After Alka and his companions' exploration of this place, they discovered several key factors that were most devastating to the Vastva people.
First, their need for food. The magical energy in this area had been nearly completely drained, leaving the land completely dead and stagnant, with no plants capable of growing.
The only area capable of growing plants was a small patch. They could use some magical device to condense the remaining plants into a nutrient solution, but the nutritional content was clearly insufficient.
The yield was also low, leaving the entire race in a state of near-constant malnutrition. Furthermore, their magical energy was constantly being depleted, which was a fixed limit for the Vastva people.
Second, as their magical energy dwindled, their bodies grew weaker, which in turn made reproduction difficult for them.
Furthermore, reproduction often carried significant risks, given the scarcity of resources here.
They were still essentially human, so their reproductive methods hadn't changed much.
And crucially, medicine. Although they were unlikely to be affected by external illnesses in this place,
External injuries, internal injuries, and injuries from accidents, including childbirth, would all cause casualties to their tribe, as they had no medicine to help.
They could only endure, surviving if they could, or dying if they couldn't.
Furthermore, they were malnourished, and their immune systems had drastically decreased.
Finally, the only thing that wasn't life-threatening at the moment was water.
Simply put, these problems weren't a major concern for Alka and his companions.
They were previously a major problem because they were trapped here with no access to the outside world, leaving them helpless.
The resources here were limited, yet they had so many people. Now that Alka and his companions could move freely in and out, opening up the passages between inside and outside, they could naturally bring in external resources.
Whether it was food, drink, or medicine, they were no longer a life-threatening problem.
Alka and his companions had arrived at a museum-like building, where the treasures once owned by the Vastva people were displayed openly within.
There wasn't even any protective measures in place.
Alka blinked at the treasures before him.
To be honest, he felt a pang of pain just looking at them. It was the first time he'd seen the energy within a treasure being completely drained.
How had they done that? It was truly absurd.
"Can I handle it?" Alka asked, looking at the shield-like artifact before him.
From the description, it looked like a treasure representing summer.
Afir nodded. "Of course, they're useless now."
Alka picked up the shield and examined it carefully.
A prominent sun relief was visible on the shield, and the overall color was probably copper.
Other than that, there was nothing special.
A small amount of magic power flowed from his hand and poured into the treasure.
The treasure didn't test its compatibility or respond to Alka's magic power as it had before.
Instead, it simply absorbed Alka's magic power, not even giving him a chance to react, like a hungry ghost.
Dare to release even a little magic power into this treasure, and it will devour it completely.
Alka quickly removed his hand, cutting off his own magic power.
The two people beside him looked at him with envy.
To them, magic power was so precious.
Sofia smiled and said, "I think you shouldn't envy magic power right now. Instead, you should consider the impact of too much magic power on you."
Hearing this, Alfir smiled. "Yeah, I never thought we'd even consider such a question."
"What's the situation outside?"
There were seven treasures before him.
Each one had been completely drained of its magic power, just as Larbert had described.
There really wasn't a single drop left.
"I really can't imagine how they managed to drain all the magic power out of the treasures," Simon said, shaking his head.
This was truly an unimaginable thing for them.
Because, to them, treasures truly could be described as objects of infinite energy.
It's just that the infinite energy within a treasure isn't necessarily something they're willing to use.
They often combine the energy of the treasures with their own magic power to mobilize external magic power and produce various effects.
"Perhaps this is because the magic power of this space is inherently limited, while the infinite magic power of the treasures themselves is due to their inherent connection to the world, allowing the magic of nature to naturally flow into the treasures."
Lucille said, sitting on Alka's shoulder.
Alfir, hearing their words, sighed and said, "If we had understood the value of magic from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this situation now."
He led them a little further in, where they saw numerous pieces of broken armor, various weapons, and mechanical constructs.
"This is a war memorial. Even within the same race, even in this small world, there are still wars. Wars between the same kind."
This is inevitable, Alka and the others nodded in understanding.
Though the Vastva people looked different from them, they were essentially transformed from humans.
As humans, didn't they still understand the inherent inferiority of human nature?
