Ch.126Exploration Battle

The monsters occupying the Korkas Mine resembled four-legged mobile weapons that looked like they belonged in a science fiction movie.

Their four long legs moved with a “cha-ra-ra-rak” sound, boasting supreme mobility that freely performed horizontal movement, rotation in place, and even wall-running. On the inside of those long legs were transparent, glass-like sharp saw blades.

Their attack method of extending those saw-bladed legs toward an opponent’s neck and pulling reminded me of a NICE boat, sending chills down my spine, but since they only used it when approaching close enough for bodies to almost touch, it wasn’t a major threat.

The real problem was the red beam they fired from their ice cream cone-shaped snouts.

The beam attacks, fired with “pyung-pyung” sounds like laser guns from sci-fiction movies, didn’t have tremendous attack power as Director Kelly had mentioned. However, the sight of Mina’s shield magical tool—which had been reinforced after the Demon Rose incident—crumbling like a biscuit after just two hits was enough to shock us all.

If Seti’s spear, my revolver, or Phyllis’s rifle were to be destroyed, that member would not only be immediately excluded from our combat strength but would have to retire from the mine recapture operation altogether.

In the end, we were forced to make a desperate retreat less than 10 minutes after descending to the second underground level. Fortunately, we managed to return safely to the cliff apartment in Nidavellir without suffering any further human or material damage.

“OK, everyone… let’s review the situation.”

Gathered in the living room of the cliff apartment provided as our lodging, we immediately began an emergency strategy meeting.

Everyone’s faces were filled with tension and dismay, but we couldn’t just accept defeat and back out now, so we needed to find a way to overcome this situation.

“First, those spider-shaped four-legged golem monsters… let’s temporarily call them Dragoons.”

“Dragoons?”

“They’re mechanical devices that appeared in a fairly famous creative work from my homeland. Anyway, the Dragoons’ defense itself wasn’t as impressive as we feared. Though they appeared metallic on the outside, we could damage them with Seti’s spear as well as rifle and revolver bullets.”

“Right. They’re not comparable to Tyrant Worms, more similar to or slightly tougher than Rumbling Centipedes.”

“Their speed was quite remarkable, but that’s not a major issue as long as we’re fighting in narrow passages.”

“So the problems are those red beams and their disturbingly good coordination…”

The destructive power of the red beams that shattered shield magical tools in just two hits was certainly impressive, but objectively speaking, their projectile speed was less than a revolver’s white magic bullet, and their rate of fire was slower than Phyllis’s rifle.

Moreover, since energy could be seen flowing in their cone-shaped heads right before firing, it wasn’t difficult to deal with if observed carefully.

The problem was that 4-5 Dragoons would fire these attacks simultaneously or in succession, making them difficult to dodge or block.

If you blocked one, you’d get hit by another; if you tried to dodge, another beam would already be flying toward you.

It felt like being on the receiving end of the six-shot encirclement firing I once used against Hunting Wolves.

“Jessica, what about the Fragment of Omniscience?”

“I’ve roughly figured out the structure, but controlling it seems impossible. The effect itself is a magic that creates fatal cracks in whatever it hits, but part of the formula is designed to complete itself in response to external stimuli.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it becomes magic that destroys iron when it touches iron, or magic that destroys wood when it touches wood. Therefore, before hitting its target, the formula itself is in an ‘incomplete’ and ‘unknown’ state. While the Fragment of Omniscience can discern it, the act of reverse-engineering to control it isn’t possible.”

“Hmm…”

So it’s like Schrödinger’s magical formula, or rather, it functions like a joker in poker.

“For something like that, it didn’t lead to fatal injuries when it hit bare skin, did it?”

“No. It hurt a bit, but it healed quickly with recovery magic.”

“I examined Seti’s wound again just to be sure, but couldn’t find any effects of the crack formula. It seems it doesn’t activate on living beings, and judging from how her entire dress wasn’t destroyed when it grazed her skirt, the target materials seem somewhat limited.”

“Destruction of the entire dress… that might have been worth seeing in its own way.”

“Will~?”

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

In summary, the red beam’s characteristics can be organized into three points:

First, it possesses adaptability that responds to the material it touches, making it impossible to control with the Fragment of Omniscience.

Second, it’s not effective against all materials; we’ve confirmed it doesn’t activate against living beings or cloth.

