Death… And Me

Chapter 4413: Busy

”This one is empty...” Arcis said after checking the first box.

”And this one... this one too... and this one as well.”

Little by little, everyone’s excitement began to fade. Every single Spatial Box Arcis opened turned out to be completely empty. No Godly Crystals, no materials, not even scraps of damaged equipment remained inside. It almost looked as if someone had deliberately cleaned them out before leaving.

Rean couldn’t help but wonder if Nomo had done exactly that before transferring itself away. It certainly sounded like something the AI would do. If it had considered those resources valuable enough, it wouldn’t have left them behind for others to collect.

Still, they had sixty-two Spatial Boxes to inspect. No one was willing to give up after checking only a handful of them.

Then, things finally changed.

”Oh! We actually found something.”

Arcis waved one of his wings, and a mountain of crystals poured out from the Spatial Box before everyone.

Thousands upon thousands of Godly Beast Crystals.

Even Harksha couldn’t help but widen her eyes. Although Godly Beast Crystals were no longer particularly useful for cultivators at her level, the quantity alone made them incredibly valuable. As for the Aura Gods accompanying them, this single box alone represented a fortune that could support their cultivation for a very long time.

Rean picked up one of the crystals and examined it carefully before nodding. ”Judging from the Godly Pressure contained inside, they all came from the same species.”

”I believe so as well,” Arcis agreed.

The inspection continued.

Although the majority of the Spatial Boxes remained completely empty, every now and then, they would stumble upon another one filled to the brim with resources. One contained all kinds of rune materials. Another stored metals and rare components used to repair ancient facilities. Others were packed with monster parts harvested from countless Godly Creatures over the years.

Several more boxes contained enormous quantities of Godly Crystals from different races, while others held construction materials that were probably intended for maintaining the ruins themselves.

Those construction supplies weren’t especially valuable to cultivators, yet the sheer quality of the ancient materials still caught the attention of the Array Masters accompanying the expedition. Even if they couldn’t reproduce them yet, studying such materials might prove useful in the future.

No one knew exactly how many thousands—or perhaps millions—of years those supplies had remained sealed inside the Spatial Boxes.

*Fluf!*

Another box opened.

”...Godly Predator Crystals!” Harksha exclaimed.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

For someone at her cultivation, those crystals were vastly more valuable than ordinary Godly Beast or Spawn Crystals. Godly Predators were incredibly difficult to hunt, and obtaining even a handful of their crystals usually required tremendous luck.

Yet here they had enough to form a small mountain.

Even Arcis showed genuine interest.

Godly Predator Crystals couldn’t compare to Godly Horror Crystals for someone at his level, but quantity could sometimes compensate for quality. With so many crystals gathered together, even a Law God could benefit from them.

The remaining inspections produced a few more pleasant surprises, though none surpassed that discovery.

In the end, only seventeen of sixty-one checked Spatial Boxes still contained anything at all. However, every box that wasn’t empty was practically overflowing with resources. Whoever had organized those storages had clearly preferred keeping enormous amounts of a single resource together instead of dividing them into smaller collections.

Of course, there weren’t sixty-one boxes, but sixty-two. Only one Spatial Box remained unopened.

By then, everyone’s expectations had settled down. After seeing the mountain of Godly Predator Crystals, it felt unlikely that anything else could surpass that discovery.

Still, Arcis opened the final box.

”...What?!”

His expression immediately changed.

Without allowing anyone else to see its contents, he directly transferred everything into the Spatial Collar around his neck before the others could catch even a glimpse.

A broad smile finally appeared on his face. ”Now we’re talking!”

Naturally, everyone’s curiosity was instantly ignited.

”What was inside, Senior Arcis?” Harksha couldn’t help asking.

Unfortunately, Arcis simply shook his head. ”I won’t be able to comment on it.”

That answer alone was enough.

No explanation was necessary. Whatever had been inside that last Spatial Box was clearly valuable enough that even a Law God didn’t wish to reveal it publicly.

Of course, no one objected.

Arcis was both the expedition leader and the strongest cultivator present. According to the exploration rules, the highest-ranked treasures naturally were for him to hold until they returned. Everyone accepted that without complaint.

Once every useful resource had been collected, the exploration groups spread out through the ruins once more.

The real objective of the expedition had never been the Spatial Boxes anyway.

It was the runes.

Array Masters immediately resumed dismantling every usable rune they could find from walls, broken facilities, damaged machinery, and underground structures. Since each Elite Exploration Group had brought several experienced Array Masters along, the work progressed at an astonishing pace.

Meanwhile, the complete disappearance of the ancient barrier protecting the ruins produced another consequence.

Godly Creatures gradually began wandering into the area.

