Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 19: Missing Persons?

“Wait? Missing persons?”

Hunter Guild. I had planned to simply accept a request and leave, but a guild member had apprehended me. It seemed some people who went to the mine at Seokseongsan had gone missing. Did something like this happen in my previous life? At least, Yeon-woo had no memory of it.

“Yes. We suspect four people have gone missing over the past week. We need to explain to those accepting the mining request and seek their cooperation.”

Up until last week, I hadn’t bothered to accept requests, but this time I thought it’d be better to take one, considering the slim chance of discovering a massive magic stone. Thinking it over, a week felt like just about the right amount of time to clear my head.

“Uh… have you figured anything out?”

“No, unfortunately not at all. Until the truth of the incident is uncovered, we have been ordered by the guild master to have applicants write an affidavit with sufficient explanation.”

The beautiful receptionist with brown hair shook her head as she carefully handed me a piece of paper. I gave it a quick glance.

It was basically saying that I had received enough explanation and swore to cooperate with my own will, not under any pressure. Nothing suspicious about that.

I scribbled my signature with a pen lying next to me. The receptionist looked a little surprised, but that was because she didn’t know how many times I’d done this before in my past life. After practicing it nearly a hundred times, this paper felt like a friend.

“Is there anything else?”

“No, it’s fine. If you’re affiliated with the Academy, there’s no room for suspicion.”

With a smile, the receptionist provided additional information. Normally, explanations should be given while looking over the affidavit, but since I had signed quickly, it turned into a post-fact explanation. It was a bit unfortunate to think I might get nitpicked over such matters.

Still, there wasn’t any good information to be found. Missing person cases are usually like that. Especially if it’s due to monsters; honestly, there’s not much to figure out.

According to the last person who saw the missing individuals, there were three people remaining in the mine, including them.

One of the two was an identified missing person. They had accepted the request but hadn’t returned, while the other one hadn’t been seen, but there had been sounds of mining for magic stones.

Yeon-woo conveyed this information to Baek In-hwa and asked if everything was alright. Fortunately, Baek In-hwa responded that it was fine.

Last time, I wasn’t around Harmony City by this time, so it was confusing, but it probably wasn’t a big deal. If it were, the mine would have been closed, but it wasn’t, so I and Baek In-hwa left the Hunter Guild and headed north.

Seokseongsan. They say it used to be just a small hill behind a little village, but the gigantic mountain range that unfolded before my eyes was hard to believe.

I knew roughly how many secrets lay hidden in this mountain and what kinds of events unfolded, but I had no desire to step foot into it immediately.

There were plenty of monsters in that mountain range that looked down on the four high-ranking magical beasts settled in the western forest of Harmony City.

If asked which side I personally found more challenging, I’d pick the western forest, but either choice would essentially be a suicidal act.

“So, where are we going?”

“Just ahead.”

I sent infinite thanks to Baek In-hwa, who followed quietly once again as I took the lead.

Today’s objective: The magic stone mine. The deposit wasn’t too bad, but the reason companies didn’t mine directly and hired adventurers instead was indeed because this was Seokseongsan.

Who wouldn’t have considered that? In fact, several companies had tried to establish themselves here and attempted mining, but they quickly found that stationing high-rank hunters for occasional encounters with high-ranking magical beasts didn’t make financial sense.

And they couldn’t just toss the lives of miners away since the miners wouldn’t be working in the first place, leading to repeated failures.

Ultimately, profitability turned into a problem. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to understand someone thinking of just buying it at a reasonable price and moving on.

Well, the result is that a bus was created to transport lazy hunters and money-hungry porters to the mines, which is quite the funny tale…

Anyway.

Yeon-woo used his smartphone to check the request’s location and proceeded forward. I really missed the augmented reality I used in my past life. It seemed like a tool only high-rank hunters could use, so it felt like a distant tale from my current self.

As I skillfully trekked the mountain, soon a dark cave came into view. The silence between Baek In-hwa and me became oppressive. Was it really that I didn’t want to come here?

“Here we are.”

“It looks like a… regular mine.”

“This is the best for earning tuition.”

Magic stones are that precious. After all, they’re the central resource of magic engineering.

In a situation where connecting the country with telegraph poles like in the old days is impossible, magic engineering has emerged like a comet. It was a new technology born from the collaboration of mages and scientists in the Alkeion continent.

“Honestly, it’s probably 70% magical…”

Actually, what in the world? I never imagined there’d be substances with conversion rates of over 80% simply by converting them into electricity. Of course, magical interventions are needed, so there’s no violation of the second law of thermodynamics.

