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The garden was not only huge, but also extremely luxurious. To be honest, for the first time, Ambrina doubted that she was a poor person.
Inside the three-story main house, Persian carpets and decorative porcelain are hardly worth mentioning. The marble floors are adorned with intricate symmetrical geometric decorations, and the marble columns are practically carved with patterns on every surface. The ceiling, reflecting Suleiman's fondness for blue, features a complexly decorated circular ceiling with lapis lazuli for the blue sections, while the gold sections are made of pure gold. The bathrooms, however, exude understated luxury, with agate floors. In this 200-square-meter bathroom, apart from the 50-square-meter central bathtub, the surrounding floor is entirely made of agate.
"This place is nothing compared to the palace. There's a reason why the Imperial Guards like to cause trouble. Although there are no hoes in the palace, if there were, they would definitely be made of pure gold. If they could just pick a little bit out of the palace, it would be like making a fortune for the lower-ranking Imperial Guards."
As he spoke, Falek made coffee.
She currently has three identities: Ambrina's maid, Dinia's special researcher, and Isabel's subordinate; all three are currently on probation.
“No wonder this country is ruined,” Isabel said.
When she was very young, her father was just a third prince who was far down in line to the throne. He had no money or power. Her mother was a young lady from an old noble family with a prestigious name, but in reality, she was already in decline. She loved to put on a show and spent money extravagantly in public, but at home she would eat bread and potatoes. She wore her nice clothes outside, while the clothes she wore at home were old and tattered. She spent all her money on appearances and had no money for substance.
Therefore, she hates this kind of extravagance that is just for show.
"When are we going to the palace treasury?" Dinya didn't care about any of that; she only cared about this.
“Tomorrow,” Falek replied, “but what you want may not be available.”
"You know?" Ambrina asked.
Falek brought over the brewed coffee and poured it into each cup with fluid, natural movements, making sure every cup was the same. Then, she cut the large, round chestnut cake, which she had made herself and let cool slightly, into fan shapes, ensuring that not a single piece of cake stuck to the knife. She then distributed the cakes to each person's plate, ensuring that each piece was the same size. Her technique was simply too beautiful. Ambrina dared to say that no maid in the King of Fass's palace could surpass her cake-cutting skills.
“I can guess,” Farek replied. “You probably have no interest in those valuables. Some of the magical items are outdated and can only be collected. The only thing that might interest you is what the prophet left behind. Of course, those aren’t actually what the prophet left behind.”
“How do you know it wasn’t left by the prophet?” Isabel asked.
Falek just smiled slightly. "What is left for future generations, but the future generations have no intention of letting them open it? Is there such logic? To be precise, it is that they cannot unlock it and dare not crack it by force. If this were the work of the prophet, unless the prophet's brain was filled with mush, but obviously, he is not. He is a man who can create a kind of magic and a sect, even if there is an element of plagiarism."
“That must be something left behind by God, just like what you mentioned, something that can make people live forever.”
Although she didn't know the truth, she knew some of it, and being a perceptive person, she basically guessed it based on what Ambrina and the other two had said earlier.
“You don’t need to worry about that. If we can’t open it, probably no one else can,” Ambrina said, casually adding, “This chestnut cake is quite good.”
Dinya nodded. She knew Ronan best and knew that he always had a way of deciphering and cracking those things.
Is she, this "saint," special? No, Ronan is the most special one, it's just that most people don't know it.
Falek was getting some leftover coffee crumbs and cake scraps, intending to deal with them himself, but Ambrina stopped him, saying, "You're not a real maid, you don't need to do this. We don't like this kind of thing either. Besides, you're someone who got the job through connections."
"So, what's my position?" Faith asked, half-jokingly, "A nun?"
“It seems possible. We can communicate and make contact with people in the East then,” Ambrina said, but a doubt arose, “But many missionaries in the East are Catholic.”
Faith stirred her coffee. "It's okay. I'm a Protestant in the eyes of Protestants, and a Catholic in the eyes of Catholics."
Falek was astonished. Was this even possible?
Ronan laughed. What was this? That shameless woman, Faith, could probably convert to Buddhism or Taoism later, as long as the other party was willing to give her a good position.
