[Sinseki Era – Year 21, Before the New Age]
[Central Lands · Voll Basin]
After Gut shattered the giant stone blocking the seal, the group of five stepped inside and began their exploration.
Behind the giant stone lay a narrow passageway, just wide enough for one person to pass through.
However, unlike the oppressive darkness of the cavern, the air inside this passage was noticeably fresher, and the light seemed less dim.
At the end of the passage, it seemed there was a light source shining through.
Seeing this, Gut, who was at the front of the group, quickened his pace. He walked through the narrow path and stood in front of the light, momentarily stunned.
Because this light was not from any artificial remains;
It was sunlight, piercing through vines and layers of soil, seeping through the cracks.
Gut pushed with a bit of force, clearing away the piled-up dirt, parting the vines that blocked the path, and walked out from the end of the passage.
Beyond the end lay the surface, a warm world basked in sunlight, starkly contrasting the underground darkness that had been shrouded in the history of sin.
However, the exit of the passage did not lead them back to the mountainous terrain where they had entered the Labyrinth, but rather to the lowest plains of the Voll Basin.
Their entire exploration journey, descending deeper and deeper underground, had naturally bridged the difference in altitude between the mountains and the plains.
But as he gazed at the scenery of the plains before him, Gut couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.
It seemed that this plain, along with the surrounding mountains, formed a landscape he had seen somewhere before.
Suddenly, the answer popped into Gut's mind.
He immediately called out to Mut, who had just walked out of the passage, to take out the Map, spreading it out and comparing it with the landscape in front of him.
"As I thought, it's here."
The terrain of the plain before him perfectly matched the location Gut had marked purely by intuition on the Map.
Up to this point, the original five locations marked on the Map, plus the additional one Gut had intuitively added, all six locations had been fully discovered.
Moreover, the actual conditions of each location corresponded exactly to Gut's predictions.
This place, marked solely by his intuition and not originally on the Map, was indeed the one that bypassed all interference and directly pointed to the Fountain Spring Secret Realm.
The two spots that initially seemed correct but felt off upon reflection corresponded to the two Labyrinths that led in the right direction but could not reach the final destination.
The two spots that seemed wrong at first but felt somewhat right after further thought corresponded to the Material Supply Shafts—passages that led straight to the Human Experimentation Laboratory but were filled with countless blades inside the pipelines.
Two Labyrinths that had the right paths but couldn't reach the end.
Two Pipelines that could reach the end, but the path would cost lives.
Only the final spot—one that was judged correctly both at first glance and after thorough consideration—was the true path that could lead directly to the Human Experimentation Laboratory and the underground Secret Storage Room.
Although the final result was correct, the exploration of this point had been as convoluted as the process of deduction itself.
It was far from the simple experience of just walking through the passage and directly stepping into the Fountain Spring Secret Realm.
By this point in the journey, both Gut and Mut had formed a clear guess in their hearts about the Fountain Spring Secret Realm, which was rumored to greatly enhance one's strength.
Finally, Mut voiced his speculation to Serie.
"Lady Serie, please tell me..."
"The so-called Fountain that can enhance one's strength—is it actually the product of underground water flooding the Storage Room and diluting the Magic Potions stored there?"
"Pretty much."
Serie nodded in confirmation.
"In fact, on the back of the giant stone that Gut shattered, Milliarde had left a detailed record about the Fountain Spring Secret Realm."
"Really?" Gut scratched his head awkwardly. "I was too focused on fighting with that boulder just now—I didn't even notice that."
"Do you want me to go back and piece it together?"
"No need." Serie waved her hand dismissively. "When I was deciphering the seal she left, I had already used magic to read the inscriptions on the back."
"I can tell you the story directly, combining it with what we discovered."
"Roughly speaking, the researchers who worked on the Magic Potions kept digging further underground, and the Secret Storage Room was positioned quite close to an underground water source."
"Under the constant pressure over the years, the ground eventually gave way, and water gushed in, flooding the Storage Room, shattering the containers holding Magic Potions and other intermediate materials."
"The underground water, now mixed with the Magic Potion components, burst through the Secret Storage Room, flowed along the narrow passage we just walked through, and eventually pooled into a small spring on this plain."
"The active components of the Magic Potion are probably lighter than the underground water, so most of it gathered at the water's surface."
"According to Milliarde's description, the effects of drinking from the spring during its initial formation were remarkable. Many small wild animals that drank from it naturally developed a small amount of magical power."
"Fortunately, she discovered the leak in time, so the spring's anomaly only spread rumors to one or two nearby villages. No one actually dared to try it."
"After that, Milliarde used her magic to channel the spring back into the passageway. With the help of a passing Elven warrior she met, they pushed a giant stone into the tunnel, applying a dual seal of Physical and Magical barriers to completely stop the strange spring water from leaking out."
"So, that's the true story behind the Fountain Spring Secret Realm..."
After listening to Serie's explanation, Mut, who had been searching for the Fountain Spring Secret Realm all this time, did not show the disappointment that Gut had expected.
Instead, after a sigh, he chuckled, seemingly relieved to accept this truth.
"As expected, my father's teachings were right."
"Every bit of power one gains must be built upon a foundation of hard work and sweat."
"I was blinded by the rumors of the Secret Realm, thinking I could take a shortcut to strength... but that was just an illusion."
Upon hearing these words, Himmel stepped forward and patted Mut on the shoulder, offering his approval to the young man.
Gut also intended to go up and offer him some encouragement, but before he could get close, he heard Mut "praising" him:
"Gut, for you to have trained your body to this level at such a young age, you must have been extremely diligent in your practice. You must never have relied on any external shortcuts, right?"
"Of course, that's absolutely right."
Gut quietly closed the System Interface, wiped away the crust from his eyes due to last night's AFK grinding of Body Refinement Technique, and nodded confidently.
"I trained this way purely through perseverance and effort."
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Powerstones?
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