After inspecting all the buildings, Kishiar pointed to one.
"Here. This place is the most likely candidate."
The spot Kishiar indicated was the last of the three ruins they had seen. Yuder looked at the teetering pile of stones in the indicated direction and nodded slightly.
"I also thought this one had the highest possibility."
"Did you? How so?"
Kishiar's interest was piqued. He seemed curious if Yuder knew something from a previous life's memories.
However, Yuder's reason for choosing the third ruin had nothing to do with that. He slightly removed his hood, revealing his face only to Kishiar and Nathan Zuckerman.
The expressions of the two men subtly changed upon seeing one of his eyes turned a faint golden hue.
"With this eye, I can see the flow of magic power. Since entering the first ruin, I've maintained this state. I felt nothing unusual until the second, but at the third, I noticed a slight difference from before."
What they sought were the corpses and by-products of monsters studied by the First Duke Tain. Essentially, they were after his research materials.
But why hadn't he destroyed these by-products of his research and sent them to this remote place instead? Yuder wasn't a scholar, but he knew well how much scholars and mages cherished their research materials.
There were only two possible reasons for sending them here: either the materials and data from the research were too dangerous to dispose of carelessly, or they were sent to be stored out of sight.
Either way, it was highly likely they were not sent for mere disposal.
Kishiar might have thought the same, but Yuder had his own way of finding traces. That was the Eye of Magic.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})'The First Duke Tain was a mage. He managed to hide a laboratory on the fourth floor of the underground dungeon for a thousand years without being discovered. Wouldn't he be able to hide other things as well?'
The Eye of Magic was said to brighten vision even in darkness and sensitively catch the flow of magic invisible to normal eyes. Though Yuder had little experience in controlling the eye of his own will, he could hardly feel the effect of seeing the flow of magic power, this time its power was absolutely necessary.
Thus, just before entering the first ruin, he had continuously used the power of wind very faintly. His eyes naturally brightened when he used his strength, so he thought he would be able to see anything strange.
And it seemed to have worked. As they approached the third ruin, he began to faintly see something different. Around the scattered, broken piles of stones, a faint mist swirled.
At first glance, it was a subtle aura that didn't feel strange, but upon closer inspection, Yuder felt an abnormal flow of wind brushing against his clothes and skin.
It was a detail that anyone other than Yuder, who could wield the power of wind, would have missed otherwise.
"Like water, wind has its flow. It's not unusual for it to get disrupted or collide, but on a day like today when the wind isn't strong, it shouldn't happen. That's why, among the three ruins, I thought this place was the most suspicious."
"I see. Are you feeling any discomfort?"
"I'm fine."
After hearing the answer, Kishiar stared at Yuder for a moment, as if trying to discern the truth, then smiled, apparently convinced of Yuder's sincerity.
"Indeed... You thought the same as me, but used a different method. I inspected all three ruin sites to see if what I was looking for was among them. It turned out to be here, at the third one."
"What is it?"
"Just this."
Kishiar nudged a pile of stones from the third ruin with his foot, lying nearby. The surface bore marks as if scratched by a knife, but weathered by wind and rain over many years, its true identity was indecipherable.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"It's a script often used from ancient times up to the founding era. It signifies a communal graveyard."
'A communal graveyard?'
"Though much eroded and broken, the pattern of eight herringbone marks is still discernible enough to count. So, it's certain."
After saying this, Kishiar briefly explained the architectural style of communal graveyards used in ancient times.
"Graveyards from the old times all shared a common trait: they dug deep into the ground to create underground caves and built walls with stones. Though they also constructed stone entrances and small buildings above ground, they didn't place bodies there. So, for handling large amounts of remains like a monster's corpse or by-products, such a place would be ideal, wouldn't it?"
His logic seemed sound. Kishiar called over Anne, a guide who had been waiting nearby alone.
"Do you know anything about this third ruin? Even an old tale would do."
