Chapter 2: The Ruins City of Sog

Jingle, jingle...

The school bell rang.

Gunie flashed past the window.

It was dusk.

The sky was gray, and the air was filled with the slightly pungent smell of burnt "magic-source coal."

This smell would only improve slightly after a heavy downpour.

"Another ordinary day as usual." Gunie stood up and stretched.

Classmates rose and left one after another, chatting and laughing.

Most students who could attend Sog Academy of Transcendence came from relatively well-off families.

Those enrolled in the "Spellcasting Department" were even considered the wealthy class.

After all, every aspect of being a "spellcaster" was extremely expensive.

Subjects like potions, alchemy, magic arrays, incantations, machinery, runes, elements... each required vast sums of money as a foundation.

Casually, Gunie touched the inside of his black jacket sleeve.

What he felt was the touch of metal.

Beneath the seemingly ordinary black jacket lay a layer of highly defensive "Black Iron Chainmail."

This "Black Iron Chainmail" was a relatively rare "Black Iron-level" transcendent equipment, of considerable value.

Black Iron metal was the entry-level "transcendent metal" in the transcendent metal system.

Compared to ordinary natural metal—iron.

The transcendent metal "Black Iron" possessed nearly perfect properties.

"Black Iron metal" had a density about 0.62 times that of pure iron, a strength between 5 and 6 times that of steel, and excellent ductility and toughness.

This was key to its becoming a "transcendent metal."

When smelting steel, adding a small amount of the transcendent metal "Black Iron" could turn the steel into "Black Iron alloy" with extraordinary toughness and strength.

This was precisely why, in the age of steam punk, so many large steel structures could be continuously forged.

At this moment, the "Black Iron Chainmail" on Gunie's body

was a genuine "Black Iron-level" transcendent armor forged by alchemical smiths from the transcendent metal "Black Iron metal," possessing true transcendent properties.

Ordinary weapons could hardly leave a mark on this Black Iron Chainmail.

For a normal "spellcaster," what they would wear was often a transcendent robe or cloak.

No one would be foolish enough to wear heavy metal armor.

But for Gunie,

as a spellcaster, if you openly wore a transcendent robe or cloak, how much did you want the enemy to know you were a glass cannon?

As a staunch advocate of the "stability first, tank build" philosophy,

Gunie not only embraced the tank build mindset but also led by example.

Tank build!

It wasn't just talk; it was practical execution.

Beneath his ordinary black jacket, Gunie wore a layer of Black Iron Chainmail with astonishing defensive capabilities.

This chainmail had provided him great help in the few battles he had experienced.

Just as Gunie finished organizing his books and notes and was about to leave the classroom, a rather agile figure blocked his path at his seat aisle.

What came into view was a girl with golden hair and blue eyes, wearing a deep blue robe, with a graceful figure and striking looks.

Her robe was densely covered with transcendent runes, with faint blue light shimmering, and her figure was budding.

This was clearly not an ordinary garment but a genuine "transcendent robe" with transcendent properties, serving as transcendent armor with strong defensive capabilities.

Of course, compared to the Black Iron Chainmail, the defensive capability of this transcendent robe was a level lower.

His gaze swept over her fair-skinned, beautiful face, and Gunie remained calm inside.

This girl named "Yulaire Kogin" was a true "whale."

Gunie had once guessed that her family owned a mine.

Later, through some channels, he learned that this spellcasting student named "Yulaire Kogin" indeed had mines at home—more than one—and she also held noble status.

In the Ruins City of Sog, there were many wealthy people, but not many with noble status.

"What's up?" Gunie looked around and lowered his voice.

By this time, most of the students in the classroom had already left, and no one paid any attention to Gunie.

"There's a gathering tonight, the usual place." Yulai·Kojin's voice was exceptionally clear as she spoke, not loud, but filled with the elegance and composure unique to nobility.

"Understood." Gunie nodded slightly.

After glancing at Gunie twice, Yulai·Kojin turned and left.

Unlike others, Yulai·Kojin knew that this student named Gunie·Lawrence, whose behavior was markedly different from ordinary people, was truly a 'tank mage.'

