After walking for a few minutes they reached a chamber with a water channel that had the remains of what used to be a dock.
The channel stretched towards two huge stone doors which were made to resemble the rock face of the chamber.
"There has to be some sort of mechanism to open these doors.", Alvin thought aloud.
"How about using your earth attribute to find it?", Ruth asked.
"Alright.", Alvin concentrated. He frowned, "I did find a mechanism but it's really ancient. I don't know if it is safe to use it."
Seventeen put a hand on his shoulder, "Unfortunately it is our only option. Can you tell me where the mechanism is?", he asked.
Alvin nodded and pointed beside one of the doors, "You will find something like a crank over there."
Seventeen went to where he pointed. He looked at the ancient and rusted crank. He tried to move it but the thing didn't budge.
'Not an inch.', he thought.
(So what do you intend to do?)
Seventeen streamed magia into the crank and deep into the whole mechanism. He activated his magia eyes and saw the magia outlining the gears and other parts. He carefully imbued magia into the rusted mechanism and maintained a thin film of it between the gears.
(Using magia to strengthen the whole thing and using it as a lubricant for the gears. Ingenious.)
He slowly spun the crank. It didn't move at first but soon with a mighty creak, the gears started turning.
There was a huge groan as the stone doors that were closed for thousands of years slowly slid apart and a sliver of sunlight pierced the chamber.
"That's our sir!", Robin whooped. Seventeen didn't respond. He was concentrating on maintaining the magia he fed into the mechanism. One small mistake and the entire thing would collapse.
Slowly and steadily the stone doors slid apart and revealed Elvenglade city which was some distance away. One of the huge bridges to the city was right above them and cast a big shadow over them.
"So this dock leads to the lake. It's amazing how we didn't notice something like this at the edge of the lake.", Alvin said as they all walked out.
"Well. Who would've thought that there would be a huge palace buried some distance from the city?", Robin said as the stone doors slowly slid close behind them with a loud noise.
"But still. We were a pretty good distance from the city. Does that mean this palace was so big that it reached the lake?", Arthur asked in awe.
"I believe it is. What we saw was only a part of the entire structure. We would be unearthing more once excavation starts.", Alvin replied.
Seventeen whistled and a minute later Selene appeared above them and perched on his extended arm. He didn't take her into the ruins and stationed her above the forest in case they stumble across a different exit.
"Thank goodness you are safe, young master.", Robin's Shadow Gelair appeared. Robin smiled, "Just a bit exhausted. Other than that I'm fine. You can go now."
Gelair nodded and sank back into the shadows.
"Alright then. I will go and report what we found to father. Hopefully, we'll have the Earth Cardinal to help us explore more of the ruins.", Alvin turned to Ruth, "Are you guys going back to Cardinal Academy?"
She nodded, "I guess. Thank you for allowing us to do some exploration with you. We had an awesome time. You are really amazing."
Alvin smiled, "I could say the same about you. Both of you are on par or stronger than me, an A-rank adventurer."
"There are different ranks among adventurers?", Seventeen asked.
(Well. Yeah. Didn't I tell you?)
'No, you didn't.'
(Oops. My bad.)
"Indeed instructor Seventeen.", Alvin said, "Unlike the Cardinal Knights with four ranks: Knight, Vice Captain, Captain, and Cardinal, we adventurers have six ranks ranging from E to S rank. This ranking is based on the CATs of different adventurers."
He continued, "S-rank adventurers are on the level of squad captains, and their powers range from high-level CAT 2 to mid-level CAT 1. Since the difficulty of ascending increases the more powerful the Category becomes, there are only a few S-rank adventurers."
"So is there a more powerful rank?", Seventeen asked.
"Actually yes, in theory. They are SS-rank adventurers and are on the same level as the Cardinals. Unfortunately, there hasn't ever been an adventurer like that in the history of the guild.", Alvin replied.
"I see."
"It is extremely difficult to achieve high-level CAT 1 and CAT 0. For most warlocks, achieving CAT 1 is their final achievement. Only a few can achieve CAT 0, either by natural gifts or hellish hard work or both.", Ruth added.
Alvin nodded in agreement, "And the one who achieves this becomes the Cardinal, the strongest warlock in their nation."
Seventeen whistled, "Damn. The Cardinals are really amazing. But I heard two warlocks are more powerful than them."
Alvin nodded, "Indeed.", he smiled sheepishly, "We don't know much about the second most powerful warlock. They are the one who chooses the Cardinals. So the only people who know about them are the Cardinals and the Chairman of the Council of Seventy. We know a lot about the number one though."
"Well, I guess I have some reading to do.", Seventeen mused.
Alvin smiled, "I guess this is farewell."
"Of course not. Dad asked me to stay for dinner. So no need to say bye to me.", Robin said. Alvin laughed, "Of course, you will be there for dinner."
Robin turned to Seventeen and the others, "You guys can come too."
"Surely you would like to have some time with your family, Robin?", Arthur asked. Gray nodded in agreement.
Robin shook his head, "Nah. It's fine. Besides, mom would be delighted to see you guys."
Alvin chuckled, "That's Robin alright."
