I Am A Wizard Who Can Travel Between Earth And The Other World-Chapter 68 - 70 The Echoes of Forgotten Ruins

Groaning, Gin sat up, rubbing his temples. "Of course… he's doing this on purpose," he muttered under his breath.

He hadn't even been asleep for an hour. His body felt heavy with exhaustion, but a quick surge of magic restored his energy.

Gin got up, stormed to the door, and yanked it open.

Jay froze mid-swing, his fist raised awkwardly in the air.

He gave a sheepish grin. "Uh… were you still sleeping?"

Gin resisted the urge to punch him. Hard.

As the last of the artifacts were being packed away, a wave of workers—dozens strong—suddenly swarmed into the ruins.

They carried large storage crates, quickly organizing and securing the relics inside. Their sheer numbers allowed them to work with stunning speed; before anyone realized it, they had vanished just as suddenly as they had arrived.

The ruins were left empty.

Even the bodies of the giant chitinous trolls had been taken. No doubt the trolls scattered throughout the passageways had also been collected.

Gin took a slow, deliberate glance around the hollow chamber.

His gaze eventually returned to the five cryptic symbols hovering in midair.

'What in the world are you?'

If they were a cipher, then what purpose did they serve? Did it mean that somewhere within the ruins there was something linked to those symbols?

Driven by curiosity, Gin expanded his domain magic, probing every corner of the ruins for any hidden clues.

But there was nothing—no hidden mechanisms, no concealed structures, no faint traces of magic beyond the obvious.

"Not leaving yet?"

Gin turned to see Owen standing nearby, his usual courteous smile firmly in place.

"I am," Gin replied with a nod.

Thus concluded the first expedition into the ruins.

Back at the hotel, Gin wasted no time.

After exchanging brief farewells, he had returned immediately.

There was much to reflect on—the battles, the strategies, the magic he had employed. He needed to identify areas for improvement.

The rest of the logistics were in Jay's hands. Gin had contacted him earlier, and by now, Jay was likely negotiating the expedition's rewards with the Tree Guild.

The initial contract promised five billion gel, though Gin suspected they'd secure a higher sum given his contributions.

Money was always a valuable resource.

With enough, he could purchase rare magical artifacts or other items of great utility. After a quick shower, he lay down on the bed, intending to rest—but his mind had other plans.

The symbols from the ruins—ancient letters that refused to combine into any recognizable meaning—kept replaying in his thoughts.

They were like prime numbers, isolated and indivisible, standing apart from any system of language or logic.

The enigma refused to leave his mind. Gin sat up abruptly, shaking his head to clear the intrusive thoughts.

At that moment, his phone rang. Unsurprisingly, it was Jay. Gin didn't even need to check. Jay was the only one in the Shadow Realm who would contact him.

"Yeah?" Gin answered.

— "Hey! What's going on with this monster situation?"

"What monster?"

— "The damn armored troll! They're giving you one!"

"Wait, what?"

— "Yeah, that mage from the Five Great Houses left one of the trolls for you. What do you want me to do with it?"

Gin blinked. "Just take it. Why are you making this a big deal?"

— "Well, I figured I could sell it. I know a guy who might pay a lot for it."

"Sell it? Do you even hear yourself? If they wanted to give me money, they would've just handed me cash. There's a reason they gave me the troll."

There was a pause on the other end. Gin's reasoning was sound.

Selling a gift from one of the Five Great Houses could invite complications, perhaps even severe consequences.

— "So… what should I do with it?"

"Store it somewhere safe."

— "Do you have any idea how hard it is to store a monster like that?"

"You're a broker. This should be easy for you."

— "Broker, not miracle worker!"

"You said it, not me. I'm busy, Jay . Figure it out."

Without waiting for a response, Gin hung up.

"A troll's corpse... Why would Owen give me that?" he murmured to himself.

It was likely a gesture of goodwill—but Gin knew that no act of kindness came without an underlying reason.

Still, the opportunity to study the troll's body intrigued him.

If he could analyze it thoroughly, it might yield significant advancements in his research on bio-organic constructs.

He was convinced the chitinous trolls were engineered bioweapons, artificially created entities.

The battle had confirmed it.

The trolls' bodies bore numerous artificial modifications—suppressed pain receptors, energy absorption systems that bypassed conventional sustenance, and more. freewebnσvel.cѳm

The potential insights from studying such a creature were immense.

"Time to review," Gin sighed, lying back down.

He closed his eyes and began mentally replaying the events of the day, dissecting each moment with meticulous focus.

His thoughts shifted to the five elite ability-wielders from the Five Great Houses.

Could he defeat them if they all attacked at once?

A simulated battle unfolded in his mind.

He had already analyzed much about them in the ruins—their elemental affinities, combat styles, physical prowess, and how their magic interacted with their bodies to enhance their abilities.

'Still a long way to go,' he admitted.

The exercise revealed just how comfortable he had become in his recent fights. Facing five opponents on the level of Alaric or higher would be a daunting challenge.

And that was in theory—real combat was unpredictable, rife with variables simulations could never account for.

Gin spent the entire night lost in his mental battlefield, eventually drifting off into dreams filled with phantom opponents and endless duels.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Hey! Open up! I've got a job for you!"

The pounding on his door jolted Gin awake.

"Ugh… He's doing this on purpose," he grumbled, squinting in irritation.

He hadn't even been asleep for an hour. His body felt heavy, groggy from being torn out of deep rest.

He summoned a quick surge of magic, letting it sweep through his body and restore his vitality.

With newfound energy, Gin marched to the door and flung it open.

Jay stood there, fist raised to pound on the door again. He froze mid-motion, his expression shifting to an awkward grin.

"Uh… Were you still sleeping?"

Gin fought the overwhelming urge to punch him right then and there. Hard.