Third, excluding its additional effects, its projectile speed, power, and rate of fire are all unremarkable.

“Hmm, I think there might be a solution…”

“Really?”

“I’m not certain, but I need to create a simple prototype and test it. Let me organize my ideas and then consult with Director Kelly.”

I took out paper from the table drawer and began jotting down the ideas that came to mind.

“A scale shield?”

“Yes, I’m trying to make something that looks roughly like this. Could we get support for the necessary materials?”

“Hmm, destructive magic that propagates through identical materials. I see, so that’s why it has this structure… hmm.”

Director Kelly’s eyes lit up as he examined the paper I handed him.

Drawn on the paper was a wooden shield with diamond-cut metal plates of four different types arranged so they wouldn’t be adjacent to each other.

It was a prototype defense tool designed based on the characteristics of the red beam.

“Iron, copper, tin, and zinc—we have plenty in stock, so we can whip this up. If I gather the craftsmen, it would take only two hours to make five of these even if we start after dinner.”

“For now, just one for testing would be fine. If it doesn’t work, it would be a waste of materials and time.”

“In that case, it’s even simpler. I’ll call a few quick-handed fellows to work on it, so you all go ahead and have dinner first. I’ll have the finished product delivered to you around the time you’ve digested your meal.”

“OK.”

“Thank you, Director.”

After requesting the prototype shield from Director Kelly, we visited the chef to receive our dinner and sat around an outdoor table.

While it might have been better to eat inside the apartment out of consideration for Jessica, who hadn’t fully opened up to the Aqua-folk yet, I also didn’t think it was appropriate for outsiders to shut themselves in and act as if the Aqua-folk didn’t exist.

“Will that shield work?”

“If our investigation results are correct, it shouldn’t be destroyed by one or two beams at least. If not, we’ll have to rethink everything from scratch.”

“The mine recapture operation might really take longer than expected.”

“As long as we resolve it within 5 days from today… wait, is it more dangerous since we’re operating inside a dwarf mine?”

“Ah~ that shouldn’t be a problem. As long as they’re not using black maro for refining, the surrounding black magic concentration won’t increase. Even the area near the third underground floor, where black maro was originally installed, should have dropped to levels similar to outdoors after being removed three years ago.”

“Then five days should be fine. Well, it’s not a problem even if we don’t completely resolve it ourselves.”

“Hm? Why is that? If we don’t recapture the mine, we can’t obtain titanium, can we?”

Phyllis tilted her head and asked when I mentioned that we didn’t necessarily need to resolve the mine problem ourselves.

Since we planned to significantly upgrade Phyllis’s rifle once we obtained titanium, she must have had her own expectations.

“Of course we need to recapture it. I’m just saying we don’t need to handle everything from start to finish ourselves. From the beginning, the condition we presented to Director Kelly was that we would ‘help’ recapture the mine, not that we would take full responsibility.”

“That’s true, but the dwarves and Aqua-folk here accepted our proposal because they couldn’t resolve it with their own strength.”

“That was yesterday’s story. If the countermeasure against the red beams we’re preparing proves effective, the Aqua-folk warriors would welcome it with open arms more than we would.”

“Hmm… certainly, if weapons and armor can’t be destroyed, the local Aqua-folk would become a significant force.”

Just as we were discussing this:

“Excuse me, you people.”

“Hm?”

An Aqua-folk man who had been eating at the next table approached and addressed us.

He had a mohawk hairstyle and a jaguar face with an X-shaped scar on his forehead, giving him the impression of a villainous masked professional wrestler.

“Is what you were just saying true? That weapons and armor won’t be destroyed by the red beams?”

“Ah, it’s not certain yet. We’re planning to test it this evening after receiving the finished product from the Director.”

“Then would you allow me to accompany you on this test?”

“Well, that’s sudden, so it’s difficult to answer right away. And you are?”

“I am Fatum. I only use the name Fatum because I don’t know my parents’ names. I’m the leader of the Aqua-folk warriors who participated in the mine recapture operation.”

“I’m William J. Kim. As you can see, I’m human and work as an adventurer.”

The eyes of the jaguar-masked man who called himself Fatum seemed to burn with fierce fighting spirit.

His tremendous aura made Jessica and even Phyllis shrink their shoulders slightly, but his fighting spirit didn’t seem directed at the colonists or their group.

“About what you were just discussing, do you know why we came here?”

