Free Web NovelThe walk back to the camp was quiet. No other sound save for their breath and the crunch of rocks under their boots.
Jack and Rune was in front. Leading the way. Aella trailed behind him. Blinking sleepily and occasionally stumbling over shifting stones. Reina was at the very back. Keeping a watchful eye on the perimeter. Her hands never strayed far from her handguns.
When they arrived, the campsite wasn't calm. The others had been pacing. Their faces etched with the kind of anxiety they saved for not knowing what would happen to the ones they cared about.
"They're fine." Jack announced as he arrived. His voice was cool and steady. Cutting through the worried murmurs.
Reina stepped forward. Her expression was impassive, though her presence seemed to dampen the restless energy of the group.
"The nasty witch Jack warned us tried to kidnap Aella." She said bluntly. Not bothering for a dramatic retelling. "She was a nuisance. But, we've handled it. She's dead now. It's over. Let's go back to sleep."
The explanation was blunt. Lacking the need for flowery detail or bravado. The crew, sensing both the finality in her tone, didn't press.
They retreated to their bedrolls. Relieved. Though the tension of the impending discovery of the ruins kept many eyes open for longer than they cared to admit.
Jack, however, had no need for rest. He retreated into the private sanctuary of his Mirror Mansion. He still had things to do.
He set to work. His hands, steady and precise, moved over his workbench. Etching intricate steamrunes into crystalline shards.
He spent about an hour crafting three refraction lenses. Cutting them to the exact geometry required to capture the high-noon sun and split its intensity into the specific wavelengths. The ones needed to trigger the ancient rockmen's gate mechanism.
Only after the three sets of lenses were completed did he rest.
...
The next day...
The sun started its slow climb until it finally crested the mountain peaks. Turning the barren landscape of Barrentree Island into a bright expanse of grey and brown.
Jack gathered the crew. His calm gaze swept over them with the weight of a leader.
"Gather around." He called out. He reached into his [Spatial Belt] and produced a handful of rings he had just collected from the Mirror Mansion.
"These are Rockmen Authority Rings." Jack said. Tossing one to Leon, who caught it with a look of confusion.
"I found them during my scouting mission last night." He continued. "This ruin isn't just a static tomb. It's a deadly trap with a devastating guardian golem. It has a security system designed to pulverize anything that doesn't belong. These rings act as an identification. Ensuring safety inside there."
He gave them simple instructions. "Wear them. Finger, necklace, pocket... doesn't matter. Just don't lose them. And don't place them inside your spatial bag."
"How did you get these, Cap?" Barnaby asked. Sliding a ring onto his finger without hesitation.
"I have my ways." Jack said. He didn't want to reveal his specter form to the crew members. It was his trump card that only Reina had known.
Baroness Artheim examined her ring seriously. "The runes on these... they're quite ancient. Where did you say this was from, Captain?"
"Inside there." Jack replied. "Don't worry about that."
"The gate to the ruin is not just a door." He continued. Holding up the three sets of lenses he had created. "It's a power generating circuit. Waiting for these babies to trigger it. When we open it, do not rush inside. Stick together."
"Now, put those rings on." He said. "Make sure you have it with you."
The crew members looked at the rings with a mixture of reverence and unease. Some courageously slid them onto their fingers. The metal felt cold and impossibly heavy against their skin. Others tied them to leather strips. Wearing them as pendants around their necks. The rest simply put them in their pockets.
"Let's move!" Jack said.
...
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The trek to the ruin was short. But for many of the crew, it was quite tense. As they approached the mountain wall, the crowd of people had grown.
There were at least two hundred mercenaries, independent treasure hunters, and opportunistic thugs loitering around the massive metal gate. The three-eyed beast carving stared down at them. Cold and imposing.
The crowd of rival treasure hunters and mercenaries hissed like a hive of disturbed wasps. Hundreds of eyes turned toward them.
These were men and women who had spent weeks picking at the gate. Their pickaxes and rudimentary explosives had done nothing to the gate. They couldn't even scratch the surface of the star-iron.
Jack scanned the crowd. His [Eyes of Judgement] flickered. Multitude information panels appeared in his vision.
But he immediately activated some filtering. Focusing only on karma and danger levels. Highlighting individuals in shades of greyscale for karma and yellow to red aura for danger level.
Only two people possessed significant danger level to their group. Scorpion, the pirate with 'demon seed' inside him; and Duke Starlight, the arcane thief with near illuminated power level.
Then... he noticed some newcomers he hadn't seen the day before. A group of men with heavy negative karma. They weren't that powerful though.
