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"I… Uh... Sigh."
"What were we supposed to find here?" Dale asked as he looked around
He crouched near the edge, looking down.
'Welp... I don't see anything.'
'No matter how good my eyes are, they can't make light on their own.'
'This seems to be a cylindrical hole leading… Somewhere.'
He then raised his head.
There, at the very top of this cavern laid several glowing orbs whose light was so weak it would barely allow a normal person to see their own hands in this darkness.
But it was enough light for Dale to see the ceiling in its entirety, even if not clearly.
'Hum... If I look up, I can seek the ceiling a few dozen meters above... It looks to be made of some sort of metal and not wood due to its unique sheen.'
'Yeah, the surroundings seem, hum... Artificial in a sense.'
'If this was once a main root that diverged into many smaller ones it has now been turned into some sort of missile silo.'
'Or maybe this entire area was dug up due to the density of roots that pass through it?'
'I can't see the other end of this hole, it's too dark…'
'Either way, I can understand and see that there are many tunnels leading here… But why?'
'What's the point of these entrances if they lead to a damn hole?'
"Our destination is near, it's down there but I have to agree with you, I can't see anything." Testros replied as he got up from the ground as well
Given Testros' bad vision, he was likely not seeing anything, even his own hands may be hard for him to spot...
"You know what to do." He added as he gave Dale a nod
"..."
/Lit…/
Looking down into the darkness, Dale took a small torch from his inventory and dropped it into the endless black after lighting it up, something that almost blinded them both.
The reason they've been walking without a source of direct light like a torch is due to how it could attract trouble; it helped them immensely since they met with no problems whatsoever, something extremely unexpected.
Of course, if not for the natural sources of light in the roots like the glowing plants, mushrooms, and insects, they would've needed something like a torch to navigate through the caverns.
Even then, Testros always felt tense due to how dark everything was, while Dale did feel a bit uncomfortable, but he could easily see a dozen meters ahead at all times.
And adding as to how they moved rather fast, covering a lot of ground, it was only expected that they met close to not trouble on their way here.
Meanwhile, the Expedition team must've taken their time to minimize damage and risk, and if they did meet with any, it should've already been dealt with, the reason why their journey might've been smoother.
...
/Fall… Thud…/
For several seconds, the torch continued to fall until it finally reached the bottom, illuminating the entire area as it moved.
It smashed against a solid structure, but thankfully, it didn't go out.
The sound echoed a little but it was weak.
"This is…"
'This place does look like a silo; I would understand if this was some sort of underground Nexus, but this shape... Isn't it counter-intuitive to have many paths lead nowhere?'
'Unless there is some sort of Hyper Fantasy Magic where the ground is actually a tower that can move up and down, connecting with the passageways as it sees fit...'
'Or perhaps project burnout is about reactivating and launching magic missiles to burn the entire forest to a crisp so they can move North?'
Dale closed his eyes, clearing away his useless thoughts.
'Enough jokes…'
'Well, I can see some ropes here and there, even some ladders, they've been here.'
'The Expedition group should've taken another path to reach the bottom instead of just jumping down, which is the sensible thing to do.'
'On that note… The ground also seems to be made out of metal.'
"Weird, I see no doors." Dale said as he scratched his arms
"That's not the entrance… At least not the one we'll be using." Testros replied as he stretched his legs
"But it'll be faster to start looking for it when we're already down there.
/Jump…/
"Follow me." He said as he jumped without hesitation
"Huh?! Old man!" Dale exclaimed as he jumped as well
'This guy! How can he jump?!'
'He can't fly and his middle age body certainly wouldn't be okay with this fall…'
'I'm thankful for the vote of confidence but it's annoying!' He thought as his expression trembled
...
After his moment of surprise, Dale jumped after Testros, using Caladgolg to stabilize their fall so they wouldn't crash onto the ground and potentially cause a heap of trouble.
Instead, Dale controlled his weapon, having it act like a parachute so they would slowly descend into the abyss, a few meters at a time…
The sword was pretty big so it had enough space for the two of them to stand side by side, even if not, one could stand on the blade while the other held onto the hilt.
/Stop.../
And eventually, they landed.
…
"Phew... You gave me scare there..."
"Next time, tell me if you have the chance." Dale said as he turned to Testros
"Hoho, you don't need to worry, I was just having some fun." He replied with a chuckle
"..."
'You call that fun? Had our roles been switched you might've had a heart attack!'
While Dale shook his head internally, Testros took a small map from his inventory… It looked more like nonsensical scribbles than a map though…
"Hum… Forget it." He said as he folded the map back into his chest pocket
"Are we discarding the map?" Dale asked with a frown
'Not that it matters, we're already here.'
"I never really understood it anyway, we'll manage it from here just fine." Testros replied with a plain expression as he looked around
"..."
'So how did we get here?!' Dale complained once more as his expression grew dark
…
Eventually… They ended up finding the traces of the Expedition team.
It wasn't hard anyway, they weren't trying to cover their tracks, at least not from Humans.
