Yuric looked down at the vast depths of the land from the carriage. The underground city was carved in a shape resembling an inverted pyramid, with the width of the widest ground floor being so enormous that it could easily accommodate a whole city.
The ground area was filled with huge accommodation facilities, where goods from various parts of the West first gathered before spreading across the entire continent. Conversely, goods from the continent were distributed to different parts of the West through here.
The underground city was the hub for distributing goods, and most of its residents worked in this field. This was the reason they could survive without farming.
Four carriages of the Golden Hand raced along the wide avenue on the underground first floor. Even after seeing the magnificent architecture with his own eyes, Yuric found it hard to believe that such a structure existed underground. While the floating city of Bemberg was already astonishing, this place was beyond comprehension.
After traveling for a while, they arrived at a residential area on the underground first floor. Though it wasn’t stacked layer upon layer like a typical city mansion, the exterior alone was splendid. Given the wealth of the Golden Hand, it was only natural that he would have a residence in this famous underground city.
When the Golden Hand appeared, servants quickly lined up to welcome their master respectfully. Yuric also entered inside, receiving the treatment of a distinguished guest.
Surprisingly, the interior used complex mechanisms with mirrors to reflect the natural light from the streets for illumination. For places difficult to reach with light, they used mana crystals. Additionally, there were ventilation systems powered by magic, ensuring fresh air circulated continuously even in the deep interior. Yuric couldn’t help but marvel at the technology of the underground city.
—
“Thanks for your trouble. Take a rest comfortably.”
“Your Grace should rest as well.”
—
After being assigned a place to stay, Yuric immediately left the Golden Hand’s underground mansion. He was eager to explore this amazing city.
Standing at the edge of a bustling street, he looked down at the immeasurably deep underground. It was hard to tell how many floors there were underground; it seemed to be at least ten floors.
The city was built in a terraced structure, allowing natural light to reach the lower levels. Surprisingly, there was a massive underground lake at the very bottom. The depth of the lake was impossible to gauge just by looking.
—
‘Who could have built something like this in ancient times?’
—
Yuric couldn’t help but admire the greatness of the ancient mages. Even if the power of the word magic was impressive, creating such a massive underground city surely required unimaginable effort.
Since this was a city closely related to magic, there was a branch of the Mage Tower here. Yuric slowly descended to the fourth floor underground to visit the branch of the Mage Tower.
There were two passages between floors: one for people to ascend and descend via stairs, and another for carriages to pass through a spiral road.
Yuric took the stairs down to the second floor, where shops lined the streets. The crowd was immense, comparable to that of a capital city.
There were numerous stalls on the streets, and Yuric was fascinated by all the strange items from various regions.
—
After browsing the shops, Yuric reached the grand square on the second floor. Here, the ceiling was dotted with mana crystals, casting bright lights. Many people were enjoying their leisure time, some singing or drawing pictures.
Yuric decided to become a street artist himself, setting up his easel to paint. He wanted to capture every corner of this amazing and mysterious city to show it to his brother Luke and the children far away. When they asked him excitedly to tell them about the underground city, Yuric would happily recount the stories during dinner.
Just imagining it brought him joy and happiness. To make those moments come true, Yuric intended to create many stories here.
—
After finishing three paintings, Yuric packed his belongings and moved again.
On the third floor underground, there were clusters of residential areas where each household had large pots growing vegetables. By autumn, most of the plants had grown and were harvested, leaving only sparse stems.
The fourth floor underground was not only home to the Mage Tower branch but also housed numerous guilds, including the mercenary guild. Since this was where goods from the West converged, there were plenty of opportunities for traders. Therefore, there were also mercenary groups specializing in protecting caravans. Naturally, there were numerous taverns and inns catering to these mercenaries.
—
The people walking around were well-dressed, likely due to the lucrative business. The mercenaries’ equipment gleamed, and the mages’ attire was lavish. Only Yuric looked disheveled.
