East Cloud Academy, South Boundary Outside Area, Black Rock Ridge Zone
07:32 AM
The Jutsu Scouting Team has been traveling for two hours.
The terrain has gradually changed from rolling hills to ridges covered with scorched black rock. Black Rock Ridge, also known as the "Graveyard of Runaway Constructs," was once the site of the Mentor-level Jutsu Test. Rumor has it that an out-of-control jutsu storm charred the entire experimental zone, and remnants of jutsu pattern fragments still lurk in the depths of the ridge.
The air carries an indefinable smell of ash.
More alarming still, the artifact sensors shook slightly with every step.
Livia moved closer to Vonk and whispered,
"The artifact magnetic field of this place is not normal."
Finia quickly pulled up the detection records, her brows furrowed.
"There is something interfering with the jutsu cycle. It's not a trap, but it looks like a remnant fragment of will."
"Jutsu resonance?" Vonk's gaze narrowed slightly. "Like a jutsu remnant?"
Just as they stepped into a narrow, rocky valley, a sudden change occurred.
Boom!
The ground shook instantly. The left side of the mountain wall appeared to be cut by an invisible force. A black shadow slowly emerged from the rock layer. It was a half-petrified remnant of a warlock's armament. It was no longer recognizable in its original form. The core of magic power on its body sent out intermittent fluctuations.
Emma took a step back and exclaimed, "It's an old-time art doll! It's still functioning!"
"Don't move." Vonk raised his hand to stop everyone.
He saw that the damaged art doll wasn't attacking. Instead, it raised its remaining left arm and slowly handed out a broken art tablet.
Livia's eyes flashed, and she immediately took it.
On it was a broken magical composition — one of the sub-maps of the Cube's coordinates.
There was a broken magical composition on it. It was one of the sub-maps of the Cube's coordinates that Funk and the others were tracking. It also marked another core signal echo point: the Red Leaf Old Mining Pit, located east-southeast.
Funk nodded softly.
"It seems we were not the first to approach. But I'm afraid this wreckage is the last remnant of 'it' left from the spell storm."
Suddenly, the magic fluctuation of the wrecked puppet intensified, and its body shattered and merged into the ground. This was the puppet's "terminal farewell" and self-disintegration.
Alfie slowly closed his eyes and whispered,
"This is the trace of the battlefield. Even the art dolls want to spread the news."
Vonk put away the map board and turned to look at the crowd. His tone was grave.
"We're accelerating our advance and changing our target to the old Red Leaf pit. There is not enough time to hesitate."
The Artistic Squad set off once again.
Black Rock Ridge fell into a dead silence behind them as if the scene that had just occurred had never happened.
But they knew it was the long-dead Gatekeeper using its last will to reveal a forgotten path.
—The Gatekeeper.
Character Quotes:
Vonk Rein:
"The closer you get to the truth, the more 'answers death leaves behind' you will find."
Alfie Noland:
"We're not crossing a border; we're traveling through a graveyard left behind by a warlock life."