CHAPTER 175: 666 METERS DOWN

Splash-

Gerhard emerged suddenly from the water.

Pitch-black darkness greeted them, but Gerhard took out a magic lamp from subspace to illuminate the surroundings.

"I didn’t expect to come back here."

Though he had proposed making the bell together with Aint, it was Gerhard alone who visited the underwater cave.

This was because he had realized it belatedly.

’Come to think of it, Aint doesn’t know that I’ve been here, does he?’

And he shouldn’t know in the future either.

’I was hasty.’

In his eagerness to make the Bell of Pasa as quickly as possible, he had missed something important.

Fortunately, he had realized it before it was too late.

Gerhard ended their conversation by asking whether Armian still had the method for creating the Bell of Pasa.

And then he visited the underwater cave alone. It would be better if no one knew how he found this place.

Of course, there might be traps set up, or other monsters nesting like the water dragon, but that was alright.

He already had a reliable escort that could be used anytime, as long as there weren’t other people watching.

"Wooden."

Kuuuu!

Released from the necklace, Wooden increased in size. About 1.8m. The size of an ordinary human.

Excited, Wooden drew the sword from its back and swung it lightly.

──!

A massive rock was cut in an instant.

Koong koong!

"Don’t pray for monsters to appear."

After calming the excited Wooden, he walked slowly along the path.

Originally, there should have been magic lamps installed on the ceiling, but thanks to Gerhard taking them all, only traces of where they had been remained.

After passing through a long corridor, they arrived at the cavern where spirit herbs had grown and the water dragon had coiled.

Inside the cavern, only traces of the water dragon’s rampage remained.

Koong?

"Yes, there was a water dragon here."

Koong koong!

"Why did I fight it selfishly alone, you ask? I didn’t fight it."

It was a thought that had been occurring to him lately—was Wooden truly a spirit of wood? It seemed more like a battle-crazed warrior.

’Though I can understand.’

It was natural to want to use such a body once obtained.

Gerhard first checked where the mithril had been. Since he had mined the mithril hastily due to time constraints, he wondered if there might be some he hadn’t collected.

"Nothing."

But of course, someone as thorough as he wouldn’t have left even a crumb of mithril.

"Then the next place to look is..."

The pit he had confirmed on his way here. The hole the water dragon had fallen into, which was also mentioned in the prophecy book.

Aint had probably mined adamant from there.

"It’s deep."

When he peered down, an endless abyss came into view.

He sent down a light magic spell the size of a bean, but even beyond its limit, the end was not visible.

"Hmm."

What could possibly be down there?

There might be nothing, or there might be traps. And Gerhard didn’t want to risk that potential danger.

"Wooden."

Koong?

"Go check it out."

Drdrd, Gerhard raised the ground Wooden was standing on. The unprepared Wooden fell down the hole more easily than expected.

Kuuuung?

The abyss swallowed Wooden’s black body in an instant. In the darkness, only a pair of red eyes rapidly receding could be seen.

Gerhard couldn’t help but laugh at the bewilderment and sense of betrayal in those eyes.

They say spirits are rich in emotions.

"Wooden, are you still falling?"

No matter how far apart they are, a spirit and its contractor can communicate with each other as long as they’re not in different dimensions.

However, while a normal spirit artist consumes more mana to summon a spirit sent far away, this did not apply to Gerhard, who used a golem as a vessel.

Kuuuuuung!

A sound, as if shuddering with betrayal, echoed in his head.

How could you push me, it asked. Strictly speaking, he didn’t push, but raised the ground beneath, but well, that wasn’t the important thing.

"What if I went first and there was a trap? That would be a problem."

Koong koong!

"It wouldn’t matter for you. Have you forgotten? That body is the sturdiest in this world. Rather, isn’t this a good opportunity to test the limits of your body?"

...Kuung?

Only then did a curious question come back.

"Yes. If you want, you can just fall without any precautions. You still won’t break."

Kuuu... koong!

Wooden’s voice was suddenly cut off. Gerhard realized that Wooden had reached the bottom.

"Wooden, how many meters?"

The answer came a moment later.

Kuuuuung! Koong koong!

"I didn’t ask whether you got even a scratch."

Kukukuku!

"It doesn’t hurt at all? Congratulations on that. So, how many meters is it?"

Kukuuuu!

"You kept falling and falling..."

Haah, Gerhard, who had sighed lightly, calmly asked again.

"Be specific. The magic inscriptions built into your body can easily measure that much."

Kuuuu.

Only then did the desired answer come back.

"666m? That’s..."

A devilish number.

Could it be a trap set by a demon rather than the first Emperor?

"Wooden, are there any enemies or traps there? Like evil species, magical beasts, or perhaps demons?"

Gerhard swallowed hard, preparing to reverse-summon Wooden to his side if necessary.

The last possibility was significantly lower, but one should always consider the worst.

Koong koong!

"None at all?"

That’s somewhat of a relief. Gerhard let out a sigh of relief.

Koong! Kuuuuu! Kuung!

"You say there are fascinating things?"