The Mage Tower branch, known as the highest collective of mages on the continent, occupied a considerable area on the fourth floor. Yuric browsed the shops lining the street before entering the main building. The silver badge he received from the Mage Tower was recognized here as well.
—
“First, I need to gather information about Stormy Peak.”
—
Thus, Yuric went to the History Research Lab. Of course, he couldn’t go empty-handed, so he bought cookies from a nearby teahouse.
While there were no mages specializing in research on Stormy Peak, one person knew which book to consult.
—
“Check the book ‘History of Chiazhand’ written by Ideine in the library. It will contain information about Stormy Peak.”
“Thank you.”
—
Yuric headed straight to the library to find the book. It was quite thick, so finding information about Stormy Peak would take some time.
For two days, Yuric practically lived in the library of the Mage Tower branch, meticulously searching through the books.
—
The exact name of Stormy Peak was Britante.
—
While searching for information about Stormy Peak, Yuric came across a familiar name.
—
It was the hero Zadrot Severus, who had once owned a statue.
—
– Zadrot Severus fought the Great Demon at Britante and ultimately defeated it after a fierce battle, securing victory.
– To commemorate his victory, Zadrot drove the demon-slaying spear into the ground, which instantly transformed into a giant tree.
—
Upon reading this passage, Yuric thought that finding the tree that grew from Zadrot’s spear might lead him closer to the treasure.
—
‘…Could it be that the mage Dural wanted to convey something through this?’
—
As Yuric interpreted the treasure map, he felt that Dural didn’t create the ten treasure maps solely to hide the treasure. Instead, Dural seemed to want to convey something to his descendants through the maps.
—
After finishing his investigation and walking through the evening street, Yuric suddenly stopped, feeling an odd sensation. It was definitely a familiar aura.
He scanned the surroundings and spotted a familiar silhouette in the distance. The other party seemed to have noticed him too, smiling charmingly.
—
“…Master?!”
—
Yuric was surprised by this unexpected encounter and ran towards her with all his might.
—
“It’s been a long time.”
—
Leaning against the railing under the red sunset, looking at Yuric, was Grand Mage Violetta.
She had been staying in the underground city and must have waited here after hearing news of her student from the Mage Tower branch.
—
After nearly three years, Yuric was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, hugging Violetta tightly.
—
“I missed you so much, Master…! I couldn’t send you any letters because I didn’t know where you were.”
“The continent is vast, and I’ve been traveling around. I’ve been quite busy.”
—
Violetta carefully examined her student from head to toe, noting how much he had changed in three years.
—
“You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you.”
“Yes, Master!”
—
The Grand Mage stared intently at Yuric, trying to discern what kind of magic he held within. After a while, she realized it was dragon language magic.
Even Violetta, who rarely showed surprise, couldn’t help but be amazed.
—
She never imagined that the lineage of dragon knights, which had been lost two hundred years ago, would be revived through her student.
—
“You hold the power of a dragon.”
—
“Oh, it happened by chance. It’s called Alardur.”
—
There were faint traces of a curse remaining. It seemed some powerful unknown curse had targeted Yuric.
—
…And that wasn’t all.
A strange mass of mana was embedded in Yuric’s body, indicating ancient spirit magic, which was nearly extinct on the continent. Only Violetta recognized it; other mages wouldn’t even know it was spirit magic.
—
Only three years had passed. It felt like no time at all.
—
In those three years, what kind of journey did this student undertake?
—
“And what about the curse and the spirits… What have you been doing?”
—
“Oh.”
—
Yuric smiled awkwardly. There were too many complicated stories to explain simply.
—
Violetta quickly understood Yuric’s situation and nodded.
—
“It seems we have a lot to talk about. Come with me. Let’s catch up. …Shilson has been looking forward to seeing you.”
“Yes, Master!”
—
Yuric happily recalled his senior Shilson, whom he had missed for a long time.
—
He was curious about what the two of them had been doing over the past three years.
—
Tonight, the three of them would share a long and beautiful conversation.
