"We will continue exploring the ruins until we reach the core. Porucus, take the soldiers back to town with the monster's body. But before we move on, I need to do something first," Arthur said to Hohenheim.
Arthur was not naive. At first glance, it might have looked easy for Hohenheim to protect the group on their way to the monster's nest. But the deeper they ventured into the ruins, the denser the monster population would become. More companions meant more targets to defend, and even if the soldiers tried to fight, they would be of little help against the stronger creatures waiting below.
As for what Arthur "needed to do," the reason was simple: even though Hohenheim had slain the monster, the system quest still wasn't marked complete. Why? It was most likely tied to the secret objectives mentioned when Arthur chose his earlier decision.
Arthur had three theories in mind:
The first: the dragon core maybe he needs it for a ritual to have one like Artoria but even if that was possible one: they don't have the materials | two: the dragon was too weak its core is probably of no use
Like Siegfried, maybe bathing in its blood would grant him skin that no blade could pierce, but that is probably not true either because do you really want to compare this guy with Fafnir? are you joking? (Earth dragon: ….)
The third is soaking his armor in its blood or trying to fuse its core with it even if it's not that strong its materials will probably be consumed by the armor
Among these, the third option seemed the most practical. Before venturing further into the ruins, he would test it.
At Arthur's request, Hohenheim shaped a raised basin of earth to collect the dragon's blood. Arthur placed his armor inside, letting it soak in it. The blood was slowly absorbed, the liquid level dropping slightly.
Then, the system's voice echoed in his ears:
[Secret Goal Achieved]Noble Phantasm [Armor of the Dragon] Level Increased (D → D+)
Arthur's eyes lit up. 'Great, that actually worked. Let's try the core next.'
Meanwhile, Hohenheim was already busy dismantling the corpse, extracting useful materials for easier transport back to town.
"Hohenheim," Arthur called, "can you remove the dragon's core for me? I need it for something."
"Of course, Master," Hohenheim replied without hesitation, continuing his careful work on the carcass.
Hohenheim soon extracted the dragon's core, a faintly glowing sphere no larger than a clenched fist. Its light pulsed weakly, like the embers of a fire on the verge of going out.
Arthur accepted it with both hands, studying it carefully. It lacked the overwhelming magic power one might expect from a dragon
"Let's see if this works," Arthur murmured.
He placed the core into the basin, letting it rest in the blood alongside his armor. For a few tense moments, nothing happened.
Then—crack.
A sharp sound echoed as the dragon core fractured, splintering before crumbling entirely to dust. At the same time, the blood within the basin rapidly diminished, more than half of it drawn into the armor as if consumed.
Arthur glanced at the nearly empty basin, but didn't mind. This was only a portion of the blood Hohenheim had set aside. The rest had been stored in a larger container, preserved from decay by Hohenheim's magicraft.
Once again, the system's voice resonated in his ears:
[Secret Goal Achieved]Noble Phantasm [Armor of the Dragon] Level Increased (D+ → D++)
Arthur exhaled slowly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 'So it worked again. This armor really is evolving with every piece of draconic material it consumes.'
[Quest completed] Danger in the ruins!
[Secret Goals Completed]Reward Granted:Noble Phantasm [Caliburn] Level Increased (D → D+)
'Finally… this quest is complete. And the reward is better than I expected. Now I can continue exploring the ruins with Hohenheim.'
Arthur let out a relieved sigh.
Hohenheim, however, didn't share his relief. He had been observing the armor intently from the start, prepared to intervene in case of any unforeseen complications. Unlike Arthur's relaxed expression, his face was marked by a grave seriousness.
"Master," Hohenheim said at last, "where did you obtain this armor? It carries an unnerving aura. I hadn't noticed it before, and even now it is strangely difficult to sense."
Arthur tilted his head, a faint look of confusion crossing his face."Ah… this armor? It was already on my body when I was summoned here by The Human Order. Honestly, I may have died several times over if not for it."
Unlike the average person who might be transported to another world, Arthur had no reason to hide that fact since everyone is in the same situation as him. The system itself kept its information concealed as he couldn't say anything about it even if he tried, but for him it was more of a hidden trump card than a secret so he really didn't care.
