Chapter 43: Clues from Before the Ancient Era
Starfall Era 832, October 5th, Northern Lands, Nissier Snow Mountain.
In October, the northern lands had already begun to gradually turn cold. The dense overcast clouds were rising from the more northern Sea of Bewilderment, preparing to bring a series of long snowfalls.
After all, this was the northern land, where half the year was winter. From mid-October until the end of April the following year, it would be an endlessly cold winter.
At the academy site on the mountainside, many workers were still laboring diligently. This was to complete the external structure of the academy before the true winter arrived. As long as the walls could be built, then even during winter, interior decoration and construction could proceed slowly indoors, without delaying the progress of completion.
From the outside, the general construction of Winterfell Academy was nearly finished. Only the deep interior decoration and excavation of the mountainside remained. This showed that the construction speed in a magical world was directly proportional to the participation of mages. Without the students under Nostradamus and Joshua's knights occasionally coming to help, reaching the current progress would have taken several years, or even over a decade. But now, in just about half a year, the main body of the academy was mostly complete.
Spells and other supernatural forces truly were the primary productive force.
On the mountainside, the craftsmen were working with great enthusiasm. But at the foot of the mountain, on the icy lake, a slender figure was wandering beneath the surface.
Around this shadow, crimson flames coiled. Even through the deep lake water, it was extremely conspicuous. However, as it dove deeper, the flames grew weaker and weaker, until finally becoming a dim red dot.
In the icy lake water, Joshua let Black take him wandering in the pitch-black depths. The light emanating from this half-dragon's body illuminated everything around them thoroughly, leaving nothing hidden.
The bone-chilling ice water was heated by the warmth radiating from Black. The originally cold and dark magical energy was dispersed and suppressed by a large amount of fire elements. The warrior easily controlled Black, exploring the various hidden parts he hadn't explored last time.
Ever since Joshua used a Life Tree fruit and Ancient Dragon Blood to initially stabilize Black's Black Erosion Dragon bloodline, its size had gradually increased along with its appetite. Now, it had reached a height of nearly two stories, about seven meters. Its body length, including its tail, exceeded fifteen meters. Moreover, its craving for water was growing stronger and stronger.
The pool at home could no longer accommodate such a behemoth. After thinking it over, Joshua brought it to the snow lake beneath Nissier Snow Mountain to roam.
To be honest, using a Life Tree fruit to awaken Black's bloodline was not Joshua's original intention. One must know that Life Tree fruits were rare and hard to come by. While other awakening materials were precious, they weren't impossible to find. Unfortunately, the warrior didn't have that much time or money to collect materials. Since the system said a Life Tree fruit could be used as a substitute, it saved him a lot of trouble.
The original awakening process involved using life force as compatible with the bloodline as possible to strengthen the body, thereby strengthening the bloodline in turn. The pure life force of a Life Tree fruit was so gentle that it could be combined with any material, greatly enhancing its effectiveness. Using it on Black, while not a waste, was still a bit regrettable. If Joshua truly had more liquid assets, he wouldn't have had to resort to this.
It seemed he would need to go to the Imperial Capital sometime. Alfonso's work was indeed good, but those who had once betrayed his family had not yet paid the price.
Shaking his head, the warrior decided to keep words like extortion and coercion in his heart, and instead focused on diving deeper to explore the depths of the lake floor.
One had to admit that the Sea Dragon-ified Black was indeed faster in the water than Joshua swimming on his own. Moreover, it came with its own lighting and heating, making it very comfortable. What was originally a tedious exploration activity had now become a relaxing leisure activity, like taking a walk with one's mount.
But Joshua hadn't forgotten the purpose of coming here.
Behind this enormous palm-print lake, countless unknown secrets were surely hidden. What exactly happened during the lost three hundred years of history, between the end of the Era of Radiance and the beginning of the Starfall Era? Perhaps all the clues to find the answer lay in this palm-print lake.
This palm print, pressed down upon the Magic Crystal vein, contained an incredible power. It sealed the power of the entire vein. Without a trigger, the rate of magical energy leakage would be greatly reduced. This time, Joshua came to the bottom of the lake to find where this power converged.
No power is rootless. Precisely because it was a power that had lasted for a thousand years, there must be a core to maintain its existence.
This was Joshua's fifth time entering the lake to explore.
The previous explorations had covered the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and part of the palm of the palm-print lake. This time, Joshua's goal was to also explore the ring finger, little finger, and the remaining half of the palm.
The Sea Dragon twisted its massive body, gliding smoothly through the lake water. The warrior stood on its back, carefully observing every different feature at the bottom of the lake.
If nothing unexpected happened, he was sure to find something.
"There seems to be something behind this rock."
After wandering for a while longer, Joshua suddenly called for Black to stop swimming. After observing carefully for a moment, he muttered to himself in the water: "This entire area is all Magic Crystals, just not glowing. Why is there such a large rock here?"
He could sense that although the Magic Crystals were sealed, they were still continuously seeping pure magical energy into the lake water, like slowly melting ice. But this rock was embedded right on a Magic Crystal vein. Not only did it show no tendency to be demonized, but it was also continuously absorbing the free-floating energy.
Black couldn't hear its master's command clearly and let out a confused snort, causing a series of rapid currents in the water. Joshua kicked the shell on its back, immediately making this Sea Dragon behave.
After observing for a while longer, Joshua simply left Black's back and dove down on his own, approaching this rock for a closer look. He reached out his hand, stroking this unusual rock, searching for its extraordinary qualities.
This rock was dark red, a multi-layered sandstone. Joshua could vaguely sense a large amount of magical energy surging inside it, as if something was sealed within. Only by looking closely could he see that the rock was mixed with many fragments of Magic Crystals. As a Gold-rank powerhouse, the energy radiation surrounding the warrior made them glow, sparkling in the water.
Withdrawing his hand, Joshua looked at his palm. It was covered in fine red fragments and crystal powder. He tried licking a bit, frowning as he analyzed.
"Ordinary Magic Crystal. The taste is a bit weak. It seems the magical energy has already volatilized... The other thing is hard to say."
The warrior looked at this huge dark red rock with some confusion, muttering to himself: "Why does this taste have a hint of blood?"
Squinting his eyes and observing carefully, the warrior's expression gradually changed, and finally, a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Interesting. Truly interesting. It was worth exploring for so many days."
"This rock is actually the blood of some creature, produced after it coagulated." (To be continued.)