Chapter 20: The Curtain of the Era Gradually Lifts
Standing on the icy surface of Lake Nissier, the silver-haired girl blinked her green eyes, quietly gazing through the ice layer at the lake water below.
Beneath the translucent ice, the snow lake's water was clear, deep and silent. A beam of sunlight broke through the clouds above, slanting down like a sharp sword, refracting dazzling colors between the frozen ice and cold water.
Nostradamus and the other dwarves brought by Moria also stared at the bottom of the ice layer. However, unlike Ying's patient gaze, the dwarves' faces bore a hint of confusion.
Why haven't they come up yet?
That was the thought on everyone's mind. Had something gone wrong?
Exploring the lake bottom wasn't considered a difficult task. After all, both Joshua and Moria were Gold-rank experts. Before these two, as long as it wasn't an abyssal trench thousands or tens of thousands of meters deep, it wouldn't pose any problem for them. A mere snow lake, even with magical interference, should have been thoroughly explored by now.
But in reality, after a long time, they still hadn't surfaced.
"Could there be something special at the bottom of this lake? Did the Master and the Lord not have time to inform us and just started studying it on the spot?"
One dwarf couldn't help but speak up. He was a disciple of Moria, not old, with only two iron rings on his beard. His expression was puzzled: "Or is the lake very deep, with a large bottom that can't be surveyed all at once?"
"It's just a snow lake. How deep could it be?"
Another dwarf muttered, frowning: "But it's been over ten minutes now. With the Master's experience, even if it were a sea area, the survey shouldn't be this slow..."
Ying and Nostradamus both remained silent, letting the dwarves discuss among themselves. One was focused on watching beneath the ice, while the other's mind wandered, gaze scattered, seemingly lost in thought.
As time passed, even the most composed dwarf began to find it strange. Even Ying frowned, and the old mage shifted his gaze to look beneath the ice. But just then, a faint tremor and glow suddenly rose from the lake bottom.
Then, under everyone's astonished gaze, a rainbow radiance of arcane power surged upward, breaking through the deep lake water, piercing the transparent ice layer, and shifting with brilliant and unpredictable light upon it.
Not only that, wave after wave of arcane brilliance surged like a flood tide, causing everyone present to open their mouths in amazement, immersed in the magnificent scene around them. Accompanied by the sound of ice cracking, two figures broke through the water surface and returned to the top of the lake.
It was Joshua and Moria, both with serious expressions.
Thanks to their protective battle qi, their clothes hadn't been soaked by the lake water. The old dwarf declined his disciple's offer of a coat and followed the warrior toward Nostradamus.
Seeing their solemn expressions, the old mage understood that they must have encountered something unusual at the lake bottom, and it seemed to be a major matter.
Of course it was. By now, the rainbow radiance of arcane power was spreading toward the horizon. Faint auroras and rainbows appeared in the sky. Such a massive anomaly was undoubtedly something extraordinary.
But even having mentally prepared himself, after hearing Joshua's description, Nostradamus—calm as he was—couldn't help but let out an exclamation.
"A palm print—six hundred meters deep?!"
The old mage took a deep breath, his eyes full of shock. His white beard trembled, underscoring his astonishment: "Such power! I can't even comment... And Moria, are you sure it was formed a thousand years ago?!"
"Yes."
Moria nodded, stroking the metal rings on his beard. His golden eyes narrowed slightly, his expression very serious: "I swear by the name of the Son of the High Mountains and the Earth, and by my beard, based on my years of surveying experience, the geological changes in this lake indeed occurred around a thousand years ago."
"I can't discern any geological information," Joshua said, standing to the side, shrugging. He appeared quite calm, likely because he had already been shocked earlier: "But even the most powerful Ultimate-rank Wild God I've ever encountered couldn't create such a mark."
"This is a matter of power concentration and control," he commented seriously from a combat perspective: "In terms of pure force, powerful Ultimate-rank and Legendary-rank experts could accomplish this, but it would undoubtedly affect the nearby Nissier Snow Mountain, possibly causing it to collapse or crumble. Yet this palm print is imprinted on the earth without even crushing the arcane crystal vein beneath. That level of control is terrifying. It's like using enough force to flatten steel to thread a needle."
"Indeed. Such control—even Israel, the current Imperial Emperor, might not be able to achieve it. And a thousand years ago..."
Hearing their analysis from two angles, Nostradamus lowered his head, thought for a moment, then spoke slowly with a solemn expression: "It is now the 832nd year of the Falling Stars Era. A thousand years ago... that was the period of the Lost Three Hundred Years."
Hearing this term, Joshua and Moria instinctively frowned. Clearly, they had heard it before.
The meaning behind this term held too many unknowns.
Spanning between the Era of Radiance and the Era of Falling Stars, the Lost Three Hundred Years severed two eras, burying too much history and too many secrets. Because of it, humanity was thrown back from its peak into an ancient feudal age. Because of it, countless advanced technologies were lost, forcing people to start research anew. It was an era after destruction, before creation—a lost and mist-shrouded time.
And this palm print appeared in that era. The implications were thought-provoking.
"Don't tell anyone else about this for now."
Nostradamus tilted his head slightly, glancing at the dwarves still immersed in the beautiful sight of the arcane rainbow. He hinted: "Studying it is a long-term, large-scale project. If possible, try to keep this information from others. Let 'us' handle it."
