Ball of Nothing

Thankfully, the sand storm had passed by the time they woke up the next morning. Zero was the most eager to explore the ruins and told them that he made a deal with the owner guarding the fallen city of Gnaway.

"That sounds oddly similar to a country in the old world," Truen mused. "Is this really a coincidence?"

Zero shrugged. "There are too many coincidences in the world, let's not let it ruin the adventure. I'm actually curious about the kind of trials he prepared for us. It must be fun. Do you think we have to disarm puzzle traps? I read all about it last night in the mindscape. Raiding tombs sound like fun, especially in the desert."

Nobody knew what to say as Zero led the way. Raiding tombs was an act of disrespect to the dead. How could Zero possibly think it is fun? Also, who in their right mind would think of disarming traps in the same manner as solving a brain teaser puzzle? What exactly has Zero been reading? Jermine hated to say this but she felt very afraid following behind such a reckless party leader. In comparison, she would rather work under Truen who planned to murder her if she stepped out of line. Zero was the kind of leader who would lead his party with confidence right to their deaths without even realising it. Jermine was very afraid but she had nowhere to run in this vast desert.

Reluctantly, the mole beast girl mounted the sand walker with Bob behind her. They made their way to the huge sand dune covering most of Gnaway and were on guard against any sudden attacks.

"What do you sense? This should be close enough for you to have an idea of what's underground," Truen asked Jermine who was simply too amazed to speak. It took a while for her to remember how to speak common language.

"Huge magic," she told the archer. "This place has a living creature inside, I cannot find a location but I can feel it. They control the ruins with their magic. Too many places, I cannot see everything. The land beneath the sand is bigger than the top."

With Jermine's help and Bob's flight ability, the duo scouted the area through the air while Zero and Truen waited at the perimeter, trying to dispel the magic barrier surrounding the ruins peeking out of the sand dune.

"We found it!" Bob announced after flying around with the girl for fifteen minutes. "The entrance is a little further from here but if you manage to disarm the spell, Jermine can dig us a passage through. The sand walkers can come along too."

Truen looked at Zero. "What do you want to do?"

The doctor took a look at the spell barrier. Destroying this by force might cause the entire structure to collapse. The man he made a deal with said that there would be trials awaiting him. Zero decided to create a temporary shelter at the perimeter of the ruins.

"Let the sand walkers rest for now," he told the small party. "I'm going to contact our guide and ask for directions."

Seeing no need to suffer under the sun, Truen and Jermine made themselves a temporary shelter so that the sand walkers could rest for a little. Bob gave the mounts their feed and distributed water, helping himself to Zero's shared inventory with Lily's help. Zero walked a little further and into the barrier before he allowed himself to be contacted by the guardian of Gnaway.

"Hello, Zero. We meet again."

"Hello, sir. My friends and I are here for the trial. There is a little problem, we cannot find the right entrance. While I can dispel the barrier, I don't think you want me doing that just yet. Could you please let us know how to enter the city to begin the trial?"

Since Zero asked very politely, the master of the ruins decided to let Zero know something in advance.

"Finding the secret entrance is the first trial. If you cannot find the entrance, you are not fated to be in the city of gnomes. Magic isn't the only thing you should be concerned with, gnomes are the master of inventions. In other words, you have to solve complex puzzles made by them to access their city. For your sake, I will warn you that upon completion of the trials, this ruin will collapse. It was designed to only pass its legacy to one chosen person or party. Anyone who failed can only await death once they enter the city."

What a nice person! Zero didn't know why he was given cheats and heads-up for the trials but he appreciated it. Whoever this city guardian was, Zero would thank him in person when they met up later. For now, he had to decide who to bring along for the trials. The sand walker had to be cared for in their shelter. Someone had to be outside in the shelter to make a speedy getaway when the city caved inwards.

As the party leader, he thought about bringing Jermine and Bob along because he could use Bob's flight abilities and Jermine's tunnelling abilities. He might be able to fly but he doubted that mole beast folks had that innate ability. He could teleport everyone but they might find themselves in some random part of the desert which would split their group up. It was a last-minute resort and Zero didn't want to use that unless he absolutely had to. Currently, the Mind's Eye System didn't have a good navigation function. He really had to go find Nel and fix that so that the Tri-Coloured Petals' true ability can function.

However, as a friend, he wanted nothing more than to bring Truen along. Zero didn't forget the promise he made to the archer two years ago. They would travel together on adventures no matter how dangerous or difficult it became after the separation for training. It was a hard decision to make.

"I understand," Zero thanked the keeper of the city and returned to his small group.

"How was it?" asked Bob. He was already on his fifth scarab shell and Zero noticed that the Eternal Dragon was getting better at his hands.

Zero looked at all three members of his party and broke the news to them in a solemn tone.

"One person has to stay behind to take care of the sand walkers and secure them at a safe distance. The city is going to collapse after the trials have been cleared but once we enter the city, there is no coming back out unless the trials have been cleared successfully. Someone has to stay behind, I don't know who to choose."

There was silence as everyone started to weigh the pros and cons. Jermine raised her hand to volunteer but was quickly beaten to the punch by Bob.

"I'll do it," the dragon said. "I'll stay behind to take care of the sand walkers. Master, you can summon me if you have any problems and call off the summoning to send me back. As it is, I'm still too weak to fight or compete against such ancient magic. I'm also a dragon, I don't like math and science. Gnomes are creatures who like it a lot, I'm not going to be very helpful to you for this part of our adventure."

Jermine wanted to cry. Why did Bob have to say it like that? She wanted to volunteer to stay behind because it sounded like a very dangerous thing to do. She didn't want to be cursed for ten generations after raiding tombs and disturbing the dead.

"Alright, it's decided then!" Zero grinned happily. Although this wasn' his initial idea, it was still an idea better than what he considered. "Bob stays behind, the rest of us will set off to locate that entrance puzzle after brunch. So, any request? I'm thinking of ramen. Pork or miso?"