While the manifestation of the earthen tower was relatively simple for Mathias, the same couldn't be said about what Nial did.
He could not afford to be distracted and had to keep every single dark energy hook in check. This required lots of focus and mental strength several times higher than Mathias and Bella had…together!
Despite not having done any physically intensive work, just now, Nial looked like he was on the brink of collapse.
Only for a short time, he had mentally exerted himself to fortify the wall with the several hundred dark energy hooks, but it had drained him of the slightest bit of mana that resided within his body, while his mind felt mushy.
It was as if someone had trampled on his brain and that feeling was definitely not something Nial would ever like to experience again.
p
He only managed to utter a few words while taking deep breaths.
"How…about we take…a short…break?"
Bella and Mathias could only nod their heads in response.
Even Mathias was exhausted beyond measure, but only Bella was perfectly fine.
Thus, Mathias went on all fours before lying down on the ground next to Nial as Bella chose to guard them while they rested.
They were on the huge terrace of the gigantic palace.
The area they were in was a nicely decorated rooftop garden that was adorned with unique flowers and other types of plants.
Calling it a tastefully decorated terrace hit the mark as everything looked quite beautiful.
There was also a rather small cone-shaped building with a round table inside visible from the terrace. A circular bench surrounded the table.
Buildings like the one Bella saw in front of her were usually used for tea ceremonies of truly rich humans.
'To think that some fallen civilization wasted their resources as some humans are doing right now…'
Usually, it would be best for a palace to have numerous defensive measures.
However, the rooftop of the ancient ruins' palace was anything but dangerous. Being surrounded by plants was calming, while the spores of some plants were even capable of increasing the density of the surrounding mana.
At least that was what it looked like at the first glance.
Nial could tell that it was not like this. Rather, the spores of a few particular plants increased the mana sensitivity of the human body.
That was why it felt like the surroundings were richer in mana than on the ground, while it was actually just their mana sensitivity that had increased temporarily.
Through the temporarily increased mana sensitivity, Mathias and Nial were able to recuperate much faster than first expected.
Even Nial's depleted mental strength was quickly revitalized. After merely two hours their small group of three was ready to leave.
But instead of doing so, Bella showed them something she found while both of them had been resting.
Bella gestured at them using her hands to tell them to hurry up after they were fully recuperated.
They passed by some hedgerows, which had been planted on the terrace, only to find themselves in front of a small garden.
"Don't ancient ruins belong to fallen civilizations or abandoned places? How is it possible for plants like these to survive here?!"
Mathias' doubt was reasonable. Looking at the lush green plants planted in the garden that covered a quarter of the terrace even Nial felt a little bit lost.
'Nightmarrow sasar flower, Deadly bellflower, Pyromantica jueanr fruit, and even three luminaries fruits…'
There were only a few flowers Nial could recall from the books he had read in the last few weeks.
Despite not having had much time to study, Nial had been told to imprint a few unique plants in his mind.
Their mana fluctuations, appearance, and several other traits were unique, which was why it would be easy for him to identify them the moment he perceived any of them.
That was exactly what had just happened as Nial perceived several familiar plants within the garden.
As such, he could also tell their special traits and their needs.
And that was the point where he agreed with Mathias. The flowers he remembered needed special care.
Not only did they require lots of attention making the gardener always be on his toes but they would die the moment they received too much mana, or some sort of altered mana fluctuations would enter their surroundings.
The Pyromantica jueanr fruit was known for increasing the surrounding temperature by transmuting neutral mana into fire-attributed mana.
This would immediately kill many flowers that were right next to it including the Nightmarrow sasar flower, which was known for blossoming in cold and dark areas.
Even Bella had been confused for quite a while when looking at the garden, only to find the reason for all of this at once.
"I know, I know. Just take a look at the garden. It is not built on the terrace but rather placed on it!"
Nial had already sensed that something was odd about the garden. Not only were the walls of the garden made of a completely different material but it felt as if it was disjointed.
As such, when Bella said that the garden was placed on the terrace, he expanded his range of perception to thoroughly examine it.
