade ether-rich zone had given rise to a noble marquis family!
But then a chill crept up his spine.
What sort of being could claim this place?
Compared with whatever might exist down here, the Gray Swamp Crocodiles from before were utterly insignificant.
He dared not venture any farther. Reason told him that, alone as he was, taking another step forward would be courting death.
He forced himself to calm down and retraced his route as quickly as he could.
By the time he burst from the lake, soaked from head to toe, only the last glimmer of sunset remained.
Without bothering to change out of his dripping clothes, he rushed toward the Lord's Manor at the edge of the valley.
After receiving Veylin's permission, Leo entered the study.
"My lord..."
Veylin, who had been reading records, raised his head. He