Episode 100

As dawn broke, Ian led his men alongside Romandro and rushed to the mine in Monne. Following the orders from the previous day, the entrance was half-sealed, and the mine’s overseer was speaking with some soldiers.

“No, no! I left the ledger inside, I’m telling you!”

“Come on, that’s not allowed. Stop insisting.”

“Wait a moment—hmm? I’ll just pop in quickly and grab it, okay?”

“Sir Ian, you’re here!”

“Ah! Hello.”

As Ian appeared, the soldiers snapped to attention and saluted on both sides. The mine overseer bowed deeply in greeting as well.

“Cut the formalities and follow me. I have some questions.”

“Y-yes, of course. Please, go ahead.”

The overseer swallowed nervously and trailed behind him. He felt like a thunderclap had struck him first thing in the morning. Closing the mine overnight, and now the lord himself entering the tunnels—something serious was definitely going on.

“Any unusual occurrences in the mine?”

“Unusual? I’m not sure what you mean exactly… but there was nothing noteworthy to report.”

“About 200 meters in, I found a new vein of ore. You didn’t know about it?”

“A n-new vein?”

The overseer’s steps came to an abrupt halt. His reaction clearly showed he had no idea. When Ian turned back with a faint smile, the man panicked, dropping to his knees and shouting,

“I’m sorry!”

“…That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Ian was sincere, but the overseer couldn’t take it that way. To have known about a new vein and not reported it? That would raise suspicions of embezzlement. And if he truly didn’t know, it was a sign of incompetence.

“W-well, I honestly had no idea about the new vein. The spot you mentioned is near the tunnel’s fork, where miners come and go five or six times a day. Since no one said anything, it seems no one noticed it.”

Either way, Ian’s personal visit meant this wasn’t something to brush off lightly.

As the overseer repeatedly banged his head on the floor, Ian sighed and glanced at Barrick. Barrick gently pushed the man’s hand away to stop the self-harm.

Thunk!

“Don’t do that. You’ll put a hole in your forehead.”

“…Huh?”

The overseer’s forehead was already stained black with coal dust. Ian resumed walking ahead and continued.

“I’m not here to assign blame, but to gather information. If no one knew about it, then it’s safe to assume the vein is a recent discovery.”

“D-do you know what kind of vein it is?”

Hopefully, it wasn’t gold or anything like that. This was a coal mine, after all—no way such treasures would be found in a pit of black dust. Still, the overseer couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild as he studied Ian’s expression.

“Yes. I do. It’s something extraordinary.”

“Gah!”

The overseer involuntarily gasped. This was his chance for a life-changing break! As long as Ian didn’t hold him responsible for verifying the vein, he’d remain the mine’s overseer. A new resource meant a huge windfall, and some of that would trickle down to him.

“You know I’ll be away from the estate soon, right?”

“Yes, sir. You’re going up to receive your title, so it’s understandable. We’ll manage the mine without any issues while you’re gone.”

“Good to hear. Now, about the mine—it’ll have to be closed for a while. I’ll keep paying you your salary as usual, but the miners should be given six months’ pay to settle things.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“It means an indefinite temporary closure.”

Despite it being morning, no sunlight penetrated the mine’s depths. The only light came from the lantern in Ian’s hand. The deeper they went, the more a faint purple glow seemed to shimmer in the distance.

“What you’re about to see must be kept absolutely secret. Can you manage that? If not, you’re free to turn back now.”

The overseer hesitated for a moment at Ian’s offer. From his perspective, the conditions were quite favorable. The mine closing meant less to manage, yet his salary would continue uninterrupted!

Drip.

Water fell from the ceiling, snapping the overseer back to attention. He bowed his head and responded loudly, his voice echoing through the tunnels.

“I swear, no matter what happens, I’ll keep my mouth shut!”

“Thank you for that.”

Besides, if he turned back now, who knew how Ian might deal with him? Would he simply be sent home, or would his tongue be cut out just for hearing about this?

“Have you ever heard of ‘mana stones’?”

“Mana stones? No, I haven’t.”

“Surprising. I thought anyone working in a mine would know.”

“We’re a bit behind on news here. Is it a newly discovered mineral?”

“Something like that. It’s probably more valuable than gold.”

Ian gestured toward the faint glow ahead, and the overseer instinctively looked.

“N-no… what exactly is that…?”

He could hardly believe his eyes. What on earth was that? A softly glowing purple ore? He’d never seen anything like it in his life.

“Is it really ore? And what’s with the corpse?”

“There are a lot of bubbles inside, but it’s definitely solid. Ignore the corpse—it’s thanks to it that we found this.”

The lower half of the body was crushed, the face pale and lifeless. The overseer hesitated briefly, then bent down to examine the rock crevices where the vein began.

“Could you shine the lantern here?”

“Barrick.”

“Yes, sir!”

The overseer traced the starting point with trembling fingers. Soon, he seemed to find something and pulled out a small hammer from under his shirt.

Clang! Clang!

“That won’t work. I’ve tried everything with a sword, and it didn’t leave a scratch. I think you’d have to blow it up with explosives to break it.”

“Blowing up the mine? That’s a bit extreme.”

“Is it? Anyway, it’s no use. It’s too tough.”

