Chapter 98: Barren Land
“To think it could fly even in the sky… and match my speed.”
“I didn’t have many opportunities to use it, though.”
I, Ryuga, gripped the control stick of the atmospheric anti-gravity propulsion, vertical takeoff-capable special aerial support craft, “GX-331,” commonly known as Albatrosius, and responded to Toragrus-sama via telepathy.
It has an unnecessarily long name, but to put it simply, it’s an aircraft about the size of a container. It can carry about twenty people at once, but right now, only I, Gianna, and Ryuga are on board.
“However, it’s not equipped to deal with monsters, so it’s difficult to operate alone. Without someone strong like Toragrus-sama protecting it, it would be hard to use on this planet.”
“Well, aerial monsters have strong territorial awareness. But this altitude is all my territory. If you move with me, nothing will dare to approach.”
“That’s a great help.”
Albatrosius is deployed by the military, so naturally, it’s armed for combat. The reason we haven’t used it until now is that the roles of the pilot and the person handling the weapons are separate.
Even if I could pilot it, there was no one I could entrust with operating the machine guns and missiles. There’s a barrier, but it’s only a means of protecting ourselves from attacks, and it can’t reduce the impact by 100%. To be specific, if we were hit by a monster of the same size or larger, we’d be easily blown away, making it extremely dangerous.
Right now, Gianna, who has completed the minimum training, is sitting in the control seat. I’m worried about how eager she looks to fire.
“I don’t understand how a metal lump with no wings or magical power can fly in the sky, and even match my speed.”
“I can use it, but I can’t really explain it either.”
Gravity control and propulsion are the fruits of scientific technology. I did study when I got my license and received explanations during training, but I don’t really understand it. Besides, it was so long ago that I barely remember.
“If you want, I can increase the speed a bit more.”
“No, if you go too fast, my kin will get suspicious. It’s better to keep the usual speed. It’s not! It’s not! It’s not for some silly reason like getting tired at top speed or not wanting to lose in speed!”
“I’m not suspecting anything like that.”
“Good then.”
“Even so, we’re going at 820 kilometers per hour. That’s quite fast. You really are on a different level from ordinary life forms.”
“Indeed, indeed.”
It’s surprisingly fast. The inside of Albatrosius is fine thanks to gravity and air pressure control, but if this were a normal creature, it would have lost consciousness long ago.
…I’m glad I refused when he said he’d carry me on his back.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to do that. I’d be worried about dropping you halfway!”
“Well, I suppose so. It would be presumptuous of us, too.”
More than anything, it’s just plain dangerous.
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
In reality, Spirit Race are extremely dangerous. Toragrus-sama seems to have a relatively human-like way of thinking, but it’s a miracle that we can even communicate with him.
Basically, most Spirit Race act according to the temperament and ecology of the creatures they originated from, and it’s impossible to communicate with them.
Spirit Race are often the masters, kings, and rules of their planets. We, who came from the outside, have to approach them.
“Oh, there it is, I can see it.”
“It’s closer than I thought.”
I was prepared for a full day of driving since I heard it was on another continent. And I can’t use autopilot because there’s no GPS.
“This continent is also my territory!”
“That’s amazing.”
I don’t know how many Spirit Race there are, but generally, the size of their territory reflects their strength.
“A little further, if you fly over there, you’ll see it.”
“Roger that.”
“Yes! This aerial journey while talking is quite enjoyable!”
“Hahaha.”
I thought he was being quite talkative, but it seems this dragon enjoys chatting during travel.
He’s usually just flying alone in silence, after all.
We landed Albatrosius in the desert. Toragrus-sama also descended to the ground and transformed into his human form. I saw it from above, and it was indeed a vast desert.
There were forests and grasslands around the periphery, gradually turning into wastelands and then desert. It’s a strange terrain, to say the least.
“Here you go.”
“Hmm? Oh, how thoughtful!”
“You’re welcome.”
He had been flying for hours. I thought he might be thirsty, so I offered him water, and he was delighted.
But this desert area… the sun is strong, but it’s not that hot? I checked the temperature, and it was 26 degrees Celsius. The humidity also feels higher than I expected. It’s different from what I imagined.
“There’s no sign of life… so there are places like this.”
“Yeah, it’s a different world from what we’re used to in the forest,”
As Ryuga said, there’s no sign of life. It’s natural that there are no trees in the desert area, but there aren’t even any uniquely evolved plants like cacti.
Not even a sign of insects.
“There’s no magical power here. There are no living things.”
“There are creatures that live without magical power, you know? Well, maybe not here.”
“Hmm? Can’t bodies be maintained without magical power?”
