The information revealed by Mordir Wilder in the details of his notes intrigued Gawain.

No matter how you look at it, the food and water mentioned by the adventurer six hundred years ago are like ...... Canned and bottled water.

This inconspicuous little detail made Gawain think extraordinarily, although he had also realized that the dragon was an intelligent race with a longer history than humans, so it was probably a more powerful civilization than all the countries on the continent, but only this time, he began to seriously think about what kind of height such a civilization could be that could ignore the continuous development of the demon tide-

Cans and bottles of water are inconspicuous in themselves, and Cecil can easily produce them at the moment (in fact, similar products have already appeared), but the cans that Melita brought to Mordir are a sign, a sign that can provoke Gawain to think deeply. His thoughts couldn't help but expand in this direction, and even gradually extended to such strange directions as "whether dragons eat in human form or dragon form" and "whether there is a huge difference in the amount of food between the two forms, and how to maintain the huge consumption of the human form in eating in dragon form", but soon, his scattered thoughts converged and pointed to a question that he had been ignoring all along:

Dragons are a race that is not affected by the demon tide and obviously has the same curiosity as humans...... They have been developing for so many years, why haven't they entered the space age yet?!

Is it because they don't yearn for the stars? Or are the dragons so dependent on the planetary environment that they hit a bottleneck in their journey away from the planet? Or is it simply a tech tree that doesn't get it right, so that they haven't been able to break through the atmosphere for countless years?

Vaguely, Gawain felt that this was probably a very critical question, but no one here could answer his question.

"Ask Melita next time......" After a moment of thought, he whispered to himself, "Her name appears in this travelogue this time...... It's really time to ask her about it. ”

As he spoke, his gaze returned to Modir Wild's transcript:

“…… I spent the next few days exploring most of the Iron Isle – and I mean accessible places. I don't know how many years this ruins have been abandoned, and there is an atmosphere of loneliness everywhere, but these ancient structures themselves are unusually strong, and after countless years of wind and rain, they are still indestructible, except for those unimportant structures, these pillars, foundations, and roofs are made of stronger materials than any man-made material I have ever seen, and they are very resistant to magic......

“…… On the Xth day of the Xth month, when the dragon lady had agreed to return, the uneasy premonition became true—she did not come.

"On October X, after waiting for an extra day, Melita still didn't show up...... I couldn't help but think of her unusual behavior when she left before, her poor mental state...... It seems that she really forgot, and even mentally blocked the memories related to me. It's an incredible but only possible explanation, and I can't help but wonder what happened to that Miss Dragon that led to such a disturbing outcome.

"I don't know any other dragon, so I can't tell if it's some kind of 'disease' of the dragons, but I suspect it all has to do with the Iron Island itself, a forbidden place, a place that dragons fear...... Now that I'm left here, as a more pathetic creature, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to worry about the health of a dragon, I have to solve my own survival problems first.

"There is still some food in the tin box and some water in the bottle, it will not be a problem to last for three days, and even if they are exhausted, I can continue to get supplies from the sea, as a powerful magician, I have no fear of dying of hunger and thirst at all, unless the chaotic turbulence rushes to the island, I can probably survive here for a long time...... But I don't want to die alone in this weird place!

"I had some plans in mind to leave the Iron Isle and return to the human world, but before I could carry out those plans, I decided to explore the entire ruins in the hope of getting some resources or something else that would help...... Well, I can't lie to myself, it's damn curiosity that works, Modir Wild is a daring and unrepentant guy, I just can't control my urge to take risks!

"Now, I've walked around the whole island, and I'm left with only one place that I haven't explored...... It was an awe-inspiring metal tower. ”

From here, Modir Wild's handwriting suddenly shook violently, as if he had entered a very excited state as he recorded these contents—

“…… I had to record everything I saw, everything that was shocking and unbelievable!

"It's the Xth of the month, and as expected, Melita didn't show up, and I'm fully regained after a night's rest. Today was the day of action, and after taking the few supplies with me, I made my way to the foot of the tower - it was not difficult to find its entrance, in fact I had already found several gates at the base of the tower during my previous exploration, and the most exciting thing was that some of them were not completely sealed, they were slightly open.

"For the first time I walked through the open door, I walked into its interior, and after passing through some dark and abandoned corridors, I heard voices and saw the light - O Mirmina, the goddess of magic! The inside of this tower turned out to be alive!

"Well, that's not accurate, I mean, inside this tower...... It's still running! After being abandoned for an unknown number of years, it has been running on the inside despite its mottled and dead appearance!

"I saw a cylindrical hall, brightly lit, with huge pillars running through its dome and floor, and innumerable things of flickering lights running around the hall, humming or clicking; In the center of the hall there was a large pillar, made of metal and crystal, hollow inside, and occasionally some very rapid flash of light could be seen flashing through it; Magical projections floated in many parts of the hall, and on those illusions there were a large number of characters and geometric shapes constantly roaming, words I didn't recognize, of course I didn't recognize!

"A sudden rush of ecstasy came over me, and I felt as if my failed expedition had suddenly been worth it—what an astonishing discovery! A working prehistoric ruin, a legacy of civilization unknown to mankind! It was right in front of my eyes, showing its greatness in a shocking gesture, and I couldn't help but chant the name of the goddess of magic, more reverently than ever, of course, the goddess didn't respond in any way, not the slightest reaction, but I didn't care...... I made my way to the middle of the hall, to the pillar, and then I made an even more astonishing discovery.

"This whole pillar...... I don't know if I'm dazzled, or if it's because of the excitement that has ruined my judgment, but it looks like it's made of 'Eternal Slate'! A whole pillar is!

