A creature other than the copper mechanical lifeforms, or possibly Don who might have entered here?
Both were possibilities, but Law hoped it was the latter.
However, judging from the regrown parts of the vines, it should have been some time ago.
Of course, without knowing the growth rate of the vines, it was basically impossible to estimate an approximate time.
Law wouldn't waste energy on such questions. He led the team, continuing to explore and map the underground ruins.
Time passed bit by bit… two hours, three hours...
Along the way, they discovered that the area of the underground ruins was extremely vast. No wonder they couldn't see the bottom from the surface.
Unfortunately, apart from finding several traces where vines had been picked and encountering an increasing number of copper mechanical lifeforms, they made no other discoveries.
If anyone was most dissatisfied, it might be Salin.
She believed that within these ruins with such obvious artificial construction traces, they should have unearthed a considerable number of human artifacts and ancient human writing.
But the result was none, absolutely nothing.
Neither in the passageways nor in the rooms could they find any traces of humans having lived there.
The team didn't linger in one place for too long and never forgot about the Scarecrow on the surface.
They knew that, given the intense hostility the Scarecrow displayed at that time, it would likely pursue them into the underground ruins, making it a hidden danger they needed to be aware of at all times.
If the Scarecrow appeared before the team, they would definitely go all out to eliminate it.
If not for the terrifyingly exaggerated number of copper mechanical lifeforms on the surface, after the Scarecrow attacked them, they would have had ample reason to take it out.
The team continued onward. After spending most of the day, they found an astonishing discovery in a recessed corner of a wall.
Within a pile of what seemed like rusted iron filings, mixed with a small number of clothing and shoe fragments, the most startling thing was that Law and the others managed to fish out a half-missing... Hunter License!
"In life, they must have been in utter despair."
Ging glanced at the pile of powder that could symbolically be called ashes and could easily imagine the scene unfolding at that time.
It was probably... a Hunter being forced into this corner by a significant number of copper mechanical lifeforms.
At that moment, they must have been beyond help, in an utterly desperate situation.
Hearing Ging's words, everyone's expressions revealed a hint of solemnity, all passively picturing the situation at that time.
Law, however, carefully examined the half-missing Hunter License.
Unfortunately, the damaged portion included the license's code. Otherwise, they could have identified which Hunter it was based on the code.
"This license probably isn't Don Freecss's, right?"
"Not likely."
"Yeah, after all, this Hunter License is too new. Moreover, when Don Freecss was still on the Six Continents, the Hunter Association might not have been established yet."
"And Don Freecss has been active in the Dark Continent for hundreds of years, so how could he possibly fall to a bunch of gear monsters?"
"Then this Hunter License..."
Everyone's gaze focused on the half-missing license in Law's hand.
"Someone from Beyond's team?"
"Someone from the Association?"
They each offered their speculations.
"Both are possible."
Law handed the Hunter License to Ging, then looked towards the passageway ahead, deep in thought.
The found license could link together the previously discovered human traces.
In other words, those picked vines were most likely the work of the hunter who carried this license.
Most members of Beyond's team were from the Association's Temp Hunters, so many of them carried Hunter Licenses.
As for the Hunter Association, needless to say, everyone had a license.
Since a Pro Hunter met their end here, it meant either Beyond's team was here, or the Hunter Association's team was here. There was even another possibility… both were here.
"What do you think, could the owner of this license be someone from Beyond's team or the Association's?" Shiro asked.
"Don't know."
"It's a pity the code is gone."
Law looked at his teammates and speculated, "Whichever team it is, it's possible they are still in the ruins. After all, you've seen the situation above."
"If it's someone from Beyond's team, then we...?"
"Unless necessary, of course we should avoid conflict as much as possible."
"Agreed."
As long as there's no clear motive or reason, avoid combat if possible.
After all, meaningless combat benefits neither side.
"Let's go, continue forward."
The team continued onward. When the light filtering down from the ceiling cracks disappeared, they realized night had fallen.
Tonpa had maintained his high-intensity Nen Ability for a very long time, so he was the first in the team who needed to stop and rest. In contrast, the others, not bearing the surveillance pressure, were in relatively good physical and mental condition.
"Take a half-hour rest, or consume some Lichen?" Tonpa looked at Law, asking wearily.
"We'll rest."
Law glanced at Biscuit, who understood and summoned Cookie, having her give Tonpa a massage.
Tonpa straightforwardly lay on the ground, letting Cookie massage him.
In less than a moment, he fell sound asleep, completely devoid of a sense of crisis, after all, his teammates were nearby.
"Kuro, scout ahead. No more than half an hour."
While Tonpa was recovering his stamina and focus, Law assigned the scouting task to Kuro.
Kuro accepted the order, transforming into a wisp of black smoke and heading forward. The others either sat or lay down, trying to recover some stamina and Nen during this brief half-hour.
Twenty minutes later, Kuro returned.
He reverted to his physical form and said, "I found an entrance leading to a lower level."
Hearing Kuro's words, almost everyone who had been resting with their eyes closed opened them simultaneously.
'The second level...'
Creak, creak...
The Masked Man walked along an extremely steep downward slope, though his walking posture appeared as if he were on flat ground.
He walked swiftly, and the three swallowtail butterflies flapped their wings seemingly slowly, yet they kept up with the Masked Man closely.
Down, further down, for about ten minutes, until they finally reached the end.
Blocking the Masked Man's path was a massive stone door!
Whether it was the ruin structures on the surface or those underground, they all actually lacked one common thing… doors.
But here, there was a stone door.
The Masked Man stopped before the stone door. The frequency and speed of his scraping against his mask suddenly increased, as if excited.
Simultaneously, a series of obscure, incomprehensible syllables came from under the mask.
"Core energy, core energy...!"
He was repeating a phrase, seemingly also his destination for this journey.