Seeing Himmel hesitate in front of the stone steps, Serie took a step forward and directly pushed open the wooden door.
The long-sealed Human Potion Laboratory was laid bare before everyone's eyes.
However, contrary to their imagination of blood and brutality, what greeted them was not the sight of carnage but rather... a sort of orderly desolation.
The ash-brown wooden shelves were empty, with all records and documents having been removed. The large machines that couldn't be transported had been structurally damaged before the retreat.
Judging by the scorch marks on their surfaces, it seemed that those from the Royal Capital had set fire to the place during their withdrawal.
But after all, this place was underground. Perhaps due to poor ventilation, the fire did not consume all the evidence.
"Let's split up and take a look. It seems there shouldn't be any danger left here," Serie suggested.
At her suggestion, the group split into three teams to explore the ruins of the Laboratory.
Frieren and Himmel paired up and headed down a dark corridor.
Gut took the "lucky tagalong" Mut along a mapped path to explore the main building of the Laboratory Ruins.
As for Serie, she found a chair, wiped it clean, and sat down. While maintaining the burning flame to light up the surroundings, she extended her vast magical perception in all directions, keeping a constant watch on everyone exploring inside the ruins.
On Himmel's side, as Frieren gently raised her staff, the previously dark corridor was illuminated with magic, finally allowing the two to see the path clearly.
"A resting area?"
Looking at the rows of doors lining the corridor, Himmel guessed aloud. He then randomly opened one, and sure enough, the room was filled with bunk beds, confirming his guess.
Most likely because the corridor was quite deep within the Laboratory, the flames from the initial fire hadn't reached these rooms.
Except for the thick dust and heavy stench of decay, the rooms remained largely intact.
Judging by the disarray of the bedding and the overturned desks, the retreat must have been sudden, leaving signs of panic everywhere.
Himmel slashed a few times at a fallen desk with his sword. The already decayed wood shattered under his blows, scattering its contents across the floor.
Out of caution, the Hero didn't touch the objects directly. Instead, he used the tip of his sword to nudge and flip through them.
Most of the contents were paper documents that had long since been ravaged by time, the writing faded to near illegibility.
Suddenly, Himmel's expression shifted. As he prodded through the debris, the tip of his sword unearthed a human finger bone.
"What's wrong, Himmel?"
Beside him, Frieren noticed his pause and asked.
"Ah, it's nothing."
Himmel covered the bone with his sword. "Frieren, let's go explore another room."
"Alright."
Frieren seemed to understand but didn't ask further. She stepped out first, leaving the room ahead of the Hero.
In the subsequent rooms, the situation was much the same as the first.
The items left behind varied slightly.
Some rooms had scattered photographs; others held rotting snacks, while others still contained experimental glassware and colorful vials that had mostly evaporated, leaving only residue at the bottom.
"No valuable finds so far."
The series of empty searches and the lingering stench sapped Frieren's enthusiasm, and she lost interest in exploring further.
Seeing this, Himmel scratched the back of his head.
Eager to explore every corner of the unknown, he began to coax the elven mage.
"Come on, Frieren."
"Maybe there's still a valuable Spell book in one of these rooms."
Surprisingly, what usually worked on Frieren failed this time. She crossed her arms and looked at Himmel with mild annoyance.
"Himmel, this isn't a dungeon. How could there still be Spell books here?"
"Even if there were, after all this time, they'd probably be too decayed to read."
"Haha..."
Himmel laughed awkwardly. "Okay, let me try another reason."
"Frieren, I really want to check out the remaining rooms. Could you come with me?"
"Well...fine."
The elven mage reluctantly agreed and followed behind the excited Hero, unlocking the next door with him.
"Click-click."
Near the entrance, sitting on a chair, Serie clicked her tongue with interest, casting her gaze toward Frieren and Himmel's direction, lost in thought.
...
Meanwhile, Gut led Mut along a path, passing through rows of machinery until they reached a sealed circular pipe.
The pipe's diameter was less than a meter, and its lower end was sealed tightly with layers of iron plates, leaving no gaps.
"Mr. Gut, what is this pipe?"
Examining the structure before him, Mut couldn't help but ask.
Throughout the exploration, Gut had moved with certainty, as if he knew exactly where he was going.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure."
Running his hand along the pipe, Gut explained,
"Now that we've reached the Laboratory Ruins, we can roughly mark its position on the map."
"What I'm doing now is trying to see if the remaining two points on the map connect to here."
"Mr. Gut, are you saying that this pipe is..."
"Yes."
Gut nodded. "This is exactly one of the remaining locations marked on the map."
One of those strange points that initially seemed wrong, but upon further thought, felt strangely right.
If judged by the pattern they'd seen before, this was—The path is wrong, but it leads to the correct destination.
"Should I cut it open and take a look?"
Mut drew his sword, eyeing the iron plates sealing the bottom of the pipe.
"Go ahead. Be careful."
Gut nodded, taking a few steps back to remain alert for any sudden surprises.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! ... Hiss—"
The first few strikes bounced off the iron plates, but by the fourth strike, Mut managed to slice a small opening.
Instantly, a putrid stench burst out from the gap. Even though Gut reacted swiftly and summoned a Defensive Magic shard to seal the hole, the smell still assaulted their senses.
But Gut had no time to complain. He quickly tore off a metal panel from a nearby machine and jammed it into the cut Mut had made, using all his strength to secure it.
"Whew..."
Gut exhaled deeply. Though the air still reeked, at least the smell wouldn't spread further.
Otherwise, in such an unventilated underground space, the stench would have filled every corner.
"Mr. Gut, should we head to the last point on the map?"
"No, let's head back for now."
Gut shook his head. That remaining point felt similar to this one. Judging by the mirrored dungeons they had explored before, the other spot would likely be the same.
It would be better to regroup and check out the final destination—the one not marked on the map but that Gut instinctively felt was the true Spring Sanctuary.
...
Upon returning, they found that Himmel and Frieren had already regrouped, even arriving before them.
At this moment, the three were huddled together, flipping through a well-preserved notebook.
Gut and Mut joined them, and as Serie flipped through the pages, Gut began to read its contents.
The book was actually a diary, and its author seemed to have held a significant position in the Laboratory, as it detailed many of the daily management and research activities.
Despite not reading from the beginning, Gut could already discern the answers he sought from the entries.
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Powerstones?
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