Morning sunlight entered Noah's mansion through its enormous windows.
Noah was sitting in his private study, examining the five ancient keys he had collected beneath Greywatch.
They were arranged neatly across his desk.
The bronze key looked ordinary, while the silver one contained faint magical engravings. The blue crystal key emitted a gentle glow, and the green and red keys possessed different elemental signatures.
Noah picked up the red key.
"Hmm. These things are definitely connected to the dungeon."
He activated his Absolute Dragon Eyes.
[System Analysis]
Object: Ancient Dungeon Key — Red.
Origin: First Architects Civilization.
Function: Unlocks one of the Seven Seals.
Energy Signature: Fire Element.
Current Condition: Stable.
Noah examined the remaining keys.
Their elemental signatures were different.
Bronze: Earth.
Silver: Light.
Blue: Water.
Green: Nature.
Red: Fire.
"Five elements. I wonder what the last two are."
He stored them inside his Primordial Spatial Ring.
Before leaving, he opened his System interface.
[Active Mission]
Discover the remaining two Ancient Dungeon Keys.
Progress: 5/7.
Rewards:
- Evolution Points ×5,000.
- System Gold Coins ×100,000.
- Ancient Treasure Chest ×1.
Noah smiled.
"Let's find the remaining two."
He opened a portal and returned to the northern wilderness.
Northern Wilderness — Greywatch
The abandoned settlement was quiet.
Noah appeared near the mining entrance and checked his map.
Yesterday, he had explored the underground chambers, but the collapsed passages prevented further progress.
He needed another source of information.
The nearest inhabited settlement was marked on his map as Ashbourne.
It was approximately twenty-eight kilometers east of Greywatch.
According to the regional geography book, Ashbourne had originally been established by families who worked in the Greywatch mines.
When the mining settlement was abandoned, some families had relocated there.
Noah started walking.
The journey was relatively peaceful.
He occasionally encountered small magical creatures, but none were particularly threatening.
After approximately two hours, he noticed a wooden watchtower in the distance.
A village appeared beyond it.
Ashbourne Village
Unlike Greywatch, Ashbourne was still inhabited.
A wooden palisade surrounded several dozen buildings. Fields stretched beyond the village, and smoke rose from chimneys.
Farmers were carrying baskets, merchants were unloading goods, and children were playing near a small fountain.
Noah approached the entrance.
Two guards stood beside the wooden gate.
The first guard immediately noticed his horns.
"Stop a moment, traveler."
Noah stopped.
The guard studied his appearance.
"Are you a dragon?"
"Yes."
The second guard's expression changed.
"A real dragon? I thought the last ones disappeared centuries ago."
"They're not exactly common."
The first guard quickly straightened his posture.
"Welcome to Ashbourne. We don't receive many visitors, especially someone of your kind."
Noah nodded and entered.
Ashbourne Village — Main Street
The village was considerably smaller than Silverbrook, but it had everything necessary for daily life.
There was a blacksmith, a general store, a small inn, a stable, and even a modest adventurers' branch office.
Noah decided to visit the inn first.
A wooden sign above its entrance read The Old Lantern.
Inside, a middle-aged woman was arranging glasses behind the counter.
"Welcome, traveler. Looking for a room?"
"Actually, I'd like to ask about the history of this village."
The woman smiled.
"History? That's an unusual request."
Noah explained that he was investigating the abandoned settlement of Greywatch.
Her expression became serious.
"Greywatch..."
She placed the glass down.
"My grandfather used to tell stories about that place."
"What kind of stories?"
Noah leaned slightly forward.
"Do you know what they discovered?"
"Nobody knows for certain. The miners started disappearing one after another. Eventually, the settlement was abandoned."
She paused.
"Some families came here. Others moved to Silverbrook."
"Did your grandfather ever visit the mines?"
"He did. When he was young, he worked there for a few months."
"Did he mention anything unusual?"
The woman thought for a moment.
"He once said the miners had discovered an underground temple. There were strange doors, glowing symbols, and machines that worked without ordinary magic."
Noah smiled.
"That sounds familiar."
The woman continued.
"My grandfather also kept an old journal. It contains some information about the final days of Greywatch."
"Would you be willing to show it to me?"
"Perhaps. It's stored in my family's old house. But I would need to find it first."
Noah nodded.
"Take your time."
He ordered a room for the evening.
[Purchase]
The Old Lantern Inn.
Private Room ×1 — 8 Silver Coins per night.
Meals and basic services included.
Noah paid and went upstairs.
His room was simple but comfortable, with a wooden bed, a writing desk, and a window overlooking the village.
He placed his belongings inside his ring and went back downstairs.
The innkeeper introduced herself as Martha.
"By the way, if you're interested in old records, you should visit Elder Rowan. He's the oldest resident of Ashbourne."
Noah thanked her and headed towards the village square.
Ashbourne Village — Elder's House
The elder's house was located beside a small garden.
An elderly man with white hair was sitting outside, reading a book.
When Noah approached, the old man raised his head.
"Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon. I'm looking for information about Greywatch."
The elder closed his book.
"Greywatch? What brings you here?"
"I'm investigating an ancient structure beneath the old mining settlement."
