Upon hearing Asimi's words, Lucian nodded.
There really was an Eternal City nearby.
It was Nokstella, the counterpart to Nokron, Eternal City.
Naturally, Lucian had no reason to refuse Asimi's request.
"Alright. We'll look for it later."
"It'd be great if we can find a Tear Chalice."
"With the power of another chalice, your strength should improve even further."
Asimi responded excitedly.
"Yes! My lord, the Tear Chalices are extremely important to me."
"I have a feeling that with just one more chalice, my mimicry will finally become perfect."
"When that happens, I'll be able to help you much more."
Lucian rubbed his chin.
Only one more?
That was fewer than he'd expected. He had originally estimated that Asimi would need at least three in total.
Still, however many were required didn't really matter. He already knew the locations of every Eternal City in the Lands Between, along with the methods needed to reach them.
As long as Asimi didn't need four or five chalices, it wouldn't be a problem.
After all, Lucian only knew of three Eternal Cities to begin with.
He was already looking forward to the day when Asimi could mimic him perfectly and unleash his full strength.
Together, who in the world could stand against us?
Lucian was already tremendously powerful on his own.
Once Asimi could perfectly replicate him, every enemy would be forced to face a two-man onslaught.
At this point, Lucian could count the opponents he considered truly difficult on one hand.
Maliketh.
Radagon.
Godfrey.
Dragonlord Placidusax.
The Elden Beast.
Even those foes weren't necessarily unbeatable if they had to endure coordinated attacks from both him and Asimi.
And if that still wasn't enough...
Then he could always drag Melina and Ranni into the fight.
And if that still wasn't enough...
Well.
Then the 'Cheat Engine' would show no mercy.
No matter what, he intended to gather the Tear Chalices for Asimi.
Asimi's growth was equivalent to increasing his own combat power.
Since they were already here, they might as well take a trip through the Eternal City.
Besides, it was on the mandatory route toward the Baleful Shadow and the Lake of Rot.
Nokstella also contained plenty of valuable treasures, nothing like some backwater place such as the Tower Settlement.
Moreover, Lucian still possessed a weapon that had been gathering dust for a long time.
The Shadow of the Stars Katana he had obtained from Sellia.
Its material resembled that of the Fingerslayer Blade, suggesting a common origin.
That fact alone was enough to make its potential intriguing.
Unfortunately, the power sleeping within the katana had been sealed away. He couldn't even activate its weapon art.
Without its special abilities, it was merely an exceptionally high-quality mundane weapon.
Since it had been forged within an Eternal City, perhaps Nokstella contained some method of breaking the seal.
He hadn't found any clues in Nokron, so now his hopes rested on Nokstella.
Looking at the seemingly endless road ahead, Lucian shook his head.
The underground waterways of the Ainsel River were truly enormous.
Unlike in the game, where a few minutes of walking could take you from one end to the other, reality was entirely different.
He had been flying while exploring, yet he still hadn't seen any sign of the end.
So he continued following the main course of the Ainsel River.
Some time later, the scenery ahead finally changed.
The passage suddenly opened into a vast cavern filled with the ruins of ancient structures.
Massive braziers still burned fiercely.
Their flames provided just enough illumination to reveal the surroundings.
Several strange humanoid creatures wandered among the ruins like lingering ghosts of a fallen dynasty.
Their bodies were black and rigid. They moved slowly, towering in stature despite their hunched postures.
Their skin resembled dried mud, while damp blue bubbles swelled across their backs, as though they were manifestations of the swamp itself.
The glowing ice-blue harpoons in their hands served as a warning that, even after the kingdom's collapse, they were not to be trifled with.
Lucian recognized them immediately.
The Claymen, the last remnants of the lost dynasty that once occupied these ruins.
Yet compared to those Claymen, another monster drew far more attention.
At the far end of the ruins stood a broken stone archway flanked by two towering sage statues.
Like similar statues throughout the Lands Between, the sages were depicted as unknown elderly men clutching stone tablets.
Between those two statues hung a creature upside down, leisurely stretching its elongated body.
A malformed Astel.
The moment Lucian noticed it, it noticed him as well.
Upon spotting a living being, Astel's massive mandibles slammed together with a deafening crash.
The next instant, countless stones rose into the air under the influence of gravity magic and hurtled toward Lucian.
Purple gravitational energy materialized before him, forming a barrier.
The stones entered the field of gravity and immediately fell under Lucian's control instead.
Just as he was about to send them flying back.
Asimi suddenly emerged from his body.
"My lord, leave this one to me!"
Lucian lowered the hand he had raised and nodded, entrusting the malformed Astel to her.
The stones lost their momentum and rained harmlessly to the ground.
The Tear Chalice was practically within reach now, and Asimi seemed more excited than usual.
Seeing its attack fail, Astel reached toward the earth with a claw.
Two enormous boulders condensed into existence and came crashing toward Lucian and Asimi.
Having fully formed a body, Asimi immediately charged toward the upside-down Astel.
This time, the weapon in her hands was the Star-Lined Sword once wielded by the Demi-Human Swordmaster.
Facing the incoming boulders head-on, she lowered the curved blade to her waist and accelerated even further.
Cold magical light flowed through the sword's glintstone veins.
A single point of starlight raced along the blade toward its tip.
The instant it arrived—
Asimi swung.
Frigid frost exploded outward, filling the ancient ruins.
Chaotic rings of icy sword energy erupted around her, forming an impenetrable storm.
The massive boulders Astel had summoned were shredded into fragments before they could reach her.
By the time the freezing sword aura dissipated, Asimi had already vanished from Astel's sight.
Only shattered rocks and frozen river water remained in her wake.
Astel twisted its body, attempting to locate her.
But its incomplete form was sluggish.