After observing further with his [Eyes of Judgement], Jack identified their affiliation to the Black Shark Pirates and the Circles of Wealth. These weren't just explorers and adventurers. They were vultures. Nasty vultures.
Jack ignored them and walked to the front of the crowd. His crew following closely behind. He didn't go too close to the gate. He didn't need to do that to open the gate. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Listen up!" Jack shouted. Cutting through the chatter of the crowd. "My team knows how to open this gate. We have the components. But here's the deal... we go in first. Anyone who tries to rush past us... will be responsible for their own funeral."
A ripple of laughter went through the mercenaries. A burly man with a scar across his nose stepped forward.
"You talk big for a guy with a small crew, Bastard." He mocked. "Close the gate or open it, we don't care. But once it's open, the treasure belongs to whoever gets there first."
Jack didn't argue. He ignored the man and took the three sets of his refraction lenses out. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Greedy people rarely listened to logic. He had warned them. If they ignored his warning, that was their problem. Not his.
"Leon! Aim the reflected light from the lens to the left eye." Jack instructed as he gave one set of lenses to Leon and another to the Baroness. "Baroness! Aim the right eye. I'll take the forehead one."
Jack glanced at the sun. He had calculated the angles perfectly. As the sunlight struck the mirror-like tools, the lenses sparkled. Flashing against their palms as they caught the rays and funneled them into concentrated beams of pure light.
The three aimed the lenses carefully. The beams moved and finally hit the three eyes of the beast carving almost simultaneously.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, a deep, tectonic groan vibrated through the ground.
The eyes of the carved beast began to glow with a dull white light. Mist hissed from the seams of the gate, smelling of ancient dust and hot metal. There was a sound of massive bolts being drawn back.
Then... with a series of thunderous metallic clacks, the star-iron gate was split in the middle and began to slide sideways. To both left and right side.
The others could see it. The interior of the ruin was dark. But as the gate rose, bioluminescent crystals embedded in the ceiling began to flicker to life. Illuminating a massive hall.
"Now!" the scarred mercenary yelled.
He didn't wait for Jack's crew to move. He and a dozen others charged forward. Their boots pounded against the stone floor. Jack noticed that most members of the Black Shark Pirates and the Circles of Wealth were joining in. Their eyes were all wide with greed.
Jack stood perfectly still. He didn't move an inch. He held out his arm. Stopping Reina and the others from following.
"Just wait!" Jack said coldly. "The ancient rockmen weren't exactly known as pushovers. Their treasures aren't that easy to get."
Jack scanned the surrounding once more. The two dangerous targets he was concerned with were still outside. They weren't as reckless as those people from the Black Shark Pirates and the Circles of Wealth.
Jack could sense it. Duke Starlight stayed back. His eyes narrowed as he watched the first wave of people cross the threshold. Scorpion also remained motionless. A cruel smirk played on his lips. They were smarter than the fodder.
The first group of mercenaries reached the center of the hall. Just right after the gate. That was when the security system registered the intrusion.
The floor tiles moved drastically. They rotated in chaotic patterns. Dozens of concealed slits opened in the walls. A sound like a thousand whips cracked at once. Simultaneously, pressurized darts flew across the hall.
The first three men were turned into pincushions before they could scream. The darts weren't just normal ranged weapons. They seemed to be tipped with a kind of neurotoxin. One that turned their blood to sludge in just seconds.
Then, the [Ancient Guardian Rockleo] woke up. It was a metal golem. Nearly ten meters tall in height. It was shaped like a lion but jagged blades were jutting out in many parts of its body.
Its three large, crystalline eyes were glowing. Blazing red in color. The thousands of razor-sharp bronze plates that composed its mane were partially jutting out. Intimidating its targets This should be the guardian of the ruin.
The beast golem let out a mechanical roar. A sound of grinding metal that shook the teeth of everyone present.
The lion-golem leaped and landed in the middle of the Black Shark Pirates. Its weight crushed two men into the stone floor.
Its tail, a barbed chain of star-iron, whipped around. And decapitated another. This one wasn't a pirate or a cultist. Just an unlucky adventurer, paying his greed with his life.
"Back! Get back!" Someone screamed. But it was too late. The lion golem was too fast and too deadly. And the moving floor tiles didn't help at all.
It was a massacre. The illuminated-level golem moved with a speed that defied its size. It was a masterpiece of ancient war-craft. It didn't feel pain. It didn't tire. And its armor was thick enough to deflect the bullets the mercenaries were desperately firing.
"I've warned them." Jack muttered grimly. Yet, his tone was devoid of any sympathy.
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