War is inevitable.
Not to mention during times of resource scarcity.
If you have more, others will have less.
After walking a few steps further, Alfir looked at the exhibits before him and said, "In the beginning, before we realized the finite nature of magic power, we remained glorious, maintaining our former lives.
We even expended countless mana trying to break through the fragments of this world and leave. Subsequent attempts have mercilessly proven that this is impossible, and the mana we expended cannot be recovered.
Even if they knew it was limited, they wouldn't consider it.
It wasn't until over 10,000 years ago that we finally faced a potential magic crisis. Even then, the upper class of the nobility was still squandering magic recklessly.
Those Hidden Eyes, those researchers, continued to squander their magic power on their own research, without a second thought."
Alka looked at the records above. Much of the research, whether viewed then or now, seemed useless.
They simply used limited resources to satisfy their curiosity.
"Until we completely exhausted the magical power of nature, the earth began to grow silent, and all sorts of magical constructs and buildings began to collapse.
That was when we finally realized what we should do. But countless people still clung to the hopeless situation."
Both of them felt helpless at this point. This history made them feel uncomfortable no matter how they looked at it.
"As the magical power was completely drained, the ground could no longer be easily cultivated, and the source of food gradually dwindled until it disappeared.
At that time, all our magical power came from these artifacts and similar items."
"But the Great Elder was far-sighted enough to protect the last artifact, keeping it functioning until now.
That's why we don't have to worry about water now. Otherwise, we might have perished a hundred or two hundred years ago," Alfir said.
In other words, they should still have one artifact in operation.
Through that artifact, some more magic power was connected to generate a water source.
"What are these exhibits?" Simon asked, looking at a pile of paper documents nearby.
"That, that's the research materials of many predecessors."
Hearing this, Lucelia urged Alka over and began to decipher the documents.
The more she deciphered, the more her eyes sparkled.
Simon, who had also previously learned some languages on his own, also roughly understood what was written in the documents from the scattered handwriting.
His entire body began to tremble with excitement.
"Hey, hey, calm down, you two," Sofia said quickly.
These two people seemed to be on the verge of madness.
Lucilia leaped onto Sofia's shoulders, cradling her face and saying, "Do you know what's up there?"
"What?"
"I saw some research on the soul and body, and it seems to be feasible!" Her voice trembled with excitement.
Hearing this, the two instantly understood the meaning.
Simon also said, "I saw some previous space research materials, about expanding the room's space and how to construct interlayers."
Seeing Simon about to lose control, Alka grabbed him and forcibly dragged him out of the museum.
Not yet.
Afel and Labton glanced at each other, both seeing the meaning in their eyes.
Both seemed relieved.
In fact, they had deliberately brought Alka and the others here to find the artifact.
According to Raphael's research, artifacts should still be quite valuable in the outside world.
Surprisingly, however, the group's expressions were quite calm, not particularly excited, merely revealing a hint of interest.
If only interest were present, it wouldn't be enough for them to engage in sufficient communication and negotiation with Alka and the others.
This mattered to their entire race. Without understanding Alka and the others, they couldn't rely on their kindness.
They needed to have sufficient leverage.
They hoped to offer leverage that would greatly interest Alka and the others, in exchange for their survival.
Perhaps even their continued existence.
It should be noted that their most extensive records were actually the Heart of Vastva, which Alka had already mastered.
They knew clearly that Alka had control over them and could easily bring them to their death.
They had to demonstrate sufficient value.
And now, they hadn't expected that the data had such power.
This data had been researched by their race for generations, and they still possessed this talent.
There seemed no better bargaining chip than this.
"Simon, calm down. The Vastwa people need us, and we need their wisdom and the results of their research.
So there's no need to rush these things, right? I'll let you study them with them when the time comes."
Alka spoke from the side, finally calming the uneasy Simon.
"Even in this situation, they haven't given up their research, but have shifted their focus to ensuring the survival of their people," Lucilia said, sitting on Sofia's shoulder.
She saw some relatively new research data.
Sofia smiled at Simon and Lucilia and said, "Then your performance should be enough to reassure them."