Thinking this way, it makes sense why massive magic stones are so expensive. Summing up a bunch of magic stones the size of a fingernail is basic, and to recall, one magic stone as big as a person had popped out.

The inside of the cave was filled with a never-ending echo of clanking sounds as pickaxes struck against the rocks. The rhythm was consistent. The owner of that sound had to be a professional miner.

“Baek In-hwa, do you want to try mining?”

“…I’ll just give it a shot.”

I handed Baek In-hwa the spare small pickaxe I had brought just in case. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d be the type to do such a thing, but maybe some curiosity had come over her…

But where on earth is that huge magic stone buried? After thinking for a while, I reached a conclusion.

“I have no idea…!!”

Let’s go with instinct…!!

Just in case monsters might infiltrate, I decided to set up a barrier on the entrance floor. Sprinkling it locally reduces mana consumption, and recent research suggests it lasts quite some time.

Yeon-woo and Baek In-hwa walked through the dim cave. The cave was filled only with the sharp sounds of clinking, echoing endlessly….

*

To find magic stones, the basic method is to send mana into the rocks. The magic stones absorb mana, so one would simply dig where the mana was quickly diminishing. I expected it might serve as an excellent training program for growth in both mana sensing and mana control.

“Except for the terrible lack of mana…”

Baek In-hwa frowned at Yeon-woo, who decided to use only as much mana as could be replenished naturally, before taking a break.

“Already resting?”

“Because there’s so little mana, I can’t help it. What if monsters come?”

By the way, Baek In-hwa handed over pieces of magic stones she had mined already, looking thoroughly uninterested as she took her break.

Well, that’s the law of things. How fun could mining really be? She might be thinking she should never have come at this point.

“I’d rather just be out there hunting monsters…?”

“…No, it’s fine.”

I proposed an alternative, but it was rejected. I had heard in my previous life that she really despised monsters, but it seemed she didn’t enjoy just killing them, either.

But, you know, to be honest, even I felt stifled after swinging that pickaxe for a while. When I was working as a porter, I’d never come to the mines, fully committed to my job, but I thought spending a day here wouldn’t be a problem.

After just one hour, my frustration had climbed right to the top.

“Shall we go outside to take a break? It’s hard to breathe.”

“Okay.”

Baek In-hwa, feeling suffocated as well, immediately accepted my suggestion. As we trudged through the tunnel, the echoes of pickaxes striking began to resonate.

“Impressive, that person is….”

It seemed that in the mine, there were only three people, including Baek In-hwa and myself. There were no overlapping sounds, and the clinks continued at regular intervals. Once it reached a point of such regularity, the existence of the one making the sound was inescapable.

‘…Wait, isn’t that a bit strange?’

Suddenly, such thoughts crossed my mind. I didn’t know where that person was, but since we entered the mine, the sound had been coming from a consistent size the entire time.

There hadn’t been anyone on the right side since we entered the cave, which meant that person must be somewhere on the left side.

So, when we had gone in and started mining, shouldn’t the sound have faded? At the very least, the sound should be getting closer since we were moving towards the entrance.

Even if that sound being regular could be chalked up to immense stamina, the sound itself was suspicious.

There was no response from the barrier. It was certain that the only three beings in this cave were myself, Baek In-hwa, and that unidentified pickaxe-wielding person.

By now, it almost felt like… wasn’t that sound coming from under our feet?

“Isn’t that odd, Baek In-hwa? That sound.”

“…Yeah, I think so too.”

“Do you want to check it out?”

“…Sure. We should find out what’s going on.”

That was a statement worthy of a hunter. Seeing that, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

Had anything like this happened in my previous life…? No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t remember. Perhaps that person truly was a miner with steel-like stamina. I hoped it would be the case as I plunged myself into the darkened depths of the cave.

*

“I’ll take the lead.”

After Baek In-hwa’s assertive declaration, I hesitated. I pondered what I could accomplish from behind. To be honest, I had nothing to contribute.

Other than the area control magic, I had barely learned the Spell Star resembling Flash. I hadn’t brought a bow, meaning I had zero long-range firepower.

However, it was true that whatever happened, she would definitely handle things more adeptly. Therefore, I thought it’d help to widen my perspective from behind.

“Okay. I won’t have any support, but I’ll let you know if any problems arise. My eyesight is good.”

“Okay, I got it.”