The elder stared at him for a moment.
Then he slowly stood up.
"So someone finally found it."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
"You knew about it?"
"Not personally. But my father did."
The elder invited Noah inside.
The house contained several old maps, books, and wooden cabinets.
He retrieved a rolled parchment from a drawer.
"This belonged to my father. He copied it from an older mining record."
Noah unfolded the parchment.
It showed a rough map of Greywatch's underground tunnels.
Several chambers were marked with symbols.
One of them was labelled The Seven Seals Chamber.
Another location was marked with a red circle.
The Old Observatory.
Noah looked at the map.
"Where is this observatory?"
"Approximately five kilometers east of Greywatch. It was built long before the mining settlement existed."
"Does it still exist?"
"Yes, although nobody visits it. The structure is partially buried, and the surrounding forest is dangerous."
Noah examined the map carefully.
"Why was it built?"
The elder shook his head.
"My father believed it belonged to the civilization that constructed the underground temple."
Noah's eyes narrowed slightly.
The First Architects.
The name from the dungeon inscription.
He had found another connection.
"Do you know anything about the keys?"
The elder looked surprised.
"Keys?"
Noah described the ancient objects without revealing their exact nature.
The elder thought for a moment.
"My father mentioned two strange crystals that were kept inside the observatory. One was purple, and the other was white. He believed they were used to activate some kind of ancient mechanism."
Noah smiled.
Purple and white.
Perhaps the remaining keys.
"Thank you. This information is extremely useful."
The elder nodded.
"Be careful, young traveler. The old places are not always empty."
Noah left the house.
[System Notification]
[Important Historical Information Acquired.]
Potential Locations: Find the original chapter at g.com.
- Ancient Observatory — 5 KM East of Greywatch.
- Remaining Dungeon Keys — Possible.
Mission Progress: 5/7.
Noah looked towards the eastern hills.
"Looks like I have my next destination."
However, he wasn't in a hurry to leave.
He still wanted to explore Ashbourne.
The village had a small marketplace, and Noah was curious about the local products.
Ashbourne Marketplace
Several merchants had established stalls around the village square.
Noah found a variety of items.
There were farming tools, leather goods, herbs, handmade clothing, wooden furniture, and simple magical accessories.
He purchased a few useful items.
[Purchases]
- Regional Herbalism Guide ×1 — 2 Gold Coins.
- Northern Wilderness Survival Guide ×1 — 3 Gold Coins.
- Basic Monster Encyclopedia ×1 — 4 Gold Coins.
- Weatherproof Travel Cloak ×1 — 1 Gold Coin.
- Portable Magical Lantern ×2 — 8 Gold Coins.
He also bought several empty glass containers for collecting future magical materials.
- Glass Bottles ×50.
- Small Glass Jars ×30.
- Sealed Storage Vials ×20.
Noah paid the merchant and stored everything.
While walking through the marketplace, he noticed a small wooden stall displaying unusual stones.
The merchant was an elderly dwarf.
"Interested in minerals, young man?"
Noah examined the items.
Most were ordinary stones, but one small purple crystal caught his attention.
He picked it up.
[System Analysis]
Object: Unknown Purple Crystal.
Grade: Rare.
Energy Signature: Spatial.
Origin: Unknown.
Similarity: 98.7% match with Ancient Dungeon Key.
Noah's eyes brightened.
"Where did you find this?"
The dwarf scratched his beard.
"Found it near an old stone structure east of Greywatch. I thought it was just a pretty crystal."
"How much?"
"Twenty gold coins."
Noah paid immediately.
The dwarf looked pleased.
"Pleasure doing business!"
Noah stored the crystal.
[Mission Progress Updated]
Ancient Dungeon Keys: 6/7.
Noah smiled.
"One more."
The purple crystal was likely the sixth key, which meant the white crystal mentioned by the elder might be the final one.
He returned to the inn.
That evening, Martha brought him an old leather-bound journal.
"I found it in my family's storage room. You may examine it, but please take care of it."
Noah accepted it.
"Of course."
He opened the journal.
Most of its pages were damaged, but several entries remained readable.
One entry described the final expedition into Greywatch's underground temple.
Another mentioned the disappearance of the mining supervisor.
Then Noah found something interesting.
Journal Entry — 187 Years Ago
"Today, the expedition discovered the second crystal inside the Observatory. It was white as fresh snow, and its surface contained symbols that changed whenever the moonlight touched it. The supervisor ordered it transported to the eastern watchtower for safekeeping."
Noah closed the journal.
"The eastern watchtower..."
He looked at the map again.
The watchtower was located approximately two kilometers from the observatory.
He now had a clear direction.
Noah thanked Martha and returned to his room.
He placed the journal carefully inside his ring.
Tomorrow, he would investigate the observatory and the old watchtower.
[System Mission Updated]
Remaining Ancient Dungeon Keys: 1.
Possible Location: Eastern Watchtower.
Mission Progress: 6/7.
Noah looked out of the window.
The village was slowly becoming quiet.
Somewhere in the distance, wolves howled beneath the night sky.
He smiled.
"One more key, and we'll see what's hiding behind that ancient door."
End of Chapter 11