"I have seen in the Church of the Light their treasured eternal slabs, only a foot square, with broken edges, protected by those priests as treasures, even pressed into the deepest depths of the tombs of the popes, what a precious thing! But here, in front of me, there is a pillar that looks like a bell tower, and it seems to be made entirely of that material!

"I'm writing these words with excitement, and now, I'm going to try to touch the ancient metal—what would my touch cause if they really had some commonality with the Eternal Slabs......

Reading this, Gawain suddenly frowned.

Mordir Wild's behavior...... It's a bit out of order.

Although he was indeed a very daring adventurer, and had an impulsive side to explore, his actions in that metal tower were ...... It's a little too impulsive, too reckless, and it's not at all like the judgment of a wise and knowledgeable powerful magician when facing the unknown.

And this violently shaking handwriting, a slightly exaggerated way of writing...... Something didn't seem right, as if another consciousness had suddenly been mixed into Modir's actions, a consciousness that was secretly and little by little changing the adventurer's actions, and the latter was unaware of it!

But now that the notebook had survived, and that Mordir Wild had returned safely and continued his adventure for many years, Gawain felt that it must be followed by a corresponding explanation or reflection from Mordir (if not, the situation would be terrible), so he relented and continued to look down—

“…… When my hand touched the pillar, all doubts vanished.

"There is no doubt that it is an Eternal Slab, or another 'artifact' of a large scale made of the same material as the Eternalstone Slab.

"I felt some knowledge come into my mind, the place suddenly became familiar, the words floating in the projection became recognizable, and I instantly knew the name of the place...... Ah, it's called 'Surveillance Tower One', it's called 'Arctic Foundry Center', it's a factory, a factory that used to produce weapons......

"I also learned that there are two other monitoring towers in the world, but they are not factories, but some kind of ...... Passage? Bridge? I don't know the specific ...... of those knowledges."

The words on the notes suddenly became more chaotic and scribbled, and there even seemed to be some kind of madness in the shaky lines, and Gawain frowned tightly, and next to the words, there were notes left by the scholar in charge of repairing the ancient book—confused and meaningless letters, unreadable at this stage.

And in the midst of these confusing texts, Gawain found only a few useful accounts:

“…… I know how to use this machine! I know...... I've also found casting materials that the former users haven't had time to completely consume...... I'm going to have to write it down...... (unrecognizable text)!

"Knowledge! Valuable knowledge!! I had to write it down (messy strokes) and I couldn't leave a word down!

"I'm going to build something to prove I've been here, oh...... I've got an idea...... (messy scribbled handwriting)"

Each passage is interspersed with a large number of vigorous marks, a disturbing mark that seems to reveal some kind of ...... Struggle, as if Mordir himself was writing something and then smearing it out himself, and after a few barely readable paragraphs, Gawain suddenly saw a few huge letters on the next page, as if they were trying to penetrate the back of the paper:

"Leave!!"

A whole page, and only these few letters are written on it.

Gawain's eyebrows twitched at the letters, he was 100% sure that Mordirwild was in trouble after entering the tower—his actions were definitely out of control, but not completely out of control, his only remaining sanity and almost reflexive "recorded behavior" left these unsettling words, and in the end, he was extremely lucky to get out of this state.

The word "leave" signifies the ultimate winner of this battle of wills, but for some reason, the handwriting of this word is different from any of Mordir Wild's previous handwriting...... Gawain even had a vague thought, he felt that those letters were not left by Modil, nor by the consciousness that affected Modir, but ...... The third consciousness remains.

And after this shocking word, Modir Wild's handwriting was visibly restored:

"I woke up outside the tower.

"Some terrible vertigo and headache haunted me for a few minutes, and I had no memory of what I had experienced in the tower, only a frightening palpitation.

"I found my notebook, and it was sitting right next to me, and it seemed like I had thrown it there after staggering outside. I opened it and saw what I had left earlier...... The words, and cold sweat spread all over the back in an instant.

"O Goddess of Magic! What's going on?

"I have almost no memory of that experience, from the moment I entered that door, everything that happened after that seemed to be covered with a heavy veil, I just remember wandering in a bizarre place, I shouted? Did I write something? Why should I touch a mysterious and unknown ancient relic? This is completely illogical!

"The only thing I remember is a flash of light in my head...... A golden light, as if it had brought me to my senses, reminded me of a picture of me struggling to write, and then suddenly, uncontrollably, I wrote the word 'leave' on the paper, and I looked at it in horror as if it had magical powers, and then I turned and ran...... I remembered something more, remembering how I had run all the way out of the tower, like a terrified stupid child......

"When I was checking my whole body to see if there was anything wrong with me, I found something in the pocket of my robe, it was a snowflake-shaped amulet, I don't remember when I had it, but it had the family emblem engraved on it...... It contained a powerful magic, and that magic was obviously infused by me, and ...... It was made of what it looked like an eternal slate......

"This thing was very unsettling to me, and it seemed to confirm some crazy words I had left in my previous notes, and I instinctively wanted to throw it away, but hesitated...... This is probably the only thing I've gained in this mysterious place, and the only thing I can take back, my memories in the tower have been erased for some reason, and I don't plan to go back again......

"I'm going to think about it.

"X-month-X, this is a note to be added later—after a long night of tossing and turning, I still haven't decided what to do with the amulet, and on the morning of this day, someone ...... Or a humanoid dragon that suddenly appeared.

"It was a graceful and beautiful lady with long blonde hair......"