Chapter 97 - Pretend I Didn't See That
The stone staircase descended from the back-right of the room towards the front. It was pitch black ahead, so I couldn’t see anything…
“Um, I’d like you to illuminate ahead of here.”
When I asked the light spirit, the light floating in the room drifted over and descended into the staircase ahead. Super convenient.
“Thanks.”
“Woof!”
Beyond the stairs, illuminated by that light, seemed to be a room paved with [Stone Pavement]. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be any scattered bones or smeared blood, which was a relief…
“...I guess I’ll go down. Lupi, wait here for a bit.”
I didn’t want anything possessing me, so I told Lupi to wait and went down first. The stairs being quite steep reminded me of my grandpa’s house in the countryside.
“Whoop.”
The first floor I landed on was surrounded by stone walls, with a ceiling less than 2 meters high, making it incredibly oppressive. I looked around, and there was nothing startling—like bones—to be found.
It seems okay.
“I was bracing myself for the owner of this house to be a [Skeleton] sitting there, but…”
“Woof!”
“Ah, it’s fine. Lupi, come here.”
Lupi rushed down before I even finished speaking. After looking around, she rubbed her head against my shin, as if relieved.
“Good girl, good girl. Alright, let’s investigate thoroughly.”
First, what I’m curious about is the cabinet against the wall in front of me. The upper half has double doors with frosted glass panels, giving it an antique feel.
It looks very old, so please be careful when opening it, okay?
“Roger. Or rather, [Appraisal] first, I guess.”
[Old Luxury Cabinet]
A cabinet made from fine timber. Created a long time ago.
Woodcraft: Repair/Crafting possible.
Whoa, ‘luxury’. Why would someone put something luxurious in a place like this? I feel like it would have been bad if it had been leaking…
What kind of person lived here, I wonder…
Listening to Mion’s murmur, I placed my hand on the door. It felt like it would open normally.
“I’ll open it.”
Okay.
I applied a little force and carefully pulled. After a moment of resistance, the door slid open.
“Oooh~”
Inside were rows of books. All properly bound and looking expensive. As I glanced at the spines, they ranged from what looked like [Grimoires] to history, geography, and encyclopedias.
That’s amazing. Shou-kun, with this…
“Yeah. I think I can acquire academic-type skills that I couldn’t before.”
Thankfully, I have plenty of SP left over. Whether I take all of them or not, I’d like to acquire academic skills that could be useful for life here.
“Hm?”
On the lower shelf, above some larger books, lay something that didn’t feel like a book, just casually placed…
“What is this?”
It had no binding, just a bundle of papers with holes punched through and tied with a leather string. The cover, or rather, the top sheet of paper, simply read ‘Record’…
Could it be something like a notepad?
“I see. Probably belonged to the former owner of this place.”
Hmm… I feel a little reluctant to just look inside someone else’s personal writings, but I already kicked down the front door, so is it too late for that now…?
“Well, I can read it later. Let’s look at other things.”
Okay.
I tossed the ‘Record’ into my inventory and closed the cabinet. Next, I looked around and what caught my eye was…
“What’s this? A magic circle?”
It was a silver plate, about 1 meter square and 3 cm thick. The patterns engraved on its surface resembled those I’d seen in [Grimoires], but I had no idea what they meant.
Shou-kun, you shouldn’t carelessly approach it…
“Ah, yeah, you’re right.”
I don’t know what might activate. I nudged Lupi behind me and slowly approached… I can [Appraisal] it. Should I try?
[Transfer Magic Circle]
By pouring MP into it, it transfers people or objects on it to its corresponding [Transfer Magic Circle].
However, if there are obstacles on the destination magic circle, it will not activate due to safety concerns.
“…”
“I guess this is sealed.”
Not knowing where it transfers you to is too scary…
“If its counterpart is at the bottom of the sea or something, that’d be the end of it.”
A one-way ticket to an unknown destination is definitely too terrifying. It would be great if it could take me to my current home, the eastern cave.
“And then there’s this box.”
It doesn’t really feel like a treasure chest.
Next to the [Transfer Magic Circle] was a very typical-looking… was it called a chest box? Anyway, it was a large box with a top lid that flipped open. It was big enough for me to curl up inside.
[Ancient Magic Storage]
A box that preserves its contents long-term. Long-term preservation is possible by using the mana from the embedded [Magic Crystal Stone].
“Whoa, seriously?!”
If this can preserve things long-term, it would be incredibly helpful for storing all the meat, meat, and more meat that’s hogging up my inventory.
Where’s the embedded Magic Crystal Stone?
“Doesn’t seem to be on the outside. …Inside, once it’s open?”
Please be careful when opening it, okay?
“Roger.”
I confirmed that [Trap Detection] didn’t pick up anything. Though, my level is low so it’s hard to say.
I thought it might be locked, but it was just a bit heavy; the lid lifted normally. When I carefully lifted it up, it opened easily…
“Oh, it’s empty.”
I thought the previous owner might have left something behind.
“Right. Well, it’s not like I’d get really strong weapons here anyway. Ah, this is the [Magic Crystal Stone].”
On the underside of the opened lid, a medium-sized [Magic Crystal Stone] was embedded, surrounded by engraved magic. It must be some kind of magic tool, but if only I understood how it worked.
Is this everything? It’s good that there weren’t any horror elements, surprisingly…
Also, this first floor is solidly built, and it doesn’t seem like it needs a major overhaul.
So, in the end, the person who lived here went somewhere using that Transfer Magic Circle from earlier?
“Ah, yeah. That would explain why all the doors were latched from the inside.”
Did they travel between here and somewhere else for some reason? There was a bed, but no kitchen, bath, or toilet. Well, since it’s a game, a bath and toilet aren’t even necessary in the first place, but…
“Hm? So, is there a possibility that someone might teleport to that [Transfer Magic Circle]?”
Ah, that’s right…
“Hmm, judging by the amount of dust, it probably hasn’t been used for a while, but I’m hesitant to just use it freely.”
From a game perspective, I think it probably means “feel free to use it,” but…
How about reading that ‘Record’ from earlier? There might be something written about this place.
“I see. It would be good if I could find out what this [Mountain Cabin] was for, or where the [Transfer Magic Circle] leads.”
It might also have something about the underground ‘Unlock Code’.
“Ah, that’s right! Alright, I’ll decide after reading that.”
Judging by its thickness, I should be able to finish reading it in about 15 minutes.
Okay. But after that, let’s fix the door you broke.
“Yes…”