"Light?"

"Let's go, take a look!"

The support team followed the direction of the light and soon discovered what their companions had been talking about.

Ahead of them.

The winter sun shone directly down from above.

What appeared before them was a vast, gigantic pit, with two narrow paths on either side that were just wide enough for one person to pass.

An ordinary person who slipped and fell here...

Would almost certainly not survive.

Many in the support team began to marvel, while others looked down into the deep pit with apprehension.

But Ronald's reaction was somewhat different.

He stared at the place where the sunlight penetrated overhead and asked with a frown,

"In my memory, the area above our heads shouldn't look like this, should it?"

Costate immediately replied,

"Sir, according to the distance we've covered underground, we should be approaching the Erin Mountains above us, and this is indeed abnormal."

"Erin Mountains..."

Ronald had roughly studied the geography of Entrode.

The Erin Mountains were indeed close to Waterfall City and were considered one of the more well-known mountain ranges within the country's borders.

But even so... why was there such a cavity overhead?

The support team had indeed traveled quite a distance underground, but their current location was not too far from the starting point. A cave this huge… If someone had explored it before, it should certainly have been visible from above!

Had the campsite deliberately concealed this information?

Ronald, with his thoughts, glanced toward where Megan was situated, just as the explorer in the support team asked a question at this moment.

As a world-traveling explorer, Celier,

Realizing the issue, asked Megan seriously,

"Mr. Megan, this place is not too far from the camp to be unnoticed. Hadn't you found anything peculiar here before?"

The middle-aged Caster spoke in a slightly somber tone,

"We've checked the terrain for several kilometers around, including the mountain areas, and we didn't find such a hole."

Celier was highly dissatisfied with this response,

"How could you not have noticed such a large area? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Megan continued to explain,

"At least when we were surveying the terrain, there indeed were no such findings here. We are all exploring the ruins together now; I have no reason to deceive my companions over such a matter."

"..."

As the argument between the two began to escalate.

Ronald simply whispered a spell under his breath,

"Starting from the relationship between the entire Earth and the sky, we will begin forming our understanding..."

The spell "Star Plate" instantly began to record the terrain around them and transmitted the relevant information into Ronald's mind.

"..."

Realizing the truth, Ronald looked up in surprise.

Then, before Celier's and Megan's dispute escalated further, he straightforwardly plucked a stone from the nearby wall and threw it forcefully towards the ceiling above.

Thwack—Thud—

Quickly, the stone reached the overhead space.

Then, making a collision sound in the transparent air, it rebounded and fell into the endless darkness below.

Everyone was drawn by this sound, and then their gazes unanimously fixed on Ronald.

"The situation may be somewhat different from what everyone expects."

Indifferently accepting the gazes of those around him, Ronald, while again prying a stone from the wall and tossing it upward, continued to explain what they were seeing:

"What we see and what we think don't match up."

"This hole that appears to go straight through to the ground is actually completely sealed by a kind of material that only allows light to pass in one direction. The sunlight from above can shine to where we are; but if you go to the ground, you can't see the underground that's obscured at all."

After Ronald explained the situation, many people around him were still pondering the logic behind it.

And the first to react was surprisingly Clara, the journalist:

"This... is incredible!"

"If it only lets through light on one side, this material must be very useful! Who will help... no—after we get out, I need someone to collect some samples here for me, this will definitely become a great invention!"

"..."

A great invention?

Given Clara's profession, Ronald immediately had some odd ideas come to mind.

This time, there was a brief disturbance within the team.

The explanations from Ronald and Clara's statements made people take this fact for granted, so some began to think laterally again.

At this moment, Dwayne once again took on the role of the leader.

He tried to refocus everyone:

"Alright, now that the problem is solved, let's continue moving forward."

"We have to remember our current situation—we still haven't reached the main part of the ruins!"

This discovery was not as tempting as the secret of immortality that they had encountered before.

With a few reminders from Dwayne, the support team quickly stabilized and then continued their journey deeper into the ruins.

The path before them split into two.

Considering both safety and efficiency,

the ten-person team split into two groups and proceeded on opposite sides. During this, Megan took the initiative to join the group with Ronald and Costate.

The two groups began to move along their respective paths.

During this process, Costate quietly asked:

"Mister, did you use the 'Star Chart' Spell just now?"

"Yes," Ronald nodded slightly before explaining, "At first, I didn't think about the light situation; I thought there might be some kind of maze concealing the landscape above."

Ronald shared his findings with Costate.

It was only after he had finished speaking that Megan, who was following closely behind and looked visibly tense, finally spoke up:

"Mr. Jones..."

"Megan, you can relax,"

Ronald interrupted the highly anxious middle-aged Caster with a gentle tone.

He glanced at Megan's uneasy face and continued to explain as they advanced:

"I think I know what you're worried about, so let me give you a clear statement—regarding the discovery of that true core creature just now, I have no intention of interfering."

"Some people, when facing profit and treasures, might have thoughts of monopolizing them, keeping others from reaching out—but I am not one of them."

Megan's eyes widened:

"Mr. Jones, you..."

Ronald continued to interrupt her:

"I can tell you that my spell system involves the concept of greed. It's precisely because I possess such spells that I also understand the problems that this kind of desire might bring."

"I won't interfere with what others think. But as for myself, it's better to control those desires that often lead to very bad outcomes."

After listening to Ronald's reassuring words,

Megan, although reluctant to accept it, still offered her complex praise:

"You are not only a powerful Caster but also certainly a Sage."

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