"Who would have thought…"
At the edge of a high cliff from which a beautiful cascade of crystal-clear water fell, Zoe remarked in a slightly surprised voice. At that moment, Frank, who was standing next to Zoe, added in an equally surprised tone.
"We're on a floating island…" With his mind wandering among wild theories, Frank soon continued in a contemplative tone.
"Was the entrance we used really special? Is the collection only located on this floating island? Or are there more like this one? Is the forest we can see in the distance the same forest the initial explorers went through?"
"We have no way to answer any of those questions." Zoe replied with a composed voice. Then she jumped onto Hiyori, her contracted fox spirit, and added.
"But if this really is a floating island…"
Frank turned to look at Zoe, only to find her moving away, flying on the back of the beautiful nine-tailed fox spirit. After flying for a few minutes with her Ethereal Projection extended to its limit, Zoe sensed in the distance what seemed to be the wall of a barrier, so she quickly signaled to Hiyori to get closer.
Before long, Zoe ended up in the air in front of the invisible spherical wall of the barrier, so she carefully stretched out her hand and touched it. Soon, the metallic coating of Zoe's armored gloves made contact with the visible wall, so she pressed her whole hand against the barrier and then sent a bit of her mana into it. Surprisingly, the barrier didn't react in the slightest, as if it didn't exist at all, still remaining invisible.
After trying to send her mana into the barrier several times and in different ways without any result, Zoe returned to the island. Upon reuniting with Frank, Zoe jumped down from Hiyori's back and remarked in a contemplative voice.
"As I suspected, this place is covered by a barrier, so it's likely that this island exists to keep that basilisk locked away."
"Why would anyone want to keep a basilisk locked up instead of killing it?"
Frank asked, a bit confused. After all, the materials needed to contain a devouring basilisk had to be at least Master-level grade, and although a basilisk's body had its uses, if someone needed it, they could simply kill it. There would be no need to build this place for that.
"I don't know." Zoe shook her head uncertainly. "But from what we've seen so far, following Erik's wooden tablets, we can conclude that this place is indeed a 'collection' with samples of flora and fauna from different parts of the galaxy. But none of that was mentioned in the records from the initial exploration."
Zoe glanced at an enormous net made of braided vines, filled with all kinds of resources they'd found during their exploration, and continued.
"Therefore, only this island is special in the 'garden,' and since we didn't find any traces of human activity, it's highly likely that not even the 'hunters' knew about this place. Which leads me to think that this place is not only hidden but also very well protected, and the only reason I can think of to go to such lengths is that basilisk."
"And what if the whole garden used to be 'special' but, for some reason, it stopped being so and now only this island remains?" Frank asked, trying to find an explanation in his mind for all the unanswered questions. Zoe shook her head and replied as she walked over to the net of vines.
"It's possible. It's also possible that there are more hidden places like this in the 'garden.' For now, we have no way of knowing." Picking up the net from the ground, Zoe looked at Frank and said.
"We'd better meet up with Elara and Erik. It's getting late."
"Understood, direct disciple Laverne."
Frank quickly bowed respectfully and grabbed another woven vine net similar to Zoe's, though much smaller. After nodding to Frank, Zoe turned to look at the pair of wolves drinking from the nearby river and said.
"We're heading back."
Upon hearing her, the two wolves casually helped and came back, with Kaiser standing at Zoe's side and Tiberius positioning himself behind Frank, blending into his shadow and becoming hard to see. Seeing that everyone was ready, Zoe gave the order, and the group began to head back with steady steps.
…
When they arrived at the camp, Zoe found Elara standing in front of a dome of fire, while Erik and his dragon spirit were building what looked like a tall furnace made of clay, stone, and mud. Sensing their arrival, Erik turned to look at her and greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome back. It looks like your search was fruitful."
"Yes. We found almost everything and brought back a ton of samples." Zoe jumped down from Hiyori and replied with a smile, then added more seriously.
"The items were grouped more or less as you indicated on the wooden tablets."
