All three of them entered the door. And they arrived at a very normal house. It was so normal that it was anticlimactic. None of them had expected something so simple.
Because this house is buried under earth and an ominous warning is written on the door. You would normally think that it is a ruin of the old civilization.
They thought that it was that. However, witnessing a normal house, they became dumbfounded.
"Aahhh…..how to say, this isn't what we were expecting?" (Leah)
"I agree." (Belle)
"Let's be careful. We still don't know what this place is. Leah, can you use detection again?" (Aisha)
"Ok." Leah focused her mind and used detection.
"I sense a presence in that room. But it's an odd presence." (Leah)
"Odd? How odd? Is it a monster?" (Belle)
"No. It's a human but not a human. I can't describe it well but something is in that room." (Leah)
"Then let's check it out." (Belle)
"You two….haaahh… so impulsive." (Aisha)
Aisha is troubled by their curiosity and lack of restraint.
They opened the door to their left and went inside.
There is a big crystal. In the middle of the room, a big crystal with a man stuck inside is there.
"I see. So this is the presence I have been sensing." (Leah)
"Is he even alive?" (Aisha)
"He is alive. But this crystal…" Leah touched the crystal.
"Is it a seal?" (Aisha)
"It is. But it looks like this man sealed himself. It is a seal which was made from within." (Leah)
"This man sealed himself? That's not something a normal person would do." (Belle)
"But we can't say anything else. Because this man has sealed himself in that crystal." (Leah)
They were stumped. Because, the only lead they could find is a sealed man in a crystal.
"Let's go. We shouldn't stay here any longer." (Aisha)
"Yeah. This place is nothing but an ordinary house. Nothing like a treasure is here." (Belle)
So they left the room. They came the drawing room where a set of sofa was present along with a dining table and a fully equipped kitchen.
All of them were clean and new.
"Wait…." (Belle)
"What?" (Leah)
"Don't you think this place looks a bit too clean?" (Belle)
"Eh…" Leah had totally ignored the state of the house. She was focused on finding the presence but it hit her when Belle told her.
"True. For a door which has an inscription in the high ancient language, the inside is a bit too clean. I don't see any spider webs or a speck of dust." (Aisha)
"A protective spell is cast in this room. This entire house is imbued with a protection spell." (Leah)
"Protected? From what?" (Belle)
"I guess dust and other things. But how much mana would you need? How good at mana manipulation should you be to achieve a feat like this?" (Leah)
"True. I have never heard of any human capable of doing something like that." (Aisha)
"Oi Leah, is everything here protected?" (Belle)
"Yeah." (Leah)
"Then what about that sword?" (Belle)
Belle points at the sword which is hanging on the wall. A double edged sword with a sheath is hanging on the wall.
"I think that too." (Leah)
"Let's see." (Belle)
Belle goes to the sword and takes it. She unsheathes the sword and swung it.
"It's a good sword. Can you use appraisal on it?" (Belle)
"I can. Let's see…"
After using her appraisal on the sword, Leah turns to Belle.
"This is a very normal sword. Without a doubt, a cheap sword that can be found anywhere." (Leah)
"But this sword feels like it is really good." (Belle)
And then a sound came. A shattering sound. Like a glass had shattered.
"What was that sound?" (Aisha)
"It came from that room. Let's go." (Belle)
They all went and opened the door. The crystal in which the man was sealed is shattered. The man who was sealed is on his knees. He is looking down.
But he stands on his feet and looks at them. Aisha, Belle and Leah froze. His gaze was piercing through them like he was seeing through their souls.
And he walks to them and says, "Move. You are blocking the way."
The three hurriedly moved and made a way for him. He went straight and opened another door.
Those three were curious. So they followed him. But he just sat on a bed and said,
"You are welcome to stay as long as you want. If you want to take anything, you are free to take it. I am going back to sleep. So don't disturb me."
And he laid down on the bed and started breathing rhythmically after closing his eyes.
The tree of them were stunned. They couldn't even speak. They just closed the door and went to the drawing room and sat on the sofa.
