Chapter 100 - entering to the ruin
After changing into suitable clothes, I headed toward Luna’s room.
When I reached her door, I stopped outside.
I wasn’t about to walk in.
There was an unspoken rule when it came to girls’ rooms.
You didn’t enter without permission.
Even though Luna was my fiancée, we still hadn’t established an actual romantic relationship.
We were simply good friends.
So I leaned against the wall beside her door and waited.
While waiting, I took out a packet of potato chips and a cup of juice from my Space Storage.
Then I started eating.
About ten minutes later, Luna finally opened the door.
She immediately noticed me sitting there with my chips.
Her gaze fell toward the packet in my hand.
I had already finished one.
I was halfway through the second.
She looked at me for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face.
She walked toward me.
I looked at her.
"I’ve come to a realization."
"All girls must be like this."
Luna raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"There is apparently no concept of time once you start choosing clothes."
"Once you enter your room..."
"You could probably live there for years."
A dark line seemed to appear across Luna’s forehead.
"What did you say?"
She smiled.
It was a very dangerous smile.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"Nothing."
"I was just talking about the weather."
"The weather is nice today, isn’t it?"
"A perfect day for ruin hunting."
Luna stared at me with amusement.
Then, without saying a word, she reached out and snatched my packet of chips.
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Hey!"
"If you want chips, get your own!"
She completely ignored me and started walking away.
"Hey!"
"Those are mine!"
I immediately followed her, complaining the entire way.
Eventually, we reached Amy’s room.
I knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
We entered.
Amy and Elena were standing in front of several sets of clothes, apparently still deciding what to wear.
I sighed and placed a hand over my forehead.
"Hey."
"We’re not going to a fashion show."
"How about we just go?"
Amy and Elena turned toward me at the exact same time.
"What do you know?"
"Mind your own business."
I immediately slumped onto a nearby sofa.
Luna laughed softly before joining Amy and Elena in choosing their clothes.
I decided to make use of the waiting time.
I began experimenting with my Darkness Affinity.
I created a small sphere of darkness and tossed it into the air.
Then I teleported it.
I observed its reaction carefully.
How much mana did the teleportation consume?
How much time did it take?
How efficiently could I move it?
I repeated the process several times, adjusting the amount of mana I used each time.
Once I became comfortable with the basic process, I started experimenting with shaping darkness.
A small spoon.
A stick.
A tiny knife.
I created each one and examined how accurately I could form them.
I was so focused on my experiments that I didn’t notice Isabella entering the room.
My Perception detected her immediately.
But I continued with what I was doing.
She eventually walked over and lightly tapped my shoulder.
I looked up.
"You did well with the shaping."
"But I think there’s something you should change."
I listened carefully.
"When you first awakened your Darkness Affinity, you needed to let the mana flow naturally."
"You were still learning how to control it."
"But you’ve become much stronger since then."
She pointed toward the small objects I had created.
"For simple shapes like these, you don’t need to let the darkness flow on its own."
"You can command it directly."
"Darkness and Light are somewhat similar in that regard."
"You won’t be able to control every aspect of the element yet..."
"But for something small and simple, commanding it directly should give you better precision."
I nodded.
Then I tried to create a small spork.
Nothing happened.
I frowned.
Isabella laughed softly.
"Not quite."
"You’re trying to force the darkness into the shape."
"That’s not what I mean."
"You need to will it."
"Imagine the shape you want."
"Then command the darkness to become that shape."
"Your will guides the darkness."
"The stronger your will..."
"The stronger the thing you create."
My eyes immediately lit up.
I tried again.
And again.
Each time, Isabella pointed out small mistakes.
I adjusted my mana flow.
Changed how I shaped the darkness.
Strengthened my intent.
Slowly...
The shape became more stable.
Until finally—
A small spork appeared in my hand.
I stared at it with shining eyes.
Then I looked toward Isabella.
"Thank you, Sister Isabella!"
"It actually worked!"
She smiled and gently brushed my hair.
"Hmm."
"You’re a quick learner."
I smiled proudly.
Then I leaned slightly toward her and lowered my voice.
"Sister Isabella..."
"Are they really going to stay here all day?"
