Chapter 115: Cave Exploration 5

Before a week had passed, we had already gathered six mana stones.

Two were collected by our party, and adventurers who took on the request brought in four.

At this pace, we’re collecting a mana stone a day.

“Could these just be ordinary mana stones? There are so many…”

“I doubt it, Grace. For starters, the color is different.”

“Right, the normal mana stones were blue, while the ones from the Full Moon Wolf and the Orc Chieftain were red.”

If Han Se-ah hadn’t stored them in her inventory and verified them as quest items, and if the color of these stones wasn’t the contrasting red to the tower’s blue, we might have sold them off as ordinary tower mana stones.

To our surprise, Han Se-ah’s, mine and even the viewer’s, there was an abundance of golem magic stones.

Not just a few to unlock a hidden door, but possibly enough to exchange them by the hundreds.

The looks Grace and Irene gave me grew increasingly somber.

Every time a mana stone was added to Han Se-ah’s inventory, it was as if ten gold coins melted away.

Their eyes held a mix of sympathy and regret as they watched.

“It doesn’t seem like we’ll find much on the 21st floor. Shall we head to the 22nd?”

“I wonder if these golems are on the 22nd floor as well…”

“It’s possible they’re on every floor. After all, the request is still very new. We’ve handed in the fragments of the golem to the Magic Tower, so we should hear something soon.”

If there’s a Magic Tower available, we should make use of it.

No matter how much we brainstorm, we can’t match the true researchers of the Magic Tower.

The maze, the golem, the mana stones, and ten gold coins.

To grab the attention of our party, each lost in their own thoughts, I clapped my hands.

Adventurers will collect the mana stones for us and the mages of the tower will analyze the golem’s body.

So, shouldn’t we continue climbing?

…We also need to collect moss for the poor mage.

“We’ve put in a request to have adventurers explore the mazes, so for today, we’ll head to the 22nd floor. We’ll ignore the unique golems for now. We’ve confirmed that Hanna’s magic works against the cave spiders and vampire bats, so let’s proceed steadily.”

“Using intermediate magic made a huge difference in destructive power.”

“I’m curious if golems will appear on the 22nd floor too. I’m still not used to channeling mana into my weapon…”

Kaiden began to seriously contemplate upon the mention of golems again.

If mages are divided into novice, intermediate, and advanced levels, each ascending with more complex and powerful magic, then vanguards like me and Kaiden differentiate our levels by how we imbue our weapons with mana.

Novices can barely enhance their own bodies while those at the intermediate level can enhance both their body and weapon by infusing them with mana.

Those on the higher levels, on the other hand, can project their mana externally, much like the ‘sword aura’ often found in Korean fantasy novels.

Even if Kaiden’s rank is 4★, her proficiency as a swordsman isn’t yet at a high level.

If she were to strike a golem with the sword she brought from her family, its blade would probably chip or break entirely.

“Kaiden, your sword has a unique design, so replacements might be hard to come by. Consider having a secondary weapon. It won’t hurt to be prepared.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Her curt reply and the slight nod that follows make me want to urge her to drop her act.

Knowing that this behavior is entirely her portrayal of an ideal adventurer – based on Katie Wesley’s standards – a mischievous urge begins to grow within me.

I wish Han Se-ah would progress with Kaiden’s character quest soon.

Speaking of Kaiden and weaponry naturally led Han Se-ah to pick up the conversation and start briefing today’s plans as the leader.

“We’ve received a request from the Magic Tower to gather moss which can be done alongside our main goals. We’ll collect cave moss and mushrooms while exploring the 22nd floor, and then camp in the caves for a day.”

“Camping in the caves? I assume it’ll be different from camping in the forest?”

“Well, the air will certainly be different to start with… But if we find a good spot, we can get a good rest in.”

The idea of spending a night in the caves didn’t seem to faze the group.

After checking the food and tent equipment in Han Se-ah’s inventory, we set our sights back on the tower.

A dimly lit corridor, musty air, pitch-black cave walls, and a subtle, damp humidity.

This was certainly not an ideal place for anyone to rest.

“I hope no monsters come out from these walls.”

“I doubt there would be any.”

In a corner of the cave, resembling an animal den, the entrance was narrow, but the path widened slightly at the end.

We began setting up our tents in this confined space.

The girls had taken their gear off, relaxing in comfortable shirts and casual wear.

“Come on, we’re just setting the camp up and you’re talking like that? If you keep this up, I might just fix the camera on Roland, who’s on guard duty, until tomorrow morning.”

Han Se-ah, while setting up the tent, warned the chat with a tone that could send shivers down anyone’s spine.

But with her experience in the forest, she proficiently anchored the tent, even on the hard ground.

While I was blocking the only entrance and keeping watch, Han Se-ah was setting up the tent, Grace and Irene were preparing food, and Kaiden was going around handling various chores.

Amidst all this, Han Se-ah gently tapped my back.

“Roland, I have a question.”

“Hm?”

While I was blocking the entrance and sneakily enjoying some online content, Han Se-ah unexpectedly, came up to me with a question.

“Is it impossible to just break down all the walls in the maze and explore like that?”

Considering there were literal superhumans thanks to mana, it was a reasonable question.

Like when I bulldozed through the forest, smashing through trees and traps to find the Orc hunter, couldn’t we just break through the maze in the same fashion?

While the cave walls had become smoother, they hadn’t become more durable.

However, there was a problem with her idea.

“It’s possible to break the walls, but what comes after is the problem.”

“What comes after?”

“If I recklessly break the walls, won’t the ceiling collapse?”

“…Ah, I see.”

This wasn’t a forest with an open sky. It was the interior of a dark cave.

If I randomly destroyed things, there’s no telling what repercussions there’d be.

It doesn’t matter how sturdy or resilient I am, if the cave completely collapsed, trapping me under tons of rock, I wouldn’t be able to move an inch.

Considering the capabilities of this cheat-like body, it might be possible to move by digging through the ground.

But if I’m buried in a pile of rocks and lose track of the cave’s path, I’d still be stuck.

“I’ve heard of adventurers evaporating the water during desperate battles in the marshes, but I’ve never heard of adventurers breaking through cave walls. No one knows whether there’s land above or just endless rocks and mud.”

“So, you’re saying it’s possible to force it like this, but why have people only tried it in marshes?”

“Only senior adventurers can do this and they are typically on the 31st floor and above. Whether it’s using earth magic to fill the marsh or creating a shockwave to scatter the water, these methods are only used to make the fight easier. But it wastes mana, so they only do it against bosses or annoying monsters.”

“Well, would it be a bit weird to say this? It seems like good content for streaming. If I were the first to go up and boil the marsh, the views would skyrocket. ‘How to easily devour the 31st floor’s monsters like cake.’ Something like that.”

Han Se-ah, who was initially trying to figure out how to break through the cave walls, was now lost in thought, dreaming of ways to boost viewership.

As I was observing her in that daze, from a distance, Irene excitedly waved, holding up a ladle.

“I’ve finished cooking the stew! …Oh, would you like me to bring it over there?”

“No, I’ll come over! …It takes less than a minute for the chat to be filled with curses. Don’t you guys have better things to do?”

Her silly musings were interrupted by Irene, holding a ladle with a kind smile, which sent the viewers into another frenzy.