Chapter 428: Revival Fortress

Commune with Nature. This was one of the pinnacles of Magic that Rangers could obtain from the natural world. This Magic allowed them to briefly become one with nature, gaining information about their surroundings. The information could include, but was not limited to: topography and bodies of water; the local flora, fauna, minerals, or people; the presence of powerful creatures from the Celestial Realm, Spirit Creatures, Evil Demons, Elemental Creatures, or Undead Creatures; influences from other planes of existence; and any buildings.

Although being deep in a cave prevented the Magic from covering its usual one-and-a-half-kilometer range, ninety-odd meters was more or less enough.

"A Goblin Ranger..." The Vampire Count was at a loss for words, just as he had been when he first met Delaford six months ago.

’A goblin could obtain power far beyond what he’s earned, so why can’t I?!’

"Oh, yes, yes..."

The goblin’s voice echoed intermittently from all directions, as if Delaford were conversing with some incorporeal entity and extracting the information he desired. When the Magic Energy around his body finally dissipated and he came to his senses, his eyes were shining brightly.

"Ron, Ron! Come quick! I know what’s going on here!"

"You figured it out?" Ron and his group hurried over, curiously sizing up the surprisingly dependable Goblin Hunter. "What did you find out?"

The goblin grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Everything about this place, this ’Revival Fortress’!"

"Revival Fortress," Victoria said, ’I doubt Delaford came up with a name like that himself.’ "But this place just seems like a hut made of sheet metal."

"Calling it a secret room is one thing, but a fortress?"

"That’s because where we are now is just one of its rooms!" the Goblin Hunter interrupted the Priest’s skeptical remark. He rushed to a completely unremarkable spot that would attract no attention and pointed at the fungi by his feet. "Ron, come clear all the soil off of this!"

"Are you sure?" Silvia walked over curiously. Reaching out, she unleashed a wave of power to clear the surrounding Red Mould and other plants for Ron. A thunderous sound boomed through the space, blasting a large crater in the ground.

And underneath the dirt was... more dirt?

"Delaford, we’re not in the mood for these kinds of jokes," Aive frowned. "If there’s really nothing here, we should just go back..."

"What do you mean, ’just go back’?!" Delaford grew indignant. "It’s not that there’s nothing here! Silvia, you just didn’t use enough power! You didn’t blast the entire top layer of soil away!"

"That’s ridiculous! This soil took a direct hit from a Thunder Wave and there’s still no sign of a bottom. Are you kidding me?!"

Delaford rushed to stop Silvia as she was about to give up. "So what? Don’t forget how many years it’s been since anyone’s been here!"

"Since this guy," he pointed at the Vampire Count, "since he and his wife arrived until today, it’s probably been four or five centuries, right?"

"These ruins are even older than him, probably a full thousand years old! With so much fungi growing here, isn’t it normal for there to be a lot of soil?"

One thousand years. Ten centuries. For Jilannis, that was perhaps only a generation or two ago. But for the others—especially for goblins, who had shorter lifespans than humans and rarely lived to die of old age—something from a thousand years ago was practically a myth.

"Alright, alright, I’ll try one more time!" Silvia, worn down by the goblin’s rare persistence, had no choice but to agree to try again.

With a resounding boom, a Thunder Wave swept from Silvia toward the ground. This time, a flicker of change crossed the Vampire Descendant’s face. And it wasn’t just her; everyone else’s spirits lifted as well.

Yes! At the very end of that thunderous roar, they had clearly heard the clang of metal!

There really was something down there!

Once the Magic subsided, Ron leaned forward to peer down. Beneath half a meter of soil, a bluish-gold metallic sheen glinted in the shadows.

There really was another barrier below!

"The rate of this soil accumulation is clearly wrong," Jilannis said, bending down and scooping up a handful of earth to carefully observe its composition and structure. "Normal soil, even if left undisturbed, would only accumulate ten-odd centimeters in a thousand years."

"This soil is clearly being influenced by Magic. In my homeland, the Elves typically use much less dense soil for cultivation, yet it’s still enough to grow plenty of food in our forest clearings."

"And then that ’enough’ food is taken away, leaving those who farm it to starve... Never mind, just pretend I’m talking nonsense, Lady Jilannis." Anastina turned her head away.

"I can understand planting in a forest, but this is underground, inside a metal room," Aive said, confused. "What were they planning to grow, mushrooms?"

’You wouldn’t need soil this extravagant to grow mushrooms!’

"Maybe the answer is down below," Ron said, leaning over and jumping down. "Can someone give me some light?"

Victoria responded, and a faint twilight halo enveloped Ron, allowing him to clearly see what was at his feet and around him. After shooing away some large, reckless insects, Ron knelt down and ran his hand over the patterns on the metal.

The mechanism was largely the same as the metal door they had opened before; the only difference was that this one flipped open instead of sliding.

"This is another entrance, like a cellar door, only it’s sealed," Ron concluded. "Delaford was right, this place might actually be a fortress!"

It was no wonder Count Richthofen and his wife had never found any other clues. The entrance was buried half a meter under the soil with no markings whatsoever. Even if they had known a metal floor was down there, it would have been useless—they’d have had no way of locating the entrance!

The glow of Protective Magic shimmered around Ron. Unsure of what lay below, he proceeded with caution, even preemptively casting Flying Magic and Spider Walking Magic on himself. He also readied Mist Step to handle any unforeseen circumstances. Once he was fully prepared, Ron extended his right hand and pressed it against the metal plate beneath his feet.

A huge tremor and the roar of a mechanism followed. The ground shook so violently it was like an earthquake, and none of Ron’s preparations were of any use—except for his Flying Magic.

Suspended in mid-air, Ron stared in astonishment at the heavy metal floor that had flipped open and the pitch-black, bottomless chasm that now lay beside it. He wracked his brain but couldn’t figure one thing out:

’With something this massive, why would they make it a flip-up door?!’