The Black Iron Glory
Invention

Chapter 34

Invention

Borkal and Eriksson happily went hunting with Welikro. Their biggest goal to come to Egret is to get as many catches as possible in the first place.

Welikro said that because of all the creepy rumors surrounding Egret, not many people would go there to hunt or concoct. So, there were many wild animals there and it was much easier to hunt there than in the mountains. That was the main reason Welikro spent his last two winter holidays here with his father.

Their catch last night was a deer. That alone proves that Welikro's claim is true. One had to walk until their feet ran out before being able to find a herd of deer. There would be no results without exploring for at least ten days to half a month. It was not as easy as sitting near a river to wait for someone to drink nearby.

The three of them dream of making it big and hope that they will get a good catch for the rest of the day. They will also be looking for food around. Even if they could not get good prey, they could still pick out some rare herbs that could also be sold for a decent price in the city.

Seeing his friends leave, Claude prepared himself to take a walk around the ruins. Although he did not want anything worse than rushing into the basement to search for Magus Landes items, he forced his indiscretions. The least he had to do was to observe his surroundings first to make sure there was nothing wrong after he got the things he wanted.

When he thought about it, that level of caution was a side effect of reading all in his past life. All sorts of mishaps would occur as the protagonists of the novels attempted to search for treasure. Either the enemy suddenly jumps out of nowhere or a very strange situation occurs that causes the main character to face life-ending danger. In order to survive, those protagonists must overcome all sorts of obstacles. In everything he heard, not a single transmigrated protagonist could find a treasure without getting involved in some sort of strange accident.

I better learn from that lesson. Even the things that Magus Landes left behind were not precious treasures in any way, It was better to remain safe. Let's examine the ruins once carefully first and identify anything that could pose a threat to me.

However, Claude spent an hour searching around the area and saw nothing. There was nothing but the whizzing sound produced by the wind blowing through the cracks in the shattered walls. Even insects like ants or spiders are invisible. There will only be a few seagulls gnawing at the reef in the distance. The surrounding environment is not peaceful.

A loud gunshot rang out from the distance. It is not known if Welikro and the others managed to get another prey. At that moment, Claude was trying to make a torch. There were some rather dry pine branches in the middle of the firewood pile which was a decent material for torches. He tied a worn-out hemp rope around him, dipped it into the fuel and he didn't have to worry about the illumination when he went underground.

Claude found three underground entrances that Welikro mentioned, or, at least he believed he did. The diary says that the small room near the stone steps down was where Landes lived. It could be seen that his status in the magic tower was not high even though he was a four-ringed magus. He was no different from ordinary disciples or servants. Otherwise, it would be impossible for his residence to be located underground.

For example, what kind of master in a noble family would sleep in a basement? Only maids like housekeepers or kitchen maids would stay in such a place. High-end maids like waiters, cooks or personal servants or charioteers will also not sleep in the basement. They will have their own residence near the kitchen, dining room, warehouse, and so on.

From that line of thought, Claude determined that the entrance leading to the basement would not be the one close to the main entrance. No one wanted to do that because it was rather unattractive for the guests to see the maids enter and exit when they enter or go through the main entrance.

So, Claude concluded that the two entrances near the back were the ones he was looking for. That makes sense. When the two entrances at the back face a cliff near the beach, holes can be dug through basements and cliffs for windows to be built there for ventilation and good views. Although they were only magi who had relative traits as servants, they were still magic practitioners and Claude believed that magus like Landes might enjoy such modest benefits.

So, Claude concluded that the two entrances near the back were the ones he was looking for. That makes sense. When the two entrances at the back face a cliff near the beach, holes can be dug through basements and cliffs for windows to be built there for ventilation and good views. Although they were only magi who had relative traits as servants, they were still magic practitioners and Claude believed that magus like Landes might enjoy such modest benefits.

It was a pity that the cliff stretched a bit too far towards the sea. Even if he leaned against the edge of the cliff and looked down, he would not know if there was a window on the flat side of the cliff or not. There was no way he would bother taking the long route to see if there were any windows on the cliff. And given that several centuries have passed and the side of the cliff overlooking the sea may be constantly exposed to the elements, not to mention the vines and plants growing on it, he said, Claude suspected that even if there were windows, they would be completely covered by the plant.

However, that did not stop him from making the entrance behind the first place he was looking for. After all, he didn't have to search the entire basement. All he had to do was see if there was a green stone slab behind the stone staircase leading down. If it wasn't there, he would just have to move to the next entrance in the middle to check the back of the stone stairs there.

He brought six torches with him and reasoned that it was enough. As he stood near the entrance to the basement, Claude found that his hopes for a normal basement in the magic tower were completely off the mark. No other basement he saw had a depth of five to six meters. It was more like an underground cavity.

The stone stairs he used also stood out from the usual ones. Usually, the stairs will branch out in the middle to save space. But the three stone steps leading down had no forks or turns. They're coming down right away. Claude could barely see some of it with his torch. There were no signs of illumination in the dark abyss and he even smelled like a gutter.

