Chapter 1262: Chapter 1262

"What is the Month of Flowing Fire?"

That was Jenkins's first question after translating the message. He knew that each of the months corresponding to the Twelve Orthodox Gods had an elegant name. From the first month to the twelfth, they were known as the Month of Nature and Beginnings, the Month of the Sun and Revival, the Month of Earth and Blossoms, the Month of the Ocean and Downpours, the Month of the Hidden Moon and Red Rose, the Month of the Starry Sky and Long Nights, the Month of the Hermit and Thunderclaps, the Month of the Craftsman and Sweet Rain, the Month of the War God and Falling Leaves, the Month of the Sage and Harvest, the Month of the Traveler and Frostfall, and the Month of the End and Snowfall. Nowhere among them was the Month of Flowing Fire he had just translated.

"I've never heard that name before either," Alexia suggested. "It's likely related to changes among the Righteous Gods over time. Weren't you just researching that? Perhaps you could ask your professor friend. I imagine he might have some clues." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novèlfire.net

Jenkins nodded. He remembered that tonight was Tuesday, which meant the Corpse Gentleman was holding his gathering. He hadn't seen the professor in over half a month, so it would be the perfect opportunity to ask him.

The metal plate from the altar didn't seem particularly suspicious. While it hadn't provided any new information, it would still have considerable archaeological value once they took it out of here.

Both Jenkins and Alexia were curious about what the tablet's author had left for posterity. They searched the cramped secret chamber and, aside from a small amount of low-purity gold, found only a leather sheath hanging on the wall. Inside the sheath was a metal rod encased in a sealed wooden tube.

He couldn't tell what kind of wood the tube was made from, but it was remarkable that it hadn't completely rotted away after nearly ten thousand years. Jenkins handed the metal rod to Alexia for examination while he toyed with the fragile, splintering pieces of wood.

The cat, which had been quiet until now, suddenly poked its head out from his coat. Its little nose twitched as it sniffed the air, its gaze finally landing on the rotten wood in Jenkins's hands.

Chocolate seemed to feel scorned and promptly retreated back into his coat. The rotten wood didn't taste very good anyway; there was no need to be looked down upon by Jenkins for its sake.

"This is incredible. Here, feel this," Alexia said, interrupting Jenkins as he was about to infuse the rotten wood with his life spirit.

He took the metal rod from the dilapidated sheath and discovered that although it looked smooth, its surface was covered in tiny runes, almost too small for the naked eye to discern.

The runes were completely unnoticeable until he channeled a small amount of spirit into the rod, at which point they began to glow faintly. The more spirit he infused, the brighter they became.

"What is this?" Jenkins asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I can tell this sheath is made of dragonhide. That's incredibly rare. Even though it's mostly decayed, the size of the remaining intact sections is astonishing."

Alexia continued, tapping a finger against the rotten wood in Jenkins's hands, "Since the sheath and the rod are clearly not mundane items, I imagine the wood must be something special as well, even if we can't identify it."

She was right. The moment Jenkins used his [Life Source] ability to infuse the fragments with life energy, the wood revived in an instant, as if awakening from a state of suspended animation.

If Jenkins hadn't once handled a dagger made from a branch of the World Tree, he might have suspected this wood was of the same material. While it wasn't quite as noble, it was clearly of extraordinary origin. He guessed the old elf would be able to identify it.

"So, the person who left these items must have intended for this metal rod to be a weapon against the cube outside," Jenkins mused, "but it doesn't look like they left an instruction manual."

Jenkins gripped the metal rod, aimed it at the chamber's exit, and mimed pulling a trigger. Alexia looked on, a little exasperated by his childish gesture.

"We could probably see its effect if we infused it with all our spirit," Alexia said, "but in this bizarre environment, that's clearly not a good idea. Let's go. I think we can deliver these items to the Church of the Sage and let them deal with this place. But... where is that miraculous item the little pixie mentioned? The one that's supposed to increase your bubbles?"

Alexia hadn't forgotten the reason they'd come, but another search yielded no new discoveries. Jenkins began to suspect the pixie had been referring to the reward for defeating the sealed cube. If that were the case, he would have to downgrade his trust in pixies to the same level he held for sprites.

Jenkins pulled the cat from his coat, holding it under its forelegs. The cat was clearly displeased with this high-handed treatment, but when it heard he wanted it to find something, it put on a show of sniffing around, its head darting about.

"Chocolate has a very sensitive nose," Jenkins explained to Alexia.

"Oh, I figured as much," the shorter woman murmured, watching the cat.

In the end, Chocolate didn't disappoint. It sniffed out an unusual scent, and following its lead, Jenkins dug up the bricks beneath the alloy plate. After clearing away the dark soil underneath, he found a brown, root-like object buried in the earth.

But it clearly wasn't a root. Upon inspection, Jenkins realized it wasn't even a plant, but rather a condensation of supernatural power, similar to the [Spirit Residue] he had used before. Spirit Residue passively increased one's spirit, and eating an item offered a chance to gain an empty bubble.

It wasn't classified as a numbered item because it was something that condensed naturally in soil rich with a specific type of spirit. Once removed from the earth or perceived by human senses, it would completely evaporate within half an hour.

Therefore, despite the powerful spiritual aura Jenkins could see, the Church didn't classify it as a numbered item. Of course, it was a rare find, only appearing by a small chance within large-scale seals one. Still, the implications of its appearance were widely understood—it meant...

"...that the seal was about to fail, or had already failed. Otherwise, the spirit of the sealed creature couldn't have concentrated in one area for so long."

As he finished speaking, Jenkins was struck by a sudden, terrible premonition.

The two of them hurried out of the altar's secret chamber, only to see the snowy plains outside had once again been twisted by the illusion of the bygone city. This time, when they ascended into the air, the illusion didn't weaken with altitude as it had before.

Jenkins's expression turned grim. The cube hadn't fully broken its seal, but it had already regained enough power to influence this pocket dimension. Its apparent weakness earlier had clearly been a ruse to lure them deeper inside.