Free Web NovelChapter 2043: Chapter 2043: Dragon Altar
Outside the passage, as usual, there was complete darkness. But the first sensation Shard felt upon stepping out was an unbearable heat, accompanied by an indescribable odd feeling.
He sniffed carefully; there was no smell of fermenting grapes from a wine cellar, nor the scent of vegetables from a hotel’s underground storage. As his feet left the passage, he clearly felt the ground beneath him was no longer smooth, which meant this place wasn’t the underground of some man-made facility.
With his Dark Vision, he could discern some of the surroundings; he seemed to be at the inner edge of a wide cave. Listening attentively, he couldn’t hear any sounds of insects or birds and beasts, not even the "Echo of the Past" could detect any sound:
"No life... Even if the way out is blocked, there should be at least some insects, right? Enhanced Spatial Awareness!"
As the Arcane Technique activated, the surrounding terrain entered his mind, significantly extending his visual range.
Shard’s earlier suspicion was correct; this was indeed a large underground cave, roughly circular. Though the ground wasn’t exactly flat, it could be seen as a relatively smooth space. The exit was roughly on the northeastern side, and apart from this sole exit, there were no other passages connected elsewhere.
After ensuring that apart from himself, there were no other heartbeats here, Shard illuminated the Moonlight to see further:
"Silvermoon."
The height of the large underground cave was about the equivalent of a three-story building, and the area was as vast as two Saint Delan Squares. The cave wasn’t empty; faded murals covered the cave’s sides, to the point where the original designs were indistinguishable. Additionally, crooked columns stood at the cave’s edges, remnants of powerful Alchemical Items from times long past.
This appeared to be a ritual site; although the former glimmer had completely faded, the murals, columns, and fallen giant beast skeleton decorations still revealed its vibrant past.
Even though the ground seemed flat, as Shard reached the center of the cave, he found the area even more stifling, and the ground smoother, with a definite downward concave curvature.
Upon closer inspection, he surprisingly unearthed several rusted ancient gold coins from the soil. Though their specific era couldn’t be determined, it was certain that they were genuine antique relics:
"Gold coins... I think I’m starting to figure out what this place used to be."
Continuing to inspect the vast cave, he soon found a pile of rusted precious metals in the corner, and upon digging into the ground, he discovered what were almost fossilized skeletons. Among them were human remains, but most were various animal skeletons.
Though there were no living animals, there were plants. In the stifling cave, the most conspicuous plant was the large patch of vivid red grass located at the southwest where the Hidden Passage opened. Shard immediately recognized them as "Dragon Spittle Herb," a special herbal medicine born within a Dragon Nest. It supposedly needed nutrients from the Aether-rich and Spirit-enriched spittle of slumbering dragons to grow.
Back in the City of Eternal Night, when preparing the "Dragon Sleep Growth Ritual" for Fiona, this herbal medicine was needed. Unfortunately, Shard didn’t have any at that time, so he casually used celery leaves with some of Fiona’s saliva and blood, yet the ritual still succeeded.
"The price of Dragon Spittle Herb seems very expensive. This entire lot holds immensely rare value... Could this once have been a Dragon Nest?"
Awakening from the Echo of the Past, Shard’s first emotion was not surprise but relief that he hadn’t encountered an actual dragon upon exiting the passage.
He continued his investigation within the cave, discovering besides the Dragon Spittle Herb some red moss on the rock walls, a type known as "Dragon Blood Moss" which only grows in Dragon Nests, although it has little actual relation to dragon blood.
Flying up using the "Red Butterfly Incarnation," Shard found enormous rune-etched remnants at the cave’s top. Thanks to the adventure in the Lostwoods obtaining "A Segment of Truth - Dragon," Shard deciphered that these runes signified "Slumber," "Recovery," "Temperature Control," and "Protection," very ancient Dragon Language Runes.
But as too much time had passed, he couldn’t exactly understand what kind of ritual these runes once composed.
"Even if this really was a dragon nest, its abandonment should’ve been no later than the Fifth Era."
In the current Sixth Era, pureblood dragons have become quite rare, and using maps from the Old Continent and Moon Bay Region, with additional Enhanced Spatial Awareness, Shard pinpointed his current location to Moon Bay. Thus, confirming the abandonment of this nest a long time ago. After all, such a powerful dragon presence near a big city wouldn’t go unrecorded in books if it was in the Sixth Era.
