The ancient treasure vault was hidden in the mountains. Vines were crawling all over the ruins that no one knew about. The walls made of boulders and metals were full of scars. Every scar was a rune left behind by time, and the only thing that humans could read from these runes was the word 'vicissitudes'.
The history of the ancient ruins could be traced back to the distant Kingdom of Gondor. Its dignified style was unfamiliar to the Ansu people today. In Gwen's memory, when the northern explorers found this place, it was already a ruin — and it did not look much "younger" than it did now.
Gwen, Rebecca, Amber, Byron, and Knight walked into the mountain through the largest arch. The flickering light of the torches made the corridor on both sides flicker, as if it was the legendary "Soul Corridor" that led to the Kingdom of the Dead. Amber complained. "I should have asked your Aunt Heti to come. What's the use of you? You can't even cast a flash spell. How can you be a mage?"
Rebecca blushed. "Fireball … Fireball can also illuminate …"
Unfortunately, her tone was weak and unconvincing.
Byron and Knight walked not far behind Gwen. He looked at the old stone walls and the dents on the walls, and could not help but think of the feeling of being a mercenary many years ago. "How long has this ruin been here?"
"I don't know." Gwen shook his head. "When we first found it, it was already a ruin. At that time, the more knowledgeable people in the team said that it was a legacy of the 'Age of Sparks'. That was the time when the Kingdom of Gondor's magic technology was greatly developed. At that time, the great magic well, the Deep Blue Well, was successfully activated, and the empire began to expand. They began to build a large number of fortresses and research facilities at the border, hoping to find a large magic focus like the Deep Blue in other parts of the continent. But later, those facilities were abandoned one by one. "
Rebecca found it hard to believe. "You haven't found a single magic focus?"
"No, it's just that you can't find a magic focus like the Deep Blue Well," Gawain recalled the history in his mind. "The power of the Deep Blue Well is beyond your imagination. It's a massive source of magic power located in the center of the continent. The energy it produces every day is enough to power all the mage towers in Ansu for a month. So later scholars believed that the explosion of the Deep Blue Well in Gondor in 1739 was actually the trigger for the Demonic Tide. Although the explosion did not blow up the entire empire, it tore a big hole in the elemental plane. The imbalance of elemental power accumulated until the second year, which led to the Demonic Tide. However, there's no way to prove this conjecture. The entire Deep Blue Well and the focal point of magic, Deep Blue, have been completely destroyed. No one can investigate. "
"Amazing …" As a mage, Rebecca could naturally tell how amazing the ancient magic well was. She was even more shocked that humans could master that level of power. "The Kingdom of Gondor was so powerful …"
"In short, in the eyes of the Gondor people, the magic focus of the continent was almost nothing. So after barely finding a few medium-sized magic focus, the Gondor stopped exploring further areas. A large number of fortresses and research facilities were abandoned. This should be one of the facilities that were abandoned at the same time, and it's likely to be a comprehensive thing. "
Amber suddenly became nervous. "Then … then is there some ancient magical monster or magic trap that has gone out of control?"
Gwen glanced at the nervous half-elf. "As a fellow who dares to dig up other people's ancestral graves, are you afraid of this ancient facility that has been abandoned for thousands of years?"
"That's not the same! Digging up ancestral graves, even if the person in the coffin comes back to life, it's just a person. If something comes out of this ancient facility, it's hard to say what it is! I heard that there are also synthetic monsters and magical colossi made by mad mages sealed in some ancient facilities … "
Gwen's veins were bulging. "I'm just a 'person' when I come back to life. I'm really disappointing you. The rumors about the Gloom Mountains are the same, and so are the stories about ancient facilities. Where did you get all this incorrect knowledge in your head?"
Amber thought for a moment, and suddenly said with a mysterious face. "Let me tell you, I'm actually the Chosen One of the Goddess of the Night. Sometimes when I'm too absorbed in my prayers, the Goddess will give me a revelation. She taught me all this …"
Rebecca made a thumb-sized fireball and threw it at Amber. The latter was caught off guard and her face was covered in black ash. She immediately screamed. "Oh my God, are you crazy? It's dangerous to throw a fireball all of a sudden! "
Rebecca shrugged and said, "… Looks like she's not the Chosen One."
Gawain couldn't be bothered to deal with these two troublesome fellows.
Because the ancient door had appeared in front of them.
At the end of the corridor, a heavy, purple-black metal door stood in front of them. The door had the typical style of the Age of Sparks of Gondor. It was heavy and sturdy, and its surface was engraved with abstract carvings of soldiers and city walls.