"It’s been almost an hour."
"At this rate, we’ll be eating lunch before we even leave."
Isabella chuckled.
"It seems you’re getting used to it."
I nodded seriously.
"Amy dragged me into this before."
"She kept asking me, ’Is this beautiful?’ or ’Is this one beautiful?’"
"And whenever I said both were beautiful..."
"She got angry and told me to give her a proper answer."
I sighed.
"How am I supposed to know which one looks better?"
"I just pick the first thing that looks good and wear it."
Isabella covered her mouth and laughed.
"Oh..."
"You really have it rough, don’t you?"
Suddenly—
"Hey, brat!"
"I heard that!"
I froze.
Amy was glaring at me.
Then she looked toward Isabella.
"And don’t drag her into this!"
I immediately felt like lying down and going to sleep.
Fortunately, they had finally finished choosing their clothes.
Amy walked over and placed a cold hand against the back of my neck.
I immediately jumped up.
"Ah!"
I turned around and gave her a resentful look.
Amy simply chuckled.
"Come on."
"Let’s go."
I sighed.
Finally.
After saying goodbye to Mom and the Empress, we headed toward the garage.
Selena was already waiting for us.
One of the Imperial Guards assigned by the Empress was there as well.
Once everyone was ready, we climbed into the carriage.
Amy sat down and looked toward the others.
"So..."
"Which ruins should we go to?"
The ruin-hunting trip had officially begun.
We traveled through the capital of the kingdom, and the journey passed surprisingly quickly.
I sat beside Amy, with Luna sitting on my other side.
The four of us spent most of the journey talking about yesterday’s banquet.
Amy even shared some stories about the duels she had fought after I left.
Before I knew it, the carriage finally stopped.
"We’re here."
I immediately looked outside.
Once the carriage came to a complete stop, we began getting out one by one.
I stepped onto the ground and looked around.
In front of us was a massive portal.
I stared at it for a moment.
Then I looked toward Amy.
"Are you sure this isn’t a dungeon?"
Amy snorted.
"What would you know?"
"This is called a ruin."
She pointed toward the portal.
"That portal leads to the remains of an ancient civilization."
"Most of these places have already been explored and looted many times."
"But the portals keep appearing in different locations."
"So people continue exploring them whenever they discover a new one."
"There could still be valuable treasures left inside."
My eyes immediately lit up.
"Ancient civilization?"
"Then they must have some really good treasures waiting for us!"
Amy sighed.
She already knew what would happen if she continued explaining.
My excitement would only increase.
"Alright, everyone."
"Stay close together."
Then she looked toward Isabella.
"Big Sister Isabella, can you lead the group?"
"And make sure this brat doesn’t run off the moment he sees something interesting."
Isabella smiled.
"Of course."
She stepped forward and took the lead.
I followed closely behind.
Soon, everyone entered the portal.
The moment I stepped through...
My surroundings completely changed.
I found myself standing inside the remains of an ancient civilization.
Massive buildings surrounded us.
Or at least...
What remained of them.
Broken structures stretched into the distance.
Dust covered almost everything.
Huge pieces of rubble were scattered across the ground.
Broken passageways disappeared beneath collapsed buildings.
Massive doors stood in places where entire structures had once existed.
The sheer scale of the ruins left me speechless for a moment.
I slowly looked around.
This place was completely different from a dungeon.
A dungeon felt like a place created for monsters.
This...
This felt like the remains of an entire civilization.
Luna stood beside me, staring at the ruins with wide eyes.
It was her first time seeing an ancient ruin.
She looked around in awe.
"So this is an ancient civilization..."
Her voice was filled with wonder.
I couldn’t blame her.
Even though I had read about ancient civilizations in my previous life...
Seeing the remains of one with my own eyes was completely different.
I looked toward the enormous structures surrounding us.
There had once been people here.
People who had built these massive buildings.
People who had lived their lives here.
And now...
Only ruins remained.
I couldn’t help feeling excited.
There was something strangely fascinating about exploring the remains of a civilization that had disappeared long ago.
And more importantly...
Who knew what kind of treasures were still hidden inside?
A big grin appeared on my face i love the feeling of treasur hunting.