As for whether the armor was malicious, Arthur had his own theory. He had noticed something peculiar: when wearing it near others, whether Hohenheim, Porucus, or even an ordinary soldier, the armor would tighten slightly, becoming uncomfortable, as though it resisted the presence of others. But when he was alone, it felt entirely different. Soft, almost like resting on a bed, warming him in the cold and cooling him in the heat.
The effect became most pronounced when the maids entered his office, whether to set tea on his desk or report a visitor. At those times, the armor's discomfort reached its peak.
To put Hohenheim at ease, Arthur proposed an experiment."I'll wear one of the gloves from the armor. Then you approach and withdraw, and see if you can sense that aura. We can try with a soldier as well, in case it reacts only to Servants."
He slipped on the glove. As Hohenheim stepped closer, the sensation intensified. The nearer he drew, the stronger the oppressive feeling became. As he retreated, it gradually weakened until vanishing altogether at a distance of one and a half meters.
They repeated the experiment with an ordinary soldier, and the same result occurred.
Hohenheim said, his eyes narrowing."I see. The armor is indeed alive. Yet I cannot detect any spirit dwelling within it. It seems to reject humans in general, whether Servant or mortal. However…" He paused, glancing at Arthur. "…indeed, it does not appear to harbor any malice towards you, Master."
After reassuring Hohenheim, the matter of the armor was settled, at least for now by Arthur's insistence.
Porucus led the soldiers in transporting the monster's materials back to town, while Arthur and Hohenheim pressed deeper into the ruins.
The scenery did not change much. Everywhere laid collapsed walls and broken pillars, fragments of a once prosperous city. Even through the decay, Arthur could faintly sense the grandeur this place must have held in its prime.
As they walked, Arthur used the time to ask Hohenheim about the basic knowledge of magicraft. Their journey remained mostly uneventful; with Hohenheim's presence, the occasional beasts they encountered were dispatched swiftly.
However, as they ventured further into the ruins, Arthur noticed a shift in Hohenheim's movements. Instead of walking in a straight line, he began to alter their path, taking deliberate detours.
Arthur quickly understood what this meant."There are dangerous monsters ahead, aren't there?"
"Yes," Hohenheim replied. His tone was calm, but his gaze was sharp.
As they delved deeper, the detours became more frequent.
Arthur frowned. "The number of monsters here is beyond my imagination…"
"Indeed." Hohenheim nodded gravely. "Even in the Age of Gods, when monsters roamed unchecked, they were never this densely concentrated. This place is unusual. Its nature has been warped by what's at the center."
Arthur fell silent, pondering. His sudden arrival in this world, and his teleportation directly to the edge of these ruins, no longer seemed like a coincidence. Perhaps it was precisely the special nature of this city that made it the chosen starting point for human order in this world.
Still, true excavation and exploration of these ruins would require immense preparation.
"At the very least," Arthur thought aloud, "we would need a camp the size of a city, and enough Heroic Spirits to defend it, before any large-scale work could begin."
Speaking of Heroic Spirits, Arthur realized that judging by the situation within the ruins; the next summoning could not be chosen solely with town development in mind.Combat type Servants, those specialized in fighting monsters would be indispensable for advancing any deeper.
By now, he and Hohenheim had left behind the outer reaches of the ruins and entered the city's central zone. The scenery shifted subtly around them, where before there was only shattered walls and heaps of rubble, here more complete structures remained.
Several houses still stood their outlines intact despite the passage of time. What drew Arthur's attention was their construction, not quarried stone, but materials that seemed to have been synthesized.
Hohenheim halted before one of the crumbling structures, his eyes gleaming with scholarly interest as he laid a hand against the wall.
"Very interesting…" he murmured. "This civilization was quite advanced. And its development was completely different from our own."
Arthur frowned, unable to see what Hohenheim meant."What do you mean?"
Hohenheim traced his fingers over the faint patterns etched into the stonework."There are alchemical traces here. These structures were not shaped by mundane means, they were created through magicraft or at least it's counterpart in this world."
"I found traces of alchemy on it."
The alchemy Hohenheim spoke of was not chemistry the practical craft of metals and reagents, but the mystical alchemy, the magicraft rooted in mysterious side of the world.
