episode_0015

Walk into a damp, dark mine.

The sound of our footsteps and the sound of water drops falling from the ceiling echo softly.

“It feels like I am entering a mine for the first time in my life.”

“Me too.”

Well, an ordinary person would hardly ever go into a mine, right?

Because I’ve never been to a mine on Earth before. It’s probably the same in this world too.

Lanterns were installed on the walls at certain distances, but some of them were already turned off, as if it had been a while since they had been maintained.

Wow. I don’t really like dark things.

“It’s hard to see. And in front… it seems even darker.”

“Hmm…”

The deeper we went inside, the darker it got. Even from where I was standing right now, I could only see a few meters in front blurredly, and like Seris said, I really couldn’t see an inch in front of me.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Yes…yes?”

Thump-

“Huh…Huh!”

I immediately held Seris’s hand with the hand that was not holding the pickaxe.

I felt like I could feel Cerise’s pulse beyond my hand, and a warm feeling came through me.

“You may get lost on the road. Please understand. And, watch the flow of magical power carefully.”

“Hehehe…!”

Of course, we didn’t hold hands with that intention. Because it can be dangerous to get lost in this darkness.

‘I see magical power.’

Even in this darkness, if a monster appears, it can be detected through the flow of magical power.

At our level, if we can understand the flow, we can fully respond.

So, how far did we walk holding hands? It was dark so I couldn’t really see it.

“Hmm. I can let go now.”

“Ah…”

It was not a world of pitch black darkness, but with ores that glowed brightly even in the darkness, visibility was secured to some extent.

Even if it only looks like this, it’s okay. That’s enough.

‘by the way. Is this mithril? ‘All of that?’

Ore shining light blue embedded in the wall. It is truly brilliant and emits brilliant light.

Seeing the blue stars rising inside the huge cave made me feel like I was looking into space.

…thud.

“Captain.”

“I know. Get ready.”

The faint sound of footsteps coming from far away, and the faint flow of magical power.

Cerise and I held pickaxes tightly in both hands.

Thump…thump…thud.

The sound of footsteps grew louder and louder, making the huge cave echo, and soon a huge body appeared.

“Oh…oh my.”

“What the hell is that…!”

-Wow…!

A body bigger than a three-story building. And it looked so hard that it couldn’t even be scratched by a decent blade.

And, there were light blue mithril ores stuck to every corner of the body.

‘Mithril Golem.’

The shape of the golem that I expected was revealed to be exactly the same.

“At that level, the workers would not have been able to solve it.”

“Hmm. It was totally worth it.”

Just because they have huge bodies doesn’t mean all monsters are strong. What is important is the ‘total amount of horsepower’.

The more magical power a monster possesses, the stronger it is regardless of its size.

And, looking at the total amount of magical power of that golem… it seems to be roughly a mid-to-upper 3-star monster.

“Vice-captain Seris. Is it possible?”

If you are not confident, it would be a good idea to return to the mercenary group and come back with the mercenary members.

If it was a 3-star monster, it was a monster of a level that would be recognized even in the empire.

It may feel arrogant to subdue a 3-star monster with just two people.

“It is possible. Leader…!”

“I understand.”

also. I knew Seris would be like this. Seris glared at the golem with her eyes burning brighter than mithril in the darkness and unleashed her magic power.

‘And I never pull out of a situation like this.’

It’s not completely impossible, but if it’s something that’s sufficiently possible, I’ll definitely take on the challenge.

If we are with Seris, who will become the strongest in the empire, we must do it even more. Because you can do it.

-Wow!!

Thump thump thump!

The golem waited for a moment as if to give it a reprieve, but soon lost its temper and started running.

The entire cave vibrated with each step of the giant.

Kang-!

I avoided the golem’s grasp that was trying to catch me, and hit its body with the pickaxe.

A clear sound rang out, but not a single scratch was left on the golem’s body. Instead, only my arm was shaking due to the recoil.

“Ha pressure-!”

Kyaang-!

Since the golem’s gaze was focused on me, Seris struck the golem’s defenseless legs from behind.

Seris’s blow was much stronger than mine, but as expected, other than a slight dent, it didn’t produce any effective hits.

Of course, a golem’s characteristic is that it is incredibly hard. And, if you follow that cliche…

‘The golem must have a weakness!’

Although the golem’s entire body is solid and powerful, it will have obvious weaknesses.

“Chief. Maybe…”

“You’re probably right.”

And, through ‘magic eyes’, Seris and I were able to confirm that traces of magical power remained throughout the golem’s body.

Mithril ore. In each area where the ore was embedded, a small amount of magical power remained. Maybe that’s where the weak point is.

-Oooooh-!

Thump thump thump!

When his attack did not work, the golem seemed to be enraged and began to run wild.

When a solid body swings around randomly hits a wall or ceiling, it begins to vibrate.

‘If this continues, the entire cave will collapse.’

“Hurry up. I’ll go with all my might.”

“Yes! I’ll follow you!”

If I didn’t waste any more time, it was only a matter of time before I was buried in the cave like the golem, so I decided to draw out my full power.

Kwaang-!

Kang-kang!