"What just happened?" (Aisha)
"The sealed man woke up. He spoke with us and gave us his permission to do anything here and went back to sleep." (Leah)
"Thank you for the report but what actually happened? We couldn't speak in front of him. And he looked at us like he had no interest in us." (Aisha)
"That he did. Like he was looking at something totally irrelevant. We didn't matter to him." (Belle)
"That kinda puts me at ease. I was actually scared of him for a moment." (Leah)
"Why?" (Aisha)
"You two probably didn't notice but he was emanating pressure. Such immense pressure that I was almost crushed by it. It was terrifying. How strong is that guy is something totally unknown to me. Even all three combined, we wouldn't do any damage to him." (Leah)
"That's ridiculous. I felt nothing. Like that guy had no presence at all." (Aisha)
"Yeah. He was full of openings and his physique was weak. No way that guy can beat us." (Belle)
What Belle and Aisha had said were true, at least from their standpoint. But Leah could sense that this guy was someone they shouldn't mess with.
"Ok. Let's return home for now. We can come here again." (Leah)
"If you insist. You look kinda pale anyway. But I am taking the sword." (Belle)
"He did say we can take anything we like. How about we search again?" (Leah)
"You weren't feeling so great until now but when it comes to treasure, you become fine just like that?" (Aisha)
"Hehehehe…." (Leah)
This was how they discovered what they thought to be a ruin but turned out to be a house with a weird guy sleeping there.
They opened the door again to check on that guy. He is sleeping on his back. A firm posture. Like an arrow.
"Look at him. He looks so normal." (Belle)
"Yeah. Maybe a bit older than us. But his looks are pretty normal." (Aisha)
"Hey, that's a magic staff." Leah pointed at a staff leaning against the wall.
It was an odd staff which had a few small branches with leaves. Most would think it was a broken branch but no. It was definitely a magic staff.
Leah takes the staff and used her appraisal skill on it. But she became stiff and dropped the staff from her hand.
"Leah..what happened?" (Aisha)
They both rushed to her but she is out cold on her feet.
"This is bad. She is out cold." (Belle)
"What happened to her? She held the staff and became like this?" (Aisha)
But Belle held the staff too. Nothing happened to her. So what did happen to her?
They took her and laid her down on the sofa in the drawing room.
"I'll go look for some water. Maybe some water is in the kitchen?" (Aisha)
"Try it. But I don't think you will find water in this house." (Belle)
Aisha went to the kitchen to look for water and Belle stayed with the unconscious Leah.
Aisha came back with a glass full of water.
"Where did you find it?" (Belle)
"There was this metal pipe extending from the wall with a lever. I pulled the lever and water started pouring from it. I looked for a glass and found it in the closet below." (Aisha)
"A pipe which pours water? Is that a new gadget?" (Belle)
"I had heard that a new type of gadget is in production which would ease the supply of water. I wonder if that's it?" (Aisha)
"Anyway, let's wake her up first." (Belle)
Belle splashed Leah with some water on her face. She started waking up.
"Uuhhh…what happened?" (Leah)
"You just held a staff and fainted on your feet? What happened to you?" (Belle)
But Leah jumped up.
"Where is that staff?" (Leah)
"Right here!" Belle showed her the staff which was leaning against the other sofa.
And Leah quickly took that staff.
"This is impossible!!! No way this staff is real?" (Leah)
"Why are you panicking? What is that staff?" (Aisha)
"It's…..it's..a branch of….the world tree." (Leah)
That one sentence made the time freeze. All of them had stopped moving.
But Aisha gained her calm and spoke in a shaky tone as if trying to deny it.
"Is that true?" (Aisha)
"No doubt. It is a branch of the world tree." (Leah)
The world tree is the world's biggest tree in every sense. This tree pierces through the sky and is said to extend to the heavens. It is extremely remote and very hard to reach.
The only time any part of it is in circulation is when someone personally goes to acquire it and ends up auctioning it.
The biggest part ever auctioned was the size of a hand. However the staff they are holding onto is almost as big is as Leah.
This would go for the price of a country if auctioned.
And this branch is an excellent conductor of magic. A wand of staff made from it would enhance the effects more than 5 times.
"Really? We should leave before we become even more confused? Belle, leave that sword too. We can't take it." (Aisha)
"I think you are right. I am kinda afraid of this sword now." (Belle)
Belle put the sword back where she took it from. And they left that place immediately. They would come back but after sorting their feelings.