A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Hua Mi surveyed his surroundings, noticing a detail.

It wasn't visible to the naked eye but through an infrared thermal imager, he detected some temperature anomalies.

The anomalies appeared among the pile of nearby rubble.

The temperature of these stones, as displayed on the imager, appeared as a universal purple-black color. However, certain fragments exhibited winding orange-red patterns.

Approaching, Hua Mi confirmed these patterns were imperceptible to the naked eye.

Releasing his mental power, he probed carefully and indeed found subtle magical fluctuations within.

It was precisely this unknown magical effect that caused the abnormal temperatures on the stones.

However, the magic fluctuations on each stone were too faint, akin to a small vortex on the water's surface. Only a minute portion of the stones exhibited abnormal temperatures, and the energy was so minuscule that it dispersed across the entire pile, almost negligible.

Without prior knowledge of the anomaly, even intentionally probing the rubble with mental power would likely yield no results.

Hua Mi observed several stones, realizing these shattered pieces seemed to fit together, with their magical patterns aligning perfectly.

This suggested these magically influenced stones were originally a single entity.

"Could this have been part of a magic array?"

Even split, individual stones still retained a faint magical effect.

Reassembling them might reactivate the magic array.

Given their considerable size, moving them wouldn't be an issue, especially with the assistance of the power ants.

Glancing at the sky, dusk was setting in.

Despite this place being a ruin, the broken walls could still serve as barriers, and the area was flat enough to set up camp.

"Let's rest here tonight... but should I attempt to reconstruct this magic array before nightfall?" Hua Mi pondered.

The uncertainty lingered; he wasn't certain of the array's potential effects.

If there was a danger beyond his capacity, it would be foolhardy to proceed. Taking risks wasn't akin to courting disaster.

But leaving it untouched felt like letting an itch crawl beneath his skin.

"I can operate from a distance," he considered. "For instance, when fitting the last piece, I'll ride my mount a hundred meters away and then manipulate the power ants to assemble the stones."

This seemed safer.

"Thinking too much. Besides, what if it's impossible to reconstruct it? This ruin seems quite old; parts of the stones carrying the array might be missing."

After weighing options, Hua Mi made a decision.

First, he directed the power ants to transport the magically patterned stones to the open space.

Comparing them, these dozen or so fragments should comprise the entirety, forming a complete pattern.

Joining two pieces together, they magnetically attracted, seamlessly fitting together like interlocking puzzle pieces.

This strengthened his belief that completing the puzzle would likely activate some magical effect.

So, he rode the deer away from the ruin.

Leaving behind a scouting bee and a swarm of power ants, he meticulously pieced the stones together.

Gradually, a one-square-meter irregular stone slab took shape.

When the final piece was placed in the upper-right corner, a visible red magic array pattern surfaced on the slab.

Before he could examine it closely, a muffled "boom" erupted from the array's center.

An energy shockwave burst outwards from the array's epicenter, slightly larger than the ruin's extent. It dissipated the mist within the area, momentarily rendering the ruin a clear space amid the foggy mountains.

All of this was captured by the scouting bee's footage.

The shockwave seemed harmless, merely unsettling the bee swarm momentarily; no substantial harm was done.

Hua Mi adjusted the bee's viewpoint toward the array.

The stone slab almost seamlessly mended, almost indiscernible cracks.

The magical array pattern on the slab had dimmed slightly.

From the slab's vertical surface emerged beams of light.

Within the beams, a semi-transparent silver box floated, undulating above the stone.

After confirming safety, Hua Mi urged his deer to return.

Approaching the slab, words materialized on the holographic box, written in a universal language:

"The most commendable quality in an adventurer? Courage? No, it's attentiveness. Your acute attention led you to my hidden treasure here."

The text lingered briefly before vanishing, replaced by a new line:

"However, apart from attentiveness, luck is also crucial. So, if you wish to inherit my treasure, roam through the Misty Veil Mountains, test your luck. Only by finding the keys I've hidden can you open this box. Hehe - M."

"..."

Whoever hid this treasure wasn't exactly conventional.

They had turned it into a game.

The signature was a symbol resembling the letter "M," its meaning unknown.

Hua Mi picked up a tree branch, prodding the box.

Though it appeared as a hologram, it interacted with the outside world. The branch couldn't penetrate it; it felt as if he were poking a solid box.

In other words, the key likely had a physical form.

"But do I have the time to search for a key... wait, a key?"

Hua Mi gazed at the lock on the box, suddenly recalling something.

Using mental power, he retrieved a silver folding knife from his storage space and cautiously approached the box's lock.

The moment the blade tip touched the lock, it melted. With added force, it smoothly inserted into the lock.

Holding the knife handle, he twisted it right.

Click. The box lid opened.

"Heh, didn't expect that, did you? I'm not your typical adventurer."

Once the lid opened, the box dissolved into particles of light.

Underneath, the stone slab cracked again, turning into rubble.

A thick notebook landed on the now non-magical stone.

Superficially unremarkable, it was a typical notebook but unusually hefty.

Probing it with his mental power revealed no magical effects; it was entirely mundane, inside and out.

"Could its contents hold significant value?"

Or perhaps it was just the whimsy of the treasure hider.

Imagine an adventurer, after arduous efforts, finding a key and opening the box, only to read, 'Haha, gotcha.'

That'd be an explosion of frustration.

Hua Mi braced for potential disappointment, flipping open the notebook.

"Huh?"

Page by page.

"Ah?"

Further.

"Whoa!"

Flipping several pages, he couldn't help but gasp, "This is..."

With each turn, Hua Mi grew increasingly astonished.