Chapter 101: Want My Treasure?
Aen Elle – long before humans first set foot on this land, a beautiful and prosperous elven city-state once stood here.
Its center was the palace of the elven king, Auberon Muircetach.
However, one day, the city's inhabitants began to die mysteriously in large numbers.
According to legend, King Auberon himself felt his end was approaching.
So he unleashed a powerful spell, causing the earth to swallow the entire city-state, protecting it from desecration by outsiders.
And this was the legend of the treasure of the elven city-state of Aen Elle.
"That's the elven city-state of Aen Elle? Although most human cities are built on elven ruins, it's truly surprising that there's actually an unexplored ruin in such a wilderness."
Standing on a high earthen slope, overlooking the dilapidated buildings in the distance, Professor Dijkstra couldn't suppress the excitement and elation in his heart.
The place where the buildings stood looked like a meteorite crater.
And the buildings were located at the bottom of the crater.
If one wasn't standing on high ground, it would be easy to overlook.
The history of Aen Elle was not well-known. After all, the entire city-state was swallowed by powerful magic, leaving no survivors.
Therefore, there were no official historical records about this elven city-state.
All records related to Aen Elle were just fragmented pieces obtained from the records of other elven kingdoms.
Professor Dijkstra had spent two or three decades integrating all the parts related to Aen Elle mentioned in the official histories of all the elven kingdoms collected by Oxenfurt Academy.
This allowed him to make the judgment:
—The location of the ruins of the elven city-state of Aen Elle was very likely located in a remote wilderness northeast of Oxenfurt.
Actually, to be honest, before coming here, Professor Dijkstra wasn't 100% sure that his judgment was correct.
Because within the history department and the elven culture and archaeology department of Oxenfurt Academy, more than half of the professors did not agree with Professor Dijkstra's efforts.
All tracing of origins should be based on official records.
If even official records didn't exist, then it meant that there was no so-called elven city-state of Aen Elle, let alone the legendary treasure left by the elven king.
As for the other half of the professor team, they also felt that what Professor Dijkstra was doing was futile.
They did believe that the elven city of Aen Elle was real.
They just thought that Professor Dijkstra's deduced location was wrong.
That place couldn't be in Redania.
Instead, it should be further north, such as near the Valley of Flowers within Aedirn.
Perhaps even the Valley of Flowers might be the successor to the elven city-state of Aen Elle.
And even his own students didn't unconditionally support Professor Dijkstra.
Therefore, throughout this journey, Professor Dijkstra had been in a state of extreme anxiety every day.
He faced unprecedented pressure.
And he was even more afraid that his hopes would be dashed.
But now, as the dilapidated ruins at the bottom of the basin came into view, Professor Dijkstra could finally put his heart at ease.
The elven city-state of Aen Elle.
As dusk gradually enveloped the world, under the nervous and expectant gazes of Professor Dijkstra and the others, Lynn began to act.
Although the time when this elven city-state sank beneath the surface was now untraceable,
out of caution, Professor Dijkstra still asked Lynn to scout and explore first.
After confirming there was no danger, he would let the workers start their work.
Professor Dijkstra didn't have the nasty habit of some elite classes who didn't treat the lower classes as human beings. If possible, he certainly didn't want to see anyone get hurt or bleed.
Lynn had no objection to Professor Dijkstra's request.
After all, when he took on this commission, he had already carefully considered all the various risks.
In the ruins, the greatest danger actually came from mechanisms and traps.
But a witcher's enhanced senses were the natural nemesis of these mechanisms and traps.
Lynn first circled around the perimeter of the ruins, observing.
But he didn't encounter the expected dangers.
So he began to advance towards the ruins.
As the distance closed, the full view of the ruins became clearer in Lynn's eyes.
It wasn't an entire city, but a palace.
Or more accurately, it should only be a part of this palace.
The stone walls, which should have originally been white, were deeply damaged and scarred by the passage of time.
In front of the steps, which were covered in greenery, clinging vines, and soil, was embedded a heavy, massive iron gate.
The gate was covered in rust, filled with the vicissitudes and weight of history.
Lynn paused in place for a moment.
His witcher enhanced senses showed no reaction.
The Wolf School medallion on his neck hung perfectly still, not sensing any magical presence.
Lynn cast a Quen shield on himself.
Then he placed an Yrden trap on the ground.
When the Sign was trained to the master level, the Yrden trap not only had the effect of slowing down enemies but also had the effect of blocking incoming mechanical arrows.
Finally, he drank a Superior Swallow potion.
If any mechanism could consecutively break through the double interception of the Yrden trap and the Quen shield and still injure him...
then the Swallow potion he drank now would help him stop the bleeding and slowly heal the wounds at that time.
The main focus was on being cautious.
After taking all these measures, Lynn placed his hands on the massive iron gate.
As expected, the huge iron gate was as heavy as it looked.
And even Lynn had to use all his strength to laboriously push it open.
There was no sound of any mechanism being activated, nor were any hidden arrows shot out.
After the massive iron gate was pushed open.
All that was presented before Lynn's eyes was a dark passage in shades of black and white.
"Hmm, it seems there's no danger outside, but the inside isn't certain... But, let's call them over first."
Lynn found two large rocks nearby and used them to prop open both sides of the massive iron gate.
He didn't venture in rashly.
Instead, he first signaled to Professor Dijkstra, who was waiting anxiously in the safe area in the distance.
Seeing Lynn's signal, Professor Dijkstra led his students and the workers carrying various digging tools, all jogging over.
Everyone saw the building, which even in its weathered state still showed its former grandeur, and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
As for the dark passage behind the massive iron gate, they showed both shock and fear of the unknown.
(End of this chapter)
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