Chapter 640: The Cause of the Terrain Changes…?
Haulon brought a mountain of materials. Most of it was in the form of books, but there were also stone tablets and crystal spheres mixed in.
“This here is the material related to the ‘Land of Ruin.’ Half of it is about the land and its history, so it’s not necessary for this time.”
This time, the main focus was to confirm the locations of the magic stones set up by Haulon’s ancestors.
There are a total of twelve magic stones, four of which are located in the royal palace’s garden. Out of the eight outside the palace, we managed to confirm four, but they were either buried or hidden under stones, so we decided to come back with the right tools.
It was unexpected, and since we were all gathered in a dark place, trying to dig with sticks while looking at the map, it was clear that it would be more efficient to check in a well-lit area and prepare properly before heading out again.
Additionally, we needed to investigate the effects and meanings of the magic circles set up by Haulon’s ancestors in more detail. However, since Haulon had already done some research, it didn’t seem likely that we would uncover anything new.
In the rented house, the group that had recently visited the ‘Land of Ruin’ was gathered. We had just finished our meal and were serving coffee.
The main focus was on the ancient map that indicated the locations of the magic stones—by the way, it was in the shape of a book to prevent the Spirit’s Mischief—but there were discrepancies between the locations indicated on the map and where the magic stones actually were, with some being several meters off.
We placed the overall map and the copies of the areas surrounding the magic stones—already completed by Retze and Chris—at the center of the table, and began writing down the extracted information from the materials. We made sure to leave plenty of space for notes.
“First, this magic circle with the weather vane is called the ‘Law of the Dawn,’ and its effect is to prevent the black shadows of the ‘Land of Ruin’ from moving outside. The eight surrounding stones are dawn-colored magic stones, while the four at the center are night-colored magic stones—so it’s likely that the shadows are densely packed in the royal palace’s garden, which is the center of the ‘Law of the Dawn,'” Haulon summarized before we began our work, writing ‘Law of the Dawn’ in the margins as he spoke.
“Ugh, we have to go confirm it where those things are swarming?”
“Do you think we can manage with Jean’s Lamp?”
Dean and Chris chimed in.
“The ‘Law of the Dawn’ seems quite large-scale and powerful, but I think we can handle it. Even now, the black shadows are roaming freely within the island, so we should be able to move around just fine,” I replied. After all, the magic circle was meant to confine them to the island, not to immobilize them completely.
“This is the magic circle of the ‘Law of the Dawn.’ The same design should be engraved on the magic stones in the royal palace’s garden. It was inscribed using magic power, so it’s invisible,” Haulon explained.
The magic stones we confirmed in the ‘Land of Ruin’ were a pale blue color and didn’t seem to have any noticeable scratches or dirt. I wondered if the magic power could be seen with effort. I mean, the magic circle itself is normally invisible, and the orange I saw might be the color of the stone as perceived by Haulon and the others?
“All the magic stones, except for the one fitted into the weather vane, are set at the same height. The spacing seems to be determined based on this magic circle in the diagram, and it aligns perfectly with the map. So, I don’t think there’s a significant difference in location,” Haulon continued.
He showed us the original magic circle.
“Does it obscure the direction within a specific range to keep them trapped there?”
“Yes. The ‘Law of the Dawn’ misleads the external directions while also setting the night in the royal palace’s garden, making the surrounding area seem like morning, thus preventing the light-averse shadows from escaping.”
With that, we began sifting through the materials. The reasons behind the creation of the ‘Land of Ruin’ were just lengthy notes from Haulon’s explanations. The definitive reason for the madness of the ‘King’s Branch’ remained speculative.
For confirming the positions of the magic stones, we relied on our ancestors’ notes. The ancient map had markings indicating the locations of the small magic stones, using prominent landmarks as references, such as “one meter to the right of this emblem on the wall” or “the third paving stone.”
It seemed there wasn’t anything new in the notes within the materials.
“Since Haulon has confirmed that the locations of the magic stones written on this ancient map are likely correct, the actual discrepancies must mean that the terrain has changed,” Retze said, picking up a book of materials.
“The ‘Land of Ruin’ is a realm where sinners wander in a state reminiscent of the moment after an explosion of eternity. It’s hard to grasp that the terrain has changed,” Haulon said, resting his hand on his cheek with a troubled expression.
“Could it be the tremors from the Wind Great Deity Randaro? I’ve heard that the land shook and collapsed during the battle with the Dark Ice Great Wolf,” Chris suggested.
“Ah, there have been tremors recently…”
“Weren’t those about a magnitude of three?”
I remembered when Rishu won the Cute Contest, there was a slight tremor. Everyone looked like they were about to die, but I didn’t recall it being strong enough to cause anything to collapse.
It seems there are hardly any earthquakes here, so everyone was quite surprised.