Magistones and Enter the Last Area

Oria tells the Silver Dragon again about her newfound accessory.

"Faruk, this pretty hairclip is called Astral Safir! It's a mystical name, isn't it?"

"Huh…?" Faruk looked at her immediately. Again, his eye looks as if he just heard a name that he's unheard of before. "…Astral Safir? I do not remember such item existed."

"Eh? You haven't heard of it?"

"Yeah… supposedly, there was only a magistone in this chest. That's why I was confused when you showed me that. Though, it is possible someone has managed this dungeon while I was locked away within those 500 years and changed the contents of this treasure chest…"

"Oh, and this someone is, umm… another Guardia?"

Faruk nods, "Hm. Though, I can hardly tell who would be handling this dungeon while I was sealed…"

"Wait, wait, wait, does that mean you were the maker of this dungeon?"

"Hey, don't jump into conclusions, girl. Indeed, I was the one who managed this dungeon long time ago, but I was not the original creator of this dungeon."

"Oh, I see… heehee. Sorry for that," the little girl scratched her head.

"Hm. Perish the thought. The creation of dungeons and labyrinths date back to over a 100,000 years ago, during antiquity. Nowadays, we Guardias only act as the overseer of these places. Like resetting the treasure chests and its contents, traps, moving platforms, etc. We share no hand in creating these places."

"Huh… interesting… so, that means this pretty hairclip is from a Guardia who set the treasure chest down here. I wonder who's the nice person to put a beautiful gift like this…"

"Saying a Guardia is a nice person will surely get you in trouble, Oria. (…I'm curious, too, though. Who was it that took care of the Raskiel Shrine while I was inactive? Judging by the Astral Safir Oria obtained, I can only think of the Brightest Star being responsible… that person was a collector of these kinds of things, after all. Well, there's no merit thinking about it for now…)"

Oria is waving her hands in front of him, "Faruk… Heeey! Faruk, are you there?"

"(…wait, I wonder, what if it was another Guardia and not the Brightest Star?)"

"Fa-ruk! FARUK!"

(…Well, I guess I can't tell for now. Probably soon, I will find out…)"

Oria is flustered by Faruk, who's deep in his ocean of thoughts. "Ohh… how am I going to get him back? He's sunk in his mind again! Oh, right… Master Dux did this wee-woo thing when talking to Faruk sometimes… maybe I can give it a try?"

"(It's him… no, it must be him… no, wait, perhaps her…?)

Faruk is puzzled, he's trying to figure out something, until suddenly—

"Wee-woo-wee-woo! Call to Faruk!!!"

—the child makes a siren noise with her mouth piped by her hands, and it instantly pulls him back to the surface of consciousness.

"Hyeuh-hey-wh-what?! Oh, Oria… why would you imitate Dux like that?" Faruk finally responded

"Yeay, it worked! Oh, umm, you're spacing out again, Faruk!"

Faruk tilts the iron ball a bit, his eye is frowning, "Huh? I did?"

"Yes! Yes, you are! I've called you several times, but you didn't respond. I thought Master Dux's funny words can bring you back… and it did! Heehee!"

"Sh-sheesh… (I guess I did think too hard…)"

"So, I'm curious, umm… what's the other item in the treasure?"

"Oh, right… come here."

Oria approaches the treasure again and sees a blue glowing rock. The rock is see-through, almost like a crystal. In her amazement, she asks, "What is this?"

"This alluring piece of rock is known as a magistone. Magistones are those crystal-like rocks that can be used as a material to enhance many things like armors, weapons, and accessories. You've seen one of them when you fought that Mollis monster."

"Oh… those orange crystals on its head?"

"Precisely. That's why, when fighting a monster, try to see if that monster has a magistone on its body or not. You can use that material to boost your arsenals."

"Cool! Oh, I guess that means this blue magistone was meant to enhance this accessory…" she said while holding the Astral Safir hairclip.

"Hmm… it looks that way, yes. I did remember down here to house at least a D-rank accessory."

"D-rank?"

"Yeah… now hold your questions, Oria. I'll explain more about it later. For now, let us keep these things with us and proceed through the dungeon."

"Oooh! Are we going to find another treasure?" Oria asked excitedly. Faruk looks her eyes are brimming with sparkles. It is as if her eyes had stars in them.

"Err… I won't stop you, but I also won't help you find them. If you wish to find another, then look for it on your own. Our main objective is to finish this dungeon."

"Heehee, okay! Oh, this is so interesting… I wonder what I will find next…"

The two treks back up to the corridor with six pillars. From there, they go through the doorway, where they find themselves in a wide dome-like room with a fragrant smell of wood. In the middle, there's a green torch standing.

"Oh… we're at a safe point, Faruk…"

"Hm. After this point will be the last section of the dungeon. Better get yourself ready, because…" the Silver Dragon hasn't even finished talking, Oria is busy wandering around the corners of the safe point. "…Hey, Oria, what are you doing?"

"Umm… I'm searching for something…"

Faruk immediately knows what it is she's looking for. "Stop it, Oria. There's not a single treasure you can find in a safe point."

"What?" she stopped her search and instantly looked at him in a disappointed expression.

Upon seeing her pouting look, Faruk replies sighingly, "…Please, don't give me that look. It is what it is. There's not a single record of a treasure chest being put in a safe point for visitors to take. So, yeah… give it up, Oria."

"Aww… okay. I'm sorry, Faruk."

