Chapter 23

Rumble!

The ground shook slightly with a wave of energy, and the protruding rocks pushed out the mithril deposits that were deeply embedded.

It consumed a lot of mana, but it was a method that required neither miners nor extraction equipment.

Only those versed in earth magic could do it, and that was one of the many reasons Fernan had chosen the earth attribute.

“It’s more than I expected.”

Seeing the bluish-green minerals that filled his field of vision, Fernan could barely contain a smile that threatened to burst out.

In the book of prophecies, Gardner Alfenparsen had mentioned that there would be about five kilos of mithril. To be honest, Fernan thought it was an exaggeration, and that even with half of that he’d be satisfied. But it was quite the opposite.

‘This is paradise…!’

What was visible on the surface already amounted to about five kilos. But by digging with magic, he found much more.

Approximately twenty kilos. That amount had enough value to buy a small country.

─!

──!

At the falling of stones, Fernan raised a rock barrier. The tremors and shaking intensified over time.

“What a way to fight…”

Thanks to that fight, a thick wall had collapsed, and the mithril had been exposed.

From the sea dragon’s location to here was quite a distance.

In addition, a wall more than two meters thick separated them.

Fernan had pierced it with earth magic and then restored it, but Aint didn’t have that option.

If he had managed to break it and still find the mithril, then it must have been a high-level battle, not just a skirmish.

“Don’t tell me he’s going to lose here…”

Although Aint was stronger than in the version of the book of prophecies thanks to the elixir, Fernan couldn’t help but feel uneasy remembering that he had defeated Berian by himself.

[Shaaaaa!

The sea dragon’s breath hit several areas of the cave. Crash. Rubble collapsed everywhere, but it was nothing more than a last desperate attempt.

Beyond the collapsed terrain opened a bottomless abyss. Even for a sea dragon, falling from that height wasn’t something one could easily recover from.

“S-Saved!”

— You were lucky. That the terrain collapsed… You better get out of here before that beast regains consciousness and climbs back up.

Wait.

Gardner suddenly stopped.

— What is that?

“What?”

— There. Don’t you see that bluish glow?

Right behind the place where the sea dragon had been sleeping, between a half-collapsed wall, a faint bluish light filtered through.

Aint, who had just carefully picked the spiritual herb, cautiously approached.

“…This is…”

— Mithril! It’s a mithril vein!]

Fernan held his head, throbbing from the pressure, and nodded.

“So it wasn’t that he won by skill.”

In that case, he had nothing to worry about. Everything fit naturally.

“Of course, it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to win alone.”

Berian, with the power of a demon, had been a weakling. Even if Aint had awakened and managed to defeat him, the result was nothing to brag about.

“…I need to hurry.”

Soon, the sea dragon’s attacks would begin to hit the wall and it would collapse. He had to extract all the mithril before that happened.

“Well, at least I don’t have to erase the traces of extraction.”

After all, the battlefield would be a complete mess. And if someone could notice the traces of mining amid that chaos, they weren’t a knight—they were a professional miner.

Fernan picked up the pace.

***

“Hah, hah…!”

Aint was breathing heavily. He was drenched in sweat, and small cuts covered his skin.

Right in front of him stretched a darkness so deep that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

It was the abyss that had swallowed the sea dragon when the terrain collapsed.

“…Do you think it’s dead?”

— Seems pretty deep… I don’t think it can climb up easily.

The problem was that not only had the sea dragon fallen with the collapse. Aint, luckily, had managed to shelter in a side cave, but the impact had left him with some injuries.

“If only there hadn’t been an earthquake…!”

— It might not have been an earthquake, but the result of the battle. After all, it’s a cave.

“…It’s pretty high.”

— Who would’ve thought there’d be such a space underground. Not even His Majesty the former Emperor would’ve suspected it.

“Do you think I can climb up?”

Aint murmured as he looked up toward a faint light that seemed quite far away.

— Of course you have to climb. Or do you plan to stay here and starve?

“Obviously not.”

It was a dangerous place where one wrong step could cause a fall, but it didn’t seem impossible to climb. If he used his aura to dig his fingers into the wall as he climbed, even if slow, he should be able to do it.

