The Babu Forest is vast, and its danger level wasn't high enough to be considered a major concern, making it an ideal place for camping and outdoor cooking.
Throughout the year, aside from tourists coming to enjoy nature, the forest was always populated with outsiders hoping to strike it rich by uncovering graves. These individuals, ard with full sets of equipnt, wandered through the forest and around the mountain foothills.
The term 'grave robber' had an unpleasant ring to it, so they preferred to call themselves 'treasure hunters'. The local authorities were happy to support them, but if they did manage to find the invaluable burial goods within the tomb, they wouldn't be allowed to keep it all for themselves.
The local governnt's support ca with strings attached, aiming to reap substantial benefits at a minimal cost. Not only that, they even drafted several regulations to restrict the activities of incoming treasure hunters.
Among the nurous treasure hunters, there was a group of familiar faces known for their extre patience, while a constant influx of newcors kept the scene ever-changing.
Every year, many people give up and new treasure hunters co in, including so well-known treasure hunters and Pro Hunters.
It was like an unpainted cake that no one had deliberately drawn, yet countless people were eager to take a bite.
Everyone knew that the yet-undiscovered tomb contained unimaginable wealth. Even if it didn't hold the world-famous gemstone from that era, any ancient artifact found could still fetch a hefty price on the black market.
Most treasure hunters ca with a lottery mindset, and after pouring in their energy and efforts, they would ultimately leave empty-handed. On their way out, they often mocked the stubborn veterans who continued to persist.
Over the years, the area had been dug up extensively, yet nothing had been found. Even though multiple ancient records confird the tomb's existence, people still relied on the 'seeing is believing' principle.
Despite this, there is still an endless stream of new faces entering this trap every year.
They knew it was a trap, yet they still willingly fell into it. The ntality of wanting to win the jackpot is actually the sa as buying lottery tickets, as only after suffering repeated failures would they finally admit defeat and turn back.
Law is one of the new faces. During his ti exploring the area, he had encountered many people, and naturally, many had noticed him as well.
At first, they thought Law was just a tourist visiting the Babu Forest, but after seeing him several tis, they vaguely guessed that Law's motive for coming to the forest might be the sa as theirs.
It's just that Law only carried a long sword wrapped in white cloth and no specialized equipnt, which made people feel that he was just there for fun.
The exploration range of treasure hunters in the forest is not fixed. Only a small number of people target a certain area. The group Law encountered at Gru Mountain was one of those who had zeroed in on the location.
Gru Mountain is one of the three mountains in the Babu Forest. It is the largest one, and the closest to the ruins of Palo City.
Law set his sights on Gru Mountain based on the clue in Verdin's letter, but he didn't know where other treasure hunters got the clue about Gru Mountain from.
'The information I've gathered shows that Verdin was a sowhat well-known artisan of the ti, while Stargie was a renowned female city lord.'
'One stood on the ground, the other in the sky.'
'If not for the hidden aning revealed by the white smoke font, that letter would seem like nothing more than the self-indulgent ramblings of unrequited love.'
'I know this secret because of the identification function of the white smoke font, but where did this group of people get their information from?'
Standing atop Gru Mountain, Law braved the biting wind, gazing down at the sparse forest below. With a focused look, he could even spot treasure hunters moving within the forest.
Just as he could observe them, they could also observe him.
During this period, Law had walked around Gru Mountain several tis and went up and down several tis, but he still couldn't find anything conclusive, nor could he find any signs of artificial construction.
Near the mountain's base and deeper within the forest, nurous deep pits dug by treasure hunters dotted the landscape. In his previous life, they would be called 'tomb raider tunnels', but here, they were mostly failed excavation attempts. The pits ran deep but yielded nothing.
As the saying goes, 'A big forest harbors all kinds of birds.'
Amateur treasure hunters were abundant and typically had a martial spirit, often resorting to brute force.
Wherever they found a suspicious spot, they would simply grab their shovels and start digging.
Fortunately, local regulations kept them from going too far, and most would cover up the holes after digging.
In general, Babu Forest was filled with countless aningless endeavors at any given mont. The sad part was that people never seed to tire of it.
Not only were there nurous traces of abandoned excavation sites, but the lower sections of the mountain walls also bore signs of chiseling.
If not for the restrictions imposed by local authorities, treasure hunters might have resorted to using explosives to blast their way through.
Law had also thought about using God Hand to carve a tunnel through Gru Mountain, but the complexity of such an operation was too high.
'I've been too optimistic. So many people have co here, and no one has even found the entrance to Stargie's tomb. Maybe this lead is a dead end.'
The shape of Gru Mountain is like a bamboo shoot, with layer upon layer of rock encasing one another. The higher it went, the smaller its surface area beca.
The shape of the mountain has resulted in a number of steep cliffs in the central part of Gru Mountain. On the protruding rocks, there are a small number of trees of unknown species rooted in the rock strata.
From a distance, they resembled decorative garnishes carefully arranged on a large dish.
Law stood at the mountain's peak, where the available footing was limited due to nurous protruding boulders.
For many days, he had followed the Gru Mountain lead. Although there were still many cliffs on the mountain that had not been explored, the fact that he found nothing made Law start doubting Verdin's letter.
If there had been no information about the whereabouts of the Sonata of Darkness on the Internet, Law might have abandoned this harp version.
The fact that mory fragnts from Verdin could contain inaccuracies was sothing Law couldn't quite understand.
'I'll keep searching for a while longer. If I still don't find anything... then I'll dig through the entire mountain!'
His determination flared within him. But digging through the entire mountain wasn't as easy as it sounded. Even with God Hand, creating a tunnel from the top down was no simple task. If he miscalculated the location, it would all be for nothing.
In addition to digging mountains, there is also digging the ground...
Law thought he could practice his Nen Ability at the sa ti. Who knows, he might actually be able to carve a hole in Gru Mountain in the end.
Standing up from the boulder, Law prepared to descend along the cliffs and explore the unsearched areas.
He was about to move when he suddenly stopped. Then, he looked to the edge of the mountaintop twenty ters to the right. At this ti, he heard the sound of climbing. Soone, or rather, multiple people, were making their way up.
A mont later, a dark-skinned hand gripped the cliff's edge, with thick knuckles and prominent phalanges.
Soon after, a green broccoli head popped out. If it weren't for the hand that ca up first, it would have looked like a broccoli suddenly grew next to the cliff.
Seeing that deep green, broccoli-shaped hairstyle extending from the edge of the cliff, Law's mouth twitched slightly.
As the figure climbed further, a pair of thick, Shin-chan-like eyebrows popped into view, followed by an over-the-top pair of black sunglasses.
Before Law could get a good look at the face, the person pushed off with their arms and, using so unknown foothold, vaulted nimbly onto the mountaintop.
Upon landing, the newcor spun several tis in place.
After stopping, they struck a pose, tilting their body slightly and forming finger-gun gestures with both hands, pointing directly at Law.
"Brother, am I handso?"
"…" Law.
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