novelraw Chapter 73: Palm Fossil
Chapter 73: Palm Fossil
"Here?"
Abigail followed Leon’s finger and looked over, but the spot he pointed to seemed no different from the rest of the sandy ground they’d passed.
As for the Ancient Spot? She couldn’t see it at all.
"Yeah."
Leon nodded, stepped forward, and crouched down. He reached out to touch the Ancient Spot—three twisted, worm-like translucent shapes on the sand—but his fingers went right through them, brushing the slightly damp sand beneath.
"Just as I thought—an illusion."
He was a little disappointed. If these worm-like Ancient Spots were real, he could dig for relics and pick up some bait on the side. Worms that appeared alongside ancient relics had to be special. Maybe they could even hook a mermaid or some sea monster.
"What are we digging with?" Abigail crouched beside him, looking conflicted.
"With our hands," Leon said, and began scooping away the sand.
The sand here was soft and loose, and because it was near the lake, the moisture made it slightly sticky. They didn’t have the problem of dry sand collapsing back into the hole as fast as they dug it out.Handful after handful, Leon piled sand beside the hole. Abigail, feeling awkward just watching, joined in, helping to widen and deepen the pit.
A little way off, Emily and Sandy noticed the two of them squatting like kids playing in a sandbox. Though curious, they didn’t join in, merely stopping to watch until the two finished their little dig.
"Leon! I’ve found something."
After a short while, Abigail’s hands hit something hard. In the soft sand, its texture stood out immediately—definitely not just more sand.
"Let’s dig it out and see."
Leon smiled encouragingly and stopped digging. Now that they had something to aim for, he wanted to give Abigail the fun of unearthing it herself.
She didn’t waste time. A few quick scoops later, a slab of grayish-white stone, about thirty centimeters long, emerged from the sand. Etched into its surface was the image of a palm leaf.
"So it’s just a rock," Abigail said, a little disappointed. She’d hoped for some rare relic, not just a slab of stone, even if it did have a pattern.
"It’s not just any stone. It’s a palm fossil."
Palm Fossil (Artifact): Palm fossils are relatively common, but this one happens to be quite well-preserved.
Leon traced the palm leaf etched into the stone as the System Prompt gave its simple description. He could feel the faint ridges of the leaf’s edges. There was no stem, but the leaf was intact—just as the prompt described.
"A fossil? I thought it was just a rock with a fancy pattern," Abigail said, now a little more interested.
"Does it have any value?"
"Not much. It’s useful for research, but it doesn’t have much market or collector’s value. Palm fossils aren’t exactly rare," Leon estimated.
He wasn’t too sure about fossil prices here, but palm fossils were common enough that they probably weren’t worth much.
"Oh." The moment she heard it wasn’t valuable, Abigail lost interest again—not because she wanted to get rich, but because digging up a cheap artifact didn’t feel as rewarding.
"We can take it back to the library for display. Sandy, I assume a fossil dug up in the desert can be taken without any ownership disputes?"
Noticing the attention from Sandy and Emily, who had come closer, Leon took the chance to ask.
"Of course. In the desert, whatever you dig up is yours," Sandy said. Then her gaze landed on the palm fossil in their pit. "I’m just surprised you actually found something. And this one’s in great condition."
"You know how to price these?" Leon asked, sensing some familiarity in her tone.
"Back in the day, gold prospectors and explorers used to rest in my shop and swap information. I picked up a few things from them. A fossil in this condition could sell for three to four hundred."
She gave her estimate without hesitation.
"Three or four hundred isn’t bad. Still, it’s better off in the library. Its cultural value outweighs its economic worth," Leon said, a little surprised but firm in his decision.
With his ability to detect Ancient Spots, finding artifacts wasn’t hard. If he came across something truly valuable, maybe he’d consider selling it. But this one would go to Gunther as part of his promise to help fill the library’s display cases—a fair exchange for the ability he’d been given.
"Either way’s fine," Abigail said. She didn’t care what Leon did with it, though she was curious about how he could point out exactly where artifacts were buried. That question, she decided, could wait until they were alone.
"I think Mr. Gunther will be very pleased," Emily said in agreement.
"The library used to be a must-see for visitors, full of fascinating things. But after the last curator ran off with the collection, hardly anyone goes there anymore."
"Wait here. Carrying a fossil this big isn’t convenient. I’ll put it in the car," Leon said.
He could have put it straight into his System Backpack, but with so many eyes on him, he wasn’t about to reveal that ability.
The three women nodded, and Leon headed back the way they’d come. He really was going to put it in Abigail’s car—better to keep up the act. If he simply vanished it now, there’d be awkward questions later when no one saw it in the car.