She had personally witnessed his practice of equipping a spellcaster with tank gear.

Had you ever seen an 'apprentice spellcaster' who could be sent flying over ten meters by a mutated elite goblin's hammer blow, only to stand up as if nothing had happened and cast spells rapidly?

Yulai·Kojin had, and the one before her was this guy named Gunie·Lawrence.

After leaving the classroom, Gunie pondered for a moment, then rubbed his temples.

"This time, I wonder what those guys have found? Some deceased's tomb? A mysterious natural cave? Or a contaminated underground ruin?"

"I'll go take a look; maybe my AFK system's 'Adventure' feature will uncover something new."

"After all, in the few small adventures before, I've gained quite a few good things thanks to the system's Adventure feature."

The gathering Yulai·Kojin had told Gunie about.

It was an adventure group formed by several wealthy noble offspring from the Sugg Academy of the Extraordinary, who loved mysticism, revered power, and were fond of adventure. They held gatherings when needed and sometimes even went on expeditions.

After all, Sugg Ruins City was located in the Extraordinary Wasteland, on the border of the mountain ranges, with many places to explore.

Logically, Gunie, whose family was not wealthy, should not have been part of this group.

The reason Gunie was able to join was that three months ago, during an exploration of an ancient mountain ruin, he rescued the five people who had been trapped by 'cursed zombies.'

These young men and women saw that Gunie possessed extraordinary strength.

Naturally, they invited Gunie to join their group.

After several adventures, Gunie further demonstrated his exceptional skills and strength.

This made these wealthy offspring eagerly invite Gunie to join every adventure.

No one would refuse a powerful teammate and bodyguard.

…

Sugg Ruins City was one of the larger border ruins cities among many frontier ruins cities.

Its main duty was to guard the frontier for the 'Yulan Empire' and to expand the territory of the Extraordinary Wasteland.

With the arrival of the Extraordinary Steam Era.

Various human federations and empires were expanding into regions previously untouched by humans on a large scale, such as the 'Extraordinary Wasteland,' 'Extraordinary Mountains,' and 'Extraordinary Plateaus,' where many extraordinary beings lived.

During the expansion, most human outposts were established at wasteland tribes, outposts, and ruins that had been developed by ancient pioneers or other intelligent tribal races.

And this was precisely the origin of the term 'Ruins City.'

Not every ruins city could develop.

Compared to many ruins cities.

Sugg Ruins City was undoubtedly one of the most dazzling pearls in the northern territory of the 'Yulan Empire.'

The reason was that at the edge of the 'Otto Mountains' on the north side of Sugg Ruins City, there was a massive 'black iron' vein group.

With the construction of the Extraordinary Steam Railway.

The mountains on the north side of Sugg Ruins City were extensively mined.

During the mining process, it was discovered that at least four ancient tribes with a certain level of civilization and scale had once existed in this area.

Moreover, traces of the mysterious 'Goblin Ruins Civilization' were found.

Coupled with news that occasionally spread—an adventure team unearthing ancient civilization ruins and obtaining powerful 'extraordinary relics,'

a lucky individual discovering ancient treasures,

an adventurer chased off a cliff receiving a mysterious extraordinary inheritance,

and similar news spreading to every corner of the Yulan Empire.

A large number of gold diggers, adventure teams, mercenary groups, individual mercenaries, investors, and other dreamers flocked to this newly risen border ruins city in the Extraordinary Steampunk Era.

This led to Sugg Ruins City becoming the most dazzling city of dreams and gold in the northern border of the Yulan Empire.

…

In the 'Heitu District' on the north side of Sugg Ruins City, this was the area where many mercenaries and adventurers gathered.

Here, various materials, high-quality ores, potions, equipment, and so on were sold.

Of course, sometimes at some high-end mysterious exchange meetings or even auctions, there would be extraordinary materials, extraordinary equipment, extraordinary martial arts, extraordinary spells, and even extremely rare 'extraordinary relics.'

It must be known that extraordinary relics were the keys to the path of the extraordinary, called the key that is half angel and half demon, an existence that is both frightening and coveted.