Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 1212: Chapter 1211: Adventurous Spirit

One of Queen Belsetia’s purposes for personally visiting the Cecil Clan was to bring the last ancient druid sage before Amon, but she had another reason for coming.

On the third day of the Elven Delegation’s arrival at Cecil Castle, a magic-guided vehicle, unmarked and mysterious, drove into the base surrounded by thick walls and energy shields at the secret facility ”Project Shelter 115” located at the foot of the Dark Mountain Range southwest of the imperial capital. The vehicle passed through the connecting passage and mechanical gates behind the administrative zone, and entered the giant cavern that housed the main testing site.

Standing on a high platform overlooking most of the testing site, Queen Belsetia gazed down at the vast assembly space below—countless crisscrossed steel structures and stone support platforms rapidly shaped by magic power created a testing area larger than several football fields. High-powered magic crystal lamps fixed to upper steel beams lit these platforms as brightly as daylight. Engineering vehicles and technical personnel moved back and forth between the platforms, with lights large and small like roaming dragons.

This is the testing site for assembling the Sky Fortress, one of the Empire’s critical secret projects. Normally, such spaces would not be open to foreign envoys—except in the case of the Silver Empress. The reason is simple: although the entire Project 115 belongs to the Cecil Empire, much of the technology, including the anti-gravity engine array used behind it, comes from the silver elves, and many of its energy components are also used at the elves’ Sacred Stars Temple.

While the Cecil Empire constructs Sky Fortresses here, the Silver Empire is simultaneously engaged in reconstruction projects of the Sacred Stars Temple—these two projects run parallel, essentially forming part of a technology collaboration between the two empires.

”As you see, our project is currently focused on assembling the keel and testing the anti-gravity engine array,” Gawain said to the Silver Empress beside him, ”Of course, this is indeed the most complex and time-consuming part of the entire project. Once the basic structure is complete here, the subsequent assembly will progress rapidly.”

”I’m already surprised by this progress, Uncle Gawain—I never imagined you had already entered the actual testing phase of the anti-gravity engine array,” Belsetia sincerely exclaimed, ”It’s impressive to see how the Origin Laboratory drives large-scale projects... Truly remarkable.”

Gawain offered a slight smile: ”The Origin Laboratory indeed holds great influence; we’ve shifted the test work that would take months or even years to complete in the real world to virtual environments, and with the Thought Acceleration System, these tedious and time-consuming tasks can be completed in a month or even less. Of course, the large-scale acceleration of the nerve network consumes significant resources and requires precious hardware hosts, but compared to blowing up half the base in the real world... the costs are rather reasonable.”

”...Looks like I’ll have to seriously consider renting nerve network computing power when I return, is that what you mean, Uncle Gawain?” Belsetia looked at Gawain, smiling at the corner of her eyes, ”It is expensive for a reason.”

”We’ve established large-scale communication and forwarding channels between Cecil and the Silver Empire, so we should make the most effective use of them,” Gawain replied with a calm expression, ”By the way, how is the Sacred Stars Temple doing lately?”

”If you’re asking about the temple itself, there hasn’t been much change—it’s not something that can be rebuilt overnight, despite scholars and craftsmen indicating significant progress in repairs daily, thanks to new technological support. However, this progress isn’t visually perceptible,” Belsetia laughed, ”But if you’re referring to our reconstruction endeavours... we have new discoveries almost every day.”

The Silver Empress smiled, overlooking the vast assembly site from the high platform, watching the complex mechanical structures being installed piece by piece onto the steel-framed skeleton, as though observing a giant slowly born in its slumber.

”We finally opened the ancient doors leading to the power core, dismantling the engine isolation dome and the access barriers to the central axis logic array, untouched for tens of thousands of years. We saw the alloy skeletons extending deep in the blackness, the ancient equipment operating silently, and the decayed cables and sensors that had lost connection with the Sovereignty Chair for hundreds of years...

”Most of the technology in the deep layers remains beyond understanding—even scholars can recognize only a few aspects, and they cannot repair them with current capabilities—but at least we haven’t resolved too late; we can still identify most of the equipment groups, their function, and positioning. Moreover, we now have new plans...

