Restart:Untalented Man

Chapter 538: Excavation

The ruin team departed, descending from the high elevation toward the site Sarika had marked before.

When they reached the ruin, the men immediately set to work.

The site itself was barely visible, just a series of uneven stones protruding from beneath a thick crust of snow and frost, half-buried and smoothed by centuries of wind.

To those who are not paying attention, they wouldn’t notice, passing them for nothing more than shattered boulders.

As shovels bit into the ice and picks struck at frozen soil, a different pattern began to emerge.

Before long, they uncovered the unmistakable outline of a stone structure, a wall.

Its surface was engraved with strange geometric symbols unlike anything they’d ever seen. The stones were cut with precision that no primitive hand could achieve. Their edges remain sharp despite the passage of time.

The officer leading the digging team knelt beside one of the carvings, running his gloved hand along its surface. "These marks... they don’t match any script I’ve seen. Not Barlian, not Blande, not even Ryntum’s old glyphs."

Though he said that and acted like that, the officer is not academically inclined at all.

When Sarika heard his words, she rolled her eyes. How could a rough guy who received a military-oriented education know when she, who had more cultural knowledge, didn’t?

’Don’t I know you? What are these pretences all about?’

A sudden shout disturbed Sarika’s thoughts, calling the very same officer she was currently cursing.

"Sir! There’s something beneath this slab!"

They gathered and pried away a large stone plate, revealing a hollow cavity below. A rush of air escaped; stale, dry, and strangely warm compared to the bitter cold outside.

"It’s hollow underneath," the officer whispered.

Cautiously, they widened the opening. One man lowered a lantern into the gap. The flickering light spilling into the darkness.

Below, a narrow stairway of stone spiralled downward, half-filled with debris and ice.

Excitement and unease spread through the group.

"Should we go down?" one asked.

The officer hesitated, his instincts torn between curiosity and caution. But Sarika’s order to search every corner echoed in his head.

"Prepare ropes," he said at last. "We’re going in."

One by one, they descended into the dark.

The chamber below was larger than any of them expected.

An underground hall, the ceiling supported by thick, square pillars carved with more of those strange symbols.

The walls were lined with smooth stone panels, each etched with depictions of figures.

"What in the world is this place...?"

In the centre of the room stood a stone platform, half-buried in frost. Upon it rested a rectangular object, black and metallic, utterly alien among the pale stone surroundings.

"Sir... this stone," the man who touched it whispered. "It feels warm."

"Warm? That’s impossible in this cold temperature."

The officer straightened. "Alright, pack it up. Let’s not linger in this place any longer. Take rubbings of the carvings. Bring this thing and anything else you find back to Commander Sarika immediately."

As they climbed back into the fading daylight, the unease among them deepened.

When Sarika heard of their discovery, she rose from her seat with astonishment.

The report alone had caught her attention, but when the soldiers carried in the ’spoils of war’, she was struck speechless for a moment.

The black rectangular object rested in a wooden crate. Its surface gleamed under the lantern light.

Sarika touched it.

It was smooth and seamless, unlike any metal she had ever seen.

Sarika picked up one of the rubbings and studied it. It looks like a picture of a scene, but she couldn’t identify the subjects in the painting.

She frowned. Her fingers lingered for a moment longer, then she exhaled softly and tossed the paper back into the crate.

"Forget it. Let those bookworms deal with this nonsense. I’m not cut out for staring at these meaningless drawings."

She turned to her soldiers. "Secure everything properly. I don’t want any problems arising on the way back. We’ve gained enough from this trip. There’s no reason to linger any longer."

"Commander, are we retreating already?"

"Yes. We’ve found something worth reporting, and that’s more than enough. Let’s go back to our landing point and prepare for departure. We still have a war to finish."

"War?" one of the soldiers blinked in confusion. For a moment, silence hung in the air as the crew exchanged puzzled looks.

Then, realisation dawned on their faces.

"Oh! The war!" another exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "I completely forgot about that."

Sarika pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, exasperated. "Unbelievable..."

It seemed that after exploring glaciers and ruins, her soldiers had entirely detached themselves from the reality waiting beyond this frozen land.

Sarika could hardly blame them. Still, she was not amused. She rolled her eyes. "Enough laughing! Let’s go. We’ll cross the sea and make landfall at Leuphan. From there, we move to the front line at the fastest speed."

Unlike them, Sarika felt a bit impatient. There was a rare tone of unease in her voice.

Although there are many qualified officers at the frontline who could share her responsibility, she was, after all, the one with the highest authority there.

If anything happens while she’s away, she’ll be a disgrace to the whole nation.

One must know that Ryntum view Blande as an easy opponent.

If the military under her leadership loses the war, her career will be over.

....

The voyage back to Leuphan unfolded under a pale, muted sky. The sea stretched endlessly in every direction; grey, cold, and heavy with mist, just the same as they came.

The wind had softened since their departure from the Land of Ice, allowing the steel vessel to move at a steady pace through the calm waters.

Because of the experience accumulated on their way here, the sailors were able to navigate through this treacherous water with ease.

The floating ice shards that threaten to sink their ship are no longer considered a problem.