Game Master 019: The Mage's Laboratory (2)
The scout team's leader, realizing their situation was hopeless, spoke in a somber voice.
"Everyone, I'm sorry. Die for the organization."
"......Understood, Captain."
They gritted their teeth.
Even if they refused and fled, they'd spend the rest of their lives hunted by the enforcers.
They knew all too well how that would end, so they couldn't even entertain the thought.
The six scouts bolted off in different directions.
"Hah!"
They ran at top speed without foolishly engaging the monsters.
Boom! Crash!
Dodging the Sasquatch's raining fists with deft maneuvers, they broke through the encirclement and fled.
The Sasquatch pursued them ferociously.
It was clear they couldn't escape for long anyway.
Soon, they turned to fight back.
It wasn't easy.
Unable to wield mana, they had to rely solely on instinct and prediction to evade the Sasquatch's attacks.
Crack!
Before long, the youngest member was smashed by a Sasquatch fist, his body reduced to a bloody pulp as he flew through the air.
But he had completed his mission.
He'd inflicted a small wound on the Sasquatch's ankle.
It wasn't a serious injury, but the poison-coated dagger had done its job, binding the beast's foot for the moment.
That was how they sacrificed themselves to buy time.
In the meantime, the scout captain stuffed the summarized report into his bosom and ran desperately.
He had a bad feeling about this.
The traces he'd confirmed weren't just some passing merchant caravan attacked by a Sasquatch.
There weren't even human corpses—let alone monster scraps or gnawed bones.
That meant someone had survived and cleaned up afterward, or in other words, repelled the Sasquatch.
Few families in the area could muster the force to drive off a Sasquatch.
He had to report this to Servio Viscount no matter what.
"Huff! Huff! D-did I shake them off......?"
After running for a good while, he paused to catch his breath and felt a moment of relief.
Thwip—thunk!
An arrow flew from somewhere, piercing his chest mercilessly.
"Gah!"
He scanned his surroundings with effort but spotted no one.
'They waited for me to shake the Sasquatch and let my guard down. Perfectly played.'
"Cough!"
He spewed a handful of blood and collapsed, never to rise again.
Moments later, Laila, confirming the Sasquatch hadn't appeared, slowly rose from the nearby bushes.
She rummaged through the fallen captain's bosom and pulled out a leather pouch.
It was sealed with wax to keep water out.
Clearly a special pouch scouts used to protect reports in harsh conditions.
She pocketed it and headed to the spot Calix had indicated.
The monsters swarming the Golda Plateau would take care of the body and traces cleanly.
After Laila left.
The 'Black-Striped Sasquatch,' chieftain of the Sasquatch village, appeared.
The monster sniffed around and discovered the scout captain's corpse.
It confirmed the scent from the body, then distinguished another.
And it quietly stared in the direction that faint scent trailed off.
Calix's group slowly advanced through the ruin's corridor, feeling their way along.
The smoothly polished green walls exuded an air of mystery.
They looked so flawless, you could almost believe they were glass instead of stone.
The members surrounding Calix front and back were on high alert.
They never knew when a trap or guardian might spring from the ruins.
But to Calix, anxious that an injured member might not hold out, it was frustratingly slow.
"This is pointless. This place was built by a retired mage for quiet research until he died. Who in their right mind installs deadly traps in their own home?"
"We still need to check for safety."
"Look at these walls. Perfectly smooth, right? This wasn't dug out of the earth—it's melted stone and soil fused together without a single seam. High-level magic. At least a Class 8 archmage. If he'd wanted traps, anyone here would've been roasted before they could react."
Calix chattered on, but Krout didn't even pretend to listen.
When it came to his lord's safety, he never compromised.
The expedition finally reached the largest central laboratory and split into groups of three to search every area.
Of course, Calix had to wait obediently until the inspection was done.
"Promise me. If you find any mid-grade potions or better, bring them here immediately to feed the wounded."
"Understood."
"Good."
Only then did Calix flop onto a stone chair and survey the room.
Thomas, who stayed to guard him, asked,
"Young master, how did the Kosalin Viscount's family discover ruins like this?"
Calix answered indifferently.
"Probably stumbled on it by chance. Or someone tipped them off."
"And they even got the magic orb key?"
"That was likely some high-level mage they hired hacking... er, forcing through the security magic. Hmm?"
Calix, who had been lounging, suddenly sat up straight.
"Come to think of it, this isn't something to take lightly."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Even if time weakened the magic, no run-of-the-mill mage a viscount could hire would crack that security."
"Then......"
"Who is Servio Viscount's patron?"