Even such a simple movement felt painfully slow.
By the time Astel located Asimi again, she was already right in front of it.
Drawing upon the power of the Star-Lined Sword, Asimi slipped into the starlight itself and instantly closed the distance to the upside-down Astel.
Tiny points of radiance lit up along the blade in her hand, clustered together like a field of stars. Deep-blue magic flowed across the sword as a brilliant arc of starlight extended from its edge, sweeping toward Astel in rapid succession.
Recalling the battle she had witnessed between Lucian and the Demi-Human Swordmaster in the gaol, Asimi reproduced Onze's signature technique.
The glowing blade traced elegant paths through the air. Astel's massive body staggered beneath the relentless assault, pieces of its form breaking apart under the barrage. Asimi spun gracefully in midair, bringing down one final strike that split through the creature's skull-like head.
Watching Asimi effortlessly recreate the Swordmaster's techniques, and even wield the power of the Line of Stars themselves, Lucian nodded in surprise.
Asimi was no longer merely copying strength.
She was learning.
Thanks to the unique nature of the Mimic Tear, her rate of growth was astonishing.
Little by little, Asimi was becoming more like a real person.
At the beginning, she had possessed only an imitated appearance and the common knowledge implanted into her by the Nox civilization. Deep down, she had not truly understood any of it.
Now, after constant interaction with humans, she was gradually becoming human herself.
In a sense, the Nox Dynasty's Mimic Tear project had ultimately succeeded.
Asimi's existence was proof enough.
Given a sufficiently powerful host to imitate, she could display remarkable combat ability. Even ordinary Mimic Tears possessed considerable potential.
Unfortunately, by the time such achievements had been realized, the Eternal Cities had already taken actions that drew down divine punishment.
Whatever had happened in those forgotten days, the Nox had somehow offended the Greater Will.
Their military strength collapsed almost overnight. A civilization that had once flourished so brilliantly eventually found itself without anyone capable of standing against the Astels.
Without worthy subjects to imitate, the Mimic Tears lost much of their purpose.
The Mimic Tears and the Dragonkin Soldiers alike never received the opportunity to fully demonstrate their capabilities. Instead, they were buried beneath the earth alongside the downfall of the Eternal Cities.
Otherwise, even if victory had been impossible, the Eternal Cities would not have fallen so easily.
After stretching her newly formed body, Asimi dissolved once more into a swirl of silver mist and returned to Lucian's body.
Along the way, she brought back a trophy she had recovered from the upside-down Astel.
Somber Smithing Stone [7].
Lucian no longer lacked smithing stones, but high-quality materials were always welcome.
With Astel dealt with, his attention shifted to the ancient ruins surrounding him.
This civilization likely belonged to the Uhl Dynasty, sharing roots with the Uld civilization found on the surface.
Unlike its surface counterpart, which had become little more than ruins, traces of life still lingered here.
The Claymen wandering through the remains served as the final living reminders of the ancient kingdom.
Meanwhile, enormous braziers continued to burn throughout the ruins.
Whether the Claymen still maintained them or some forgotten technology kept them lit, Lucian couldn't tell.
Several Claymen slowly shuffled toward him.
Their movements were so sluggish that he couldn't determine whether they were approaching him deliberately or simply wandering aimlessly.
In the end, he walked right past them.
There was little they could do about it.
Ignoring the Claymen, Lucian began searching the ruins.
Before long, he gathered a respectable collection of Grave Gloveworts.
The quantity and quality were both excellent. Roderika would be pleased.
He also discovered the ashes of two Clayman Sorcerers.
Unlike ordinary Claymen armed with harpoons, these variants could use Oracle Bubble sorceries.
Lucian wasn't entirely sure what use they would be, but he took them anyway.
Once he had thoroughly searched the area, he headed toward the place where the upside-down Astel had been lurking.
Between the two enormous sage statues stood a colossal stone archway.
Beyond it lay the path to Nokstella, the Eternal City.
However, there was still one obstacle between here and Nokstella.
Lucian sighed.
So it had finally come to this.
If he had a choice, he would rather avoid this route altogether.
Because ahead lay a massive ant nest.
Filled with giant ants.
Lucian didn't particularly hate giant ants.
As long as they weren't giant cockroaches.
If they were giant cockroaches, he would turn around immediately.
Or burn the entire place down first and investigate the ashes afterward.
Still, giant ants in large numbers were hardly pleasant either.
Summoning a sphere of starlight above his head, he illuminated the path ahead and made his way into the descending tunnel.
Only a few steps inside, a dense rustling echoed through the cavern.
A swarm of enormous red-and-white ants appeared ahead, dozens of them packed tightly across the walls, floor, and ceiling.
Even Lucian felt a slight chill at the sight.
Without hesitation, he released a wave of fire.
A roaring vortex of flames surged down the tunnel.
The ants scattered in panic as the inferno swept through the nest.
More and more emerged from deeper within, only to meet the same fate.
The cavern trembled with countless footsteps.
Just listening to the noise was enough to suggest the sheer size of the colony.
Lucian maintained the torrent of fire, steadily advancing.
Only after a long while did the rustling finally cease.
He remained cautious for several minutes more before concluding that no further ants intended to challenge him.
Looking at the layers of ash the underground stream struggled to carry away, he let out a relieved breath.
That should make the population more manageable.
Entering the nest, he found chambers filled with old bones and abandoned remains.
The surviving ants had apparently evacuated, relocating elsewhere rather than continuing to defend the colony.
As Lucian examined the remains scattered throughout the tunnels, something caught his eye.
Among the bones were multiple figures clad in Cuckoo equipment.
He paused.
"Cuckoo soldiers?"
He crouched for a closer look.
"Hm... and these remains are fairly recent."