Chapter 201

By the time we had taken down one golem, Rieka had also finished her fight.

“Alright. Got it!”

Circling around the golem, Rieka suddenly yanked hard on something in her hand.

It was the whip she usually wore at her waist. When needed, she could attach a hook-like weight to the end, turning it into a kind of grappling hook.

She had thrown it to wrap around the golem’s arm, and now she had successfully bound its entire body.

An adventurer skilled enough to survive in Ground Zero would always carry at least a couple of special tools meant to save their life at any moment.

The rope, made of glossy black leather, was thin and light, yet strong enough to completely restrain a golem with immense strength. It was clearly no ordinary item.

“Hah!”

Seizing the opportunity, Rieka leapt toward the golem, grabbed the rope, and climbed up five meters in an instant as if scaling a cliff.

Planting her foot on its shoulder, she drew a stiletto from her waist and stabbed it straight into the golem’s eye.

Crunch!

It was a gruesome sight, but since the golem had no sense of pain or vocal organs, it naturally didn’t let out a single scream.

Instead, it thrashed violently to shake her off. In response, Rieka manipulated the dagger’s handle with a peculiar motion.

The blade began to discharge electricity.

Crackle! Crackle!

Inside the golem’s head, flashes of electricity sparked from the discharge.

Soon, a shockwave erupted, and black smoke began to pour out from its hollow eye socket.

The golem’s body collapsed, and Rieka, having leapt into the air, landed gracefully with a neat somersault.

“That was easy. Hmm… looks like I was a step too late? I was planning to finish first and come help you guys.”

“Golems are easy to take down once you know how to deal with them.”

“Not bad. I’m impressed. If all my clients were like you, making a living would be a lot easier.”

“More importantly, that’s an interesting weapon you’ve got.”

“Oh, this?”

Rieka, who had already retrieved her whip and dagger from the golem, smirked.

“It was made by a friend of mine. It’s really useful against things like those.”

“You’ve got a blacksmith friend?”

“He’s a grumpy old dwarf-looking guy… you know. He’s the one who tipped me off last time that Wysterium is a rare mineral.”

I was already half certain that the “old dwarf” Rieka was talking about was actually a dwarf.

Dwarves, even in the world of Candela of Judgment, were treated as a semi-legendary race, rarely encountered unless one was extremely lucky or had a special connection.

However, if you did meet a dwarf and befriend them, events could occur where you’d receive a masterfully forged sword or beautifully crafted jewels, often leading to great wealth.

“Could you introduce me to that old dwarf someday?”

Rieka shrugged.

“Hmm, not sure. The old man’s got a nasty personality and hates meeting people. He’ll slam the door even on folks he knows… but hey, you’ve got money, right?”

Well, obviously.

Rieka looked me up and down and nodded.

“Yeah. I could tell from the start, you’ve got that rich vibe all over you. Listen up. The reason I met him in the first place was because he came out into the world to make money, you know? The guy’s obsessed with gambling, always losing everything at dice. So if you time it right and lure him in, I might be able to set up a meeting between you two. Of course, you’ll have to pay me a nice referral fee too. Heh heh heh.”

After the poltergeist incident and the battle with the golems,

We had gone through quite a lot on just the first day of exploring Ground Zero, so we decided to take a short break.

The students shared water from their flasks and then sprawled out on the ground without a shred of dignity. Seeing that, Rieka and I chose not to rush them and instead got up and walked over to the fallen golems.

Rieka poked at the remains with the tip of her sheathed sword and asked,

“Hm… it looks pretty fancy. Think it’d sell for something if we took it?”

“Without its magic, it’s nothing more than ordinary scrap metal now.”

“Well, you never know, right? If we just call it some kind of ancient relic, maybe some rich folks would want it as decoration… ugh! It’s heavy as hell. Forget it. The edges are sharp too. I nearly cut my hand.”

Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Rieka looked at me and asked,

“By the way, what are you looking for? You’ve been going back and forth for a while.”

“There’s something bothering me.”

“What is it?”

After carefully examining the design of the golems and the structure they were guarding several times, I shared the conclusion I had reached.

“For a golem to operate, it needs a suitable power source. But the power source inside these golems is merely a small mana storage unit.”

“How small are we talking?”

“It contains the essence of ancient magical kingdom technology, so its capacity is large relative to its size…but even so, it only holds enough mana to keep a golem running for a few decades. And it’s been hundreds of years since the magical kingdom fell.”