“I heard it was to fight the monsters in the mine on our behalf. The Director said there were adventurers skilled in magic, so we could expect the situation to improve.”

“Yet you still want to accompany us. Is it because you want to resolve this village’s problem with your own strength?”

“While that’s certainly part of it… the situation becoming this dire is entirely my responsibility.”

“What do you mean? How are you responsible for monsters appearing in the mine?”

I don’t know much about the Aqua-folk’s lifestyle here, but considering the dwarves’ characteristics, I doubt they would have other races working in the deepest part of the mine where black maro was actively operating.

So it’s unlikely that the Aqua-folk were digging tunnels on the fourth underground level and broke through the relic wall, so why is he claiming responsibility?

“There’s a girl among the Aqua-folk in this village named Dora.”

“And?”

“She’s kind, wise, and has a really beautiful voice. She’s very popular among the men her age.”

“No, not about this Dora girl—what’s the connection to the monster incident?”

“Three years ago, I wanted to win Dora’s heart by giving her a special gift for her birthday. I planned to present her with a mythril ring I made myself, set with a rare gem, and propose to her on the spot. Just then, I heard miners talking about a strange red crystal discovered on the fourth underground level that they had never seen before, so I asked them to mine it for me.”

“Don’t tell me that’s what connected to the monster lair?”

“Yes. The dwarves had left it alone, saying it had no particular use, but if I hadn’t asked for it for my proposal ring…”

“Ah… that would certainly make you feel responsible.”

Asked for wedding ring materials, ended up destroying the mine.

As the person who caused the incident, his guilt must be immense, and after leading the elite Aqua-folk troops into battle with little success, he must be absolutely beside himself.

“Please. The Director and others say it’s not my fault, but however you look at it, I’m the cause. Yet I can’t bear to sit quietly and wait while leaving the solution to the colonists.”

“Hmm, even if you say that~”

“Your situation is unfortunate, but what do you plan to do by coming along for the test? If the test succeeds and defensive equipment that blocks the beams is created, you can lead your warriors and participate in recapturing the mine.”

“That wouldn’t make me any different from the other men.”

“I see, you want to clean up your own mess and then propose to that Dora girl again with a clear conscience.”

At my casual remark, Fatum jumped in surprise, his whiskers standing on end.

So to summarize:

This Fatum fellow is aware that his selfishness caused major trouble for the dwarf village, and he’s trying to take responsibility by leading Aqua-folk warriors in recapture operations, but there’s little sign of resolution.

If we recapture the mine and resolve the incident, Fatum would be nothing more than a troll, and his relationship with Dora, whom he has a crush on, wouldn’t likely develop in a positive direction—at least that’s what Fatum himself thinks.

But what if he actively participates from the stage where the adventurers who came to resolve the incident are struggling to find clues, and shows himself cleaning up his past mistakes and resolving the village crisis?

Not only could he be clear in his own mind, but by taking responsibility for a mistake made three years ago, he could get closer to winning the heart of his beloved Dora.

I’m not sure if this Dora knows the inside story of this incident, or whether resolving it will help him win her heart, but still.

“Alright, I understand your determination.”

“Then…!”

“However, we need to discuss among ourselves whether to let you participate in the test. We’ve never worked with the Aqua-folk before, and we recently had a major failure when conducting a joint operation with unfamiliar personnel. We’ll discuss it calmly, and if we decide it’s okay, we’ll take you along.”

“Please, I beg you. I’ll be near the mine entrance, so please let me know when you depart.”

“Ah, see you later.”

Watching Fatum bow repeatedly as he walked away, Jessica let out a light sigh.

“Seeing this, the Aqua-folk are just ordinary people too.”

“That’s about right. I never would have guessed that the Korkas Mine incident was caused by a marriage proposal plan.”

“What should we do, Jessica? Are we taking that Aqua-folk man with us?”

“After he said all that, what choice do we have? Actually, Seti alone would probably be enough for the shield experiment… but he doesn’t seem like he’ll be a hindrance, so let’s take him along.”

Whether or not Fatum will be helpful for the test, I think it has definitely helped Jessica shed her negative feelings toward the Aqua-folk.

The face Jessica is showing now is much brighter than when we first set foot in Nidavellir.

All that remains is to hope that the scale shield we’ve prepared as a countermeasure against the Dragoons’ beams yields good results.