Chapter 227 – It Was A Giant Ore Deposit!

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We had arrived at Mount Leorl.
As it was already dark, we decided to spend the night in the abandoned village at the foot of the mountain.

And then on the following morning, we continued on to the entrance of the mines.
After leaving the village, we walked through the forest for some time, and the mountain appeared before us. So large that it filled our vision.

When I looked up at the high, steep cliffs, I realized that it was the part of the mountain we had been looking at while still far away.

I then scanned the surrounding area, and saw a place on the side of the mountain that had been carved out… A giant hole.

Rienna looked at the hole and then turned to Remlik.

“Is that the entrance to the mines?”
“Aye. The Leol Mines. Our destination.”

When I thought about a mine entrance, I thought of a hole that was big enough for humans to easily pass through.

However, this one was different.

It was big enough for giants… Like the Mappa statue that stood on the shores of Sheorl island.

I asked Remlik,

“Was this hole always here?”
“Yes. While it is too dark to see it well, it looks like it was carved out by something huge. Do you know those buildings with the domed roofs? The ceiling has similar arches to those buildings.”
“So it’s like a man made structure… Was it made by a different civilization?”
“Well, we do not know. But some people think it is the case, and continue to investigate the mountain. It’s because of such investigations that we found out that iron and other kinds of ore could be found there. However…”
“They found no traces of civilization?”
“Yess. After all, the thing the Vader people want most is the great silver.”

Then Fule asked,

“In that case, it is a waste to even look.”
“I don’t know about that? …At the very least, you people recognized what my armor and weapon were immediately. So you might make some new discovery.”
“Like I said, it was because we thought you were royalty and… Hah… In any case, we came all of the way here. So we might as well look.”
“Aye. Now, allow me to guide you through the mines.”

And so we decided to head towards the entrance.

Remlik took the lead and climbed up the slope.

And though the hole looked like it was close, we seemed to never reach it.

As it was so large, it was hard to measure the actual distance.

In the end, it took us a whole hour.

“Woah… I’ve never seen such a large hole before.”

Fule said as she looked up at it in awe.

Up close, it was even more impressive.
However, it was so dark inside that we could not see anything.

“Are we really going inside of that? Won’t we get lost?”
“It will be fine. I’ve been inside many times.”

Boasted Remlik.

And so I decided to trust him.

In the meantime, Rienna took off her knapsack and searched inside.

“As we cannot see anything, I will prepare some torches.”

I was about to forget.
Us humans needed torches to see.

But Remlik shook his head.

“I’m fine. Because I am able to see in the dark.”

So the Vader people had night vision.
Well, with the power of Cave King, I could also see clearly in caves…

And so after accepting the torch that I didn’t need, I turned to the hole again.

If we walked through for some time, we would hit a wall.

And behind it, there were several smaller holes.

The ore deposits were probably reached through there.

I wanted to ask which hole we would pass through, but it would seem strange if I did.

And so I would just have to let Remlik lead the way.

In any case, I used fire magic to light the torches.
Rienna and Fule also had torches as well.

Then I nodded towards Remlik.

“We’re ready to go.”
“Good. Alright, let’s go then. The floor inside is level, but you should still watch your step.”

We nodded and then followed Remlik inside of the cave.

I still did not detect any monsters.

There were no cave spiders on the ceiling, like the underground city in Sheorl…

The ceiling was rounded.
Someone must have been digging through it.
Or perhaps something huge had fallen and carved it out.

It was certainly interesting terrain…
But outside of the size of the hole, there was nothing particularly strange about it.

When I looked around, I saw some traces of people having lived here.

A storage house, homes, and digging tools including a pickaxe.

It made me think of Sheorl.

As we walked like this, Remlik started to talk while he took the lead.

“I don’t know if you people can see it, but this place is always so strange for me. Was it made by giants…or some other power.”

Remlik would have brought us here, because he believed that there was something that no one had discovered yet.

Like the great silver… That was why he had visited so many times.

And then Fule said,

“Perhaps there are some undiscovered ancient ruins.”

I almost muttered, ‘like in Sheorl.’

“That would be very interesting. Well, I think chances of that are quite low.”

Said Remlik, and then Rienna asked,

“In other words… People have already dug very deep into the ground?”
“Yes. This place was mined for fifty years. They have dug very deep down. However, there were never any ruins or relics.”
“And yet you still returned.”
“Yes. I have high expectations for you… Ah, this hole goes the deepest down.”

Remlik said as he went inside.
The ground was smooth, and there were pillars and arches to reinforce the passages.
And it sloped gently downwards.

We followed Remlik as he descended.
Along the way, there were holes in the walls, and we could see how rich the mines were.

Regardless, it was all very familiar.

However, we could also detect magic energy.

And though the only thing I could hear was our own footsteps, I could sense magic energy approaching us from one of the side holes.

It had the body of a worm but was larger than a human. And it seemed to have hundreds of legs.

Remlik noticed it as well, and his hand went to the hilt of his sword.

But his feet did not stop.

The creatures that were moving towards us were also cautious. It was like they were tailing us without ever getting too close.

Because of this, Fule looked a little anxious.

Besides, they seemed to be increasing in number. In just a short amount of time, there were over a dozen of them.
And so our escape route was now blocked.

Finally, Fule said,

“Um…unless I am mistaken, something is chasing us?”
“Aye, monsters. But don’t worry. The passage is too narrow for them to attack all at once.”

Remlik said calmly.
And so there was nothing to do but continue to follow him.

Eventually, we saw something like an exit up ahead.
It seemed to lead into a great open chamber.

Perhaps it was a place to store all of the mined ore.

However, if we went out there, we would be surrounded in an instant…

“Remlik, are you sure about this?”
“Aye. Ahead is… Ah.”

Remlik stopped as soon as he took a step out.

And then he turned around and smiled at us.

“I’m sorry… It seems like I took the passage next to the right one.”
“You did what!!”

Fule shouted. In the next instant, I sensed the monsters coming towards us from every direction within the chamber.

Next Chapter

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