Chapter 208 – They Looked Familiar!?

“A teleportation gate…”

Shiel nodded at my voice.

There was no doubt about it, this was the closest of the teleportation gates that we were searching for. Not only that, but it seems like the mines continued beyond the gate as well. It was not damaged and was functioning just fine.

But there was nothing to suggest that someone would come out of it like they did in Arancia. Perhaps there were no security measures in place.

“A civilization that has the power to break through walls made of Orichalcum, huh?”

You might think that it would be managed more securely… Perhaps the people on the other side had forgotten the existence of this gate.

In any case, we wouldn’t know unless we went through.
Mappa approached the gate as if to say this.

“Wait, Mappa. Surely it is too dangerous.”

What if what we were seeing through the gate was just an illusion?

What if the other side was actually submerged in water or lava? What if it was a place with hostile creatures? What if it was covered in that black fog…? It was quite possible that it would lead to a dangerous place.

That being said, I didn’t sense any magic energy that would be needed for such illusions.

And as if knowing this, Mappa took out a branch from the world tree out from his grass skirt.
He then thrust the tree branch into the gate and moved it as if mixing something.

I suppose that if there was something on the other side, then it would stick to the branch.

However, when he pulled it back, there was nothing stuck to it, and I didn’t sense any magic energy either. Apparently, there was no liquid or black fog.

“It’s probably safe then… That being said, perhaps there is nothing to stand on.”

Mappa looked at me with exasperation as if to say that I worried too much. Then he threw a rope through the gate.
The rope fell to the floor on the other side, and there were no signs of it being swallowed up.

As a test, I unleashed a sphere of magic light through the gate, and as far as I could see, there were no obstacles.

“I suppose it really is fine then.”

And so I cast Shield and stepped through the gate.

A normal underground tunnel… Perhaps it was connected to a country made by humans.

“In any case, let’s keep going… I can see stairs up ahead. Perhaps they will lead to the surface.”

And so once again, we walked through the underground passage.

Eventually, we reached the stone steps and began to climb them. And after a while, we saw the exit, where the light shone down on us.

“…This place…”

The first thing that entered my sight was a blue sky and spreading clouds. When I squinted, I saw a vast forest below, with several rivers running through it.

“A mountain…it’s so high.”

Apparently, we had come out onto the peak of a steep mountain. It was probably taller than the World Tree.

“It doesn’t look to be man-made. And I don’t see any cities or settlements below.”

Perhaps we would have to travel a little farther before we found any of those.

“It will be difficult to bring the Mado Armors here. I suppose we should bring the wyverns instead.”

Not only would it be physically challenging to bring the armors, but if there were inhabitants here, they might get scared of the armors. It was best to investigate carefully.

“However…”

I said, and then Mappa nodded and spread out his arms. Then we both closed our eyes and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

“What a relaxing place this is…”

It might not have been as good as the top of the World Tree, but the air was good. It was clear and cool.

Just then, a voice rang from behind me.

“This…is a surprise.”

I turned around to see Baris and Number 15.

“Ah, Baris. Number 15. Thank you.”

Number 15 and Baris, who looked like a demon, bowed their heads.

“I’m sorry for the delay. But I thought that I should rush on ahead. Still, this is…”
“Yes, even I was surprised. I didn’t think we would come out into a place that is so rich with nature…”

As they had taken the weapons, I expected to see sprawling cities. And given what had happened to Arancia, I was worried that the lands would be swallowed up by the black mist.

Baris answered.

“We should organize a scouting party at once. And I can fly around the area.”

As Baris could fly, perhaps I should just leave it to him. However, he also had evolved to look like a devil.

What would the humans say if they saw him…?

Mappa seemed to have thought something as well, as he shook his head.

Well, Baris had learned magic to conceal himself, so it might not be much of a problem after all.

“…It’s possible that we will be attacked. We’ll wait for the others and make plans for how to go about scouting. But until then, we can investigate this area.”
“Very well. Perhaps we will find something.”

The mountain peak was all exposed rock, and there were hardly any plants. There was nothing man-made around the tunnel entrance that we had come out of.

“When you think about it, why is there a tunnel here…”

Lower down the mountain, I could see that there were places where plants grew. But there was not so much as a hut in sight. And aren’t entrances to mines usually near the foot of a mountain…?

Baris seemed to think this was strange as well, as he said,

“I checked the weapon storage room earlier. It is as if they knew that the gate to Sheorl’s underground was here.”
“That is quite likely. But I still don’t know who did it…”

I didn’t even know where in the world this was.
Well, if I checked the plants near the bottom, I could probably find out if we are on the Barleon continent or not.

As we continued to look around the area, Baris suddenly turned his eyes to the north.

“Hmm… Lord Heal. Everyone. Around me…”
“Huh? Ah.”

I too sensed the magic energy coming from the north.

They were flying creatures, but were too large to be birds.

“We should hide and observe them for now.”

And then Baris cast concealment magic on us.

Eventually, they were close enough to see with the naked eye.

“Those are…dragons?”

It was a blue dragon. In fact, not just one, but five of them.

Baris looked up at the dragons and said,

“Dragons…does this mean that we are on the Elto continent?”
“No, the Elto continent is a rocky wasteland where trees and grass do not grow. And it cannot be the earth dragon lands to the south…that Roydon talked about…”
“Yes. These are not earth dragons. Besides…”
“Yes, they look familiar. The small wings…and they are wearing metal armor in spite of being dragons.”
“Could they be from the Vader Dragon Kingdom?”

They had once appeared near the Sheorl seas. They also resembled the dragonfolk that transformed into Lindwurms.

The Lindwurms that were in the lead hovered in the sky above us for a while, and looked around. Several times, they raised a glowing stone into the air.

Baris looked at them and said,

“Hmm. Perhaps it is an item that detects magic energy.”

However, the Lindwurms were not able to find us. Eventually, they flew back to the north.

“So we managed to evade them.”
“Aye, it looks like it… Thank you, Baris. It’s because of your magic training.”
“I did not expect to be praised at this age… It is a little embarrassing.”

Baris said as he scratched his head. But then he looked at the Lindwurms again as they left.

“If they really are from the Vader Dragon Kingdom, then this must be the Fallion continent that is east of Barleon.”
“Yes. The same continent as the Amolis Republic, where Kamyu headed as an envoy.”
“And you sent a message through Berfalt to the Vader Dragon King, saying that Sheorl had no intention of making them an enemy.”
“As we are so far away, I doubt they would try to get revenge… In any case, I think it best that we avoid contact until Kamyu returns.”

Baris nodded in agreement.

“They seem to be patrolling this area for something. This might be an important location for them. The scouting of this area should be conducted by only a few of our best.”
“Yes, we will do that.”

And like that, we discovered a new land.

Next Chapter

The Cave King will live a Paradise Life -Becoming the strongest with the mining skill?-