"Hm. Didn't I tell you, Oria? You may find as many treasure chests as you want in this dungeon. But do it by yourself. I will not provide any more assistance to locate them. Just… don't look for them in safe points. Even a century long shall not bring out a chest in here."

"Okay, then… I will search elsewhere. I'll do my best! Hum, hum…" Oria fondles her fingers while humming to herself smilingly.

"Hm. (Somehow, I get this feeling that I just awakened something within her soul…)"

Oria looks past the doorway to the next area, "Umm… So, that's the last part of this dungeon?"

Faruk nods, "Yes. Let us not waste any more time and go there. In there, you'll need to get past a powerful monster in order to reach the end point."

"A powerful… but how am I going to fight it if you don't allow me the use of my fire magic?"

Faruk lets a short silence fall between him and her. At last, he speaks in a low voice.

"…You'll understand why."

…

..

.

Oria and Faruk leave the safe point and is headed towards the final area. In that area, it is just a straight path with several stone posts by the edges of the path that disconnects just in the middle before the final platform because of a flooding. A small portion of a staircase can be seen peeking from the dark waters.

"Huh… the water in this part is… slightly clear, isn't it? But it's still dirty and smelly," the little girl said as she noticed the staircase through the water. The [Pathfinder] ring shows to her that their destination is across the flooded path.

"Umm… how are we going to get across?"

"As you can see, at this area," said Faruk explaining to her, "there is a staircase that goes down and then another staircase that goes up and that is the staircase you see on the other side over there, soaked in these waters… hm? (Hold on, waters? It's flooded? What's going on here?)"

Faruk just realized there's something off in the last area they're in right now.

The water is calm in that area with two running waterflows from the walls high above Oria's head. The waterflow comes out of a mouth of a mossy lion head statue, one for each side of the walls. Flooding water cuts the path in the middle, preventing anyone from crossing.

"(Those lion heads aren't supposed to spill water from their mouths…)" thought Faruk, annoyed.

Reluctantly, Oria asks to her master, "We're not… going to swim, are we…?"

"Hmph, I'd rather go back and find another route if I had to swim!" Faruk exclaimed. His voice is so out of character that even Oria is shocked when she heard it. "…that would exactly what Dux would say, although he's practically a squid himself."

"Oh… ehehe… (Master Dux's really a squid?!) S-So…"

"I understand your expression, child. You do not want to soak yourself in these vile waters. No matter how you look at them, they're obviously full of diseases… for humans, that is."

"Phew… so, how are we going to get across? There are no more standing bridges that we can use…" Oria gazed at the other side of the cut path. Her eyes rolled down and looked into the slightly clearer water.

"Hmm… I suppose you're right." Faruk looks around him, "There should be more bridges to deploy… (I remember there were standing bridges here… they're gone now.)"

"—OH! Faruk, I just spotted a treasure chest!" she suddenly yelled. Her eyes caught sight of a treasure deep in the water below. "But… how are we going to grab it?"

"Sunken treasures…? They're not supposed to be down there… oh, wait. (Ah, I get it now. A Guardia must have purposefully changed this final area by adding these overflowing waters! That's why the waters flooded the stairs! Not only removing the last few bridges, but they also made the staircases impassable! That means to get past this point… there must be a valve somewhere… to lower the water level.)"

Faruk turns his attention to his protégé, disclosing his idea.

"Oria, there must be a hidden valve somewhere. Let us look for it."

"Oh… so, you'll help me! Yay!"

The two then scrambles to search for the hidden control. Faruk flies around the unreachable parts and see if there's anything interactable like a valve. Oria is the most excited there, searching all corners on the path. She doesn't know what a valve looks like, but she just uses her [Focused Eye] to see if there's anything that can guide her.

Eventually, Faruk thinks to stop the water flowing from those lion head statues with something, "I think I can just clog the flow of water… hmm, maybe not. I think it won't be a good idea. I wonder where's the hidden valve… Hmm… maybe I can tell Oria to hold on to me while I fly her across…"

Then, Oria suddenly yells with all excitement in her heart, "Here! I think this is it, Faruk!"

The Observer sphere hurriedly glides down to Oria, who's crouching near one of the stone posts. "What did you find?" he immediately asked.

"I think this is what you call umm… what is it again?"

"A valve?"

"Ah, yes, a valve!"

Faruk looks closer, "Huh… you actually found it first, Oria. I'm impressed."

"I did?"

"Yes, you are. Heh, I was struggling a bit to find them since this area is a bit different and isn't exactly how I thought it was supposed to be. I see… so the valve was hidden among these posts, huh…"

Hearing his compliment, Oria feel all flowery, "Oh, heehee. I guess I got lucky."

"Now, try turning them to… whatever side it can be moved to."

The little girl holds the valve that has a circular shape, she tries to move it to the left, but… "Umm… it can't be turned to the left, so I guess I turn it to the right…"

The valve moved. Faruk tells her to turn them to the right until it can't be turned anymore. As a result, the left lion head statue stops flowing and subsequently, the water level slowly drops, revealing the staircase going down and up. Their path is now open.

"Good. Let us go."

But Oria refuses, "Umm… can we not go yet?"

Faruk is slightly surprised, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Err… I want to get those treasures… there's a red chest and a brown one down there… it's going to be a waste if I don't get them. Don't worry, I'll try getting them by myself. I believe there must be another valve somewhere!"

The child vehemently wants those treasure chests. Hearing her enthusiasm like that, Faruk finally realizes just what exactly did he awaken within her soul.

"(Oh, Goddess Altria… I've awoken a soul of a treasure-maniac in her body…)"