Bai Shi clicked his tongue in wonder as he looked at the preserved remains of the “earth god.”
Within this massive species repository were many other creatures of peculiar shapes and sizes.
These were all species that had erged when the Crucible of Life flourished, now impossible to find in the Lands Between, completely extinct.
Seeing the curious expressions on everyone's faces, a faint smile touched ssr's lips.
"Feel free to look around. Just don't get lost."
As it happened, the path to the top floor, where his private chambers were, passed through most of the repository's sections anyway.
Although ssr had ordered the construction of a direct elevator for convenience, since they were interested, he might as well give them a tour on the way up.
However, before they could even leave the current floor, Bai Shi suddenly spotted another elevator nearby.
It was built in a room in the far corner, extrely well-hidden and unattended.
Not only that, but there was no personnel nearby, and the area was cordoned off.
But judging from the sealed ceiling of the room, the lift definitely led sowhere below.
Bai Shi pointed a finger at the elevator, its destination unknown, and asked:
"Does this species repository have an underground section?"
ssr's brow furrowed, as if recalling an unpleasant mory.
"Down there..."
"That's the treatnt area."
"You wouldn't want to see what that's like."
Hearing this, lina imdiately understood what her brother was talking about.
"Is it the Nun?"
ssr glanced sideways at lina.
"...Yes."
"Do you still have mories of what happened here?"
lina shook her head and replied:
"I truly don't rember what happened in the Land of Shadow back then."
"The reason I know is that we've already seen them. And we've cured them."
An expression of shock spread across ssr's face. He asked in disbelief:
"You... cured them?"
lina nodded and continued her explanation:
"Yes. After we arrived in the Land of Shadow, we were in the Gravesite Plain, near the tower settlent."
"We found the survivors in a hidden gaol and learned of the tragedy."
"After that, we tried to treat them, but our initial efforts had little effect."
"Thankfully, we eventually found a way. Thanks to the power of Bai Shi and Irena, we were able to heal them."
"They're in a nearby church now, being looked after by the physicians and perfurs Bai Shi brought with him."
ssr looked at Bai Shi, half-believing and half-doubting.
Ever since they had rescued those survivors, they had gathered all the wisdom in the shadow city, but they had been completely helpless.
But these people had just entered the Land of Shadow and encountered the survivors. How long had it been?
It wasn't that ssr didn't believe lina's words.
Having seen the horrific state of his fellow Nun, he naturally wished for their recovery more than anything.
It was just... this was simply too incredible to believe.
Hearing that there were still Nun waiting to be cured, Bai Shi was the first to walk toward the elevator.
"There's no ti to lose. Let's start the treatnt."
"The sooner they're healed, the sooner they can recover."
ssr nodded and followed close behind.
In any case, he would know whether they could be cured or not once he went down there.
On the elevator, ssr asked about the survivors Bai Shi and the others had rescued:
"Where did you find the survivors?"
"During the Holy War, my army scoured the entire tower settlent. I can't believe we missed so."
lina thought for a mont before answering:
"To the northwest of the great bridge, beneath the cliffs on the other side of the lake."
"The gaol was very well hidden. Its entrance wasn't in the town, but its location was underneath it."
ssr considered this and imdiately understood where she ant.
"I see, so that's where it was..."
"It was my failure not to discover it during the Holy War."
"I'm glad you found them."
As they spoke, the elevator finally reached the bottom floor.
Though it was a basent, it was surprisingly bright, illuminated by candlelight, and not at all dim.
Furthermore, the basent was quite spacious.
Similar to the Roundtable Hold, it had two levels connected by stairs.
A vast array of weapons and armor was arranged on the first level of the basent, which clearly served as an armory.
As for the level below that, it was originally a chapel where battlefield clerics spread the faith of the Erdtree before it was converted into a treatnt room.
Led by ssr, Bai Shi and the others continued deeper, officially entering the treatnt room on the second basent level.
The room was filled with beds on both sides, where Nun, their bodies grotesquely fused with flesh, were being cared for by perfurs.