The dragon nest’s former owner surely was overwhelmingly powerful. Even after thousands of years past, its once majestic nest reduced to such dilapidation, no creature dared appear here, with the stifling air likely a lingering effect of the dragon. Realizing this, Shard perceived the strange sensation felt upon exiting the Hidden Passage as the dragon’s racial talent "Dragon Might"—a peculiar form of spiritual suppressive ability, impacting him with spiritual illusion.
Though his spiritual power was exceptionally strong, and having interacted with the Demigod Red Dragon Witch, the residual spiritual influence had limited effect on him.
With the determination that this was indeed a dragon nest abandoned during the Fifth Era, Shard reverted from Red Butterfly Form back to his original appearance. Standing at the cave’s central depression, raising his right hand to gaze at the illuminated nest. Through spiritual resonance, he almost seemed to truly see a gigantic Silver Dragon resting atop a treasure pile within the cave.
[Outlander, you have gained insight about "Dragon."]
Suddenly, she gently reminded him in his ear, and Shard nodded as he collected himself:
"Really interesting. This time, the exit led to such a fascinating place. But the nest’s abandonment is a matter of the Fifth Era; surely the way out now isn’t blocked, right?"
[Before leaving, you might first want to look to the right side.]
Following "her" guidance, Shard continued to explore the cave, and in front of the wall opposite the "Hidden Passage," he saw another brown earthen statue. The base of the statue was a circular platform, upon which a delicate little dragon lay atop an egg-shaped object.
The front of the platform displayed clear Dragon Language Runes:
[A dragon is born great.]
Shard reached out to touch the brown egg-shaped object, feeling a very slight trace of elemental presence upon contact.
"It should be able to activate, but how?"
He attempted to recite those runes using Dragon Language, but it had no effect. He summoned the Ring of Fate and remembered that he didn’t have any Spirit Rune related to "Dragon." He then turned and returned home through the "Spatial Labyrinth," retrieved the "Higgs Dragonhead Stone," and used it to touch the egg-shaped object.
This time, there was a different phenomenon: the brown earthen layer on the surface of the "egg" touched by the Relic peeled off, revealing a golden shine inside. But that lasted only a mere five seconds, with the earthen layer soon covering the "egg" again.
"Interesting... Long-Haired Luviya said dragons are useful..."
Finally, he took out Fiona’s glove, put it on his right hand, and pressed his palm against the egg.
Crack~
A clear cracking sound echoed, and the small clay dragon lying atop the egg started to move.
Shard stepped back a few paces, watching the circular platform base shoot up rays of light, seeing the egg floating slowly in the air, the brown earthen layer peeling inch by inch off the egg’s shell, along with the earthen layer on the little dragon. What was finally revealed before Shard was a golden platform, with the golden dragon egg floating in the air, glowing with golden light, and a small golden dragon statue lying atop the dragon egg, eyes closed yet seeming alive.
Both the dragon egg and metallic dragon were of course lifeless, but as Shard reached out again to touch the radiant dragon egg, "she" whispered a reminder in his ear:
[Outlander, you have touched a miracle.]
[The ancient Dragon Altar recognizes your identity as the same clan. Contacting the altar will yield the following effects:]
[Restore all personal Spirit;]
[Heal some injuries;]
[Expel some negative states;]
[Acquire wealth.]
[Note, the altar’s power is limited and can only trigger one effect per day.]
"Each effect, once a day?"
[Altar effects, once a day.]
The golden light illuminated Shard’s puzzled expression:
"So, what exactly is this? Being so close to home, saving on Essence is indeed good, but such an altar... Is it similar to ancient sacrificial sites like the Night Shrine... I desire wealth."
Thus the little dragon lying on the dragon egg opened its mouth, and amidst the jingling sound, a small gold coin fell onto the altar.
Shard picked it up, finding it to be a pure metallic coin. The material was unclear for the moment, but it carried the Miracle Element, and both sides bore Dragon Language Runes, suggesting it was much more than just a simple antique:
"Interesting, this time’s exit is truly intriguing."
However, Shard did not rush to investigate the origin of the altar; instead, he sent the coin home and planned to continue forward, attempting to find a way out of this ancient Dragon’s Nest. The impact of centuries of changing times and geological shifts is unknown to anyone. Shard’s concern was reasonable; worst-case scenario, he might have to use "Fossil to Mud" to forcibly dig a path leading to the surface.
As for that "Dragon Altar," it did not continuously maintain its glowing state; upon Shard leaving the altar twenty paces away, the floating dragon egg fell back down to the altar, with dirt overcasting the altar, the dragon egg, and the little dragon again, restoring it to its original unactivated state.
