Chapter 22

Fernan didn’t have much time, nor could he afford to cause too much commotion.

The eyes of the professors, assistants, and even the students were watching him. There were many restrictions, but Fernan resolved them all with money.

He used all kinds of magical artifacts and potions to suppress any trace of his presence or mana as much as possible.

He also descended deep underground and moved through it, anticipating any eventuality. However, the greatest obstacle still remained.

‘The way to find the cave inside the lake.’

Fernan had already inspected all the lakes once.

He knew that with conventional methods, he wouldn’t be able to find the entrance, and on top of that, he wasn’t sure how much longer Verian could hold off Aint.

That’s why he thought it over again and again. How could he find the cave in time? How could he do it without being discovered?

And he reached a conclusion.

‘You can’t achieve both things at once.’

If he was too careful not to be detected, he wouldn’t make it in time before Aint appeared.

But if he rushed in without caution, the professors or assistants would discover him in minutes.

So he decided to risk a middle-ground solution. First, he activated an artifact he had bought from the Order of the Dragon God. A semi-transparent membrane partially surrounded him at the bottom of the lake.

It was a device that prevented mana, noise, or debris from leaking outside. It wasn’t infallible, of course, and couldn’t contain excessive magnitude.

‘Still, better that than nothing.’

He opened his subspace again.

Crack!

A huge hand emerged first from a crack. Then the feet, the head, and the torso appeared, widening the opening little by little.

It was a five-meter artificial golem.

A masterpiece of technical magic, a synthesis of all existing magical techniques. And also the pinnacle of the merchant who had spent countless sums of money on its creation.

The golem, with glowing eyes, moved effortlessly even underwater.

Fernan placed his hand on its body and activated the link. Mana flowed and the connection was established.

‘I can’t spread mana to explore the interior.’

And he couldn’t use large spells that would shake the ground—that would definitely attract too much attention.

He had only one option left.

‘I’ll have to dig up the lakebed directly using the golem.’

Even if that caused turbulence and clouds of silt in the water, it was the least risky method.

Besides, there were no monsters in the lake, which made this approach feasible. While controlling the golem, Fernan was practically defenseless.

‘Alright, let’s begin.’

Hoping that Verian would keep buying him time, he sat calmly and began manipulating the golem.

With each of its movements, the calm surface of the lake began to ripple little by little.

***

“If you want to pass, you’ll have to go through me!”

— Heartless! Are you really going to abandon him after all he’s doing?

— How can a descendant of the Armians be so cold?!

‘…This is seriously annoying.’

Aint held his throbbing head.

In front of him, Verian persistently blocked his path, and at his waist, his sword vibrated constantly with annoying remarks.

‘If only I could fight, I would’ve knocked him out and already be far away…’

Unthinkable for his past self, but at this point, it was sincerely what he wished for.

“Enough, Verian. You know we can’t fight. Stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

“A brat? What did you say?”

Verian’s face twisted into a fierce expression.

“If you don’t want to hear me, then leave. Do you know how many minutes I’ve wasted here because of you?”

Aint didn’t back down and growled back.

“Like I’m enjoying this…!”

“Remember this well, Verian. One hour. If you don’t last at least an hour, the inquisitors will personally come to your house.”

Verian, who was about to yell back, bit his tongue.

Being ignored by Aint was humiliating, but being caught and tortured by the inquisitors was far worse.

“…Damn it.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I do enjoy this, you bastard! Come here already!”

“You’re the one who asked for it…!”

Aint gathered his aura again and propelled himself strongly off the ground. But he ran in the opposite direction from where Verian was blocking him.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

But Verian wasn’t easy to dodge. His sword flew in a slash that cut through part of the forest, and the fallen trunks blocked Aint’s path.

In that moment, Verian returned to stand in front of him. It was an exchange they had repeated several times already.

“I told you, you won’t get past me without fighting, Aint. Don’t you ever learn?”