But perhaps the long, fruitless treatnt had forced them to accept reality, as several Nun survivors with twisted forms were not lying on their beds.
They were pacing slowly, playing with the Jar-Bairns in the spacious center of the treatnt room.
This was one of the few, and only, forms of entertainnt they had.
The perfurs did not stop them, rely observing the Nun's condition in silence.
Facing a malady they had been powerless against for countless years had taken a severe toll on their hearts and minds as well.
As the highest-ranking physicians, the perfurs' code of ethics was strong, which only made their powerlessness all the more painful.
Looking at the state of the Nun here, Bai Shi gently shook his head.
These must have been the survivors rescued during the Holy War.
Progress on their treatnt had remained slow, and even the combined wisdom and power of the entire shadow city had proven useless.
But after so much ti, their minds and spirits were much more stable.
Of course, there were also patients who had chosen a more radical path, unable to accept their appearance.
Bai Shi's eyes were imdiately drawn to several Nun with bizarre forms lying on the beds, looking different from the rest.
Most of the fleshy masses on their bodies had been stripped away, and their humanoid forms were barely discernible.
According to ssr, this was an experintal treatnt they had requested themselves.
If they had to live on with such twisted bodies, they would rather take a bold chance for the opportunity to live like a person again.
Unfortunately, the final results were still far from satisfactory.
Upon ssr's arrival, the perfurs in charge of nursing ca forward and bowed.
ssr waved a hand, telling them to await his orders.
He then turned to Bai Shi, still a little uneasy, and asked:
"How exactly do you perform the treatnt?"
"Will it be cured, only to leave so other harm behind...?"
Facing ssr's apprehension, Bai Shi smiled faintly. "Don't worry, they will be completely restored."
"Aside from so sharp pains during the process, there are no other side effects whatsoever."
"Have the perfurs prepare so analgesic incense."
Bai Shi gave Irena a look, signaling for her to begin.
Irena nodded, walked over to one of the Nun survivors, and took her hand.
Spiritual power flowed into the Nun's body, marking the distinction between the two types of flesh, just as she had done countless tis recently.
Bai Shi summoned his Great Rune and slowly activated it, while lina manifested a small golden tree to soothe the hearts of their kin.
A golden radiance once again illuminated the abandoned chapel, looking incredibly sacred.
Realizing what was about to happen, the perfurs held their breath, afraid to interfere with the others' work.
In their hearts, they silently prayed for a miracle.
Under Bai Shi's gravitational magic, the flesh of the Nun and the Hornsent separated from each other.
The Nun's flesh was preserved, gradually reshaping back to its original, normal form.
As for the Hornsents' flesh, it was directly disintegrated, breaking down into inert microscopic particles.
As Bai Shi's treatnt continued, the Nun's appearance gradually returned to normal, becoming as she should be.
Sunlight shone upon a body covered in scars, and as the Nun's form was reshaped, all her injuries healed, and the treatnt was complete.
Witnessing a true miracle unfold before their eyes, the perfurs forgot their decorum and wept with joy.
No one understood the suffering these survivors had endured better than they did.
ssr let out a long breath, and the gloom that had weighed on his heart instantly dissipated.
Watching Bai Shi imdiately begin treating the next survivor, ssr's expression was incredibly complex.
—
For the next several days, Bai Shi and the others simply lived in the basent.
The number of Nun in the basent was far greater than what Bai Shi and lina had rescued from the gaol.
With such a large number, the workload was staggering.
Working for several days straight was no trouble for Bai Shi; as long as Irena was well-rested, they could begin at any ti.
Finally, after four days, the treatnt was finished.
All the Nun survivors in the shadow city had been restored to their original forms.
During this ti, Bai Shi had also sent people to bring the Nun from the church over to live in the shadow city.
As they were kin, it was better for them to live together, which would aid their psychological recovery.
After several consecutive days of treatnt, ssr's opinion of Bai Shi had completely changed.
If before he had been disgusted and repulsed by Bai Shi's status as a Tarnished, now he lanted that he was one.
