Kechara is still very tense so I go slowly and keep my senses on high, anything could be hiding in here. From what I can tall the four gates each connected to the city center by a road, these roads split the city into four quarters. The explosion seems to have destroyed most of the north east and north west quarters.

From the size of the rubble piles there weren't any major buildings so my best guess is that this was the residential area. From what I can see of what is left all the buildings were well built and beautiful. Amongst the ruins are still areas of green that were most likely parks or something similar.

Everything I have seen so far points to a civilization with both advanced architecture and impressive magic. Once past the worst of the rubble I start checking each building we pass looking for clues. The closer we get to the center of the city the bigger and fancier the houses get.

Also the bigger the houses get the more things that have survived are inside. I figure out why when I touch the wall of a house and feel faint traces of mana. After checking a bit I am convinced that the bigger houses used to be enchanted.

Enchanting houses suggests a society that had very abundant magic resources. It also tells me this city is a lot older than the ancient empire, after all magic spells don't fade this much in just a thousand years. Which means my guess was probably right and this city was built by the same race that built the temples.

Of course I can't be completely sure since I haven't visited any of the temples yet, but I just feel that it is the correct answer. The closer we get to the main buildings in the city center the more nervous Kechara gets. So I slow down even further to completely search every building we pass.

When I find one of the houses where the kitchen is mostly intact I decide it is a good time to stop and camp since we have been exploring for hours. Since Kechara is acting so nervous, before I start cooking, I barricade all the doors into the house.

Once everything is secured I set Bones to keep watch and then I cook dinner for Kechara and myself. It isn't fancy since I only have meat and fruit, but some of the spices are still good so I manage to add a bit of flavor to the meat. The fruit is nice since we have been eating nothing but meat lately, Kechara especially seems to enjoy it.

Once she is done eating I lay my hammock on the floor in the corner and lay down with her. I curl myself around her and start petting her, since she is so tense it takes a while for her to relax. When she finally falls asleep I burn through my sacred power before going to sleep with my arm around her.

Core Upgrade Progress: 58%

In the morning after breakfast we head out to resume exploring, I don't use up my sacred power just in case I need it. While it may slow down my core progress I would rather lose some time than have something worse happen because I didn't have any power when I needed it. Looking around I realize there are only a few more houses left before we reach the buildings around the city center.

They are of course the biggest of the houses with extensive grounds around them and they are walled off from the streets. There are signs of defensive enchantments but luckily they have faded enough to no longer function. In these houses I have seen all sorts of gold decorations and jewels, but money doesn't really interest me.

However, I am kind of hoping to find some useful enchanted jewelry somewhere for the girls. So even if I wasn't curious I would still be searching these big houses since they most likely belonged to the nobles of the city. In the second to last house I do find an enchanted dinner set, complete with plates and glasses.

The odd thing is all of them are enchanted to neutralize poison and enhance the taste of whatever is eaten. With human nobles I wouldn't be surprised but I was hoping this race's nobles were better than that. But if they went so far as to enchant everything against poison there must have been a reason for them to do so.

Shrugging I put it all in my pouch, it will be somewhat useful and I can always get rid of it later if I need the room. While I find a lot of other valuable stuff in the house that is the only thing I can consider somewhat useful. It is possible there are other things hidden away but I don't really have the time to tear apart the walls looking for secret compartments.

While I don't exactly have a time limit it has gotten to the point that the more I put off dealing with the temple the guiltier I feel. Maybe after I take care of the temple and library I will come back to do a more thorough exploration. For now I just want to see if there is a library or armory I can loot, which is why I want to search the city center.

Moving on to the last and biggest house I have to go up over the wall since there are statues at the gate that still have a lot of mana in them. I don't want to take a chance of getting hit with more laser beams if I can help it. The wall was enchanted as well but it has mostly faded and as I go over it with Kechara on my back I feel a very mild shock.

It doesn't really do anything since it is lightning based, but better for it to try and zap me than Bones who is following me. Once over the wall I find myself on the edge of a jungle, or at least that is my first impression. In truth it is just an overgrown garden, but it is really overgrown.

There are all sorts of flowering bushes in every color imaginable, and if there used to be paths there is no sign of them now. I decide to try and find a way around instead of pushing through the plants, not only are several equipped with thorns but who knows what else could be in there. After all I can sense mana from several of the plants and while it isn't especially strong I don't want to take a chance with Kechara with me.