Amber wiped the ash off her face and looked at the door in front of her with shining eyes. "This thing … Is it a whole piece of purple steel?"
"Yes, it's a whole piece, but I'll let Rebecca convert every piece of it into a fireball and throw it on your face." Gwen knocked Amber's head with the hilt of the Pathfinder's Sword. "So put away your bold ideas and wait for me to pay you. That's the way to go in the long run."
Amber turned her head and whispered, "… Stingy old man …"
Gwen heard her muttering but ignored her. He took half a step back and took out the important "key" from his pocket.
It was a legacy from seven hundred years ago, a platinum disc.
Rebecca was a little worried. "It's been so many years. Can this thing really still work?"
Gwen looked at her and smiled. "This is the technology of the Kingdom of Gondor. As long as the main body of the facility doesn't collapse, its main door will never malfunction."
As if to prove what he said was true, as soon as his voice trailed off, the complex patterns on the platinum disc lit up one by one, and the relief carvings on the heavy metal door also flowed with light.
When the light filled the entire door, a creaking mechanical sound came from the depths of the rock walls on both sides of the door. Everyone felt the ground under their feet tremble slightly, and with the tremor, the door slowly opened.
Gwen, Rebecca, and the rest were already prepared. When the door opened, they covered their noses and mouths and retreated to the sides. At the same time, Gwen also activated one of Knight's basic skills, "Aura Protection". A layer of invisible barrier protected everyone present. This ability was similar to the basic magic of mages, "Breeze Shield". Although it could only provide a very, very limited defense, it could effectively maintain a clean air environment. When going deep into the ancient ruins, this skill could prevent the caster from being harmed by the poisonous gases.
There were no poisonous gas traps in the ancient ruins, but in a sealed space that had been sealed for seven hundred years, there might be some gas accumulation. It was always good to have an extra layer of protection.
After a few minutes, Gwen removed the protection, nodded to the others, and took the lead to step through the door. Byron and Knight followed closely behind.
Amber hesitated for a moment, but still gave up the idea of cutting a piece of metal from the door when no one was paying attention. The purple steel was too hard, and the dagger couldn't cut it.
Inside the door was a vast rectangular hall. Sealed doors could be seen in all four directions of the hall, and the ancient treasures were directly piled up in this hall.
The sealed environment in the hall and the runes set up everywhere in the hall ensured that the materials here were oxidized and corroded at the slowest speed. Even today, many of them were still well preserved.
Piles of metal ingots, crystals of various colors, swords, armors, and several large boxes that were half the height of a person were piled up in the center.
Gwen stepped forward and stuck the Pioneer's Sword into the gap of the box, and with a hard pull, the box opened.
One of the boxes was still shiny gold and silver coins, while the other boxes were neatly arranged lavender crystals — military crystals that had been engraved and charged.
The gold and silver coins weren't the most valuable thing, but the crystals were.
The ancient Kingdom of Gondor dominated the continent with advanced magic technology. The magic power from the Deep Blue Well gave the empire's mages almost endless energy to squander. Even the most lousy of mages could produce technical results under such conditions. So, the Kingdom of Gondor back then did something that was almost inconceivable in the eyes of the Four Kingdoms today:
"Extraordinary weapons" were mass-produced.
Ordinary swords and armors were not enchanted. No matter how strong and sharp they were, they were just ordinary equipment. Only equipment that had been enchanted and contained extraordinary power could be called "Extraordinary weapons". In today's Ansu, only officers of all ranks were given enchanted weapons and equipment. But in the Gondor era, every soldier was given a longsword that had been enchanted with sharpness and a standard crystal.
The thumb-sized crystal was pre-set with the spell model of Elementary Shield and Explosion. It operated automatically and could identify friend or foe. Even a soldier without any spellcasting ability could use it. When attacked, the shield would activate, and when the shield was drained, it would flash and give a warning. Then, it would be thrown with force, and when it reached a safe distance from the wearer and nearby friendly units, it would explode. In Gwen's view, it was an unbelievably advanced weapon.
If it weren't for the circumstances back then, the pioneers wouldn't have left them behind. Back then, the team had taken away all the more valuable materials that they could carry with them, and these crystals were part of what they had to give up.
Gwen reached out and picked up a crystal, gently rubbing it in his hand.
This might be a way for ordinary people to get in touch with magic, but it was not a way to go.
Only when the Deep Blue Well was activated could such things be injected regardless of the cost. Now that the Deep Blue Well was destroyed, these ancient crystals were scarce.
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