Ch.38Going Down

We entered deeper into the Blackforge Mine, guided by Offenbartel, to investigate the mass appearance of Worm-type monsters. The three of us were tasked with this mission.

Dwarf mines are equipped with special refining facilities called “Black Magic Furnaces” that concentrate and utilize black magical energy. Due to these facilities, the concentration of black magical energy inside the mine is about twice the normal level, and in the central area where the furnaces are installed, it reaches up to five times the normal concentration.

For this reason, dwarf mines restrict entry to other races, not only to prevent technology leaks but also to avoid unnecessary casualties. Access to the core facilities where the Black Magic Furnaces are installed is never permitted under any circumstances.

Interestingly, dwarves possess a unique physiology where their internal black magical energy actually drains away when they’re near the Black Magic Furnaces. In other words, these furnaces serve as both refining equipment and the dwarves’ survival strategy for living in Grantis, which is covered in black magical energy.

“If the black magical energy concentration is doubled, I guess someone like me, a human, could last about two and a half days…”

“The investigation will take place at the end of the tunnel and in the underground cavern, so it shouldn’t have too much impact. However, considering the possibility of encountering Negatites or commander-type monsters, it would be best to complete the investigation within a day and exit the mine.”

Following Offenbartel, we arrived at the inner part of Tunnel 13, where a large metal wall with a small door blocked the passage. In front of it stood a familiar girl wearing a safety helmet and work clothes, with various equipment hanging from her belt and a large cylindrical machine strapped to her back.

“Hey there, adventurers~ I’ve been waiting for you~”

“Mina?”

“You’re the dwarf member accompanying us on this investigation?”

Before I could ask what he was thinking, sending his own daughter to a place where dangerous monsters might be lurking, Offenbartel spoke first.

“This one’s a troublemaker, but her skills with tunnel construction and magical tools are unmatched among the dwarves in our mine. Plus, she has successfully completed Negatite sealing operations before, so there’s no one more suitable for this investigation than Mina.”

“…I see, no wonder you wanted ‘trustworthy adventurers.’ I’ll have to be especially careful to ensure your precious daughter returns safely.”

“My combat ability is practically zero, so I’m counting on you if monsters appear. Ehehe~”

“…Come to think of it, worms are creatures that can freely burrow through the ground. Is there any point in blocking the passage with a metal door?”

“That’s not a problem. After mining is completed, the rock surfaces where no branching is needed undergo a special treatment called ‘hardening’ that solidifies the rock surface, making it impossible for worms to break through.”

So it’s like applying concrete to tunnel walls where no further mining will take place.

Makes sense—without such a solution, worms could emerge from anywhere in the Blackforge Mine, making it impossible to safely construct underground facilities.

“So inside this door, there’s no hardening treatment, meaning worms could appear from anywhere.”

“We should determine our formation before going in.”

“I’ll take the lead. With Mina in the middle, and Will and Jessica behind her, it’ll be easier to protect Mina if worms appear.”

“Got it. Shall I open it then?”

After confirming that the three of us had drawn our weapons and were ready for battle, Mina turned the lever on the door in the center of the metal wall and slowly pulled it open.

Seeing no monsters within the visible range through the open door, we entered one by one, and Offenbartel gave us some final advice.

“Although your goal is to investigate the cause of monster mutations, if you encounter monsters too powerful to defeat or face unexpected problems, don’t hesitate to retreat.”

“OK. Hearing you say that makes me feel a bit better.”

“Then I’ll be waiting for good news.”

After Offenbartel closed the door, we maintained our formation and slowly advanced forward.

The tunnel’s cross-section was only about 5 meters wide and just over 3 meters high, so depending on where monsters might appear, we could immediately find ourselves in close combat, requiring our full attention.

Inside the tunnel, hemispherical lighting fixtures identical to those in the mine provided sufficient visibility without Mina’s medium-sized lantern. Her lantern would become useful after we left the tunnel and entered the underground cavern through a newly dug passage.

“…Seems like there’s nothing here.”

“They could suddenly break through the walls, so let’s proceed carefully.”

As Seti suggested, we protected Mina from three sides while slowly advancing through the tunnel.

Each time we passed a lighting fixture embedded in the wall, the shifting shadows kept us on edge, but we didn’t encounter any worms until we reached a dead end about 100 meters in.

