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'This is terrible. ......'

Even though it was only three hundred kilometers, it was a long distance to walk, so we took a swift flight to the site from above.
We arrived at the site soon after, but when we looked over the entire drop zone from above, we saw that the former plain had been transformed.

It was like a crater, and the deepest part was gouged out by about ten meters.

'Come to think of it, what were we going to do for the survey?

'Yeah, that's--'

Sui descended and landed.
We jump down, and Sui returns to her original size.

'Thank you. Always sorry.'

I look over at the hole from the land again.

'Even the authorities know that something flew in from the sky and caused the earthquake. In other words, we don't know anything about anything else. All you need to do is report on the meteorite's landing site, the demons around it, and whether anything else has changed. There's not much you can find out, though. ......'

'Should I bring back some soil or something just in case?

'You can bring that back too, but ...... it would be better to find a piece of flying ...... meteorite.'

I'm not sure how much sense it would make with the technology of this world.

'Oh, that black stone, right? I'll go get it!

Aleria says, and jumps into the hole.

'No, we don't know what's in there yet, so be careful--'

Just then...

'Aha!

A cry went up from Aleria.
A demon suddenly appeared from inside the crater.

It was a skeletal-looking creature that she had never seen before.
It was only about a meter long and lacked impact.

Why is there a demon on ......?

I don't have time to think about it.

I instantly took out the magic sword from the item slot and headed to save Aleria.
But--

'You'd be surprised if it came out suddenly, wouldn't you!

Aleria swung her sword angrily and struck the skeleton.
The skeleton's body is torn apart.

So... somehow, she didn't need my help at this level.
Aelyria's current behavior must have been something to be careful of, but perhaps it was a sign of her confidence that she could take care of herself.

From now on, it will be important to give her confidence and at the same time to watch her carefully so that she doesn't get into trouble.
It is not always best to come to the rescue immediately.

'I've never seen a demon like this before. I'm sure you've been to the Karlon Plains a few times, but ......'

'Obviously, it doesn't look like a demon from around here. Status-wise, it's not a demon that should be around here.

I only caught a glimpse of its level earlier.
Level 30.
That's too high, considering that most demons around here are between 5 and 10.

However, from the name, it didn't seem to be related to the demon race.
That means that there was some kind of change caused by the meteorite.

'Let's dig a little underground. I wanted to keep things as they are, but if there's a danger of demons, that's a different story.

I asked Aleria to move away from the center of the crater and I swung my sword sideways.
The slash created a blast that swept away the earth.

Then something artificial appeared.

'Is it the door ......?'

'It's broken, but ...... I'm surprised it didn't fall apart under the impact. There's a small gap in the door, so there's probably a demon behind it.

But there's something that puzzles me.
The door is rather modern. There is no keyhole, but looking at the broken part, it is structurally designed to be locked. It doesn't look like an electronic lock, so it must be locked by magic or something.

I've never seen a building like this before.

'If there are other demons, then we have a problem. Aleria was able to defeat it easily, but it's tough for ordinary adventurers. ....... If there are other demons in the area, we have to destroy them.

'So you're saying we're going to investigate this place, too?

'It's so exciting, it's like a secret base!

It's good that they're both so excited, but depending on the number of demons, there's a danger that the royal capital could be destroyed.
Because the demon tribe was in trouble just by calling in a large number of small fish that were nearby. What would happen if all the strong individual demons attacked the capital at once? That's what I'm talking about.

'Pay close attention. We don't know what's going to happen next.'

I cautioned them lightly and opened the broken door.
Two demons jump out. They're the same skeletal demons as before.

I swung my sword lightly and dealt with them both at once.

'It's dark inside ......'.

I illuminated the area with the Cave Light Source, which I had bought at a general store and stored in the item slot just in case.
As the name suggests, this is an item for cave exploration.

It's a use-it-all item, and once you use it, it illuminates the area with enough light to keep you busy for an hour or so.
It does not need to be held by hand, but floats and follows the user.

Incidentally, it was originally an item that had to be held by hand, but I synthesized it with Alchemy and turned it into a useful item on my own. It is not for sale.

At the end of the door was a room with a sense of life. It doesn't have the same sense of security as a home, but it's more like a company office.
There were some dilapidated documents on the wall, and when I checked them, I found that I had never seen these letters before.

'It has a strange atmosphere.

'So many items I've never seen before. ....... Is this really a kingdom?

It has sophisticatedly designed furniture reminiscent of the near future, a high level of locking technology, and the use of characters I've never seen before. From these clues, the overall idea is...

'Maybe it's an ancient site .......'

'Ancient, isn't the level of civilization too high for that?

'How long ago was it?

The two of them immediately replied.
I have at least a little evidence, so I'll tell them.

'Ancient civilizations are not necessarily inferior to the present. It is not impossible that a civilization that developed collapsed for some reason. Well, if it was so long ago that there are no records of it, it must have been more than a few thousand years ago.

'But then, why did the old people dig this underground place to live?



'No, I don't think it was underground all along. Have you ever heard of strata? If you leave it alone, sediment and other things will accumulate, and the ground will gradually become higher. It is not surprising that the height of the ground would have changed in a few thousand years. If we dig up this area, we might find a city.

'It's a bit difficult to say, but if you look at it that way, it might be an ancient ruin. ......'

'It's amazing that you can understand such things!

'Well, this isn't a big deal, but ...... I'll check it out. I'm sure we can find something better than what we're thinking here.

There is no doubt that it is an ancient ruin.
But why did such an advanced ancient civilization decline, and why do humans still survive?

I feel like I have even more things to worry about.