”Master Vilanya and her astrologers confirmed the energy logic beneath the Sacred Stars Temple. We’ve replaced parts of the severely damaged power core with magic web arrays from Cecil. Next, we’ll dismantle the thoroughly defunct anti-gravity and propulsion devices, replace them with modern industrial products, and rebuild the chamber and functional division surrounding the temple’s keel.

”Currently, our biggest challenge is reconstructing the sensory and operational devices that have gone offline from the control hub, ensuring the Sovereignty Chair can accurately identify the newly installed features within the Sacred Stars Temple... Progress in this area has been slow, but since autumn, scholars have finally achieved some success. The melding between artificial nerve cords and signal connectors has been realized. With assistance from biological nerve centers, control issues at the temple may soon be resolved—let’s hope everything goes smoothly; otherwise, we’ll have to resort to using hundreds of operators to compensate for the shortfall in the Sovereignty Chair’s effectiveness.”

Listening to Belsetia recount these technical matters, Gawain slightly nodded: ”Did our ’smart factory’ inspire you?”

”Using synthetic brains to grant machines the ability to think... human creativity is always astonishing,” Belsetia laughed, ”Frankly, after receiving Rebecca’s documentation, Master Vilanya couldn’t eat for an entire day—but the next day, she persuaded herself with remarkable perseverance to finish reading all the materials and expressed respect for your technology.”

”...” Gawain momentarily found himself speechless, imagining what the scene would be like if the elves embraced the wetware host + heavy machinery technological route, suddenly feeling a deep sense of guilt.

Unknown to the musings in Gawain’s mind about ”only wanderers from the outer realm could comprehend,” Belsetia maintained her gaze on the assembly platforms below. Compared to the paper documentation, witnessing them firsthand provided a more genuine sense of awe. Looking at them for quite some time, she finally softly broke the silence: ”Watching this, I can’t help but wonder... in very ancient times, in epochs beyond even the silver elves’ imagination, how did our ancestors, the primordial elves construct such magnificent creations like the Sacred Stars Temple? Was that majestic fortress also assembled piece by piece here starting from the keel, beams, and basic power units?”

”Of course, or else would it have directly grown out of the ground?” Gawain raised an eyebrow, ”What made you suddenly reflect on these things?”

”After finally opening the gates to the deepest part of the Sacred Stars Temple, we uncovered many ancient traces from those chambers sealed for millennia,” Belsetia gently began explaining, ”Throughout countless eras, various regions of the Sacred Stars Temple have undergone numerous renovations and transformations; its outer areas were once completely destroyed by war, yet inside those sealed chamber sections, everything still remains as it was shortly after the Sky Fortress embarked.

”Nowadays, the silver elves can no longer identify items belonging to the primordial elves, but we can clearly feel that these originate from an ancient and grand civilization, a somewhat familiar ’distant relative’, brought out from a homeland we’ve long forgotten...

”Regrettably, due to the passage of time and water and air leaks in some cabins, all document-like and chart-like items have been completely destroyed. The precision instruments used to record data have also been completely ruined. The only things we managed to bring out are some corrosion-resistant household items or ornaments made of unknown alloys, and plaques and engravings extracted from walls. Yet even these items have caused quite a stir among the silver elves.”

Gawain blinked curiously: ”Quite a stir?”

”Among the silver elves, a voice has emerged advocating ’searching for the homeland’,” Queen Belsetia said, ”This stems from the relics of primordial elves continuously discovered in the depths of the Sacred Stars Temple.

”Actually, this voice existed before, similar thoughts have even accompanied the entire history of the founding of the Silver Empire, but it has never gained momentum. The deadly ocean storms are equally perilous for elves, and the ’prosperity’ of the Silver Empire, much like that of Gondor back then, is awkwardly limited to the cruising range of the Sacred Stars Temple. Yet the events of recent years...”

”The formation of an alliance, technical support from sea demons and Naga, the revival of the ring continent route, Dragonkin—and the successful navigation between Loren Continent and Talronde,” Gawain responded quickly, ”These achievements have encouraged all the races trapped on land, including you elves.”