Besides his status as a Tarnished, ssr found he couldn't find a single fault with Bai Shi.
If Bai Shi weren't Tarnished, ssr would certainly be delighted to have such a virtuous and powerful brother-in-law.
Although the thought of lina being inexplicably swept away by Bai Shi still made ssr grind his teeth.
But as lina had said, he was indeed a very good person.
—
With the treatnt concluded, ssr once again invited Bai Shi and the others to his chambers.
This was the hospitality he should have offered on the very first day.
Bai Shi naturally accepted with pleasure.
Irena, however, was too exhausted. To avoid any awkwardness, she took Lilianna to rest in the shadow city.
This ti, ssr had no intention of making Bai Shi and the others climb up from the first floor of the repository.
As the master of this place, ssr knew exactly how rugged the path to his top-floor chambers was.
It not only required traversing several floors within the repository but also using the external stairways built onto the tower's exterior.
So, for convenience, ssr led the two of them to an elevator within the species repository.
It was built specifically for ease of audience with him and was normally unused.
The elevator took them directly outside the top floor of the species repository, onto the bridge that connected to ssr's private chambers.
After returning to his room, ssr turned to Bai Shi and lina and spoke:
"Now there are no outsiders."
"If there's anything you want to know about the Land of Shadow, feel free to ask."
Bai Shi didn't stand on ceremony and planned to use this opportunity to gather all sorts of intelligence.
First, Bai Shi asked a rather pressing question:
"My previous armor can no longer keep up with the changing intensity of battle; it's already broken."
"If possible, I'd like to find so excellent materials to forge a new suit of armor strong enough for the battles ahead."
His attributes had increased significantly, leaving almost no room for further growth.
But a person's strength wasn't determined solely by their physical body; many external factors were involved, such as weapons and armor.
With Godfrey's potential return at any mont, Bai Shi felt it was necessary to be fully prepared.
Even Godfrey wore his armor properly in his first phase; Bai Shi certainly wasn't going to fight bare-chested from the start.
If they really got into it, they could all just strip down for the second phase.
ssr glanced at the purely decorative robes Bai Shi was wearing and understood.
After a mont's thought, ssr retrieved a massive map from his room.
Two winged serpents, each holding up one side with its head, unfurled the map before Bai Shi and lina.
It was a map of the Land of Shadow, charting the entire region.
However, many details on the map were blurred, clear evidence that the cartographer had not explored those areas thoroughly.
ssr pointed his great spear at a spot on the map, marking the location of a ruin.
Looking at the place, ssr began to explain:
"This is the Ancient teoric Iron Forging Ruins."
"The forging ruins were left behind by the giants and trolls; it was where they once forged their creations."
"After the War against the Giants, it fell completely under our control."
"In the ancient era, teoric iron was the material for the gods' weapons, proof of its superiority."
"This ruin holds a large quantity of teoric iron. It's an excellent material for forging either weapons or armor."
ssr paused for a mont before continuing:
"However, teoric iron has special storage requirents."
"Unless it is a finished product, it must be kept within the fires of the forging ruins' furnace."
"And we have no craftsn who have mastered the art of forging it. We're unable to utilize it, so it remains stored in those semi-abandoned ruins."
"teoric iron demands extrely high forging skills, and you might need to use the forge in the ruins itself."
"If you don't have a smith who can forge it, I can help you find so other materials."
Although ssr said it was difficult to forge, Bai Shi wasn't concerned.
Smithing. He was familiar with that.
While Bai Shi himself couldn't forge, he could summon two master smiths to do the work at any ti.
And if he was going to forge armor, Bai Shi planned to have Master Iji do it.
On the surface, Master Iji was an ordinary troll blacksmith, but his true identity was that of a genuine giant.
He had simply used a secret art to shrink his body.
Compared to forging weapons, Master Iji was more skilled with armor; he had been the one to forge Bai Shi's previous suit.
Using a material he was so familiar with would surely yield a pleasant surprise for Bai Shi.
Nodding, Bai Shi asked ssr his second question:
"I want to know, have you had any contact with a demigod nad Miquella?"
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