"Everyone, don't be nervous! This mission is a collection task, not a battle with the Kalos snakes. We're just here to pick up the old clothes those guys don't want anymore. Just don't wake them up."
Pro's remarks were tinged with humor, which eased the tension considerably.
"Is everyone ready?!"
We all nodded, and our initial tension eased considerably. This must be what a team is like.
If I were carrying out this mission alone, I would have already rushed in, and I have no idea what would have happened...
"Alright! Let's go!"
The ruins are located a short distance downstream from the river.
Large and small pieces of ice float on the river. After walking downstream, you can see a cave that looks abrupt on the bank.
Unlike the ruins on the surface that have been sealed for decades, this cave is more like the lair of a behemoth.
"Could there be a mistake?"
I had that thought, but Pro was very confident in his belief that this was the place, so it seems that a day of data collection was indeed very important.
Pro told me that this is the Perio Ruins, which was discovered by a lost adventurer several years ago. He initially went in to take shelter from the rain, but unexpectedly stumbled into the ruins.
Pro took out the torches he had prepared beforehand, and I was in charge of lighting them.
These are essential items for exploring caves, since it's pitch black inside and you can't see anything. If we are attacked by poisonous insects or ferocious beasts, we'll be in big trouble.
While it's possible to carry something like a lantern, torches can also be used as weapons. Monsters that live in darkness for a long time are somewhat afraid of fire.
Even if you throw it out, the flame can still illuminate an area, unlike a lantern which will break and go out.
"It's icy everywhere here, so please be careful not to slip."
Pro walked in front. It seemed like it was still quite a distance to go down from here. I looked at the damp cave, which gave me a very bad feeling.
Although each person had their own torch, the area illuminated was quite large. After all, Leah was an archer, so naturally the brighter the better.
However, I still hate this damp environment; it always has a disgusting smell, but I have to endure it...
"ah……"
"careful……"
Because Leah lost her balance, I immediately reached out to support her; she had probably stepped on the icy ground.
"Where are you touching...!"
"I didn't touch anywhere..."
Once I felt she had regained her balance, I withdrew my hands and picked up the torch that I had just thrown aside.
However, Leah clutched her chest and glared at me fiercely...
"Well……"
Her face flushed red; she was the type who would blush at the slightest touch from a man, but she still glared at me angrily.
Was it because I touched her breasts? So it turns out that even being touched in a sensitive area by a man can make someone angry?
But my hands didn't feel as soft as I'd hoped; instead, they felt hard. So I probably didn't actually touch her breasts; I just brushed against her bra.
"I'm...I'm sorry..."
Although I wouldn't blush or feel my heart race over something like this, I still apologized.
She didn't look at me, picked up the torch and walked forward. Pro didn't say anything, besides, he wasn't good at dealing with this kind of thing.
"Women are such a hassle..."
However, I was indeed in the wrong first, even though my intentions were good...
After walking for several minutes, I finally entered the ruins. I paused for a moment because there was a skeleton lying in the muddy ground next to me.
"Be careful, Leon..."
Pro said to me, "I'm not the kind of person who would panic at the sight of something like this."
I didn't pay any attention to the skeleton. It was probably an adventurer who got lost in the past. It's possible that he froze or starved to death, since there seemed to be more than one such entrance.
"Get down!"
Suddenly someone shouted from behind; it was the voice of the middle-aged magician…
"Damn it..."
Just as I was wondering whether I should lie down on the wet ground, I saw Lia in front of me. She threw her torch aside and raised her bow to the sky.
Following her gaze, a dark mass flew rapidly towards them...
"It's a bat!"
These bats are not monsters; they simply prefer to inhabit dark, damp caves.
"Damn it..."
I heard Leah cursing as she fired several arrows, almost none of them escaping. The bats hit by the arrows spun and fell to the ground like planes crashing...
Before long, the bats disappeared from sight; those that fled quickly were long gone, while those that fled slowly had obviously become part of the ground.
"This woman... is terrifying..."
It's probably still holding a grudge about what happened earlier, and is using these reckless bats as a tool to vent its anger.
After the brief incident, we continued walking forward and came to a path that resembled a stone bridge. Below it was an underground river, dark and bottomless, giving us an uneasy feeling.
"I really don't want to fall!"
I sighed inwardly...
After crossing the stone bridge, the road widened, and a huge circular archway appeared before us, with complex and mysterious runes carved on it. This must be the main entrance to the ruins.
I stopped in my tracks, staring in disbelief at the scene before me.
On the other side of the archway was a building I had never seen before, one that seemed to come from ancient Greek mythology...
It's such a pity that such a large-scale site is underground. If it were above ground, it would probably be one of the world's top architectural wonders.
"How much longer are you going to watch...!"
Urged on by Leah, I snapped out of my daze and quickly jogged back to the group.
The road then narrowed again, somewhat like a path along a cliff edge, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. If you weren't careful, you felt like you would fall down... the so-called underground river.
"Hmm? This is it..."
Pro's remarks left me stunned for a moment.
Since I was third in line and still on the cliffside path, I only knew that Pro and Lia should have arrived at their destination, so I quickly sped up until two huge stone statues appeared in front of me.
This is a fairly large space, with a corridor nearly a hundred feet long and a collapsed staircase. Two huge stone statues are arranged on either side, and there is a circular archway in the middle, just like before.
"That is..."
Then, on the ground not far away, there was something scattered, gleaming.
That's what we're after today: Carlo snakeskin...
It seems that the Carlo snake is a long-time resident here; despite being a high-quality snakeskin, it's everywhere.
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