Side: Prim
“Nice one, Prim!”
“Got it!”
At Yamato’s cue, I donned the Extreme Flame Wings. The mana consumption was still immense, but I was getting used to it, so it wasn’t as drastic a drain as last time.
Three days had passed since we arrived in Feel. During that time, we acquired weapons and armor from Albert Workshop, and finished purchasing potions, food, and daily necessities. Yesterday and the day before, we hunted monsters along the road and at Veil Lake to procure ingredients and test our weapons. We managed to hunt twenty-three Blue Lake Bulls, thirty-four Glass Boas, fourteen Horn Rabbits, and two rare Spiral Rabbits. We earned a decent amount of money.
The fallen hunters Yamato apprehended earlier were thoroughly interrogated at the Order’s Guild. Their confessions implicated them in the death of Viscount Archlight’s Wyvern, corroborating the evidence. According to the Order, they weren’t from the Amister Kingdom and had been slacking off, using the Hunter’s Master’s authority as an excuse. They also mentioned other affiliated groups like the Raid. They were likely gathering evidence and preparing to apprehend them.
We are currently at the mining site to clear out the Mylight Mine. We’d heard goblins infested the area but didn’t know how many. Our primary objective today was reconnaissance.
The Mylight mining site, located about an hour’s walk south of Feel, is the Amister Kingdom’s pride for mining Magic Silver and Crystal Silver. About half a month before we arrived in Feel, goblins attacked, killing all the convict slaves working in the mine, leading to its closure.
Despite the risks, regional governors and the Order’s Guild had investigated the important mine multiple times. They discovered that goblins were attempting to make it their nest. However, the Order’s Guild, due to complications with Green Fang and the hunters, hesitated to act. Consequently, the provincial governor requested the Hunter’s Guild to retake the mine. The Hunter’s Master, bringing up the Green Fang issue, initially refused the request. When told the Order or hunters would be dispatched from the Royal Capital, he requested permission to use the Hunter’s Guild’s Wyvern, but refused, citing it as emergency equipment. Linus, dispatched from Alegria headquarters, intervened, deeming it unreasonable, and the recovery request was finally accepted. However, no hunters stepped forward to take the job. Hunters from Feel did accept, but none returned alive.
On the day of the recovery operation, several Raids left Feel to hunt, but their efforts were in vain. It’s likely the hunters from Feel were killed by them. This is what the Order’s Guild suspected, leading to Yamato’s continued interrogation of the captured fallen hunters. The provincial governor also suspected the Hunter’s Master’s involvement. However, before the suspicions could be cleared, he left for the Royal Capital. Without Linus, the trust between Amister and the Hunter’s Guild would have already crumbled.
We are now fighting the goblins who have made their nest in the mining site. We encountered regular goblins and the higher-ranking Hobgoblins. What surprised us was the presence of the Goblin Queen, the highest-ranking species and a Catastrophe Species. The conditions for the birth of Queens or Kings are unknown, but it’s said they are more likely to appear in areas with less human contact. However, whether that’s true or not is irrelevant now.
Goblins are classified as monsters, though considered Demi-humans. They possess Magic Stones within their bodies. However, their strength is only one rank higher than other Demi-humans. Even the highest-ranking Catastrophe Species, the Goblin Queen, is not as powerful as a Black Fenrir, making them not too difficult an opponent for us.
We swung our swords and halberds, dispatching goblins one after another with magic and Engraving Magic. Once only the Goblin Queen remained, I combined the flames of the Burning Wings with the wind of the Blasting Wings, forming the Extreme Flame Wings. The Goblin Queen attempted to counter with her sword, but Yamato’s Engraving Magic froze its legs, rendering it immobile. I seized the opportunity, unleashing the Extreme Flame Wings at full power, charging straight at it, much like with Green Fang. Even at full power, I was careful not to engulf the Goblin Queen in flames, requiring more concentration than before. However, my efforts paid off. The Goblin Queen was only slightly scorched before being split in half from the torso and falling to the ground.
“It’s better than the first time, but still tiring,” I remarked.
“It’s not perfected yet, and it feels like I’m wasting mana in places. We just have to keep experimenting and get used to it,” Yamato replied.
Indeed. Even with regular magic, mana consumption decreases with practice. I just need to keep trying until I’m satisfied. I can’t use Extreme Flame Wings in town, so I should take advantage of every opportunity I have to practice.
“Speaking of the Goblin Queen, it’s likely that there are goblins not just in the mining site, but also in the tunnels.”
“Probably. The tunnels aren’t too far from here, so let’s take a look just in case.”
“Agreed.”
That possibility is very high. The Mylight mining site has three tunnels. The mining site itself, as the name suggests, is for mining Magic Silver, but it’s only a part of the Mylight Mine. Crystal Silver, on the other hand, can only be mined from the tunnels, not the digging site. Therefore, tunnels for mining Crystal Silver are adjacent to the mining site. Although these tunnels are for Crystal Silver, it’s said that Crystal Silver is transformed Magic Silver due to the earth’s mana, so there’s a high chance of mining Magic Silver as well.
