As Alaric drew closer, his observations and understanding of the massive boulder grew more thorough, allowing him to notice its peculiarities.
The giant rock before him was approximately six hundred meters in diameter.
At first glance, it appeared as rough and irregular as any ordinary stone, but upon closer inspection, Alaric realized it was actually shaped in a relatively symmetrical almond-like form.
More importantly, as he examined the surface more carefully, he noticed something uncanny.
Though the textures resembled perfect stone patterns, several sections were eerily repetitive, like a lazy graphic designer had simply copied and pasted the same texture over and over onto a 3D model.
This only deepened his suspicion that the boulder wasn't naturally formed but rather man-made, or possibly even a disguise of some kind.
When he reached the base of the boulder, he discovered further evidence to support his theory.
A cave.
Yes, at the base of the stone, which had appeared bare and solid just moments before, a dark cave suddenly came into view as he approached.
The interior was pitch-black, almost entirely devoid of light, and the sunlight from outside barely illuminated the entrance.
The gaping maw of the cave resembled the open jaws of some enormous beast, silently inviting Alaric inside.
After hesitating briefly, Alaric made up his mind.
"Darkvision."
The spell allowed him to see clearly in the dark.
With no other leads to pursue, he decided to enter and uncover the truth.
As Alaric stepped into the cave, a primitive scene unfolded before him.
It was an enormous cavern. The stone walls towered several dozen meters high, forming what appeared to be a naturally occurring dome-shaped cave.
The only odd thing was how unnaturally clean it was, there were no stalactites or stalagmites, no moss or fungi, no mineral deposits or bat droppings.
It was a pure, empty cavern.
The sight made Alaric feel as though he were exploring some untouched cavern on Earth, rather than standing inside an advanced, high-tech, blue-colored dimension.
Extreme civilization and primal nature were separated only by a single stone wall. The surreal contrast made Alaric feel a little disoriented.
There was only one direction to go inside the cave, so Alaric pressed forward, and then he froze.
Before him, glittering in the dark, was a vast mountain of treasure.
Piles upon piles of gold and silver stretched across the ground, more wealth than Alaric had seen in his entire life combined.
Gold coins, silver coins, gold bars, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, cat's eye stones, peridots, ambers, crystals, agates, corals, ivories, finely crafted artifacts, gemstone rings, necklaces, crowns…
The dazzling display overwhelmed Alaric, who took a long moment to recover from the initial shock.
But his first reaction wasn't greed, it was caution.
Why would such treasure appear here? Could there be a dragon hiding in this cave?
Alaric didn't believe the treasure had anything to do with the external blue structure.
After all, treasure was merely a high-value intermediary. It was considered precious not for its usefulness, but for its rarity.
With the level of technology and science represented by the blue structure outside, this kind of treasure should be meaningless to whoever built it.
Still, the presence of this much treasure was bizarre.
Alaric observed it carefully but didn't touch a single coin.
Soon, his attention shifted away from the mountain of riches.
Near the edge of the "mountain," he spotted a massive temple.
Its architectural style resembled that of ancient Greece, or perhaps something even older. The most striking feature was the circle of towering stone columns.
The temple was surrounded on all sides by the mountain and sea of treasure, with only a single clear path leading to its front gate.
Perhaps the secrets he sought lay within?
Without delay, Alaric jogged toward the temple and stepped inside.
But what he found disappointed him.
The temple's interior retained its classical Greek aesthetic, with large white square tiles paving the floor. But aside from that, it was little more than a ruin.
Once, perhaps, the temple's walls had been adorned with reliefs, its halls filled with statues, its center graced with the likeness of a god.
But all of that was gone now, at least, Alaric could only guess based on what little remained.
The walls were nothing but jagged stone, as if someone had deliberately smashed every relief.
Where once divine statues might have stood, only a few rocky pedestals remained, some still had remnants of carved feet, but most were cracked and broken.
The surrounding statues had fared no better: many were reduced to fragments lying on the floor, while even the most intact among them had their faces destroyed.
It made Alaric wonder whether someone with a deep grudge against the god once worshipped here had stormed the temple and deliberately destroyed all their images.
Unfortunately, the destruction was too thorough, Alaric couldn't determine the origin of these statues, let alone identify which deity they once represented.
The realization left him disappointed.
Beyond sparking wild speculation, the temple offered no concrete clues at all.
Could this have once been a temple of a forgotten civilization, with the treasure outside being offerings to their deity? But if so, wasn't it far too extravagant?
As his thoughts spiraled, Alaric walked out of the temple.
Next, he tried climbing the treasure mountain, hoping to glean information from the craftsmanship and artistic styles of the artifacts.
But once again, he was met with disappointment.
It wasn't that the artifacts lacked unique craftsmanship, it was that there were far too many styles.
These treasures encompassed every culture imaginable. Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Aztec, Sumerian, Ancient Celtic, Norse…
With everything present, it meant nothing could be pinned down.
Just as he was struggling to think of a new way forward, a gentle breeze blew past him, calming his mind.
Then came the alertness.
In a sealed cave like this, where could wind possibly come from?
Turning back toward the source of the breeze, Alaric's eyes widened.
"!!!"
The scene before him made his expression shift through several emotions in quick succession.
First surprise, then shock, then sudden realization, and finally joy.
What lay before him was a person.
Or rather, a giant.
A giant lay sprawled across the temple's rooftop, eyes closed in deep slumber.
So the temple was nothing more than a bed for this colossal being.
And the gentle breeze he had felt, that was the sleeping giant's breath.
Alaric recognized the giant at a glance, and in that moment, he completely understood the situation he was in.
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