Ronin was the type to act as soon as he made up his mind. So after the matter in Greed Island was settled, he didn't bother watching over Kurapika and the others' training. He used a Pass, selected a harbor located in the Kingdom of Aite, and left the game directly.
This was probably one of Greed Island's extremely convenient settings.
The only issue was that if he wanted to enter the game again, he would have to return to Battera's castle.
Before leaving, Ronin handed all the cards he had to Kurapika. There honestly weren't many, but according to the game's rules, if he stayed outside the game for more than ten days, the records of those cards would disappear.
The only thing Ronin brought with him was Owl, whom he had smuggled into the game from the very beginning using the Fun Fun Cloth.
He hadn't dared let Owl appear inside the game, mainly because there was no need to test it.
After all, the manga had already shown through the Phantom Troupe's experiment that smugglers would be discovered and expelled.
If Ronin brought Owl out and got discovered, then if both of them were expelled, that would merely waste some of his time. But if only Owl was expelled, that would be a terrible loss.
After all, over the past month or so, Ronin had long since grown used to using Owl as his personal storage equipment.
The Kingdom of Aite was a small country.
However, it wasn't far from Kakin. As soon as Ronin came out of the harbor, he contacted Muherr.
He had arrived about a week earlier than their agreed time in November.
Muherr was pleasantly surprised by his arrival and told him to wait where he was. A mercenary would soon arrive at his location to pick him up.
After agreeing, Ronin found a café and sat down.
Everything he knew about the Kingdom of Aite had been gathered online. Since his understanding was only partial, following Muherr's arrangements was naturally the best choice.
The advantage of a small country also showed itself here. The Mahavi ruins were over a hundred kilometers away from the harbor where Ronin was, but by car, it would only take a few hours to get there.
Ronin enjoyed some desserts at the café and read the newspaper for a while before his contact arrived.
Since they had already contacted each other beforehand, the two didn't exchange much small talk after meeting and got straight into the car.
The man who came was someone Ronin had seen in the manga before. He had a bowl-cut hairstyle and a very sturdy build.
He looked like an honest, simple man, but just from the state of the Ten he released, it was clear that his strength was not ordinary.
"My name is Mascher. We should have met once at Heaven's Arena," Mascher, who was driving, introduced himself first.
"Ronin," Ronin said as well, even though the other man likely already knew. "It was when you helped stop the Troupe from surrounding me at Heaven's Arena, right?"
Back then, Adley had indeed brought Mascher along too, and Mascher's asking price had been extremely high.
"That's right. I saw you showing off your strength in the ring back then," Mascher praised sincerely.
The great fire in that arena match had genuinely amazed him.
Ronin smiled. "Thanks for last time."
"I didn't really help much." Mascher waved his hands repeatedly. "But this time, we should be acting together, so I guess we're temporary teammates."
"I'll be in your care," Ronin said politely.
"Haha, same here." Mascher was the straightforward and open type. He didn't hide much when he spoke and was very direct.
The two of them actually got along quite well on the way.
Mascher talked a lot about the Mahavi ruins. At present, the main excavation work was being carried out by soldiers from the Kingdom of Aite.
Only when monsters appeared in the ruins would the mercenary group enter with weapons.
However, the ruins were huge. If they continued exploring deeper, the soldiers probably wouldn't be of much use. At that point, the mercenary group would have to handle the excavation and deeper exploration themselves.
This time, Muherr had not only invited Ronin, but also hired quite a few professional Hunters.
After all, the terms offered by the Kingdom of Aite were fairly attractive to both mercenaries and Hunters. As long as they could bring something out of the ruins, those items should fetch excellent prices at auction.
"You should know, based on the information we've uncovered so far, the Mahavi ruins are definitely over two thousand years old," Mascher said, excitement in his eyes.
The more ancient something was, the higher its price would naturally be.
If they could excavate items from the prehistoric era, or even interpret useful information from them, the reward could be astronomical.
As Mascher explained, Ronin also began to feel more anticipation toward the Mahavi ruins.
Had the Kurta Clan appeared around these ruins two thousand years ago?
After the car left the city, entered the suburbs, and then drove into a dense forest, the ride began to grow bumpy. Still, tire tracks could be seen on the ground.
"These were made by the royal army of the Kingdom of Aite," Mascher explained. "They make it easier for the exploration team to excavate and investigate the ruins. They also allow heavier weapons to be brought near the ruins, to ensure that the monsters inside don't have a chance to leave and invade nearby cities."
As they continued driving, armed soldiers began appearing along the way.
Mascher took out work IDs: one was his own, and the other had already been prepared for Ronin.
With those documents, the two of them passed through without obstruction.
Across both of Ronin's lives, this was his first time exploring a place like a ruin, so from the moment the car entered the forest, his curiosity had been stirred.
The car stopped when they were still two kilometers away from the entrance to the ruins. They would have to walk the rest of the way.
But from the moment Ronin got out of the car, he could see many traces of battle in the surrounding area.
"The monsters inside the ruins once rushed out," Mascher explained to Ronin. "Although they were eventually beaten back, the Kingdom of Aite suffered heavy losses. That's one of the reasons they opened the ruins exploration to Hunters and mercenaries."
He continued, "Kakin has also received news about the ruins and sent negotiations to the Kingdom of Aite. But they were too greedy. What they wanted probably wasn't just the ruins.
"In the end, V5 got involved, which made Kakin give up on the idea of invading Aite. But I estimate Kakin will make a new move before long. Nasubi Hui Guo Rou is an ambitious man."
Ronin nodded, agreeing with Mascher's view.
He just hadn't expected Mascher to bring up Kakin with him.
With Beyond's arrangements in Kakin, how could members of Beyond's team like Mascher possibly be unaware of what Kakin was doing?
So did Mascher saying this carry a bit of probing intent?
Ronin didn't dig deeper into the topic, because the two of them had already arrived outside the ruins.
And there, Ronin saw Muherr again.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!