NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52
First, I needed to check.
What was happening inside that Mine City?
But there were people blocking my way to the mine.
“Rui, where are you going?”
They were, of course, the miners.
“To the mine. I need to know what’s going on.”
“You can’t go.”
They shook their heads, completely blocking my path.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“That’s exactly why I need to go.”
Whoever they were, I wouldn’t just die in one go.
So if I wanted to resolve this twisted situation quickly, I had to take action myself.
Yet, they still wouldn’t budge.
“Instead, let’s head to the city and call more people! It’s too concerning to send Rui alone!”
But that would waste time.
“Move aside.”
I told them while holding my master key.
The master key already had the spell for investigating the mine inscribed on it.
“If I go, the others will be better prepared. If we wait for them, it might already be too late.”
That included Rastok or anything else.
“…Then we will guide you.”
“No, that’s fine. I can go alone…”
“Our colleague was killed. Right here at our workplace. So… please let us accompany you.”
“…Alright.”
Seeing the determination of the miners, I eventually allowed them to join me.
I proceeded to the clearing in front of the mine and approached Knight Lux.
“Lux, calm down. It’ll be alright.”
Fidget.
Knight Lux didn’t seem surprised.
He looked more wary than shocked.
After giving his mane a pat, I softly said, “If you understand me, can you please do me one favor?”
Fidget.
“Please bring the hero here as quickly as you can…”
It was a somewhat desperate request, as I didn’t know exactly where the hero was.
Because right now, to control this anxious heart, I felt like I needed to see him.
I waved to Knight Lux, who was staring at me, and then turned back to the miners.
From now on, it’s a race against time.
*
“The place where our colleagues were last seen is this mine.”
After around 30 minutes of climbing the mountain, we arrived at a mine.
The entrance looked shabby compared to other mines.
“It’s still newly developed, which is why it looks this way. The one who went missing was in charge of digging the mine.”
So he must have encountered trouble deep inside.
‘Could it really be that he met Rastok?’
Then where did the variables start?
Before entering the mine with the miners, I took out a magic tool.
“This will help us gauge the situations ahead of us.”
It was an upgraded version of a spatial awareness magic tool I had used at the fortress.
With this, we might buy some time to prepare for any unexpected ambush or variables.
Tap!
Vroom…
A round object emitted a green light and began rolling into the mine.
As it smoothly bypassed mine carts, rails, and various structures while delving deeper, the master key began gathering information about the mine.
“Let’s go.”
The five miners walked with pickaxes and hatchets, looking tense.
“Were there any unusual occurrences inside the mine recently?”
“…None.”
The miners exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
Then one miner raised his hand and said, “Now that you mention it, there have been frequent tremors lately.”
“Tremors?”
“Yeah. They’re more like vibrations than actual earthquakes.”
In the depths of the mine, vibrations were happening.
While typically they could be considered tremors, in this case, it seemed much more likely to be caused by Rastok’s magical creatures moving.
‘…Could it really be Rastok’s creatures?’
The creatures described in the original work were massive enough to collapse an entire mine, so it was entirely possible.
Did that mean Rastok’s behavior had changed?
Maybe a plague was spreading somewhere in the city right now?
‘…Haa.’
I had no idea.
Maybe I was thinking too much, but it felt like it was making things even less clear.
So there was no way I could sit back, and I continued deeper into the mine with the miners.
“Haa… Haa…”
“The air is thick and hot, making it tougher to breathe.”
“You work in a place like this every day… that’s remarkable…”
It truly was impressive.
Especially compared to the modern Earth of my previous life, I felt the conditions were inferior.
Yet, they worked diligently for their city and families – they were admirable.
At that moment, one miner stopped in his tracks.
“…Something feels off.”
“What is… oh?”
Not just him, but the other four suddenly stopped as well.
Then they started doing odd things like wetting their fingers or peering down various paths, seemingly lost in thought.
“What’s going on?”
“…I can feel a breeze. A cold breeze.”
A cold breeze?
His words recalled what they had said moments earlier.
Thick, hot air.
“Which way is it coming from?”
“This way, the wind is blowing.”
“Let’s go.”
That comment indicated an unusual space had appeared.
Following the hurried footsteps, I also felt the air getting cooler.
And as the pathway widened, I now moved ahead of the five miners.
After about ten minutes, we finally reached the end of the path.
“Huff!”
“W-What is this…?”
Then we discovered a massive cavern.
*
I couldn’t even discern how vast the space was; it felt like an underground sky.
“Is this part of the mine?”
“No…”
Then it must be the work of the creatures.
More precisely, it was evidence of where it had lingered or traveled.
But its size exceeded my expectations.
‘It’s massive.’
The sheer size was too large just to collapse a single mine.
It could easily be believed to have toppled a Mine City instead.
Vroom.
At the same time, the master key received a new piece of information.
“It seems like there might be a similar space below as well.”
The magic tool couldn’t provide accurate measurements as the area was too enormous.
This led me to question.
‘Where did the owner of this space go?’
Could the vibrations the miners felt be the sounds of this creature moving?
If so, where exactly?
“…Let’s head back.”
For now, we had to exit the mine.
My heart raced as I felt I was missing something crucial.
As if sensing my expression, the miners turned to retrace their steps.
“Ugh, agh! What is that?!”
Suddenly, we heard a miner scream, and looking ahead, something rose from the entrance we had come through.
“It’s a creature.”
It resembled a giant caterpillar.
With a grotesque shape featuring only a round mouth instead of a typical face.
Crunch!
When the miner swung his magically enchanted pickaxe, the creature met its end in an instant.
“Phew…”
“Is this creature coming out due to all this uncertainty?”
“Or was it this creature that killed them…?”
As the miners murmured among themselves, I studied the creature closely.
Had any such creatures ever been reported?
The only creature I knew with just a mouth was one controlled by one of the Demonic Dukes…
“…It’s dangerous.”
It’s dangerous.
“We need to get out of here!”
“What?!”
“Quickly!”
I used the master key to cast various supporting spells on our six bodies.
Then as we began to escape, I felt a tremor throughout the entire mine.
But it wasn’t a normal shake.
Kugugu…
“The mine is collapsing!”
“Rui, get on my back!”
Due to my delay, I ended up being carried by one miner as I remained alert, watching the ceiling of the mine.
“Shield!”
Boom!
“Huff!”
“Leave the falling rocks to me!”
“Got it!”
I kept the shield active on the master key while raising my pen to assist the miners.
Vroom.
‘Did the magic tool sense something?’
The survey magic tool had been destroyed, leaving behind a report of tremendous impact.
The final information it transmitted indicated a strength of a substance that didn’t exist in this world.
‘Why?’
Where did it all go wrong?
Rakur was supposed to feature a demon named Rastok.
Yet, the demon appearing now was not Rastok.
If my predictions were correct, this demon was one of Rastok’s subordinates.
Kugugu…
An entity wielding power different from ordinary demons.
“Almost there!”
A creature that can consume mountains and has a body stronger than metals.
“What is happening…?!”
A giant bug creature raised by a woman who devours mountains.
“We’re at the entrance!!”
“Finally reached…! W-What is that…?”
Bloodgold Duke Merkhad
And then…
—-!!!
The thousandfold bug deity, Behiraja.
She and that creature appeared above the mine.