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Chapter 710: Core
Chapter 710: Core
"This place feels so eerie", Hilda said, her hands clasped in front of her chest. After passing through a short corridor, they were now all riding on a cube that was flying toward the Laputa Core.
However, the Core of Sky City was completely different from the Garden above. Unlike the buildings above, which were bathed in sunlight and brimming with vitality, the Core was a vast, dimly lit dimension. The entire space was largely empty, with only a few square stone blocks, intricately carved, floating within.
Additionally, the walls surrounding the dimension were made of similar stone blocks, neatly arranged like the typefaces in a printing press. There were only a few square gaps here and there, which seemed to be the spots where the floating stones in the center had once been.
The cube they were standing on continued downward until it stopped in a corner at the bottom of the dimension. Liam then used the Power of the Rose Madonna to summon the pendant's shadow again. A stone slab beside them disappeared, revealing a door.
After everyone walked through the door, the floor began to move downward like an elevator. The surroundings, which had been pitch-black, now revealed blue light, giving the place a high-tech feel.
"The area we are in now has strong magical defenses and extremely complex magical power reactions", Liam said after sensing the environment around them. "I think even during the most prosperous times of this Sky City, only a very small number of people would have been allowed to enter here."
"This might be the control center that only the Laputa royal family could reach, as my grandmother once told me", Hilda recalled, now that they had arrived at this place.
"How long has it been since anyone was here? It feels like the entire dimension has been overtaken by roots", Baru complained loudly. After they landed at the bottom, the door in front of them opened, but a thick tree root blocked their way out of the lift.
"Be patient", Liam said, extending his hand to touch the root. Soon, the root came to life and moved aside. Not only the root blocking their path, but all the roots in the corridor that could impede their movement shifted to the side, forming a clear path to the control room.
"Wow! This is truly amazing. Is this the power of Magic?" Baru and Hilda exclaimed in unison. Liam led the way out of the lift and said, "Alright, now you two need to follow quickly. This isn't just the power of Magic; to achieve this level, you need a deep understanding of nature and a harmonious relationship with it."
"It sounds really impressive", Baru shrugged, pulling Hilda to follow behind. They walked along the cleared path through a narrow corridor and came to another wall. The roots in front of the wall formed an archway, accurately marking the location of the door.
"Can plants do this? Especially in a world where magic power isn't so active", Hermione asked, looking at the archway made of roots with confusion.
"Other plants in this world might not be able to, but we just saw that giant tree", Liam said, gently touching the archway made of roots. "This tree has absorbed a large amount of special energy, allowing it to grow beyond the limits of ordinary trees. Don't forget, there is a powerful energy source here that can cause significant changes in the tree."
"These changes are not just in size", Liam continued, summoning the Rose Madonna to create the pendant's shadow and open the door. "For example, I can sense that this tree has developed a consciousness. Although it's still vague and not a complete soul, I believe that over time, this tree will become a sapient Treant."
"That's why the tree's reaction after communicating with you has surpassed the limits of ordinary plants", Hermione nodded in understanding. Sometimes, a powerful energy source can indeed cause ordinary creatures to mutate. They had seen many mutated creatures in the Radiation World, where strong energy sources had caused such changes.
As they spoke, the wall within the archway of roots slowly parted, and a beam of light spilled out, illuminating the dark corridor.
Once the stone door was fully open, Ryan and the others discovered that all the dimensions inside had been completely overtaken by Plants. The roots of the giant trees enveloped the entire room, forming a golden, glowing cocoon at the center.
On the ground, a type of grass-like Plant grew, nearly as tall as a person. These Plants stood straight, with only a few egg-sized leaves at the top third of their stems. They grew densely, covering the entire floor.
"The Flight Stone Crystal must be inside that cocoon formed by the tree roots", Liam said, pointing to the spherical dimension in the middle. "I can feel the powerful energy emanating from it."
No one needed to be told; everyone present could sense the power coming from the cocoon. Even Baru and Hilda, who knew nothing about Magic, felt a lightness in their bodies when the golden light from the tree root gaps shone on them.
Liam then drew his wand and made a few gestures in the air, casting a Nature Affinity spell. Soon, a green ripple shot from the tip of his wand, sweeping over the entire dimension.
Upon contact with the green ripple, the grass-like Plants retreated, clearing away some of the mud at their roots. Before long, a stone path leading directly to the tree-root cocoon was revealed.
As everyone followed the stone path to the large cocoon, some of the tree roots parted, revealing a floating, transparent blue octahedral crystal. In their line of sight, the crystal continuously rotated, radiating light and energy.
"Such powerful magic power!" Liam murmured, standing before the crystal. To him, the crystal seemed like a sun, emitting vast amounts of magic power. However, after sensing the area around a black stone platform covered in cuneiform script, Liam furrowed his brow.
"Is something wrong?" Hermione, noticing the change in Liam's expression, walked over and cast a few scouting spells around the stone platform. As someone who had seen many top-tier Alchemy techniques with Liam, she quickly noticed something amiss. "The way they use energy is so crude."
"What do you mean by crude energy use?" Baru asked, confused by the exchange between Ryan and the others. "What exactly are you talking about?"
"Ah, right. Let me give you some protection first. While the Magic Radiation here won't cause serious harm in the short term, it's better to be cautious", Liam said, waving his wand to create a pink protective shield around the two children. He then explained to the curious children, who were poking the shield, "This will protect you from excessive Magic Radiation."
After ensuring their safety, Liam continued, "To put it simply, the Flight Stone Crystal before us is a great miracle, containing immense power that sustains the flight and operation of the entire Sky City. However, the ancient Laputans' use of this energy was extremely crude. You could say this Sky City is a prime example of brute force."
"But it seems like a miracle to us", Hilda countered instinctively, likely because she was a descendant of the Laputan royal family and felt the need to defend her ancestors.
"I'm not saying your ancestors weren't great", Hermione said with a smile, calming Hilda. "The characteristics of this world made it impossible for them to understand Magic the way we do. Relying solely on various magic items to comprehend magic power naturally led to a crude and incomplete understanding. In fact, your ancestors achieved something remarkable given their circumstances."
"However, if we applied our techniques, the utilization of magic power would be far more efficient. I believe a crystal just one-fifth the size could sustain the Sky City's operations just as well."
(End of Chapter)
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