— First recover with a potion, then climb, pick the spiritual herb, and get out of here. We don’t know when that sea dragon might climb back up… wait a moment.

“What is it? Don’t tell me the sea dragon…?”

Aint, worried, expanded his senses, but didn’t detect the monster’s presence.

— No, it’s not that. Look over there.

There was a small hole within the hollow where he was. It was so narrow that Aint had to crouch, but the inside seemed to gradually widen.

“Is there something inside?”

— Probably. It gives me a strange feeling.

With those words, Aint forced himself in. At first he crawled, then crouched, and finally was able to stand.

At the end, a small chamber was revealed. And there—

— There it is!

“I don’t see any spiritual herb.”

— You care about the herb right now?!

— Don’t you see that?!

What was in front of him was a mineral that emitted a soft glow. A color similar to steel, but with a more varied hue.

“What’s that?”

— That’s adamantite.

“Adamantite? What is that… Ada… mantite?”

Aint was speechless. Although he didn’t know much about minerals, he did know the three metallic legends.

The mana-blessed metal, Mithril.

The hardest substance in the world, Adamant,

And Orichalcum, also called floating stone due to its tendency to rise.

The three were materials that couldn’t be obtained, no matter how much money you had.

“Is it really adamantite?”

— A knight should recognize it just by looking! You should know how to identify the best metal for your weapons and armor!

— This sword I inhabit was also forged with a mix of adamantite and mithril, the best.

“That’s not the point right now!”

— Well, true. Extract it! Get it all out immediately!

With a determined face, Aint wrapped his sword in aura and struck the adamantite.

Clang!

The tremendous recoil dispersed his aura, and his face twisted from the impact.

“…This isn’t going to work.”

— What are you doing?

“Wasn’t that the way?”

— Are you trying to break adamantite head-on with your pathetic aura?

— Collapse the earth around it. That’s how you extract adamantite.

“Ah, I see.”

But even the ground around the adamantite was quite solid, so it wasn’t easy.

— Of course. Adamantite affects everything around it.

“This won’t be quick. And if the sea dragon comes back…”

— Adamantite is one of the most expensive minerals in the world. With this, you’ll never have to worry about money again.

“I’ll risk my life and get it all out. But… can I use it myself?”

— If you have the capability. Even among dwarves, only certain artisans can forge adamantite.

— Those artisans are very rare. Finding one is already difficult, and getting them to take your request is another problem.

— And most importantly, the cost of the commission will be astronomical. Impossible to cover for someone like you.

“That’s also true…”

A shadow of disappointment crossed Aint’s eyes. Having a sword or armor made with the hardest substance in the world… He’d be lying if he said he had never dreamed of it as a knight.

“But if I gave part of the adamantite as payment…”

— More importantly.

Gardner interrupted Aint.

— Neither you nor Armian have the strength to protect this adamantite now.

— You already lost the throne and many other things. What makes you think this won’t be taken from you too?

“…”

Aint couldn’t refute that. He knew it better than anyone.

“Then… who can I sell it to? I can’t just give it to anyone like that…”

— What are you thinking?

Gardner replied incredulously.

— You have a wealthy man right at your fingertips.

— If you want armor, make him an offer.

***

“Well? Did you manage to get what you wanted?”

Jace greeted Fernan with a mocking smile as he suddenly emerged from the ground.

“Everything in order?”

“Some monsters got riled up and we had a bit of a scuffle with some students nearby. Nothing that required an assistant’s intervention, in my opinion.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Is everything finished?”

“For now.”

At that, Jace retrieved his duplicate, who had been standing guard atop a tree.

“So much for staying pinned to one spot.”

“It’s only been a day.”

“And I was already going crazy from staying still so long!”

“So the contract is over too?”

Jace asked Fernan, who only gave him an evasive smile.

“I did what you asked, and you paid for it.”

“Yes. Good job.”

“But tell me, just out of curiosity… what kind of elixir is it? What makes it so special that you’d go to such lengths to get it?”

Fernan didn’t answer. He just looked at him in silence. Under that gaze, Jace shook his head.

“Of course you wouldn’t tell me. Well then, take care, instructor. If you need anything in the future, you know where to find me.”

Jace disappeared laughing. Fernan climbed up to his usual assistant spot, high up in the tree.