Chapter 651 The Sealed Arena, Underground Passages, Relics
When Constantinople was first established, it wasn't called this name. Instead, it was called Novavinia, meaning New Venaya, just like in another timeline where Constantinople was initially called New Rome. Venaya and Rome are actually derived from personal names.
The Western Continent has a penchant for using personal names as place names.
Constantine, who founded Constantinople and established his rule there, began a large-scale construction project, one of which was the Great Arena. Unfortunately, it was not fully completed before his death, and it was never completely finished. However, it has been in use for thousands of years, and has been repaired many times on and off, but not as an arena, but as a place for holding grand public ceremonies.
The prophet's relics are not in the palace treasury, but beneath this oval arena, which is 500 meters long and 300 meters wide at its widest point.
The arena was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the area below was filled with a musty smell. Every step you took stirred up a cloud of dust. The short, thick pillars that supported the arena underground had lost much of their outer skin, revealing the bricks and stones underneath.
Ambrina covered her mouth and nose with one hand, using her magic to prevent her shoes and stockings from getting dusty. "How long has this place been abandoned?"
Farek replied, "About a hundred years ago. Two hundred years ago, a sultan performed circumcision here. After that, there were some activities intermittently, but a hundred years ago, this place was basically abandoned."
Ronan simply summoned his levitation shield, picked up Ambrina, and scooped her up to keep her from getting dusty.
Dinia gets one by herself, Agustina and Elena get one each, Alice and the Golan sisters get one each, Isabel and Ashley get one each, Zhao Yingqi and Astrid get one each, and Fez, Falek, and Kate Pelle each get one.
After flying at low altitude for a while on the underground level, the group arrived in front of a room that looked like a large prison. The iron bars were so rusted and decayed that they seemed to crumble into iron filings and rust dust at the slightest touch.
“This is it,” Falek said.
Ambrina, who was being held by Ronan, asked, "How do you know so much?"
Falek had served the old Sultan for over a decade and eventually became the Queen Mother. She knew that the so-called prophetic relics beneath the arena were not unusual. However, it was strange that she knew even their exact location, since the old Sultan theoretically did not trust her and would not have entrusted her with such a secret.
Farek didn't hide anything and frankly admitted, "He thought the response was from the second brother, so he told the second brother some secrets. I found out about this after the second brother died."
The old sultan killed all the sons he had with his first queen, and afterwards he only had three sons with his second queen.
In the subsequent competition, the third son emerged victorious with Falek's help.
As the two were talking, Elena raised her hand and launched an attack, shattering the iron railing.
Upon entering the room, Falek took out a pyramid, inserted it into the ground, and twisted it. Then, a straight crack appeared in the floor of the room, which slowly parted to reveal an underground entrance.
Agustina snapped her fingers, and three flames appeared, floating in the air and following the group as illumination.
Ronan ripped off the levitation shield, and the group landed and entered the basement.
I thought that after going down there, I would reach my destination in just a few steps, but I never expected that the space below would be a network of underground passages.
After walking several hundred meters and passing three forks in the road, there was still no sign of reaching the end.
"Who fixed this? What's the point of fixing something like this in the arena?" Ronan muttered.
"Perhaps it's a secret escape route?" Ambrina tried to guess.
"Use your brain, will you? The Crown is in the West, and this is the East, separated by a strait," Isabel mocked. "Does he intend to swim here?"
“Is that not allowed?” Ambrina retorted.
Ronan tugged at Ambrina, telling her to calm down and stop making a scene.
The group continued forward, advancing several hundred meters more, until they finally arrived.
This wasn't a room, but a square block. Ronan scanned it but didn't find any written information he could read, so he called out to Kate Pierre.
Caterpillar stepped forward and extended his hand to Ronan.
"What? This costs money too?" Ronan was shocked.
"A sense of ritual, you know? It doesn't matter how much money you have, what matters is giving." Tall and broad-shouldered, with a figure like a supermodel, and an elegant, intellectual face with a touch of aloofness, yet obsessed with money, Caterpillar kept his hands outstretched. "I once swore that I would never work for free. An excavator can't run without oil, and the same goes for people."
Ronan picked up a silver coin and slammed it heavily into Kate Pierre's palm. "Is the ritual in place?"
Kate Pierre put away the coins and walked to the huge cube, which was over five meters long, wide, and high. He reached out to touch it and examined it closely.
