Chapter 91 : Chapter 91

Chapter 91 - Miracle (1)

Offensive Holy Magic was broadly divided into physical and magical types, and more specifically, into area-of-effect and single-target types.

What Jeina just used was a physical area-of-effect type.

[Jeina uses a skill.]

Holy Magic: Divine Weapon Strike (Lv.1): Projects a holy weapon onto one's own weapon to inflict explosive damage to enemies in front.

“Phew! I feel like I could collapse at any moment!”

Jeina staggered but laughed heartily.

“You need to control your strength, Jeina.”

Artier, who had been staring blankly at the mine entrance that had turned to ash, only remembered that he had asked the two for help after hearing Gerard's voice.

“Gerard, I think that’s enough…”

He hastily opened his mouth, but Gerard's Holy Magic was already being cast.

“O fluttering wind, pierce the enemies!”

[Gerard uses a skill.]

Holy Magic: Divine Gale Spear (Lv.1): Pierces the enemy with a sharp wind formed from the flow of holy energy.

Fwoosh!

Unlike Jeina's, Gerard's Holy Magic was initially quiet.

A spear of spiraling divine power flew at the speed of a bullet, then vanished in an instant.

And a moment later, a tremendous aftershock followed.

BOOOOOM!

“W-Whaaak! I’m falling!”

Whether it was a Hellmorph, a membrane, or even a rock, anything in the path of the wind spear was torn apart without exception.

Even things that weren't directly hit couldn't remain standing from the aftermath.

‘You said you’d control your strength?!’

Artier thought as he hurriedly caught Collie, who was about to fall.

But surprisingly, this was the result of very good control.

Unlike Jeina who had laid waste to the area, Gerard's Holy Magic had selectively eliminated the remaining Hellmorphs and membranes.

“Hmm…”

Gerard closed his grimoire with a satisfied expression.

“I feel it every time, but Holy Magic consumes a truly astonishing amount of stamina and mana.”

“Considering what you did, doesn't it make sense?”

“That’s true.”

Artier descended near the mine.

Not a single Hellmorph was seen roaming around.

‘Is it okay for such a broken skill to exist?’

Until now, Artier had thought that no broken skill existed in <Cross Destiny> that could beat Perfect Counter.

But the wind spear Gerard had just fired was something whose trajectory even Artier couldn't read for a moment.

‘There are so many things I didn't know back when I just enjoyed it as a game.’

It was laughable to think of his past self who had said he could fight well even without Holy Magic.

Artier placed a hand on his chest. The divine power was still gathered warmly inside his body.

That warmth seemed to whisper to Artier continuously. To use it quickly.

“Master?”

“...Let’s enter the mine.”

There was nothing left to obstruct them.

Entering the mine, they followed the broken carts and severed railway tracks deeper inside.

And before long, they saw what they were looking for.

“Is all of this Mithril?”

“I see why the viscounty was so wealthy.”

Wherever they looked along the walls, Mithril ores were embedded.

Despite the lack of lighting inside the mine, it was brightly illuminated by the light reflected from the Mithril.

“Can’t we just mine a little?”

At Jeina's suggestion, Artier almost nodded his head absentmindedly. The value of a high-grade mineral used for armor and accessories was self-evident.

But Reinard immediately shot it down.

“We don’t have any equipment for mining.”

“Can’t we mine it with magic?”

“Hah, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what kind of mineral Mithril is?”

Having extremely high magic resistance meant that it repelled magic well.

Naturally, mining it with magic would require several times more power than usual.

“For someone like you who hasn't studied magic, it would be impossible to extract even a single ore.”

“Tsk! All this money…”

Thwack!

Just as Jeina was grumbling, a loud noise echoed from the very back of the group.

When the party turned their heads, Artier was standing there, holding a palm-sized Mithril ore.

“Huh?”

Even Artier couldn't wipe the bewildered expression off his face.

He had simply used telekinesis unconsciously before even hearing what Reinard said.

“Artier, what did you just do?”

“Don’t tell me you pulled out a Mithril ore with telekinesis magic?”

The three mages in the party did not hide their dumbfounded expressions.

Others might not know, but they knew very well just how absurd Artier's action was.

“That was a reckless act! It’s the same as throwing mana into the void!”

“Are you alright?”

“Uh… I think I’m fine.”

Artier quickly checked his body.

Contrary to Gerard's worries, there was really no change in his body. The amount of mana was unchanged, and only a little divine power had been consumed.

‘My divine power decreased? So I can use existing magic with divine power instead of mana?’

Artier first put the Mithril that had appeared in his arms into his inventory and then reached out his hand towards another ore.

Tong!

This time too, the ore landed in his hand without any resistance.

The amount of divine power consumed was minimal.

“What in the world did you do?”

