Chapter 93
R4F7DFwoooosh—sJhU9I
8FQxFernan emerged abruptly from the water.EIgam77
kkYuueTotal darkness welcomed him, but he took a magic lamp from subspace and lit up the surroundings.6lag
qPkCXH“I never thought I’d come back here.”LWac
IsJSFAlthough he had proposed to Aint that they build the Bell of Pasa together, it was Fernan who returned alone to the underwater cavern.8lCU
GvGHe realized it too late.eo8dSja
gmEkEi‘Now that I think about it… Aint doesn’t know I’ve already been here, right?’Ti98GC
OBKOKAnd he must never know.TLvfl
Ujjy‘I was too hasty.’bbU2L
lgWXaIn his rush to forge the Bell of Pasa as soon as possible, he had overlooked something fundamental. Fortunately, he remembered before it was too late.vOSSr
UWAEFernan ended the conversation by asking if the Armian family still had any knowledge about the bell’s manufacture.hNma3
2cEDAnd then, on his own, he came to search for the underwater cavern. No one could find out how he had come to know this place.KsD
z4FDOf course, there could be traps, or another monster nesting here like the sea dragon. But he wasn’t worried.a8G8y
5VkNot while he had a firm and reliable guardian he could use at any moment away from prying eyes.PsFHBTw
6hSA7“Wooden.”VukvgA
oMbbcU— Kkuuuu!EcO6kl
GvVWooden emerged from the pendant and expanded his body until he reached about 1.8 meters, the height of an average human.8M7
8VwExcited, he unsheathed the sword from his back and swung it lightly.Lgak0AN
iQOl──!SZIF
5m5A gigantic rock was sliced in one stroke.0teufaO
89XRj— Kkungkung!ay00p
4Lu“Don’t pray for a monster to appear.”9upce0p
1L3COzFernan calmed him and slowly advanced down the corridor.lkGkmj
0jTihBefore, the ceiling had embedded magic lamps, but since he had taken them all, only empty marks remained.J0pO
BlWEHe traversed the long tunnel until he reached the large chamber where spiritual herbs had grown and where the sea dragon had nested.PmTj
qmDqn9Inside, only the traces of the battle it had fought remained.QYuLZY
xKIy5s— Kkung?J7nR1
Mz7Ve“Yes. The sea dragon was here.”q0UKA03
9e1YFCU— Kkungkung!gb9f
SRv8o“Why did I fight it alone? I didn’t.”2HF
rIvafw2Lately, he was beginning to doubt whether Wooden was truly a wood spirit. He behaved more like a battle junkie.YRJ7p
448vAj5‘Though I understand.’0IWKPbC
TMzWith that new body, it was natural to want to test it out.eo6u6wd
TnmOdWFernan first inspected the spot where he had found mithril. He had mined it in a hurry, so he wanted to check if any remnants remained.K0A
0WDv5eP“Nothing.”TAY
ACTIfAs expected, he had been too thorough to leave a single fragment behind.xQGr8Pu
jgPA“Next is…”aho
oVoThe hole where the sea dragon had fallen, also mentioned in the book of prophecies.xZy
RxRIt was likely where Aint had extracted the adamantium.6qDQE
4w4uGOn“So deep…”RKsx1R
OvmlHe leaned in to look. Below stretched an endless abyss.XL0K7
w8hWrSHe threw a small light orb, but even at its limit, he couldn’t see the bottom.HJDmzk
SY51mmt“Hmm.”spIM
Hsl8What could be down there?4bxuD
54jpDThere might be nothing, or it could hide traps. And Fernan wasn’t about to risk himself.HQPwr
y6p“Wooden.”CoB3T35
uMiSX— Kkung?FTU
hgz8Q“Go check it out.”d6U4n9
191hZNSuddenly, he lifted the ground under Wooden’s feet and dropped him into the hole.H2Bj
XXj— Kkuuuung?!qqoJ9
C5WCsDarkness swallowed the black golem’s body in an instant. Only his red eyes continued to glow, quickly fading away.bZ2dBg
iuzfFJWFernan smiled at the confusion and resentment in those eyes.Srs9Ql
sT9oIThey said spirits were very emotional, and it seemed true.HoS
7uAL“Wooden, still falling?”90Mx0
XDtEven separated, a contractor could speak with their spirit as long as there wasn’t a different dimension between them.tioPm
djEThe difference was that a normal summoner had to expend a lot of mana to maintain them at a distance, but since Fernan channeled his through a golem, that didn’t apply.RFM9i8
