Their journey was quiet and uneventful.
Madesol didn't ask Asher where they were going and just followed silently.
Once the sun goes down, they would camp and spend the night around the campfire.
For the first time, Madesol didn't react to food.
She was no longer hungry as she used the strand of World Energy to recover her physical body. On the other hand, even if she was hungry, she didn't have the mood to eat.
"You don't want it?"
Asher asked. He still has his duty to feed her according to the Oath.
"... no." for the first time throughout the day, Madesol spoke. Her voice was low and weak. She was in the same position as before, hugging her knees as she despondently stared at the ground before the campfire.
Asher just shrugged his shoulders and fell asleep after eating.
This continued on for days. Madesol didn't eat and they would just walk and walk tirelessly.
Sometime later, Asher finally felt his body recover and didn't receive a backlash. Thus, he didn't spare any time and went back to training his absorption of World Energy.
Although Madesol is a master of energy manipulation, he doesn't ask her for help. As usual, his speed of improvement was beastly. If this continues, he would only take another week before he could get on the same level as experienced Soul Practitioners with four Soul Skills in their arsenal.
Eventually, they would reach their destination.
Looking at the landscape, even if it was different from before, Asher knew that this was the place.
It was the same as everything else. Black lands, obsidian mountains, and nothing else.
However, this land used to be the O'lothe Family Residence!
Madesol stopped when Asher inspected the place. It seemed that this was the place he was looking for, she thought.
After walking some time and being left alone with her thoughts, Madesol didn't stay being depressed for long. However, she still didn't have the desire to talk to Asher even if she was curious what he was trying to find.
With [Transcendant Vision], the same Epitome-Rank Soul Skill he used to see through clouds before, Asher immediately found all the untouched basements under the place where their court used to awe-inspiringly stand.
Finding the entrance and easily shattering the basement door, Asher walked down the stairs.
"..." Madesol's face perked up. After looking at this barren land for a month now, it was surprising to see manmade structures again.
She followed Asher into the basement and curiously looked around.
That place was very dark even though it was supposed to be day. But soon, with their sharp senses, their eyes gradually adjusted to the dark and could see the shapes of the objects.
Even though it was just the servants' quarters situated underground, Madesol still felt relieved by the change of environment. She was getting sick of the place above.
Asher lit up the room with fire from his hand and lit up a nearby candle on a table. He glanced at Madesol to which she noticed this and turned her head away.
He lit two candles and brought one with him.
Seeing this, Madesol took the second one after Asher walked away. They went on their separate paths but wasn't that far from each other as this was a small room.
It seems to hold twenty servants at the time. There's a bathroom, closet, kitchen, and everything a person needs.
Madesol's mood brightened looking at all these commodities.
Meanwhile, Asher was stumped by something.
If this place is untouched, why are there no people here?
There should be survivors but they were nowhere to be found. This is one of the only places they could inhabit when the world outside was like that. Where would they go?
Did they die from the heat? Although there are some burnt areas in this room, it didn't seem like they could die from it. At least, among the servants, there should be Soul Practitioners with one Soul Skill, which means their body should be able to endure the rising heat before it cools down eventually.
However, they were nowhere here, not even a single corpse.
Where would they go? Asher caressed his chin.
But there's no point in thinking that for now. He looked around and immediately found the storage room.
Asher came back to this place for three reasons.
First. He wants to get some equipment that will help them on their journey. That's why he took a backpack and all the essentials. However, he didn't bring much tools as he have all the Soul Skills he needs.
What he needs right now was space. He only have with him a makeshift pouch and it wasn't enough to hold much, so a backpack would be very helpful.
Seeing that this should be a female servants' quarters, he didn't see any set of outfits suitable for himself. He's looking for flexible clothing that doesn't need much washing and is comfortable when fighting. However, this is not a place where he would find that.
Seeing only female clothing, Asher turned at the Phoenix. She was at the kitchen, eating rations and stocked food like she was a Fallen.
Her beautiful red dress from before has been tainted by ashes and soil. Since it was ripped apart multiple times, it couldn't hold onto her body. Thus, she ripped it and temporarily tied it around her breasts and used some as a belt to hold the lower part of her dress.
