Chapter 404 - 342: Another Ancient Ruin?

Chapter 404: Chapter 342: Another Ancient Ruin?

Lloyd had only discovered this "new trick" after his [Twisted Realm] reached level 8 recently. It was an enhanced effect of his passive Twist—

When someone locked onto him with their inspiration and showed clear hostility, he could automatically and continuously Twist the enemy from a distance as a counterattack, essentially eliminating the threat and animosity beforehand.

’As a defensive ability, it’s pretty reasonable for a passive Twist to have this kind of effect, right?’

However, the power and effect of this continuous Twist were a bit weak and slow. If the opponent was of a high Tier and very strong, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished. Therefore, in a direct confrontation, it was less effective than its original defensive function.

But it was perfect for dealing with those petty crooks from before, whose hearts were completely consumed by greed.

In any case, having dealt with this "worry in his rearview," Lloyd’s mood lightened considerably. His footsteps... or rather, his [Projection]’s footsteps, grew increasingly brisk, so much so that Little Olga had to put in some effort to keep up.

This mountain path, which would have been exceptionally difficult for an ordinary person, posed no great obstacle to Lloyd and Little Olga. Before long, the two of them reached the summit of the not-so-tall mountain and saw the Snowstorm Mountain Villa.

From the outside, it looked truly magnificent. It had the overall layout of a European castle, exuding a grand and imposing air. One could easily imagine that its residents must be either rich or noble.

However, this was a desolate, barren, snowy mountaintop. Only a lunatic would build a castle-like manor in such a godforsaken place.

Lloyd had been planning to admire the style and layout, but as the *Book of Truth* in his mind slowly turned its pages, the castle manor before him gradually revealed its true form, transforming into a vast expanse of crumbling walls and ruins.

Moreover, it was all weathered and dilapidated beyond recognition, covered in the ancient marks of time. It must have endured the grind of a thousand years to end up like this.

’This is an ancient ruin?’

And it was huge, covering an area about the size of a modern soccer field and occupying almost the entire mountaintop.

Although the parts above ground were completely destroyed and didn’t seem to have much value, there was an even vaster and more complex space deep underground. It was as if the entire mountaintop had been hollowed out.

’An ancient ruin of this scale actually exists? And within the human-controlled zone?’

’It must have originally been built in an Alternate Space. After the apocalypse, it was gradually abandoned. Then, as time passed, it was ’squeezed’ from the Alternate Space back into the real world. This caused structural damage, essentially creating a rift in the real world’s Space.’

’This probably happened within the last two months, which is why no one has excavated here before.’

Lloyd first analyzed the situation from a spatial perspective, then checked the stability of the Space here.

There were indeed some problems, but they weren’t too serious. They were still within the scope of what he could handle.

The spatial region where these ruins were located, however, was surprisingly firm and stable, even more solid than the school districts in Mizkatoke.

’If I could take this for myself...’

Lloyd’s imagination ran for a moment, but he quickly reined in his thoughts and focused on the present.

’Forget it, forget it. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. I shouldn’t think so far ahead. Right now, I need to find that ’uncle’ who goes around claiming nephews.’

’Another archaeological excavation? Nice, I like this kind of activity.’

So, Lloyd patiently spread out a bit of his inspiration, activated his Spiritual Vision, and carefully began a deeper investigation.

Soon, amid the large pile of ruins, he found a small area that was clearly abnormal.

His inspiration and eerie Intuition didn’t sound any loud alarms, but they throbbed slightly, warning him to be extra careful.

Lloyd even ’sniffed’ a somewhat familiar scent from that direction—

The scent of [Twist]...

’It seems that’s where the luxurious castle manor from the beginning came from.’

But this [Twist] power was quite weak. It wasn’t enough to shake his [Rationality] of 445 points. His vision was only slightly distorted, with white spots and specks like those on an old film reel occasionally flashing by, or it would blur and tremble for a moment.