Fortunately, the expedition possessed overwhelming combat strength. Ten Elite Exploration Groups meant ten Zone Gods, while Arcis himself stood an entire cultivation realm above them.

Ordinary Godly Spawns and Beasts barely posed any threat.

Even large groups of Godly Beasts were quickly exterminated before they could gather into dangerous numbers.

Still, everyone knew this peaceful situation wouldn’t last forever.

As the cultivators remained inside the ruins day after day, more and more Godly Creatures were instinctively attracted toward them.

Sure enough, on the fifth day, the first Godly Predator finally appeared.

Arcis chose not to intervene personally. Instead, all ten Zone Gods joined forces and managed to force the creature into retreat after a while. Killing it, however, proved nearly impossible.

Inside the Godly Creatures’ Territories, cultivators lacked the Sacred Relic’s protection against Godly Pressure. Their strength was constantly being suppressed while the Godly Creatures fought at full power. Under such conditions, even driving away a Godly Predator required tremendous effort.

The following day, another Godly Predator appeared.

This one proved even stronger than the previous one, forcing Arcis to personally step into battle. With the Law God’s intervention, the outcome changed immediately. The creature was quickly defeated and fled after suffering severe injuries.

Arcis could have pursued and killed it.

However, doing so would’ve required spending considerably more Godly Energy than he considered worthwhile.

Unfortunately, allowing it to escape soon revealed another problem.

Beginning on the seventh day, the injured Godly Predators gradually returned.

On the eighth day, another joined them.

Then another appeared on the ninth.

The tenth day wasn’t any quieter.

By the eleventh day, three Godly Predators were roaming around the ruins simultaneously. They weren’t newly arrived creatures either. They were simply the same wounded predators returning after recovering enough to fight again. Their instincts compelled them to attack cultivators whenever they sensed such a large gathering.

Even so, the Godly Predators weren’t what worried Arcis the most.

The true issue was the rapidly increasing population of Godly Beasts and especially Godly Spawns gathering around the ruins.

”The more cultivators gather together,” Arcis commented while observing another distant group of approaching creatures, ”the stronger the attraction becomes. Just as expected.”

Turning toward the Array Master supervising the rune collection, he asked,

”Ton, how is the progress?”

Ton immediately stepped forward. ”It was a good decision to bring so many Array Masters, Senior Arcis. We’ve already recovered enough usable runes to maintain the Sacred Relic for at least another sixty years.”

His expression grew even brighter as he continued. ”As for what’s still left, another two days should be enough to finish everything. There are simply too many ancient runes here. Even the damaged equipment we’ve collected may help us better understand the Sacred Relic’s construction. Since these facilities remained operational until relatively recently, this opportunity is simply too valuable to waste.”

Arcis nodded in agreement. ”Then continue collecting everything. I’ll make sure nothing interrupts your work.”

Without another word, he took flight.

Instead of remaining near the excavation sites, Arcis began flying around the enormous perimeter of the ruins. Every so often, he would stop briefly before leaving behind one of his shimmering ice feathers in a conspicuous location.

Then he would continue onward.

He repeated that process for nearly an hour before finally returning to the center of the ruins. ”This should be enough...”

Instead of moving again, Arcis simply sat down and quietly closed his eyes.

---

One entire day passed.

Surprisingly, not a single Godly Predator appeared during that time.

Even the number of Godly Beasts and Godly Spawns wandering nearby dropped dramatically.

Only on the following day did Ton return once more.

As soon as he approached, he noticed Arcis’ entire body radiating a faint blue glow. An overwhelming chill spread through the surrounding area, forcing Ton to stop from a considerable distance away. ”Senior Arcis... are you alright?”

Arcis slowly opened his eyes. ”I’m fine.” The blue light surrounding him gradually stabilized as he looked toward Ton. ”What is it?”

Ton respectfully bowed. ”We’ve finished collecting every usable rune. Everything has been packed and organized. We can depart whenever you give the order.”

A tired sigh escaped Arcis. ”Good...”

Only then did everyone notice just how exhausted he actually looked. ”Gather everyone.” He slowly stood up. ”We’re returning immediately.”

The instant those words left his mouth, the blue glow surrounding his body vanished.

Almost simultaneously, every ice feather he had scattered around the ruins trembled violently. Frost rapidly spread across their surfaces before they completely froze solid and shattered into countless tiny ice fragments.

The Godly Energy maintaining them had finally been withdrawn.

Soon afterward, the ten Elite Exploration Groups regrouped in the central plaza.

Arcis glanced toward the distant horizon one last time before giving his final order.

”Let’s leave.”

His voice was calm, yet noticeably more serious than before. ”This place is about to become... very busy.”