Still Loved Even In The New World
CHAPTER 157: The Ruins.

I continued my journey in the horse-drawn carriage slowly and left what had happened behind. Not that I completely ignored it, but more because there was nothing else to notice.

With Arkne in control, I'm sure he knows what he needs to and doesn't need to do.

The carriage continued to move forward under the gloomy red moon hanging in the sky that watched the earth demeaningly. The crisp sound of a horseshoe stomping on the ground and the soft rustling sound of leaves being blown by the wind, made this journey very peaceful.

Whether out of fear or what, the official I used as a guide kept silent and only occasionally spoke to the coachman to point out the right direction.

After a while, the carriage passed through a small, wide hilly meadow with few trees. The bleak red sky and perfectly round moon can be seen unobstructed by leaves or twigs.

Without waiting for my orders, the train stopped right in the middle of the road. There, a considerable distance from the carriage, was a rather high hill with a large tree at its top.

Under the tree, there was a tall woman with a gentle face and a sincere smile. The dress is thin and delicate, showing her perfect curves.

Black hair was like ink, waving slowly in a breeze that carried some deciduous leaves. With the perfect red moonlight as the setting, the scene seemed to show the Goddess who was in a painting, making people forget about the gloomy sky.

Seeing the carriage stop, the woman's feet floated lightly and approached the carriage. The horse carriage door would open automatically to welcome that beauty.

Filia:"Welcome back!."

Arkne:"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yes, that woman is Arkne. If she wasn't fighting or showing her ferocity, she would be a very gentle woman that many men crave.

Just like the character design. She was the queen of the Aracnoid race which was one of the most cruel and brutal races. Race bearers of disaster and suffering for many.

I was very lucky to obtain that race template and create an NPC like Arkne. The Aracnoid race is almost identical to the Affinist sisters, but the Affinist race is one of the most mysterious extraterrestrial life. In addition Arkne and sister Affinis have different life levels.

Arkne sat down gracefully and made me a cup of tea. Although the carriage continued to speed, inside the carriage felt no shock at all, so it was fine to pour a cup of tea neatly.

This trip was very boring with a very monotonous view. Actually the scene was constantly changing, but due to the bleak lighting, I could barely feel the difference.

While waiting to arrive at my destination, I simply enjoyed my tea and snacks while reading the diary left by the other Moon Palace members as long as I was not around.

By reading this, I want to know what the other sisters did after I left. I didn't expect, that after my death, they hadn't been looking for another guild member for many years.

They still play together and run various events like other normal players. Only, they were unable to enter the guild competition because the minimum requirement was to register five players.

Nonetheless, I was amazed by those who could still maintain the guild to remain in one of the top guilds without entering the guild competition.

I also read the guild's daily activities, including when they commemorated important matters in the guild. What touched me was that they would still consider me a member of the guild even after my death.

As a sick person who could not socialize much, I only knew a few people in the real world. And the four of them, are the best people I've ever known. Although we rarely meet in the real world because of my condition, but if in the game, they always support and help me no matter how much the problem.

Reading their diaries allowed me to feel the atmosphere they were in. Their feelings, their difficulties, their desires. Everything is clearly described in this diary. What a nostalgia.

But unfortunately, about five or six years later, Alterion suddenly announced his closure. The entire Moon Palace members waited until the game's final moments were closed and left all their items and storage in the guild's warehouse. I hope that maybe one day there will be a chance to return.

Will the opportunity really come?. After thinking about it, I couldn't help but hope that such an opportunity would come back.

However, I would also not be immersed in such hope because I knew that such hope was almost impossible. From the diary I already knew that after my death, they were still playing the game for approximately eight years before the game was finally closed. From that fact, I learned that after my death, my soul was not immediately transferred to this world, but there was still a certain time lag in the middle.

That lost time, I don't know how long. Clearly, after my soul was transferred to the current Philia, this world was not a game.

I remembered the words Soul Eater back then. Her confusion upon seeing me, and her shock, suddenly flashed through my mind.

The 7th century, the Age left. As I recall, during the game Alterion, it was set in the 3rd century, the twilight age of the gods. From that distance, I don't know how long time has passed. The change of each age does not have a fixed time, but the change of each age will be marked by a great destruction.

No one knew what kind of destruction it was. Even the players in Alterion had no clue about the great destruction of the second epoch, the age of the ancient gods. Each clue will be considered very valuable for players who like to learn history. Even the big guilds would keep their clues secret about it.

Because every clue relating to the times of the ancient gods, would contain a great secret to progress into the ancient gods. Even if not for that, perhaps every clue would help those great guilds find historical relics in the form of extremely valuable divine artifacts.