The warrior and the old dwarf both nodded. No one would casually spread such news. Moria couldn't help but sigh: "Setting aside those big matters, I originally thought the water here was only about a hundred meters deep, making it easier to mine arcane crystals. But now, with a six-hundred-meter-deep bottom, how are we supposed to mine the magic crystals?"
Hearing this, Joshua also sighed regretfully. He had thought this magic crystal vein could generate revenue for his territory, but encountering such an unexpected event was truly unfortunate.
Today's survey was temporarily concluded. Joshua invited Moria and Nostradamus to visit his newly built Lord's Manor, and the two gladly accepted. However, upon seeing the granite castle resembling a fortress, they silently lamented the warrior's taste before settling in.
Construction of the academy also proceeded swiftly.
It was now the warm spring of Windbloom May. Although Nissier Snow Mountain's location made it still somewhat cold nearby, this low temperature was already comfortable enough for a pleasant stroll for Northerners, posing no hindrance. Countless construction workers cheerfully carried equipment and materials into the deep mountains, beginning the initial preparations.
Although building on a mountainside was somewhat difficult, their efforts were aided by mages. With the help of Levitation, Shrinking, and Weight Reduction spells, countless massive and heavy building materials, impossible for human strength to transport, were easily carried to the mountainside and stacked there.
To build faster and better, Joshua also dispatched his knights to assist the construction workers and dwarves, tempering their physical strength in the process.
These knights, trained under the warrior, had become robust, strong, and enduring after practicing the breathing technique. Watching their labor, Joshua understood why the walls and buildings of this world were so grand—dozens of meters high and thick, rivaling the superstructures of his previous life.
Any Black Iron-rank construction worker, with the help of the most convenient spells, could move several tons of building materials. A Silver-rank knight, whether excavating a mountainside or transporting goods, was equivalent to a large industrial machine, possessing incredible strength. Although they occasionally complained that such work dishonored a knight's glory, after seeing Joshua, Moria, and even Nostradamus occasionally lend a hand, those complaints vanished.
With the assistance of an Ultimate-rank mage's spells, the project progressed very quickly. In less than a month, the foundation was laid, establishing the academy's basic structure. The space within the mountainside was also excavated by Joshua, Moria, and a group of Silver-rank knights. They even unexpectedly discovered a high-purity iron-copper vein inside the mountain, though now was not the time to mine it.
Year 832 of the Falling Stars Era, the 3rd day of Sunblaze June, at the academy foundation site on the mountainside of Nissier Snow Mountain.
Joshua stood on the open platform, watching the hardworking construction workers and knights before him, feeling somewhat emotional: "Setting aside ordinary workers, these knights as combatants are comparable to heavily armored, fast-moving tank vehicles. As laborers, they rival large construction machines."
As for the construction workers, though their labor capacity was monstrous compared to ordinary people, they still fell far short of the knights.
But the results before him were already swift enough. Moria personally verified that the foundation was of excellent quality, sufficient to support the grand academy district Nostradamus had planned. The most arduous transport and excavation work had been completed by the knights. Now, it was up to the construction workers to build the entire academy.
Such fine work, even with magical assistance, could never be fast, but it wouldn't be too slow either. According to the old dwarf's estimate, half a year would be enough to erect the main framework, after which progress would accelerate.
Joshua couldn't help but recall the later stages of the great development of mana technology in his previous life.
"With productivity like this now, if we had the assistance of future civilian mana armor, it would be even faster."
Thinking this, Joshua nodded.
As a semi-assisted mana technology product capable of aiding work, enhancing strength, endurance, and precision, mana armor wasn't limited to combat; it was equally effective for infrastructure.
Although current construction workers couldn't match knights in basic labor, if they all had a basic mana armor framework, both transport and construction speeds would increase severalfold, narrowing the gap with knights. Moreover, a machine's precision far exceeded that of most ordinary architects.
Mana armor was a great invention that could grant ordinary people knight-level strength. In the final stages of his previous life, its popularization had already begun. Although the demon invasion prevented large-scale deployment and manufacturing, everyone believed that once it became widespread, it would mark the prelude to a mana revolution and the call for counterattack. Powerful warriors, armed with even stronger armor, would rise to new heights.
With this in mind, Joshua didn't hesitate. He immediately found Moria, who was directing construction, and the two began discussing the details of this matter.
The old dwarf was very interested in mana armor. It was a completely different design philosophy from the armor he had forged before.
With magic technology as the core and forging as a supplement, some dwarves might dislike such a design, but as Rune Dwarves, the combination of magic and forging was their instinct.
He had come to Moldavia's main city to find Joshua precisely for this technology. Even helping build the rune factory was just a side task. Now that the warrior was willing to discuss it with him, he was naturally delighted. He immediately dropped his work, handed it over to a disciple, and went with Joshua to discuss related issues.
Although the design drawings from last time had been burned to ashes by the aftermath of the spatial teleportation, they quickly designed a new, more mature armor concept.
Leaving the construction site on Nissier Snow Mountain, the two returned to Moldavia's main city and entered the Sealed Weapon Room beneath the cemetery church. Using the high-grade forging equipment and alchemical tools there, they began preliminary forging and experiments.
With their decisive personalities and execution ability, combined with detailed design drawings and a steady supply of materials, it wasn't long before the first experimental mana armor prototype was nearly complete.
Meanwhile, on the great plains northwest of the Empire, the final war against the orcs sounded its low and solemn horn.
(To be continued.)