“Everything turned out better than I expected.”

He’d secured a large amount of mithril, and Aint hadn’t discovered him.

‘Will this amount be enough?’

Though it was 20 kg, mithril was so light that its volume was equivalent to that of an entire house. Quantity wouldn’t be a problem.

‘The problem will be finding the right mineral.’

Mithril was known for its high mana absorption and conduction, so much so that it was said to be blessed by mana.

But it didn’t shine on its own. It needed to be alloyed with another metal to multiply its effectiveness. Obviously, he couldn’t use any low-quality stone.

“I’ll have to spend all my money to get the material.”

If he used all his contacts and family influence, maybe he could find a few minerals that were worth it.

“Adamantite… or at least black iron, and it’d be perfect…”

But those minerals weren’t things you could get with money.

‘Anyway, the job’s done. I just have to fulfill my assistant duties for a while, and then—’

Boom!

Bang!

Kiieeehk!

Grrr, grrr!

Explosions, roars, beast howls, screams, and a strong stench of monsters pulled him out of his focus.

Fernan sat up. In the distance, a horde of dozens of hell hounds was chasing a single student.

“Help! Please help me!”

Her armor was in tatters, dried blood crusting all over her body, and she screamed in desperation.

She was a student who had run into a horde of monsters she couldn’t handle. For such cases, instructors and assistants were stationed throughout the area to supervise and protect.

But Fernan did nothing.

The girl ran, screamed, circled the tree where he was again and again.

“Ah, please!”

Finally, she shouted in anger.

“Aren’t you going to help me even a little?”

“Should I?”

“Aren’t assistants supposed to help students when they’re in danger?!”

“Sure, if you were in danger.”

Fernan leaned on his elbow and tapped the tree.

“But tell me, can an elf in the forest really be in danger from a pack of hell hounds?”

“…Tch.”

The orange-haired elf, Aria, clicked her tongue. She leapt nimbly and landed beside Fernan.

The hell hounds, having lost sight of her, rammed into the tree.

Boom!

“Stop messing around and get rid of them. They’re going to bring the tree down.”

“How about giving me a hand, instructor?”

“So all that about elves loving trees and the forest was just talk, huh?”

In the end, Aria cast her magic. Dozens of wind blades fell like a storm upon the hell hounds.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

She didn’t take them all out, but several were seriously injured and retreated. The attack was so fast that the pack scattered in disarray.

“Were you looking for me?”

“Coincidence.”

“Then leave.”

“…I was looking for you.”

“And why?”

“Because I got curious.”

Curious?

Fernan looked at her warily, and Aria nodded.

“As far as I know, second-years don’t usually act as temporary assistants.”

“They just don’t want to. It’s not that they can’t.”

“Exactly. Everyone avoids it because it doesn’t benefit them, so I’m curious why you’re doing it.”

Fernan understood just from the curiosity in her eyes.

“Your father… Marquis Fredien sent you? Wanted you to approach one of the elector prince houses and become their friend?”

“…That obvious? I thought I played it off pretty well.”

Aria didn’t deny it.

“Pretty obvious.”

“I won’t deny it. So, are we friends?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m older than you.”

Even if she was an elf, there wasn’t much difference from humans. She only had pointed ears and a special affinity with forests or spirits.

“Then will you accept me as your senior?”

“Not thrilled about it either.”

“I’m the heir to one of the elector prince houses, you know?”

“Weren’t you flirting with Aint?”

“Do you think an elf can live off just meat? I eat fruit too, now and then. In the end, I’ll be friends with all six elector princes anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

Just from that conversation, Fernan understood her character. A shameless bold girl.

“I haven’t even thought about who to sell the mineral to…”

At that moment—

───────!!

A deafening roar echoed in the distance, like it was about to tear eardrums apart.
It was a roar.

The fury of a dragon whose lair was destroyed and whose treasure was stolen.

“…This is insane.”

Fernan swallowed hard as the sea dragon appeared, expelling all the water from the lake around it.

‘Don’t tell me Aint… died?’

Something had gone very wrong.

“A sea dragon? What’s that doing here…? Wait, when—?”

Aria blinked in astonishment.

In the distance, Fernan was already fleeing until he became a dot on the horizon.