Chapter 66: Where the Stars and the Silver Moon Intersect
Using water surface reflection, Serie tapped her fingertips and set up a mirror-like barrier around everyone.
She didn't have invisibility magic, so this was her best option for concealment.
It would fool the low-intelligence Demon Spiders, especially since they were all sleeping. As long as the group stayed quiet, they wouldn't wake the creatures from their web-bound dreams.
Kurtz strengthened the aura-shielding magic, pouring more power into the spell to make everyone vanish from the Demon Spiders' senses completely.
"Be careful, everyone. Don't make any noise. Our magic can't eliminate sound. Let's pass through quietly," Kurtz whispered.
"Stay close and don't leave the magic's range," Serie warned, her voice deadly serious.
The others nodded, understanding the stakes.
The group held their breath as they moved through the Demon Spider swarm, every step calculated.
With the spiders so close, their mandibles clicking in sleep, everyone felt like they might stop breathing. But as they pushed deeper, the Demon Spiders remained still, and their racing hearts settled into a nervous rhythm.
"These Demon Spiders are actually quite cute when you look at them," Eric mused silently, studying the patterns on their shells. He wanted to say it aloud but feared making a sound.
Kurtz didn't know his sentiment; otherwise, he would have said, "This kid is seriously ill!"
Norn nearly stepped on a small dormant Demon Spider, but Kurtz spotted him in time and pulled him back with swift, silent movement.
There were simply too many spiders here, and the newly hatched ones were only fingernail-sized, nearly invisible in the dim light.
The most nerve-wracking moment came when a giant Demon Spider suddenly woke up, unfolded like a nightmare, then lifted its head and stared at its reflection in the mirror.
Its compound eyes hung just centimetres from Kurtz's face, each facet glinting with alien intelligence. Kurtz was prepared to attack, magic gathering at his fingertips.
Serie flicked her finger. An ice crystal shot silently into the distance, striking stone with the faintest sound.
For her, releasing such small magic produced no fluctuations; her control was so refined that barely a whisper of power escaped.
The sound drew the Demon Spider and slowly crawled away, along with the other awakened spiders. Thanks to Serie's mirror, they couldn't perceive the group's presence, seeing only their own reflections.
Kurtz gave the Elf a thumbs-up for the clever misdirection.
After passing through the nest, the group encountered several more waves of monsters, but the numbers decreased each time. Kurtz and Serie repeated their tactics, and everyone reached the core area of the Dwarf Ruins without major incident.
Upon reaching an open area in the core region, Kurtz let out a long breath. "Finally, we can rest. That journey was terrifying."
"I didn't expect so many monsters here. I thought most had already left," Norn said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"These monsters are few," Serie said coldly. "Most gather in the outer areas. You almost never see monsters in the centre."
"Good."
Kurtz felt relief flood through him. This way, they could explore the core area safely.
Their first target was the treasury of the Dwarf Kingdom.
Both the Holy Sword that harmed the gods and the Holy Relic Stone Slab should be stored there, waiting in the darkness for centuries.
"But what exactly did Duller mean by 'the place where the stars and the silver moon intersect is where the treasury is located'?"
Norn had been turning this riddle over in his mind.
Back then, the Dwarf Kingdom had gathered countless treasures, but the King didn't intend to keep them for himself. Instead, he had a wise man among the Dwarves create a riddle.
'The place where the stars and the silver moon intersect is where the treasury is located.'
When someone solved this riddle, they could take one treasure from the treasury unconditionally.
This riddle also ensured that, even if the King died, there would still be Dwarves who knew the treasury's actual location, as the opening method was contained within.
"They say a special ore was used in building the Dwarf treasury, which could block any magical detection. Even when entering or exiting, the Dwarf artisans had to cover their eyes. Apart from the King and those Dwarves who could solve the riddle, no Dwarf could know the true location," Somo said.
"Ha! Didn't these Dwarves think that if you use ore that blocks detection magic to build the treasury, then I just need to release detection magic? Wherever it can't detect, that's where the treasury is!"
Serie sneered repeatedly.
"You are a Genius!"
Kurtz reached out and rubbed the petite Elf's head. "Why didn't I know before that my Serie was so smart?"
"Don't touch my head, you annoying guy!"
Serie slapped Kurtz's hand away, displeased with his phrase "my Serie."
This damn human was getting too possessive.
"But what if the Demon Race detects it...?" Norn voiced his concern.
After all, no one could be sure if Demon Race members still lurked in this ruin.
"It's fine. I'll control the range within this area."
Serie immediately released detection magic. After a while, her face darkened.
"How is it?" Kurtz asked quickly.
"Hmph! These Dwarves do have some tricks. This entire area is filled with that special ore, making detection impossible."
"Then the treasury is in this area."
Serie's method was nearly foolproof.
To avoid revealing the exact location, those Dwarves embedded this entire area with special ore. But this exposed the general area where the treasury was located.
"But it's huge here."
Norn shook his head, surveying the vast chamber.
Although Serie proved the treasury was here through reverse logic, this area had no trace of buildings. If the treasury were underground, they'd have serious digging to do.
"Stars and silver moon..." Kurtz looked up at the dome. "Is it up there?"
Everyone followed his gaze. Although the area did have a dome, it didn't look like a place where silver moon and stars intersected.
At least you should be able to see those things, right?
But all they saw was stone, with occasional glowing crystals embedded like distant lights.
"Can't look at it like this." Kurtz cast levitation magic, activated his aura concealment, and began flying toward the dome.
Above the stone surface, numerous glowing crystals were embedded in a careful pattern. Flying farther, Kurtz found they were actually arranged in constellation patterns, their light forming familiar star maps against the artificial sky.
These should be the so-called stars. Now he just needed to find the silver moon.
Then Kurtz noticed a silver mark on the stone wall, its metallic surface catching the crystal light. This mark stopped abruptly at a certain point, as if waiting for the right moment to be completed.
"It really is here."
Kurtz smiled. These Dwarves were truly cunning. If you couldn't fly, you'd never notice this constellation and the special silver moon hidden in plain sight.
He returned to the ground and shared his discovery with everyone.
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