xO0c— Kkuuuuuung!Gmu
7VHiA9pWooden’s angry rumble shook his head.P4p
YSBgfjGHe claimed Fernan had pushed him.CLE
zWy“I didn’t push you, I just lifted the ground. Same result, though.”GF2
Kba“Wouldn’t it be worse if I went down first and it turned out to be a trap?”hroZsO7
PAOeJ— Kkungkung!Y6ngEt
3hcc“It doesn’t affect you. Don’t forget that body is the most durable in the world. Think of it as a chance to test your limits.”w20B
E5eH— …Kkuung?dYkV9
EQus9gThe doubt turned into curiosity.XkrAiQC
cGcz“That’s right. If you want, you could let yourself fall without any protection and still not break.”vjRsz13
TQZxD— Kkuu… Kkung!zmGR
o3bSuddenly the voice cut off. Fernan understood he had reached the bottom.BrB
uzy52kJ“Wooden, how deep?”qwi69w
8O4T0CThe answer took a while.s0BjQx3
rArZiY— Kkuuuung! Kkungkung!fhozLW
6FI6“I didn’t ask if you got scratched or not.”SfasVZ
E8OWF— Kkugugugu!mn0Vw
KPzIsMi“No pain? Good for you. But tell me, how many meters?”zf15S
mviQ1lr— Kkuguuu!vEB7mA
pSvfZC“You kept falling…?”TeIze
VmG4bSFernan sighed and calmly asked again.cJ8L
wjPha5“Be precise. The magic engravings on your body can measure it exactly.”SWh
lSe69— Kkuuu.ZxT3
5aS3Finally, he got the answer he expected.Nwz
2kV“Six hundred sixty-six meters? Well…”Yeg
HgZA demonic number.h4odfRi
ggcoCould it be a trap set by a demon and not the First Emperor?bY7RVl
ZhLoW“Any enemies or traps? A corrupt one, monster, or maybe even a demon?”1jJZ
PNYLSvHe swallowed hard as he prepared to summon Wooden back if necessary.xyv
LwI— Kkungkung!ctA
Ch36vmY“Nothing?”mYe
pl8kYjHe sighed in relief.SRycv
mbeaxCS— Kkung! Kkuuuu! Kkuung!rpHM
HRtpzjj“Strange things, you say?”81l9
sNnbONow that sounded promising.BLq
aLjiWith the path cleared by his scout, Fernan began his descent.v0NN
nbPnRumble—FMbqn
IaYHe grew rock platforms from the wall and started descending on them.VWi
veq9oV‘If it really was 666 meters, Aint couldn’t have reached the bottom.’XKN7H
ChuHe must’ve found an intermediate ledge. And from there extracted the adamantium.Dw8l
6Zn‘But… did he mine it all?’O10hiV
aWypBAint wasn’t a miner, nor was Gardner. That much was clear from the book of prophecies, which mentioned only 5 kg of mithril.flT
Grme‘Here.’K9nafTA
CYFHe descended about 50 meters and found what he was looking for—a ledge with a small opening in the rock.27QE
9iMSijyHe widened it with magic and went inside. There he found clear signs of mining.TgQgXfx
NrNxJsU“This is where the adamantium was, and Aint mined it.”nUg
ydAHe placed his hand on the excavated rock. The mana in his heart spread rapidly.zD1G45F
hjuHIEarth magic was his specialty. And the reason he had chosen it as his main affinity, rather than fire which was more natural to him, was simple.0NKvFeK
WHwRc“I found it.”1Ka
jvfGBIt was precisely for this.xeTOKs
fpHtEAbout 5 kilograms of adamantium, which would be reduced considerably after refining, appeared deeper inside, and Fernan smiled in satisfaction.G7f
jzVRzlt— Kkungkung!pjbR
5j3hs“I’m coming, don’t be so impatient.”WMnMC9e
iu1tUuHe gathered all the adamantium and resumed his descent. But soon he stopped.i5UVaCy
RipO“…That is…”02R
PWbAbout 100 meters further down, he saw a protruding rock and, behind it, a small opening that struck him as strangely familiar.Nbc
RRD“…Could it be…?”myn2N
reC7m0SHolding back the pounding in his chest, he entered the hollow.hJa
5vdrVZ0There, a purple-colored metal awaited him.2MHA
8wa“…Damn it… is that really orichalcum?”iVTR
rEL7yyNMithril, adamantium, and now orichalcum.JBH
YJ3LU06The three legendary metals, all in the same underwater cavern.kU61T
DoPLDHUFernan could bet his entire fortune that this place had been artificially created.F4P9l
rvw“Orichalcum, about 20 kilos.”qrINhMm
AFUHe extracted it with a pleased smile and continued descending. He hoped to find something else, but there was no third surprise.RM1c
ZDrm‘It’s a lot, but still not enough to forge the bell.’DRODoP