“I should be saying that! You’ve already lost twice, do us a favor and disappear!”

Even though he lost in duels, Verian’s skill was real. Escaping without brute force was extremely difficult.

— Aint, fight him seriously.

— Don’t keep hurting him with your coldness.

— If you’re not going to fight, at least end this already!

‘And why the hell is all of this my fault?!’

Anyway, if he wanted to get out of this situation, he had to use all his power.

There might be unnecessary clashes or even injuries, but he believed the professors and assistants wouldn’t complain about something like that.

After all, he had already been stuck for almost an hour. A golden aura glowed around Aint’s body.

“If you’re not going to move, then brace yourself. I won’t take responsibility if you get hurt.”

Without waiting for an answer, he shot forward.

He looked like a rampaging bull, and Verian reflexively flinched slightly. Just like that, he lost control of the situation.

“…Ah.”

Realizing his mistake, he dropped to his knees.

“Damn it… I did what I could, too.”

He checked his pocket watch and let out a deep sigh.

“At least I passed the hour mark.”

He held out for an hour and ten minutes. Fortunately, he had surpassed the minimum required.

“How many more times is he going to ask me for stuff like this…?”

He needed to find an alternative… With an unfinished sigh, Verian drew his sword and turned.

There stood a monster reeking of carrion.

It was over three meters tall, with massive, sharp claws and a brutal presence: a Grizzly Bear, one of the forest’s apex predators.

“Shit, can’t I catch a break…!”

The Grizzly Bear lunged at him.

***

Meanwhile, Aint was slowly making his way through the forest.

“He hasn’t been delayed too much, right? If it weren’t for Verian, I wouldn’t have gotten here this late.”

He’d run off aimlessly just to shake him off, and ended up even further from his destination.

Verian Kalburdern wasn’t useful in many ways.

— It’s fine. We’ve got a whole week anyway. If someone had already taken it because of a few hours’ delay, it would’ve been gone long ago.

“That’s true, actually.”

It had been prepared a thousand years ago. If it was no longer there, it had been gone for a long time.

— And yet, here you are.

— This might actually be better. Right now, there’s no one else nearby.

Gardner was right. Aint couldn’t sense anyone around.

Well, there was an assistant nearby, but that didn’t matter. Even if he dove into the lake, they’d think he was trying to catch fish, not looking for an elixir.

Aint plunged into the water while tearing open the breathing scroll he had obtained beforehand.

The bottom was uneven, covered in rocks and pebbles; a faint silt lifted in the water as fish swam in all directions.

To his eyes, it was just a peaceful lake. Nothing about it suggested that the elixir prepared by the first emperor might be found there.

‘Is it really here?’

— Are you saying I’m lying?

‘Of course not.’

— Then start checking the entire bottom.

‘Excuse me? You didn’t know the exact location?’

— I only know it’s at the bottom of the lake. The mana trace was almost completely erased, so with your level you’ll only find it on foot.

— That’s why I kept insisting you buy the breathing scroll.

‘…Damn it.’

No wonder he had pushed so hard for him to buy such an expensive scroll even with his tight budget—it made perfect sense now.

But if he could really obtain the elixir, this wasn’t even a sacrifice. And fortunately, it didn’t take that long.

— It’s here.

After an hour of searching, Aint found a small crack. At a glance, it was impossible to think there could be a cave entrance there.

‘If you don’t believe it’s there, you’d never find it.’

The entrance was hidden with such subtlety.

— Naturally. If it were easy to find, it would’ve been stolen long ago.

‘Right, I hadn’t thought of that.’

It was a crack among stones and pebbles so insignificant that it didn’t look like an entrance.

But Aint didn’t hesitate and went straight in. Not just because he had no reason to doubt Gardner Alfenparsen, but because he had already experienced something similar when he obtained him.

And sure enough, the narrow opening swallowed him completely. Before he knew it, his body was inside the submerged cave.

