Chapter 518 - The Entrance to the Dragonewt Village ②
In starting the experiment, we all considered the size of the space of the passage. Since Beastmen enter this wide hall, we predicted that the hidden entrance and exit would also be correspondingly large.
Next, we checked the north with a wooden fish that tells the direction. Assuming the pond is a window for lighting, we predicted that the passage from that height to the place where we were now would be a large, almost vertical hole.
Furthermore, we thought there might be a hole leading to the foot of the mountain, which might have also served as a departure point for sorties in the past. And we thought that hole would be completely buried.
Based on the above assumptions, we set the current location as a point midway between the hole leading to the village and the departure point to the foot, and assumed that the entrance to the village was not on the foot side, in other words, the south side.
The shape of the hall is an ellipse with long north-south arcs. If it's not in the south, it's in the north. From the stones of the north wall, we selected twenty locations after taking the width of the entrance and exit into account.
For those twenty locations, we would try the experiment assuming there was a space... in other words, a passage beyond the wall.
Regarding the distance to the space, we removed only one stone from the wall to check the depth of the stone, and from there, I asked Alex how much more soil wall would be needed before even a Dwarf could no longer read the change in sound.
Incidentally, Alex tried digging the soil where the stone was removed, but unfortunately, there was no passage.
The Elf Prince, with his eyes closed, held his right hand toward the selected stone, and the experiment began.
"I wonder if it can be done?"
I said it myself, but I have no confidence. I asked Eleanor-sama in a small voice.
We tried practicing in advance. I release one Firefly and have it drift at the distance Alex told me. After Eleanor-sama and the Elf Prince actually saw that sense of distance with their eyes, we tried to see if the Elf Prince could deploy a wall made of Wind Barrier in front of the Firefly while his eyes were closed. It was Alex's proposal. At first, it was nothing but failure. However, the Elf Prince finally succeeded on the seventh try. Perhaps he caught the knack after succeeding once, as he was able to do it three times in a row. He became able to do it even if he turned his body after extinguishing the Firefly. Surely, he must have released magic while imagining the Light floating in the darkness.
"I don't know. However, Wind Barrier, unlike Fire Ball, activates magic by gathering magic power at the location where it activates. Theoretically, it should activate even if you smeared slug mucus on the wall. However, as was the case this time, I couldn't do it even when I was active. It might be something humans cannot do. Therefore, the rest is up to the Elf's magic control."
Apparently, she experimented with the Headmistress in the past. At that time too, they couldn't do it. However, they apparently didn't do something like placing an object instead of a Firefly so they could clearly imagine the sense of distance. They did it in an easy way, so to speak, but they still couldn't do it. Humans probably can't do it.
Unlike practice, the result cannot be seen. This apparently gets to you mentally, as the Elf Prince's complexion was not good after five locations were finished. So far, no results have come out.
We tried the middle one as the first, the second to its right, the third to its left, and so on, alternating right and left, but so far it's been a series of failures.
"As expected, it's difficult to manipulate something you don't know if it exists or not."
"Believe that it exists."
"Sorry, but I can't think that simply."
Alex is giving advice by his side as an advisor, but it's not going well.
"How should I say, yes, if only there were something like a response."
"A response, huh. It's difficult when the activation location is far."
"Is it just a matter of doing many?"
"Well, maybe so. In time, you might catch some kind of knack."
While such an exchange was taking place, whether he caught the knack, Alex finally caught a sound at the eighth location.
"Here! I can hear it!"
With his ear still pressed against the stone, he held up three fingers.
The Elf Prince's fingertips bent three times as if beckoning.
"One, two, three! Alright, I heard it. No mistake."
He jumped up in joy and immediately removed the stone and dug out the soil beyond it.
We successfully discovered the passage. Since it was pitch black, we illuminated it with Light. It was a straight stone passage.
When we proceeded as it was, after turning right, there was an iron door.
Alex pounded on it bang-bang, but there was no change.
It couldn't be helped. It was a forced breakthrough.
While Alex listened for sounds beyond the door, the Elf Prince caused a wind by activating magic beyond the obstacle, having now completely caught the knack.
"I can't hear anything. It seems no one is there. Henry-san, can you cut this thing with the sword at your waist? Around here."
Alex was pointing at the silver sword Henry-sama had at his waist.
"I think I can cut it if it's iron."
The former hero said easily.
After confirming everyone had stepped back, he approached one, two steps.
"Sei!"
Just as I thought he let out a shout, he drew and slashed upward. However, if you look at his posture after finishing the slash, the sword is held horizontally on the left side.
With a clink, at the same time as he returned the sword to its hilt, a part of the iron door fell off as if it had been removed, and a triangular hole was opened.
How did he do it? It's a shock.
"As expected, he's fast. Did he slash three times at once?"
It seems the Elf Prince could see it. This is also a shock.
"Thanks."
Alex said thanks, thrust his hand into the hole, and removed the bolt on the inside of the door.
I heard from Eleanor-sama later, but it was apparently the result of slashing upward from the bottom left to the top right, rotating it above his head and slashing from the top left to the bottom right, and then slashing horizontally from right to left. Apparently, everyone except me could see it.
"I have good eyes, despite how I look."
Eleanor-sama is laughing, but I don't think it's that kind of thing.
Beyond the passage was another passage. It was still pitch black, but it became wider.
I saw figures on the left and right, and when I wondered what they were, they were stone statues. They were lined up on the left and right at regular intervals. When I illuminated them, they were dragons. Their appearance resembled the Black Dragon Child. A large body like a Fire Dragon, large wings like a Wyvern, a neck thinner than a Fire Dragon, and long, sturdy front legs like an Earth Dragon that could support the body with good balance even when on all fours. The tail was also slightly shorter and thicker compared to other dragons.
