Lan Qingyou's head throbbed just thinking about these questions.
If Albert could be considered the last human of that era, or rather, the last intelligent being, then it was clear that the mana tide didn't exist before them.
In other words, the mana tide likely wasn't a natural phenomenon that erupted every month like it does now.
If it wasn't natural, then what was it?
An artificial celestial weapon?
Or perhaps a massive, permanent spell created after a clash between god-like mages?
This wasn't just alarmist speculation.
The mana in this world was far too abundant—so much so that even an outlander like Lan Qingyou found it hard to believe.
Under such conditions, she wouldn't be surprised by anything the original inhabitants, who could use high-level magic, might have done.
“So, where should I start looking?”
Lan Qingyou, having no idea which way the potential refugees might have gone, fiddled with the cards in her hand.
Although the cards contained the map that The Fool had measured out step by step...
...many places were still blank zones where The Fool had never set foot.
For instance, the Abandoned Mountains were marked on the map.
But when it came to specifics like the chasms and riverbeds within the mountains, it wasn't that detailed.
The Fool was just one person, after all. Mapping out the general extent of the Abandoned Mountains was already a feat; Lan Qingyou had no right to complain.
She knew this, so even while she scrolled through the cards, she didn't start a conversation in the group.
Looking closely, she was currently positioned north of Gu Xiaobei, in the mountains to the northwest of the Abandoned Land.
If I were the one fleeing, where would I go after being teleported from the Abandoned City?
Heading south was out of the question; they were being forced to flee, so something terrifying must have been there.
The only choice was to push forward into the unknown, to places where that terror couldn't reach.
Mountains... there must be peaks.
Since they were hiding from pursuers, they wouldn't go down the mountain; they'd only go up.
However, surviving in such a harsh natural environment would likely require many conditions.
If it were me, I'd definitely prefer to find a hollow—just like this one. On the leeward side, with fewer natural disasters and a much better living environment.
Wait...
Thinking of this, Lan Qingyou suddenly realized a possibility.
When she first arrived, she seemed to recall seeing someone on the world or regional channel say their shelter was on a snow-covered mountain.
Could those fleeing people be in a place like that too?
With magic available, hollowing out a mountain to serve as a shelter wasn't impossible.
In that case, would I just need to keep scanning with my card?
The device did have a terrain scanning function, after all.
I also need to keep an eye out for things like shelters.
Since people on the channel had spawn points in the snow mountains, it meant shelters could appear there.
The origin of these shelters was very suspicious anyway.
Over twenty billion initial shelters sounded like a lot, but they didn't seem crowded when spread out.
A single region could range from ten thousand to several hundred thousand square kilometers. A few tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand people was nothing.
The Abandoned Land was a prime example.
While some were clustered together, there were naturally cases where not a soul could be seen for miles.
Perhaps some people didn't have a concept of ten thousand square kilometers.
To put it simply, the total area of the dozen or so districts in the capital of her previous world was only about 16,000 square kilometers.
So the question was: who built these shelters, and for what purpose?
It couldn't have been the world consciousness personally DIY-ing them to welcome them, could it?
Thinking about it, that seemed impossible. The world consciousness was a mysterious, abstract thing that had only been heard and never seen since they crossed over.
Right, I'll try searching these places first.
There are still about a dozen days before the next mana tide. That's enough time to search the surrounding area.
It doesn't matter if I don't find anything. I'll go back to hide from the mana tide and continue searching after it ends.
The Abandoned Mountains are big enough anyway. While I search slowly, I can take Spoon to find some treasures. It'll be a nice side activity.
Mm!
Right! How could I forget Spoon!
With that thought, Lan Qingyou's eyes lit up as she looked at Spoon, who was currently competing in speed and wits with Steel Wool.
With this little guy around, finding other things might be hard, but finding treasures? That would be a piece of cake.
After all, if those fleeing people really existed, they must have had plenty of treasures with them.
They hadn't even taken the alchemy tools like the crucibles that made her drool, so they must have taken even higher-end items.
“Spoon!”
Lan Qingyou wore a beaming smile as she looked at the little white mouse cornered in the tent.
Hearing her call, the little white mouse gave a start, then scurried over and jumped into her arms, nuzzling and clinging to her.
It squeaked twice as it went.
It was as if it were complaining to Lan Qingyou about Steel Wool's jerk behavior.
We're all family now; there's really no need to treat me like a toy all day long.
Indeed.
After a day or two of interaction, the little white mouse had completely resigned itself to its fate.
Although it had become the pet of this terrifying upright ape, at least it didn't have to worry about food. It wasn't like with that fat guy before, where it had to work twenty-four hours a day without even being fed.
Though, it would be even better if that annoying Aurora Snow Owl wasn't around.
“I'll take you out for a stroll once the snow stops to see if we can find anything good.”
Cradling the little mouse in her palm, Lan Qingyou used her other hand to pull out a comb and smooth its fur.
Oh boy!
In the month or so since it was born, when had the little mouse ever experienced such a thing?
Brushing! It felt so good!
And so, the little mouse was lost in bliss. It squeaked its agreement without even clearly hearing what Lan Qingyou had just said.
Thud!
Just as the little mouse was enjoying the top-notch service, it was suddenly kicked away by a foot.
Then it saw that stupid big bird standing on Lan Qingyou's arm.
You idiot! You're so heavy, how can you stand on Big Sister's arm? You should stand on her lap.
Look at how Big Sister's arm is bending under your weight!
Sigh...
As expected, only I truly care about Big Sister.
Rate on N.U.
