Chapter 128 - Occupation (1)

“How refreshing. The weather is perfect.”

As I said that while looking at the sun-drenched sky after breaking through the tunnel, a voice that could make frost form even in the middle of summer answered from my side.

“For you to die in?”

“…”

My, there was nothing she wouldn't say to a person.

But seeing her eyes glowing menacingly with her face covered in dirt and soot, it seemed better to keep my mouth shut for now.

If I said anything now, it felt like Seo Ah-in would really come at me with murderous intent.

“So... where are we?”

In contrast to the murderous Seo Ah-in, Ironclad, who had easily caught his breath as if used to this kind of labor, looked around and said so.

Well.

Though he asked where we were, his eyes and body already seemed to feel a sense of familiarity.

He probably knew instinctively. If his family was within this ordeal floor, it would surely be here.

I smirked at the slightly trembling Ironclad and spoke.

“The mana vein... you're familiar with it, aren't you?”

Below our feet, a large, cylindrical hole revealed itself.

Inside the hole, which seemed to be dug so endlessly deep that not even the bottom was visible, a few villages were situated on platforms embedded in the walls like shelves.

A kind of ‘city’ had formed inside the cylindrical hole, with dozens of households living together on such unstable ground.

Yes. It was a common ‘dwarf village settled in a mana vein.’

Mana ore was something that usually only formed in such formidable environments. To mine it, they all had to live in such a perilous environment.

‘The zone's mana crystal is...’

It was floating at the bottom of that huge pit, so far down that only a faint light was visible.

It was a depth that would likely take a long time to reach even if one attempted a free fall.

“...Surely we don't have to touch that directly, right?”

Seo Ah-in asked from the side, her face deathly pale.

Well, it was no wonder she had such a reaction, since it seemed completely impossible to climb back up after falling that far.

“Well, that’s not the only conquest condition. If the leader of this zone recognizes us as the legitimate rulers, we get the conquest judgment.”

“Th-that's a relief. I thought Mr. Kim Gyu-sik would just jump in here without a second thought...”

Seo Ah-in shivered, saying that last time on the 11th floor when we met the Spirit Beast, I had just jumped off the bridge without any warning.

“Well, to be honest, if I could, I would have just jumped right now.”

“…”

“…”

Leaving the silent party behind, I picked up a suitable stone from nearby and threw it down the cylinder.

The stone went straight down, out of sight, but as it reached the vicinity of the mana crystal, the sound of it shattering with a crackle, creating a large ripple nearby, was clearly heard even from up here.

It meant there was a barrier above the mana crystal that would make anything that touched it end up like that.

“...That thing is pretty scary.”

And as if she had figured it out with her Mind's Eye, Seo Ah-in opened her mouth with a serious expression.

“The moment it makes contact, its mana source structure is completely dismantled. To be dismantled from the source means it bypasses all formulas. How on earth did they make something like that?”

“It's the Dwarf's,’ isn't it? It’s not just one of them, so it's only natural.”

Sanctum Field.

It was a shield that boasted top-tier performance among the various force fields in the game.

If one could use it properly, it was an item that could be used until the very late game. It meant that even from a top-tier veteran’s perspective, it was at a level to be used as a main skill.

Even the Dwarves couldn't make that. The Guardian probably provided it.

“...Hmm.”

And, if I recalled the lore a little more.

The condition the Guardian set when letting these people in here would be summarized as ‘as much as possible, do not hand over the mana crystal to others.’

So those people would also use all their strength to prevent outsiders from getting close to it.

In that situation, it wouldn't be strange if there was something like an ‘alarm system’ attached.

-!

“...Wait a minute. What is this now?”

Seo Ah-in said in a dubious voice as she heard the siren that blared at the same time as red mana surged in the surroundings.

What do you think it is? You can tell just by looking.

Looking at the numerous bizarre objects like ‘auto-attack turrets’ and ‘AI drones’ rising hostilely nearby, I calmly raised both my hands.

“What are you doing.”

To the dumbfounded party looking this way, I spoke in a still calm voice.

“Hurry up and get ready to be arrested.”

“...You crazy person. You did this knowing this would happen, didn't you?!”

Ah-in.

You've really gotten quicker on the uptake.

***

“How many times do I have to say it? I am Ironclad. I'm from the Kajun Mountains, and there must be people here who know me!”

Inside the room where we were dragged after being captured, Ironclad's shout echoed loudly.

Certainly. This person was definitely a famous figure in Dwarf society.

He could serve as our party's ID card here too, but for now, all the nearby dwarves were hushing and avoiding our eyes.

The reason was simple. The guy in the room who was clearly showing off that ‘I'm the highest-ranking person here’ was looking at us with displeasure.

The Dwarf elder. He had an oily appearance that was hard to believe for a dwarf, who, though short, usually boasted a sturdy physique.

Soon, the guy opened his mouth in a very haughty voice.

“I don't really care who you are. We made a contract when we came in here to stop all outsiders from approaching that crystal.”

“...My family might be in this village. If you could at least let me look around...!”

“I can't do that. As long as your identities are not clearly identified, I can never let you in.”

Seeing him slickly brush off Ironclad's desperate request, Seo Ah-in narrowed her eyes and muttered.

