In the end, Layn went with what appeared to be the easiest route. Rather than somehow creating a complicated tool that could soften up the impact of the immense magic that radiated from the crystal… The archmage just used a really long stick.
Once he managed to scoop the stone from underneath the machinery, half of the part of the stick her organized, the same part that had to touch the stone in order to bring it closer, was already halfway eradicated.
It didn't melt. It didn't crush away or chip away. Under the immense force steeming from this stone, the very particles that made up the materials that the stick was made from were dissolved into a puddle of magic-enriched nothingness.
"Dang," Layn said silently to himself, dropping his previous idea. From how quickly this crystal managed to completely decompose the matter that this stick consisted of, no matter how hard he would try, Layn wouldn't be able to move it around.
Especially given how far the location of the actual camp of his was, or how potentially dangerous this crystal could be.
"It kinda feels like holding the used fuel rods of the nuke plants," Layn told himself while staring at the crystal below him. 'Well, I don't really know whether it will have a long-standing effect on me or not, but I don't think there should be any problems,' usually, Layn would never allow his guts to be the sole force driving his judgemental process.
Never in hell would fear, curiosity or any other emotions be sufficient alone to make him take a decision. And right now, standing right above this unknown crystal, was just another effect of Layn's calculative spirit.
Before his journey to this place started, Layn considered himself to be a man at the level of gods in the current world around him. While there obviously were things they couldn't understand from just looking at them like the barrier that separated this desert from the rest of the world during the entirety of off-season, for the most part, Layn still stood at the top of the knowledge chart of this early-aged world.
But now, the things that he could see right before his eyes, proved him wrong. Unless this desert he ventured at was some kind of interdimensional gate between different worlds, then the artifacts Layn could see proved that there once was a civilization complex and advanced enough to construct such structures.
And that meant, Layn's knowledge and abilities didn't necessarily top everyone else in the entirety of the world!
"Well, I won't move forward without studying this thing," Layn said to himself in a futile attempt to encourage his brain into figuring out a solution to his problem. But no matter how hard Layn was trying to find out a way to transport the stone, no new ideas came to his mind.
Then, out of nowhere, a desperate thought surfaced in his mind. The simplest possible way to transport the stone without the fear of Layn's entire body melting in the process. A way that although simple, was irreversible.
"What one won't do for the science." Layn encouraged himself for the last time, before raising his left hand to his eyes. With a single thought, something snapped in Layn's body. It felt as if a part of his aura suddenly detached before disappeared altogether. At the same time, all the nerves at the top of his left-hand fingers went numb when the outburst of magical energy fried their pain-conducing nerves.
Then, Layn grabbed the crystal with his left hand as if it was nothing. He grabbed something that scientists of his time would consider a hot and reactive magical core. Yet, due to burning all the magic potential from the tips of his fingers, Layn's body could no longer be affected by the condensed aura of the pure mana on touch… Because there was no direct connection between magically alive and magically dead parts of Layn's body!
With this trouble solved, Layn turned around and attempted to leave the room… Only to realize that during all his attempts to figure out his situation, he failed to notice that the hatch actually closed. And while that wasn't all that bad, the fact that he was unable to find it no matter how hard he looked made this already tense situation even fuller of worry.
"Fuck it," Rather than allowing the panic to get to him, Layn squinted his eyes before gathering a sharp clour of magic at the fingertips of his right hand. While the knowledge and technology behind whoever created this place were far more advanced than anything Layn saw in his life, it didn't mean Layn's own methods no longer applied.
By using the sharp cloud of magic like a blade, Layn made it slightly vibrate before pushing it into the plating of the floor. Stuck to his finger, the small cloud of mana behaved exactly as Layn projected, making a short work of what should be considered to be the bottom of the cube Layn was in.
"WARNING!"
A sudden voice echoed through the entire structure. The sound artifacts that happened due to the devastated state of this entire place only made the situation even eerier.
"A PROCESSING CORE LEFT THE PROTECTIVE CASING!"
The same voice echoed across the hall as soon as Layn attempted to slip out of the machinery cube through the hole he carved out with his magical knife. And in the next moment, the entire place turned red, as all the gates and doors previously hidden by the moss started to close down one by one.
The entire place was dying. Layn wasn't a scientist but just a single look at what was happening around told him that it was likely to be an emergency shut-down procedure, aiming to completely neutralize the facility before something unthinkable could happen.
'I know I shouldn't draw parallels like that,' Layn thought while rushing forward and holding the precious stone in his mortified tips of fingers. He burst through the walls of the room he was indirectly, instantly appearing in the middle of a water-filled room.
At first, the water surged to fill out everything through the hole Layn created. And for the very first few moments underwater, Layn could only struggle to remain hooked in the correct side of the room, before the rage of the element calmed down a little. Soon, more than half of the water in the room flew to the massive hall Layn saw before, turning the room Layn entered into a relatively dry place.
But the Archmage didn't stop there. Pushing forward with all his magically improved might, he found a shortcut to the first hall he noticed, the one he could access only by diving through a long and fully sunken corridor.
Once he got there, Layn took his last chance to get a fresh mouthful of air, filling his lungs to the limit. And in the next moment, he grabbed the edge of the corridor he had to take a dive into, before exploding small charges on his hands and feet to gain the initial upwards momentum.
The corridor Layn was swimming through was pretty Long. He already noticed it when traveling through it in the other direction, but for some reason, raising up in the water appeared to be a lot harder than just sinking below.
At some point, all the air in Layn's lungs ran out, leaving him suffocating deep below the surface of the water. At first, it was just a slightly annoying feeling, one that lowkey continued to shake Layn's body in terror. Then, the annoyance turned into a powerful gust of pain in Layn's lungs, making him feel as if someone was squeezing his chest harder than it was humanly possible.
Then, as if the veil of the torture only attempted to bring the archmage to his limits rather than beyond it, Layn reached the surface. In an instant, his mouth opened wide, feeling the starved lungs a fresh bout of oxygen.
For the few next moments, Layn continued to breathe heavily, only to realize how stupid he was just a moment later.
'Couldn't I just set another layer of barriers?' He thought before shaking his head in denial. 'No, it wouldn't work like that,' Layn bit his lips as he looked at the content held by the sole tips of his left hand's fingers. 'I have no idea what does this thing does, so it was better not to risk it either way,' he thought before shaking his head and looking around.
The raft that Layn used to come to this place was no longer anywhere to be seen. Its bits still floated in the distance, proving that Layn's earlier spotting of an enormous monster wasn't just a dream or fluke, but a harsh and unforgiving reality.
"Well," After taking a few moments to regain his energy, Layn shook his head again before looking up to the sky in order to navigate his way back to the camp, "I guess it's time to go back."
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