He didn't ask her back then but it seemed that energy was also the one keeping her clothing durable.
Does she not have any powerful divine clothing?
Asher didn't know what Divine Beings have as treasures but even here, in their little world of Solvarya, they have clothing made from strong materials and permanently enhanced by some specific Soul Skills - which are simply called enhanced objects.
Enhanced equipment would greatly aid them when fighting against Fallens, unknown beasts, and challenging Legacy Sanctums. After rummaging the place, Asher planned to go to another room- an underground treasury.
"I'll go somewhere else and come back later," Asher said since it didn't seem like Madesol would stop enjoying herself with food and water there.
As usual, she treated him like air and didn't respond, to which Asher found no problem. He was already quite satisfied that she was no longer that annoying once she shut up.
As he climbed up the stairs, he then picked up her mutter.
"It's better if you don't come back..."
This time, it was Asher's turn to treat her like air and continue on his way to the underground treasury.
He briefly used [Transcendent Vision] again and immediately found the underground treasury.
This is not the main treasury, which is located on the second-top floor of the main building in the O'lothe Residence. Everything there has been turned into ashes like the rest.
Fortunately, for some reason, this one is beneath the main building. Asher have no idea if this holds greater treasures or not.
However, Asher was sure to find what he was looking for aside from enhanced equipment and other essentials.
Asher took some time to destroy the vault of the underground treasury as he doesn't have the key. But since there are no guards, the only security placed here is the vault door.
Upon entering, however, he felt invisible daggers near his neck, making him stop on his tracks and as well as his breathing.
Without resistance from Asher, one invisible dagger sliced through his skin from which a drop of blood fell. When that drop of blood reached the floor, the feeling of invisible daggers instantly disappeared.
"Huuu-" Asher let out a long sigh of relief.
The invisible dagger disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It seemed that it is the main security other than the guards. The vault door was enhanced to kill any intruders. At the same time, it seemed to identify Asher through his blood.
Good enhancement.
Asher commended the Imbuer who enhanced this door. It didn't discriminately kill all those who broke it.
If he was an outsider, he needed to be at least at the level of Transcendent to avoid such mechanisms. Since Asher will enter Legacy Sanctums from now on, this is a good reminder to be careful of security measures.
Asher then continued to climb down the treasury and found a hallway.
Venturing in, he saw cabinets standing beside one another like that of a library. Asher looked around them and found magical plants and ingredients that could be helpful later.
On the last row, the contents shone on its own. Obviously, the contents here are the most helpful and he took everything. Other than that, he didn't bring much though. There's only a limited space in his backpack and like tools, he didn't need all because some has properties that are redundant to Soul Skills.
What he took has properties that can aid energy recovering and amplifies skill. However, they are just ingredient at the end of the day. He didn't know how turn them into a helpful mixture and their potency will be very limited.
Ah, I should go to an underground library if there is one. He thought.
Although he has a lot of hobbies, they are all recreational and more peaceful. Yet, he didn't regret that. For some reason, he didn't like anything related to practicing the soul and fighting. Even now he doesn't like it. But whether or not he likes it no longer matters. He needs it.
As Asher walks around the treasury, his eyes land on a bookshelf.
It seems like I didn't need to find an underground library!
Checking the contents of the bookshelf, most are useless to him. The majority here are scrolls that contain titles to lands and other assets of the family. This was important back then, but now, it was utterly useless.
Besides them were Skill Tomes. Soul Practitioners use them to develop Soul Skills. Not needing to mention it, Asher finds them useless as well.
In the last section, there are books. Asher skimmed through them
These are helpful.
He took one book for martial arts, another for how to imbue, and last for instructions on how to make mixtures.
Seems like the main treasury contains the main treasures such as the Epitome-Rank Soul Skill and high-level enhanced equipment. Down here are documents, ingredients, and utility books.
The high-level enhancement equipment is regretful, but everything else is better than the main treasury in Asher's case!
His eyes then landed on the wide drawer underneath the shelf.
Opening it, Asher found what he was looking for. This is the second reason for why he is here.
Maps and guidebooks locating all Legacy Sanctums in the Neixe Kingdom.