Chapter 100: The Buried

As the Monsters and the mirror image Ace delved deeper, the underpass gradually widened and forked. A faint light began to appear ahead.

The underpass gradually revealed various dangers: from suddenly appearing daggers and sharp blades to rapidly spinning cutting blades, from falling boulders to sudden tunnel collapses. Accompanied by the sounds of grinding gears, the Monsters died in batches from the diverse traps.

The mirror image Ace continued forward, discreetly setting up magical signal base stations along the way. In this environment where mental power was inert, the magical signal base stations were the only way to communicate with the host body.

Finally, the mirror image Ace arrived before an old, heavy steel door.

“Oh!”

Along the way, all the traps had been purely mechanical, without Mana influence. Now, this door pulsed with a distinct magical rhythm, which greatly puzzled the mirror image Ace.

He used his mental power to sense it carefully. The Mana rhythm was trigger-based, similar to a Magic Array, but significantly different.

This difference was akin to the same meaning being expressed in different languages.

The mirror image Ace sensed carefully. The design of the Mana rhythm was intricate. It was integrated with the original mechanical gear structure. If certain conditions were not met, it would trigger the collapse of the entire section of the passage.

The mirror image Ace calculated the distance, applied a defensive quasi-spell effect to himself, and gently triggered the Mana rhythm with his mental power.

Mana gathered, forming a screen of light that emitted a burst of magical radiation, scanning him.

Ace looked at the screen of light before him, tilting his head.

It was a mathematics quiz! Ace looked at the problems, expressed in the common language, and was speechless.

The difficulty was roughly equivalent to the level of junior high school mathematics in his past life. He quickly solved and submitted the answers. The screen of light immediately shattered, turning into twinkling Mana starlight that flew in a regular pattern toward the old, heavy steel door.

He carefully sensed the method of the Mana rhythm, summarized and absorbed the knowledge within, and recorded it in his Grimoire.

This could be modified into an intricate external Magic Array, triggered by a fixed program. It possesses the ability to scan and judge. If a native invented this, he must be a genius.

Many of the designs and rune structures here could be incorporated into Ace’s perception spells.

The entire steel door slowly opened under the drive of the Mana, emitting loud grinding noises and the sound of old gears turning.

Subsequently, the Mana starlight gathered and formed a screen of light again.

A passage was written on it in the common language: “Unknown successor, you have passed my test of knowledge. You possess no divine bloodline, yet you have strength comparable to a Hero. Be vigilant! Heroes are our enemies, and the Punishers are the executioners among the enemies. —Nicholas”

The screen of light then formed the images of several figures: black clothes, black iron masks with unique crests, and gigantic scythes.

“Nicholas may not have died, at least not in the massacre on the surface. He must have gone underground to explore. His subsequent whereabouts are unknown.”

The mirror image Ace stepped through the gate. The interior was as bright as day.

The abrupt transition from darkness to light made the mirror image Ace momentarily dazzled. He slowly opened his eyes after a few seconds.

Before him was a massive underground city. The entire city was almost entirely composed of steel. Steel-cast buildings lined the streets, and several gigantic gears, in the standard Steampunk style, were slowly rotating.

In the center of the city was a tower, rising to the highest point of the entire underground city—the source of the light.

A giant, intensely hot sphere of fire was burning there, continuously radiating light and heat.

The entire city was built inside a natural underground cavern. It seemed to have been expanded and modified. The cavern was nearly a thousand meters high, and the rock walls inside were covered with dense steel reinforcing bars, forming an entire steel dome.

The light and heat radiated by the intense sphere of fire, spreading across the entire steel dome, illuminated the underground city as if it were day. The mirror image Ace followed the stairs behind the steel door, descending step by step.

The air here was permeated with a thick, Mana-inerting power. The mirror image Ace tested himself and the remaining Monsters and found that their powers were severely suppressed.

“The overall Mana concentration is lower here, and there is a force interfering with Mana siphoning. Inherent Mana is not suppressed here. Perhaps it is time for the Enchanted Martial Arts to shine.”

The mirror image Ace tested his abilities while transmitting information to the host body via the magical signal base station. Once inside the city, the magical signal would also be interfered with and unstable. It would be safer and more convenient for the host body to come down and explore together after confirming basic safety.

About half an hour later, the host body Ace arrived at the steel door.

The host body and the mirror image met eyes, and their mental frequencies began to synchronize. Ace quietly digested the information the mirror image had gathered, then opened his eyes.

“We will split up and explore this underground city. If you encounter any danger, retreat immediately. Safety first!”

The host body and the mirror image walked together for a while, separating at a fork in the road in the city.

“If all goes well, we will meet near the steel door in four hours. If there is any unforeseen situation, Mirror Image, mark this location with a hexagram.”

Subsequently, the host body went left, and the mirror image went right, separating to explore the buried city.

The entire city must have been abandoned for a very long time. Everything smelled of mechanical decay and rust.

“Why is there such an intensely hot sphere of fire burning in a city that has been abandoned for so long? Did Nicholas do something?” Ace pondered while exploring.

He followed the central axis and gradually arrived at a massive steel structure.

“A dome, cylindrical shape. It seems to be some kind of performance hall,” Ace speculated, rubbing his chin.

He released his suppressed and weakened mental power, condensing it into a thread. Scanning the interior, he found many seats and a high stage.

“It is indeed a performance hall.”

Ace pushed open the door and entered the hall, feeling as if he could sense the epics that had once been performed here.

Suddenly, his expression grew serious!

“Fresh soil! That is too rare in this city of steel. It seems someone else has also entered here!”

An unknown explorer, a new variable. Ace watched vigilantly.

He directed the remaining Monsters to enter the various buildings ahead, slowly collecting information. In one steel building, he discovered a large number of books not made of parchment.

“This appears to be an abandoned library!”

He casually glanced at a few books. His expression turned joyful: Unknown language and script!

The cowlick on Ace’s head began to sway. With the aid of the Spirit of the Book’s ability, Ace quickly understood the new language and script. It was somewhat similar to the barbarian language, perhaps even sharing a common source.

Perhaps the barbarians and the previous civilization were indeed closely related, possibly even descendants of the previous civilization.

“The Chronicles of the Augustin Empire, Principles of Steam, Mechanical Fighters and Divine Bloodlines, How to Use Monsters to Create Powerful Fighters, High-Pressure Air Guns and Divine Blood Modification, Universal Bloodline Refinement Method…”

“These books!”

Ace felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of luck. These books represented the culmination of a civilization—a completely different legacy from the pure Steam Age of his past life. This was the heritage of a magical Steampunk civilization!

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