At first, he frowned deeply because what he sensed was confusing but after some time Nial could barely hide his astonishment.
"A runic armament?!"
The moment Nial exclaimed in astonishment, Bella's smile widened. She was ready to add something, only for Mathias to bombard him with questions.
"What?? That is a runic armament? The entire garden??" Mathias was utterly dumbfounded but he, fortunately, quieted down after a few seconds, giving Bella the chance to start speaking,
"If I'm not wrong, this is a portable and highly preservable Garden, a Tier-2 runic armament!"
Nial was still baffled about the numerous runic constellations he had just begun to sense. They were numerous and evidently created by a master Runicier.
Thus, he merely nodded his head when Bella spoke, wholeheartedly agreeing with her.
The garden in front of them was definitely a Tier-2 runic armament and not an ordinary one at that.
'A portable garden with integrated isolation barriers to allow all kinds of flowers to grow independently if required.'
The plants didn't restrict each other despite being placed close to one another.
Furthermore, the garden allowed the flowers to stay fresh and be preserved over a long period as long as enough mana and other nutrition were present.
Nial was not sure about the other nutrition and ingredients that were required for the plants to stay alive but the mana in the surrounding area was certainly enough.
Time passed slowly with Nial focusing on attempting to get to know the garden's functions.
There were several unique functions the portable garden had, which included twisting space. A downside of spatial rings was that living beings couldn't be stored within them.
Thus, in order to be easily transported from one place to another, the herbal garden had to be truly portable.
By shrinking it to the size of a chessboard, it would be much easier to carry it around even if its weight didn't decrease.
To the team's misfortune, it was still not possible for them to carry around the portable garden.
"If we pluck the flower and fruits, it won't be easy to replant them even if we seal them," Nial said all of a sudden, thinking of a way to store the portable garden.
By sealing plants, one could temporarily force them into a death-like state. That way, one could trick the spatial ring.
Some plants would truly die the moment they were sealed while others could only be sealed for a few hours before they would die as well.
Thus Nial's idea was not feasible if they wanted to replant the flowers and fruit plants.
However, even then Bella couldn't help but nod her head vigorously.
"That is a great idea! As long as we preserve all these plants, it won't even matter if the plants die, they won't rot!
That way, we can store everything and start researching the portable garden once we're outside the dungeon portal!"
Bella was exhilarated about the fortune in front of her. Her excitement could be sensed by both her friends, which caused Nial to smile wryly.
But, Mathias couldn't smile at all. His expression worsened the longer he listened to Bella.
In Mathias' opinion, the garden was a treasure trove. But it was not the garden itself that made him believe so but rather the living plants!
After all, some of them were extremely rare and impossible to be obtained by mankind. Only a handful of plants of a similar rarity as the present plants had ever been procured by mankind.
And each of them held the opportunity to change the fate of an Original!
"I would rather not kill the plants inside the portable garden…they're far more valuable than anyone can imagine…" Mathias suddenly said, his eyes glued to the Pyromantica jueanr fruit.
"With the Pyromantica jueanr fruit, Originals, who have fire-based abilities or a fire elemental affinity will be able to increase their proficiency and understanding of fire just by being around the fruit…
If they eat a freshly plucked Pyromantica jueanr fruit it is possible for them to enter an enlightened state, and even to upgrade their ability, though the chance is low."
Several plants in the portable garden were highly valuable such as the Pyromantica jueanr fruit. As such, Mathias didn't feel like plucking all the flowers.
"But we can not carry the portable garden. After all, it easily weighs several tons!" Bella was astonished about Mathias' revelation but even then, she felt that they would be losing out on an invaluable treasure if they were to bother about the well-being of some plants.
In a matter of seconds, both Bella and Mathias started a heated discussion about what to do with the portable garden.
Meanwhile, Nial could only frown deeply before sighing in annoyance.
'If that is how we act at the sight of a single Tier-2 runic armament, I wonder how we're supposed to plunder the palace…'
What Nial didn't know was that his friends were just getting started and that they would readily get to each other's throat…for a garden, even if it was a portable one!
**
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