To the Madrosa Kingdom (5)
Calix continued to surrender his body to the relentless current.
Thud.
The sound wasn't loud.
But one wrist was already dangling limply.
Even after extending his arm as far as possible to cushion the impact, this was the result.
And now the passage was gradually narrowing, picking up even more speed.
Controlling his body was becoming nearly impossible.
Is this what free-falling down a several-hundred-meter water slide feels like?
Calix felt his legs go weak.
There were no choices left.
He curled into a tight ball and could only pray that luck was on his side.
Any clumsy attempt to check his surroundings could end with his head smashing into something.
Thud-thud! Thump-thump!
A barrage of heavy impacts.
His limbs' bones were undoubtedly badly damaged.
Pain forced his mouth wide open.
'Nngh... Maybe it's a blessing that I haven't passed out.'
Calix realized the end was near.
More precisely, a midway rest area of sorts.
Roooar—
Bursting out of the passage with a powerful jet of water, Calix began free-falling.
Splash!
Thrown into the pool at the base of the waterfall, Calix barely dragged himself ashore by thrashing his broken limbs.
His body trembled uncontrollably, sleep crashing over him like a wave.
Calix first popped an intermediate potion into his mouth, then gripped the dagger strapped to his ankle.
'At least my right arm made it.'
Calix sliced deep into his swollen arm with the dagger.
Black blood poured out in a stream.
Watching for a moment until it turned bright red, he spat the potion from his mouth onto the wound.
Bone fragments buried in his muscles were pushed out on their own.
He brushed them away roughly, then applied more potion. The bone and flesh regenerated perfectly.
However, the newly formed bone and muscle wouldn't be fully usable until they settled in.
Calix unwrapped the cloth from his waist, bound his left arm to his chest securely, and did the same for his left shin.
Finishing the work, he flopped onto his back, and sleep overwhelmed him like madness.
He lost consciousness soon after.
When he opened his eyes, his body felt lighter than expected.
And his back was warm.
Geothermal heat rising up, apparently.
"Ha... I do miss a good ondol floor."
Calix wrestled with the temptation to sleep a bit longer.
But checking the clock in his status window, he saw two days had already passed.
Thinking of the others worrying, he couldn't delay any further.
Forcing himself up, Calix moved to the passage blocked by iron bars.
Bang!
A couple kicks with his foot shattered the bars and sent them toppling.
They were heavily rusted already.
Preservation magic apparently hadn't been applied this far.
Following the passage, a door of bluish-white metal appeared.
Considering most such ruins were over a thousand years old, its preservation was astonishing.
No separate locking mechanism.
They'd never imagined anyone infiltrating from this side anyway.
Opening the door revealed another corridor.
At its end lay what must have once been a cozy living space.
Pots for growing plants were scattered everywhere, but without care, some had withered dead while others had overgrown into a tangled mess.
Calix entered what looked like a bedroom.
Vines had claimed the entire wall here too, growing wild.
On the bed lay a skeleton with hands neatly folded as if sleeping peacefully.
Its form resembled a human's, but the bones were more like wood.
Calix approached the bed and removed the ring from its finger bone.
Type: Ring
Material: World Tree Branch
Passive Effect: Boosts the wearer's vitality.
Passive Effect: Reduces hostility from beast-type monsters.
Druids are born from the World Tree and carry a small branch with them for life. This branch invigorates life force and enhances affinity with animals. The older it is, the stronger the effect. Legend says druids went extinct due to human hunters coveting these rings.
Calix gave a wry smile.
The moment he slipped on the ring, vitality surged through him, blood rushing to vital areas.
That was the real reason druids went extinct.
Reciting the national anthem in his head for a moment, he left the bedroom and climbed the stairs.
If the first floor was living quarters, the second felt like a study.
Three walls were lined with bookshelves packed with tomes.
Calix swept them into his inventory indiscriminately.
Any mage would go cross-eyed; each was an exceedingly rare research material.
He also grabbed valuable herbs and alchemy ingredients before heading to the third floor.
The third floor had a now-familiar layout.
Similar to the control room in the Golda Plateau ruins.
Dozens of crystal orbs sat neatly arranged, with sporadic images of the facility's interior floating above them.
Placing his hand—wearing the druid ring—on the control panel, it emitted a brilliant light.
Simultaneously, lights brightened, and a rhythmic thumping like pistons echoed.
Skimming a thin manual-like booklet, Calix realized this was a greenhouse research lab.
