The Lost Civilization – A myth of Grayland.
The inhabitants of Grayland believe their town was built on the remnants of a city whose inhabitants disappeared centuries ago.
They believe the inhabitants of this city made their way into the Mazeweald, the dangerous region Ruel was currently in, and that was where they disappeared.
For years, town officials had quietly hoped to find relics—anything to redeem Grayland's faded legacy.
But now, Ruel had stumbled upon something far more valuable than ancient relics—the lost civilization itself.
He had a lot of questions for these people, but he and Jiro had come to an agreement that they would wait till they reached a safer place to discuss.
Two could move on their own, while the other was in Jiro's care.
As they left the battlefield, Ruel felt a sharp pang of regret—abandoning the valuable carcass was a painful but necessary sacrifice.
But he couldn't complain. This small group abandoned the three corpses of their fellow men to make things easier.
Ruel wanted to pack everything in his inventory, but he realized there was a size limit too.
With this in mind, the group of six, with Muriel returning to a semi-corporeal state, ran through the forest.
Ruel could feel a foreign influence pressing on his mind, slowly his sense of direction warping.
But due to his new physiology, and Muriel and Jiro's guidance, they found their way to the underground cavern.
As they reached the cavern, Ruel let them in, and entered last, closing the hole behind him.
The cavern was still lit by some of the lamps Muriel provided, highlighting the frozen grounds while they shivered slightly from cold air.
All of this was merely an aftereffect, so for warriors like them, it was easy to handle.
However, this reminded the foreign group about the strength of this young man.
They all found corners to stay with Ruel seated closer to the hole, believing if worse came to the worse, he could explain.
His father taught him to trust people, but blindly trusting people wasn't what he was taught to do.
Muriel further guided him and said, "You should give them a potion. If handled well, they should serve us well in the future."
Ruel pondered for a second. He didn't want to fully heal them all, as it would reduce his upper hand.
He looked at the lady with purple hair plaited into long twin braids and black eyes, her black veins protruding and her skin deep green in color.
They tried to use their weird parchment to heal her, but the problem was the poison.
"How do I get a potion out of thin air? Should I use it to show-off strength?" he asked Muriel telepathically.
"Showing off could be double sided. Just put your hands into your pocket and use your inventory."
"Buy a mid-level potion."
Muriel followed his words and bought from his inventory after he gave her access while Ruel calmly watched their actions.
After the potion was delivered in his inventory, he dipped his hands in his pocket under the subtle watch of the foreigners.
Bringing out the yellow potion in a small bottle, he said, "This is an anti-poison potion—give it to her. I can't promise it'll fully cure her, but it should help."
"No, it's sufficient!" Jiro said, his eyes glowing with hope. "It's better than nothing!"
Jiro swiftly disappeared from where he was and appeared in front of Ruel, collected the potion and returned to where his group were seated.
'A talent…?' Ruel silently wondered.
He saw as Jiro returned, receiving slight scolding from the other active two, but he turned deaf ears as he poured the potion into the lady's mouth.
After a few seconds, they all saw less of the veins while abnormal color on her skin was reducing.
Jiro smiled visibly, while the other two, who hadn't held much hope, also sighed in relief.
Immediately after laying her on the ground, Jiro turned to him and exclaimed, "Thank you, savior!"
Ruel blinked, caught off guard by the intensity. He scratched the back of his neck, unsure how to respond to such raw gratitude.
The other two finally decided to step forward and said, slightly bending their heads forward, "Thank you for helping us!"
With a smile, Ruel said, "It is no problem. I am curious though, what were you doing there and where did you come from? I only got a brief answer earlier."
The man that looked to be in his early 30s, with light brown hair and brown eyes, took the lead.
"I am August, this is Dean—and I believe you already know Jiro.
"We came from deep in the forest, where a town isolated from defects of space lies."
Ruel was visibly interested as he sat upright and listened carefully.
"For years, my people have been trying to escape this forest as we're constantly being pressured by lack of resources.
"But we've been unsuccessful due to the fact that we couldn't bypass the defective space which is especially worse there.
"That was until today when we felt a high concentration of energy."
As the story began, Ruel had suspected that this was the case but it was still surprising to know he had caused this.
Oblivious to his thoughts, August continued.
"Immediately after locating the energy source where the defective space seemed to be less, we used it to pinpoint a destination and immediately formed a party of ten that headed to it."
'Ten?'
A cold shiver ran down his spine. Six dead—for a burst of energy he hadn't meant to release.
Seeing him, August smiled, "You need not worry, they would be glad to know that our town has finally made progress after years of stagnation."
"I see…" Ruel shook the worry and stayed air-headed. "What do you guys want to do now?"
He had a few ideas, but chose not to speak for them.
"Make connections to the outside world and seek resources that will help us," August said. "That is our priority."
"And how will you take it to your town?"
August hesitated for a bit, before he eventually replied, "Spatial Travel. The main purpose of us reaching here was to mount a gate that would allow travelling between here and our town."
Although unfamiliar to the concept of Spatial Travel, Ruel understood. 'It's like the anchors that I use to travel between Talia and Enma.'
"Considering Jiro got here first, leaving the others behind, I assume they have successfully mounted the gate," Muriel stated, telepathically.
After understanding them, Ruel asked, "How do you plan to make contact with the outside world?"
"Initially, that was something we decided to create after successfully mounting the portals, but now…"
August took a brief moment to glance at Dean, who wore a calm look, and received a nod from his companion.
August sighed, then met Ruel's gaze.
"Would you be willing to help our town—not just with survival, but with changing its fate?"
Ruel smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes! My people and I would be glad to help you. I believe we'll all benefit from this, after all."
August's calm demeanor wavered as he looked genuinely surprised.
"Really? I'm grateful!"
Ruel chuckled lightly. "Honestly, there are people who can speak to you more professionally than I can. Should I bring them to you?"