Hearing this, Erik's eyes widened slightly in surprise, while Ebonique sighed in understanding. Meanwhile, Elara hurried over to Zoe and asked with shining eyes.
"So this really is a 'collection'?"
"All evidence points to that." Zoe replied, gesturing to the enormous net made of vines they'd brought, before looking at Erik and adding with a certain solemnity.
"But it's much more than that. We're standing on a floating island several dozen kilometers above the ground, surrounded by a barrier."
Upon hearing the news, Elara's eyes widened in shock, and then she turned to look at Erik. The young man with starry hair had his hand on his chin, completely lost in thought. Soon, Erik approached the net of vines that Zoe had brought and asked in a contemplative voice.
"Did you find any creatures above the Revealed level?"
"No. The highest we found were some animals at the Revealed-Peak level." Zoe replied in a serious tone. Erik nodded silently.
Using ghostly hands, Erik began to take out each item from the net and sort them at great speed. Meanwhile, Zoe, Elara, and Frank watched him in silence, certain that the knowledgeable young man with starry hair would be able to reach a conclusion by analyzing what they had brought. After a few minutes, Erik commented calmly.
"Although all the minerals are common, when it comes to flora, this place is impressive. It has everything from the most basic to some pretty rare and scarce things. But none of these are older than 50,000 years, which means nothing above the Sage level."
"The basilisk…?" Elara asked, a bit uncertain. Erik nodded and explained.
"Most likely, the basilisk's sleep cycle is around 50,000 years. Every 50,000 years, it wakes up, destroys everything in its path, and then falls into a deep sleep again. But if that's true, it raises a question: why haven't we encountered any magical creatures above the Revealed level? They've had 50,000 years to develop—there should be at least a few.
"There's only one answer that comes to mind. This is a breeding ground. If someone or something is raising that basilisk, it would make sense to want the basilisk to remain the strongest being here. Otherwise, the basilisk would be in danger, and a simple way to ensure that is to filter by age. Aside from the basilisk, no creature above a certain age can survive in this place."
"Could the golden chains be another protective measure for the basilisk…?" Elara quickly asked, finding the theory quite reasonable.
"It's likely." Erik nodded and said. "And if that's the case, it's probably that the system measures the 'danger' of a magical artifact by its materials and complexity."
"But then why didn't the chains activate during the initial exploration?" Zoe asked, a bit confused. Erik answered while looking at the storage rings on his fingers.
"This place could have deteriorated over time and is suffering from some malfunctions, or maybe the 'hunters' found a way to interfere with the system here. It could even be something entirely different." Erik glanced over the three young people in front of him and added.
"In any case, if any of this is true, then we can assume, first, that there is no 'exit' in this place. Since this would be a cage, different from the garden the explorers went through. But more importantly, it's likely that the simplicity I saw in that Golem wasn't a coincidence. The trick to making a magical artifact work here is to simplify it enough so that the chains don't detect it."
"Do you have any ideas?" Elara asked, her green eyes shining with excitement. Erik nodded and replied in a calm tone.
"Yes, especially for the cauldron. So, if everything goes well, we'll soon have magical potions and some equipment to better explore this place."
"How can we help?" Zoe quickly asked, her beautiful blue eyes shining. Erik smiled calmly and explained.
"Well, we're almost done with the furnace, and Elara is making more charcoal." As he spoke, Erik sent out a ghostly hand to pick up some of the minerals brought by Frank and Zoe and continued.
"In the meantime, you two are going to handle crushing these." Setting down a good amount of what looked like various blueish and greenish shiny rocks in front of Zoe, Erik said.
"They're mostly Azurite and Malachite. They'll be our source of copper."
"Understood." Zoe quickly replied in a serious tone and picked up the rocks. Erik turned to look at Frank and, placing what seemed to be metallic rocks with prismatic, iridescent crystals in front of him, added.
"Frank, you'll take care of grinding the Falamite. It needs to be a powder about 0.5 to 2 mm in size."
"Understood, boss. Can I use mana?" Frank asked seriously as he picked up the rocks. Erik nodded calmly and said.
