Chapter 448 - 424: The "Flamed-Out" Shell Ship

Chapter 448: Chapter 424: The "Flamed-Out" Shell Ship

The Shell Ship glided smoothly through the bizarre and kaleidoscopic Star Realm.

Roland walked over to Duraga, who was standing by the main control Rune on the bridge, and asked.

"How long until we reach Aiselon?"

Without looking up, Duraga adjusted a glowing sequence of Runes and answered in his gruff voice.

"Hey, Rudolph, I’m not like you and Duadeng. This is my first time visiting that continent too."

He reached out his left hand, which was covered by a heavy Iron Glove, and gently tapped the main control crystal. Closing his eyes, he seemed to be using some sort of resonance to perceive their course and distance.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and grinned.

"But based on the marker Duadeng gave us... hmm, it should take about as long as a short nap?"

Roland was already familiar with the Shell Ship’s miraculous method of travel, which utilized spatial Traits and was far beyond what conventional vehicles could achieve.

Therefore, he wasn’t surprised by this vague yet indicative measure of an extremely short period of time.

After exchanging a few more words with Duraga, Roland watched as the energetic Gray Dwarf leader turned and walked toward the center of the deck.

He began loudly ordering his people to re-secure the supply crates, which seemed particularly "restless" during their voyage through the Star Realm.

Roland, meanwhile, strolled to the side of the ship. Leaning his back against a mast support that seemed naturally formed from some kind of biological carapace, he took out the Sheepskin Scroll that Duadeng had handed him upon their departure.

He untied the cord and slowly unrolled it.

"This is..."

The moment the Scroll was fully unfurled, Roland’s gaze was captivated, and his breath hitched slightly.

It was not the crude diagram he had imagined, but an exquisitely detailed and even magnificent map.

The brushwork was delicate and fluid. Mountains were outlined in varying shades of brown and teal, creating a majestic, three-dimensional effect, while rivers were depicted in a silver-blue pigment that seemed to shimmer with flowing water.

Winding roads, deep forests, and rolling hills were all rendered with lifelike detail.

What was even more striking were the countless place names marked on the map in an ancient, elegant script.

From natural landmarks to the towns and fortresses inhabited by various Races, the amount of information was astonishingly detailed.

Roland’s eyes slowly traced the unfamiliar names, and he murmured them under his breath.

"Twilight Forest... Split Ridge Mountain Range... Silent Lake... Silver Moon Elf Outpost..."

Finally, his gaze was inevitably drawn to the absolute center of the Sheepskin Scroll.

There, a stunningly grand and architecturally unique complex was drawn.

It was not a fortress of piled Giant Stones like a traditional castle; its lines were exceptionally fluid.

Vast domes, soaring spires that pierced the clouds, and sky-bridges spanning canyon-like gaps were cleverly combined, presenting an overall aesthetic of incredible geometric beauty and harmony.

The buildings’ surfaces seemed to be dotted with countless tiny points of light that faintly twinkled, even on the static illustration.

Its precision and structural design were far beyond any city Roland had ever seen, giving it an almost...

...otherworldly quality, as if it didn’t belong to this era.

"...Silver Radiance City."

After speaking the name, Roland raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

He turned his head to the Minstrel, who had sidled up at some point and was craning his neck, desperate for a look at the map, and asked.

"Galvis, this ’Silver Radiance City’... have you heard of it?"

Hearing Roland’s question, Galvis’s distinctly Elven pointed ears seemed to twitch with excitement.

He darted over to Roland’s side with the Agility of a cat that had discovered a treasure, practically resting his head on Roland’s shoulder, his eyes shining as he stared intently at the "Silver Radiance City" marker on the map.

"Silver Radiance City?"

His voice instantly shot up, filled with the dramatic exaggeration characteristic of a Minstrel.

"Roland! What your finger is pointing to is a legendary land, sung about in countless ballads but seen by none!"

He gestured excitedly in the air with his hands as if painting a magnificent scene, his tone a mixture of awe and uncertainty.

"The most ancient epics... the ones vaguely recorded on tattered sheepskin scrolls that even my master needs a magnifying glass to decipher... they say that in the mythological era, so long ago that the mountains themselves hadn’t even taken their final form, Aiselon was considered the center of the world. And this Silver Radiance City..."

His finger cautiously hovered over the uniquely structured city-state on the map, his voice filled with an almost devout longing.

"Legend says it was the most brilliant jewel on Aiselon’s crown, a miracle built with the combined efforts of all the wise Races of that age... Elves, humans, Dwarves, and even some Races that have now vanished!"

"Imagine it, Roland! Different Races living under the same city’s domes, knowledge converging like rivers, and skills creating Sparks in their collision... what a glorious sight that must have been! It was undoubtedly the thriving heart of that epoch, the absolute nexus of population, wisdom, and art! But..."

At this point, Galvis’s fervor subsided slightly.

He scratched his perpetually unkempt hair, his tone turning a bit sheepish.

"Heh, to be honest, these legends are so ancient that even our Elven lore about them has become muddled."

"The specifics—how magnificent it truly was, what kind of Magic flowed through its streets, why it went from a real place to a legend on a map... I only know a tiny bit more about all that than the braggarts in the taverns."

"Many details have been lost to the river of time, leaving behind only tantalizing fragments and contradictory story threads that are enough to make you itch with curiosity."