Ch.39Buried in Darkness

When we detonate the seismic cracker, a pitch-black worm springs out, and the three of us who were preparing for battle take it down.

It sounds simple when put into words, but in reality, it wasn’t such an easy task.

First, the biggest problem was that the number of worms emerging each time we dug deeper into the tunnel was gradually increasing.

Two worms appeared during the first and second attempts, but then three came out the next time, and five after that, emerging at staggered intervals, which meant we couldn’t let our guard down for a moment.

When a thick worm suddenly appeared right beside where I was standing, writhing before my eyes, I thought I was going to fall over in shock.

The next problem was visibility.

While it was great that each seismic cracker instantly created a tunnel about 3 meters in diameter and 5 meters deep, the inside naturally had no lighting.

We had to concentrate intensely to quickly spot the pitch-black worms breaking through the walls, relying solely on the medium-sized lantern Mina was holding.

After enduring these difficulties, when we activated the fifth seismic cracker, it seemed like four worms emerged, but there was an incident where another worm that appeared outside the lantern’s range of light attacked Jessica by hurling a rock at her.

Jessica’s injury from being hit in the back with a stone wasn’t serious, but if the impact point had been 20 centimeters higher, it would have struck her directly in the back of the head.

Judging that the risk of combat would increase the deeper we went, we temporarily retreated to Tunnel 13 and worked on removing several hemispherical lighting fixtures embedded in the walls to install them inside our tunnel.

Detaching the firmly fixed lighting fixtures wasn’t easy and consumed quite a bit of time, but considering our future safety, it was worth the effort.

“…Finally, the sixth one. Is this the last?”

“Yes. When we measured before, the distance from the end of Tunnel 13 to the cavity was about 27-28 meters. I think our digging angle hasn’t deviated, so unless the wall is unusually thick in this section, this blast should break through.”

“OK, let’s go over the plan one more time before we start the blast.”

As we dug the tunnel, we discussed our actions immediately after activating the final seismic cracker.

First, while Mina detonates the seismic cracker, Jessica, Seti, and I will stay back at least 10 meters.

This is to prevent the three of us who aren’t dwarves from being affected by concentrated black mana if there’s negatite beyond the wall. I’d prefer to keep an even greater distance, but since worm monsters are likely to appear right after the seismic cracker detonates, we can’t be too far away.

After completing the tunnel excavation and eliminating the worms, if no negatite is visible nearby, we’ll begin exploring the cavity with Seti in the lead as before, but if we discover the command entity of the worm monsters, we’ll defeat it on the spot.

“The worm monster’s command entity… I’ll temporarily call it a ‘Commander Worm.’ Commander-class monsters are typically twice the size of normal mutated monsters, so it shouldn’t be difficult to identify when we see one.”

“How much stronger is this Commander Worm compared to the other worms?”

“That’s unknown. We’ve never even encountered a monsterized worm before. However, Commander-class special mutants are threatening not because of their combat power but because of their ability to mutate and control their own kind, so it’s best to take them down as quickly as possible before other worms gather.”

“Got it.”

After confirming the plan, the three of us moved back while Mina installed the seismic cracker on the wall.

Though not much different from our previous operations, knowing this was the final tunnel work made my gun-holding hand sweat.

“I’m activating it now.”

‘THWOOOM’

With the heavy impact sound of the seismic cracker activating, the rock face before us crumbled into sand.

Jessica, Seti, and I remained vigilant, watching in all directions to intercept any worms that might emerge, but even after a minute had passed since activating the cracker, there was no sign of worms appearing.

“…Looks like nothing’s coming out?”

“Maybe…?”

“Wait here. I’ll check if there’s any negatite nearby.”

Mina stored the pile of sand in the seismic cracker, approached the tunnel exit, and carefully examined the inside of the cavity with her lantern before giving us an OK sign.

“There’s no negatite or large worms within visible range. We should go in and investigate.”

“Then as before, Seti takes the lead, and Mina stays in the middle with the lantern.”

“By the way, you drilled this tunnel in an amazingly precise location. As expected of a dwarf.”

“Hehe~ This much is basic for me~”

The height difference between the tunnel opening and the cavity floor was only about 30 centimeters. It was evidence that everything from surveying to tunnel construction had been executed perfectly.

“It’s incredibly spacious… Seti, do you hear anything?”

“It’s quiet now.”

“Any smell?”

“I can’t tell. Worms smell exactly like the surrounding rocks, so I can’t distinguish them.”

“I guess that’s true. Let’s carefully move inside, slowly.”

The interior of the cavity was irregular and winding, as expected of a naturally formed space, but it was structured like a large cave roughly 12 meters wide and 6-7 meters high, extending forward.

