[D'sP] Grabbing Everything - Chapter 378

At first, no one had even realized what they had found. They weren’t expecting it and stone age tools don’t stand out like a screwdriver with a bright red handle does. Jim only realized it after the carvings showed up. Though even then, most of the others on his team needed them physically pointed out before they could see them.

A large part of this is that any attempt to portray anyone from the fallen civilization was gone. Not scratched out or missing, gone. As if the stone itself had healed and returned to a pre-carved state. Which when a lot of those types of carvings tended to include images of the people carving them, meant much of the wall looked like nothing had been there to begin with.

Of course, not all of the carvings had been self-referential or else Jim wouldn’t have had anything to see at all. What remained pointed towards certain things. For instance, this cave, which was only slightly quartzy was an oddity. At least, that is what they guess the one image of a classic cave drawing and surrounding it, a bunch of crystal shapes. Also, most of the animals pictured appeared to have crystal scales.

Kelly, “I have a guess.”

Jim frowns, “A bit out of nowhere, that. We’ve just gotten a good look at the stuff. What do you have already?”

Kelly gestures at the various tools, “First of all, those tools are not made directly from quartz. If you actually pay attention to their shapes, I’m willing to bet they’re made from scales.

“But the most important thing? The planet they came from had most creatures adapted in a manner similar to those deep sea snails that use iron in their shells. Except instead of a metal, they use quartz.

“That polymer? It was made to duplicate what most animals on this planet did naturally. Except, those beasts likely are very fine quartz dust and sand, then their bodies glued it back together into scales and such.”

Jim, “There isn’t quite that much quartz in this cave for that. Even if our guess about it being a rare area low in quartz, for that amount of usage, it should still be packed.”

Kelly shrugs, “This place was likely built upon because of how little quartz there is. In fact, whatever race lived here probably considered it nigh on a holy land or at least the center of the local civilization. Because if you notice, not every pictured creature is crystalline. There are small rat-like beings pictured at the edges and nipping at food stores.

“My guess is that those crystal beasts are dinosaur analogs for this planet. Except, they didn’t get wiped out. Mammal equivalents still managed to pop up though and so my bet is the civilization that fell was likely some form of anthro rat.

“While I’m sure even the buildings have been subtly altered to make it easier on us, there are signs and these tools certainly help as well. Look at the grips. They aren’t designed for a broad human hand, but something slender.

“Though my biggest reason for guessing this is how things above are built. Humans and other things like us need exposure to sunlight. These beings clearly didn’t really care about that as they built everything together in such a way that I’m sure someone could be born and die without seeing the sun. Not that they were against light, but that their psychology was fine living in what is basically a cave.

“Oh, and those round beds. Rats are going to curl up together, not lay out flat. Though that’s not the most compelling. Depending on how humanoid they were, it could be a moot point.”

Jim squints at the carvings and tools, “There’s more to this than that.”

Jay shifts his poleaxe to his shoulder as he looks around himself. “I can’t smell anything out of place. Well, beyond the usual dungeon nonsense. What could be here? It isn’t like the dungeon has been leaving riddles for us to solve.”

Jim shakes his head, “Every other bit of lore has been strictly to point out how the civilization fell because of turning away from technology. Sure, after we get home and have a chance to go through what everyone else found, there will likely be more to it.

“But this has nothing to do with that. Whether it is the ‘source’ of how they figured out their crystalline polymer or not doesn’t matter. That isn’t why the system sent us here. It was to find out that depending on just magic won’t be healthy for us and to gift us some examples of technology that works with magic.

“So why are there a bunch of stone age tools and ancient carvings? If it isn’t the system, that really only leaves one other force it could be. The dungeon itself. And we can’t be too careful because you don’t get forced into handling a tutorial for no reason.”

Kelly, “By that logic we should just ignore this and leave. I don’t want to know what crimes a dungeon could commit that are so bad that someone powerful enough actually does something about it.”

Jim shrugs, “We don’t live in a place where moral alignments are a set thing. This isn’t some RPG where you can cast a spell to know if someone is good or evil. I’m sure we can finagle something with the system to keep track of if someone has committed a crime in our territory, but what is a crime varies from place to place. I’m not going to judge the dungeon without knowing the reason.

“Besides, while most were, I don’t think everyone helping with the tutorial was being punished. There wasn’t a rule against people just helping because they wanted to. Then, on top of all that, I’m mostly certain the system prevents them from causing harm. Not that they won’t have their own agenda, but their guidance won’t ruin us with some hidden pitfall.