"Hmm..."
After pondering for a moment, Anne spoke up.
"Neighbor Mary's grandmother told me once. In her grandmother's time, a lord dug up the land here and found so many skeletons that they just reburied them. The adults said this place must have been a graveyard, but I'm not sure. The land isn't good for farming because of the many stones, so it's just been left as is."
Kishiar glanced over and winked, as if to say, 'See, I was right.' As Yuder casually ignored his unnecessarily flamboyant face, Nathan Zuckerman handed a coin to Anne.
"We need to examine this place more, so you can go back first."
"Oh, but my grandfather told me to guide you till the end..."
"It's fine. Just tell him we asked you to leave early."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Yuder learned something new about Nathan Zuckerman: despite his gruff voice, he was quite good with children. The child, seeming to have a sense of responsibility, hesitated but eventually stepped back, accepting that not disturbing the guests was part of her duty.
"I'll come back if you're not back by night!"
After the child left, Kishiar patted his adjutant's shoulder in approval.
"Well done, Nathan. Now, let's take a closer look."
Kishiar was well-versed in how ancient communal graveyards were built and where their entrances were typically located. Just by circling the site a few times, he easily deduced what the original structure must have looked like and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"There are more rocks buried near the presumed entrance than I thought. Perhaps using my power to gather them and reconstruct the old structure might be the best way to clear a path down."
"I can assist with the power of earth."
"No, it's fine. Most of it isn't buried but scattered on the surface, and this is no different from a puzzle. It'd be better if I do it with my power alone."
After responding, Kishiar turned his head towards Nathan Zuckerman.
"There's no need to worry about me using too much power, Nathan."
"I haven't yet expressed any concern."
"It's obvious."
The man chuckled lightly through his nose and stepped forward.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his hand towards the scattered piles of stones.
Yuder suddenly felt the air around them grow heavy.
The flow of power emanating from Kishiar was immense, unbelievably stemming from just one person. It spread out in concentric circles around the entire ruins. Considering how usually Kishiar's use of his Awakener's power was barely noticeable, the current magnitude of his power was astonishing.
Then, in the next moment, the stones scattered around them began to levitate with a heavy rumbling vibration. Resisting the pull of the earth that sought to drag them back down, the stones shook off their inertia and rose, creating an overwhelming sensation.
Kishiar, after surveying all the stones, gracefully lifted his hand a bit higher. The stones then started to move and converge towards a specific point.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The rocks and stones smoothly glided into place. Each time a stone touched the ground, the earth vibrated slightly under their weight.
Large stones forming the foundation were laid first, followed by smaller ones. Despite their weathered condition, they fit together like a puzzle, forming the shape of a specific building as if reversing time. It was a magnificent spectacle.
As the number of stones that needed to be moved decreased, Kishiar's power became more skillfully controlled. What initially felt like a palpable pressure on the skin became so gentle towards the end of the construction that it was almost imperceptible.
Considering this might be his first time exerting power on such a large scale, the result was unbelievable.
'To move so many large stones without a single one out of place, and to do it perfectly on the first try... The members struggling with power control training would have cried if they saw this.'
Immense power. A mind that could calculate numerous possibilities in an instant to produce the desired outcome in real time. And perfect control to back it up.
Yuder thought, even with his vast experience, if he were asked to replicate the feat, he could do it, but the Yuder of the past would have probably made a few mistakes due to an overflow of power on his first attempt.
In this regard, Yuder was once again struck by the monstrous ability of the man before him.
Yet, it was not something to fear or dread.
Rather, his gaze was captivated by the flow of power sufficient to rival his own.
Maybe this was what it felt like to be fascinated by something, a feeling he hadn't quite experienced before.
"Now, the building that was at the entrance has been reconstructed. Shall we go inside? The entrance should be somewhere in there."
With a smile, Kishiar turned his head. They entered the rustic entrance of the building without hesitation.
