"You only need one more item?" Sebastian asked. He reached a finger up to push the button on the Relic Scanner that would scan the hardened silt before him, including the deep hole someone else dug that now lay in front of him. "As I already said, we may not be able to find it in the time we have before turning in our final projects."

...

Sebastian stood next to his companion, watching their jaw drop at the sight of the door to the Abandoned Ruins that towered over them, the width the same size as the height. "This, Ralph, are the Abandoned Ruins."

Ralph swallowed, his eyes still wide. "I'm amazed someone as young as you has actually gone relic diving.

Sebastian's head tilted slightly. "I'm surprised you haven't. I can't think of anybody I know who grew up healthy in the Alliance of Free Cities who hasn't gone ruin diving at least once in their lives."

"I didn't grow up in the alliance, remember?" Ralph said, reaching a hand up to run his fingers nervously through his brown hair. "I grew up in the Ferngill Republic, in Zuzu City."

"Ah," Sebastian muttered, frowning. "Where my mother currently lives." He started through the door of the Abandoned Ruins. "Well, not the city, but she does live in the Ferngill Republic now with my stepfather."

"Wait for me!" Ralph called out, hurrying after him as his voice quaked slightly. "You've not talked about your family before. I mean, not beyond your grandparents who you've been staying with, and it's always been about how you'd rather avoid them, right?" He caught up to Sebastian as he stepped into the elevator and turned. "I never understood why that was?"

"I'm not sure why that's a surprise." Sebastian reached out and pushed a button to take them to a lower level. "They always make it quite clear they never approved of my mother's marriage to my father, that they prefer my step-father over him."

The elevator door closed, and then the mechanisms started up, resulting in the usual jolt one felt when an elevator started. Ralph frowned. "Gotcha."

...

A shove from behind answered him, resulting in Sebastian tumbling forward without time to activate the jet pack on his back that allowed those entering the ruin to navigate areas such as the deep hole in front of him. He landed hard, his arm aching, before turning over to look up at a bright light, his companion's flashlight shining in his eyes. Quickly, Sebastian covered his eyes, confused at the unexpected betrayal.

...

Another jolt occurred when the elevator stopped at the appropriate level. The door shivered ever so slightly before opening up. Ralph nearly jumped at the sound of the metal gears straining to open the door, almost as if he expected the elevator to fall about and take them to a lower level.

Sebastian shook his head and headed out, taking in how someone already managed to dig up the area. Ralph started forward, only for Sebastian to hold his arm out, stopping him. "Watch your step! There's a reason they provide us with both a relic scanner and jet pack down here."

Ralph glanced down at his feet, noticing only a few feet away the gaping hole that would, in turn, result in him plummeting down had he not paid attention. "And you think this is fun? Doing something that will break your neck?"

"I've never heard of anybody breaking their necks, as the jet pack has a system built in to prevent that, not to mention each level is only allowed to go so far just in case something happens to the jet pack."

"Come on. Using a jet pack isn't normal."

Sebastian turned, frowning. He then pressed a button on the relic scanner, the light cascading through the entire Abandoned Ruin, revealing various dots indicating something hidden under all the solidified silt. "Well, sometimes you have to go up high to get what you're looking for?"

"Up high?"

Sebastian pointed up to one of the spots before placing a hand on one of the handles that helped individuals control the jet pack so it would go where they wanted. He headed onto the wall, hearing Ralph groan right before landing. He pulled out a tool and dug in, revealing a hardened metal coil. He turned to look at Ralph. "See? You go where you need to? Is this one of the items you need?"

"Uh, yeah," Ralph said, swallowing. "And don't scare me like that, kid!"

...

"Don't bother trying to use the jet pack to get out of the hole," they said. "I disabled the function while you weren't noticing, but it's one of the things I'm quite capable of."

...

"Are you sure we don't have to worry about monsters?"

Sebastian let out a light laugh. "Do we have to worry about monsters?" He shook his head and looked over at his companion. "I've told you, Ralph. That's not something we have to worry about. I mean, this isn't to say there aren't any monsters."

"Say what?" Ralph quickly went pale. "You said..."

"I said that there was nothing for us to worry about," Sebastian said. "I never said there weren't any monsters that weren't easy to take care of."

"Easy for you to say!" Ralph shook his head, continuing to follow after Sebastian. "Given how you've been ruin diving before. Back where I come from, nobody but adventurers go into the ruins. We call them mines, actually, over in Ferngill Republic, rather than abandoned ruins. But only adventurers go in because the caves are filled with monsters."

"Sounds fun," Sebastian said, not batting an eye.

"That sounds fun to you?" Ralph's voice strained, color draining from his face again.

