Chapter 31

Inside a cave, it doesn’t matter whether it’s day or night; one should act promptly.

"I think I’ll start preparing now, is that okay?"

"Yeah... There’s no problem on my end, but are you sure you’re okay? I don’t want you to die. Don’t overdo it."

Gainta showed concern. Well, I didn’t plan to overdo it from the start.

"I’m fine, I won’t overdo it. If I feel it’s dangerous, I’ll come back immediately."

"Is that so? Then I’ll get a miner who hasn’t entered the cave recently to guide you. He can’t go all the way to the back, though."

"Thank you."

"I’ll call him on my way back, so wait here."

After saying that, Gainta left, and a little while later, a miner came over. He was probably a dwarf.

"Hey, you’re the one who’s going to fix that tunnel, right? Follow me."

With that, he started walking briskly. As expected of a dwarf. I hurried to follow.

After a while, he stopped in front of what seemed to be the entrance of the tunnel. It was about 2.5 meters high, which seemed quite tall for a dwarf.

"You can’t stay at the entrance of that tunnel for long. I’ll turn back as soon as I get there."

"Wait a moment, please."

I wasn’t done preparing yet.

"I need to reduce my magic power, so could you wait for about 10 minutes?"

"10 minutes, huh... Alright."

The guide sat down on the spot. I started to infuse magic power to deploy a pressure magic spell as far as possible, also using it to experiment with invisible sniping. I spent about 10 minutes continuously releasing magic power, consuming around 6000, which was a bit more than half of my maximum.

Only then did I realize that even after all this, the magic power consumption for a 0.5 pressure magic spell was still far from 12000, which is 30 cubed. Even if I multiplied 30 cm by 30, the reach would only be 9 meters. Sniping with an invisible spell might not be feasible; it would be better to wait for a staff to be made.

Feeling a bit disheartened, I still activated the spell. The ground about 6 meters ahead was slightly gouged, about 5 cm deep.

"I’m ready, let’s go."

"Alright, I didn’t feel any magic power being consumed, but if you say you’re ready, that’s fine. Let’s go."

With that, the guide started walking again. We walked for a while, following the middle path of a downward slope that branched off at various intersections. After a while, he stopped and pointed to a path on the left.

"Here it is. I’m going back, so do as you please from here."

With that, the guide left. Is it already harmful to ordinary people? Well, if it weren’t harmful, not being able to enter one of the branches wouldn’t be much of a problem.

The guide left a small light source, similar to the one from the inn, for the return trip. Can he return without light?

I didn’t feel anything strange as I entered, but just to be safe, I opened my status.

Name: Suzumya Kaede

Age/Race/Gender: 21/Human/Male

Level: 21

HP: 821/821

MP: 5216/103542

STR: 116

INT: 181

AGI: 143

DEX: 154

Skills: Information Manipulation Analysis (Hidden), Complete Foreign Language Mastery (Hidden), Magic Aptitude, Martial Arts Aptitude, Otherworlder (Hidden), All Attribute Affinity (Hidden), Fire Magic 3, Earth Magic 3, Water Magic 3, Pressure Magic 1, Perception Magic 4, Healing Magic 2, Swordsmanship 2, Magic Essence Adaptation unknown

Hmm, MP is normal, and the maximum MP is about 10,000.

...Wait? Is one digit off? And there’s a skill I don’t recognize. Magic Essence Adaptation. What does unknown mean?

I tried to appraise it.

Magic Essence Adaptation Level unknown

Adapts to magic essence.

The information was limited. No matter how I tried, the Information Manipulation Analysis didn’t provide more details.

I hadn’t considered it before, but perhaps there are limits to Information Manipulation Analysis, or maybe there are conditions.

What is magic essence? Is it different from magic power? I appraised MP again, but it confirmed that MP is magic power.

From this, it seems that magic essence is something related to magic power and likely has a significant impact on the maximum MP.

Is magic excess due to magic essence excess? But it could also be caused by magic power.

There’s not enough information to make a judgment, so I decided to proceed.

It felt a bit eerie, but something told me it would be okay to proceed.

