Gathering Wives with a System

As the group moved deeper into the ruins, Isaac sensed weapons hidden behind the walls and large machines that looked like tanks positioned throughout the corridors. Some of them were partially covered by the surrounding structure, while others appeared to have been deliberately placed in defensive positions, but none of them moved or showed any sign of activating.

”This is strange. Why aren’t they attacking us?” Althea said, looking at the weapons with confusion.

”I think it might be because of me. Remember that I’m a Moon Dragon, so maybe this place recognized me, and that’s why I was able to find it so easily,” Selene replied after considering it for a moment.

Althea nodded, although she did not seem completely convinced by the explanation. She had no better answer, however, and Selene’s connection to the Moon Dragons made it believable enough that she decided not to question it further.

In truth, Selene had received a reward from her trial that allowed her to access the ruins of the Moon Dragons. This ruin must’ve belonged to that civilization, which meant that the defenses were responding to Selene in much the same way a locked door would respond to the person who possessed its key.

”We are quite lucky. If these things were still fully operational, we would probably be in serious trouble,” Alice said as she examined one of the weapons.

”How so?” Emily asked, looking at Alice.

”I know the answer to that!” Celia suddenly said, joining the conversation. ”The space here is being maintained in a very delicate balance. If we used too much mana because of a powerful skill, or damaged the structure badly enough, the spatial fields could become unstable and we would...”

She made a slow twisting motion with her hand near her neck, making the meaning obvious without needing to finish the sentence. Isaac chuckled as he continued walking, because Celia was clearly enjoying the exploration. That said, she was actually correct about the danger despite the casual way she had explained it.

They had no idea how powerful the weapons were because none of them specialized in that field, but the spatial structure itself was already dangerous enough. A large battle inside this place could easily disrupt the balance of the three spatial fields, and the consequences would likely be far worse than simply being attacked by the weapons.

Despite that, Celia was clearly enjoying herself as they continued through the ruins. Alice and Selene were not much different, although each of them had a different reason for being excited about their discovery.

For Celia, discovering a hidden ruin during her first real trip into the wilderness was almost a dream come true. Alice had always wanted to experience adventures like this, while Selene was more interested in what kind of treasures the ancient civilization might have left behind.

Isaac and Emily exchanged glances as they watched the three girls. They both smiled, understanding exactly what Celia, Alice, and Selene were thinking without needing to say anything.

Eventually, the group reached another large door that looked considerably more secure than the others they had passed. Selene stopped in front of it and examined the surface for several seconds before placing her hand against it.

”I can feel that there’s something important behind this door. But I can’t hack into the defense system inside the room, so I don’t know what’s waiting for us,” Selene said after a moment.

Isaac’s expression became serious as he looked at the sealed entrance.

”Do we need to be prepared to fight?” he asked.

”No. The defense system won’t attack us. It’s just taking too much time to complete the verification process before it allows me to know what is inside. I tried hacking the system directly, but that is also taking time,” Selene said, keeping her hand against the door as she continued examining the system.

Isaac nodded as he looked at the sealed entrance. If the defense system was not going to attack them, there was no reason to waste more time waiting for Selene to complete the verification, especially when they were sure they would not be attacked.

”I’ll open the door now,” Selene said before waving her hand toward the entrance. The runes along the surface of the door lit up one after another, and after a few seconds, the heavy door slowly moved aside.