After resting on the ship for several days, Vir found that his wounds had miraculously healed.
That’s right, in just over ten days, the wounds on his abdomen had essentially scabbed and healed. Years of training with the “Thunder Stab Method” had finally started to pay off.
Moreover, Vir discovered that his “Core of Thunder” had grown stronger, and his lightning abilities were continuously improving.
It seemed that all these years of effort and sweat were finally beginning to bear fruit.
He recalled the countless times he had trained his physical skills to the point of collapsing on the ground, unable to get up.
He remembered the numerous intense sword training sessions that left him unable to hold chopsticks, needing help from his senior brother and master to eat.
The countless times he developed his lightning abilities, enduring excruciating pain that made him wish for death.
Adding to the recent intense battles, Vir knew that he was approaching a peak period of strength development.
While reflecting on these changes, Vir suddenly wondered where the rabbit had gone. He hadn’t seen it all morning.
Having lived with the rabbit for several days, they had become quite familiar with each other. The clever rabbit could understand some simple words.
After searching the ship for a while, he found the rabbit lounging on a deck chair, holding a carrot in one paw and a juice in the other, basking in the sun.
Smiling, Vir grabbed a glass of juice from the kitchen and headed to the deck.
Seeing Vir approaching, the rabbit sat up and started gesturing excitedly before he could sit down.
Through their days together, Vir could roughly understand its signals. The rabbit wanted to take him somewhere.
“Where to?” Vir asked in simple words.
The rabbit pointed toward Black Iron Rock Island, prompting Vir to start the ship and head towards the island. They soon reached the shore.
The rabbit gestured in a way that Vir couldn’t understand this time, even more so than usual. With a shrug, indicating he didn’t understand, the rabbit hopped onto the island, motioning for Vir to follow.
Following the rabbit through the island for about ten minutes, Vir found himself in a field of iron ruins.
This must be the ancient ruins Ferdinand had mentioned.
The ruins consisted of large iron buildings, each one tall and spacious. The doors and windows, likely not made of iron, had vanished over time, leaving only the frameworks.
Due to prolonged exposure to lava, each iron building was blackened and covered in dark red rust, giving the place a heavy and desolate atmosphere.
The rabbit entered one of the ruins, apparently familiar with the layout, and started tapping various spots on the wall.
After several taps, the wall creaked and revealed a hidden compartment.
Curious, Vir stepped forward to see what was inside. To his surprise, it was filled with tree bark from the island, mostly the fresh parts.
It seemed the rabbit, after enjoying good food and drink on Vir’s ship, wanted to repay the favor.
The rabbit took a piece for itself, chewing happily.
But after a few bites, it spat it out, shocked at how terrible the bark tasted compared to what it had been eating lately.
Noticing the rabbit’s dejection, Vir picked up a piece of the bark and ate it, despite it being hard and sulfurous. He swallowed it with a smile to cheer up the rabbit that had saved his life.
As Vir was about to head back to the ship with the rabbit, he noticed a black stone slab about half a meter long and several centimeters thick among the bark.
Driven by curiosity, Vir examined the slab closely, his pupils narrowing when he recognized the ancient text his master had taught him.
Stopping the rabbit, Vir retrieved the slab from the compartment and began to decipher it.
Though not proficient in ancient texts, he managed to decode it after about two hours, despite the rabbit beside him growing bored and playing with its exoskeleton.
The slab’s content was brief but significant. It was a key to a forbidden area of a once-great nation that had been nearly wiped out centuries ago. The last survivors had entrusted the Kouzuki Clan to create this slab to ensure their civilization wasn’t forgotten.
The reason for their destruction, limited by the slab’s size, was briefly mentioned: they had refused to ally with other royal families and possessed advanced technology that others wanted to use against their enemies.
The slab also contained an important message:
“You will not obtain Pluton, nor will you use the fruits of our wisdom for your deeds. Even if you succeed, how will you face the people of the world? Your organization, formed by erasing history, is filthy and despised by the people. Watch, for one day, the people will rise against you, pushing your arrogant descendants into the abyss.”
Reading these words, Vir realized that this island was once home to a nation that had been annihilated for refusing to join the royal alliance and for their advanced technology. Whether that technology still existed was unknown.
The slab also revealed the location of the nation’s forbidden area: beneath the artificial volcano at the island’s center, a place Vir could see every day.
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