"Yes, you can. But be careful—even though Falamite is very stable, sometimes more reactive things get mixed in."
"Got it, boss. I'll be careful." Frank replied and quickly walked away to get started, something Zoe did as well. Watching the pair of young people leave, Ebonique turned to Erik and asked with curiosity.
"And what about us? What will we do?"
"I'm going to finish the furnace." Erik replied calmly, then pointed to a pile of yellowish rocks not far away and added.
"You'll take care of grinding the Limonite. It doesn't have to be too fine—chunks of two or three centimeters are fine."
"I won't take long!" Ebonique quickly replied and flew over to the yellow stones.
Seeing that everyone was working, Erik nodded in satisfaction and looked at the pair of wolves, who were watching him with bright eyes and wagging their tails gently. Then he glanced at Zoe's impressive nine-tailed fox, who seemed a little unsure about how to move or what to do. With a calm expression, Erik smiled and addressed the uneasy fox.
"Hiyori, could you help me hunt something with the wolves? It seems everyone forgot that we still have to eat."
"They're under a lot of pressure—it's only natural." Hiyori replied calmly. "Leave it to me; I'll hunt some delicious things."
"I trust you then." Erik said quietly, and after watching the beautiful fox walk away, he turned his attention back to the furnace and began making the final adjustments.
…
By the time the furnace was ready, Frank, Zoe, and Ebonique had returned with the minerals properly ground. Erik lit the furnace and first roasted the copper minerals, then melted them down using a clay crucible he had prepared earlier, extracting the copper. At the same time, Erik set up a simpler furnace a few meters away and filled a second clay crucible with the Falamite powder that Frank had ground.
After extracting the copper, Erik used a third clay crucible, layering the chunks of Limonite and charcoal inside, then fired up the main furnace to full power. Turning to look at Elara, who was watching him work almost hypnotized, along with Zoe and Frank, Erik commented calmly.
"Well, Elara, I need you to keep the first furnace at about 1200 degrees and the second at around 600. Meanwhile, I'll prepare the dinner that Hiyori and the wolves brought."
As Erik spoke, Hiyori arrived along with the wolves. The wolves were carrying what looked like a black boar with white stripes and what seemed to be a goat with horns made of metal in their jaws. A bit embarrassed at having been 'caught' slacking off, Elara stood up and replied in a serious voice.
"Leave it to me."
"Do you need us to help you with anything, Boss?" Frank asked, equally embarrassed, after letting out a fake cough. Erik stretched a little and said.
"For now, we need to store what you brought in the second cabin. Try to keep it organized enough so we can easily find everything."
"I can take care of that, boss." Frank replied seriously, then started gathering the items to organize them in the shelter/storage cabin. For her part, Zoe added in an embarrassed tone.
"Do you want me to help you, Erik? I don't know much about butchering animals, but I can learn."
"It's actually not that hard." Erik said calmly, picking up a sharp stone. "You just need some knowledge and practice. I'll teach you."
"I'll make the campfire." Ebonique quickly added. Erik nodded and replied, looking at her.
"I'll leave it in your hands."
After Ebonique left, Erik began butchering the boar with the sharp stone and a bit of magical edge, explaining the important parts to Zoe as he worked. A bit uncertain, Zoe put what she'd learned into practice on the goat, also using a sharp stone and a wind affinity magical edge.
…
"You did pretty well for your first time."
Once Zoe finished butchering the goat, Erik commented with a small smile. Zoe blushed slightly, covered in blood in several places, and looking at the poorly cut pieces of meat, she said.
"You don't have to comfort me like that. I know I did it badly."
"You actually did pretty well." Erik laughed, amused. "With a bit of practice, you'll get better."
"Erik, I brought the sticks." At that moment, Ebonique returned carrying several sticks of different sizes. Erik looked at her and, gratefully, gave her a small smile.
"Thank you, Ebonique. Let's stretch out the meat and roast it."