I first wrapped an area around my body. Even while supporting from the rear, I had no idea when or how I might get ambushed. I felt relieved I had made such preparations. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been useful at all.

A slight headache throbbed in my head, but I shook it off.

Clang! The gusting wind made the lantern inside the tunnel sway and hit the cave walls.

The atmosphere felt eerie. While mines don’t often feature in horror films, they are regular guests in disaster movies.

Awakened ones could die mercilessly if the mine collapsed, so right now, the mine was scarier than the monsters.

But the overly heavy and ominous atmosphere made me reach out to Baek In-hwa. What good is being friends if we don’t talk? Let’s have a conversation!

“It feels like ghosts will come out. Baek In-hwa, have you ever seen a ghost?”

“…Why are you bringing up topics like that in this atmosphere? Are you talking about ghost-type monsters?”

Maybe she was having a similar thought, as Baek In-hwa responded with a frown. Her voice carried the weight of disbelief.

What can I do if a new topic doesn’t come to mind? But ghost-type monsters? In my previous life, I had no way of dealing with them before obtaining magical artifacts, but it won’t be like that this time.

“No, I mean a real ghost….”

“Those don’t exist.”

Baek In-hwa interrupted my words and replied firmly.

What’s with her quick response?

However, it was troublesome because the emergence of ghost-type monsters revealed the surprising fact that ghosts did exist in this world. It was astonishing to think that magic engineering could be used to find them.

“Hey, ghosts. It’s widely accepted in academia that ghosts can turn into monsters. Haven’t you heard?”

“I have not.”

I wondered if this was a chance to tease, so I probed. However, once again, Baek In-hwa interrupted me.

“They don’t exist.”

With a rusty screech, it felt like she looked back at me with an expression stained with ominous energy.

“They’re not real.”

“Ah, right….”

Yeon-woo nodded, feeling crushed under Baek In-hwa’s ghost-like gaze. It seemed that Baek In-hwa was weak against the spirit realm. It wasn’t too bad to find a weak point.

Who knows, the cause of her death before the regression might have been related to the spirit realm.

I tried to keep chatting, hoping to extract more information, but Baek In-hwa shut her mouth tight on the subject of spirits. It was quite a different reaction than her usual calm demeanor. Ignoring it since it was unfavorable.

I certainly wasn’t enjoying this. I was simply stating facts.

“…This is the end.”

After a few minutes walking through the tunnel, we had finally reached the end. Baek In-hwa, stopping at the corner, looked perplexed. I couldn’t help but feel conjoined confusion too.

The pickaxe sound continued reverberating, not closer or farther away. It was echoing at the exact same distance as when we first entered the mine.

From Baek In-hwa’s reaction, there seemed to be no one at the edge of the tunnel either. I stood beside her and glanced around the corner.

There was nothing. Just a slightly widened tunnel that looked like a hub. Even now, the sound was ringing, revealing the fact that aside from the two of us, no one else was inside this mine.

“…Sorry, Baek In-hwa. I have no idea, but do you have any clues?”

“…No, nothing at all.”

Baek In-hwa’s face certainly reflected that mystery. Indeed, we hadn’t inspected everything in the tunnel as we passed through, had we?

The right path only had one way, and the area revealed no one had entered yet. We had just checked left.

“Seems like the ghosts are toying with us.”

When I muttered something along those lines, Baek In-hwa shot me a sharp glare.

Kaang!!!

A loud, sharp sound echoed in the tunnel as if a pickaxe struck the cave wall. I felt like my body was suspended in the air. No, I was indeed hanging in mid-air.

To understand the situation, I looked down, witnessing the tunnel floor gradually becoming coated in a thick, black liquid. Oh no, it was too dark to see properly…!

“Damn it, what is this!!”

The floor was beginning to drown completely in liquid. I hurriedly tried to escape, but it wrapped around my legs like a swamp, refusing to let go. When the liquid reached my ankles, I realized this sensation felt familiar and shouted.

“Damn it, it’s a Gate!! Baek In-hwa, give me your hand!!”

I could feel my body slowly being drawn to the other side of the gate. Once you dip into a Gate, you can’t escape. Rather than wasting energy to escape, it would be a hundred times better to reduce the chance of getting separated from Baek In-hwa after crossing through.

Baek In-hwa, still in shock, responded to my call, and our hands touched─.

The two of us vanished entirely.

And the floor that swallowed us began reverting back as if nothing had ever occurred.

(To be continued in the next episode)