Chapter 617: The Last Stop of the Day

They started moving again after their break.

Along the way, Amélie sometimes talked about the plants she had found, and Rindo gave short and clear answers to questions about the map or the route.

Lian mostly listened, but whenever something caught his attention, he asked questions.

Gradually, she also became more comfortable speaking.

She no longer apologized for every simple sentence, and sometimes, she even gave a short explanation before Lian could ask a question.

This small change interested Lian, he usually paid more attention to people’s abilities and motivations when meeting them for the first time.

But now, he had realized that despite her calm appearance, the young girl was very confident in the things she knew well.

When she talked about harvesting a plant or the quality of water, she didn’t hesitate or try to change her opinion just because of the other person’s social status.

And this quality made her a useful member of the group.

The time was approaching late afternoon.

The golden light on the forest leaves had become stronger, and the shadows of the trees stretched farther along the path.

Over the past few hours, Lian had found several more valuable resources, he had collected some of them and left others for further examination in the coming days.

During this time, he had managed to find and collect two A-rank resources, three B-rank resources, and one C-rank resource.

He had also left several others behind because their value was too low in comparison.

But just as he was about to suggest returning, he felt a very slight vibration from the Celestial Book of Treasure.

He slowed his steps for a moment.

While Rindo was busy checking the map and Amélie was looking at a plant beside the path, he secretly checked the book’s information.

A golden point had appeared farther away from the other markers, its glow was much stronger than that of the resources he had collected throughout the day.

He looked at its location for a few seconds.

What is this one?

The point was near one of the area’s recorded springs, a spring that, according to the map, was located along the southern edge of the golden forest.

He hid the book again and then looked at Rindo.

"There’s another spring nearby, right?"

Rindo raised his head.

"Which one?"

Lian pointed in the general direction of the destination.

Rindo checked the map.

"About twenty minutes away."

Lian nodded.

"Not bad, we can take a look before returning."

Rindo looked at the sun’s position for a moment.

"There isn’t much time left before the end of the day."

"We can keep the inspection short."

Rindo thought about the route for a few seconds, and before he could answer, Amélie, who had heard their conversation, came closer.

"Excuse me, are you talking about the southern spring?"

Lian nodded, and the girl became excited for a moment.

"I think a rare type of medicinal plant grows there, it was mentioned in some old reports about this area."

Then she continued with some hesitation.

"Of course, I’m not sure if any are still there, but if we have time, I’d like to see it too."

Rindo looked between the two of them and then closed the map.

"Thirty minutes to inspect the area, then we’ll head straight back."

"Deal." In the end, even if his friend hadn’t agreed, he would have gone alone.

"Thank you very much." Amélie also nodded happily.

And the three of them headed toward the last spring they would visit that day, the route to the southern spring passed through a less crowded part of the forest.

The trees in this area stood farther apart, and their white roots extended out of the ground in some places. Unlike the paths beside the river, the ground was drier, and only a narrow stream flowed between the rocks.

Along the way, Lian paid attention to the changes in the mana quality around him.

The energy was still pure, but its concentration was higher near certain rocks, he looked at one of the moss-covered stones for a moment.

Strange, it seems the mana flow moves a little differently here.

Of course, the difference wasn’t great enough to immediately suggest danger.

Throughout the day, he had also come across several small areas where more energy flowed because of the plants or materials growing there.

So he simply memorized the location and continued moving.

A while later, the faint sound of flowing water reached their ears.

Amélie raised her head.

"I think we’ve arrived."

They passed between two golden trees, and the small spring appeared in front of them, but the scene was different from what they had seen at the previous springs.

Most of its bed had dried up.

White stones lay among the cracked soil, and only a narrow stream of water flowed past an old pillar.

Along the dried-up bed, white roots could be seen, some of which were still moist.

But many of the plants around them had lost their natural color.

Lian walked a few steps forward and fixed his gaze on the central pillar.

The pillar was almost two meters tall, but its upper part was broken. Golden moss had grown over the lower sections, and several old cracks could be seen along its surface.

What caught his attention the most was a mark carved near the highest intact part of the pillar.

It was a simple circle, but its center was empty.

He raised his head slightly.

The unusual sun of this land was still shining in the sky, a golden ring with an empty center.

The resemblance was clear.

Rindo had noticed it too.

"It’s the same mark as the one we see in the sky."

Lian nodded.

"Yeah."

For a few seconds, both of them looked at the pillar, Rindo ran his fingertips along one of the old cracks.

"This pillar is probably connected to the history of this land."

"That’s possible." The young Vorhelm replied.

He still knew nothing about the true origin of the Hollow Sun.

Although it was strange that the sun in the sky was hollow, they had heard about it before and hadn’t paid much attention to it, besides, this entire land was strange.

But the fact that the same mark appeared on an old pillar suggested that the shape of the sun had probably held special meaning for the people who once lived here or built this place.

However, he couldn’t draw any further conclusions based on this resemblance alone.

At the same time, Amélie was kneeling beside the spring’s bed, the girl carefully examined one of the withered plants and then moved aside several strands of the white roots around it.

"These are still alive."

"Are you sure?" Lian looked at her.

She nodded.

"Yes. The roots are still absorbing energy, but it seems they aren’t getting enough water."

She followed the narrow stream of water for a few moments and then pointed toward the area behind the pillar.

"I think the main flow comes from that side, something might be blocking its path."

Rindo also came closer, he looked at the stones around the pillar for a few seconds.

"We should check the situation before moving anything."

Amélie immediately nodded.

"That’s right."

Lian also agreed, he wasn’t in a hurry.

Although the Celestial Book of Treasure showed that a valuable resource was located near this very pillar, he still didn’t know exactly what it was.

And if collecting it required him to tamper with part of the old structure, he preferred to check the possible dangers first.

Rindo also took his spear from his back.

But instead of striking the stones, he held its tip a short distance above the spring’s bed and released a small amount of mana.

The flow of energy moved along the stone’s surface and then spread among several white roots. ℯ𝐥.𝒄ℴ𝓶

He carefully examined the reaction, in most areas, the mana flowed without any obstacles, but near the base of the pillar, a small amount of energy gathered and struggled to continue along its path.

"Here."

He pointed at a large stone trapped between two roots.

Lian walked closer, the stone was behind the pillar, and its lower part was buried in the soil.

From the condition of the surrounding area, it was clear that the stone had remained in the same position for a long time.

Amélie also came closer and examined the paths of the roots.

"If we remove this stone, the water will probably start flowing again."

Rindo nodded.

"Possibly, but we mustn’t put pressure on the pillar itself."

The young Vorhelm kept his gaze on the stone and then activated True Sequence.

The energy flows around him became clearer.

Several thin mana paths ran along the white roots, and some of them extended deep underground.

Near the large stone, these paths collided with one another, making their flow unstable.

But the structure continued deep underground, and he couldn’t see where it ended, he frowned slightly for a moment.

The structure was very complex.

And that didn’t make sense, was such a complex structure really necessary to stop the water from flowing? Or could it have another purpose...?