Chapter 133 : Chapter 133

Chapter 133: Labotas Mine (3)

The mine was structured with layers descending underground.

Traces of the Labotas locals’ mining efforts remained intact from the entrance through the first couple of levels below.

“Here, the toxic mist is relatively thin. Demonic Beasts don’t appear either.”

Roberto explained the mine’s internal structure, closely following Linda.

From what I overheard earlier, this was the first time a high-ranking official from Theodore had personally visited the mine since its Demonic Corruption began.

“Cough! Cough! Ugh, it’s suffocating…”

Every time Linda coughed, Roberto’s shoulders flinched in response.

Knowing the full story, their dynamic felt oddly clear.

Roberto had every reason to resent Linda, yet he showed no sign of it.

Linda, too, seemed uncomfortable but didn’t let it show outwardly—though it felt more like she was trying to ignore Roberto entirely.

If anything happens to Linda here…

I also overheard that Roberto had lost his wife a few years ago.

I’d better stay sharp.

I don’t want to leave Joseph an orphan.

Pssshhh—

Greenish gas seeped like threads from cracks in the stone walls.

“Don’t go near the toxic fumes. Your skin could burn right off.”

Fortunately, the path wasn’t confusing.

Roberto led the way, and the scarlet glow of Mana Stones illuminated the dark interior.

Rough-hewn ores embedded in the walls also emitted faint light—unrefined Mana Stone raw ore, I was told.

“The toxic mist is worse than last time. Everyone, please keep your masks on, even if it’s stifling.”

I was already wearing mine, so I wondered what he meant.

It was for Linda.

Her eyes widened as if caught red-handed, and she hurriedly pulled her mask up over her nose.

I couldn’t help but speak up.

“Why don’t you head back now, Linda?”

“No, I’m sorry!”

She didn’t owe me an apology.

Still, her determination to fulfill her duty was admirable, so I didn’t press further.

“It’s down here.”

Roberto stopped at the edge of a sloped ramp leading downward.

Unlike before, there were no stairs—just shrubs embedded at regular intervals along the sides and old ropes strung between them.

“From here on, it’s the zone where Demonic Beasts appear. The path is slippery, so be careful.”

So, it begins.

Before Roberto could move, I descended first.

Sssss.

As expected, the lower level was darker than the ones above.

Mana Stones, likely installed before the Demonic Corruption, were nearing the end of their lifespan, emitting a faint, strained glow.

Woooooo.

The howl of a Demonic Beast echoed immediately.

The entire space vibrated faintly.

From some unseen distance?

No, it’s close.

The moment I realized it, a shape emerged from the shadowy corner.

“Stop right there!”

I shouted at the group descending behind me.

Linda, cautiously stepping forward and Roberto and Karim, supporting her on either side, froze simultaneously.

Gurgle, gurgle.

An unpleasant noise grew closer.

I focused all my senses.

It was the sound of viscous liquid scraping against the floor.

That’s…

From the depths of the shadowy passage, something slowly revealed itself.

Each glimpse tightened the furrow in my brow.

It was a Demonic Beast made entirely of slime.

“Moldnak! How is that thing up here…!”

Roberto shouted from behind.

I’d told him to stay put, but he must have come down anyway.

He quickly added,“Sir Bihen, you need to dodge! A Moldnak is immune to any attack except magic!”

I was so stunned by its grotesque appearance that I barely registered Roberto’s words.

It looked like a lump of mud slathered together, its translucent green body containing several round, egg-like objects floating inside.

Human eyeballs.

Shing!

I drew Heavenly Demon instantly.

The light from the blade purified my vision.

It’s a pity my first prey is such a repulsive beast.

Tat!

I closed the distance in an instant.

The eyeballs rolling within its body all focused on me at once, each seemingly alive.

Slash!

I struck downward.

A silver arc sliced through the air, cleaving the creature’s body in two.

Splatter—

Slime fragments sprayed.

There was no sign of regeneration.

A few eyeballs rolled powerlessly across the floor.

I stepped back and looked down at Heavenly Demon.

A chill ran through me.

The blade gleamed as if nothing had happened.

There was no resistance.

The sensation of cutting vanished before it could reach my hand.

All that remained was the faint recoil of my swing.

Calling it sharp doesn’t do it justice.

This is the true power of a divine sword.

“No… How did a Moldnak fall to a sword…!”

“Stay back, Sir Roberto!”

Before Roberto could finish, Karim rushed to my side, extending his hand.

Flames sparked from his fingertips, engulfing the scattered slime fragments.

The heat shriveled them, and they soon burned to ash, leaving no trace.

“Demonic Beasts in the mine become sources of poison unless their forms are completely incinerated.”

“…”

“Are you alright, Sir Bihen? Did any fragments touch you…?”

“Teacher Karim.”

“Yes?”

I stared at him.

He adjusted his glasses and met my gaze.

I knew it wasn’t the time to bring it up, but… I couldn’t help myself.

“You’re no ordinary physician. I didn’t expect you to wield magic so skillfully.”

It wasn’t that I sensed anything off about Karim’s mana.

Its form and quantity seemed unremarkable at a glance.

A limitation, I suppose.

Even if Ghost Eye lets me see the mana flowing in a mage’s body, I don’t have the insight to analyze it.

But.

I know that only high-level mages can cast magic without incantations or trigger words.

Karim showed no such signs just now.

As I said, his mana isn’t particularly special.

Even compared to Bonnie, it’s not much different.

“Haha… If you’re teasing, please stop. This is about all I can do. Traveling the country, it’s wise to learn some basic self-defense magic.”