A long time passed without her saying a word. She took a breath, stepped back a few paces, and suddenly her eyes shone like spotlights as she began to scan the face of the cube facing her.
The people of Falek were stunned. What was this thing?
"You have this kind of ability?" Ronan joked.
“If the machine breaks down, you have to fix it yourself, so of course it needs to have a fault-scanning function.” Kate Pierre replied, and in the blink of an eye, she had finished scanning. She looked away and turned around to say, “This is a cube. The side facing us is actually the back. We can’t open it from here. The ‘door’ is on the back side. However, I can’t open it. You might be able to see something.”
This cube fits the passage perfectly, tightly enclosing the walls, floor, and ceiling from all sides, with no gaps visible to the naked eye. If it weren't for its striking color and texture, one would immediately assume it's an integral part of the passage rather than a separate object.
"Dig open both sides and then go over?" Golan tentatively suggested.
There are hundreds of different ways for them to dig a road.
“I’ll do it, it’ll be faster to get there directly,” Ashley said, stepping forward. “Besides, if there are any traps or mechanisms, I won’t be able to trigger them.” Her magic is best suited for traversing places that seem to be blocked, and her shadow, in a narrow sense, has no thickness.
As she spoke, Ashley pulled Ronan into the shadows, and the disc-shaped shadows flew swiftly through the gaps like shuttles, arriving behind the cube.
There is a passage behind the cube.
The back of the cube—no, I should say the front—was covered with cuneiform script.
Immediately afterward, something unusual happened. The shapes of these cuneiform characters were projected into the air in Ronan's vision. Then, these illusory projections rearranged and combined in the air to form a three-dimensional graphic. At first glance, it was dazzling and completely incomprehensible. But upon closer inspection, a six-pointed star could be seen among the chaotic three-dimensional cuneiform characters.
Ronan still didn't understand, and looked at Ashley, "Do you understand this six-pointed star?"
"Huh?" Ashley was startled. She only saw the words engraved on the paper, not a six-pointed star.
Ronan frowned. It seemed that as long as he could see...
Chapter 652 Unlocking, Unboxing, Foreigners as Tour Guides
Ashley's magic could only bring one person at a time, and soon she brought everyone over here one by one.
Others couldn't see it at all, and even if they could, they probably wouldn't understand it. Ronan pulled Kate Pierre aside and told her what he had seen.
After listening, Caterpillar, who also couldn't see the 3D projection, said, "This might be a way to unlock it. You can try tracing the trajectory of this six-pointed star with your hand. That's how I unlocked it when I used to operate the remote control."
This, isn't this just unlocking a phone screen?
Ronan tried it out, following the trajectory of the six-pointed star projection in the void, and drew a line with his finger. The entire projection, composed of densely packed cuneiform characters, suddenly dissipated. Immediately afterward, the cuneiform characters carved on the stone slab on this side of the cube began to light up.
Ashley and Grand were slightly surprised, as neither of them had experienced the exploration of the otherworldly beings and the ruins left by their AI robots with Ronan; they had only heard of them. Zhao Yingqi and Falek were completely stunned, as neither of them had heard much about them before. However, Zhao Yingqi had an experience that she herself couldn't explain, while Falek knew nothing about the otherworldly beings. She only knew that there were indeed "gods" in this world, and that none of the sultans throughout history had been able to activate this so-called prophetic relic.
And now, Ronan has done it with ease.
Once the cuneiform script lit up, Ronan was able to read it.
Clearly, Ronan doesn't actually understand any writing; he never has. It's only after the power of the otherworldly being activated that he can receive and understand the written information.
A smile flashed across Kate Pierre's face. Sure enough, following this man was the right thing to do. Only he could pick up what those people had left behind. Only he had the hope of opening up this seemingly perfect world, which was actually destined to age and enter its doomsday countdown, like a stagnant pool that would eventually dry up, allowing it to enter the real universe, introduce fresh water, and exist for a long time.
What those other people couldn't do, only Ronan could.
The more high-tech something is, the more "clumsy" or, in other words, the more human-centered it is.
Ronan simply followed the instructions and tapped around on the front of the cube, which was actually a touchscreen. Soon, the front opened.
Inside this five-meter cube, the space was not small, but there were not many things: three black guns that looked like RUSBs, or rather, P90s; a vehicle that looked like a motorcycle but without wheels; and then, right in the center, a pyramid.
