The question was, who discovered their arrival?
Was it adventurers? Or some powerful creature?
Ethan already knew that many powerful monsters lived in the latter half of the route. These monsters even hunted adventurers as prey, and Ethan and his companions were clearly within their hunting range.
"Anyway, be careful!"
Their individual strengths were considerable, but that didn't mean they didn't need to be vigilant. Ethan didn't have a clear idea of just how strong the monsters in this world could become.
Considering Clyde and Beckford could freely travel this route, these monsters likely couldn't truly threaten them. What they needed to be cautious of were some peculiar abilities. Even if they weren't injured, getting caught up in one would be embarrassing.
They waded through the cool river water, moving deeper into the cave. The cave gradually widened. Ethan casually conjured a ball of light in his palm and let it float above their heads for illumination.
Ada put away the lighting equipment she had just taken out. With Ethan present, there was no need for those things.
There was no sound in the dark, damp cave, only the splashing of people wading through water. Ethan kept turning his head, looking left and right, but found nothing worth noting.
At the same time, he carefully kept his senses extended into the water, in case something suddenly appeared.
But the water turned out to be incredibly clear. Let alone monsters, he couldn't even see dirt. The river water was so clean it looked safe to drink without worry.
"It seems there's nothing here."
Laura wasn't just observing. She was using her Druid abilities, trying to sense whether any creatures or plants were nearby.
As long as there were animals or plants, she could communicate with them and obtain information.
But she sensed for a long time and detected nothing. There was only stone and water here.
"Shall we continue?"
"Of course!"
Laura wasn't afraid. This only made things more interesting for her. She was looking forward to a powerful monster in the depths of the cave so she could properly showcase her training.
After walking for half an hour, the group finally reached a spacious cavern. There was an elevated area of ground here, so they no longer had to stand in the water.
"What is this?"
On the platform, besides a rectangular object, there was nothing else.
"There's no way forward. I checked, and this water flows out from countless tiny pores. This is the deepest part of the cave."
After looking around, Ada confirmed they couldn't proceed further. Ethan also saw several small holes on the cave wall from which clear water constantly flowed, merging into the river they had waded through.
"Then all the secrets are here."
There was nothing else, only that rectangular object. It seemed to be the most suspicious item in this place.
According to Ethan's senses, the energy hidden in the water was emitted from this object.
"Could there be a magic stone hidden inside this rectangular block?"
Ethan reached out and gently touched it, only to suddenly realize it wasn't a stone block at all. The appearance of stone was just an illusion projected by the object.
As his hand touched it, the huge block distorted. When Ethan released a trace of magic power to impact the image, the distortion grew more intense until the illusion completely dissipated, revealing the true form beneath.
"This is...?"
"It looks like a high-tech facility," Ethan said, examining the sci-fi-looking rectangular device carefully. "The energy it uses is very similar to a magic stone, but slightly different."
After looking it over several times, Ethan found what looked like a switch and pressed it.
At once, the facility emitted a deep roar, followed by white gas venting from below.
Ethan, Ada, and Laura quickly stepped back, but soon realized the smoke only made them feel a bit cold and posed no threat.
"This..." Ada looked at the device as it slowly opened. She suddenly thought of countless movies she had seen. "Could this be a cryogenic sleep pod?"
Ethan had the same feeling. The way the lid opened was too similar to sleep pods from movies.
As the lid fully opened, revealing the inside, Ethan sighed helplessly. "You guessed right. This is a sleep pod."
He could already sense life signs reawakening, showing a clear trend of recovery. There was indeed a living person inside.
Stepping closer, Ethan saw a young girl lying within. She had beautiful blonde hair and wore a white outfit with pretty patterned decorations. There were also designs on her chest and shoulders.
As he wondered what those patterns meant, the girl opened her eyes. Perhaps she had slept too long, for the sudden light made her uncomfortable. She raised her hand to block it, then blinked several times before opening her eyes again to examine Ethan, who stood in front of her.
"Are you from the rescue team?" The girl tried to get up, but her arms were too weak to support her. "Damn, how long have I been in hibernation? How did the rescue team's efficiency get so bad?"
Ethan raised his head slightly, exchanging glances with Ada. The girl had just revealed some information.
It might have been effective to pretend to be rescue personnel to gather intel, but Ethan didn't like that method, especially since he had no malicious intent.
"You might have misunderstood. I'm not from any rescue team."
"Not the rescue team?" The girl lay still for a while, then, after regaining some strength, fumbled for something beside her. She found a syringe, pulled up her sleeve, pressed it to her wrist, and injected.
Afterward, her pale face regained some color. Her condition improved, her mobility returned, and she finally managed to sit up.
She rubbed her eyes again, adjusting to the light, then looked at Ethan with a surprised expression.
"Not from the rescue team?"
She looked him up and down, taking in his very casual clothes, then turned her head to Ada and Laura.
Laura was casually dressed in a T-shirt and capri pants. Aside from the strange animal on her head, there was nothing noteworthy.
Ada's attire didn't look special at first glance, but the black combat suit under her red shirt caught the girl's attention. "Are you also students undergoing assessment?"
The girl's gaze lingered on Ada's combat suit.
"Where was this combat suit manufactured? Why don't I recognize the brand?"
"Our team made it ourselves," Ada replied casually, and the girl didn't find it suspicious.
"No wonder."
The girl gently moved, then slowly climbed out of the pod. She pressed something inside, and the lid opened further, revealing shoes and other belongings.
She put on her shoes in front of Ethan, then jumped to the ground and bounced lightly. But her legs were weak, and she almost fell. Ethan quickly steadied her, preventing her from falling awkwardly.
"Thank you."
She thanked him softly, then straightened her clothes before introducing herself.
"I am Betty, a student of Warship Piloting Science at the Imperial Military Academy. Thank you very much for your help."
Ethan narrowed his eyes as Betty saluted him. "I think you might not have understood the current situation."
Seeing he didn't return the salute as expected, Betty immediately sensed something was off. Though she didn't step back, she subtly shifted her body so her back wasn't fully exposed.
She clearly had combat training. Ethan could sense her hand moving toward her weapon.
"Don't be nervous. We mean no harm."
He spread his hands, showing no weapons and no hostility.
This gesture seemed universal across civilizations. Betty relaxed slightly, though her guard remained.
"What exactly do you want?"
"Who exactly are you? Why are you here?"
Ethan already had vague guesses, but he wanted confirmation.
Betty frowned, her sea-blue eyes studying him.
"I'm a student of the Imperial Military Academy, undergoing assessment here... Could it be you're not academy students? That's impossible! Outsiders can't enter here at all..."
Before Ethan could answer, she turned to her pod. After fiddling with it, a holographic image appeared on the lid, displaying data.
The text was written in the language of this world, which Ethan could naturally read. He immediately noticed one line:
Entered hibernation state eight hundred and seventy-three years ago.
(To be continued.)