“Living things are surprisingly resilient, you know.”
When the breath of life is born, magical power is born and circulates through the stars. However, magical power doesn’t take root on every star. There are stars that lose their magical power for various reasons, such as natural disasters, Spirit Race rampages, or the outflow of magical power to the outside.
But even on such stars, the breath of life is continuously inherited. Even if magical power completely disappears, there will always be creatures that evolve to survive.
And those creatures aren’t just simple organisms like microorganisms, but also races and creatures that have undergone relatively complex evolution.
“Well, anyway, if there are no living things here, there’s no problem, so please get on Albatrosius, Toragrus-sama. We’ll measure the center from the air.”
If there are no monsters attacking, there’s no problem flying in the sky. Albatrosius’s radar also shows no monster reactions, so it seems safe to fly.
The elves apparently dug up the center of the desert in the past. But Gianna said she heard it a long time ago, so it’s probably buried in the sand by now.
“I’ll make it float.”
While driving, I gave instructions to the support drones and Gianna to head to the center of the desert from the air.
“Oh, flying in the sky without flapping my wings is a strange sensation!”
“It’s going to shake, so please sit still.”
“But I can’t see outside well from the window! Can I go to the front!?”
“He’s not listening at all…”
However, I can’t restrict Toragrus-sama’s actions, so I don’t stop him from coming to the front.
“It’s fine to look, but please don’t press any of those buttons, okay?”
“Hmm?”
“We might fall.”
“…Understood, I’ll do as you say.”
He muttered that falling would hurt, so he must have experienced it before. We’re flying at a considerable altitude and speed, so falling wouldn’t just be painful.
“Even so, it doesn’t look any different.”
“It’s a desert, after all.”
Moreover, it’s a desert with no plants or animals. There aren’t even any cactus-like plants, so there’s really just sand and undulations on the ground. Occasionally, there are brown rocky surfaces or ground showing, but the appearance is almost the same.
“We’re approaching the central part of the desert.”
“Roger, prepare the marker.”
“Marker, preparing.”
“Marker?”
“Ah, it’s a landmark to prevent us from losing track of the center. It’s a thick stake.”
It floats in the air, though.
“I see. Indeed, it’s hard to tell here.”
It’s a desert with no landmarks, just a similar landscape as far as the eye can see. Even with some undulations, there’s a high possibility of losing your current location if you lose your sense of direction even once. Well, this time it’s to prevent the center point from shifting.
“Observation of the central part is complete.”
“Roger, launch the marker.”
“Marker, launching.”
Following my words, Gianna pressed the marker launch button. A silver stake was launched from the launch port at the bottom of Albatrosius, and it floated into the air.
There were no particular problems, so we landed nearby. However, it’s a desert area. Albatrosius and the drones inside are highly dustproof, but the sand in the desert is fine, so we stored them in the Spatial Storage just in case.
We moved directly below the marker and lightly measured the depth of the sand.
“What are you going to do? Dig?”
“First, I’ll remove the sand. It takes some skill. Please stay away, it’s dangerous.”
We moved directly below the marker and attached a harness to the floating marker.
Then, I hung a rope down and secured it to my belt, and the preparation was complete.
Ryuga managed to drag Toragrus-sama away, who had been peeking in out of curiosity, so there’s no one nearby.
I place my hand on the sand and focus my intent.
“Storage.”
With a whoosh! sound, the surrounding sand flows into the space that suddenly opened up.
I watch the scene while hanging from the rope attached to the marker. Once the sand stops flowing in, I adjust the length of the rope, step onto the sand, and place my hand on the sand again.
“Storage.”
I managed to reach the ground on the second try. Now, it’s time for excavation work.
“That’s quite a feat.”
“It’s best not to get too close to the edge, as the sand might collapse.”
I don’t want that either, so I use a Barrier as a foothold to move to where Toragrus-sama and Ryuga are.
“However, the lack of any reaction is concerning.”
If a Mana Thief-like criminal organization were hiding underground, I’d expect them to take some kind of action when Albatrosius approached.
Also, it’s strange that it’s not just buried in the sand, but further down, beneath the ground under the sand.
If it were a secret depot for procuring Magical Power, I thought it might be the type that’s buried in the sand and surfaces when needed, but the object that seems to be an artificial construct is apparently beneath the ground under the sand.
No matter how well-hidden the location, it’s inefficient to break the ground every time it needs to surface.
The area I’ve seen may not be everything, but there are no signs of fractured formations on the ground… It seems we can rule out the possibility of an underground base being buried here.
If that’s the case, what the heck is buried there?
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