"That's a good idea.", Seventeen said. He turned to Arthur and Gray, "How about you two go with Robin to the Sylran Residence? You can also tell what we found in the ruins to Mr. Sylran along with Alvin's report."
"What about you sir?", Gray asked.
"I and the ice queen have one more job to do around here.", Seventeen replied. "We have?", Ruth was confused.
Seventeen gave her a meaningful look. Ruth's eyes widened in understanding, "Oh. Yes, we have one more thing to do."
"Alright then.", Alvin clapped his hands cheerfully, "Let's go and relax. Robin, please lead the way."
Robin frowned, "Why me?"
Alvin winked, "Cuz you are a little brother."
Robin rolled his eyes, "Fine.", he grumbled and started walking. Everyone except Seventeen and Ruth went towards the bridge.
"Let's meet up at the warp gate we used in the morning.", Seventeen called out. "Alright sir.", Arthur replied.
Both of them stood at the edge of the lake. A soft breeze rippled the waters.
"Are you sure about this?", Ruth asked. Seventeen shrugged, "Well. I did promise headmaster Zephyrus and you. So let's go."
Ruth sighed, "Okay. Then follow me.", she turned around and walked to the bridge. Seventeen followed her.
They passed by the bridge and entered a path through the woods. Ruth looked troubled as she fidgeted with a small ice sculpture.
"This is the first time I am seeing someone being nervous about going home. It has only been a month since you left.", Seventeen said.
Ruth sighed, "Yeah. But it is always difficult to be home. My brother rarely talks to me and grandma is busy with the family business. So the only time I go home is to create more ice sculptures."
"You have an interesting family.", Seventeen remarked. "Oh yeah? What about you?", Ruth asked.
Seventeen thought about it. Prime had said that he created two other androids and put them in different universes. He wondered if they have woken up. He also wondered if that made them his brothers. And does that mean Prime is his father?
The thought was so weird he promptly removed it from his mind.
"Well. I was alone for as long as I can remember. But I know that I have a family. It is just that I've never met them.", he said.
"Oh. But being by yourself sounds nice.", Ruth said. "But it is a lonely existence. In my opinion, having a family is good.", Seventeen replied.
They soon reached a fork in the path. The left path led to a small town near the lake while the right path led deeper into the woods.
They walked towards the town and the sun was starting to set by the time they reached it. The townsfolk were nice people who were happy to see them.
All the girls in the town were looking at Seventeen and whispering excitedly among themselves.
"Welcome back Ruth.", a middle-aged Imperial Guard smiled at her. "Mr. Frederick.", Ruth said with a smile.
"Who is the handsome young man? Did you finally get yourself a boyfriend?", he asked. Ruth's face immediately turned red. "No! He's not my boyfriend!", she frantically said.
Seventeen laughed, "It's as she said. I'm just her coworker. I came here to meet her grandmother."
"Ah. You're here to meet Lady May. Should I inform her of your arrival?", the guard asked.
"No need Mr. Frederick. I will take him to grandma.", Ruth said, still red in the face. After that, both of them continued through the town.
Seventeen smiled and waved at some of the girls who were looking at them. They almost fainted with excitement.
"Will you stop that?", Ruth rolled her eyes. Seventeen chuckled, "I knew that would annoy you."
"Honestly. Don't they have nothing else to do?", she looked back at the girls. "What? Are you jealous?", Seventeen teased her.
"Shut it or I'll freeze your mouth shut.", Ruth warned.
Seventeen stopped teasing her. It's not a good feeling to have ice over one's mouth, even for an android.
A few more pleasantries and misunderstandings later, the two of them stood at the gate of the Aeva estate. A huge plot of land with beautiful gardens and orchards. But what caught his attention were the ice sculptures in the place.
Even from a distance, Seventeen knows that each of them is a stunning work of art. A big two-story house stood in the middle of the estate. Its arches and windows were meticulously designed as if by an artisan.
A cobbled path lined with lampposts of ice led to the house. Seventeen saw a maid walking towards them on the path.
"Nice place you got here. I can't believe you did all this by making ice sculptures.", Seventeen remarked.
"I only bought back the land and rebuilt the house. My grandma did the rest.", Ruth replied. "And the townspeople were pretty nice. I thought the Aeva family was pretty unpopular.", Seventeen said.
Ruth nodded, "We were until my relatives decided to piss off a higher dragon. My grandma tried to stop them but it was too late. She barely escaped with her life. After buying back the land and rebuilding the house, grandma formed a good relationship with the townspeople."
"Your grandma sounds like a wonderful person.", Seventeen said. The maid reached the gate and opened it. She was an elf with bright blonde hair. She smiled warmly, "Welcome Ruth. It has been a month hasn't it?"
Ruth smiled back, "Indeed Anne. Is grandma well?", she asked. Anne nodded, "Lady May is doing fine. She missed you and was grumpy when you didn't contact her for a month."
Ruth smiled nervously, "Oops."
The maid turned to Seventeen, "Lady May has been expecting you, instructor Seventeen."
Ruth was surprised, "How did she know?"
"Well. Headmaster Zephyrus informed her of my arrival before we left.", Seventeen said. "He did? Then why didn't you tell me?", Ruth asked.
Seventeen winked, "Just so."
Ruth's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "Why you..."