His words were brief, but Arthur immediately grasped the implication, if even ordinary houses bore the marks of alchemical construction, then this technology had once been widespread here, integrated into daily life.
In the world of Type-Moon, mystery and science stood in direct opposition. The advancement of one diminished the other. For such a civilization to build its architecture with alchemy meant it had developed along a path utterly unlike the scientific progress of modern mankind or that in this world mystery and science didn't affect each other in the same way or at all.
Arthur's gaze lingered on the alchemy made walls around them. "The only question is… was this civilization destroyed from within, or did something from outside bring about its fall?"
The further a civilization advances, the more dangerous its creations, like balancing on a tightrope.
Electricity had once propelled human society into a new era, and Nikola Tesla himself had earned the title Pioneer of the Stars. But with each leap came greater risks. The next great energy nuclear power promised advancement, but also carried within it the chance of annihilation.
It was not unthinkable for an entire civilization to be wiped out by its own creations. And if technology even more advanced than nuclear energy were brought forth, the potential consequences would only grow more catastrophic.
Mystery and science may stand opposed, yet at their root both were merely the manipulation of laws and principles. Against the vast scale of the world or the universe, humanity, even in its greatest form, remained small.
If this lost civilization had perished because it grasped a power it could not truly control, then such an end would be understandable.
But if the cause was external, an attack from outside this planet, like Velber 02 which destroyed entire civilizations from existence in the Type-Moon world, then the implications were far more troubling.
Whatever the truth may be, the answer had been buried alongside this once-prosperous civilization long ago.
If Arthur wished to uncover it, he would have to reach the very core of the ruins, where the massive source of magical energy was laying.
He and Hohenheim advanced a little further, until their steps halted once again.
It wasn't because they sensed a lurking enemy. Instead, the path itself was blocked. Even Arthur, who was a not magus (since he didn't learn any spells yet), could feel it: a transparent, colorless wall of magical energy stretched across the way.
"A very stable barrier…" Hohenheim murmured, narrowing his eyes.
He raised his hand. At his fingertips flickered a bead of red and black light, gandr, a Scandinavian curse often taught as the very first spell to apprentice magi. Simple in structure, easily learned, yet effective enough as a means of testing magical defenses.
The projectile snapped free and darted forward, striking the invisible wall.
There was no effect. The barrier blocked the curse, the energy dispersing harmlessly into the air.
Arthur frowned. "So a basic curse can't go through…"
"Indeed, Master. Yet this barrier doesn't seem to have any offensive properties. Its only purpose is to deny entry." Hohenheim stepped closer, placing his hand against the wall of magical energy. Nothing happened; the barrier simply repelled him with silent resistance.
But when Arthur reached out to touch it, the result was different. In an instant, the barrier pulled him through, swallowing his body before either he or Hohenheim could react.
'Master, are you alright!?' Hohenheim's anxious voice rang immediately through their Master–Servant bond.
Arthur steadied himself, scanning his surroundings. 'Don't worry, Hohenheim. I'm fine. There's nothing hostile nearby.'
He stood within a vast cavern, its ceiling arching high above. Before him loomed a monumental structure, its façade carved in the likeness of a grand temple surrounded by sand. As he approached, faint sounds reached his ears, a weak murmur, fragile and broken, like the final words of a dying man.
Even with [Universal Tongue], Arthur could not grasp the meaning, yet the emotions seeped through clearly, pain, desperation, and a plea for help.
'I see a temple,' Arthur informed Hohenheim. 'And… I can hear something inside. Someone or something, is begging for help.'
'Are you certain entering is wise, Master?' Hohenheim cautioned.
Arthur's tone was steady. 'How long would it take you to break the barrier?'
'A month at least, perhaps longer, Now that you've entered, I can sense traces of divine ether woven into its structure. It's being reinforced by a divine spirit.'
'We both know, I wouldn't survive a month without food or water, And even if I did, what's stopping whatever is inside from coming out and killing me before you can enter?'
Silence lingered for a moment before Hohenheim finally answered.'…I understand, Master. Then please, be cautious.'
Arthur advanced. Step by step, he ascended the worn stone path toward the temple. The murmurs grew clearer, the closer he got to the temple.
At last, he reached the threshold. And as he raised his eyes to the entrance, he saw.....