Reinard asked.

Reinard, who was always cool-headed, was not aware that his glasses were currently askew.

“To use magic while ignoring magic resistance?”

“Uh…”

I don’t know either.

Artier wanted to say that right away.

But he didn't want to reveal to them that he had used a method he himself wasn't sure of twice in a row.

“It’s a secret skill… from my hometown.”

“I see. Is it a secret art passed down in a specific region?”

In a fantasy world, there were many hidden skills or secret arts like this that were passed down only in certain regions. Of those, the magic donated to the Sage’s Tower was just a small fraction.

Reinard, knowing such facts, belatedly regained his composure at Artier's answer.

“Interesting. If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to talk more about it later.”

“Do as you please.”

‘I should pretend not to know him once this mission is over.’

Artier walked on, plucking out the Mithril ores gathered around him.

Naturally, they all went into Artier’s inventory.

‘How much is all this worth…?’

The calculator in his head was running rapidly.

If he sold it all, it would probably be more than enough to cover all the losses he had seen in the county.

“Hmm, but something’s strange?”

After walking for about another 20 minutes, Jeina tilted her head.

At that, Tersion, who had been looking only at the floor, asked.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t we see traces of undead earlier? But I don’t see anything?”

“Ah…”

As Tersion said, there were no traces of people around them, let alone footprints.

“This is strange… Looking at the path, there’s no way they wouldn't have passed through here.”

“Didn’t you find it wrong?”

As Jeina giggled, Tersion immediately retorted.

“Do you think I can’t tell the difference?”

“But you said there would be something here, and there isn’t. Doesn’t that mean you made a mistake?”

“Ha, just you wait. I’ll bring back traces in five minutes.”

With those words, Tersion vanished in an instant.

Gerard, who had been watching quietly, glanced at Jeina and asked.

“When did you learn such rhetoric?”

“Hmm? I have no idea?”

Jeina giggled as if it was amusing.

***

‘It’s definitely strange.’

The deeper she went into the mine, the more Tersion's brow furrowed.

Even though she had reached the middle of the mine, she couldn't feel any traces of people, let alone the undead.

‘…There’s no way there’s nothing.’

Unlike Jeina, who thought she had gotten one over on her, Tersion had rushed forward with a purpose.

This mine had been operational right up until Jestion’s viscounty fell. In that case, there should naturally be traces left by the miners who worked here.

“But someone came in later and erased the traces.”

It could have been a monster or a Hellmorph. But Tersion thought the hand that erased the traces was remarkably delicate.

This was the work of a person.

Only the hand of someone intent on erasing traces could preserve a scene so perfectly.

“Who could these cheeky bastards be…”

Tersion, who was looking around, then arrived at a large cavity that appeared.

And she was at a loss for words.

“The Mithril…?”

This was clearly the place in the mine where the most Mithril could be found. But not a single piece of Mithril could be seen.

‘Someone mined all the Mithril here.’

Was Mithril their target?

Tersion, who was looking around, let out a hollow laugh. A small piece of cloth was caught in the gap where an ore had been removed.

“To do everything so well and then make an amateurish mistake here…”

Swoosh!

Tersion, who was sneering as she pulled out the piece of cloth, her expression hardened as soon as she confirmed its identity.

“Ms. Archer! Did you find anything?”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hey, there’s something I want to ask.”

As the party belatedly entered, Tersion immediately threw a question at everyone.

“We’re the first expedition team to come here since the viscounty fell, right?”

“Well…”

Gerard nodded, though he was puzzled.

“According to the Papal State’s investigation, yes. The Empire is showing very defensive behavior.”

“Then what is this.”

Tersion held out what she had found to everyone.

Everyone who confirmed it froze.

On the cloth, presumed to be a piece of a torn flag, the symbol of the Empire was clearly drawn.

“According to the traces, it was two weeks ago. They were here right when we departed.”

Tersion's words only added to the confusion.

Reinard adjusted his glasses and began to mutter.

“Does this mean the Empire had already sent an expedition team but was hiding it from everyone, including the Papal State?”

“It’s certain, seeing as they mined the Mithril. Their objective is the same as ours.”

But why was the Empire doing this in secret?

There was no one who could answer that question.

“...I need to find out what this expedition team is trying to do.”

Artier quietly organized his thoughts.

His long experience was telling him. He shouldn't miss clues like this that appear during a quest.

“Can you follow their tracks?”

“It might be a place far from our destination, is that okay?”

“It’s fine. I think we need to eliminate as many uncertainties as possible before we go.”

“Alright, this way. We just need to go through another passage in the mine.”

Following Tersion's lead, everyone slowly began to move.

“…”

And there was someone watching them.

The person, who had been watching the party through a hole in the ceiling, was no longer visible in the blink of an eye.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.