GalaxyTL
* * *
The ruin of the super ancient magical civilization I found in the foggy forest.
Passing through the large entrance, which seems to be the entrance, the first thing that greeted me was a hall.
The ceiling of this area has completely collapsed, but the walls are quite high.
It must have been a very large room once.
In its center, there was a statue of a man wearing something like a white coat, surrounded by a stepped platform, and the area inside the platform was covered with round, black pebbles.
Did they have a pond or a fountain… inside the room?
<Ah, look Emi, super ancient magical writing!>
Extra-sama found something like a stone monument in front of the statue and shouted.
I went closer and looked… but I can’t read that super ancient magical writing to begin with, and it’s quite faded…
<Let’s see… this says… ‘Welcome to the great Albi…’ …Hmm, no, I can’t. Even the writing is weathered, I can’t read much…>
Well, that’s to be expected.
<However, it seems this statue of a man in a white coat is a ‘statue of the company president’. In other words, this facility seems to have been a facility of some company that prospered in the super ancient magical civilization.>
Ehh… in ancient times… companies prospered… in this fantasy-like world…
Anyway, a company president, huh.
I stared at the face of the statue.
A thin man, characterized by his sharp eyes.
He had a confident smile on his face, and to be honest, he looked like a villain.
He doesn’t give… a good impression.
He seems like the type who’s competent but has a bad personality.
<You’re criticizing him quite harshly.>
But… well, you’re right.
I can’t judge a person’s character based on their appearance alone.
I’ll reflect on myself.
<Well, about this man… it might be okay to speak ill of him.>
…He’s a person from thousands of years ago, right?
I won’t ever meet him again, right?
<Yes… I don’t think you’ll ‘ever’ meet him again…>
* * *
Corridors extended to the left and right from the hall.
However, since the left corridor was completely buried in rubble, I proceeded down the right corridor.
The floor of the corridor was completely overgrown with berries, making a rustling sound every time I walked.
Startled by the sound, a goby-like fish jumped out of the berry thicket.
A large goby, about the length of my arm.
Naturally, I skewered it with a 【Black Tentacle】 like a harpoon, killed it in one blow, and ate it.
As I continued walking, I saw something like traces of doors along the side of the corridor.
And beyond each door trace, there was another large room.
<Is this… where the offices of this company were?>
Extra-sama muttered, looking at the large room where something like the remains of a moss-covered desk lay scattered.
It’s certainly possible.
There are several desks forming islands, and each island has a square, mysterious device.
Could those devices be… phones?
<Ah, that’s right, they’re like phones. This type was the mainstream back then. It brings back memories.>
…It’s pretty amazing how Extra-sama, a supernatural being, gets nostalgic when looking at ancient ruins.
<And look at the wall near the entrance to the room, Emi! That’s a personal authentication device using mana! The government at the time, as a countermeasure to the rampant issue of unpaid overtime, made it mandatory for companies to install this device to manage working hours, but unfortunately, this measure had many loopholes…>
I-I don’t want to hear such a depressing story!
I don’t want to hear about the circumstances of the unpaid overtime issue in the super ancient era!
I want to hear something more romantic!
<Ahh… at that time, magic tools that allowed people to fly freely were widespread… one per person…>
Ooh, that’s a romantic story!
<Humanity, with their commuting time significantly reduced, used that extra time for unpaid overtime…>
It always comes back to that!?
* * *
In addition to the office, I continued deeper into the ruin, catching and eating fish, while Extra-sama guided me through the dining hall, kitchen, storage room, toilet, a private room behind a hidden door, and even a solitary confinement cell.
Most of the ceilings have collapsed and are exposed to the elements, but Extra-sama says it’s thanks to this fog, rich in mana, that many artifacts remain.
I don’t really understand the details, but.
Well.
Extra-sama’s explanations were fun, but it seems that this ruin was just an office of some company from the end of the super ancient magical civilization.
And since it’s an office, there wasn’t any dramatic development like a dangerous ancient weapon being sealed… and my exploration of the ruin was about to end without any incident.
Until I stepped through the entrance of the next small room at the end of the corridor…
“!? Extra-sama, this is…”
<Incredible…>
That… drawn on the floor of the small room.
It was emitting a purple light, faintly glowing.
I’ve seen this circular pattern, composed of intricate and mysterious patterns, before.
I’ve even used it…
…In the basement of my mother-in-law’s house.
In other words, it is… yes.
…A teleportation magic circle.
As I stared at it, dumbfounded, the teleportation magic circle slightly increased its light intensity.
Then, a few seconds later, a small fish appeared on top of the magic circle.
The fish, confused by the sudden change, swam around erratically, checking its surroundings, and then… since there’s no ceiling, it swam upwards, climbed over the wall, and following its wild instincts, swam away into the forest.
<I see… So the answer to why there are so many flying fish in this forest… is this teleportation magic circle!>
Extra-sama muttered, her voice trembling with excitement.
What does it mean?
I understand even without an explanation.
Extra-sama is saying… that the flying fish in this forest… came here through this teleportation magic circle… or are descendants of fish that came here this way… right?
<That’s right, Emi. There are no flying fish on the Golden Continent except for this place, and it’s been a long-standing mystery why they only exist here. There are no videos about it, so even I didn’t know the reason. But… I see… a teleportation magic circle.>
Somehow, the fog around this magic circle seems denser than elsewhere… Could it be that the fog in this forest is also…?
<Yes, it’s probably being transported here by the magic circle. The truth behind the mysteries of the world is often surprisingly simple… Some event must have happened, and the teleportation magic circle from the super ancient magical civilization, which was dormant, revived. This magic circle continued to operate automatically using the abundant mana contained in the surrounding fog… and over a long period of time, it eventually created a paradise for flying fish on this Golden Continent… that’s probably what happened.>
Hee… ?
Then, Extra-sama, question.
Where does this magic circle lead to?
It has to be a place where flying fish live, a place filled with blue fog like here, right?
Is there such a place?
<There is, there is. I have a good idea. The fish species are the same, so there’s no doubt. This teleportation magic circle is connected to…>
Extra-sama spoke with great enthusiasm.
I was also excited.
It’s thrilling to learn the secrets of a hidden world, right?
So I listened intently.
But the conclusion of Extra-sama’s words.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear it at that time.
Because, suddenly…
…From outside the room… through the hole in the ceiling, something long shot out at tremendous speed and wrapped around my legs!
A sudden, unexpected attack!
“!?”
I was so engrossed in my conversation with Extra-sama that I couldn’t dodge the attack… and in an instant, I was lifted upside down, dangling in the air, my legs wrapped by that something.
What I saw, lifted into the air.
The being that caught me, taking advantage of my opening.
What emerged from the depths of the foggy forest, pushing aside the black-trunked trees…
…Was so huge that it could easily crush the ruin I was exploring.
With eight… thick, long arms, like trees…!
…It was an octopus!!