I opened my mouth but held back.

Maybe I’m overthinking it.

I might have missed his incantation while marveling at Heavenly Demon.

“But didn’t you say you’ve never gone deep into the beast-infested areas? You seem quite knowledgeable about their ecology.”

“…Ah, that’s…”

That moment.

“Sir Bihen—!”

Linda’s shout snapped my head around.

Green glints dotted the air behind her.

“There too!”

Roberto pointed to the direction the eyeball beast had come from.

Another group of Demonic Beasts was approaching.

“Damn it! We’re surrounded!”

Roberto gripped his weapon tightly.

In this situation, most would panic, but he showed no sign of retreating.

Not bad for a half-baked knight.

“Everyone, stay calm and don’t move.”

“Sir Bihen! I’ll handle this side…!”

“No, stay put. This’ll take a moment. Teacher Karim, I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”

I ignored Roberto and Karim’s startled gazes.

No time to explain.

For a swordsman past the mid-peak, it’s shameful to be flustered by being surrounded by mere beasts.

I closed my eyes.

Shadow Clone…

The essence of Benkou Swordsmanship lies in shadow clones.

As one’s mastery grows, so do control and responsiveness, and visible changes mark the satisfaction of progress.

Projection, transformation, and parallel execution—the fourth stage.

Sssss.

Two purple shadow clones appeared, one in front and one behind me, poised to charge forward.

Fifth stage, proliferation.

The fifth gate of Benkou Swordsmanship opened.

I opened my eyes.

The two clones surged forward.

Like a whirlwind of blades, they tore through the beasts rushing from both directions.

Swoosh—!

Where the clones passed, only thin trails sliced through the beasts’ bodies and a lingering silence remained.

Thud— Thud—

With a slight delay, the beasts split in half and collapsed.

Slime and blood soaked the floor soon after.

“What in the world…”

Roberto, still holding his Bastard Sword, let it droop.

Karim, too, looked at me with astonishment.

“Teacher Karim.”

“…Ah, yes! Sorry.”

I sheathed Heavenly Demon as Karim belatedly burned the beast corpses.

Roberto, finally relaxing, slumped to the ground.

Linda approached, checking my condition.

“Sir Bihen, you’re okay, right? I was so startled just now… I swear I didn’t plan to just hide!”

I didn’t know what she was trying to justify, but I just nodded.

Karim, quietly finishing the cleanup, approached me.

“Sir Bihen.”

“Mm?”

He hesitated, choosing his words, then spoke cautiously.

“Was that Imperial swordsmanship?”

“Yes. It’s my family’s unique swordsmanship.”

“…I see.”

“Are you interested in swordsmanship too, Teacher?”

“No, not at all. I just noticed it’s very different from Kingdom swordsmanship. I was curious.”

I glanced at Karim as he checked on Roberto, shaking my head slightly.

I should stop overthinking him.

Maybe it’s my imagination, but I felt a slight headache coming on.

My throat also stung a bit.

“I didn’t realize you were such a skilled fighter, Sir Bihen.”

Roberto, supported by Karim, stood up and spoke.

His words were calm, his expression neither shocked nor excited.

There was a strange strength in his demeanor.

“Let’s hurry to the point the Local Militia reached.”

“Alright. But the beasts’ movements seem unusual, so we should be cautious.”

We moved again with Roberto leading.

The area was thick with visible green toxic mist.

Human-faced bats and insect-like beasts with human limbs attached emerged in groups.

“Haa…”

Linda, who’d taken the lead alongside Roberto, turned pale.

She retched repeatedly, her cheeks already sunken.

Even I found the grotesque appearance of these beasts hard to stomach.

Roberto spoke with a heavy expression.

“…These beasts are evolving. It’s like they’re mimicking human forms by attaching parts of dead bodies to themselves.”

His voice grew quieter as he spoke.

Veins bulged on the back of his hand gripping the Bastard Sword.

“Most are the corpses of Labotas people. Leaving this place as it is is no different from handing our comrades’ bodies to them.”

For Roberto, this mine wasn’t just a Demonic Land threatening their livelihood—it was a place of insult, desecrating his comrades and family.

“That’s as far as our Local Militia last explored.”

We’d descended three or four more levels.

Roberto pointed at a dark wall.

“This was always our limit. The protective barriers Teacher Karim gave us barely lasted enough to return.”

He added that this was only possible on days with fewer beast encounters.

Meeting them as often as today was rare, he said.

“That’s odd. So, are they swarming today because their evolution lets them sense Sir Bihen as a threat?”

“That’s likely.”

“Ugh.”

Linda rubbed her arms.

I looked around and spoke.

“I haven’t seen anything that could be a Mana Core yet. There must be something deeper down.”

“…Are you really okay with this, Sir Bihen?”

“Of course. We’re wasting time, so let’s go down.”

Roberto clenched his jaw and stepped onto the ramp.

That moment.

Rumble—

The entire mine shook.

The ceiling vibrated, dirt particles falling, and the tremor reached the floor.

With a cacophony of noise, cracks spread rapidly, and the surrounding ground began to collapse.

“Haaak!”

The ground under Roberto split and crumbled like dirt.

My vision shook violently.

“Roberto!”

I reached out reflexively, but my fingers didn’t even graze him.

The collapsing floor caved in, revealing a massive hole and Roberto fell through.

“Sir Bihen! No!”

Linda and Karim rushed forward urgently.

I turned and shouted.

“Don’t come!”

Without hesitation, I stepped toward the collapsed gap.

There was no hesitation.

The moment I threw myself in, the darkness swallowed me whole.

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