Chapter 80

Witches are an ancient branch of spellcasters. Their tribe consists only of girls, and they can only give birth to girls. In various third-rate stories told by bards, witches especially like to lure foreign men back, and after giving birth, they turn the men into toads and throw them out. This is the direct reason why we mages generally choose to turn into sheep with our Transformation Spell, because turning into a toad makes people think we are witches, especially female mages, who resolutely refuse to use Transformation Spell to turn enemies into toads.

"The witch from the North traveled all the way to Holy Dragon to dig up a mountain and build a palace?" Anna poked at the statue, while Moli took out her phone and the two of them started taking selfies.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh--"

As we were talking, a loud shout suddenly came from afar. We saw Xuefeng carrying Reynold in one hand, jumping down from the entrance. Because he hadn't used a slowing spell, Reynold's face was deathly pale, and he looked like he was about to die.

With a thud, Reynold was thrown to the ground. I suddenly realized that being the Speaker of the Magic Council also has its professional risks. I wonder if Reynold will still apply for re-election after going home...

We collectively ignored him. Goliath frowned. "I seem to have seen a similar pattern in the Temple's chronicles, but I don't quite remember the details."

"Why don't we keep going and see?" Anna said, leaning against the door. "We're here to run dungeons, not to solve riddles."

Mel's hand trembled again, and I quickly grabbed him. We're already inside the ruins, so let's not punish the apprentice so casually. We can settle the score when we get home.

Anna huddled behind me, seemingly using me as a shield.

Goliath was the first to walk over, and the stone door opened without much effort. However, given Goliath's record of lifting a dragon boat, we are not sure if this stone door, which opened without much effort, would also be opened by an ordinary person.

There was a flight of stairs outside the door. We carefully walked out, but didn't find any of the traps we had imagined.

Until we reached the bottom of the steps, we were faced with a corridor. The steps had been very long; we probably had already descended underground. The damp, chilly air here was very similar to my teacher's bunker, filled with the smell of decay and dust, mixed with the aura of magic, making me feel...

Forehead...

"Xipei, are you feeling unwell again?" Mel asked me with concern; he had been spying on me ever since we entered the tunnel.

But this time I'm not feeling unwell, it's just...

"I'm more worried about the large-scale damage it will cause here," I answered honestly.

These dark underground passages are so easy for me to vandalize!

... Reynold, I won't accidentally hurt you. You don't need to hide with Goliath...

We took two steps forward, and suddenly, the magic lamps on the wall lit up automatically, illuminating the entire dark corridor.

This place is completely different from my teacher's bunker! Looking around, the walls of the entire tunnel are smooth and exquisitely decorated with reliefs. The lamps are spaced out with careful design, ensuring the light illuminates the entire tunnel. Aside from a slightly strange smell, the air is completely free of toxins and doesn't feel stuffy at all; it seems ventilation was also included.

The doors are arranged neatly, with a unified style... Hmm, they look like guest rooms in a five-star hotel.

Sigh... This underground ruin looks more luxurious than my studio apartment at the research institute.

Thinking about it that way, I really do feel uncomfortable!

Chapter 80

But Moli and Anna seemed very happy.

"Teacher! If it's a single-player game, you must search every room; there's bound to be something good!" Moli said excitedly.

Luckily, I reacted quickly, grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her back.

"This isn't a video game!" Goliath laughed and shook his head. "Don't get past me."

"Moli." I pulled back this arrogant young apprentice, using what I considered a rather stern tone, "Moli, even if one day your abilities surpass mine, you must not lose your sense of awe. Leaving aside the fact that this is a dangerous ancient ruin, even in the capital library where I always take you, can you guarantee that you have thoroughly understood the contents of every book?"

Moli blushed slightly, then she and Anna obediently stayed behind us.

Mel walked over from behind with a smile, looking quite experienced. He said, "Don't be so serious, Xipei. This kid probably just plays too many games. He just needs to go home and quit. Once, I took Anna to the amusement park, and she actually squatted in the bushes, saying she wanted to go hunting..."

So Anna and Moli stood side by side, their faces flushed bright and dazzling.

... It seems I need to reconsider whether the decision to install Wi-Fi in the Mage Tower was a reasonable one.

Goliath then walked to the nearest door. Unlike Lusien, Goliath seemed very casual, while Lusien, when leading the charge, always made me feel like he was filming an epic heroic drama, constantly spouting artistically embellished tragic lines, and he actually did. Goliath reached out and touched the door; if he weren't carrying a sword, I would have thought he was just visiting the next dormitory.

Then Goliath took two steps back and gestured to the Xuefeng- capped peak.

The Xuefeng passed by instantly, and a kick sent him flying.

Then he bent over and coughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. Mel and I couldn't help it, so we each took out a small bottle and went over to catch it.

Goliath chuckled softly as he walked through the door, leaving Xuefeng roaring in a frenzy, "Did you know there would be ash?"

"Is there even a need to guess?" Goliath turned around, openly disdainful of his dragon, "The one thing an underground ruin has in abundance is dust."

Xuefeng's expression... made me worry that he might devour Goliath in one gulp.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't a room with hidden mechanisms or treasures; it was just an empty room.

We checked repeatedly, and I even used Revealing Spell to confirm it was indeed an empty room. As for whether there was anything else before it was emptied, that's hard to say.

Although Goliath said this wasn't a single-player game, he still had Xuefeng open the doors one by one. Most of the rooms had the same layout, but they were all as clean as my wallet at the end of each month, and there were neither treasures nor enemies, until we turned a corner and found a room, an ordinary... well, a bedroom.

To be precise, a bedroom buried in dust.

Mel and I cast a dozen or so Cleaning Spell before finally clearing away the dust. The bed and table finally revealed their original colors; they were all made of stone, which is why they had remained unchanged for thousands of years. The blankets, sheets, and other fabric items had turned into brown fragments. The bookshelves and wardrobes were empty, with nothing left. However, there was a piece of bread on the table that had turned into a fossil, with some tattered papers underneath. The words on the paper were responding to our Magic Power, flashing intermittently.

Mel and I went over immediately. Goliath probably tried to stop us, but then shook his hand and let go.

To our disappointment, the words weren't spells left by an ancient sorcerer. They looked... like a diary? It was just that the writer was a spellcaster, so the handwriting naturally carried his Magic Power. When we were cleaning the room, our Magic Power activated the last bit of memory remaining on the paper, causing it to flash briefly.

Over thousands of years, the common language used by people on the mainland has not changed much. Excluding the ever-changing internet slang, the basic grammar and vocabulary have remained virtually unchanged, which is why we can read these fragmented diaries:

"... We finally got some new food, thank goodness. Those Germans... didn't create any new experiments for us to eat. If those farming guys had used magic again, we'd be back to eating magic bread rolls. God help us, those things were used for fighting when I was an apprentice... let alone eating them..."

"... Three druids who farmed died... and they're back again. Last time they came back, we told them not to go to the market anymore, in case we got caught... in case the fortress got caught... does this mean we'll only be able to eat bread made by Create Food Spell from now on? God, I might as well just smash my head against a wall and die before my last two molars get knocked out by magical bread!"