Herty finally detected the mana signal directly ahead, possibly just around one last corner. Gawain, having gauged the team's current position relative to the mountain's layout, concluded they were now in the core of the mountain. It seemed the ancient Gondor expedition had indeed hollowed out an entire segment of the mountain to construct this massive facility.
What on earth could be here that warranted creating such a monumental structure for research or containment? Yet, for whatever reason, they had ultimately abandoned the place.
Herty refreshed the energy in her illumination spell, causing the dim magical light to brighten once more and illuminate a wide area around them. Gawain observed a well-constructed hallway ahead, paved with pale gray "stone slabs," with walls embedded with inactive mana crystal lamps and several sealed doors. At the corridor's end loomed a large, bronze door, adorned with a symbol of an eye within a triangle.
The bronze door wasn't fully shut, leaving a wide gap. Gawain activated his danger-sensing ability but found no traps or toxic gases lurking behind it.
Still, they took no chances. Before pushing open the door, Herty summoned a small, softly glowing rune resembling an eye, which drifted slowly through the doorway as her own eyes shimmered with magical light.
"There's a large, round room beyond—lots of broken tables and shelves, pipes lining the walls… and a strange pit in the center. There's a big spherical object lying in the pit, with chains and tools hanging from the ceiling above it." Herty described the scene, her brow furrowing in concentration, until she suddenly let out a startled yelp as the spell abruptly ended.
"What happened?" Gawain turned to Herty, alarmed.
Herty rubbed her eyes, sounding a bit sheepish. "I, uh, walked into a wall…"
Gawain sighed. "Did you see anything dangerous or trap-like?"
Herty shook her head. "No, it just looks like a lab—a much larger one than I'm used to, with a lot of unfamiliar equipment. The mana signal is definitely coming from that spherical object in the center, but it's emitting an energy I don't recognize."
Reassured there were no traps or ancient magical golems out of control, Gawain felt a bit more at ease. As for the unfamiliar energy type Herty mentioned, that could only be investigated further once they were inside.
Two robust soldiers, along with Knight Byron, pushed against the ancient, dust-laden bronze door. The corroded hinges groaned and squealed under the strain, the noise echoing eerily through the enclosed corridors. Herty instinctively gripped her staff and glanced down the shadowy hallway behind them, as though some nameless ancient horror might spring from the darkness, awakened by the door's creaking. But nothing happened.
Once the door was open, Gawain stepped inside, taking in the sight that Herty had described: the large, circular hall with broken tables and shelves arranged around the room, mana conduits on the walls, a recessed area in the center, and the large spherical object lying in the pit.
Approaching the sphere, Gawain estimated it to be about one and a half meters in diameter. It was remarkably round—if not for the rough, uneven surface, it could have passed for a perfect sphere. The material seemed like stone, but under the illumination spell, it had a faint metallic sheen. It looked almost like a naturally formed stone sphere but was oddly smooth. If it was some kind of magical device, it didn't follow the typical Gondor design—there were no runes, no metal connectors, nothing to indicate ancient magical mechanisms.
"The mana is indeed coming from within…" Herty observed, puzzled. "But it's strange. It doesn't feel like mana—it's a completely different type of energy. Ancestor, was this also made by the ancient Gondor Empire?"
"No, it doesn't look like it…" Gawain tapped the sphere, noting the solid, stony texture. "Judging by the setup here, it's more likely this thing was an object they were studying rather than something they created."
"Could this entire facility have been built to study this sphere?" Byron asked in disbelief. "Did the Gondor Empire go to such lengths just for a ball?"
Gawain considered this, thinking that even in the mana-rich Sparking Era, the Gondor Empire wouldn't have gone this far for something trivial. "No. When the Gondor people evacuated, they took everything valuable they could carry. They wouldn't have left something truly important behind. This sphere was likely one of many research items they were working on, and probably one they'd already decided to abandon. They may have studied it for a while, made no progress, and were preparing to discard it when the order to evacuate came."
"So we've come all this way just to find this… thing?" Byron rubbed his chin. "Sir, what should we do with it?"
Gawain felt a bit perplexed, too. How were they supposed to move this thing? He gave the sphere a tentative push, muttering, "It takes up space, and it's heavy. No wonder the Gondor people… Wait."
To his surprise, the sphere wobbled and shifted under his touch.
"It's… not heavy?"
