novelones Chapter 291: Treasure Hunting
Chapter 291: Treasure Hunting
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Necrotic Realm.
Kaito was currently squatting in front of the cavernous ribcage of a gargantuan
skeleton, cautiously tapping against the bone with his knuckles.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Mmh... judging by the resonance, the interior should be hollow."
Kaito stood up, performing a half-circuit around the remains of the beast—a
creature so ancient its primary biological classification was impossible to
determine. He tapped various sections as he walked.
This newly acquired territory lacked many things, but it possessed an infinite
inventory of bones. As a DIY enthusiast with a borderline obsessive love for
fishing, Kaito felt it was statistically necessary to utilize the local
materials to craft a Necrotic-themed fishing kit. This hundred-meter-long
skeleton was his primary candidate for raw material.
He had noticed it purely because he had tripped over one of its protruding ribs
while "reflecting" on the horizon.
Then, the logic of the adventure novels kicked in. He figured a bone of this
magnitude was practically guaranteed to house some manner of unidentified
high-tier relic.
"I bet there's a 'Grand Prize' hidden inside," Kaito muttered, reaching into his
spatial storage to retrieve a small hammer.
He had acquired the tool from Paul the Blacksmith back in the Iron Fortress.
Originally, it was intended for the physical "re-education" of any fish that
grew unruly while in the landing net.
Now, it would serve as an archaeological implement.
Clang! Clink-clank!
Kaito struck the bone rhythmically, listening intently for the acoustic
feedback.
"Mmh... the frequency shifted here..."
He ceased his movement, repositioning himself before striking again.
THUD!
"Oh? This sector sounds significantly more hollow."
His interest piqued, Kaito hoisted the hammer and delivered a focused blow to
the center of the sternum.
BANG! BANG! CRACK!
A hairline fracture spiderwebbed across the surface of the bone. Kaito's
soulfire flared.
"Data confirmed! Structural weakness detected!"
He delivered a final, heavy strike to the center of the fracture.
CRUNCH!
The bone shattered, revealing a dark internal cavity. A wisp of grey, stagnant
mist drifted from the breach. Kaito leaned in, peering into the void of the
beast's chest.
Sitting silently within the cavity was a grey crystal the size of a fist. The
surface rippled with a faint, internal radiance, and something liquid-like
seemed to flow within its facets.
"Oh? Identify item."
Kaito reached in and extracted the crystal. It felt cool to the touch and was
statistically much lighter than its volume suggested. He held it up toward the
ashen sky, performing a visual audit.
"The aesthetic is pleasing..."
"I wonder if it possesses the buoyancy to serve as a fishing float? The density
seems low; it should theoretically stay above the surface tension."
Kaito muttered his assessment, casually tossing the artifact into his spatial
bag. He slapped the dust from his gauntlets and resumed his walk.
He failed to notice that, as soon as he departed, the shattered remains of the
gargantuan skeleton began to dissolve into grey ash, evaporating into the
atmosphere.
At that exact micro-second, a ripple—nearly invisible to the naked eye—shivered
across the entire sky of the Necrotic Realm.
The Construction Site.
Greed stood atop his platform, mid-way through a high-octane motivational
address to the heads of his construction squads.
"...Therefore, the Master's provision of these rods is a direct mandate! He is
informing us that the Hub requires finesse, not just brute Od! We must operate
with the 'Patience of the Angler'!"
"Every pillar must be polished! Every stone-slab must be aligned with surgical
precision! We must adhere to the Sovereign's standards, for he—"
Suddenly, the sky rippled.
Every skeleton on the site froze in a state of synchronized system-lag.
Greed snapped his skull upward, his soulfire narrowing.
"That resonance..."
The ripple! Could it be the Plane Core activation described in the plundered
archives of the Old Kingdoms?
But the Necrotic Realm's Core should already be under the Sovereign's absolute
control, Greed reasoned. Why would it manifest such a violent fluctuation now?
He contemplated the logic for several seconds before a realization struck his
core.
"Could it be...?"
"The Sovereign is currently performing a structural calibration of the Plane
Core itself?!"
The more he processed the theory, the more "Robust" it became. Of course! It is
the only logical conclusion! The Sovereign is present in the realm! Even if we
cannot perceive his physical manifestation, he is observing our labor from the
grey!
That ripple was the Master tuning the very fundamental laws of this world to
prepare the foundation for the Transit Hub!
"I see it now!"
Greed drew a long breath, turning back to the rows of skeletal workers.
"SUBJECTS!"
"You felt that fluctuation, did you not?!"
"That was the Sovereign clearing the path for our success! The Master may be
hidden from your ocular sensors, but his gaze is anchored to this site!"
"Therefore, we must not allow a single logic error to persist! We cannot
disappoint the Divine hand that tunes our world!"
"ALL UNITS: RETURN TO YOUR STATIONS!"
"I WANT AT LEAST TWO PORTAL FRAMES SECURED AND ANCHORED BEFORE THE NEXT
MOONRISE!"
"AS COMMANDED!"
The skeletons erupted into a chorus of rattling cheers, dispersing to their
tasks with a renewed, fanatical vigor. Greed stood on the dais, watching his
highly motivated subordinates with a look of profound satisfaction.
He turned to Thanatos, who was standing like a shadow behind him.
"Adjunct. In your estimation... where is the Master localized currently?"
Thanatos remained silent for a moment, his violet-gold soulfire flickering.
"Unidentified."
"But I can sense his signature. He is present within this coordinate."
Greed nodded. "My sensors detect the same. He is watching us from the silence.
We must ensure our output is peerless."
Thanatos bowed. "Understood."
Greed looked out over the churning industry of the site, his ambition flaring.
"The Evernight Transit Hub shall be the singular heart of the Multiverse. And we
are the ones privileged to build it."
Deep within the wastes of the realm, Kaito was currently crouching before a pile
of jagged rocks, tapping away with his small hammer.
"Peculiar... I was certain I perceived a hollow resonance here moments ago..."
"Why is there zero feedback now?"
He scratched his skull, looking bewildered. "Whatever. I'll search for a new
data point."
Kaito stood up, clapped his hands, and continued his walk.
He was entirely oblivious to the fact that the crystal he had "casually
retrieved" was a vital fragment of the Necrotic Realm's Plane Core. He had no
data indicating that his singular hammer-strike had rewritten the energy-flow of
the entire dimension. Nor did he know that his subordinates were currently
weeping with gratitude for his "Grand Strategic Foresight."
Kaito just figured this world was an interesting place to scavenge. The black
water held zero fish worth catching, but the ground was full of "treasures."
After all, Bochi's habit of picking up junk had to have come from somewhere.
"Mmh... that leg bone over there looks high-tier. Long. Straight. Perfectly
balanced."
"Let's investigate."
Kaito hummed his tuneless little melody, strolling casually toward the next pile
of ancient remains.
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