Seris and I, who dodged the attack with both hands, split into two sides and began striking at the part where the mithril gem was embedded.

Rustling… rumbling!

-Woah!

In a blow filled with magical power, the mithril ore is broken and falls off.

Perhaps because it was in pain, the golem began to scream until the entire cave echoed.

Kwakwang-! Bang bang!

A merciless assault that did not distinguish between right and wrong continued, but it had no effect on me and the genius-talented Seris, who had already figured out the behavior pattern.

Kkaang-! Kang!

Just digging up another mithril gem!

-Oooooh…

thud-!

After pulling out the largest gemstone attached to its back, the golem collapsed and collapsed, as if it had exhausted all its strength.

However, I haven’t been able to breathe yet.

‘I can’t let you go without it being painful!’

It’s the same as killing them, but how can you let them go without suffering? And due to the nature of that guy’s body, pain is bound to occur.

“Let’s finish. Vice-captain Seris.”

“Yes! Let’s go right away!!”

Hmm-!

Kang-kang-kang-kang-kkang-!

-Uuuu!

We climbed on top of the fallen golem’s body, took a moment to catch our breath, and then began to use the pickaxe with all our might.

A refreshing yet clear sound rang out, and it felt like the golem’s body was collapsing in real time.

“Now die…!”

Kyaang-!

When the final attack containing Seris’ magic exploded on the mithril ore,

-Wow….

The golem lost its magic power and crumbled, dropping only the ore.

“Phew. Is it over..”

“Thank you for your hard work, Vice Captain Seris.”

“Ah…no, leader!”

We put down our pickaxes and took a deep breath. Perhaps because it was a 3-star monster, it was extremely tough.

‘Still, aren’t we pretty amazing?’

Anyway, the golem was clearly a 3-star monster and much more. It took just two people to get rid of it without any injuries…

Could we have become a little stronger?

What’s certain is, I’m not sure, but Seris has become much stronger than the last time in Nepenthes.

Now his movements have become so fast that it is difficult for me to keep up with them, and his attacks have become sharper.

Does it have to be that level to have the potential to become a Sword Master? I probably won’t be able to train even if I train for the rest of my life.

You wouldn’t know if you drew the clone hundreds of times. Since I didn’t really want to do that, I decided not to think about it.

” Let’s grab the stones and head out.”

“Yes! Okay!”

So we went out of the cave with the golem’s core lying on the floor and a bag full of mithril stones in a corner of the mine.

“It’s finally outside.”

“Yes… I don’t think caves are my favorite place.”

“I agree.”

My whole body got wet… and I couldn’t see clearly. And when you’re in a closed place like that, you feel somewhat stuffy.

“Did you really kill that monster?!”

As we were basking in the bright sunlight, the janitor, Iron, came running up to us, panting.

Without saying a word, I showed the golem’s core.

“Huh…! I guess that’s the core of that monster…! I…thank you so much, thank you!!”

“Thank you.”

I stopped Iron, who repeatedly lowered his head with tears in his eyes.

There is something more important to us right now than saying thank you, right?

“So… what will the compensation provide?”

“….Yes?”

Iron, who looked confused, soon began to fidget as if he had finished understanding the situation and that something big had happened.

compensation? Give it to me.

***

“Wow! It’s really amazing! Did you really get this?! And that in just one day!”

I returned to Spin’s workshop with a large amount of mithril stones that I ripped off for free from Iron.

Spin, who discovered a huge amount of mithril, was jumping around and his eyes were shining with joy.

“So. As I said before…”

“Yes! You mean armor?! I’ll make it the best! Thank you so much!”

Sigh-!

Spin smiled brightly and hugged me tightly.

Well… there’s no need to do this.

“This…profit…!”

Crackle, crack, crack –

“Hmm. It looks like rats live in this workshop. It’s not something outsiders would say, but…”

“Hi! Ah… I understand…! Then go…! I’ll contact you…”

Spin, who was looking somewhere and looking scared, hurriedly sent us out of the workshop.

I thought I might have found a rat. Well, I guess we’ll take care of it.

“Things are going smoothly. Isn’t that right, Vice Captain Seris?”

“I didn’t even dare to hug my leader…”

“Vice-captain Seris?”

“Yes….Yes?! Ah yes! you’re right! Hehe…”

Seris was muttering something and then looked at me with a smile.

So we returned to our nest, and a few days passed like that.

“What is this, leader…!”

“Crazy…! This can’t be right…!”

“Chief, you’re the best!! Wow!”

A few days later, the mercenary members who checked the mithril armor delivered to the Scar mercenary group’s base rubbed their eyes and denied the situation,

When I nodded and admitted that it was true, it started screaming and running wild.

Among them, there was even a mercenary who could backtumble three times in a row.

‘Yeah… you idiots. I’ll show you something better in the future, so enjoy it!’

Seeing the mercenary members jumping around like children receiving a gift and loving it made me feel happy too.

“….lick.”

I felt eyes on me from somewhere and heard the sound of someone eating, but I looked around and couldn’t see anything.

These days, I keep feeling suspiciously promiscuous. Are you feeling discouraged…?

I scratched my head and went up to my office.