Despite Barrick’s protests, the overseer kept tapping the rock—not with brute force, but with a precise snap of his wrist.

“I’m trying to break the rock attached to the mana stone. It seems connected here, and there’s more moisture coming up than elsewhere.”

Clang!

A shard of stone flew off with a sharp ring. The overseer dropped to the floor, and Barrick hurried over, peering closely.

“Huh?”

“What is it? What is it?”

But the overseer frowned as if he’d seen something he wished he hadn’t. Barrick circled around, pestering him, but he didn’t budge.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, it definitely comes from beneath here. There was a pool of liquid the same color as this. But as soon as Barrick got close…”

“As soon as I got close?”

“It solidified. The deeper parts don’t have connected rock, so it’s hard to dig out. Unless we break this first.”

Ian and Romandro exchanged glances, and Barrick raised his hands in protest, looking wronged. It was as if his presence had caused the mana stone to harden.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Barrick.”

“I swear. Really.”

“Come back over here.”

No sooner had Ian spoken than Barrick stepped away from the overseer.

“Still the same?”

“Yes. No change.”

“Ian, do you know something about this?”

Romandro looked at Ian, clearly baffled. Unless it was a special case, it was rare for a layperson to have this kind of knowledge.

Even Dergazo, who had the mana stone brooch, probably only knew how to use it—not its name, properties, or how it worked.

Ian seemed to have a hunch.

“Mana stones basically respond to magical energy.”

“Respond to magic?”

“Exactly. They react when exposed to external magic.”

Dergazo’s brooch worked the same way.

To replay recorded voices, a special solution was necessary, and the quality of that solution depended on how much magic it contained.

“I think this…”

“This?”

“Solidifies when external magic approaches. Barrick, you said it hardened when you got close yesterday, right?”

“Yeah. At first, I thought I was stuck in mud. Then it got harder to move.”

Barrick was a magic swordsman, faintly carrying magic within him. So it made sense that the stone reacted and solidified as he neared.

What had been a vague suspicion now became a certainty.

‘It’s probably Luron.’

A high-grade mana stone. But what was it used for?

There was even a department within the Magic Bureau dedicated solely to mana stones—that’s how specialized the knowledge was. Ian frowned and motioned for them to step back.

“Stand back.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try breaking it.”

“With your bare hands? Are you crazy?”

Barrick gasped and grabbed Ian’s arm, handing him a sword with a proud nod.

“A real person uses tools, you know.”

“Fine. You hold it.”

“Uh-oh. You’ll regret this. Want to eat with your toes?”

Ian ignored him and placed his hand on the mana stone. The corpse’s eyes stared blankly into space.

Ziiing.

Shhhhhh!

As Ian slowly gathered his magic, the stone’s purple glow deepened. It was as if the heat was rising, drying the bubbles inside.

Barrick and Romandro recoiled in shock, stepping back, while the overseer bowed his head, shielding himself.

“Ian, Ian! Is it about to explode? Be careful!”

“Ahhh! If this thing blows here, we’re all dead!”

“Please, have mercy! Ian, please!”

“Ian, it’s dangerous! Hey, I’m a newlywed here!”

“Ahhh! Please, can’t you stop before you go out there?”

The three of them were shouting all at once, making the ringing in my head almost unbearable. But Ian didn’t back down; he slowly began channeling his magic…

“Huh?”

“…Huh?”

“Ian, did you just say ‘huh’?”

Ian’s quiet exclamation was met with silence. The moment felt like an eternity, though that was probably just my imagination.

BLAZAM!

BANG! CRACK!

“Ahhh!”

“Crazy!”

In an instant, the magic stone shattered and exploded. chunks of all sizes flew everywhere, and Romandro and the overseer crouched down, screaming.

Beric immediately drew his sword, swatting away the debris falling toward his face, then looked at Ian.

“Ian! Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

Ian’s hair fluttered slightly. Whether it was from the explosion or the magic’s force, no one could tell.

“You say you’re fine after it blew up right in your face?”

“I think I instinctively cast a protective shield.”

“Well, good for you.”

Ian just smiled, brushing dust and powder off his clothes. It was strange. He had been testing the magic very slowly and faintly, but it had reacted so strongly it exploded.

Swish.

A knight’s corpse spilled onto the floor from the split mineral. Ian looked down at his hand, puzzled.

‘That’s odd.’

Had his magic become more sensitive? Ian had no idea.

Beric stepped closer, holding up a fist-sized chunk of the magic stone and biting into it.

“No matter what we did, it wouldn’t budge, but it’s definitely broken now. Magic really is something else, huh?”

Romandro glanced around. The shattered pieces of magic stone were scattered everywhere. Forgetting his dignity, he started sweeping the floor with his sleeve.

“Let’s pick these up quickly, Beric.”

“Too much trouble. Can’t we just grab the big ones?”

“Think of it like this: each pebble’s worth a gold coin.”

“…Is there a broom outside?”

Beric dashed out, calling for others to help. Ian placed his hand on the still-intact part of the stone and muttered,

“Everyone, step back a little.”

“Ian! Wait, wait!”

Ziiing. Ziiing!

BANG!

“Ow!”

The soldiers waiting outside all turned their heads toward the tunnel entrance at once, curious about what was happening inside.