Ruins
“Where is this place?” Helen asked as she touched the solid metallic walls in the surroundings. They had a silver-white lustre, making them look like a product of science fiction.
“It seems like it is a pocket dimension made by an arcanist, though it’s quite small…” Leylin closed his eyes, and his astounding senses spread out. They allowed him to feel the undulations connecting the dimension.
“This place is already on the verge of disappearing. It was always sealed, but now that we’ve activated the dimension we’ve started the countdown to its demise.” Leylin had an interest in this spatial overlay technique that sprung from the depths of his heart.
These preparations showed that once the Magi who comprehended laws showed them the path, they’d combined those experiences with advanced technology to do amazing things.
“What a pity…” There was a trace of regret in Leylin’s eyes. The pocket dimension was incredibly tiny and only as large as two football fields. It was on the verge of being destroyed now, so it held no value.
If not for that, were this pocket dimension to be revealed all legendary wizards would try their utmost to obtain it. A wizard tower constructed atop this place would make for a covert and stable den,
Once they became a god, this pocket dimension could even be transformed into a divine kingdom! Of course, with the current state of the plane, it was impossible to remodel it.
“A pocket dimension? Destroyed by this sort of spatial storm?” Helen shivered. A dimensional storm caused by the destruction of space was something even legendaries weren’t guaranteed to survive.
“Mm! But we should still have three hourglasses’ worth of time…” Leylin snapped his fingers, and light flashed as an Endurance spell enveloped him. The environment in the pocket dimension would not be the same as in the prime material plane, possibly more extreme.
Of course, this place shouldn’t have been that way given that it was prepared by an arcanist, but Leylin liked to be ready just in case. After seeing what Leylin had done, Helen suddenly came to a realisation and did the same, adding another layer of protection.
*Rumble!* The silvery metallic door was pushed open to reveal rooms that were arranged like in a honeycomb. The floor was spotless, and even one’s image could be reflected in it.
“That’s all the information I have. How about you?” Leylin looked at Helen behind him.
“I only managed to see some fragments left behind in my ancestor’s notebook…” Helen’s smiled wryly.
“Looks like we can only check them one by one…” Leylin glanced at the flickering chandelier, “The core energy is still working, so there might be some traps left behind by the arcanists. Be careful!”
While it was possible for arcanist inheritances to be here, Leylin wasn’t sure if arcanists shared the eccentricities of wizards.
“Don’t worry, my lord!” Helen nodded, her slender figure disappearing into the passageway.
‘Looks like she’s going to rely on luck to get her through…’ Leylin nodded before shaking his head, and then he placed his hands behind his back and entered a random room. The two of them went their separate ways…
Inside one of the secret labs in the arcanist’s pocket dimension, a light blue screen brightened to show images of Leylin and Helen. Lines of red text streaked across it.
“Beep! Invaders discovered. Activating rank 1 defensive measures.”
“Arcane spell elemental reserves 1.09%! Unable to activate… Legendary Golem, Dimensional Banishing Spell Formation scarce. Implementing plan B…”
“Scanning of alchemic golem complete, is 34.17% intact. Beginning charging.”
“Charging complete. Starting preparatory defensive mechanism number 0331.”
After the lines of text appeared, a door that had been closed for a very long time opened up from one of the rooms, and an alchemic golem that was almost three metres tall walked out.
“Number 2133 awaits commands. Received mission, beginning task.” Blood red light brightened in its eyes, and a screen appeared with a projection of Helen. Sounds like the cracking of knuckles rang out, and the golem charged in her direction.
*Rumble! Rumble!* Leylin was reading a book, and the slight vibrations caught his attention.
“Hm?” He put down the incomplete draft in his hand, and thought hard, ‘Looks like the defensive mechanism of the laboratories aren’t completely damaged. That makes things much easier…’
Besides deducing the existence of arcanists, Leylin knew nothing about the ruins. He wouldn't be able to take too many things in the time before this place broke down. As long as there was an intellectual core or tower genie, the laboratory would be the most valuable region.
