The ruins themselves were a testament to the passage of time. Crumbling structures, weathered by years of exposure to the elements, spoke of a history long forgotten. It was evident that this place had not been abandoned due to any recent conflict or catastrophe. Instead, it seemed to have gradually succumbed to the relentless march of time, slowly fading away into obscurity.

The ruins held an air of mystery, a story untold that was waiting to be unraveled. They were standing at the threshold of an enigma, their questions echoing through the silent corridors of history.

"The portals usually would send us close to one of the enemies base... Rebecca," Terry said.

"I am already working on that, but I can’t sense anything," Rebecca replied.

The enemies could be flying, or maybe they were too far away... Terry looked upward and saw a bit of blue and gray sky. It seemed like an unhealthy color for the world. Still, considering the walls of the building nearby, Terry didn’t think that the world had developed enough to cause too much harm to the planet.

"I will go take a look around, don’t move," Terry said and then became Invisible before using the Dark Pegasus Boots.

Terry kept a close look at their location since he had to be careful, but the ruins of the city were too large for him to be able to do that while trying to leave the place. The ruins were at least ten kilometers wide and he couldn’t even see where they ended.

"I guess we will have to explore together," Terry thought while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Terry returned to the others and then told them that they will have to explore the region together. It would take a while, but Gustavo had another idea.

"Let’s check things from a vantage point first," Gustavo said and then made an earth block emerge from the ground.

With a unified decision, the group stepped onto the earth platform that Gustavo skillfully manipulated through his telekinesis. The ground beneath them began to rise, carrying them upward like a silent elevator. As they ascended, the ruins beneath them started to recede, the details fading into the distance until they resembled miniature models.

The ascent continued for several kilometers, and the wind became cooler as they climbed higher into the sky. Clouds surrounded them, enveloping the platform in a soft mist that gently brushed against their skin. Despite the altitude and the breathtaking view, they held their anticipation for the culmination of their journey—the end of these mysterious ruins that seemed to stretch endlessly.

However, even as they breached the cloud cover and ventured into the boundless sky, the end of the ruins remained elusive. It was as if they were traversing an ever-extending bridge to nowhere, a pathway suspended between the earth and the heavens, with no visible destination in sight.

"This place is... quite something," Gustavo said, visibly surprised. "The scales of the situations is fast increasing."

"... Keep going up," Terry said.

"Why?" Gustavo asked.

"It is just to confirm something," Terry replied.

Gustavo didn’t know why Terry would ask that, it was hard to imagine that the enemies would be living beyond the clouds... the city below was large, but not that developed, after all. There was no way that the people of that world managed to live in floating cities or something.

Ascending above the clouds, the group’s perspective shifted as they soared higher. Their eyes scanned the open sky, searching for any signs of the missing guild masters or their captors. Yet, the vast expanse appeared empty, a canvas of blue and white stretching endlessly.

Terry’s intuition, however, remained focused on a singular, larger cloud that loomed above them, distinct in its steadfast stillness amid the atmospheric currents. This conspicuous deviation from the norm caught the attention of the group, prompting shared glances of intrigue and suspicion. Against the backdrop of the serene sky, the unmoving cloud seemed to harbor a hidden secret, urging the group to uncover the truth shrouded within its mysterious presence.

"You can’t be serious..." Rebecca said.

"If you think about it, it makes sense," Terry said. "There were no signs of wars below, there were no signs of magic outside the portal. At the same time, people were captured without leaving traces behind and no one felt their presence. It was because the enemies used advanced technique."

In the midst of their contemplations, the group was confronted by a curious out of norm possibility – an exception to the anticipated norms of overlord behavior. While the prevailing assumption held that overlords would primarily employ magic due to their immense power and mastery over supernatural forces, history reminded them that rigid expectations often had their exceptions. An advanced civilization could seamlessly blend both magic and technology, potentially rendering conventional assumptions useless.

Nevertheless, the central mystery that defied explanation was the overlord’s unorthodox choice to capture humans instead of directly subjugating or eliminating them. This departure from the norm introduced numerous unsettling possibilities, branching from the convergence of technology and magic. The minds of the group were peppered with several scenarios, each more unsettling than the last. As the group’s thoughts converged, the gravity of this puzzle intensified, casting a shadow over their pursuit of the truth.

The center of the matter was the enigma surrounding the guild masters’ capture. This unexpected occurrence defied explanation and demanded a thorough unraveling of the mystery. The need to comprehend the motives and capabilities of this unfamiliar adversary became absolutely necessary, as the potential implications were far-reaching. The group’s determination to discover why the guild masters were taken alive was akin to opening a door to a new realm of possibilities, where the enemy’s intentions and methods could rewrite their understanding of the unfolding situation.

"Well, what now... should we check things up there?" Rebecca asked. "I don’t think that we are equipped to fight a single enemy camp that is also a floating camp or city."