At first, we maintained formation and moved slowly while staying vigilant, not knowing where monsters might appear from. But after about 5 minutes of uneventful exploration, we regained enough composure to converse while maintaining an appropriate level of tension.

“How long have you three been adventurers?”

“Jessica has been at it for about 2 years, while Seti and I are just rookies who’ve barely debuted.”

“Huh~ So Jessica is the most veteran? If you have any artifacts you’re not using, would you sell them to me?”

“I do have a couple of magical items, but I haven’t acquired any artifacts yet.”

Strictly speaking, the Ancestor waiting outside the mine is comparable to an ancient artifact, but I decided to keep quiet about that here.

“What do you need artifacts for? I wouldn’t think there are many items useful in a mine.”

“My main profession is a magical item craftsman. So far, I’ve practiced by making bombs and firearms, but to improve my skills further, I desperately need artifacts for research.”

“For research… If you have a Frontier License, couldn’t you borrow some from the Academy in Mothertown?”

“Borrowing won’t work. I need to completely disassemble them to analyze their structure and extract the magical formulas, which means the artifact would be rendered unusable. Of course, if the formula extraction were 100% perfect, I could reassemble it or make an identical item, but that’s beyond my current skill level.”

“So being a magical item craftsman is an expensive profession.”

“Most craftsmen don’t go this far. But my dream is to create artifact-grade magical items myself, and to do that, I need to perfectly understand the structure of existing artifacts.”

“Creating artifacts yourself… That’s an ambitious goal. Seems like a long road ahead.”

Artifacts are magical tools rarely found in dungeons. Their types and effects vary tremendously, but they’re the primary target for adventurers dreaming of striking it rich.

I wonder how much capital is needed in a field that requires consuming such treasures for research. Perhaps when we first met, her attempt to make money with pyroxysite bombs was part of raising such funds.

“By the way…”

“Ah! Found it!!”

Just as Jessica was about to say something, Mina spotted a large object illuminated by the lantern light and shouted in excitement.

My first impression of the object embedded in the wall about 20 meters away at the 10 o’clock position was “an unpleasant giant black crystal.”

The exposed part alone was about 2.5 meters long and 1.6-1.7 meters wide at its broadest point. The pitch-black crystal and the dark purple aura swirling around it made me feel nauseous and dizzy just looking at it.

It seemed Jessica and Seti felt the same way, as both were frowning while staring at the black crystal.

“Is that negatite…?”

“It feels awful.”

“Yeah, I can’t even bring myself to approach it.”

It seems this black crystal must be the negatite that Offenbartel mentioned, and the dark purple aura fluctuating around it must be the black mana flowing from the concentrated negatite.

To think that a terrifying hazardous substance that can kill humans within a week in its natural state is highly concentrated here—it’s like standing in front of radioactive material without wearing protective gear.

“You all stay back and wait. It’s dangerous to get too close.”

“Are dwarves immune? Even Seti, who’s a beastkin, is on high alert.”

“Beastkin and dwarves have fundamentally different principles of resistance to black mana. The work should take about 10 to 15 minutes, so if any worms appear nearby, be careful not to hit the negatite when you take them down.”

“Got it. Be careful.”

Mina put on the goggles hanging around her neck, activated the bracelet-shaped magical device on her right wrist, and carefully began approaching the negatite.

Even for an experienced person, sealing dangerous materials must be nerve-wracking… I was thinking this when Seti’s ears suddenly perked up, and she shouted urgently toward Mina.

“Mina! Don’t get close!”

“Wha-?!”

As Mina startled and stepped back, a pitch-black worm burst through the cave floor with a loud bang.

With its exposed part alone reaching from floor to ceiling, a thick body easily over 1 meter in diameter, long tentacles around its mouth, and three pairs of yellow protrusions like eyes on both sides of its head, it was hard to believe this creature belonged to the same category as the worms we’d encountered in the tunnel.

“Is this the Commander Worm? Didn’t you say it would be about twice the original size?”

“No… this isn’t Commander-class! It’s at least Lord-class, no, Tyrant-class special entity!”

“I don’t know what that means, but it’s much more dangerous than the Commander thing, right?”

“That’s right. There’s no time to explain in detail, but this is as powerful as a decent dungeon boss.”

“Holy Shit…”

The giant worm that suddenly emerged from the ground wriggled the yellow protrusions on both sides of its head in different directions, then slowly turned its head toward us.

‘We’re fucked. No matter how I look at it, we’re completely fucked.’

As the opening line from a novel I once read flashed through my mind, the massive worm opened its mouth wide and lunged at us.