Welikro said that there was nothing but mud in the basement that was about a foot or two high, which his father told him. He took it as the truth because there was no reason why his father wanted to lie to him about it. Claude guessed that it was the result of dirt accumulating from the rainwater washing it. Perhaps the drainage in the basement is clogged, causing sludge to build up over time.

He gave his equipment one last check. He carried a hunting knife, a small hook, a dagger stored in his books, as well as a short match. Making sure that nothing was wrong, he continued unrolling the rope.

That's right, rope ladder. Claude wasn't stupid enough to go down using the stone stairs. Having to walk through the mud almost two feet high back to the back of the stone stairs was too much of a waste of time, and he had absolutely no interest in drowning in the mud. Who knows what kind of germs grow in it. He would only blame himself if he was exposed to some kind of strange skin disease upon returning.

That's right, rope ladder. Claude wasn't stupid enough to go down using the stone stairs. Having to walk through the mud almost two feet high back to the back of the stone stairs was too much of a waste of time, and he had absolutely no interest in drowning in the mud. Who knows what kind of germs grow in it. He would only blame himself if he was exposed to some kind of strange skin disease upon returning.

Since the basement was about six meters tall, and each step was about 13 centimeters tall and about 40 centimeters wide, his deduction told him that there were about 40 steps stretching about 13 meters forward. If he were to walk using a stone staircase, he would have to retreat ten meters through the mud to reach the back of the stairs and it was too troublesome.

So, he quickly decided that he would descend using a rope ladder instead of from the top closest to the back of the stairs. He lowered the rope ladder after descending a few steps down the stairs until he was about five meters off the ground, which was the rough length of the rope ladder. From there, he only needed to walk about three meters to reach the back of the stairs. Much more comfortable than going down the stairs to the other end.

Staircases were also made along with torches not too long ago. They had brought about 20 meters of rope just in case they were going hiking. That's more than enough for a rope ladder. As for the stairs, he picked up some harder pieces of firewood. He had tested it before and made sure that they were able to support his weight. The process of making a rope ladder is rather simple.he ties a knot for every 30 centimeters of rope. After that, he tucked firewood through each knot and tightened it. They didn't have to hold on too tightly, as he only used it for a while.

Before he went down, he also cut off some branches from some bushes and threw them to where he was about to land. That way, he did not need to step directly into the mud. After half an hour of throwing bushes and twigs down, he felt it was more or less enough and lit his torch and went down using a rope ladder.

When he got to the bottom, Claude lifted his torch to look around. He could only see the darkness from far away. The space there might be a bit big. There were several clumps of branches in front of him on the damp, muddy ground. However, the mud was not as liquid as he thought.

Fortunately, the corner of the stone staircase was less than a meter away. He will reach the back after one round. The bad news is, Claude realized that the mud height was over two feet. Landes mentions in his diary that the green stone plate is located at the very bottom of the back of the stone staircase, meaning that he had to dig out some mud to be able to access it.

Well, there's no point thinking about that now. Let's get to work. Claude moved the clump of branches in front of him forward just before the corner of the stairs and threw the one behind him further forward. When he was a meter behind the stairs, he lit two torches and stuck them into the branches to make sure that he had enough light to get around.

The trapped mud smelled horrible. That can't be avoided. Claude used a small metal shovel to push the mud to the side and expose the bottom of the back of the stairs. Although the mud-submerged part looked rather dark, there was a clear rectangular bulge.

Well, there's no point thinking about that now. Let's get to work. Claude moved the clump of branches in front of him forward just before the corner of the stairs and threw the one behind him further forward. When he was a meter behind the stairs, he lit two torches and stuck them into the branches to make sure that he had enough light to get around.

The trapped mud smelled horrible. That can't be avoided. Claude used a small metal shovel to push the mud to the side and expose the bottom of the back of the stairs. Although the mud-submerged part looked rather dark, there was a clear rectangular bulge.

Landes it's not lying. . . Claude felt really touched. The catch was right; the side of the tower facing the sea was indeed a low-level magus residence.

He carefully cleaned the mud on the wall and pushed it away. The rectangular bulge seems to shift slightly, but does not move much.

Claude tried to recall what the diary said. That's right, he said to push hard. But given that Claude was crouching in a pile of branches and holding a torch in his left hand, pushing with his right hand would not work. He kicked with his feet.

That rectangular bulge was indeed the stone plate mentioned in the diary. It popped a little open from the kick and all Claude had to do was lift it to reveal the hole, like a deep drawer.

He shone his torchlight and saw a white chest like jade. It was about 30 centimeters long and ten centimeters tall and looked rather large.

Claude looked around to find a place to insert his torch. He would not be able to lift his chest with one hand from that look.

But right at that moment, he heard a slow growl that seemed to approach him. Looking up, he lost his mind when he saw a bloody mouth quickly coming towards him. . .