Having defeated the goblins in the mining site, we headed towards the third tunnel, starting with the closest one. The mining site is vast, so the tunnels aren’t visible from each other. We heard that the second tunnel collapsed about half a year ago and has been sealed since, so we disregarded it. This left the first and third tunnels. We chose the third tunnel simply because it was the closest.
It was just a precaution. We hadn’t anticipated finding anything in the third tunnel. If Yamato hadn’t sent out Dolphin Eye to scout the third tunnel, we might have been caught completely off guard.
“Yamato?”
“Be careful, Prim. There are people in the third tunnel.”
“People? Not goblins?”
“Yes, people. The entrance appears empty, but I saw someone observing from outside. I’ll switch to Mole Eye.”
Mole Eye is a C-rank earth-attribute exploration spell, apparently a type of Engraving Magic similar to Dolphin Eye. He likely used it because it would be easier to check the inside of the tunnel with its earth attribute.
“…They’re digging in the tunnel.”
“That’s not just digging; it’s illegal mining! And they haven’t noticed us?”
“Seems so. If they had, they wouldn’t be digging so casually.”
“True. But why would they do such a thing… Ah, that must be why the Hunter’s Master suppressed information about Green Fang and had hunters kill Viscount Archlight’s Wyvern.”
“It’s plausible. The recovery operation took place about half a month ago, so they probably started digging after that. They would have extracted a significant amount by now. It’s not right to just let them continue. Besides, we found them; we have to catch them.”
“I agree. I never expected this, but now we have a suspect, and Amister and the Hunter’s Guild won’t stand for this.”
The appearance of Green Fang, Black Fenrir, and the Goblin Queen was probably a coincidence. They likely exploited this to isolate Feel, secretly mine Magic Silver, and then try to seize Feel from Amister. They probably assumed the third tunnel, being on the eastern edge of the mining site, wouldn’t attract the Goblin Queen’s attention. They also likely believed that the presence of the Goblin Queen would deter attacks from Green Fang or Black Fenrir. They probably had other contingencies as well, which we’ll discover when we investigate. This kind of operation can only be the work of the Retysentia Empire, located north of Amister.
It’s well-known that Retysentia covets the Mylight Mountains. The Retysentia Royal Family doesn’t even try to hide it and clashes with Amister whenever an opportunity arises. They claim the Mylight Mountains are Retysentia’s territory and must be managed by them. My grandfather used to laugh, saying that ignoring the will of a great power like Retysentia means one cannot survive on the Philia Continent. Naturally, Amister ignored them. Furthermore, Retysentia was founded about two hundred years ago by a royal family that won a conflict among several small nations. Of course, they have no connection to Amister or the Mylight Mountains.
“We came here to investigate the mining site, but we’ve stumbled upon something major. Are the workers slaves?”
“I’m not sure about that. They are wearing matching bracelets, but I’ve never seen a slave bracelet before. Even if they were convict slaves, if their slave marks are hidden by clothing, there’s no way to confirm.”
That can’t be helped.
The slaves in Helios Orb are mostly indentured or convict slaves. Indentured slaves wear what’s called a slave bracelet. When an indentured slave receives the bracelet, they sign a contract, and based on that signature, their master places the bracelet on them, forming the contract. The slave bracelet automatically comes off when the contract term ends, when the indentured slave earns the contracted amount, or if the master violates the contract, signaling their emancipation. Of course, they can choose to continue serving after emancipation, which is their personal choice. Therefore, slaves wearing bracelets are indentured slaves.
In contrast, convict slaves have slave marks branded onto their bodies, as bracelets can be broken. The branding is simple, just pressing a magical tool against their skin, and no contract signing is involved, meaning they are never truly freed. Of course, since anyone could become a slave just by pressing a magical tool against their body, it would cause major problems. Therefore, the King or lord must sign a charge sheet, and without that signature, the magical tool won’t activate, preventing misuse. Furthermore, the Order’s Guild stores the magical tools, and they cannot be activated without the Order’s Master’s approval.
The problem lies with illegal slaves. I don’t know the exact methods, but I’ve heard rumors of magical tools similar to those used for convict slaves. Naturally, such actions are illegal and punishable by death if discovered, but that’s in Amister. In Retysentia and Solemne, there are slave merchants who use such magical tools. There are also rumors of different methods on the Gradia Continent. If the people in the third tunnel are from Retysentia, the slaves they are using are highly likely to be illegal slaves.
“In the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to give up on the slaves’ lives. We’ll try not to kill them, but there’s a contract where if the master dies, the slave also dies, right?”
“That applies to illegal slaves. I heard it’s a form of insurance, as people tricked into slavery resent their masters and might try to harm them.”
That is precisely what makes illegal slaves, well, illegal. The thought alone makes me sick. It’s easy to dismiss it as unrelated, but killing innocent people is too bitter a pill to swallow. Furthermore, if we can free the slaves, we might be able to obtain valuable information. Ideally, we should capture the slaves alive.
“Shall we go then?”
“Let’s do it.”
Yamato and I cautiously advanced into the third tunnel, weapons ready.