"And a lot more interesting adventure than the Abandoned Ruins. Sounds more like the Hazardous Ruins, where there are a lot of monsters, and the Civil Corps can't keep the numbers down, but the loot is worth it," Sebastian said. "We'd be more likely to find, within a day, the old-world tech we need for our projects if we were to go to the Hazardous Ruins."

"Hell no," Ralph said. "You've got a strange idea of fun, but if there are monsters here..."

"Don't worry. The Civil Corps keep the numbers down in the Abandoned Ruins, but if we were to encounter a monster here, they're nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Ralph frowned.

"I can definitely take the Slow Gooeyes that are likely to show up if we find a hidden room, so you just need to focus on finding the ancient tech you need for your final project, and I'll likewise look for the ones I need," Sebastian said. "Or do you want to waste the entrance fee you paid to get in here?"

"No," Ralph muttered.

...

"Also, no need to worry about any monsters down there," Ralph said. "Or were you exaggerating about being able to handle them on your own?"

...

"Speaking of which," Sebastian stepped towards a rather large pipe. He reached out, tapping the tube with his knuckles. "Here's a hidden room."

"We don't have to go in there," Ralph said.

"Yeah, but the loot one can get in a hidden room," Sebastian said, frowning at his companion. "You might find some of the things you're looking for, such as small engines and silicon chips." Without hesitation, he headed into the hidden room, looking around the place as he did so.

As expected, there were Gooey Slimes, pink slug-like creatures with canisters on their backs instead of standard shells. "Gross!"

Sebastian turned his head, looking at his companion, surprised he'd ventured in. "Well, they're called Gooey Slimes for a reason."

He unsheathed his sword and started walking forward. Ralph grabbed onto his arm, frowning as he did so. "Be careful!

With a flick of his wrist, Sebastian sent one of the Gooey Slimes flying, not perturbed by the creatures in front of him. A few more flicks and the Gooey Slimes were gone, but he saw ahead of himself a chest. He walked over, frowning, then turned to his companion. He waved to Ralph, indicating he should approach. "Hey. Come check this out."

"Are you sure?" Ralph asked, hanging back.

"I'm quite sure all of the monsters are gone, so you should come and check out this chest and see if it has anything you need for your project," Sebastian said, not missing a beat.

Ralph came over and opened the chest, sighing in relief when no monster jumped out at him. Instead, he discovered a small engine, as Sebastian suggested.

"See, nothing to it," Sebastian said."

"Yeah, but what if, by chance, you did get stuck down here?"

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, frowning. "I'm not sure what you mean by chance because it just doesn't happen." He looked up at the ceiling. "But if it did, the Civil Corps would find you in a few days.

...

"The Civil Corps should find you after a few days, I guess," they said, glancing at their watch. "Which gives me enough time to return for the presentation of our final projects."

Sebastian swallowed. "Why are you doing this?"

...

Ralph walked back, a small engine stowed in his pack, before patting Sebastian on his back, nearly knocking Sebastian off his feet. "At this rate, we'll find everything we need for our projects, right?"

Sebastian frowned. "I guess? I mean, the chances of finding the old-world tech you want varies, but had I known you needed stuff, we could have come out sooner, and then you'd be more likely to get everything that you need. He turned and headed out of the pipe that led out of the hidden room, not phased at all by having just killed some monsters. He turned, heading down one of the mine shafts. "How much more do you need?"

"I don't know," Ralph said, watching Sebastian use his jet pack to cross over a pit. Sebastian hit the button on the relic scanner and shook his head. "Completely cleaned out, so we should head further this way. He watched Ralph swallow before taking a deep breath. He started to run, only for Sebastian to hold up his hands. "You don't have to do that to use the jet pack properly. Just use the controls. Like I did."

Ralph paused before taking a deep breath. His fingers pushed the button on the jet pack, and soon, he soared over the pit and landed where Sebastian was. He let out a sound of excitement before slamming Sebastian's back. "These jet packs! They're amazing! Right?"

"Right, right," Sebastian said. "But don't hit them. They may be built from old-world tech, but they shouldn't be manhandled."

"What happens if it does?"

"Well, it isn't as if it will explode," Sebastian said, heading to another pit. "How many do you have left?"

"Um, well," Ralph hurried after him, glancing down at the deep pit, his mouth twisting into a frown. "One more thing, I think."

"They don't work," Sebastian said. "I mean, the function to prevent a complete free fall is buried deep in the mechanism, but the controls to manually turn it on and off, which is what you need to use to get yourself out of the pits you or someone else digs, is not going to work. But it never happens." He lifted his hand to the relic scanner. "You only need one more item? As I already said..."

...

"Simple," They said. "I prefer using your graduation project over what I came up with."

Sebastian stared. "I trusted you."

"I know," they said, turning to walk away. "Building trust is the first step in the perfect betrayal."

And then they were gone, leaving Sebastian there with no way out. The controls of the jet pack didn't function.