Chapter 329: Chapter 329
"What is this?" Aaron muttered as he reached a disfigured idol.
The idol was on what appears to be settled ground. There are stones embedded in the ground, worked stones, not some naturally occurring stones. Although they don’t seem smooth at the moment, it is easily discernible that these stones were worked on.
Currently, there are cracks and missing parts, rendering them similar to the naturally occurring state of stones.
There are also broken pillars around the area, defining the edges of whatever construct it once was, and right in the middle, on a raised platform, the idol sat.
"Hmm, it looks humanoid, standing on two legs. I can even make out two extensions from the idol, which could have been hands at one time. The head was disfigured. I can’t say what race this figure belongs to or who the idol was representing", Aaron muttered as he observed the idol and its surroundings.
Aaron kept his distance from the idol. In fact, he didn’t even approach the area where the pillars are located. He kept his distance and observed from afar.
The reason is that he has read many novels where places like these lead to some dangerous trials, which can make or break the people who enter them.
While reading a novel, the MC would enter such a trial and become more powerful, but mostly because he is the MC. At the same time, many side characters, no matter how talented they were, would die a miserable death.
Aaron was not interested in finding which character he would be in this scenario.
He sent his undead to observe the ruins first, to see if there were any clues regarding this. If this place were of any importance, then there would be at least a clue that remained undamaged for ages, until it fulfilled its purpose.
Fearing that he might trigger something, he sent his undead, which began to examine every piece of the area. They began to examine the pillars, the cracked floor, and the disfigured idol, inspecting everything, leaving nothing to chance.
After a long search, they found no usual triggers to watch for.
There were no runes or any writings in any form. The undead touched everything, from the stones in the ground, the pillars and even the idol, to see if they could trigger anything.
Most of the time, a false stone would be hidden in the ground, leading to a trap, such as a pit below it. If anyone steps on it, the trap would be triggered, opening to a pit into which the person or creature would fall.
If it was not a trap, there could be a hidden staircase, which can be accessed only by moving the idol or something like that.
"Hmm, am I just being paranoid because of that damn thing that threw me in here?" Aaron muttered to himself.
Aaron was always a bit paranoid. Due to his excellent, out-of-the-box talent, he worried that someone might target him or his family. It was why he kept low-key most of the time and only showed his prowess when there was something to be gained that was useful to him.
Even though he demonstrated his power, albeit only to a small extent, there were still attempts on his life, as well as on his parents. The cult looked down on them and paid the price for that. He had sent some items to protect and defend his parents, which not only helped save his parents but also enabled him to take care of the attackers.
This showed that he was right to be paranoid, and being low-key most of the time was the right choice. If there were not enough rewards that enticed him to show his power, he stayed in the background as a character.
As he improved his rank, he became less paranoid and more open about his power; however, touching that stupid object without thinking made him even more paranoid.
"Ah, it seems it was just an old ruin. Let’s record it and move on", Aaron decided and started to record the details.
What he had no idea was that there was a trigger, but it failed to trigger because it had been damaged over time.
His maximum luck protected him once again as this was not a trial but a death trap from any outsiders who would greed over the treasures of the place. It took lives of a lot of people over the time.
If the trap was still working, Aaron would have seen the skeletons buried underneath the ground. The number was staggering but his luck worked in his favour, though he has no idea the danger that he skipped through.
Luck is like that. It would never reveal its working like other attributes, but works subtly.
---
At the same time in the Wastelands...
The object that sent Aaron into the ruins was secured and was transported away to an isolated area, where it would be out of reach without proper authorisation.
They have no idea where the portal led to. Unless Aaron returns, they wouldn’t be able to know where it lead. So, blindly following inside could be dangerous and this was not a time for the alliance to make moves like that which could reduce even more of their strength.
They are still at war with the cult. Though the monsters have stopped attacking the settlements, the alliance has no idea about the fact that they gave up on the war and stated to concentrate on themselves to improve before the Alliance and Cult end the war.
Whether its the Aliance or the Cult, no matter who wins, even if it ends in a draw, the monsters would have no allies after the war. So, in the time they have now, they intended to make the most of it and improve themselves.
Alliance which has no idea about that was burning time and resources guarding areas that are vulnerable to monster attacks.
With the human personnel already stretched thinly, they didn’t want to take chances by blindly entering the portal. Instead they sent a two people, a man and a woman, who are good at these things.
"So, this is the rock that sent the boy into a portal? unfortunate", the man muttered as he observed the stone for a while.
The stone was pure black in colour as if it devoured all the light.
The man spoke after a few seconds, "If one observes it at a glance, it would appear just as a simple black object, nothing more, but if observed carefully, you can see there are things that normal eyes won’t see".
The woman observed a little and nodded, "You are right. Let’s report this. We may need to stay here for a long time. Maybe we should transfer this to our private laboratory. We can observe the stone under better conditions, which may lead better results".
The man nodded, "Yeah, let’s speak with our superiors. We would get better results in shortest time, if we have better conditions. If taking this away is impossible, we can request to bring our equipment here".
The couple nodded to each other and went out of the secured area to get what was needed.