CHAPTER 533: THE RAVENOUS MAW [I]

A few hours inside the mines, and everyone has already geared up to fight. The remaining people that has not geared up to fight with the others are there to monitor and to also be there to help out with resupplying and supporting those who will be fighting. As for Elaina, she will join the attackers but she will be remaining in the backline with the Village Chief to oversee the battle.

"Where is the Maw of Stones located now, by the way?" Elaina asked, wanting to know if the Maw of Stones is currently in one of the floors she can access.

"On floor 200. Most Mythril are present there and it seems that it was also the same floor it was born from. It is also making its way up so there is a chance that by the time we reach the floor 200, it might have already climbed to floor 199," the Village Chief explained.

"Floor 200? Then I can’t go there yet. I have yet to break through the hundred marks on the mines, and yet I am already going to head there? I won’t be able to access the elevator on that floor!" Elaina complained.

"You must be talking about the elevator, and I do agree with that...if we do use it. However, we won’t be using it, and instead, we will use the tunnel, we dwarves have made to easily bypass the limit of that elevator and reach deeper levels of the mines without needing to find the ladders that would lead to the next level. There is no downside to this, and it will allow one to access the lower floors without relying on the elevator. However, the problem is that even if you get to visit the floor 200, the elevator will not recognize it and will only "register" your progress if you do the usual progression of going down from floor to floor and using the ladders to access it."

"Well, that is good to know. I am more than happy that we will be able to go down so deep without relying on the elevator. It is indeed a bit of a downside for me to not be able to register my entry to level 200 by this method, but at least, I don’t have to manually clear the whole floors to reach the necessary floor that we needed to access."

"Yes. So, are you ready? We will be heading out soon once every dwarves are geared up and ready."

Elaina nodded. "I am always ready."

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...

A few minutes more and every dwarf that is assigned to the fight is now heading to floor 200. Elaina and the Village Chief are walking side by side as they stand in front of the dwarves that will participate in the battle.

"Listen fellow dwarves. Now that our underground home is once again threatened by an entity that would be willing to devour anything in its path, we are going to attack and repel the threat, ensuring the safety of our village. We might be powerless and not a warrior, but we are not just going to stand still and let the monster continue to do what it pleases. Thanks to our human benefactor and the one who helped us create the necessary tools to fight the enemy, we are sure that we will win this battle and return victorious, and to do so, everyone has to do their part!"

The dwarves shout with their weapons raised in the air. They are chanting something that Elaina couldn’t understand, perhaps a dwarven language. They are doing something that is raising their morale a lot. Even Elaina felt a bit pumped up on the upcoming battle, even though she isn’t even part of the frontline.

"Now, to battle!"

Everyone screamed and started heading to the deeper part of the village that Elaina had yet to see and visit. According to the Village Chief, this area is the place where they put the tunnel to reach the deeper parts of the mines. Elaina was surprised to see multiple tunnels that burrowed deep into the deeper levels of the mines in a downslope manner.

"How does this work?" Elaina asked. After all, she is not sure how they made a tunnel without burrowing through the new floors.

"To be honest, we also don’t know. One will not see these tunnels we made if one goes and uses the elevator for some reason. You might have seen the next floor right and seen no tunnels that actually lead there and back to the village without using the elevator? We have access to the next floor without going down a ladder or elevator, and yet anyone who tries to find it after using the ladder or elevator will not find it, no matter what they do."

"Do the floors used in the tunnels still refresh every time someone enters them? Like, they become a different floor except for those floors that end with five and zero? What about the monsters?"

"Yes. It does still get affected by that. The only difference is that the tunnel remains present, and we can still access that floor using the tunnel, so it is like cheating for us dwarves. Not only that, but monsters seem not to spawn at all whenever we use the tunnels, making it an easy way for us to mine without needing to clear the place just to mine safely. The exception to that rule seems to be the Maw of Stones, since it does appear even with the tunnel. And since we are expert tunnelers but not so great in battles, we abused this exploit to enjoy. You and your children who come around are also free to enjoy and use this as well."

Elaina shook her head. "It’s fine, thanks. But I doubt my children will like it, considering that their main reason for going on this mine is to fight the monsters within and get stronger."

The group enters the tunnel labeled with "100 to 200" since the target is spotted on floor 200. There are more tunnels, and some have even reached floor 300 to 400. Elaina wonders how deep the mines are and how deeply they have been explored so far.

As they are in deeper parts of the tunnels, the shaking made by the Maw of Stones is once again felt all over the place. Everyone stopped as they waited for the tremors to lower. While heading deeper, they soon meet a rushing dwarf towards the group.

"Village Chief, it’s good that everyone is now mobilized. Good timing since I also confirmed that the Maw of Stones has converted its stony body into Mythril! The plan is now ready to go underway!"

The Village Chief nodded and pat the shoulder of the scout. "Good work, go back and rest, we will handle it from here."

He then turned to his group and raise his own weapon filled with the acid that they will be spraying the maw of stones later. "Men, charge!"