Chapter 225
Chapter 225
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Ancient City (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The interior of the ancient city felt like stepping into a sci-fi movie.
The pinnacle of ancient magitech engineering. That was what he was witnessing in a single glance.
Most functions had shut down after losing its power source, stripping away any flashiness, but even so, it was overwhelmingly impressive.
If it ever took to the skies again, with crew stationed at every post and humming to life, it would be a sight to behold.
“A shame I never got to see that.”
Even in his previous life, the ancient city and its airship never revived. He’d only witnessed the process up to recreating the power source.
It might have flown again given enough time, but it was announced too soon and too grandly, drawing endless interference from the Black Dragon Legion.
Just repairing the damaged sections had demanded immense resources and manpower.
And this time around, it was unlikely he’d see it happen either.
He’d accepted the quest, but Rokan had no intention of rebuilding the ancient city.
‘Why bother helping anyone?’
They were in the same Golden Lion faction, sure, but they were still a different race.
No common enemy like the Black Dragon Legion? No need to cooperate, and it wouldn’t be strange if they turned hostile. So why should he lead the charge in reviving the gnomes’ ultimate weapon?
He’d come here for one reason: to retrieve the sealed relic of the Lion King, the final power source.
“Let’s see...”
Rokan first surveyed the overall layout.
Just in case, he pulled up his magic map, but it hadn’t worked outside on the ‘deck,’ so no chance it would update here.
Meant he’d have to do it the hard way—on foot. Fortunately, he had some useful info.
“That must be it.”
In the center of a vast open plaza-like area stood a screen.
It was flickering, no power supplied, but at least it hadn’t been decommissioned yet.
He reached the panel below and fiddled with the controls. Exactly what he wanted appeared.
“Bingo!”
A map. The ancient city’s interior map unfolded before him.
“Screenshot saved.”
Rokan instantly captured the screen in his view. Even if power cut out midway, he could pull it up anytime.
“First... the control room, I suppose.”
The paths inside the ancient city were a maze, but he had time.
Backtrack if he hit a dead end; he could at least pinpoint the direction, so he’d get there eventually. No one chasing him, so he relaxed.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
He trusted the Lion King’s Insignia resonating from his chest, representing the other relics, and figured it would guide him.
“Ugh... damn it!”
But the real problem was elsewhere.
The resonance between the Lion King’s relics guided him perfectly, but every zone, every door required manipulating mechanisms—way too many.
He’d studied gnome mechanical engineering diligently, or so he thought, but operating these contraptions was brutally tough.
It felt like trudging through a trap-filled dungeon. He poured effort into the controls, but even at best speed, each door took at least twenty minutes.
“Screw this, I’m done!”
In the end, Rokan threw in the towel.
But he wasn’t abandoning the ancient city or the Lion King’s relic. He’d tackle it his way.
“That’s gotta be it.”
He looked up. A hemispherical control room made of magic-reinforced glass.
Overseeing the entire ancient city, it made sense they’d positioned it to overlook everything. Rokan latched onto that.
“Bombardment!”
He unleashed an attack right away.
Thick defenses, befitting a control room, but hit it enough times and it’d crack eventually, right?
He hurled hand axes at the same spot to gauge durability, then swung the chained Battle Axe with the sealed Gale fully unleashed.
“Throw!”
Just a basic skill, but the power packed in rivaled combo skills.
Bombardment was heavy, but Throw? He could spam it.
“Throw! Chain of Annihilation! Throw! Bombardment!”
Each bounce-back recovery, each cooldown reset, he hammered the control room with powerful ranged strikes.
He could’ve gone Gale Incarnate, but saving it for potential security (if any), he methodically chipped away at the same spot, dropping its durability.
Crack! Craaaack!
After dozens of minutes, success.
A crack like a hairline fracture spread thickly across the hemisphere, shattering the magic-reinforced glass.
“Kai!”
Kwee!
Confirming it, Rokan summoned Kai instantly.
Too high for a jump, so he hopped on its back and ascended leisurely.
Whiiiiiinnn!
Inside the control room, the resonance intensified, wailing like long-lost family reuniting.
“Ah...!”
Truth be told, Rokan hadn’t expected much from the control room.
Logically, if the Lion King’s sealed relic served as the power source, it’d be in the engine room, not here.
But he’d pushed this far for one reason: the resonance between the sealed relics. And the payoff was sweet.
