My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 80 Left hand is stronger, right hand is stronger

"My spell didn't work?"

Upon hearing Milan's words, Don Quixote put his hands on his hips and raised his chin.

"See! I told you there was something wrong with this place!"

Look at her smug, self-assured expression. It's a good thing she doesn't have a tail right now, or she'd be wagging her tail in the air by now.

As soon as she finished speaking, Milan raised her hand and tapped her on the forehead with the handle of her staff.

Boom—

A crisp sound rang out, and Don Quixote covered his head and squatted down, hissing and gasping for breath.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

Her helmet was knocked off during the earlier melee and was destroyed in the chaos. Milan knew she was tough and resilient, so she didn't hold back.

"You talk too much." Milan rolled her eyes at her, put away her staff, and turned her attention back to the rock wall.

While the two were bickering, Rod moved the remaining bones aside and then tore them down along the edge of the moss.

The moss wasn't firmly attached, and Rod easily tore it off in large sections, revealing the smooth stone surface underneath.

"It looks like a door?"

He looked up and down at the rock face and the slightly different parts where it connected with the surrounding rock, and sketched out a rough outline for the others.

Looking at the crooked and ancient incantations on it, most of them have been blurred by the passage of time, with only a few deep marks still barely showing their outlines, making them obscure and difficult to understand.

"This is... the work of an ancient mage?" Milan frowned slightly, her fingertips brushing over the shallow carvings on the stone surface, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

These runes were so worn that most of the engraved marks had been smoothed out by time. She searched through all the knowledge she had learned, but could only barely recognize a few scattered word roots, unable to form a complete meaning, let alone find their function or how to activate them.

"The orderly flow of magical energy and the meticulous arrangement of runes could not have been created by that clumsy ogre; it must have been the work of at least an archmage—"

Could it be that this is related to that lost mage family? A thought flashed through her mind, and she unconsciously thought of the purpose for which the Arcane Academy had sent her to Misty City.

The two-headed ogre possessed innate magical knowledge, coupled with the stone door before it that had been sealed for who knows how many years—

The various fragmented clues instantly came together.

It's possible that the ogre's spells weren't some kind of innate mutation at all, but rather something they accidentally inherited from fragmented knowledge within this ruin.

It occupied the ruins left by an ancient sorcerer as a cave, and accidentally obtained some of the inheritance, which is why it suddenly had those spells and alchemy formulas in its mind, and even claimed to be a sorcerer.

If even a clumsy monster can become so powerful, how terrifying must the things they left behind be?

Thinking of this, Milan couldn't help but swallow hard, and said to her companion with a mixture of fear and relief, "Luckily, there were no offensive spells attached to it. If we had accidentally triggered them—"

"No," Rhodes shook his head and pointed to the pile of corpses next to him. "If it were that obvious, it would have been triggered long ago."

The fact that those corpses were piled up here haphazardly indicates that the lair's owner, the two-headed ogre, hadn't noticed anything amiss and had confirmed that simple touches wouldn't elicit any reaction.

Otherwise, Rod wouldn't have dared to directly peel off the moss.

"You're quite observant." Milan glanced at him, then, thinking about her unconscious use of magic, she couldn't help but feel annoyed at her recklessness and mistake.

"Otherwise, since there's no danger," Rhodes nodded, "should we try opening it?"

This proposal certainly appealed to Milan.

If she could find traces of a lost mage family, or even remnants of inherited knowledge, then her trip would be far more than just fulfilling the guild's request; it would be an unexpected windfall.

We've already come this far, there's no reason not to step through the door.

"You all step back a bit." Milan took a deep breath, picked up his staff, took two steps forward, and stood directly in front of the stone gate.

The spellbook in her arms floated automatically in front of her. She first recited a common arcane incantation for opening doors, and pale purple magic condensed into a soft ball of light, which landed steadily in the center of the stone door.

The light disappeared silently the moment it touched the stone surface, and the stone door remained motionless and unresponsive.

"It's not that simple after all." Milan frowned, not surprised, and immediately switched to a dispelling spell.

She guessed that this door was most likely sealed with some special seal by an ancient sorcerer.

But after several attempts, no matter what spell she used, the result was the same.

She could clearly feel that the magic she released dissipated as soon as it touched the stone surface, without any feedback whatsoever.

"No, this is a material specially made for magic. My magic power disappeared as soon as it came into contact with it." Milan put away her staff, took a slight breath, and her magic power, which had not recovered much, was further depleted.

Seeing Milan back down, Rod stepped forward and decided to try it himself.

"Since it's a door, theoretically it should be able to be pushed open, right?"

He stood directly in front of the stone gate, placed his palms on the smooth stone surface, lowered his waist and braced himself, and simultaneously exerted force in his shoulder and back muscles to push inward.

But the stone door seemed to be cast into the entire mountain rock, and no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge.

"Take a break, Hiro, don't waste your energy."

Milan leaned against the rock wall beside her, rubbing her throbbing temples. Her tone was tinged with regret but clear-headedness. "This is the work of an ancient mage. How could you open it by just pushing it a couple of times with brute force?"

"Anyway, this place isn't going anywhere. We can come back later when we've replenished our health and strength in Thornwood Village and brought all the unsealing scrolls and tools."

"Let us give it a try!"

Don Quixote, who had been unable to contain himself for a long time, immediately came over upon hearing this, his eyes sparkling, and he leaned his greatsword aside, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Her heavy armor gave her much greater strength than the average person; she had even managed to knock a two-headed ogre off its feet, and she was just worried about where to use her strength.

"Fine—whatever." Milan sighed helplessly as she watched her eager expression and simply stepped aside.

Since I'm just killing time anyway, why not let her give it a try? It'll give me a chance to rest and cool down this energetic guy.

Rod stepped aside and watched her curiously.

Don Quixote's strength was evident from the previous battles, but he didn't feel the difference between himself and his opponent very clearly.

This is a good opportunity to observe.

"Phew—the Ranger and Lady Milan are watching us with great anticipation," she exhaled deeply, then muttered to herself with excitement, "I won't let you down!"

"I wasn't really looking forward to it—" Milan muttered from the side.

Don Quixote paid no heed to this, only glancing at the stone gate in front of him, then looking down at his heavy armor, which he removed piece by piece and piled up on the pile of rubble beside him with a clatter.

Without the heavy armor weighing her down, she felt much lighter, revealing the tight-fitting outfit underneath.

Rhodes fell into deep thought upon seeing this scene.

With her heavy armor removed, it's hard to imagine how Don Quixote, with her short stature, managed to single-handedly defend against the two-headed ogre in battle, even repeatedly knocking it away.

"This is much easier!" She rubbed her hands together, pressed them firmly against the center of the stone door, assumed a stable horse stance, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Open for us!"

At first, the stone gate remained silent. Milan leaned against the rock wall with her eyes half-closed, thinking that she was wasting her time.

A moment later, a dull creak was heard, emerging from the indistinguishable seam between the stone door and the rock wall.

Fine stone dust fell down in a flurry, and years of dust filled the air.

The stone door, which they had tried with all their might to keep still, actually trembled as she pushed it, slowly sliding open a crack about an inch wide.

"Drink!" Don Quixote shouted joyfully, "It's a bit strenuous, but thankfully we are the better ones!"

The left hand is strong, the right hand is very strong!

"————?"