“...That person. He's really detestable. It's as if he's enjoying it.”

He was enjoying it. He was a guy with a dirty personality to begin with.

In the first place, all the other dwarves nearby, except for that guy, were gaunt. If he was the only one with an oily sheen while working people like that, was there anything more to say?

“However, if you grant my request, it's not something I can't consider.”

Having said that, the elder smiled slyly and held something out.

“It's a mana severer. If you guys mine the allotted mana ore, shall we talk again then?”

About this much, the elder said, writing a number on a piece of paper and holding it out.

Seeing it, Ironclad's eyes instantly became bloodshot.

“Are you... kidding me! This is an amount we couldn't mine even in a month! We don't even know how long we can stay in here, so this is...!”

“Then it can't be helped. We'll have to chase you out. Hey, you guys! All of these guys...”

“...There's no need to chase us out. We'll mine it.”

I said, taking the severer the elder held out.

As I suddenly intervened, everyone around me stared at me dumbfounded, but I just shrugged and continued speaking to the elder.

“Where is the exit.”

“...You're really going to do all that? Are you in your right mind...”

“Where is the exit.”

When I cut him off with a smirk, the elder finally scowled and gestured.

He probably thought he had nothing to lose anyway. Well, and that was exactly what I wanted.

In the first place, my goal was this ‘mana severer’ that he had just thrown at me.

“...What on earth were you thinking, accepting such an offer?”

After the dwarves had guided us into the dark mine, and we were left alone, Ironclad asked in a voice that showed he didn't understand.

“You must have seen on your way in. This is the cradle of Dwarf technology. If you try to escape, you will pay a harsh price. It would have been better not to have accepted the offer, but now that we've started the work, we can never stop in the middle of it...”

“Ah, don't worry about that.”

I answered indifferently.

“We're going to ignore their offer and capture the mana crystal right away. By making contact.”

“…”

Ironclad took a few deep breaths and asked again.

“Didn't you say you couldn't do it earlier?”

“I couldn't do it because I didn't have this. To be precise.”

I said, fiddling with the severer and testing it.

Hmm. As expected.

As befitting a race that makes things like AI robots and fully auto turrets in a fantasy world, this severer used a principle like a plasma cutter.

This would be perfect.

“...You're going to break through the Sanctum Field with that? You might as well say you're going to break a rock with an egg.”

“I've tried both, and this is easier.”

“…”

I chuckled at the speechless Ironclad.

Well, annoying guys like that would just change their tune even if we actually mined the allotted amount of ore and brought it to them.

It meant that accepting their offer was not an option from the beginning.

I set the clock.

“Well, so.”

It was a top-tier shield within the ‘system,’ but I could break through it quickly.

“Let's finish this in 5 minutes and go.”

Sanctum Field or whatever.

When a bugged character gets involved, there’s no mercy.

***

A beautiful garden of flowers.

Originally, this was a place where fairies the size of children resided. A warm, peaceful, and kind place to all.

But in such a place, now.

The smell of blood was rising.

“…”

Damian Lancester.

The leader of the Lancester Guild, and an EX-rank Climber of which there were not even 10 in the world.

Such a man was quietly sheathing his sword in the center of such a scene.

All around were the corpses he had just cut down.

“Why... just why...?”

Correction. Not all of them.

It seemed there was one that wasn't quite dead yet.

Damian looked down with a cold gaze at one of the ‘fairies’ collapsed on the ground.

“We... we just... wanted to play with the humans... why...”

“In that case.”

Damian muttered, drawing the sword he was about to sheathe again.

“Doesn't that take a long time.”

“...What...?”

The fairy asked blankly, but instead of answering in more detail, Damian swung his sword carelessly into the air.

The great storm that arose just from that swept through the entire space where the fairy had been lying just a moment ago.

“...Hmm.”

And as the last living fairy's breath was cut, Damian saw the force field surrounding the mana crystal disappear and snorted.

He had heard that if he somehow ‘conquered’ the zone, he would gain ownership of that crystal.

A normal person would think of negotiating with the natives somehow to conquer it.

In fact, the fairies here had also made a request of sorts to him.

‘We've never seen a human before, so be our friend.’

Was that what it was?

“…”

A thoroughly unpleasant offer.

How dare these inferior creatures try to be his equal.

Lancester, and among them, Damian himself.

A single person could rival a legion, so he had no need for subordinates to command. He had no need for equals either.

So, he killed them all.

Skipping all the troublesome processes.

They were unnecessarily friendly to him, which made them easier to kill. They seemed to have strong camaraderie too; they tried to move their wounded among the weak, or gathered together to protect the old and weak, which made it easy to slaughter them efficiently.

“...10 minutes. Well, not bad.”

He smirked and checked the watch on his wrist.

What was important to Lancester was, after all, to stand at the pinnacle of everything.

Unlike the other half-wits, he was able to drastically shorten the time by choosing this method.

He was surely the first among those participating in the ordeal to conquer this mana crystal.

So he thought.

Until a huge voice echoed in the air.

[ The first Conqueror to capture a zone has appeared. ]

[ Conqueror ‘Kim Gyu-sik’ has captured the ‘Mana Vein’ zone. ]

[ A first capture bonus will be given. ]

Damian's face twisted horribly.

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