The sphere was shockingly light! Gawain had assumed it would weigh at least a ton, yet it budged with the slightest push. After a few tests, he estimated it weighed no more than ten kilograms—light enough for Herty to move easily. That could only mean it wasn't actually made of stone, or it was hollow…
Suppressing the urge to crack it open and see what was inside, Gawain judged from the research room's size and the sphere's placement that it likely belonged to the "Type One Safe Artifacts" category: "harmless but with unique properties." He made up his mind. "Let's take this thing back. We'll haul it to the camp for further study… Wait, actually, let's not bring it inside the camp just yet. For safety, place it on the cleared ground beside the camp, and station two soldiers to guard it. Tomorrow, we'll set up a tent around it."
Despite the technological gap between the Gondor Empire and the present day, an object deemed safe back then might not still be harmless, so a bit of caution was warranted.
They had arrived tense and on guard, but now they were leaving with a strange ball. The sight of soldiers pushing a sphere lightened the mood, easing the soldiers' tension but also giving Gawain a nagging sense of incongruity. It felt like his first epic adventure into an otherworldly ruin had been thoroughly spoiled by a silly ball. Like marching out in legendary armor, wielding the village's best sword, appointed as the king's champion, with a squad of wise companions—only to find the Dark Lord was actually a starfish.
Had the Gondor people really devoted resources to studying a ball out of boredom?
Guided by Herty's mana markings and Gawain's near-flawless memory of the route, the group's return journey was much quicker, despite the added task of rolling a ball. Since the sphere was absurdly light, it wasn't much of a burden. When they hit uphill stretches or stairs, Herty simply used a Conjured Hand spell to carry it.
Soon, the faint glow of the entrance appeared ahead.
The soldiers who had remained at the outpost had begun to worry. The sounds of approaching footsteps and familiar orders finally eased their concerns. But alongside the footsteps was another peculiar noise—something rolling along the ground.
As the returning soldiers pushed the sphere, the outpost guards exchanged bemused glances. Technically, only one soldier was needed to move it, but a second helped balance it.
"Time to head back…" Gawain announced once they reached the main hall, exhaling as he rested a hand on the sphere. "This is what we found."
The soldiers looked at each other, puzzled.
The next day, everyone near the edge of the camp saw the peculiar sphere. It was placed on a cleared patch of ground outside the camp, surrounded by armed guards. Wooden stakes and ropes formed a barrier around it.
It was an awkward sight, and the guards were probably the ones who had lost at cards. This was the consensus among those who quietly chatted about it.
Rebecca, having just woken up, heard about the strange discovery and hurried over to take a look. Spotting her ancestor and Aunt Herty nearby, she squeezed through the onlookers and curiously inspected the sphere. "Ancestor… This is what you brought back from the ruins?"
"We also retrieved some metal samples. The ruins have plenty of useful materials to extract," Gawain replied with a nod. "But yes, this is the main thing… though we haven't figured it out yet."
Rebecca circled the sphere twice before asking, "Can I touch it?"
Gawain waved dismissively. "Just don't throw a fireball at it. Other than that, feel free."
The "stone sphere" might have been unsettlingly light, but it was surprisingly sturdy. Gawain had already tested it, confirming that ordinary blades couldn't scratch its surface, so a bit of knocking around wouldn't hurt. However, a fireball from Rebecca might be a different story, especially if she threw one of her trademark, washbasin-sized fireballs at it.
Rebecca pressed her ear to the sphere, tapping it lightly with her iron staff. She turned to Gawain, exclaiming, "It's not hollow!"
"Yeah, it's solid, but strangely light…" Gawain shrugged. "Your aunt scraped off a few flakes from it, revealing that it's a metal-rich composite. If the entire sphere is made of
this material, it should weigh a ton."
"Maybe only the outer layer is metal, and the inside is filled with something really light?" Rebecca's curiosity was clearly piqued. "Should we cut it open?"
Gawain chuckled. "I was thinking the same, but not yet. Let's try non-invasive methods first. If we're still stumped, then we'll consider opening it. The Gondor people had plenty of tools for studying it, but they never broke the shell. There must be a reason."
Rebecca looked disappointed. "Oh…"
Gawain smiled and glanced at her. "Actually, I have something else in mind for you if you're free."
Rebecca's eyes lit up. "Free? Absolutely! I don't need to handle anything directly with Magic Net One at the moment. The craftsmen and apprentices are digging trenches and refining quartz sand; I'm totally available! What do you need?"
"Stone smelting…"