“Isn’t there something like a recharging facility somewhere in this place? I mean, it’s a ruin of the ancient magical kingdom. Wouldn’t it be strange if there wasn’t?”

“I thought the same, so I examined this place several times, but there’s nothing like that.”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“It’s possible there’s something or someone recharging these golems with mana.”

“…Then it’d be best to get out of this passage as quickly as possible.”

With a hardened expression, Rieka turned around and shouted,

“Hey, you brats! How long are you going to lie around? Get up. Break’s over!”

***

As soon as we exited the gateway, the sky was dyed in a reddish color.

Jacqueline took a deep breath.

“Whew! Fresh air. I finally feel alive again.”

“Look at the sky. It’s already evening.”

“Or maybe it’s actually morning? Maybe another day passed.”

“No way.”

“We’ve been in the dark so long, my sense of time is totally messed up.”

“So… where are we?”

Just like when we entered the gateway, a barren wasteland stretched out around us.

However, there was a change in the scenery.

Leading the way, the adventurer Rieka suddenly stopped and pointed toward the direction of the sun.

“Look over there. You see that tower? That’s west, which means the sun’s setting right now.”

“A tower?”

“Yeah.”

Following the direction of her finger, we turned our gaze and indeed saw a tall structure rising in the distance.

Backlit by the sunset, it appeared only as a dark silhouette.

“From where that tower stands, it’s the ancient capital Aslan. Even veteran adventurers in teams couldn’t enter because it was too dangerous… yet we made it here this easily. Never thought I’d see that tower up this close.”

“What’s here that makes it so dangerous?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“No one knows. No one’s ever come back alive. That’s why it’s considered dangerous.”

Gulp.

Jacqueline swallowed dryly.

The sound was so loud it made even those beside her tense up for no reason.

Rieka continued.

“But whatever it is, nothing’s more dangerous than spending the night out in a wasteland like this. So let’s head to Aslan before it gets completely dark. At least there are ruins around that tower, so it should be easier to find a place to camp.”

As if asking for agreement, Rieka turned to Professor Winslet, who nodded in response.

“I really can’t walk anymore. It feels like my feet are about to fall off.”

“Can’t we sit for just an hour before we go? Please? Professooor.”

The students, massaging their aching legs and casting subtle pleading glances for a break, soon had no choice but to give up and stand.

That was because Rieka had already hoisted her pack and set off first.

From the start of the journey, she had carried more than the others to ease the students’ burden, and since most of the heavy supplies like water and food were in her pack, they’d have no choice but to follow or risk going hungry.

“Hang in there just a little longer. Once we reach the area near that tower, I’ll let you rest properly for the day.”

The tower, silhouetted against the backlight, served as a marker pointing toward the ancient capital of Aslan, and the closer we got to our destination, the nearer the tower appeared.

Then, just as its shape became clearly recognizable—

Shannon suddenly stopped walking.

“What’s wrong, Shannon? Can’t go on?”

Jacqueline asked with concern, but Shannon didn’t even respond. Her attention was completely elsewhere.

Her gaze was fixed on the tower.

“Shannon! Are you okay?”

“…Huh? Did you call me?”

“Why are you just standing there like that?”

“It’s nothing. That tower just looks… familiar somehow.”

“Familiar?”

“Mhmm. It looks exactly like the Magic Tower in Karaf.”

At those words, Jacqueline also turned to look at the tower.

Of course, Jacqueline had never seen the Magic Tower in Karaf, nor had she ever paid attention to what other towers looked like.

“Isn’t a tower just a tower? Built with bricks and tall and narrow.”

Rita clicked her tongue.

“Oh, Jacqueline. If you say that, it’s an insult to architects all over the world.”

“Is it?”

“Even the towers in Lambart all look different. Have you ever seen the Blondine Memorial Tower in the theater district? It’s smaller than that one, but much more ornate, so it’s quite popular. They even issued commemorative stamps for it.”

“I’m curious what the Magic Tower in Karaf looks like. Rita, do you know?”

‘”o. I don’t either. Among us, only Shannon and Professor Winslet have been to Karaf.”

Jacqueline tapped her chin with her index finger, then spoke with a sparkle in her eyes.

“How about we go take a closer look?”

“Did you forget how dangerous this place is, Jacqueline? The professor told us not to leave the group.”

“Of course, we’d ask for permission first.”

“If that’s the case, then fine.”

Rita nodded and added one more remark.

“But definitely not today.”

“Of course not. The moment we arrive, I’m going to collapse.”