Chapter 13
Chapter 13
We approached the ruins and examined its exterior.
Normally, the structure would have been concealed by illusion magic due to its defensive systems, but time had weathered the spells, allowing it to be seen easily.
A dome-shaped building, half-collapsed, with vines crawling along its walls.
In a place where nothing existed except the sound of birds, its solitary presence gave off a strangely mystical feeling.
“Kind of a strange-looking building.”
“…It’s… beautiful.”
The two companions admired it, seemingly more impressed than expected.
Most ruins they had seen were underground, so structures like this, exposed above ground, were rare.
Even when they did explore ruins, they were usually either decayed into something grotesque or buried deep underground.
But this dome, despite being partially destroyed, still held a sense of life that calmed the viewer’s mind.
“It’s a biosphere. A structure designed to replicate an entire ecosystem.”
Originally, there should have been auxiliary buildings attached to it, but those had already collapsed.
It would’ve been great if those had survived too.
Suppressing my regret, I dimmed the light of the Explorer’s Lantern.
Once the light faded, the spatial distortion we had used to arrive here became faint and unstable.
Clovis looked at it with curiosity.
“That’s the spatial distortion thing?”
“That’s right. It’s a very complex and sensitive phenomenon.”
It had been, what, two years since the Explorer’s Lantern had been created in the game timeline?
Over eight years, data from hundreds of thousands of users had been compiled, analyzed, and distilled into a map of spatial distortions.
Of course, it didn’t decode everything.
It only recorded useful paths like elixirs, hidden pieces, or shortcuts.
Among countless distortions, only those connected to meaningful destinations were selected, and among those, only the ones with simple, readable characteristics were included.
From an alchemist’s perspective, it might look like a flawed map, but from an explorer’s perspective, it was perfect.
A treasure map where the destination always contained something valuable.
“That distortion we came through from the Starting Plains wasn’t anything too difficult for what’s ahead.”
“Really?”
“It just feels that way.”
I said it lightly, and the two of them chuckled.
In truth, this ruin really wasn’t that difficult.
Even in the strategy guides, it was labeled as a beginner-friendly tutorial ruin, with simple internal structure and minimal security.
Above all, this place was located at the outermost edge of the ancient empire’s former territory.
There was no way something too significant would be left in a borderland like this.
“Shall we head inside?”
“Be careful. We don’t know what’s inside.”
Clovis took the lead and entered.
Passing through the fallen heavy doors, they stepped into the interior corridor.
There, the guardians of this place greeted them.
Creeeeak.
With grinding sounds, the rusted husks that had been lying like lifeless debris slowly rose, their dull red eyes glowing faintly.
They looked like wooden dolls scaled up to human size, but something about them felt deeply wrong.
Clovis narrowed his eyes and drew his twin blades, coating them with refined aura.
“Frenzied constructs?”
“They look like wood-type golems.”
“Wood golems? Those are pretty common alchemical constructs, right?”
“Yeah. They’re usually used as labor units, and they’re also good for managing plant ecosystems.”
Just then, the wood golems rushed in.
Clovis and Cecilia stepped forward.
Clovis moved first, his blade flashing sharply.
“Five hundred years and you still can’t just rot peacefully?!”
His refined aura sliced through the wooden bodies with extreme sharpness.
At the same time, Cecilia, who had prepared magic from the rear, gestured.
“Ice Spike!”
Ice spears erupted from the ground, piercing and shattering the constructs.
While precise mana control tore through them, I watched calmly from behind and, once the fight ended, immediately began looting with the golems I had brought as porters.
We extracted the cores from the wood golems’ hearts and discarded the rest. Cecilia tilted her head.
“Shouldn’t we collect the remains? Ancient circuitry like that would be useful for study.”
“I already know most of it, so it’s fine.”
“I see.”
She nodded at my answer, probably assuming I had studied under an excellent master.
Not exactly wrong.
I had learned countless things through the game, but game knowledge was always limited.
It felt like knowing only outcomes without understanding causes.
The basics I didn’t know were filled in through Theo’s memories, so in a sense, I could be considered a disciple of Theo’s master as well.
Whether that old man would acknowledge me was another question.
“Did you collect all the cores?”
The golems lined up behind me after finishing their task.
Once we regrouped, we moved deeper into the ruin.
Following the corridor, we searched abandoned rooms until we found a sealed stone door.
