Ronin arrived at just the right moment. Looking toward the ruins, he could already see the Etoria Kingdom soldiers pulling back from inside.
Nearby, all kinds of people who looked ready for action were gathered. Without exception, every single one of them had a faint layer of aura wrapped around their bodies. They were all Nen users.
A quick glance was enough to tell him there were already more than twenty of them. Aside from that one time in Meteor City, Ronin had never seen this many Nen users gathered in one place.
"Ronin, perfect timing," Muir said, grabbing him without hesitation and pulling him toward a tent. "The soldiers dug out a brand-new passage underground. At the end of it there's a building, but there are monsters guarding the place. What we need to do now is head in, clear the monsters out, and figure out what's inside that structure."
Inside the tent, all kinds of gear had already been laid out and organized.
"Pick whatever you can use," Muir said with a generous wave of his hand. "Just take it."
Ronin hadn't expected things to line up this conveniently. He quickly grabbed a few useful items and stuffed them into his pack before following Muir's assembled team toward the ruins entrance.
Stepping into the ruins left Ronin feeling strangely dazed. It took Maschur bumping him with a shoulder to snap him back to reality.
"What's the matter? First time heading into ruins?" Maschur asked. A girl was sticking close to his side. She peeked out from behind his broad frame to study Ronin, looking a little shy. The moment their eyes met, she immediately ducked back, leaving him with nothing but the back of her round head.
"Yeah," Ronin admitted. "I didn't expect to be going underground this fast. Wasn't mentally prepared for it at all. And I definitely didn't expect the whole scene to be this chaotic."
Up ahead, plenty of people who clearly didn't belong to any mercenary team were visible. Some had formed small groups. Others moved alone. The moment the soldiers finished withdrawing, they had rushed straight into the ruins.
"The Etoria Kingdom originally only hired our Rock Mercenary Group," Muir explained as he led the way. "But once Kakin and V5 both stuck their noses in, the situation here got completely exposed. Hunters from the Association and some civilian organizations ended up negotiating their own exploration rights with the kingdom. Can't really stop it. And if we tried to swallow the entire ruins by ourselves, it'd take years anyway."
Not everyone heading in was a Nen user. Mixed among the teams ahead were quite a few ordinary people carrying weapons. Those had to be the civilian groups Muir mentioned.
"These situations usually calm down within a month or two after people actually start exploring," Maschur added. "Ordinary folks don't last long in places like this. Nine times out of ten they don't make it."
"The only ones who survive are the lucky few who awaken Nen by accident and gain some kind of edge," Muir said with a hint of resignation. "But money makes people stupid. Even when they know exploring these ruins can get them killed, greed wins every time."
"Maybe being poor just scares them more than dying," Ronin replied.
Muir and Maschur both paused for a second, clearly caught off guard. Only the girl hiding behind Maschur poked her head out again and gave a firm, understanding nod.
Ronin caught their expressions and realized neither of them had ever really been broke. He just smiled and let the topic drop.
"How big are these Mahavi Ruins anyway?" Ronin asked. His real priority was anything connected to the Kurta Clan. He had no plans to waste months down here.
"Massive," Muir answered, understanding exactly what Ronin was really asking. "We've only uncovered a fraction of it so far. If you've got other business, you can leave whenever you want. The full exploration cycle is long. If something important turns up, I can always call you back."
Ronin nodded his thanks.
"Right now we're heading to the newest section," Muir continued. "So the spot where those Kurta-style clothes were found will have to wait a few days."
"No rush," Ronin said. "Even if I leave, it won't be until the end of December anyway."
"Heading for the Hunter Exam?" the girl behind Maschur asked, speaking up for the first time.
Ronin glanced back at her and gave a small nod. "Yeah."
"This is Vanessa," Maschur said, pulling her out from behind him. "Her big dream is to become a professional Hunter."
"With her talent, she should manage it," Ronin said. He could clearly see the Ten wrapped around her. That alone marked her as a Nen user, and passing the Exam was never that hard for people like her.
The second Maschur let go, Vanessa's figure flickered and vanished behind him again. She moved like some kind of guardian spirit clinging to his back.
"Her nerves aren't the best," Muir explained, reaching behind him only to grab empty air. A second later he got a solid punch to the waist for his trouble. "If she can get past that, she'll be fine."
Ronin noticed how Vanessa had sunk partway into the ground right before Muir's hand could reach her. An Emitter, maybe? Or something else?
His gaze flicked to Muir's shadow. If he wasn't mistaken, the spot where Vanessa had been standing was directly above it.
The noise up ahead suddenly dropped. Ronin looked forward and saw three branching passages opening in front of them. All three sloped downward. The entire Mahavi Ruins were buried underground. Had the people who built this place lived like the dwarves from old stories?
"The rightmost passage was the first one discovered," Muir said, leading them left. "It's the one that leads to where those Kurta-style clothes turned up. The middle passage is where the monsters poured out during the last big attack. The left one was explored before, but it was shallow and didn't yield anything at the time. After the soldiers kept digging, we found the new building we're heading for now."
The team split at the junction.
Most people headed left. A few groups broke off toward the right. Almost nobody chose the middle passage.