As Alex walked toward the center of the third section, he could finally see what was waiting for them.
A massive, ancient altar stood in the middle of the otherwise empty area. On top of it, a small glowing cube floated in the air, while a scythe had been placed beneath it.
Alex slowed down as he approached, carefully observing his surroundings.
According to the System Map, there was nothing else in the area. The entire section was completely empty, with the floating cube being the only object marked by the glittering light of his objective.
'So that's the key?'
Alex glanced at Aurora, who was already floating around the altar and examining the area. After checking the surroundings for a while, she shook her head.
"I don't see anything else."
Alex nodded and carefully stepped onto the altar. When nothing happened, he slowly approached the floating cube before reaching out and grabbing it.
The moment he touched it, the glow surrounding the cube immediately faded. It stopped floating and became completely ordinary in his hand.
Alex looked at it curiously before activating Appraisal.
==============================
[Key of ???]
Description:
- ???
==============================
The result left him confused. There was no description, grade, or any other information. The entire appraisal result was completely blank.
'What?' Alex frowned and tried appraising the cube again, but the result remained unchanged.
'How am I supposed to know what this thing is?'
The System Map had clearly marked the cube as his objective, so there was no doubt that it was the objective. However, Alex couldn't understand how something like this could possibly be a key.
He turned the cube around in his hand, examining it from every angle.
Alex turned toward Aurora and told her about the appraisal result of the so-called key. Aurora listened carefully, her expression gradually changing from curiosity to genuine surprise.
"Your system thingy really didn't tell you anything about it?"
Alex shook his head.
"Nothing. The appraisal is completely blank."
Aurora floated closer to the cube and examined it from different angles, but after a while, she finally shook her head.
"I don't have any idea either. I've never seen anything like it."
That answer surprised Alex even more. Aurora had an absurd amount of knowledge about magic, so if even she couldn't identify the cube, then whatever it was, it clearly wasn't something ordinary.
After staring at the cube for a few more seconds, Alex finally shifted his attention toward the other object on the altar.
He reached down and picked up the scythe.
Unlike the cube, the scythe immediately felt different the moment it entered his hand. It had a solid weight to it, and although its appearance was rather plain, Alex could tell that it wasn't an ordinary weapon.
He activated Appraisal once again and looked at the information displayed before him.
==============================
[Magic Artifact]
Name: None
Grade: S+
Type: Scythe
Description:
- A forgotten relic of the past, its strength and edge faded into obscurity as millennia passed.
- Gradually weakens the target with each strike, making subsequent attacks with the scythe increasingly effective.
- Has a 5% chance to trigger an instant death effect. This chance increases as the target's HP decreases.
- Harvests a fragment of the soul of any living being it kills, which can be consumed to restore the wielder's mana and stamina or strengthen the scythe.
==============================
As for the scythe, however, Aurora's reaction was completely different. She examined the weapon for a while before nodding.
"It's a good weapon. It's top-tier even among S-Grade artifacts, and the craftsmanship is excellent." Aurora tilted her head slightly. "If it doesn't have a name, then you should give it one."
Alex didn't even need to think about it. He looked at the curved blade and the dark weapon in his hand before naming it.
"Death Scythe."
Aurora blinked once before looking at the weapon again.
"Death Scythe... I suppose it suits it."
Alex casually twirled the weapon in his hand. The scythe moved smoothly through the air, and he could immediately feel the difference between it and an ordinary weapon.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
'At least the trip was worth it.'
They had come here searching for Sherry's parents and the expedition team, only to discover an entire ancient ruin filled with unknown mechanisms and secrets. Now, on top of that, he had obtained a high-grade magic artifact that was clearly far more valuable than anything he had expected.
Alex and Aurora spent several more minutes searching the altar and its surroundings, making sure they hadn't overlooked anything.
Alex took one final look around the chamber before turning toward the passage they had entered through. The two of them then began making their way out of the third section.
Two out of the three special quest requirements had been completed.
'Now we just have to get everyone out safely.'
The mysterious key remained a mystery, but at least they had found the missing members of the expedition. All that was left was to get everyone out of these ancient ruins safely.
Although the gate from which he had entered had disappeared, the moment Alex stepped back across the threshold, he found himself once again in the second section, surrounded by the abandoned ruins.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Coming out, Alex immediately spotted Sherry and the three researchers waiting nearby.
Sherry visibly relaxed the moment she saw him. She had been standing there with a worried expression, and the tension in her face quickly disappeared once she confirmed that Alex had returned safely.
The researchers exchanged glances before stepping forward to ask, "So, what was inside there? Did you find something?"
Before Alex could answer, a deep rumble suddenly echoed throughout the ruins, and the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly.
Everyone froze and instinctively looked around. The sound wasn't coming from any particular direction. Instead, it seemed to reverberate through the entire ancient complex, as though the ruins themselves had suddenly come alive.
Inside the
"What happened?" one of the researchers asked nervously.
Alex frowned. He had no idea.
Aurora floated beside him, her expression equally confused as she studied their surroundings. Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Alex, I think the ruins might be shutting down."
Alex glanced at her.
"Shutting down?"
"Maybe. You took the treasure from the third section, didn't you?" Aurora said. "Removing it might have caused the entire place to start losing its functions and begin shutting down."
Alex's expression became serious.
The possibility made sense. Whatever the cube was, it was clearly important to the ruin, so removing it could have triggered some kind of failsafe or shutdown sequence.
Alex didn't waste any more time.
"We should leave."
The researchers looked at him.
"Leave?"
"The ruins may be shutting down." Alex explained. "We don't know what will happen if we stay here."
The researchers exchanged uncertain looks. None of them had a better explanation for the strange changes around them, and staying inside a place that was apparently losing its functionality was clearly not worth the risk.
After a brief discussion, they agreed. The group quickly began making their way back through the ruined streets.
The sentinels that had once chased them were still standing exactly where they had stopped. They were completely motionless, their bodies frozen in place as though someone had simply turned them off.
As they passed one of them, Alex suddenly stopped and glanced at the researcher moving ahead before looking back at the sentinel.
'If they're really inactive...' A thought crossed his mind.
Alex quietly walked over and placed a hand against the sentinel's body before trying to store it in his System Space. It worked.
A small smile appeared on his face. Aurora, who had been watching him, looked at Alex with an increasingly strange expression.
'What kind of person even thinks about stealing something like this?' She couldn't help but find the situation amusing. 'He's even making pirates look respectable.'
Alex ignored her expression and quietly moved toward another sentinel. If these things could actually be stored in his System Space, there was no reason to leave them behind.
Alex's eyes lit up as he quickly stored another one, then a third. Aurora watched him with an amused expression but didn't bother stopping him.
Alex briefly considered taking even more. There were still plenty of inactive sentinels, and if he could collect them all, they might prove useful later.
However, he didn't know how much time they had before the ruins completely shut down.
'Better not get greedy.'
With some reluctance, Alex finally stopped and rejoined the others, who were already several meters ahead and hadn't noticed anything.
Alex quickly followed them, leaving the now-empty positions of the sentinels behind.
At least he hadn't come all this way for nothing.