I start looking around the building with See Through, after telling Argo and Guilford I learned it.
I’m using it by activating it while looking at a target. But I can’t see people’s weak points yet because the skill level is too low.
I’m a little worried because I keep wondering if the skill is working, since this is a skill that doesn’t react when there’s nothing. But since my proficiency is going up, it must be working.
We go back down to the first floor, pass through an open area with many corpses, and look around other rooms on this floor.
Maybe it’s because it was being used by a clan, but the second floor has bedrooms, and the first floor has a lot of other stuff like storerooms.
This clan did some smiting, but I think they were more about gathering materials.
We go to what looks like a conference room, a dining hall, and a storeroom, and I pick up something on See Through.
“What is it Sora? Did you find something?”
Guilford asks quietly.
He’s good at noticing the faintest reactions. Is he that perceptive?
I nod.
“What do you think we should do?”
I ask.
It’s nice that I found something, but finding some mechanism all of a sudden feels unnatural. It makes it feel like I already knew something.
There’s a secret passage. It looks like it will open if I operate candlesticks and dents in the wall in a certain order.
It’s great that the See Through skill tells me the order, but it will be hard to explain to others if it’s complicated.
“Leave that to us.”
Says Guilford full of confidence as I wonder what to do.
He approaches the wall, and starts touching it.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Asks a soldier.
“Something feels off about this.”
He says, and the soldier joins him.
Then he uses his words well to lead him on.
“Hey hey, is this a hidden passage?”
He opens it and looks surprised.
“W-wow.”
The soldier sounds genuinely impressed.
“What should we do?”
“…We should investigate what’s up ahead, but the door might close on its own, and we don’t know what we might find.”
The soldier says we shouldn’t rush inside, and calmly thinks.
“Then we’ll stay here, while Argo, Sora, and your colleagues go in. If we stay here, we’ll open the door again if it does close.”
“I think that will work. There might be someone in there.”
Guilford looks at us, and mouths that he’s leaving the rest to us. Argo responds by waving at him.
Two soldiers walk in front of us, and Argo and I follow. I figured we’d take the lead, but they want to take the leadership.
After all, the passage is completely dark.
“Hey, wait.”
Says Argo quietly as soon as we go in.
“Try turning on a light here. You’ll get found out and become a target.”
Complains a soldier that turns towards us.
“Sora, do you have spares?”
I nod, and hand to the two soldiers two night vision magic items that I take from the pouch on my waist.
“You take point with Sora. We’ll follow.”
Says Argo, and the soldiers do that without looking like they have a problem.
The walls are made of bricks, and after a while, there’s a staircase going down.
We go down each step slowly. Fifty of them, and we go pretty far down.
Then there’s a passage north, and we walk through it while I use See Through. I know it’s north because of Map.
This building itself is north, but pretty far from the defensive walls.
Is there an exit to the surface along the way?
“This is…”
I stop, because we hit a dead end. But not just a simple dead end.
“Was there a cave in.?”
Asks Argo while looking up, but it doesn’t seem broken.
It just looks like the passage is blocked by dirt and rocks.
“Is this really a dead end?”
“I don’t think so. There’s gaps up there.”
I say to one of the soldiers.
I feel faint magic energy there too.
This was made with magic. For what, to block the passage?
“We have to call people…”
“Sora, can you do something?”
Asks Argo after hearing the annoyed soldier grumble.
Both soldiers turn to me.
“Can you step back a little?”
I touch the dirt, and it looks like I can move it like when I prepare the ground. But I feel some resistance, unlike normal dirt.
I release more magic energy, and strengthen it to move the dirt.
This creates a space big enough for two people to pass.
“Adventurers can do that?”
“Not all of us. Sora just used the appropriate magic. Aren’t there soldiers that can use magic?”
“There are, but they’re not the sort of people grunts like us get to see.”
That sounds like sorcerers have a pretty high position.
“Now what? Should we go through?”
Asks Argo, and the soldiers nod after looking at each other, so we advance.
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Thanks for the treat.
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