SAINTESS [Chapter 36: The occupation rate cannot be improved]

Why was the structure of this last remaining Mars civilization dungeon so chaotic??

Isatia had felt it the moment she entered the dungeon, something about this place felt off, as if everything was out of place. Aesphyra had noticed it too.

Even Winnie, under the influence of the atmosphere, was gradually becoming aware of the anomaly.

‘If I don't think like them, am I leaving out??’

Now that he thought about it, this dungeon really did seem a bit strange??

Prompted by Aesphyra and Isatia's hints, Winnie slowly began to realize it as well.

So if this dungeon was neither naturally formed by the remnants of a civilization nor artificially constructed by someone, then how exactly did it come into existence??

The discovery of the Mars civilization dungeon had been sudden, likely only just at the beginning of the long holiday, so Carillian Academy had only managed to set up the most basic anchor points. Other work has yet to officially begin. They decided to have the students scout ahead first. As long as the anchors exist, the students wouldn't be in danger. Even if they suffer minor injuries, there'd be plenty of nuns and priests waiting back at the base to heal them.

“Wait, didn't the instructor say we only have a maximum of three days to find the key to the preliminary dungeon? If we exceed that time, we'll be forced out by the dungeon and sent back to the anchor point?” Winnie suddenly remembered. “But what does this 'three days' refer to? Time inside, or is it based on the continent of Terraria??”

“I think they brought hourglasses, so it should be calculated based on the flow of time in Terraria.” Aesphyra shaded her eyes, glancing at the sun overhead, which hadn't shifted position much. “If it were three days inside the dungeon, who knows how long that would actually take.”

Ah, this is so complicated.

Winnie scratched his head.

At this point, his stomach was growing. Time to eat first.~

So Winnie took out the bread that Shikondell had made for him and started eating.

Aesphyra and Isatia both had brought food too, so he didn't need to worry about them. Although, these two didn't seem particularly hungry.

As Winnie chewed his bread, he thought to himself.

After a brief pause, Isatia looked ahead, seeming to decide there was nothing more worth mentioning in the residential area. She swept her recording stone around to document the surroundings, then took the lead forward.

The three continued onward. Clearly, both Aesphyra and Isatia's minds were constantly turning, pondering the many oddities within the dungeon. Meanwhile, Winnie's brain was in low-power mode, operating at extremely low capacity, occupied only with thoughts like 'This bread is delicious, Dell's skills have improved again' and 'Eating in the desert is such a hassle, you have to figure out how to shield the with your hands so sand doesn't get on the food.'

Soon, a colossal structure began to emerge faintly through the swirling sands. Aesphyra and Isatia had noticed it long ago, but due to Winnie's rather lackluster five senses and stats, it took him much longer to detect the shadow and outline of the massive building hidden in the sand.

“What is that thing??” Winnie was turning into the kid who asked endless questions, asked every object he saw in the dungeon.

After all, he truly had no clue about anything??/

Judging by appearance, the massive structure shares similarities with the previous temple. The only remarkable aspect was its sheer size. Otherwise, there was nothing noteworthy, just a giant red-brick cube, devoid of intricate craftsmanship or any other distinguishing features.

Yet these several enormous red-brick cube-like buildings gave off a different aura, as if they were imbued with some kind of regal majesty.

Winnie stared at the massive cluster of buildings, then glanced back at the residential area behind him.

Hmm, the residential area was no longer visible. But these massive structures seem to loom over all other Mars civilization buildings.

“Could this... be the Mars royal palace?” Winnie blurted out his guess. After all, he'd seen many buildings with similar styles, like the royal palace of the Camella Kingdom, and even the main hall of the Church headquarters from his dreams, both shared similarities with this plain, undecorated building before him.

Perhaps the aura of sovereignty and royalty had accumulated over time, giving these buildings a regal presence. Or maybe it was the masterful craftsmanship of the builders, making the difference in grandeur instantly visible??

Winnie couldn't say.

“Oh? Even Winnie noticed? Then it must be quite obvious. We really have to commend the exquisite skills of Mars architects,” Aesphyra teased, crossing her arms.

“Tch! Stop looking down on me, will you??” Winnie shot Aesphyra a glare. “This young master still has some taste, you know, I've seen plenty of royal palaces, okay??”

But since this was likely the Mars royal palace, they were bound to find a lot of information inside. Perhaps the key to the deeper dungeon was hidden here.

All three shared this thought, so naturally, they decided to continue their search.

Like other Mars structures, the royal palace above ground was merely a marker. The true palace lies beneath.

The trio entered this massive marker, descending down a staircase that seemed to go on forever until they finally reached the palace entrance.

“Strange, why is there wind here?” Winnie asked.

“A palace this large naturally has ventilation shafts, though they're well hidden. What did you expect, Winnie?” Aesphyra teased.

Winnie looked out at the suddenly expanding vista and realized he had truly underestimated the scale of this underground palace.

Don't assume the Mars royal palace, built underground, lacks luxury. After all, this was once a civilization that conquered everything around it, how could their art possibly be inferior??

The vast palace stretched beyond sight, with crystal lamps placed at regular intervals. Above the ceiling hung a massive golden lamp crafted from a giant magical crystal.

Although the walls bore wrinkles and cracks, giving the entire palace a somewhat ruined appearance, it was exactly this state that made it easier to imagine just how magnificent it must have been in its prime.

On both sides of the palace entrance stood a pair of wolf-headed soldiers clad in golden armor, each holding a long golden ax. They stood solemnly, facing like statues, their faces toward it toward the entrance, looking fierce and threatening, as if they had guarded this place for countless ages.