”It should be ’especially encouraging’ for us,” Belsetia smiled at Gawain, ”Elves all know about the ancient tale of ’The Great Divide’. We know we originate from another continent. When General Byron’s achievement of successfully reaching Talronde was relayed back home, our scholars were overjoyed. The voice of the ’Homeland Seeker’ faction has risen higher than ever before, complementing recent findings in the Sacred Stars Temple’s sealed sections... Many elves now seem to think we can consider forming a fleet like humans to seek the origin sanctuary of the primordial elves.”

”...Exploring an unknown continent over the ocean is, in itself, a good thing. I see nothing wrong with it,” Gawain looked into Belsetia’s eyes, choosing his words carefully, ”But you should know, going to Talronde and searching for the origin continent of the primordial elves are not the same concept—The former is the homeland of dragons. We have guides, escort sailors, existing routes, and dragons’ recorded celestial and hydrological data. Moreover, Talronde and Loren are not too far apart, whereas the elven homeland...”

Images of the foundation of the huge tower he saw from his perspective at Firmament Station and the little information acquired from Enya flashed through his mind.

”Well, one thing is certain, there is indeed another continent west of Loren Continent, possibly the homeland of the primordial elves. But it is far away, with harsh environments and unclear internal conditions—In the heyday of Talronde, dragons occasionally sent exploration teams to gaze distantly at the situation on that continent. However, today the dragons have drastically weakened, losing implants, enhancers, and the Omega System’s global communication and navigation support. Now, not even dragons can cross the ocean to find that land.”

Belsetia widened her eyes—the possibility that the primordial elves might originate from a mysterious continent west of Loren is not surprising to her, as scholars of the Silver Empire already proposed such a hypothesis long ago. What surprises her is Gawain’s tone as he talks about these matters. He seems to be very knowledgeable about and has not just recently started paying attention to this subject.

”Surprised, aren’t you?” Naturally, Gawain noticed the change in the Silver Empress’s expression. He merely smiled blandly, ”I have quite a decent relationship with that Dragon God. Many things have been heard from her, and besides that, I also have some... special information channels. I know of another continent west of Loren Continent, which should be the origin of the primordial elves, and I also know there’s a continent in the southeastern part of Loren—The sea demons know how to get there.

”I have always been very interested in the new continent. Exploring unknown worlds has a great allure to me, and even from certain perspectives, one of the main reasons I study maritime technology and gather powerful fleets is to explore those secrets lurking deep within the oceans, while the revival of the ring continent route and establishment of oceanic trade... are really just auxiliary outcomes of this goal.”

Belsetia looked steadily at the joyful smile on Gawain’s face, and after a while, she too began to laugh, ”Your adventurous spirit... is indeed as the information suggests.”

...

While Gawain and the Silver Empress were discussing new routes, ancient continents, and the spirit of adventure, another human with an exceptionally strong adventurous spirit was lying in his ”Adventurer’s Cabin”, accompanied by the occasional howling wind outside the town, sleeping soundly in the warmth brought by the magic symbol.

An unusual change in the environment suddenly surged in his heart, the adventure instinct accumulated over many years stimulated his nerves, and Modir abruptly awoke from sleep. In less than one-tenth of a second, he rolled off the bed onto the ground, adopting a defensive posture while already gripping the short magic wand leaning against the bed with one hand, and drawing out the enchanted dagger from under his pillow with the other.

Layer upon layer of defensive spells and blessings designed to enhance vitality, recovery, and magic affinity activated instantly, enveloping his entire body.

All this was an instinctual response, as if driven by muscle memory.

Modir had already shaken off the lethargy brought by sleep and was alertly observing his surroundings. His first move was to quickly scan the room, confirming he was still in his single ”dormitory”—everything in view remained in its pre-sleep position, with no sign of the door or windows having been opened, nor any breath of strangers nearby.

But this wasn’t his room, at least not his ”normal” room.

Everything in his vision had lost color, a monotonous palette of black, white, and gray draped over everything in sight.