The few of them laughed and followed Alfir and Labbert, who had caught up, back into the tower.
The Great Elder and the others inside should have finished their conversation while they were gone.
Alka returned to their seats.
"Well, Alka, have you found any solutions?" the Great Elder asked.
"The difficulties you face now aren't insurmountable for us, are they?
Although your current physical condition makes it difficult for you to survive in the outside world, I possess the artifact that controls this space.
Naturally, I can open the gates to the outside, and I can also provide you with the supplies you lack."
Alka blinked one eye, and the pupil transformed into a crystal.
With a gentle swipe, a spatial rift appeared next to him, leading to the outside.
It could be seen that the rift led to the realm of dreams.
Alka casually switched, and a gentle sea breeze blew in.
The sea breeze also carried magic power. After a short while, Alka immediately closed the spatial rift.
The magic power in the entire room rose slightly.
But the sea breeze had truly hit them.
The Great Elder before them had even begun to cough. Even this slightly higher concentration of magic power seemed to be making him uncomfortable, even for the oldest among them.
The people around them scratched their exposed skin uncomfortably.
But at least it hadn't reached the point of causing them to have an allergic reaction.
After coughing a few times, the Great Elder seemed to be feeling slightly better.
Reality had proven to them that the magic power outside was definitely not suitable for them. Even the slightest bit of magic power carried by the sea breeze made them uncomfortable, let alone being completely exposed to such an environment.
"Are we going to have to stay in this place for the rest of our lives?" a woman said in despair.
"No, there must be another way," Alka said, shaking her head.
This statement caught the attention of everyone present.
"You are a race from the outside world, and a relatively powerful one at that. Although you've been in this place for so long, your bodies are beginning to adapt as your magic power gradually fades.
But I've heard that you've only been truly magic-free for a few thousand years. A few thousand years wouldn't be enough to completely change your body structure. You just need a period of adjustment."
And once they've adapted, you can use the treasure to awaken them.
After awakening, they become Touchers, naturally able to survive in the outside world. Descendants born during this time have been raised outside since childhood and will naturally adapt to the outside environment.
It's just that this generation will need time to adapt.
"Really?"
"Why not just give it a try? What could be worse? And you Vastwa people are supposed to be good at coming up with solutions, aren't you?"
The Great Elder nodded.
Then he looked at Alka and the others and said, "I'm very grateful for your help. We must repay you for your help.
As I said before, the Vastva people will become your closest friends.
We can share our knowledge, our remaining strength, and our history with you."
Hearing this, Alka smiled, stood up, and said, "Then it's a pleasure to work with you. Believe me,
We will do our best to help you."
He extended his hand.
Obviously, the Vastva people didn't have such etiquette, but the elder still extended his hand and shook it.
"Now we are friends."
…
Alka soon returned outside.
Sofia and the other three remained inside and began to communicate with the Vastva people.
Sofia needed to count their numbers and the supplies they needed. As for Lucilia and Simon, their first priority was to communicate with some of the scholars among them and begin to review various documents.
Ten thousand years of research had made them reluctant to even speak out, not even to move a foot.
"Finally out? What's the situation inside? What took so long?" "Jason asked, standing on the deck, watching Alka emerge.
After Alka had seized the treasure, he dragged the space fragment over and selected a few people from the team to follow him inside.
But now, only Jason and Pororo were on deck; the others had already gone about their business.
"A surprise, a huge surprise! This might be the greatest reward of our lives," Alka said, looking at Jason and smiling.
These words made Urulius raise his head.
"Did you discover some great treasure?"
"That's right." After all, all the Vastva wealth sealed within the space has been left behind.
That's a massive amount of wealth.
Of course, it doesn't belong to them, but they're keeping some of it for the time being. After all, they need it to buy the supplies they need.
As Alka emerged, Julia, Juanlu, and the others, who were busy in the kitchen, gathered around.
"Inside the space is the Vastva city-state. The remaining portion of the map we saw earlier is all left there.
Including the surviving Vastva people."
Alka recounted their experiences inside.