And their number was quite extensive, over 100 people big, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were 200 big.
It was quite the number, fitting for what may as well be their last and biggest Expedition since they all gathered together under the protection of the Old Trunk.
As such, their traces were everywhere, if not for the darkness, even a child would've spotted it.
"The footprints end here… There are even some boxes scattered around… Likely old supplies they left behind."
"This is the place." Testros voiced with certainty as he raised his head
"..."
In front of them, a pair of large double doors stood proudly at the end of a lengthy hallway.
They were imposing and were as sturdy as they looked if not more.
This hadn't been the first construction they had seen, it was not like this pair appeared from nowhere.
Watchtowers, open security gates similar to this one, paved metallic and rocky ground, strange lamps that still glowed with faint blue and green light, and even old wagons that looked more like futuristic trucks…
Small boxes, fallen items...
It was pretty evident that this was once a very busy passage, one that was also heavily protected.
The technology of the Corps confused Dale, but he knew that the Southern Corps possessed the most advanced engineering out of all five corps due to the extensive research and challenges the Ancient architects and engineers were forced to overcome due to the borderline maddening orders of the Emperor who wished to conquer the South.
When Humans truly wish to do something and those in power are in line with its people, the results can be rather impressive.
Not to say the pressure from the monsters and their duty.
From budget to talent to pressure, all parameters came together to create the perfect environment for innovation, leading to this level of technology that somewhat resembled that of Modern Earth, even if only in appearance.
It was a form of practicality and efficiency that only modern Humans would be able to relate to and understand, but it seemed these people from another world and time arrived at similar conclusions, even if their goals and methods were completely different.
In a sense, even if the world follows different rules, a Human from Eden and Earth were very much the same, and with it, the rules.
Arithmetic and Physic were still rather similar, so it was understandable how they arrived at resembling designs...
But that was something of the past.
Either way, even if Dale wanted to grab one of those 'wagons' for himself, nothing would come out of it as they had already been thoroughly scavenged.
And even if he found one in a pristine state, what would be the purpose of owning one such vehicle when he already had an efficient method of locomotion?
For appearances? To look Cool to others?
Well, it was Cool, he wouldn't lie about that.
But it was certainty not within his priorities.
"Wait... Something's wrong, the door is closed… Sealed even." Dale mentioned as he removed his helmet
There were massive locks, piles, and seals that clung together, preventing the doors from moving even just a bit
Dale tried knocking on the door and even punching it lightly, and just the feeling the door gave him told him that his hands wouldn't come unharmed if he tried to punch his way through.
This alloy seemed similar in nature to the one he found on the tunnels connecting the Church to the wall, albeit it was just a feeling as the tunnel was made out of bricks crafted out of a strange stone made by a confusing and lost method before being melded together via magic to create a structure similar to a concise tube.
While this entire gate was made out of pure dense alloy, one he couldn't quite recognize.
Though he felt some degree of familiarity with it, the metal used here, or at least one of must've been used in the confection of the Corps weapons and armor.
It does make sense, after all, if they had so much metal to make an entire thick gate like this, then they had enough to arm an entire army of tens of thousands in full plate.
"Hum… It seems the facility sealed itself, this may be the reason why the Expedition team hadn't returned."
"They just can't." Testros replied as he touched the gates, feeling their coldness
'This feeling... It brings me back.'
'How nostalgic.'
"... Why would a place like this seal itself? And how?"
"Hard to say, I have studied many of the old texts related to the Corps, but barely even a percentage of everything there is to know…"
"From what I understood, the Survivors may have reactivated this old facility as many researchers survived the decisive battle, but that was before."
"Somehow, whatever brought them here, they must've activated its emergency procedures, either by mistake or intentionally, and now the entire place is sealed from the inside out."
"I've read that in situations like this, they would need either someone from the outside to free them, or they would need higher authority from the inside."
"Which is strange, they should have the authority, yet they remain inside."
Testros looked around.
"It doesn't seem they're trying to protect themselves from something on the outside, but it would be a bit far-fetched to say they sacrificed themselves to seal something inside as well."
"My idea is that they might be trying to prevent a 'do or die' situation."
"How so?"
"Look… Can you see those hatches over there?" Testros asked as he pointed at the corners of the gates
Dale squinted his eyes, and he did see many cuts and shapes in the gates, he couldn't quite tell what they were.
"There are defensive weapons in there like the artillery cannons we were unfortunate to meet on our way here."
"Mayhaps, by deactivating this seal, all of these defenses will be activated in tandem, and then from a situation where their only problem was how to open the doors, it turns into a situation where they may even endanger others from rescuing them if someone does arrive."
"Albeit I wouldn't count on that last one given their circumstances, they must have some other idea in mind."
"And don't ask me about the specifics, I was a foot soldier, not a researcher, I have no idea how this bunker might've fared if they suddenly remove its power supply."
"Alright, I got all of that but not how we're getting inside." Dale said as he knocked on the metal
"... Let me help you with that." A voice resounded from the other side
""!""
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Notes
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