But when they stepped inside, Winnie noticed another face carved into the back of each statue, this one expressed obedience and reverence, facing it toward the throne in the main hall.

It symbolized the beliefs of the Martian people: anyone seeking entry into the palace had to first undergo examination by the royal envoys, who would strip away ill intentions or disrespect carried by outsiders. Only then could they be permitted inside. In the presence of their king, visitors were expected to show reverence and pledge loyalty.

The Mars people seemed to truly love the color gold and gold itself. Their armor gleamed brightly, undoubtedly plated with gold, even draped in gold. The palace was the same, unremarkable from the outside, but once inside, every edge of the walls, carpets, long tables, thrones, and counters incorporated gold. Under the glow of the crystal lamps, the palace seemed draped in a layer of golden sand, shining everywhere.

Like the previous temple, a notice from the Carillian Academy was posted at the palace entrance, warning them that ahead was unexplored territory and advising students to proceed according to their abilities. It also warned that many items in the palace couldn't be moved, and even those that could be moved might trigger traps if touched.

Winnie glanced at these lavish artifacts. So basically, most of these things can't be moved after all??

He had absolutely no intention of testing it. These were artifacts, valuable for research. Even if he loved money, he wouldn't touch these things. Besides, he was just coasting through this entire mission. What if he moved something, triggered a trap, and ended up endangering his teammates??

Better to keep his hands to himself. Safety first, safety first.

“This underground palace is huge. Let's split up and look for clues. It'll be faster that way,” Isatia said.

“No problem, but don't stray too far or touch anything. If you find something, tell your teammates first,” Aesphyra said, glancing at Winnie as she spoke, clearly directing her words at him.

“I know that already,” Winnie shot back with a glare.

So the three split up: Isatia went to the right, Aesphyra to the left, and Winnie headed straight into the rooms of the main front hall.

Behind the throne was a large mural. In addition to the Mars people's signature celestial map, it depicts two statues: [Eternity] and [Continuance]. But strangely, the [Eternity] serpent, a snake with many limbs devouring its own tail, had been largely burned away.

Hmm, this was the most severely damaged area in the entire palace hall.

“Wow, this palace is huge?” Winnie sighed as he passed the extinguished furnace, the throne, and entered the corridor behind the throne.

This corridor could accommodate five carriages side by side, and the number of rooms along it was thousands, though he had no idea what they were used for.

No way? He wasn't seriously expected to search all these rooms, was he??

Would three days even be enough??

Winnie began to doubt.

He stepped into a room with its door slightly ajar. Inside, a crystal lamp was lit, illuminating the chaotic interior.

This room appeared to have once been used for storing miscellaneous items. But, Winnie looked at the slash marks and scorch marks on the walls. Clearly, a battle had taken place here, just like in the main hall.

Obviously, compared to the relatively intact palace, this room was a complete mess, ravaged by indiscriminate attacks. Unidentifiable, charred objects lay scattered everywhere, and the walls had collapsed.

Winnie visited other rooms and found them similarly devastated. The floors were covered in footprints, as if many people had broken in and suffered the place to fierce fight.

So it was true, this place had seen battle. It must have been invaded by enemy soldiers.

If even the royal palace was destroyed, how could the Mars civilization survive??

He knew he wasn't wrong, surely the Mars people were defeated by a slave uprising.

Wait, something didn't add up!

Suddenly, Winnie's brain kicked into gear. He realized there was an inconsistency.

If slave rebels really did break into the royal palace, why was the main hall, aside from a few cracks, astonishingly clean and nearly intact??

Moreover, the slave army must have deeply hated the Mars people who had enslaved them. Even if there were internal divisions, once they reached the Mars royal palace, they would absolutely destroy it, burn their throne.

Yet what he saw was the throne, perfectly preserved.

Then why were these rooms blown to pieces?

Winnie stepped out of the room and checked several others. His mind, slowly warming up, began to turn.

There were few traces of magical bombardment or sword slashes in the corridors, almost all concentrated inside the rooms. The attackers didn't seem to be trying to destroy the palace, but rather striving to minimize damage to it while eliminating their enemies.

Could it be that these rooms, with their relatively narrow interiors, were convenient for hiding people??

And the reason the corridors and main hall remained well-preserved was because they were so vast, making it impossible to hide or put up resistance.

At the time, these rooms might have sheltered soldiers defending the palace. Thus, the attackers had no choice but to enter the rooms, bombarding them and initiating combat within each room along the corridors.

But since this was ancient times, magic was still primitive, soul armaments levels generally low, so the magic used couldn't completely destroy the rooms.

As for why the main hall showed almost no signs of magical bombardment,

Because the attacking side had no intention of destroying the palace at all.

But why??

Winnie thought of a possibility: this was an internal civil war among the Mars people, not an attack by slave rebels.

If both sides claim legitimacy, there'd be no reason to destroy the palace. Instead, they'd make every effort to prevent damage to it.

Suddenly, Winnie felt he'd uncovered a blind spot.

The statues in the previous temple had misled them, making them believe the Mars civilization's downfall was somehow connected to a slave army.

But what if that slave uprising never amounted to anything??

Perhaps the true cause of Mars' downfall was something else entirely.

Combining this with what he'd seen earlier,

Ah! Ah! It seemed like... he was about to figure it out!

But why did it still feel like something was missing??

No!

His brain's processing capacity seemed unable to increase further!

Dazed, Winnie was about to exit one of the rooms when he stepped on something and tripped.

“Ouch!” Winnie immediately fell to the ground, knocking over a cabinet inside the room.

“Clatter!” Then, a dark, flat object fell out of the cabinet and landed right in front of him.