This was likely the entrance leading to the biosphere we saw from outside.
Seeing the complex alchemical array engraved on the door, Clovis scratched his head.
“So it’s one of those alchemical security systems.”
“Exactly. Very common in ancient imperial ruins.”
“This thing has killed a lot of alchemists.”
Imperial security systems were notoriously meticulous.
If you tried to forcefully break or bypass them, the loot inside would be destroyed or melted.
That meant an alchemist was essential.
I examined the seal and smiled confidently.
I had dismantled this type of system countless times in the game.
Even if this was reality now, there was no way I would struggle with something like this.
Click. Click.
I manipulated mana and touched the array.
Like inserting a key into a lock and turning it, the formation shifted smoothly, and the seal disengaged.
It took less than five seconds.
Clovis and Cecilia both looked stunned.
“You opened that instantly? The alchemists I know would’ve been stuck on it for half an hour.”
“This is… beyond common sense.”
“Leave system dismantling to me.”
“That’s reassuring.”
As the door automatically opened, we stepped inside.
The interior was breathtaking.
Sunlight pierced through the broken glass dome overhead, transforming into a soft green glow that felt almost alive.
Plants absorbed the light and responded with vibrant growth, filling the space with a lush, breathing vitality.
“…Wow.”
“It’s beautiful.”
We instinctively admired the scene.
Even in the game it had been beautiful, but seeing it in person was on another level entirely.
I took a slow breath and looked around.
“The flow of the alchemical circuits is art itself. The entire structure is treated as a single engineered artifact. Natural energy accumulation, circulation, growth enhancement… all integrated.”
As expected of an artifact from the golden age.
Everywhere I looked, there were traces worth studying.
Clovis glanced at me.
“So it has research value?”
“No. Most of the circuits have already degraded beyond use.”
They could be restored, but it would be as difficult as restoring a Stradivarius or Guarneri violin.
Without original blueprints, any ordinary alchemist would give up.
I walked toward a stone table in the corner.
There was a book there, old but intact.
Something that had only ever existed as background scenery in the game.
I carefully picked it up.
“…It’s intact?”
“Some materials can last five hundred years if they’re specially made.”
“Really?”
Flipping through it, I realized it was a plant research journal written by the owner of this biosphere.
It contained records of rare plants, their effects, cultivation methods, and growth logs.
My eyes lit up.
This was useful.
Even with all the knowledge from Alchemist Story, without the foundational ability to execute it through Theo’s alchemical understanding, much of it couldn’t be applied.
This journal would significantly advance botanical alchemy research.
I stored it carefully in my belongings.
Meanwhile, the spirits that had been roaming the dome returned carrying various materials.
“Kyuu!”
“You collected materials?”
“Kyuu!”
“Good job.”
I patted them as I placed the materials on the table.
Cecilia, who had returned after clearing the remaining golems, nodded in approval.
“The spirits are surprisingly skilled. Better than most gatherers.”
“They’re very capable.”
“Kyuuu!”
The spirits swayed happily at the praise.
I checked the materials they had brought.
All of them were top-grade, rich with vitality.
“These are all premium quality. Worth a fortune.”
“Most of them are ordinary materials, though.”
“Can’t be helped. It’s been over 500 years. The more delicate ones would’ve died off.”
Even so, they would sell well.
And among them was something special.
A pure white flower resting on the center table.
At first glance it looked ordinary, but its true value revealed itself at night.
“Moon Tear.”
“…It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.”
Cecilia’s expression softened with nostalgia.
Clovis nodded.
“So it really can grow even here.”
“This building is unusual.”
There was only one Moon Tear here.
Likely a flower planted five hundred years ago that had somehow survived.
And this was the real reason I came here.
At this point in time, neither the Alchemy Tower nor the major trade guilds would have any stock of it.
This was the only place to obtain it.
I turned to them.
“Can I take this Moon Tear?”
“We don’t mind, but what do you need it for?”
Clovis asked.
I smiled.
“It’s classified. But it’s for something very important.”
There were seven flowers required to break the seal blocking the true entrance to the outer edge of the Margeon region.
Moon Tear was one of them.
I had secured one, leaving six.
For now, there were two remaining I needed to find personally.
“This place is done. Shall we move to the next one?”
“There’s more?”
“I know a few things.”
More than a few.
And I intended to find all of them today.
My adaptation to this world was already complete.
Now it was time to act like a veteran.