A stone tablet was placed at their feet, and something like characters was written on it. Since it wasn't ancient language, I couldn't read it.
"This is Dragonewt script. It says 'Ancestor Dragon'."
"Ancestor Dragon... I've never heard of it, but are there such stories passed down among Dwarves and Elves?"
Eleanor-sama asked Alex, who was reading the characters.
"It's in the legends. Literally, the first dragon in this world. It's passed down that from there, it split into the four attribute dragons... in other words, Fire Dragon, Wyvern, Water Dragon, and Earth Dragon."
"Then, this dragon..."
"Yeah, in a sense, the strongest dragon possessing all attributes."
The Black Dragon Child is called the strongest dragon by Dune and Mel.
"Doesn't it look like the Black Dragon Child when it grows up?"
I found myself asking.
"Yeah, it looks like it. Exactly."
"Hmm. Indeed, it's understandable why the water and wind spirits are together calling it the strongest dragon and are cautious in raising it."
Both of them agreed. As I thought, that's it.
"Then, that child is..."
"Even though it was inside a cocoon, it was exposed to dense magic power. Far from transforming, it seems to have successfully taken it into its body, but as a result, all the hidden power might have manifested."
"If the origin of the Wyvern is this Ancestor Dragon, and it's the same for other attribute dragons, that Black Dragon Child might be a throwback."
A throwback... In other words, that child possesses all the powers of all attribute dragons. Even though the Elf Prince is the teacher, the Wyvern masters attribute magic other than wind. At first, I just thought it was simply amazing, but there was an origin after all.
"This one is the first, and beyond that, four are lined up on each side, in the order of Fire Dragon, Wyvern, Water Dragon, and Earth Dragon. I don't know if the order has meaning, but these stone statues are, so to speak, the lineage of dragons."
"And does it mean that from these dragons of each attribute, Dragonewts were derived?"
"Who knows. There are still stone statues lined up ahead. Wouldn't we know if we saw those?"
Ahead of where Alex was pointing, several stone statues were lined up.
While proceeding and looking at the huge stone statues that were easily three times the height of a human, the fifth one was a dragon that resembled a long, thin snake with small wings. Its size was also at most about twice a human's.
"This is it. The one I saw in this mountain range."
It was Violet. In other words, this is the strong snake that cannot be defeated by magic or weapons... If so, the length would be almost equal. In other words, the dragons are made considerably smaller.
"Is it an Amphiptere?"
"I bet it is."
When Eleanor-sama said the name, Violet answered.
"It says 'Dragon with wings and no limbs'."
Lindwurms and Wyrms were also like that, though the size and shape of the jaw are completely different.
If it's a type of dragon and not a magic beast, Holy magic won't be able to deal damage.
"Could it be that Dragonewts were derived from this Amphiptere? It's too much of a stretch for Dragonewts to be derived suddenly from a huge dragon."
Alex said, but I feel like it's also quite a stretch from a dragon to an Amphiptere.
When we passed the place where the stone statues were lined up, it became just a passage. Ahead was a dead end, and as expected, there was an iron door.
When Alex pounded bang-bang, this time there was a reply.
"You've done well to come this far."
It would be the Dragonewt from earlier. He seems to have been waiting.
"Of course. We've got a Dwarf, an Elf, an Arachne, humans of the strongest class, and a user of Light magic; the pieces are all gathered."
"Impressive. Very well, you pass. I'll let you through."
When he said so, the sound of a bolt being removed was heard beyond the door, and the heavy-looking door opened while making a creaking sound.
Beyond the door was light.
It was a wide stone room, but in a part of it, light was shining from above. When I looked up, it was like a hole was open, and light was shining from there.
That said, it wasn't that strong.
It felt as if it was barely reaching from far away.
According to Alex, it means that even if it's not the peak, the sunlight is being made to reach a considerable distance from where trees don't grow to what can barely be called midway.
"If we can come this far, will you guide us to your village?"
"That won't do. This is only an entrance and exit. You must go to the inside of the village by yourselves. I'm sure you understand, but the village is above that hole."
He was smirking. He's likely saying to try and go up that far if we can.
"I understand. Then, we shall do so."
Eleanor-sama, after finishing the exchange with the Dragonewt, looked at the Elf Prince.
The Prince made a bowl, we all got in, and departed.
We started ascending toward the entrance of the hole just like that.
"W-Wait, wait, wait! What is that!"
He doesn't seem to know the Paul-style Flight Magic and was flustered. Fufu, one must not underestimate humans who do nothing but devise things all the time precisely because they are weak.
"It's Flight Magic realized by the application of Wind Barrier. We humans have acquired the technique to fly in the sky like this. If you don't know it, we can teach you as much as you like."
"W-We can fly freely in the sky without doing such strange things!"
He flew up from below as if flustered and lined up beside the ascending bowl.
"But if you use this method, you can carry many various heavy things. If you lot use it, it would be things that humans could never carry in one trip. For example, the catch from hunting."
"T-That is true, but what would we do by hunting that much? It would only end up spoiling."
"How about dried meat?"
"It's bad. It's better to hunt fresh catch without going out of your way to do such a thing."
"Oh, is it bad? Are you saying the dried meat you had earlier was bad?"
That's something I can't overlook. I've never been told it's bad until now. In fact, when you ate it, you said it was delicious.
"T-That was, well, delicious."
See? No matter what the race, it's highly praised by the carnivores.
"In that case, we shall also teach you how to make that. Right, Jeanne?"
Well, I don't mind teaching them. Before that, I'd like them to change their attitude at least a little bit.