Chapter 528: Inside the Ruins
I swung my Ex-Staff, brushing aside the grass sprouting through the gaps in the cobblestone as I made my way toward the entrance of the largest building. The cobblestones were misaligned but not broken. There were some chipped edges, but it made me wonder just how thick they were.
Maybe they weren’t laid out like tiles but rather in cubes. The nearby buildings seemed more toppled than crumbled, as if someone had taken usable materials away. The disarray of the cobblestones suggested they had been disturbed during excavation, shifting them out of place.
Ahead, I could see a mix of artificial stone and massive boulders that looked like they had been left in their natural state. Unlike the low, vertically cracked rocks I had seen around here, these were solid, gray stones scattered about.
There were egg-shaped and flat, round stones, the kind you might find along a riverbank, lying here and there. They didn’t seem like the type of stone that would be found locally. I had thought a town might have been built where stone was abundant, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. Did someone transport these here? No, it seemed more likely that these mysterious stones were here first, and the town was built later.
As I moved forward, I began to notice small Black Spirits. I pressed the tip of my Ex-Staff against one, naming it.
“Alright, alright, Uma Stone Black No. 1.”
“Uma Stone Black No. 2.”
“Hahaha! You’re as lively as ever, Master!”
“It’s fine as long as it’s easy to understand.”
I replied to the chuckling Ex-Staff.
After all, they were just temporary names… but now that I think about it, is it okay for the Black Spirits to have temporary names too? It sounds nice when you hear that regular Spirits form bonds with those they take an interest in, but with Black Spirits, it’s clear they’re used for something nefarious! More like they attach themselves and cause trouble!
Well, yeah. Forgive me for prioritizing clarity.
The Black Spirits seemed to cling to the remaining stones, lingering at my feet. Once I entered the building, they might appear higher up, but for now, they were on the cobblestones.
As I progressed, the number of Black Spirits increased. With the rise in their numbers, the cobblestones became neatly aligned, and the gaps for grass to grow were disappearing. The further I went, the cleaner it seemed to remain.
Whether they were Black Spirits or regular Spirits, the things they were attached to were sturdy, but it seemed humans had disturbed the edges where the Black Spirits weren’t present.
There might be larger buildings nearby, but for now, the ones outside were small enough to be grasped in my hand. I wasn’t holding them since I was keeping them in check with my Ex-Staff.
The round stones weren’t arranged in any particular order, so the path wasn’t straight. Rocks were piled on top of each other, and there didn’t seem to be any sense of regularity. It looked like the people who built this town hadn’t considered moving or avoiding these massive stones.
Some round rocks were half-covered like roofs, while others had stone walls built between them, making the buildings quite unique.
“Well, this building looks like the biggest one, doesn’t it?”
“It certainly has that vibe, Master!”
From the building, a swirl of tiny black forms emerged, sinking into the cobblestones and the interior. People often felt a brightness around Spirits, but the Black Spirits gave off a dark aura. I figured it was probably due to this “swirling mass” as I stepped inside.
“Whoa!”
“Whoa!?”
As I ventured deeper into the building, I was greeted by a riot of colorful mushrooms. Bafun!
I decided to retreat for a moment, stepping outside to shake off my clothes and brush away the spores.
“Master, Master, do you think poking that will make it go bafun?”
The Ex-Staff looked at me with eager anticipation.
“I think it will, but hold on a second. Those spores look like they could be harmful, so let’s prepare.”
Masks, yes, masks.
Long ago, before I started blacksmithing, I had learned from my experience getting covered in soot, so I had made masks and goggles.
“Wow, cool!”
“Want to wear a mask too, Ex-Staff?”
“Yeah!”
And so, we donned our masks and goggles. I tightened the belt on my coat sleeves to prevent any spores from getting inside and adjusted my boots.
Then, I asked the Spirits for help, creating an air layer around my coat. The spores looked troublesome, but I figured there were plenty of Black Spirits inside, so this time, instead of going in from the outside, I asked the named Spirits to stay inside my coat.
“Alright, all set.”
“Okay!”
Back inside the building.
Mushrooms. There were so many of them in various shapes that I wondered if it was safe to be here. From large ones towering over me to smaller ones, some were even close to the ceiling.
They were likely influenced by the Black Spirits, and visually, they didn’t seem edible. I glanced around at the mushroom-filled surroundings.
Some mushrooms had glowing undersides, attracting swarms of tiny insects. There were mushrooms shaped like little Dwarf hats, and one puffed out spores from its cap, only to shrink back down. A green mushroom dripped a sticky, syrupy liquid, and there was a round mushroom perched atop a starfish-like base—
“Master, Master!”
The Ex-Staff urged me on.
“That round one definitely makes you want to poke it.”
The round one attached to the starfish had an air hole in the center, looking hollow inside. Was this a giant Earth Star?
I prodded it with the tip of my Ex-Staff, and as expected, it burst forth with spores. Along with that, a slightly larger Black Spirit popped out.
“Whoa!”
I quickly caught it with my opposite hand, locking eyes as I prepared to name it. Naming a Spirit requires focus.