Chapter 29: 25

An ancient magical civilization. It's a legend that has been passed down not only in  Hylant Empire, but all over the world. But even though it's called a legend, it's not a story of creation like from  a myth, it's based on fact, and is as close to history as possible.

　It's been about 1,500 years since the  founding of the Imperial Kingdom of Hylant, where I live, began. The first nation created by humanity after the demon king was defeated and liberated by a legendary hero, also known as a "hero" or "saint," was this Hylant Empire. The hero ascended to the throne as the first emperor, and his bloodline is said to be connected to the current emperor.

　It is said that the ancient civilization fell into disuse during the hundreds of years that mankind was ruled by the Demon King until he was defeated by a hero, but in the world before that, there existed a magical civilization that surpassed even modern magic technology.

　And the birthplace of the ancient magical civilization is said to be the ancient city of Beckenburg, located in the western part of the Imperial Kingdom. It is a city similar to Kyoto in Japan.

　The civilization that developed around Beckenburg is said to have spread all over the world, with the current Imperial Kingdom at its center, but since the Demon King and his dependents, the demons, appeared about 2000 years ago and destroyed all of them, most of the technology has not been transmitted to the  current era .

　However, that doesn't mean that the legacy of the ancient magical civilization hasn't been handed down at all.

　For example, the runes that are the key to activating the magic we use every day. They were invented during the time of the ancient magical civilization. From the time of the first emperor to the  morden day , the runes are said to be the greatest heritage that has been restored through the efforts of many mages.

　Incidentally, the magic circle is said to be a later invention. That's a little surprising.

　It must have been bloody difficult to unravel the mysteries of magic by comparing the chanting spells that had been passed down orally and secretly so as not to be discovered by mages, and the ancient runes that had been discovered through the excavation of ancient ruins. The fact that we are able to use magic today is due to all that hard work of our predecessors.

　These ruins hold such potential for the future. Even though the academic research has already been completed, there may be some undiscovered historical materials left behind.

　This was one of the reasons why adventurers were regularly asked to investigate the ruins, even though they were not of high importance.

"Ruins, huh? It's like ancient Greece or the Mayan civilization.

　Unfortunately, I never had the chance to see them when I was alive in Japan., because I died before I could travel abroad.

　I've been   in  historical sites in Japan like the Toro Ruins with its pit houses and the Sakitama Tumulus Group with its ancient tombs, but I've never been to "the ancient ruins" with buildings made of stone.

　Naturally, my tension was very high as  i headed to the Lantern Ruins for the investigate ."

"I've heard that the ruins are over 2000 years old. I'm a little excited.

　Since it was within 20 kilometers of the largest city in the northern region of the empire, I thought it would be a good idea to turn it into a tourist attraction, but unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case.

　It seems that the concept of tourism itself does not exist. Unlike modern Japan, there are no convenient means of transportation such as trains or cars, so it is not so easy to travel. However, that is not to say that there are no sightseeing spots at all, and it seems that famous hot spring resorts and shrines are widely known by both the commoners and the nobility.

　The territory of the Farenheit Frontier Counts also has several famous shrines, and although it's not part of the Frontier Counts' territory, the neighboring territory of a parasitic noble of the same faction is a nationally famous hot spring resort.

　I've been wanting to visit one of these places for a while, but I haven't been able to do so yet, so I might as well take the opportunity to do so once I've saved up some of my money as an adventurer.

　Now that I was thinking about the tourism situation in the Imperial Kingdom, it seemed that  I   was getting close to the Lantern Ruins.

　The distance of 20 kilometers is just a blink of an eye when you are driving at 50 kilometers per hour. In this world, traffic jams only occur in some urban shopping areas, and there are no traffic lights. Instead, the road conditions are so bad that it's hard to say which is better: .......

　Well, if  need to driving, there's nothing wrong with bumpy roads when you're walking or running. The human foot is a great thing.

　In the meantime,  i seemed to have finally reached the forest where the Lantern Ruins are located. The trees were quite dense, and the atmosphere was quite somber.

"Hmm, this is another difficult forest to enter."

　The forests in this country are relatively sparse compared to Japan, probably due to the climate. They are probably closer to European forests.

　However, there are some rare forests that are like dense forests. This is exactly the case here. I don't know what makes them like that, but you have to be careful because only in such dense forests are there many demons.

"It would be nice if they would at least maintain the path. ......"

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　I waded through the branches and stepped into the forest. The grass was rustling and tangling around my feet, making it extremely difficult to walk.

"Wow, a spider web!"

　If  i  won't  be careful, spider webs can stick to  my face. Even though I grew up running around in the fields, I still can't get used to spider webs.

I thought to myself, "Well, maybe I can put up a barrier to keep them out!"

　I felt like I had come up with a great idea. Fortunately, my magic power is literally an order of magnitude higher than that of other people. I think it's an advantage for adventurers that they don't have to worry about using it in such a useless way.

"The Barrier."

　I deploy a thin, spherical magical barrier around myself.The C-rank non-attribute magic " Shield" wraps me around with a pretty cool noise.

"This is good. I'll do this again next time."

　It's a very useful magic that consumes very little magic power because once it's deployed, it doesn't disappear until it's broken. If you're in a battle, you'll probably have to reapply it many times, but fortunately  i am exploring. 

 

It also prevents surprise attacks.

　I it can't can't break it unless you're hit by surprise attack , it also means  i can prevent surprise attacks. It is a magic that is essential when working in a place like this where visibility is limited.

　The only regret is that this is a C-rank spell, and there are not many mages who can use C-rank spells; a D-rank is considered a full-fledged mage, and a C-rank is enough to be a soldier or adventurer. It's not like there are a lot of skilled mages in the world who can do better , it's just a matter of time.

　Even though this is the country that gave birth to the brave, imperial people are not a fighting people.

"Sonar."

　While deploying the barrier to prepare for surprise attacks and spider webs, it would be a shame to consume the barrier unnecessarily, so i  using the sonar to detect demons.

　It seems that there are no demons within a 100 meter radius .

"Whoa,  it's getting stronger ."

　There was a slightly stronger reaction in the area slightly farther than 100 meters. It wasn't that  strong, but it didn't seem to be moving at all, and seemed to be staying in one place. It had a round silhouette.

　As soon as a small reaction - probably a wild rabbit or a small bird - walked by the silhouette, the round silhouette grew long and thin and charged the small reaction.

　In no time at all, the small reaction was swallowed up and eventually disappeared.

"A snake."

　The elongated silhouette was probably a snake-shaped demon. The round shape must have been a coiled snake. I'm not sure what to make of it.

Oh, looks like those are the remains.

　The silhouette, perhaps satisfied with its prey, curled up again to rest. It's not like they're approaching  me , so there seems to be no need to be wary.

　It seemed that  I had finally arrived at the Lantern Ruins. It had taken  me about 30 minutes since   I entered the forest. It's not far, not close, just a normal distance.

e. ...... Yeah, it matches the features of the data. I'm pretty sure this is the Lantern Ruins."

　The structure looks like a pile of quarried rocks, about 10 meters high and 40 meters wide. The cracked walls with ivy vines crawling on them reminded me of the long history of the ruins.

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