Kate Pelle walked over and picked up one of the three guns. "This is a gun, a magic gun modified to suit this place. However, it's better than your magic revolvers. Its range can exceed 500 meters without attenuation, and its power is much greater, but its consumption doesn't increase."
"Stop with the 'you guys,' you were involved in the development of the magic pistol," Ronan said.
Caterpillar shrugged. "Okay, we will."
"Then Alice, Yingqi, and Falek each get one." Ambrina immediately announced the allocation. Although Alice's magic level was second to last, her marksmanship was the best. Zhao Yingqi, needless to say, lacked offensive skills, but a quick burst of fire should do decent damage. As for Falek, was it a newbie perk?
“I’ll take this thing.” Kate Peller pointed to the motorcycle-like vehicle. “Anyway, you guys won’t be able to drive it.”
“What is that pyramid?” Isabel asked.
"It can't be a key, can it?" Falek interjected, noting that the shape was quite similar to the key she had used to open the basement.
“You guessed right.” Kate Pellegrini smiled. “It was the key.”
Falek couldn't help but stare at Kate Pellet a few more times.
From the moment they first met, she was very curious about Katepillar. Although she was Queen Mother Suleiman, she did not use combined magic, but rather the Divine Oath Magic. She was at the fourth level. The first level was marking, which allowed her to mark others. At the first level, she could mark a maximum of one person, but now she could mark four people at the same time.
The second stage is to see through the opponent's magic base and understand the flow of their magic. A normal person's magic base looks like it has a dense array of magic circuits, but each person's is different.
Since the discovery and confirmation of the magic base, people have been trying to find a way to strike an opponent by precisely targeting their magic circuit with a small amount of their own magic power. However, this has not worked because everyone's magic circuits are different, and it is easy to miss. Unless you are like Dinia, who can directly unleash a thick, long, and high-density red light magic, but not everyone has Dinia's terrifying amount of magic power. For a normal person to do this would be to kill a thousand enemies but lose ten thousand of their own.
The appearance of the magic pistol can be said to have made this idea a preliminary realization, but it is still useless for mages of slightly higher rank.
However, Falek can do it. She can see through other people's magic base and clearly see the circuits. Even if the opponent is a third or fourth rank, she can directly gather a small amount of magic power to make a precise strike, interrupt the opponent's magic release, and interfere with the opponent's magic power operation.
When she first met Caterpillar, she was terrified because Caterpillar had no circuits; her magical form was a humanoid mass of liquid.
Astrid also liquefied, but the circuit was still visible.
Along the way, Kate Pelle's extraordinary knowledge about "God" made it seem as if she had seen him before, which made Falek even more convinced that she was not a normal being.
"Grab your things, let's go," Dinia called out. Now that they had the items, there was no need to stay any longer.
The group returned the way they came, went back to the ground, and left the arena.
"By the way, is there anything fun to do around here?" Ambrina suddenly asked Falek. She had been here for so many days, but had been busy with business, and had neglected the important matter of sightseeing.
Falek smiled, a sigh tinged with emotion. "Actually, this is the first time I've come outside the palace since I died." For the past twenty years, she had remained inside the palace, never stepping outside. She was able to guide Sultan Selim before because she had marked Faith, and Faith was with Selim. This time, she was able to lead the way thanks to a map, and the Grand Arena was a prominent landmark; in any truly hidden place, she wouldn't have been able to find her way.
If you don't even know the way, how are you supposed to know which places are fun?
“I do know a little about that,” Faith said. “After all, I’ve been playing that bearded guy for almost a year now.”
“It’s decided then, you’ll be our guide,” Ambrina decided. “We’ll stay for three more days, then leave here and go to another ruin.”
The beings from another world established seven "city museums" based on the space-time tunnels, which are the so-called relics of another dimension.
One in the New World, one in the Mediterranean, one in Egypt, one in the cradle of human civilization in West Asia, one in India, and two more in Seres.
Having already visited the New World, the Mediterranean, and Egypt, my next stop is the cradle of West Asian civilization.
Next up is the Indian territory, and the last stop is Seris.
“Perfect timing, I can go buy some carpets and lamps,” Isabel said. She loved the handmade carpets and elegant lamps here, and they weren’t expensive to buy locally.
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