At the dead end, a large wooden box sat on the floor. After pausing to check our surroundings, Mina quickly approached the box and opened the lid, revealing disc-shaped objects about 30 centimeters in diameter.

At first glance, they resembled small robot vacuum cleaners, with transparent gems the size of a fist embedded in their centers.

“What are those?”

“They’re like mining bombs. The exact name is Seismic Crackers for excavation, one-time-use magical tools that break rock into small pieces without causing explosions or fragments.”

“You’re going to use those to dig a tunnel to the cavern?”

“Yes. We’ll dig straight down at about 20 degrees in the 1 o’clock direction, but using the crackers might stimulate the worms and cause them to swarm out, so we need to be extra careful.”

“If there’s no explosion or fragments, do we need to stand back?”

“Just be 1-2 meters away when it activates. I’ll start with the first one now.”

Mina took one Seismic Cracker from the box, extended its awl-shaped legs, and embedded it into the tunnel wall.

After placing her hand on the central gem and waiting for 2-3 seconds, the transparent gem began to emit a soft yellow light. She quickly stepped back several paces, and after about 10 seconds, a deep “thwooom” sound like a subwoofer resonated as part of the solid rock wall crumbled like sand.

Before we could marvel at this amazing sight, two black pillars wriggled out from within the sand pile and from the ceiling just above it. There was no need to wonder what these pillars were—about 15 centimeters in diameter and slightly over 1 meter in length.

“Here they come!”

“So these are worms!”

“Bang!”

Leaving the worm that emerged from the front to Seti, I fired a single magic bullet at the one that came from the ceiling.

I avoided firing continuously to prevent ricochets off the tunnel walls that could fly in unexpected directions. I could always unleash a barrage after observing the worm’s movements and being confident I wouldn’t miss.

Besides, our team had two more excellent attackers besides me.

“Diamond Dust!”

With Jessica’s shout, the two writhing worms were enveloped in snow-white ice crystals and stopped moving.

According to last night’s explanation, Diamond Dust had been modified from a wide-area fan-shaped spell to a targeted spell that draws moisture from around targets and freezes them.

The number of targetable enemies increases proportionally with the magical power consumed and concentration time, so it retains the advantage of handling multiple enemies while eliminating the risk to allies, making it more suitable for team play.

“Nice one, Jessica!”

“Rat-tat-tat!”

“I’ll take the lower one.”

“Crack!”

After easily dispatching the two worms, we paused briefly to watch for reinforcements, but no additional worms attacked even as Jessica examined the corpses and extracted small magic stones the size of fingernails.

“Now I’ll collect the crushed stone debris and start the next blasting operation.”

“Collect that sand-like stuff? Where?”

“With this, of course.”

Mina placed her hand on the gem part of the cracker that was half-buried in the sand and concentrated briefly. The gem, which had glowed yellow earlier, now shone purple, and the sand filling the wall vanished like smoke, revealing a clear passage about 3 meters in diameter and 5 meters in length.

“It disappeared!?”

“Looks like an application of asymmetric mass isolation magic. It compresses the pulverized rock along with the space it occupies into the central crystal.”

“Ooh~ As expected of a magic user, you understand!”

“Asymmetric… what?”

“Asymmetric mass isolation. It’s magic that allows you to put large objects into smaller spaces. The conditions for use are strict, and there are time limits on how long objects can be stored, so it hasn’t been widely implemented. But if these two problems could be solved, it could revolutionize logistics in Grantis, which is why Academy scholars have been researching it for over 40 years.”

“Logistics innovation… that certainly makes sense.”

Though surprised by the scene unfolding before my eyes, I realized that even in Earth’s creative works, there were plenty of stories about splitting rocks to find mountains of treasure or rubbing lamps to summon human-sized spirits.

In a fantasy world where magic exists, even such fantastic stories become academic subjects—even the joke about how to fit an elephant into a refrigerator becomes a serious discussion.

“I’ll continue with the blasting. Worms might appear each time a Seismic Cracker detonates, so please be ready.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

Hearing Mina and Seti’s voices, I snapped back to attention.

I’d have to postpone thinking about this world’s fascinating magic for now. At this moment, I needed to focus all my attention on preparing for monster ambushes.