"Antonio Marquis."
Calix stroked his chin and muttered,
"We'll need to prepare accordingly."
The knights finally admitted it was safe after meticulously checking every nook.
"As ordered, we've brought the mid-grade potions found here."
"Hand them over."
"But are you really going to use them on the wounded?"
"Got a problem with that?"
Krout was the flustered one at Calix's reaction, as if it were the most obvious thing.
"The price of mid-grade potions......"
"Enough."
Calix cut him off coldly.
"Don't say another word."
"My apologies."
Fortunately, feeding the three mid-grade potions to the critically injured stabilized their breathing almost immediately.
Only then did he sigh in relief, bandage their wounds properly, and spoon-feed them low-grade potions bit by bit.
To replenish their depleted stamina.
'Using low-grade potions that heal most external wounds in one go like energy drinks... No wonder Krout's horrified. Heh.'
He gave a wry smile.
But he couldn't abandon a subordinate dying right in front of him just because it didn't balance the books.
They'd already lost one.
If he let another die over a bit of money, his own heart wouldn't take it.
"The rest of the lightly wounded are almost fully healed. No need to worry."
"Good work."
"Then we'll catalog the types and quantities of items in the ruins."
"What'd we find?"
"Gems, herbs, crystal products—common for magic experiments. A few artifact accessories with support spells, but nothing too valuable."
"Got it."
Calix nodded, confirming it matched what he remembered from the ruins' loot.
That meant there was one item here they absolutely needed.
Krout spotted him heading off alone and followed.
"The search is done, but we don't know all the dangers. Best not to wander alone."
Calix nodded early, giving up.
No point arguing—he wouldn't listen anyway.
"Fine. Do what you want."
"Thank you."
Calix headed to the small storage room next to the central lab with Krout.
The secret door to the 'control room' was there.
The storage was spotless, without a speck of dust, despite years of neglect.
Thanks to preservation and cleaning magic.
Pushing aside shelves cluttered with assorted items revealed a gray wall.
Perfectly blank, no markings.
Calix felt along the wall with his hand.
A section sank in.
Pressing around it in a pattern revealed the secret door.
Groooan!
Krout marveled as he stepped into the control room.
"Never imagined a place like this."
Dozens of crystal orbs were neatly arrayed on the table.
Half had lost their glow, reduced to ordinary stones, but the rest projected square screens into the air.
Calix thought it resembled a modern security room lined with CCTV monitors.
No wonder Krout was stunned—coming from Earth, even Calix found it impressive.
"Impressive. It monitors the tomb's every corner."
Krout examined the dozens of screens curiously, then tilted his head at one.
"But this one...... It's odd. We checked the ruins thoroughly—no room like this."
"Let's see? Ah! That's, well...... a fake ruin."
"A fake ruin?"
"Ancient tombs or mage labs often have decoy facilities right next to the real ones to deter tomb raiders. They even bury some gold and jewels on purpose. 'Take this and scram.'"
"I see! Then......!"
Krout's face lit with realization.
He turned to Calix for confirmation.
"Heh, exactly. That's basically our expedition's final target. The Kosalin Viscount's idiots thought the fake tomb was real and have been using it as a secret vault all this time."
"So that's why you were so confident we could steal their slush funds without touching the vault."
Calix nodded instead of answering and approached the control device.
He knew the theoretical operation from the game, even if only in crude graphics.
Visualize the desired function strongly in your mind.
"You handle complex artifacts so deftly—maybe you have a talent for magic."
Krout was impressed, but Calix brushed it off.
If his mana sensitivity were that good, his max level wouldn't be so low from the start.
It was just the difference between someone who's handled modern gadgets and a medieval commoner first seeing a smartphone.
Nothing more.
Many orbs had failed over the ages, but luckily, those monitoring the fake tomb were mostly intact.
The screen showed the stone door blocking the passage to the fake tomb slowly opening.
"The mine entrance is inside the vault. I wondered how they evaded the royal eyes while mining silver for so long—never guessed it'd be like this."
Calix manipulated the controls, panning the view to scrutinize every corner.
"Just miners' gear and supply crates piled messily—no sign of life. Looks like they only dig at set intervals."
Krout crossed his arms, pondered, then shuddered.
"Gives me chills. If the workers returned home safely, rumors would've spread."
"Yeah. Sadly."
"Unforgivable."
"First, we turn that guy's key into scrap. So he never pulls this again."
Calix tinkered with the controls, changing security codes and access settings.
Now, for Gerard to enter the slush fund vault, he'd have to smash the door.
'Heh, and maybe leave a little gift as a bonus.'