“This is different from the place where I first met Sir Gardner.”

— There are only a few overlapping concealment spells at the entrance, it’s not like an artificial dungeon.

A little farther ahead, after ascending slightly, a perfectly formed cave appeared before him. Although the interior was dark, enhancing his vision with aura allowed Aint to see a hallway stretching in a straight line.

— It looks like all the magic lamps are broken. Makes sense, they’ve been here for a thousand years.

— Don’t tell me you can’t go forward just because it’s dark.

“No problem.”

Aint moved forward without hesitation. Although it was dark, the path was straight and didn’t seem dangerous.

After walking for a while, Aint stopped.

“…Just ahead.”

— There’s something, right?

He felt a massive presence.

— Approach first. Hide all your presence.

“Understood.”

Aint started walking with extreme caution. When he finally reached the entrance of a large chamber, he saw it.

“There it is!”

It was the elixir.

Growing precariously on one of the walls at the back of the chamber, the elixir glowed.

It emitted mana so dense that it filled the entire cavern. Even if no one told him, it was obvious that it was first-class.

“That’s… the one you mentioned?”

— Shh. Look below.

Aint’s gaze dropped slightly.

What he saw was a long, thick body covered in bluish scales that shone like gems. It was coiled up, eyes closed.

A strong smell of blood and the fresh bones scattered around showed it had just eaten and was sleeping soundly.

“…A snake?”

— It’s a sea dragon.

“You’re saying that’s a dragon?”

— Not exactly. It’s a spiritual creature that lives in lakes or seas. It might have some divine power, but it has no magical abilities.

— It doesn’t attack people on its own, but…

Gardner clicked his tongue.

— It’s troublesome that a thief is acting like it owns the place.

It wasn’t hard to understand why that sea dragon had nested there.

It clearly coveted the elixir as well.

“So what do I do? Can I win if I fight it?”

— You’re far from being able to fight it. Best to retreat for now.

— You’ll have to come back another time.

“What if it eats it in the meantime? Then it’s all over.”

— And you’re planning to hand over dessert on a silver platter?

Gardner’s blunt words silenced Aint. Even he didn’t believe he could win at that moment.

“Understood. In that case, for now…”

That’s when it happened.

───!

A faint sound was heard.

And the entire cave began to shake.

“What is this?”

— An earthquake?

The small tremor spread throughout the chamber. The stalactites on the ceiling broke loose, unable to withstand the vibration.

Some fell to the floor. Others, onto the body of the sleeping sea dragon.

— Listen carefully, Aint.

“…Yes.”

Aint swallowed hard.

The steady breathing had stopped, and the closed eyelids opened, revealing bright golden pupils.

— Don’t look back—run now!

“I’m on it!”

Aint turned around.

At that instant, the sea dragon, irritated by the disturbance, let out a thunderous roar.

***

Rumble!

The ground shook violently, and some rocks broke loose.

“Damn it…”

As the impact spread in all directions, Fernan swallowed hard. It seemed he had struck an unstable section of the terrain, and part of the cave had collapsed.

Fortunately, he wasn’t injured, but the vibrations were spreading beyond the wall.

‘Did they discover me?’

Fernan held his breath. That’s when he heard faint sounds on the other side of the wall.

Human voices… and also the roars of a beast. The slight tremor caused fragments of stone to fall from the ceiling.

“Good thing.”

Apparently, they had already encountered each other and were fighting. In that case, he didn’t have to worry about being discovered. Aint wasn’t strong enough to sense his presence with a sea dragon in front of him.

“Still, it’s a spiritual creature. How did it wake up so fast after eating several chunks of meat laced with sedatives?”

Fernan returned his focus to the mithril extraction. Although the fallen debris made everything a bit more complicated, it wasn’t unmanageable.

“Let that fight last a long, long time.”

With the glow of the mithril and the magic lamps he had recently collected, he couldn’t help but start humming from how pleased he was.