As I went further, my maximum MP increased dramatically, eventually surpassing 1,000,000.

With such a large increase, the recovery speed should have improved, but it didn’t. It was completely zero.

After walking for a while longer, the increase in the maximum value stopped.

The maximum MP was 8,754,289, which was quite a lot. It could easily reach 10,000,000.

If the recovery rate remained the same, it would be 1,000,000 per minute, which is an impractical level.

Since arriving here, my MP hasn’t recovered, but I haven’t heard of any aftereffects from magic excess, so I hope it will recover once I leave.

This abnormality in MP is likely the root cause of the incident. It’s hard to imagine two such significant abnormalities occurring simultaneously.

There’s a possibility it was triggered.

I explored the area where the MP increase stopped and found a hole in the lower part of the wall. I poked it with a slightly weakened magic spell, and it collapsed. I looked inside and saw a solid room about 2 meters below, which didn’t seem like a typical mine.

I jumped down and entered. The room was a 10-meter square space with 2-meter-high walls, all gray with a blue tint. The area where I entered looked like it had been burned.

There was a desk at one end of the room, and something was visible around it. The room was almost empty except for a hanging light magic device in the center.

As I approached, I saw what it was.

First, there were human bones, a full set of them, scattered around a chair next to the desk. I wasn’t particularly shocked, as I had already killed many people, but I might have panicked if I had just arrived.

On the desk were a thin bundle of paper, like a notebook, and a sword.

The sword was a beautiful blue-tinged blade, still in its sheath. Compared to the aged surroundings, this sword looked brand new.

I picked up the sword and tried it out. It felt right. For some reason, it seemed to want magic power, so I infused it, and it felt like something changed in the sword.

I stabbed it into the ground, and it went in easily, like cutting through tofu, but much lighter than a normal sword.

I tried the same with the sword made by Dovlar, but it just bounced off.

I might have discovered an incredible sword.

Thinking this, I put the sword away with a satisfied smile. I wouldn’t use it just yet.

The iron sword I’ve been using isn’t the best, but it has a history of trust and reliability.

I could start using this new sword once I’m outside. I also decided to take the notebook.

There was no need to read it here. The light was too dim to read, and using fire magic could cause oxygen deprivation.

After taking the notebook, I remembered the light in the center.

It was likely there to illuminate the room. Could it provide enough light to read?

There was a rope attached to the light, like in Japan. Pulling it should work.

I approached and pulled the rope. There was a click, and the light fell.

It didn’t just go out; it fell physically.

I quickly covered my eyes, and I heard the light shatter. I seemed to be unharmed.

I opened my eyes and checked the remains of the light, then moved back to the hole. I felt something gathering in the center of the room.

I turned around and saw a dark something forming in the center, about 3 meters away.

Observing it, it took about 5 seconds to form a vague shape, a six-legged creature, about 1.5 meters wide and 1 meter tall. The outline was blurry, like a blackened flame, but it became clearer over time.

The six legs weren’t like those of a green wolf but more like insect legs, though each one looked like a bear’s.

It was truly unsettling.

I quickly equipped my usual gear and launched a barrage of rock spears, while also deploying a magic armor.

The spears hit the creature and disappeared without any reaction, as if absorbed.

The creature itself didn’t waver. I tried the pressure magic spell, but it only made a "buzz" sound, just like when used on air. It was ineffective.

As I considered what to do, the creature, now more clearly defined, pounced. It leaped 3 meters and attacked.

I wasn’t sure if physical attacks would work, but I instinctively stabbed it with my sword.

The sword went through without resistance, slicing through the air and embedding itself in the creature.

The creature’s momentum didn’t stop, and I thought it would overpower me, but it suddenly applied pressure to my body and then landed on the opposite side. I wasn’t sure what it was trying to do.

I turned around and saw the creature again.

It seemed much smaller than before, about 40 cm tall. It wasn’t just my imagination.

Maybe I just needed to hit it directly?

I tried, and the creature’s volume decreased rapidly. There was little resistance.

After about 10 hits, the creature disappeared, leaving behind a magic stone from the light device and a large, dark, 30 cm diameter magic stone.

What was that?