dTQHe had wanted more.JswzvsQ
yMOyAlthough that concern turned out to be unnecessary.M4GUP
6fg“….”WBG1XM
qYIWhen he finally stepped onto the floor, his eyes widened.PAjV
IZa— Kkungkungkung!9JiEy
3exn5JHe paid no attention to Wooden’s scolding for taking so long.LgT47J
jTU2x0q“…Ah.”RYGF
HKaFernan couldn’t take his eyes off the wall.AmlRt1
rVfBefore him unfolded, without a doubt, the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his life.0oq
OD1Vp5A sight that would make anyone on the continent rich.27EFO8
TPcvEWhA sight of minerals stretching as far as the eye could see.c8P1xV
tXwOn one side, a turquoise sea shimmered.LTievy6
0CduOn the other, a brilliant silver showing a thousand shades.6VCbea
wR5KIAnd beyond that, an iridescent purple.ujGn
x4jLP“…Stroke of luck.”vm3F
Oxr3ocGMithril, adamantium, and orichalcum.nBqedd
USkeThe chamber walls were covered with those legendary metals, extremely rare and nearly impossible to find.VFh363D
Sor8Could something like this even be real? The doubt brushed him, but the joy of knowing it was all his far outweighed it.fqtx
JW0wC“…Good thing I came alone.”3FPPq
9tN7Had he brought someone, he would’ve had to share.rEUxMTA
tHxrywHis eyes gleamed with greed as he savored the sight of the minerals.zeRnaON
Sqzqo— Kkuuuung!1O7ik
2RcLvThen Wooden waved a hand in front of him, pulling his attention away.PdSEXYF
3wM— Kkungkung!LJjH
UQfXHe was pointing to a specific spot, as if saying something even more important was there.Be4l7
jTLJ“What could be more important than all this…?”tRUQ
37XvAnd there was.gtAqXZz
nKgDWhere Wooden pointed, a plant was growing.l54
YD3JA spiritual herb absorbing energy from the minerals.SdmdlpS
UHPelbPerhaps because it was surrounded by those legendary metals, its color was more radiant than any known itarium.OA6OB
XTVSTAnd its size was no longer that of an herb, but of a tree sprout.2UD
5UvNd“…Now this is a discovery.”5duPElV
HeAocThe loss of the itarium in Altrierc had troubled him, but this plant more than made up for it.eNMiew0
ry85P“…Carefully. I need to extract it with the roots and all…”mikcYv
o0HkarIt was at that moment.u88U
yP9c9r─!HHTlVAf
O7NrThe chamber shook.sANvvZh
l29F─!BpK
ifmEA rhythmic sound.KGM
nu2Etrz─!5QuqF
0q1q4The rumble of heavy, slow footsteps.eMrgLZ
oNWWhat appeared was a gigantic serpent. Not a dragon.JPzu
wDp6A long, massive body with two sharp horns on its head. It had no wings, but it did have fins.MyG
vPQtEvery time its four feet touched the ground, the entire cavern trembled.vDlV3R
CHo8From its breath spread a subtle poison.gBFUoEK
LNdoisr“…A Knucker?”Uiilb
99XxBeSimilar to a sea dragon, but with the nature of a monster more than a magical beast.SgGIylF
DOZsIOHIts strength in water was absolute, and its poisonous breath could dissolve everything.23FNqns
wpquE0cThe monster growled, showing hatred and bloodlust toward the intruder coveting its treasure.xAl2u4S
2Qi“…What the hell is this place?”Y58PS
iUhlDvMithril, adamantium, and orichalcum in abundance, a sea dragon above, and a Knucker below.yy56
OnlThe Knucker opened its mouth. It was about to exhale its poisonous breath.9xXso
H4Vz— Kkungkungkungkung!MtD
PELWooden, now grown to eight meters tall, roared with excitement at last at a worthy battle and lunged at the monster.g2GSqWR
FXuFYThe two colossal creatures rolled and clashed throughout the chamber. Fortunately, it was wide enough to withstand such a battle.jM73
ttHBut that wasn’t the real problem.l0hFtp9
OTcX6“Had to be a Knucker…!”KF68nO
PZqp4otFernan ground his teeth.NAE
qSVAA Knucker’s venom was so lethal that even those legendary minerals could be damaged.gLvJR2
0ShCc“Wooden! Don’t let it open its mouth!”Meb
4XwnpHe couldn’t allow the precious stones to suffer any harm!McHzvC
IbcsFernan shouted more desperately than he had in a long time.KgqiifE
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