In addition, the great guilds also had their own fears with what was referred to as the 'Great Destruction'. So, they will try to figure out the great destruction and ways to overcome it.

Is that really a big ruin?. How could a far more advanced and powerful civilization, where a Tier god like dust in the air could simply be destroyed?. Where did the gods go?. And why are only their relics left, what really happened?.

Maybe if people just wanted to play like a regular game, they wouldn't think about it, but for the big guild players and experienced players, they would strive to figure out those things.

The secrets of the unknown world, that is their real purpose. Keep in mind, many ancient technologies in Alterion that can be implemented into the real world that can accelerate the development of human technology.

That's why from the beginning, the game Alterion is a very strange game. However, ordinary players would not notice it. If it wasn't for me and the Moon Palace sisters who loved mystery and exploration, we wouldn't have paid too much attention to this aspect either.

But what the players are most aware of is the real change in their bodies. If in Alterion they practiced martial arts, in the real world with just a little neural reflex adjustment, that person would also be able to master martial arts.

Although not as fantasy as in the game, but humans can maximize their strength to be able to destroy concrete walls with their bare hands is not a fantasy.

In addition, mental training in the game can even make one's thinking sharper. And in some cases, people will be able to have psychokinesis abilities and brainwave control.

From that, slowly the world of Alterion began to affect real world life. The martial arts competition began to be filled by powerful fighters who were very inhumane, technology and weapons of war began to be modernized very quickly. Human development that should take decades, can now be directly achieved.

Alterion's game is not a game, but a world different from reality.

My mind kept floating because I thought about it. Unknowingly, the train continued to accelerate to its destination. In less than half an hour, the train stopped in front of a large gate guarded by many armed soldiers.

Without waiting for an explanation from the official to the guard, I got off the carriage and saw a large wall over eight meters high.

The walls were irregular and encircled a city. There were two rings of walls encircling the city. One is the outermost wall that borders the wild and settlements, and one inner wall that borders between settlements and excavation areas.

The area of the entire city is about 8 square km with about 8,000 people inhabiting it. That's what I know from the official's explanation.

Me and the others entered on foot while looking at the condition of this city. The people who live in this city are soldiers, excavation workers, researchers, and their families.

The residential area is smaller than the excavation area which has an area of about 7 square km. As I walked towards the excavation area, the person in charge of this town immediately met me and gave me some explanations regarding this town.

I walked through the gate from the inner wall and saw the excavation area. The weathered ancient buildings lay quietly inside the quarry pit. Many people come in and out in the dugout while carrying buckets and other containers that contain leftover soil.

It can be seen from the state of the excavation hole, that excavation in this place has long been done. I noticed that there were some buildings that had been dismantled and the former cannon fuselage that had been disassembled. If I guess correctly, the former cannon foyer was the place where the first Tier three-powered cannon was placed. There are still some cannons that have not been stripped.

It was not because they could not, but because the damage to the cannon was already very severe. The metal used was already destroyed and left only the faint embryo form of the cannon.

I approached the remaining cannons and touched them. I looked carefully at the body part of the cannon and rubbed off the dust covering the surface of the cannon.

«Appraisal»

(Undefined).

Usually things that cannot be identified using Appraisal mean that it is a top-level object that is not distributed in general or a personal creation of a player. It was because the Alterion system would protect the privacy rights of players even NPCs. After all, Appraisal could only identify items that existed in general. Even NPC royal weapons could not be identified unless the data from the weapon was deliberately published by the kingdom.

It would be very unreasonable if a low-level common skill like Appraisal could identify all the items. So such limits will be very necessary for the balance of the game.

«Omniscient Eye»

A transparent blue screen appeared before me, showing an image of a red-black cannon with many red engravings burning like veins.

[Eclipse Canon] (Legendary).

(Severely damaged/Unrepairable).

Cannon with 120m length and 2m diameter. It is made of dark metal and other epic materials that absorb moonlight. It was created by the ancient Albedorian civilization some 12 billion years ago.

By fusing between the light and the aether, this cannon had enough disintegrating power to take down the demigods if they were not careful. However, due to being consumed by time and sustaining damage to the core formation, these cannons could not be reused.

.....

The identification results from Omniscient eye really surprised me. Cannon with the power to take down(1) a demigod?. Even in the Moon Palace there were not many defensive weapons with such destructive power.

The cannons from Xuan Ming back then only attracted me a little, but for this cannon, I should be able to obtain them.

