The atmosphere changed when I entered this ancient ruin. I could feel the stuffy, dark, and arid air before I entered the Jajaro ruins. In addition, the game system responded by reducing my character's stamina by two times than usual. My character has become much more accessible than usual. I'm getting a DeBuff (character drop effect) on my character.
"This ancient ruins..."
I decided to go a step further.
These are ancient ruins that were built thousands of years ago. They say this became a place of civilization for humans and other living things before the dry disaster came. Also, before the disaster came, this place was fertile and suitable for growing all kinds of crops. That explains why besides this place, the Jajalo Grassland, seems to have very fertile soil.
Both places have something in common, fertile land, but the lands around the Jajaro Ruins were damaged, and part of those was covered with thick sand due to a disaster that came at that time. It explains that every place has a story, why it can be the way it is.
The land will remain on earth. The place where you stand is the ground. But when that changes, you will decide whether to step on it or go to another land.
After walking through some of the rubble-strewn across this long dark alley, I turned to my left and right and saw several pictures on each wall. Those are pictures of civilization's track record in this place. Those are made of carvings that are given a natural color. Mammoths, lions, and other animals once coexisted with humans. Even a kid was seen playing with a tiger's tail.
"Have they been tamed?"
I can't believe wild animals can be like that. I think there is an animal charmer who has tamed them.
I took a few steps forward. Then, I saw another picture on my left wall. I saw this with my character's passive skill, Inner Eye. It's too dark here to see, so I rely on my Inner Eye's passive skill to see.
In this picture, humans and animals suddenly run in the same direction. Before that happened, they were engrossed in playing and seemed to have a peaceful life. But why were they now running frantically as if they were trying to escape from something dangerous?
Curious, I walked over and moved on to the next image.
"I see… So this is the reason why they ran away."
They ran because a big monster with other monsters came. This image has shown that. But I can't figure out what that big monster is. It was five times bigger than a human, had a human-like body, brown fur, and a head like a bull. Also, it carries a large flanged mace.
And the next picture shows when the monsters kill them. This is a very tragic picture. I was almost nauseous. I can't see this for a long time. I can't bear to see them die so tragically. That's why I immediately move on to the next image.
"What?"
I was very surprised when I saw that some legs, hands, and heads had been covered by sand and scattered debris. It covers their bodies. Their blood, flesh, bones, liver, lungs, and bodies seemed to have merged with the sand. It looked like the sand buried them.
"Are those sands…?"
I remember the road I walked before I entered this ancient ruin. All the land there had been sand, just like a desert.
"Oh, I see. The pictures here have been explained to me. I understand now."
It was a disaster that happened to this place. The civilization had been lost because of that incident, the monsters killed them, and the sands had buried their bodies.
"There are more?"
I saw the last picture at the end of this long dark hallway that only fit two people. I approached it and saw...
"Veronica?"
I backed away and bounced in surprise at the picture on the wall.
"Wait, wait, wait! That's impossible!"
I tried to look back at the picture.
Two people were seen there, a purple-haired young woman dressed in heavy armor and a man wearing a raven mask. They both stood on the sand and looked at each other. The woman thrust her sword at the crow man, but the crow man didn't seem concerned about the woman's whereabouts.
She looked like she was fighting the crow man. She was like a knight trying to survive after a long battle. Her face was covered in dust, her heavy armor was partially damaged, her cheeks and forehead were shielded, and her eyes filled with anger had shown that she was defending against the crow man.
Her face and hair pattern looks like Veronica's. Those made me suspect the woman who was there was Veronica. But she is taller than Veronica. I was so worried.
"Alice… she probably knows. I have to show this to her."
I want Alice to know this. Maybe she had the same thoughts as me; the woman there was Veronica. This is important information for her. She must know.
Just as I was about to turn and walk to get out, I heard explosions and screams at the end of the hallway. I was surprised when those suddenly appeared in front of me.
"What the hell is that?"
I was curious as to what was going on there, but on the other hand, I had to find Alice right now. I was worried for a while. But in the end, I decided to find out what was going on there.
I opened the door at the end of the hallway. Then, as this created an opening, a carrion scent entered my nostrils. I live a less comfortable air after opening this door.
"Damn it. What is this? It stinks," I said, covering my nose with my arm.
My Inner Eye's passive skill was suddenly nonactive when in front of me was the light. Some lights can make my eyes see well, so my character doesn't need that.
It was a very large round room—behind this door was a very large room. It looks like an arena but has a smaller and closed form. There are several spectator seats made of hardened sand. Several stairs lead directly to the bottom. Also, a large circle seemed to be in the center of the room. It looks like a gladiatorial arena.
I walked forward with great care. Every time I stepped on my feet, this rotten smell became more intense in my nose. The more I walked, the closer I got to the big circle.
"What's that?"
I noticed a large horn was there as I got closer. It made me even more curious; what was there?
Then when I got there and could see what was there, my eyes opened wide. There, in the arena, a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a human was launching an attack using a flanged mace at a woman.
The woman immediately prepared to brush it off, took out and placed her two long swords on her head.
A great collision occurred there between Flange Mace and Long Swords. The woman continued to withstand the pressure coming from the monster. But strangely, she often glanced backward. She seemed to be worried about her friends who were behind her. She seemed to try to protect her friends from the monster.
She survived and continued to survive. Then, she pushed Flange Mace strongly with her two swords. The monster was pushed back because of the beat of the woman. Afterward, the woman tied her bright blue hair and stuck her two swords to the ground.
"I told you, you don't pretend! You say you will protect me, but in reality, I'm the one who protects you!"
She said something I could hear. Even if she was there, in the arena that seemed to have a depth of 20 meters, I could still hear her words. That's because this room reflects her voice, so it makes her voice echo in this room.
"But that's what I like from you, Miss Martin," Someone lying there said, trying to see the woman.
"Tch." The woman is not happy to hear that. Her face turned annoyed, as if she did not accept the words from the person lying behind her.
Miss Martin? I've heard that name.
After I thought and watched them, I finally found out who was there. They and the woman were people I had previously met in the city and Ricky's inn. They are annoying people. I was surprised to meet them again, even when their condition was not okay.
"Lightning Sword!" She took out a bolt of lightning from her arms. Then, she took her two swords and made them turn blue.
I can only sit and observe what she will do. After all, if I were there or helped her, I would disturb her and make her uncomfortable. I don't want to make the concentration messy because of my presence. This is the best choice I can make.
"Well, I will help her if she needs help. Besides, the people behind her are already useless. Look, they can only lie there. It wasn't very comfortable for someone who said they would protect her. "
Both of my eyeballs turned to the monster after I said that.
"Isn't the monster the same as the one in the picture?"