Chapter 174: Ruins
Although Zhou Ning had only just begun learning meteorology, he'd already heard more than once about the three cardinal rules of meteorologists:
1. Understand nature, and respect nature.
2. Never face a fully-formed snowstorm or hurricane head-on!
3. Always prepare for the worst when confronting extreme weather.
Summed up in one line: never try to act tough in the face of a natural disaster.
About forty minutes later, the sky suddenly changed. The dim heavens filled with thick, goose-feather snow abruptly shifted to a dark yellow hue, with a clearly visible boundary between the sky and the clouds.
A vast swath of dark yellow cloud cover swept across the area. A sudden violent windstorm, accompanied by torrential rain and lightning, sent the swirling snowflakes scattering in all directions.
Amid the howling roar, a massive tornado appeared on the far side of their field of vision.
It was the largest tornado Zhou Ning had ever seen. Even the most colossal of creatures seemed insignificant before it. Amid the lightning and the swirling snow and rain, it spiraled through the air.
Wherever this terrifying tornado passed, snow was dislodged as if by an avalanche, and everything on the ground was swept into the sky. Zhou Ning even saw a hulking frost giant get sucked into the vortex, only to be shredded into icy fragments in an instant.
"Get down!" Edwin shouted urgently.
Bang bang bang!
Almost instantly, the tent frames began shaking violently, nearly getting ripped from the ground and flung skyward. All the snow on the ground was swept up and pelted down like a hailstorm. Even those huddled in the wind-shadowed part of the camp felt as if the world were about to end.
"Holy crap!" exclaimed Qingbai Wild Sake, who had nearly been blown away. "This really isn't a place for beginners, is it?"
Since entering the Meteorological Tide, Qingbai Wild Sake had felt as though he'd stepped into a fantasy film—everything was so astonishing that all he could do was silently film video footage.
Luckily, the tornado didn't last long. Less than ten minutes later, it dissipated on the spot, and once again, thick snow began falling.
"We're good now," Edwin said as he got up from the ground, brushing off the snow. "It'll be nightfall in about half an hour. We can rest here for a bit and eat something to regain our strength. But no wandering off alone, and don't leave the camp perimeter."
Zhou Ning felt a strong sense of having survived a disaster. No matter how powerful one might be, facing a catastrophe like that head-on was surely beyond anyone's capabilities.
No wonder nearly all powerful adventuring teams had a meteorologist as their leader.
Because of the harsh environment, dinner consisted of nothing more than cold peanut butter and some bagels—but surprisingly, they tasted pretty good.
In the meantime, Edwin issued some patrol assignments around the area. These were released in the form of daily tasks. To test a theory he had, Zhou Ning accepted the task and reassigned it to Qingbai Wild Sake, who happily went off to complete it.
A few minutes later, as Qingbai Wild Sake returned from patrol, Zhou Ning received the task prompt:
[Daily Task: Patrol – Completed]
[You gained 17,000 EXP!]
[Your reputation with Vick University increased by 300.]
As expected! Zhou Ning grinned. It was clear now—cultivating a few capable "tools" was going to be very advantageous.
After about twenty minutes of rest, Edwin stood up. "Let's move out."
Zhou Ning finished the last of his food, clapped his hands clean, and stood. He noticed that by now, most of the students were clearly losing their nerve—a stark contrast to the eager enthusiasm they'd shown when first entering the Meteorological Tide.
Soon, darkness began to fall. In the Meteorological Tide, the sky was perpetually misty, making it difficult to see the moonlight. Anticipating this, Edwin had people light gas-powered lanterns, illuminating a snow-covered natural trail ahead.
Perhaps due to the recent tornado, they didn't encounter any massive monsters like the Frost Lord for quite a while. However, all sorts of unusual elemental creatures appeared along the way.
Most of them were ice-elemental, likely due to the extreme snowbound climate, and posed no real threat to the expedition team.
As they walked, the thick snow overhead thinned, and under the lantern's glow, they saw a mist-shrouded, desolate half-collapsed ruin ahead. The ground was overgrown with weeds, and here and there lay broken stone slabs.
What made people's skin crawl were the desiccated corpses in black uniforms belonging to the Kingdom of Bryston, scattered across the ground. They were likely left behind by Count Robbins of "Wisdom" and his survey team.
"Be careful. I sense necrotic energy nearby... and it feels strangely familiar," said Molly's voice in Zhou Ning's mind, tinged with concern.
Zhou Ning nodded, his alertness now fully heightened.
Because of the dense fog and pitch darkness, even Zhou Ning's exceptional eyesight could only make out the nearby black stone pillars, each bearing the ornate designs characteristic of the Four Heroes era.
After inspecting the bodies, Edwin tapped four times over his chest, drawing the diamond-shaped sacred emblem of the Temple of Earth and offering a prayer for the dead:
"These are definitely from Count Robbins' expedition team. According to his notes, they were attacked by monsters in these ruins. Some of the members died here permanently."
Zhou Ning looked at the ground. Blade and axe marks could still be seen, along with traces of dark red blood—clear signs of a fierce battle.
A history professor walked over to one of the stone tablets, knelt down, and examined it with a magnifying glass for a while before speaking:
"No doubt about it—this ruin matches the one Count Robbins described. The inscriptions on this tablet include historical records from the Four Heroes period… but much of the writing is too damaged. It'll have to be taken back and studied via rubbings."
The professor didn't elaborate on what the text said but continued, "What's odd is… judging by the wear patterns, this tablet was probably erected less than 200 years ago. Could the Meteorological Tide have a different flow of time compared to the outside world?"
"Maybe. No one really understands what goes on inside the Meteorological Tide," Edwin replied with a chuckle.
Zhou Ning frowned slightly. He had keenly noticed that the dried corpses on the ground seemed to twitch just a little.
Suddenly, a scream rang out beside him. A skeletal hand shot out from the ground, clutching at someone's ankle.
Snap!
Zhou Ning, standing right next to it, reacted immediately. Narrowing his eyes, he gathered ripple energy and kicked out with force. With a crisp crack, the skeletal wrist snapped, and the hand was sent flying.
"Th-thanks!" the terrified student stammered, clearly shaken.
Zhou Ning waved it off. Then he noticed that more ragged corpses nearby were beginning to sit up.
Seeing this, Edwin halted in his tracks. From a pocket in his black priest's robe, he pulled out a silver-white necklace. Gripping it, he muttered an incantation in the ancient Falric tongue:
"Holy Light."
The necklace was instantly engulfed in radiant light, and silver beams materialized in midair.
They rained down from above, enveloping the undead below.
With bone-chilling screams, the dry corpses dissolved like snow under the sun, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Once it was all over, Edwin put away the necklace and said calmly, as if nothing had happened, "Continue making rubbings of the tablet. Once that's done, we'll move on."
"That necklace must be some kind of unidentified relic… I guess the university's got more depth than I thought," Zhou Ning mused silently.