Following Erik's instructions, Zoe and Ebonique stretched out the meat with the help of the sticks. Meanwhile, using different ingredients that Zoe and Frank had brought, Erik made a simple sauce to marinate the meat, which he applied to each piece. After placing the meat around the campfire Ebonique had built, Erik created a Myst barrier to cover everything and stretched out, looking a bit tired.
"Get some rest, Erik." Elara said warmly, offering him a bamboo cup filled with freshly boiled water, her gratitude clearly visible in her voice.
"There's still about two hours before the Falamite and iron are ready, so I guess I could take a bath to relax a bit…" Erik replied in a somewhat lazy tone, letting out a small yawn at the end.
Hearing Erik, Zoe suddenly felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her mind and instinctively began to smell herself. After all, she hadn't taken a bath since they entered the ruins, and she had sweated a lot along the way—it was only natural that she might smell a little bad.
Deeply embarrassed, Zoe took a step back and looked at Elara, only to find her with a relaxed expression—a world of difference from herself. Soon, Zoe realized the reason. Unlike her, Elara was a mage, and, even more, she practiced Sacred Geometry, so it was highly likely that her good friend had a spell to easily solve problems like bad odors.
"Go take a good bath, Erik. You deserve it. We'll take care of everything while you're gone." Elara said with a relaxed smile. Zoe quickly added, in a voice a little louder than usual, while shooting a slightly pleading look at her good friend.
"Yes, leave the camp to us. You can go without worrying."
"Then I'll take you at your word." Erik replied with a small smile, then looked over at the pair of wolves in the distance and calmly ordered.
"Tiberius, let's go. Kaiser, you stay."
While Kaiser began to whimper tragically, Erik jumped onto the cheerful Tiberius, who was wagging his tail. Once he was on the imposing black wolf's back, Erik looked at the pair of beautiful young ladies and commented calmly.
"I'll be back in about an hour. After that, we can take turns going to the river."
"Take your time." Elara said with an amused smile, glancing discreetly at the embarrassed Zoe. The beautiful girl with black hair and blue eyes quickly added after sending Elara a resentful look.
"You deserve to rest, Erik. You've barely slept and haven't stopped working."
"Haha, I'll be back in a bit."
Amused by the girls' subtle actions, Erik laughed lightly before heading off on Tiberius's back, with Ebonique riding on his head. Once Erik was out of sight, Zoe turned to Elara and, with a face full of resentment, pounced on her friend to get her rightful revenge.
…
"Are you really going to bathe, Erik?" After they had walked a few meters away from camp, Ebonique asked suspiciously as she floated next to Erik's head, just over a meter tall.
"Hehe, you know me well." Erik said, stretching a bit on Tiberius's back, then added in a more serious tone.
"Even though I am going to bathe, I first have to check on that basilisk with my own eyes."
"…It's not a good idea for you to expose yourself like that…" Ebonique replied with an uneasy, reluctant voice, tinged with a hint of panic. Erik answered in a solemn tone as he adjusted himself on Tiberius's back.
"Checking on the basilisk is something I can't avoid. There's nothing guaranteeing that the barrier Zoe found can actually stop the basilisk, or that it's even meant to. If that thing manages to escape, our chances of survival will hit rock bottom, so it's extremely important that we prepare in advance. In our situation, every single percentage point in our favor counts, and understanding the basilisk's condition will be vital to coming up with a plan to prepare ourselves."
"…I get that, but I won't be able to help you much if we face that thing…" Ebonique replied, full of guilt and nervousness. Erik smiled bravely and replied calmly.
"I know, and it's not just because of that thing's strength, right? The spirit you mentioned must be related."
"How…?" Ebonique asked incredulously, which made Erik laugh before he quickly replied.
"You're terrible at hiding your thoughts and worries, Ebonique. Ever since we found out about that basilisk, you've been melancholic, anxious, and on edge. It was just a matter of putting two and two together." Seeing Ebonique's strange expression, Erik added firmly.
"We can work on improving that later. For now, let's focus on what's important. Let's go check on that basilisk."
***
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