’Not a big problem. I can overcome it.’

"Should we go in and take a look?"

Lloyd suggested, turning his head to look at Little Olga.

Then he couldn’t help but freeze.

This guy was holding a large pile of colorful potions, chugging them down one after another...

"These are all pretty good potions, very comprehensive. They provide a variety of Protective Effects. Want some?"

Little Olga asked generously.

’Wow, you’re a nice guy, huh?’

Lloyd quickly waved his hands, indicating that he wasn’t sick and didn’t like taking medicine.

So Little Olga chugged down more than a dozen potions in a row, staining the corners of his mouth and his lips with a rainbow of colors. Then, he took out various pieces of equipment like rings, earrings, brooches, and watch chains, and put them on one by one.

He then tucked the latest model of revolver into his belt, held a metal Walking Stick carved with intricate patterns in one hand and a special flashlight emitting a unique Spiritual Energy in the other. Finally, he nodded and said in a low voice:

"That should be about it, right? This is all I brought. It’s not completely comprehensive, but it should be enough to handle things..."

Lloyd was speechless at the side...

’What kind of pay-to-win player are you?’

’I thought carrying three Holy Artifacts around was already extravagant, but this guy is decked out from head to toe in various Holy Artifacts and equipment. All told, isn’t that at least fifteen items?’

A few of them even clearly had the style of Mizkatoke.

’Other people investigate paranormal incidents by relying on experience, passion, courage, friendship, bonds, love, hope, and possibility. But this guy just buys his way through difficulties with equipment, is that it?’

After roasting him in his mind, Lloyd decided to just go along with it and said:

"Oh, right. I have a new piece of equipment developed by Mizkatoke. It can help you share the burden of Spiritual Contamination. I’m about to activate it, so don’t be alarmed."

With that, he activated his [Consciousness Tentacles], causing a single strand of hair—a ’Dazed Hair’—to sprout from Little Olga’s forehead.

"Hm? I think I grew a hair?"

Little Olga scratched his head, but he didn’t seem too surprised.

"Alright, let’s go."

Lloyd said, taking the lead.

Little Olga, on the other hand, snapped a solid metal mask over his face, completely blocking his vision to ensure he wouldn’t see anything weird, before following Lloyd.

But he seemed to have other ways of perceiving his surroundings, so he wasn’t worried about tripping on the rubble and broken bricks underfoot. He was still muttering in a low voice:

"Looks like the castle outside was indeed a visual interference. After covering my eyes, there’s nothing left but ruins... What about you? Lloyd, what do you see?"

"Just a dusty, gray ancient ruin."

"I see... It seems you also have a way to dispel visual interference. Can you give me a rough description of the colors here? All I see are black-and-white lines and outlines."

"There’s not much to describe, really. It’s pretty much what you’re seeing, except... there’s no snow..."

"Mhm... And there are no Demons nearby. I wonder if it’s because this is the border between two cities and the natural environment is too harsh, or if there’s some other reason?"

"We’ll know once we go in."

The two exchanged a few casual words like this and soon arrived at the place where Lloyd had sensed the abnormality.

It was an iron door set flat on the ground, seemingly leading to a basement.

Lloyd tried pulling on it, but the iron door didn’t budge, as if it were completely rusted shut.

"Let me."

Little Olga quickly volunteered.

Then he tapped his metal Walking Stick lightly, and a tall, imposing figure immediately materialized behind him.

It was his [Projection]. It looked like a Knight in ornate armor, holding a Lance as thick as a small tree in one hand and a heavy Tower Shield taller than Lloyd himself in the other. It looked majestic and imposing.

However... it only had an upper body...

Its lower half was empty, leaving it to float in mid-air, which looked a bit odd.

"Er... This is the [Projection] I created based on the image of my family’s ancestor. But since most of the paintings recording his heroic deeds only show his upper body, I haven’t quite figured out how to construct the lower half yet..."

Little Olga explained, looking slightly embarrassed.