“Now, instead of arguing about this, let’s just see what we can see?”

No one really had anything to say against that and so they spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins. It was an interesting diorama, a set piece meant to reveal more the deeper you looked. The carvings continued deep into the ground, leading the team through a complex maze of tunnels.

As they advanced, a story played out across the carvings. About this place and the people who would go on to rule the world above. And even beyond when such crude carvings should have been dropped. In fact, the further they got, the clearer it was that even if the start had been real, all that could be seen now had to have been created by the dungeon.

This extended to the tools as well. While still done in the style of a stone age culture, their actual designs grew more complex and advanced. Like finding a modern pen knife multi tool, except it was all made out of knapped stone and roughly carved wood. Which if it works is actually amazing since while not requiring the highest level of engineering, certainly is beyond what most could ever manage with stone age tools and materials.

Though even if the tools had stayed crude, they would have known they were new. After all, some of them were for magic. Of particular interest to Kelly was a quartz orb. Well, orb is a little kind. It had more in common with a roughly cut gem except about the size of two fists together. Oh, and while very inefficient, it did work as an implement.

And the one thing all these tools had in common was the use of base quartz to channel the magic. Sure, it didn’t render the magic down into a glowing liquid like the magic cables did. Good thing such a transformation wasn’t needed. Though it seemed even roughly formed, gold did a fine job of transferring magic. Quartz just seemed to be what this civilization has basically unlimited amounts of so they made do.

Jim honestly didn’t care. All the magitech gadgets they’d gathered above were nice, but this was the real prize. Each stone age magic tool represented something those gadgets couldn’t ever compare to. A true back to basics starting point. The gadgets might allow replication and years of study to figure it all out.

These tools? They would let Wolf’s Rest discover the founding principles. Even just the basic principles of casting implements would be a great boon. The only weakness being that it was all focused on magic and mana. Though even this peek behind the curtains of profound powers would be helpful with the other areas.

Jim too was interested in the crystal ball, that orb which so entranced Kelly, but for a different reason. Where magic and psionics touch, such orbs fill the myths. To see into the future or far-away lands. Claimed by both those of magic and the mental. And with so many legends, myths, and tales proving to have at least some touch of truth? Well, Kelly might be the town’s best magic researcher, but there were others talented in psionics that could take a look as well.

He wasn’t expecting some sort of one to one. The crystal ball of fortune tellers and the like by the stories seemed to have different abilities from the implement. However, it was a place to start and Jim believed the warning by the system went deeper. Not just to avoid losing one’s self in magic, but rather, in any single path to power. After all, if what the tutorial guides had said was true, it was only those at the very beginning of magic who have risen up on a single path. All that came after would build up their foundation.

It took a while for them to find the end of the carvings, but their exit from the tunnels was swift. While they had carefully observed everything on the way in, as they left everything not a part of the cave was taken. Each tool and even some of the loose rocks if they looked at all worked in some manner.

This would be their biggest discovery in the depths. A discovery that none of the other teams over the entire quest would manage to equal. Not that others wouldn’t try to find similar things, especially those that come from Wolf’s Rest.

Back with the kobolds, not much has happened. They lost another, once again to a falling building. The monsters were simply not up to their level. Though as time went on, it almost seemed as if the buildings were becoming even less stable.

Well, it was not just “as if”, the buildings actually were. While the dungeon has set up areas for when others got into the quest, it wasn’t meant to be a free ride. In fact, if the kobolds had been planning to say beyond what was required by the system, they would have found that everything was pushing them to escape the place through the portal.

But that wasn’t the plan and so as the final time ticks away, Ally casts her spell on the quest gate. Of course, while the kobolds have a much better sense of time because of their nature as dungeon monsters, they aren’t that accurate and so she has to wait a while. However, with time to spare the kobolds all exit the portal and she ferries them back into the dungeon with backpacks full.

Though Doyle left their haul on the back burner, more interested in what the town would manage to pull out. An interest that proved itself when one by one, the three teams returned without a single missing member. More importantly, each was hauling multiple rough carts piled high.

Some of the stuff they brought back was clearly just to fill up any spare space. After all, you only needed so many bricks. Though admittedly the one cart using the bricks as walls to hold in dirt was interesting. More because they had basically pulled a square of garden out of the ground with a small tree at the center.

The System Isn't Being Vague - Chapter 377

Two Extremes - Chapter 379