Setting aside the items in his hands, Leylin headed in the direction of the vibrations.
……
“Leylin, save me!” Running for her life, Helen saw Leylin walking over and brightened up. She cut a sorry figure.
There was a beast skin scroll in her hands, with the energy undulations of high-grade magic on it. This wasn’t an enchanted item, the energy was similar to those of magic artefacts from the Magus World!
With the way Helen refused to let go of it, this had to be something good. Still, Leylin as he was now thought nothing of it.
*Thud! Thud!* At this moment, the alchemic golem that had been pursuing her appeared before Leylin’s eyes. It was like an armoured knight from the medieval ages, though there were two small barrels on its shoulders that looked to be a fusion of magic and science.
“Beep! Discovered primary target, annihilating…” After seeing Leylin, its eyes emanated a terrifying crimson lustre.
“Beginning charging of miniature magic honing cannon!” A layer of terrifying energy undulations condensed within the barrel on its shoulders, causing Leylin to feel a slight sense of danger.
“This is completely different from the techniques used before.” Leylin looked interested, and he moved abruptly.
A rumble sounded out as the miniature cannon fired, hot light causing even the metallic ground to show signs of melting.
*Pu!* Leylin was struck by those bright rays of light, but then turned into dark shadows and exploded.
‘It’s a high-grade illusion!’ Helen hid aside. A battle of this level was something she had no say in, ‘But as long as we hold on for some time, Lord Tiff who’s guarding us on top should be able to come down. With his legendary strength…’
Helen was still making calculations as she grasped the scroll tightly. However, she then gaped in shock.
“After tens of thousands of years, it’s still preserved to this extent. Not bad!” Lights flashed, and Leylin appeared behind the alchemic golem, noting the damaged armour, adamantine runes and other lines.
“A pity though... The energy here is about to be completely consumed. Even legendary teams can’t come in…” The passage of time was the most terrifying of attacks. With its tempering and developments, even the setup of arcanists would leave holes behind.
“A completely different tower genie from the World of Gods and the structure of this intellectual core… They’re all like decorative items in front of me…” Leylin sighed. With some light at his finger, he pressed the puppet.
[Beep! Attack beginning. Target interface scanned, searching database… Cutting off information] The A.I. Chip’s robotic voice soudned.
Arcanists were mostly born of Magi, so of course they would’ve used or improved upon the ideas of many Magi. They were like kids playing house to Leylin, especially with the help of the A.I. Chip. Connected with the puppet, Leylin’s soul immediately reached the core control room through the network in the pocket dimension.
At this moment, a piercing giant red font filled the screen in the hidden room. “Warning! Warning!”
“External information attempting to rewrite core authorisations. Rejecting, activating defensive wall…”
“Activation of defensive wall failed. Beginning self-destruction. Countdown: 3, 2, … Beep! Core authorisations modified. Leylin Faulen is now the absolute master. Self-destruction halted.”
“Wha- What’s going on?” From Helen’s perspective, what just happened was like a magical show. Once Leylin made contact with the alchemic golem, the entire pocket dimension had begun to tremble, and the lights had flickered unsteadily. Huge blue arcs of lightning had sparked out, making it seem like the end of the world had come.
A moment later, however, everything returned to normal.
“Come.” With authority over the laboratory’s core, Leylin now had a different aura on him that compelled Helen further. She was astonished as he brought her all the way to the core of the laboratory, as if this was a familiar route.
Be it the password-locked door or any other hindrance, all obstacles were easily taken care of in his hands. It was like he was the owner here.
“Identity verified. Welcome, master!” A door with a statue of an angel on the left and one of a devil on the right opened with a rumble. Helen followed Leylin inside, watching the door with fear.
‘He passed through a legendary curse so easily?’ This ease was unbelievable, and it made Helen realise that Leylin had an increasing number of secrets to him.