That sounds promising. After receiving confirmation of safety from his scout, Gerhard slowly moved his feet.

Grrrr-

Rocks that had risen along the wall became stepping stones. The platform began to slowly descend with Gerhard on it.

’If it’s 666m, Aint couldn’t have fallen all the way to the bottom.’

There must have been a place jutting out in the middle. And he probably mined adamant there.

’But did Aint take everything?’

It was an urgent situation, and Aint wasn’t a professional miner. The same probably applied to Gardner as well.

Both didn’t know how to properly look at the ground or about minerals. The evidence was in the prophecy book, which described mithril as "roughly 5kg."

’Here it is.’

After descending about 50m, Gerhard found what he was looking for. A protruding rock, and a small hole going inside.

Gerhard widened the hole with magic and went inside. And he could find traces of someone digging the earth and mining minerals.

"Adamant was here, and Aint mined it."

He placed his hand on the excavated area. The mana from his mana heart quickly spread.

Earth magic was his specialty, and the reason he chose earth magic as his main attribute, rather than fire magic, which he had the highest affinity with, was.

"Found it."

For uses like this.

Gerhard’s lips curved upward at the roughly 5kg of adamant—it would be much less after refining—hiding deeper.

Koong koong!

"I’ll be there soon. Don’t rush me."

After collecting all the adamant, Gerhard started descending again. But he soon stopped.

"...That’s."

After descending about 100m more, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu at a protruding rock and the small hole visible beyond it.

"...Could it be?"

Barely calming his pounding heart, he went inside. And he discovered purple-colored metals waiting for him.

"...This is crazy, is it really orichalcum?"

Mithril, adamant, and now orichalcum.

An underwater cave containing all three legendary metals.

Gerhard could bet his entire fortune that this cave was definitely artificially created.

"About 20kg of orichalcum as well."

After mining all the orichalcum, Gerhard descended again with a satisfied smile.

Though he looked carefully to see if there might be more such finds, there was no second stroke of luck.

’It’s a lot, but still not enough to make the bell.’

It would be good if there was more.

But that worry was unfounded.

"..."

Gerhard’s eyes widened as he finally reached the bottom.

Koong koong koong!

He couldn’t hear Wooden’s angry words asking why he had taken so long.

"...Ah."

Gerhard’s gaze remained fixed on the wall.

It was.

Certainly the most beautiful sight Gerhard had seen in his life.

It was.

Something that could make anyone one of the wealthiest people on the continent.

It was.

An endless feast of minerals.

On one side, a feast of turquoise-colored light.

On another, brilliant silver light boasting various hues.

And on yet another, a luminous purple.

"...I hit the jackpot."

Mithril, adamant, and orichalcum.

These extremely rare and legendary minerals filled the walls of the massive cavern.

Is this even possible?

Questions surged, but the joy that all of this was his was greater.

"...I’m glad I came alone."

If he’d been with someone, he would have had to share.

His greedy eyes slowly savored the minerals.

Kuuung!

At that moment, Wooden waved its hand in front of Gerhard, stealing his attention.

Koong koong!

And then pointed to a place. As if to say, there’s something more important than that.

"What is it, Wooden? With so many legendary ores, what could be more important..."

There was.

At the end of his gaze following Wooden’s finger, a plant was growing.

A spirit herb that absorbs the power of minerals.

Perhaps because it had grown surrounded by legendary metals?

Its color was more brilliant than any Itarium.

And its size was so large that it could be considered a sapling of a decent tree rather than a herb.

"...I really hit the jackpot."

He had been a bit anxious because Altriark’s Itarium had disappeared due to some bandit, but this Itarium was actually much better.

"...Carefully. We need to dig up even the roots..."

It was at that moment.

─!

The cavern shook.

─!

It was a rhythmic sound.

─!

A slow, but heavy footstep.

It was a giant snake. No, a dragon.

Its body was large and long, with two sharp horns on its head. Though it had no wings, it had fins instead.

Each time its four protruding legs stepped on the ground, the cave resonated, and with each breath it took, a subtle toxic energy was released.

"...A Knucker?"

Similar to a water dragon, but its nature was closer to a monster than a summoned beast.

Exerting absolute power underwater, its breath, exhaled with deadly poison, melts everything.

Such a monster.

Grrrrrr-

It revealed hostility and killing intent toward the intruder eyeing its possessions.

"...What kind of place is this?"

Mithril, adamant, orichalcum, all present, with a water dragon above, and a Knucker below.

The Knucker opened its mouth. Just before the toxic breath was about to be released.

Koong koong koong koong!

The giant Wooden, now grown to 8m, pounced on the Knucker, cheering that it could finally fight excitedly.

The two massive bodies intertwined, rolling on the floor. Fortunately, the cavern was wide enough for the golem and the Knucker to fight.

But that wasn’t the problem.

"Of all things, a Knucker...!"

Gerhard gnashed his teeth. The toxic energy of the summoned beast Knucker was fierce enough to damage even legendary ores.

"Wooden! Don’t let it open its mouth!"

The ores must not be damaged!

Gerhard shouted with the most desperation he had felt in recent times.