Built over a unique mana fountain point of pure mana, it was self-sustaining without external energy.
And on the surveillance screens, he spotted desert tribes harvesting food from the greenhouse.
"Found you...!"
They were digging up lumps resembling pig potatoes.
As a greenhouse lab, it maintained constant water, light, temperature, and soil fertility, infused with druid powers for incredibly fast growth.
They'd likely planted the quickest, lowest-maintenance crop, harvesting massive yields daily.
Looking further, he saw warriors ambushing near the collapsed passage.
Planning to block the narrow entrance if anyone cleared the rubble, inflicting heavy casualties.
"Tsk tsk. Pity, but I can collar them without going that far."
Calix placed his hand on the control panel again and shut down all greenhouse maintenance devices.
The thumping faded until silence reigned.
Lights dimmed slightly, leaving only the floating surveillance screens glowing.
Chaos had already erupted over there.
The darkening lights meant no more photosynthesis for the plants.
A few days like that, and most would yellow and die for sure.
Ignorant of the cause, the desert tribes panicked and scurried about.
But this place wasn't physically connected to the greenhouse.
Only teleportation magic linked them, and unless they were class 7+ magitech sorcerers, they'd have to use the installed magic circles.
To reach Calix, they'd need to repair the collapsed passage, pass his group's camp, slay the guardian, then step onto the response magic circle beyond.
"In short, impossible."
Muttering that, Calix stood before a safe in the corner.
Time to crack its password.
He pulled out a druid's notepad from the books he'd grabbed.
Simple memos and schedules scribbled in it.
Calix rifled through, gleaned basic personal info, and tried combinations like birthdays or anniversaries.
No luck.
Fortunately, no security that'd destroy contents after a few fails.
But he couldn't brute-force tens of thousands manually.
"Hmm..."
In the game, he'd macro'd it over days, but forgot the code.
As he nearly gave up, a thought struck; he inputted [0000].
Click!
"...Lucky for me."
Calix thanked the druid's lax security mindset.
Opening the safe door revealed gold bars and a silver coin chest first.
Below, documents seemed to be trading funds for goods with humans.
Mostly confidential lab ops papers otherwise—little value.
Emptying it, a familiar sight appeared.
Carved pictograms inside the stone safe, glowing ominously black.
Just like in the Golda Plateau ruins.
[♡?♡☜☏※♡♂♤♂◈? ☏▷?※▤?♧♂♡※♩]
"Hm... Another ode to Hecatria, huh."
Calix no longer cared about the goddess who tossed him here—what her intentions were.
Nor if clearing the game aligned with her goals.
'But no need to refuse a gift served on a platter.'
Without hesitation, he reached for the glowing black script.
The moment his fingertips touched.
Darkness briefly engulfed his vision, unfolding a black-and-white scene.
'Similar to that previous cutscene.'
Unlike the painful past experience, this was warm and serene.
Before him, a mischievous-looking late-teens boy extended a hand.
[Let's go to the dungeon.]
Regardless of Calix's will, a frail voice emerged.
[Dun...geon? What's that?]
[You don't know dungeons? There's a cave midway up that mountain where monsters come out. The village elders are troubled by it. If I solve it, they'll like me.]
[Like... you?]
[Yeah!]
'What is this? This guy's head full of flowers? Why follow like an idiot? No brain?' Despite Calix's doubts, the two headed into the dim cave.
Of course, even small fry like goblins weren't pushovers for two barely-adult teens.
They soon fell into peril.
[Urk! Heca! Run! I'll handle... Gah!]
'Sigh... What a nuisance. Just die quick, die.' As Calix grumbled, the girl picked up the sword at her feet with empty eyes.
The hilt was drenched in the boy's blood.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Black feathers scattered from nowhere, a gray aura forming on her sword.
Kyaaak—
A goblin charged her with a shriek.
Her torn corpse seemed moments away from rolling on the ground.
But.
Flutter—!
Hundreds of black feathers swirled.
The blinded goblin flailed wildly.
Meanwhile, the gray blade pierced its chest unhindered.
The others were the same.
The moment they neared her, they surrendered to the gray blade as if entranced.
Finally, all monsters down.
The girl dropped the sword and ran to the boy.
Pure white light exploded outward.
Calix's eyes stung; he tried shielding them.
Of course, bodiless, it didn't happen.
Just bounced from the cutscene.
Hecatria's second fragment of authority obtained.
Pluma Cobus: Black Mist of the Fallen Goddess