Ch.390Chapter 390 – Solve One Problem, Another One Appears

The Western Continent’s Premier Mining Region, the Endless Pit.

Black fog filling its interior.

Anyone could see this was far from normal.

A place filled with fog darker than the smoke from burning objects.

It was questionable whether anyone could even survive in there.

“Knight Commander.”

I called for the Knight Commander. In situations like this, it’s best to consult someone with experience.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Is communication with the interior of the Endless Pit still possible?”

To understand how serious the black fog situation was, we needed to contact those inside the Endless Pit.

If the black fog completely filled the interior, we would need to modify our strategy.

Using my ability to remove the fog? Certainly possible.

If this black fog was an anomaly, something wrong, I could fix it and restore normalcy.

However, before recklessly using my abilities, there were priorities to address.

Was this black fog truly an anomaly?

Or was it simply the result of some accident?

That needed to be confirmed.

“Remote magical communication with our people inside the Endless Pit isn’t working, but wired communication is still possible.”

“Wired communication?”

“The Endless Pit is an area where remote magical communication is difficult due to the wavelengths of buried minerals. So mages created a magical tool using special mineral threads that enables two-way communication.”

That’s basically a wired telephone.

“Can we communicate?”

“With that, yes.”

“Then contact the interior of the Endless Pit now and check the situation down there.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

The Knight Commander immediately ordered the mages to contact the Endless Pit.

The mages moved about busily, and after some time, approached the Knight Commander.

“Communication is impossible. Even the wired magical communication is experiencing severe interference.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing that even wired magical communication wasn’t working, I beckoned an Intelligence Department agent.

“Your Grace. You called?”

“Can you neutralize this anomaly?”

“I brought about five pocket watches. Shall I try?”

“Please do.”

At my command, the Intelligence agent bowed and approached the supply wagon, beginning to open a tightly sealed box.

After struggling for quite some time, the box opened, revealing two pocket watches.

The agent took one of the watches and approached the edge of the Endless Pit filled with black fog.

The pocket watch in his right hand began to emit light as it got closer to the Endless Pit.

That must be how they detect anomalies.

With the watch in his right hand, he opened the cover and began turning the dial on its side.

Rainbow-colored threads extended from the watch and flew over the Endless Pit.

Upon reaching the pit, the rainbow threads divided into multiple strands, spreading to cover the entire Endless Pit.

The overall shape resembled a birdcage.

When all the threads extending from the center reached the edges of the Endless Pit, the spaces between them began filling with translucent membranes.

As the translucent membrane deployed, the watch’s hands began turning counterclockwise, and simultaneously, the black fog started to ripple.

Rather than dispersing like smoke, the fog itself seemed to distort as a whole.

However, the watch hands, which had been turning backward, gradually slowed down.

Soon after, the hands stopped completely, and the pocket watch cracked.

Then the rainbow threads covering the Endless Pit vanished without a trace.

The black fog filling the Endless Pit remained.

“I-I’m sorry. It appears to be a powerful anomaly that far exceeds the output capacity of the pocket watch.”

The Intelligence agent scratched the back of his head as he showed us the broken pocket watch.

An anomaly powerful enough to break a magical tool.

This was unexpected.

“What would you like to do?”

“I’ll have to step in. What else can we do?”

At that, the Imperial Knight Commander signaled to his knights, and soon two knights carefully brought over an elegant box with both hands.

As the two knights brought the box before me, the Imperial Knight Commander opened it himself.

Inside the box was my hammer, made by Ironbeard.

“Your Grace. Here is your weapon.”

“Thank you.”

I took the hammer from the Knight Commander and approached the edge of the Endless Pit.

A precarious cliff where one misstep could mean a fall.

Black fog filling the depths below.

I picked up a geological survey rod.

This should be long enough to reach into the black fog.

As I inserted the rod held in my left hand into the black fog, it felt like piercing a soft jelly.

In that position, I struck the rod with the hammer in my right hand.

—Clang! Clang! Clang!

As the clear sound rang out three times, a soft glow emanating from the rod touched the black fog.

The glow then cut through the black fog like lightning, leaving behind massive lightning-like scars.

The black fog with these scars protruded in various directions like a living creature, then shattered like a mirror, breaking into pieces.

The black fog itself transformed into glass-like fragments and plummeted to the bottom of the Endless Pit.

“C-communication has been restored! We’ve received contact from the Endless Pit!”

“The lift going underground has started working again!”

“The new pocket watch shows no reaction. The anomaly seems to have disappeared.”

Various reports came in as soon as I removed the black fog.

It seemed all facilities in the Endless Pit were functioning normally again.

The black fog, the first anomaly I encountered, seemed resolved, but the situation wasn’t over yet.

“Message from the Endless Pit! They report numerous monsters that have physical form but cannot be attacked!”

“Your Grace. It’s the anomaly known as ‘Incorporeal Monsters.’ An anomaly that cannot be eliminated with conventional weapons. Only magic and aura can combat them.”

At the Intelligence agent’s words, I looked at the Knight Commander.

“Knight Commander. Select personnel to descend into the Endless Pit.”

“Understood, Your Grace. I will now organize a team to enter the Endless Pit, excluding security personnel!”

After I handed over the authority to organize the troops to the Knight Commander, he skillfully began selecting personnel to descend into the Endless Pit.

Meanwhile, I checked my equipment.

A hammer that could revert anomalies. A pistol made as a replica for emergencies.

These two were my equipment.

For reference, the pistol is a replica, but the magazine and ammunition came from my original world.

I only gave one magazine to the Great Goddess Order since they’re useless without the gun anyway.

I need a self-defense weapon, right? Especially one the opponent can’t predict.

‘The important thing isn’t the gun itself, but the bullets.’

When I asked Epitrina, she coolly said, ‘That much is fine, don’t worry about it.’

“Your Grace. Preparations are complete.”

The Knight Commander had selected 150 people.

He said he chose only the most skilled from the 500-member investigation team.

“Everyone, we’re going down. Be prepared for possible attacks.”

“Understood!”

With a resounding response, we began descending into the Endless Pit via the lift.

“Hold them back! Don’t let those creatures reach the lift!”

“If they take the lift, we can’t escape!”

“Damn it, why won’t they die!”

As we descended on the lift, we saw guards defending the Endless Pit fighting against monsters with various weapons.

But very few of them could use aura.

Some monsters fell to attacks from what appeared to be magical weapons, but it wasn’t enough.

“Help secure the lift!”

“Yes!”

With our mages and knights who could use aura joining the battle, the situation turned unfavorable for the monsters.

I also participated by drawing my pistol and shooting at the monsters.

Maybe it’s because I’ve used a pistol the most since coming to this world, unlike my military days?

Or perhaps due to my enhanced physical abilities, taking down enemies with a pistol wasn’t as difficult as I expected.

After an intense battle, we managed to secure the lift.

Disposing of the monster corpses wasn’t difficult.

Over time, their bodies turned to ash and disappeared as if they had never existed.

But we couldn’t stop here.

“We’ve identified where the monsters are coming from! They’re emerging from a portal created in the central tunnel!”

The massive mine at the center of the Endless Pit.

We had to close the portal that had formed there.