Something he hadn't recognized earlier, was that the subterranean [Ruins] were uniform in design. A purpose filled the columns with strength despite the disuse of ages. The only reassurance that time yet flowed was in the sounds of subdued movement. The water gently sloshed as a fish or perhaps a creature broke the surface. Plip-plops echoed throughout the cavern and spread like a curious chorus of watery-mouths dripping onto empty dishware.

The one saving grace in all of this; his situation hadn't gotten immediately worse. It seemed the world agreed with him that nearly drowning after a life and death showdown had been enough. Of course, he knew this cave complex was large and nothing was a certainty, but at least for now, he could afford to slow things down more so than previously.

In the distance, there was an entryway of some kind. It took on the guise of a sandy slope that licked into the water—a brown tongue lapping up liquid. Smooth walls became the inner cheek of the mouth, oval, and inviting. Jagged rocks along the ceiling dipped down like teeth that gleamed blue with meal-time readiness. He couldn't see where it led to, but he could imagine it went deeper and growled with a need to be fed.

Quintin lowered himself into the water once again. It was more chilly than he remembered, but at the time, he wasn't exactly paying attention to the temperature. Refreshed, he slowly made his way toward the notable slope.

The [Healing Potion] really works well. Not only does it heal [HP], it also has some wound treatment properties. Albeit it takes quite a while for it to close big wounds, he idly thought.

[Sinisphere] had been reactivated, but nothing with any intent was nearby. He did notice some strange, long silver fish dart through the underwater buildings from time to time. However, they were far too quick or far away to try and [Identify]. He swam on, briefly pausing every now and again as he came nearer to the pathway. Along the way, [Ruins Explorer I] brought his attention to the skeletal outline of a small humanoid figure. He had seen [Dwarves] before, and the shape reminded him of their general size. The outline glowed apart from the surroundings and went through obstacles such as walls, rock, or darkness; which is why he could see that the figure was inside a hollow, hidden cavity within the stalagmite itself.

He circled around the stalagmite while looking carefully for openings but found none. Using [Compression Grip], he crushed a decently sized hole in its side so he could take a peek. As he looked through the breach-hole, he saw exactly what he thought he would; the fully decomposed skeleton of a small, child-sized creature laid there. Besides the expected, what caught Quintin's attention the most was a pristine-looking backpack right next to it. Now that he was seeing it this close up, he noticed that the backpack actually glowed more vibrantly than the skeleton did.

He dug out a bigger hole and pulled out the backpack that seemed almost brand new and [Identified] it.

[Wear-Resistant Backpack]

-Uncommon

-Wear-Resistant: Strong

A common backpack with a not-so-common enchantment.

*Resists the wear and tear of time and trial.

The only immediate thing it contained was a bloodstained and burn-damaged book. He took the book out and opened the cover. Right away he noticed he could read it. Strange, somehow I can read this? Does it have to do with [Ruins Explorer I]? Perhaps things highlighted by it are translated?

--

Ashgold 12 90'77'

Carlenno once again forbade me entrance to his Hallowed Amphitheater. It's not even as if they're packed as of late. It's just that

damnable man who holds grudges for far too long!

Who knows what evil schemes he's plotting. The actors still tell me of strange noises that come from the sub-basement sometimes

while they practice late at night-

I- terrible fa- there must b- can do.

Ashgold 15 90'77

— — Wife is pregnant!

I talked with Irena about the possibility of sneaking me in so I can investigate further — She told me of an audition — Carlenno

better appreciate the effort and overlook me, dressed as a woman as I might be.

Ashgold 23 90'77

Irena has done it! She's talked Carlenno into holding outside auditions for extras — I'm sure to get the part!

Let's just see what unholy evil is uncovered, Carlenno, then I can put my mind at ease to take care of my wife and future baby.

Novay 01 90'77

This is it! the auditions are today at the Pourin' Rags tavern! I just have to stand there and look pretty while Irena takes care of the rest.

wish- noises- louder- unmoving she says- gates- scared- Sozzle- UnderH...

--

The journal was plagued by smudgy, blood-stained passages with whole pages being wholly undecipherable. Quintin flipped to the back page and a keyring with two keys on it came loose and fell into his open hand.

He deposited the items into his own [Storage] and mused, I guess the poor guy never did figure out what was going on there. That or it's in one of the undecipherable passages? Regardless, there really isn't a place to bury this guy—I guess I'll take him along and find a place to bury him somewhere in the sun. He shouldn't have to rest in such a place.

Identify.

[Skeleton]

-Male

-Dwarf

Race of people who prefer to live in Mountain Homes.

*this is a fully decomposed, ancient [Dwarf] skeleton.

A pity. I kinda hoped it would drop a name on me.

He took one last look inside the backpack and also reached inside to brush the bottom. As he was feeling around, his hand rubbed up against something solid wedged in between a crease at the very bottom. To his surprise, it was a slim, eight-inch wand of pure white wood.

[Wand of Dispersal]

-Uses: 5/8

-Banish Magic

-Spirit Bane

A wand created to contain a Dispersal effect.

Usable without the need for [Magic] or [Mana].

contains all the prerequisites within the wand itself.

*Banish incorporeal entities at a target location.

*Deals [Major] damage even if targets resist dispersal.

Quintin quickly [Stored] the wand before some smokey God decided to take it away. He was ecstatic and pumped his fist a couple of times in excitement. I can use [Magic]! Real magic! If I ever become rich and famous I'll have to buy all of the wands! Who needs [Mana] when you've got wands? I have a wand!

He left the now-empty socket with the remnants of an unresolved mystery—this was the final resting place where the contents meant to help figure it out had gathered. He settled back into the water and continued to swim towards the passageway.

His knees touched the soft, loamy dirt ramp with the shrinking water level. The creepiness of standing on it made it seem much more like the tongue of some kind of ancient cave dweller than when viewed from afar. The incline took him higher up, and eventually, it evened out, taking on a straight course thereafter.

He walked along the tunnel for what seemed like an hour before he was interrupted by a change in direction. Peeking around the corner his eye widened as the tunnel abruptly cut off and ended, now a great chasm instead. Edging up to get a better look down, his mouth opened up wide as he took in the view of a sprawling city, a once-bustling metropolis as it was now in ruins.

Discovered: [Sozzelrift Underhome]