[Lion King's Sealed Leggings][Set]
Lower armor used by Lion King Gaokan in his lifetime. Most of its power is currently sealed.
-Defense: 2,500
-Durability: 10,000 / 10,000
-Strength +100
-Agility +100
-Vitality +100
-[Lion's Fortitude] All attack power +50%
“Whoa.”
Insane. This was straight-up insane.
All attack power boosted by 50%?
Rokan already crushed high-rank Masters in raw damage output.
Amplify that by 50%? Beyond big—it was colossal.
[Finding the Lion King's Armaments][Quest]
Gather the Lion King's sealed armaments and inherit the Lion King's power.
Success Conditions:
-Lion King's Sealed Helmet (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Chestplate (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Leggings (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Pauldrons (Complete)
-Lion King's Sealed Boots 0/1
Reward: Unseal Lion King Set
A shame the set effect hadn’t triggered despite four pieces, but the options were irreplaceable regardless—utterly massive.
Rokan swapped out his Silver Lion Set on the spot for the Lion King's Sealed Leggings.
[Power source lost.]
[All functions will shut down soon.]
[Add a new power source to maintain minimum functions.]
“Power source, huh...”
No time to savor it, though. Even the temporary one was gone, draining the last scraps of energy for minimal ops.
“This oughta do.”
Mission accomplished, so he was content. Summon Digdog and bail—he’d be satisfied.
But Rokan got greedy. He dumped the rare and unique items he’d grabbed en route here as substitutes for the relic.
No clue if multiples worked at once, but to match one sealed relic’s output, a couple uniques wouldn’t cut it.
[New power source detected.]
[Multi-targeting.]
[Beginning energy extraction.]
[Checking energy output. Insufficient energy. All maintenance functions minimized.]
“Phew.”
Lucky break. His hunch paid off—the ancient city held minimal function.
Shocking that this haul couldn’t match one relic’s energy, but it was holding.
Still, the plaza screen winked out, everything minimized, worse than when he’d first entered.
“Hope I at least break even.”
Why push this hard to keep the ancient city running? Simple: for his own convenience.
He still had business here.
“Armory first.”
The ancient city wasn’t just cockpits and quarters.
Living beings needed food, and sometimes fought boarders with weapons.
So an armory for arming the crew was essential.
That’s what Rokan sought.
No relic resonance this time—he’d hoof it, but he’d prepped.
“Bone Crusher!”
Boom!
Blocked? Smash through. No lingering attachment to the ancient city meant simple solutions worked.
Power shortage limited it to bare minimum anyway—no repairs or lockdown possible.
So Rokan rampaged freely. No thought for later, just bulldozed toward the mapped armory spot.
“Bombardment! Slash! Frenzy!”
Each Battle Axe swing demolished exquisite mechanical engineering masterpieces.
Even a single gadget would be priceless research, but Rokan didn’t care.
Funny part? This mindless destruction still raised his Mechanical Engineering proficiency.
[Mechanical Engineering +0.1%.]
He knew disassembly leveled it, but this too? Rokan ramped up the chaos.
Chain of Annihilation, Wheel Wind, Rampaging Chariot—every skill unleashed in a demolition spree.
Like grinding proficiency, he systematically smashed everything in his path until the armory.
“There they are.”
He grinned in satisfaction. Gnome ancient weaponry, every piece prefixed with ‘Ancient’—potent gear galore.
By now, you’d wonder why not use these as power? Easy: the airship’s original drive extracted energy from dedicated cores, not gear.
They’d jury-rigged item extraction in crisis; true power source was separate.
“Wait, doesn’t the timeline not match?”
A odd thought hit. The ancient city buried here predated the Lion King’s era, right? How could his relic be the power source?
Weird. Unexplainable.
“Smells fishy...”
Rokan scanned around with narrowed eyes, then nodded.
Worth investigating. Or he’d learn when collecting all relics.
Was this control room relic a fake? He shelved the thought.
Focus on what’s here.
“Not a ton.”
Packed armory would’ve been nice, but no dice. Makes sense—crash-landing implies combat, looted stocks.
Rokan gathered what he could anyway.
Sell to gnomes? Fetch a fortune. Boost their attack power hugely, massive war aid.
Packing them into inventory one by one, he delved deeper—and froze at the innermost spot.
Muscles tense, voice shaky with disbelief.
“What the hell is this doing here?”