Chapter 2742

Iluna snuggled up to Xia De by the fire, which made the eighteen-year-old girl feel very at ease, and at the same time, she felt a little happy in her heart:

"Xia De, all of the above are just everyone's speculations, but this is the only thing we can do here.

Exploring this castle, which is mostly submerged in water, is not easy either. Our progress is very slow. Currently, we have only checked the third, fourth, and fifth floors of this building above the water surface, and then discovered these."

Taking advantage of the werewolf girl distributing food and clean drinking water to everyone, Xia De checked the current harvest of the four girls. It was not a stone tablet engraved with important clues or a magical prop, but four rectangular stone slabs the size of letter paper.

Although the materials of the four stone slabs were slightly different, they felt very similar to the touch. The white-gray color easily reminded one of the glowing ashes drifting in the sky.

"Speaking of which, do those ashes pose an environmental hazard?"

Xia De asked suddenly. The werewolf girl, who had just wiped an apple on her skirt and was about to open her mouth, hurriedly took the red apple away from her mouth. Her ears also pricked up slightly as she looked at Xia De's face in the firelight:

"Miss Wilde said that although those ashes have a physical entity, they are essentially a space-time phenomenon."

The Green Dragon girl, who was elegantly manipulating the pots and pans Xia De brought to prepare a meal, nodded:

"I have never encountered such a strange space, only heard teachers talk about similar situations in the past. This space is not just as simple as time being chaotic; its own disordered time flow is accelerating everything within it toward decay and collapse.

To put it simply, those ashes represent time collapse. Although the impact on us living people who possess time resistance is not significant, it is clear that the collapse of this castle is strongly related to it. I suggest that everyone should not come into contact with those ashes for a long time."

The Green Dragon girl had beautiful emerald-like eyes, and she seemed to be a time talent as well:

"Although coming here didn't allow me to be taught by others as recorded in the secret lore, these ashes alone have already allowed me to gain a lot. It is hard to find another place where one can come into contact with such a strange phenomenon. I want to use this to develop a secret art based on time collapse, so this trip won't have been in vain!"

Perhaps because of her powerful race, she was in the best mental state among the four girls present. And I don't know if it was the blessing of the Fourth Son of the Dragon, "All mundane dragons shall know your nobility," but although she appeared vigilant just now, she was not at all reserved when talking to Xia De:

"Speaking of which, Mr. Hamilton, may I ask if you are a dragon-born? I smell the scent of a dragon on you. What kind of dragon are you?"

"Don't ask my friend like that, Miss Wilde, Xia De is a human!"

Iluna immediately hugged Xia De's arm and said, and the Green Dragon girl cast a suspicious look.

The four small stone slabs were all blank on one side and had text and patterns on the other, but the content of the four slabs was different. The four girls had obviously checked them, so they didn't pay attention to how Xia De was going to fiddle with them.

The Green Dragon girl and Miss Meiz were busy cooking with the campfire. With food, everyone wanted to eat something hot, and the Green Dragon girl even boiled black tea; after the werewolf girl finished gnawing on the red apple, she went to continue organizing the supplies Xia De brought out.

Iluna originally didn't want to move, but seeing everyone busy, she felt embarrassed to just lean on Xia De, so she took the initiative to help Miss Bister tidy up things.

Five minutes later, the hot chicken and rice were ready. Added with the sauce Xia De brought, the aroma was so fragrant that even Xia De, who had just eaten breakfast, felt his appetite whetted.

Because Xia De was here, even if they were hungry, the girls were eating in small bites very reservedly by the fire, so Xia De asked again:

"Have you all read these four books?"

"Books?"

Four pairs of eyes looked at Xia De from the steam:

"What books? Wait, you mean, these four stone slabs are books?"

Miss Meiz, who arrived here the earliest, asked in surprise, and Xia De nodded:

"Of course. I know some secret lore from the First Era. At that time, precious books were usually made using certain techniques to preserve them longer, and these stone slabs are actually the covers.

I once had the honor of coming into contact with precious documents from the First Era, that feeling and... no, no, don't put down your bowls, I mean the manufacturing technology of these books is consistent with those ancient books. These four books themselves are definitely not products of the First Era."

Because they did not trigger Xia De's secret art "Ancient Voice," and the knowledge about ancient books came from the Dead Silence Valley-Gadis Library over six hundred years ago, when Xia De came into contact with the "Ye Ge Long Scroll" and the "Nameless Sacrificial Book" (Chapter 722).

"I remember now, you mentioned this before."

Iluna, who was huddled beside Xia De holding her rice bowl, said:

"It seems that you have to read the names on the books to open them."

"Yes."