It also surprised me with the abilities of the technicians from Xuan Ming. With the cannon damaged, without sufficient blueprints and knowledge, they managed to create a weaker replica of this cannon. It also proves that the potential future achievements of the indigenous population will be very surprising.

Maybe I should pay more attention to those people for the sake of new blood for Moon Palace. I want to set a path of future development to begin with by opening an academy at Moon Palace and accepting the indigenous people as students. Of course because reading and writing interests in this country are still very rare, I need to open many basic academies in each area and choose people who have the potential to be brought to Moon Palace.

Only by holding the talent and knowledge can you hold the future.

I noticed that the most noticeable difference of this cannon and the imperial cannon Xuan Ming was from the materials and magic formations on it. It was indeed possible to create a cannon like this without a blueprint, but the end result would only be similar to the one created by Xuan Ming empire.

Although the cannons from the Xuan Ming empire could only fire Tier three equivalent strength, but that power was enough to make them a hegemon in the eastern region.

With the discovery of this cannon, I have hope in my heart to find greater surprises within the ruins. Besides, if I can find the blueprint of the Eclipse Cannon, it's a huge advantage. And even with the invention of this cannon, the power of the Moon Palace would advance yet another step further.

Am I chasing strength because of an imaginary enemy?. No. gabe. I realized that great destruction always happens. Like the relics from Alterion really only a few left and others disappeared like they were swallowed by something unknown. And I, I don't know if the great destruction will actually happen or not, but I want to prepare myself as much as possible.

Family, friends, and people who are good to me right now, I want to be able to protect them. Only personal power can be relied upon.

Filia:"Arkne, send our current coordinates to the carrier, let them send a team to dig the wreckage."

Arkne:"Yes, Your Majesty."

Arkne let out a metal ball that floated in the air. The metal ball took out a network of lasers to inspect the entire wreckage including its people.

After about a minute, the metal ball took out a blue-lit antenna and continued to hover above the ruins.

Many people were paying attention and interested in the metal ball, but did not dare to ask. They only looked at the metal ball with curiosity.

.....

About five minutes later, a dark circular wormhole appeared above the excavation complex. Because the wormhole was unstable, there was a lightning singularity around it that kept crackling.

From within the hole, a silver flying ship appeared that reflected a red light in the sky. The length of the airship was about 200m with many flashing blue lights.

Although large, the airship was a transport airship with minimal attack power as it was only equipped with 10 medium-range energy weapons.

Despite this, the ship has a very complete research facility with the most advanced technology in Moon Palace.

The ship landed on a field on the edge of the excavation area, where the excavation workers set up tents. Many of the fallen tents flew because of the wind caused by propulsion engines from airships.

After landing, the rear hatch of the ship opens. Along with that, many people of various races got off the ship and approached me.

"Our respect, Your Majesty."

They knelt down and greeted me with respect. The group consisted of about 200 people with a long-eared male elf who looked old as the leader in this task.

Philia:"Ephilias, you will work hard this time."

Ephilias:"An honor to me, Your Majesty."

Philia:"Yes. Start working!."

They saluted again and began to disperse to do their respective work. I have ordered Arkne to tell the workers that the work has been taken over by my people.

Of course since they were cheap labor, they would still work under the orders of the Moon Palace people.

The workers led by Ephilias began to issue a variety of more sophisticated tools and instruments, different from the workers who used a variety of simple tools.

Looking at the equipment carried by Efilias and the others, the digger worker seemed confused and curious. They tried to dare to ask. Of course, Efilias and the others explained the function and usefulness of the various equipment they carried with great patience.

The excavation work is starting to return. But this time the work was done more carefully and thoroughly.

Of course I won't wait to get bored in this place. I've prepared a portable tent big enough for me to relax. Inside the tent there are a lot of furniture and normal home objects.

I was just sitting inside the tent looking at the 3d screen projection of the wreckage that the detection equipment was starting to map out.

The longer, the three-dimensional shape of the ruins became more and more complete and complete. Only, the detection equipment was like encountering something that was blocking his detection, so that the three-dimensional display was only the top of the ruins and the bottom of the ground as deep as about 20m, for the rest, it can't be seen yet.

Far from what I thought. These ruins are huge. The area that has been excavated only occupies about 20% of the surface of the ruins. The ruins consist of many buildings and statues arranged neatly, as if it was a former city in the past.

What is buried in this land?. Could it be an ancient city left behind?.

If so, this is a big advantage. A city with legendary cannons, because what can make this city left behind?!.

(The end of this chapter.)

(1). The meaning of dropping here means falling completely/dead and cannot be revived because his soul has also been destroyed.

The next chapter will be quick, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Enjoy the meal today.