After seeking the opinions of the four girls, Xia De read out the text on the four stone slabs respectively:

"The first one is 'Wolf of the Ancestral Spirits,' then 'Radiant Sun' and 'Blessing of Books,' and finally... 'Delicious Black Tea and Pastry Making'?"

As his voice fell, the four stone slabs placed by Xia De in front of the fire glowed simultaneously. After waiting for a moment, the warm firelight illuminated the four scrolls of parchment. Judging by the weight, the content in each piece of parchment was not small.

The four books were ordinary items, and they all flew up as soon as Xia De lifted his hand. Seeing the girls holding their bowls still looking at him, he made a small deduction:

"Assuming these four books correspond to the four of you who came wearing academy uniforms, then 'Wolf of the Ancestral Spirits' is obviously related to Miss Bister."

The first scroll of parchment flew toward the werewolf, and the subsequent second scroll flew toward Iluna:

"'Radiant Sun' is Iluna's, and then 'Blessing of Books'..."

The recognizability of this name was not very high. Xia De had seen Luweiya use a secret art with this name in Randall Valley (Chapter 1320), which was a defensive secret art.

While he was hesitating, the human witch Miss Meiz said in a low voice:

"This should be related to me. I am proficient in secret arts related to knowledge and inheritance."

So after the third scroll of parchment flew toward her, everyone looked at the Green Dragon girl. The latter also realized something, tilted her neck, and said there:

"Making black tea and pastries delicious is, of course, also a remarkable ability. You shouldn't look down on this ability. Every capable girl should have her own unique secret recipe for black tea and pastries."

She said things that everyone didn't quite understand, but at least Xia De knew that the Green Dragon girl would not feel disappointed with this knowledge.

"So, is this why we came here?"

They didn't rush to flip through these books but continued to eat. Iluna expressed her doubts at the right time:

"After we learn the contents of these books, can we leave here?"

"It shouldn't be that simple. This is a so-called academy, not a library. I still stick to my point of view: we need to find a teacher and have a classroom environment to be considered as having completed the course."

The Green Dragon girl said, and the others agreed with her view. And if these four books can be considered "textbooks," then they are undoubtedly one step closer to their goal.

"We might be able to leave through this method, but what about this gentleman? He doesn't have an academy uniform, how is he going to leave here?"

The werewolf girl was still concerned about this point, but Xia De signaled her not to worry:

"The way I came is different from yours, and the way to leave is also different. However, about the teacher... are you sure you haven't seen anyone else here?"

The task given by the Tree Father indicated that the "Lord of the Black Robe" should be nearby. But since all four of Iluna's group indicated they hadn't, then perhaps the first thing Xia De needs to do this time is to find that god.

Although the girls' exploration of the vicinity was not sufficient, there were at least some clues left for Xia De to investigate. That was what the werewolf Miss Bister mentioned. In fact, she was the highest-level witch here. Although she was only at the eleventh tier, judging from her age, she could be called a true genius:

"The second floor of this building, which is submerged in water, has a passage that leads to the first floor. This is also the only passage to the first floor we have found so far. The outdoor water area is very dangerous, so we basically don't enter it; the indoor water area is a bit better.

But that passage on the second-floor floor is very narrow and cannot be easily expanded. Miss Meiz said there is a risk of collapsing the entire building. The body shapes of the four of us cannot pass through there, and secret arts related to spatial movement are prohibited underwater. The material of this castle itself strictly prohibits wall-passing and turning stone into mud."

She said while gesturing as she ate:

"However, after I turn into my wolf form, I can barely squeeze through that hole. But Miss Meiz said it's unclear what the situation is in the water below, so she forbids me from doing this alone. We never explore alone."

Xia De then perked up:

"I am also proficient in transformation magic, I can turn into a cat and go take a look with you."

Saying this, he stood up directly. Although he unexpectedly met Iluna on this journey, it was obviously not something to waste time on easily:

"Miss Bister, take me to see it. If possible, the two of us will go to the first floor to investigate for clues now... you finish your meal first, we'll set off after you're full."

"No need, no need, we can go now, please wait for me a moment."

She shoveled all the food in her bowl into her mouth at once. The girl with wolf ears chewed a few more times with her cheeks bulging like a hamster, and then swallowed all the food with a gulp~:

"Okay, let's go now."

"I'll go with you too. Although I can't get down to the first floor, I can wait for you at the entrance of the passage in the water."

The Green Dragon girl said and put down her bowl. Iluna, of course, wouldn't stay behind:

"I'll follow too, otherwise you'll be left alone in the water on the second floor. Miss Meiz, then I'll leave it to you to stay and look after the luggage and the campfire, we'll be back soon."