Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 53
"......"
Seo-jin, who had been looking forward to encountering Ha-yeon,
But when he actually met her, he was so dumbfounded that he unconsciously let out a hollow laugh.
'That damn rabbit mask is still the same.'
Ha-yeon covered her body and face with a fluffy yeti robe and rabbit mask.
The only thing that could identify her as Ha-yeon was her long hair that reached down to her waist.
Then again, she always wore that mask when traveling alone.
'Well, it's actually better this way.'
Because seeing her face would likely cause great turmoil in his heart.
What Seo-jin remembered last was her face frozen cold while trapped in the Eternal Snow Ice.
Ironically, they met again in the Eternal Snow Ice mine, but just seeing her alive and breathing was enough.
"Oh, Supreme Leader?"
Tito, who was with Seo-jin, saw Ella and opened his eyes wide.
That silver-haired girl was Ella Primgard, the Supreme Leader of Primgard.
She was a distant descendant of Fenil Primgard, who had led those who survived the ice age that struck long ago and built the Citadel, the natives' last refuge.
Though she had a frail impression unlike her strong ancestor who was named after a wolf from mythology.
Having lived no differently from other citizens as time passed, she had recently risen to the position of leader again as the daughter of Camel Primgard, who had died recently.
Tito asked her without a trace of malice.
"Supreme Leader, are you trapped here too?"
"Yes, well...... that's what happened."
Unlike Ella, who was embarrassed and slightly averted her gaze, Ha-yeon looked around the passage Seo-jin had made as if finding it fascinating.
As if just looking with her eyes wasn't enough, Ha-yeon approached the passage and touched the earthen wall Seo-jin had created with her hands, asking.
"Wow, how did you do this? Do you have Earth magic aptitude? You might be better than that kid."
The kid Ha-yeon mentioned would be Gu-ren, the Grand Mage of the strategy team.
Seo-jin closed his eyes and said a word.
"It's rude to compare me to that kid."
"Do you know who I'm talking about?"
Seo-jin played dumb in case it aroused unnecessary suspicion.
"Just said it for no reason."
"You're funny. You seem like a quite skilled mage, so lend me some mana."
"Are you thinking of rescuing survivors with this?"
THUMP-.
Seo-jin tapped the white cube blocking the pile of dirt with the back of his hand.
"Yes, yes."
Ha-yeon's unique characteristic.
[Mana Conversion].
Unlike other Tower climbers, she could convert any external mana into divine power of the upper dantian.
Normally, it would be dangerous to absorb mana of different properties, so one wouldn't dare ask to borrow mana, but this was the reason she could speak so confidently.
Just this statement alone could reveal her identity. She's still clumsy at hiding her identity.
Seo-jin pretended not to know and let it slide.
"It seems like a quite useful ability, but there's no particular need for that. I can rescue everyone with my own power."
"How impressive."
"More importantly, there's information you need to know."
"Information? Let's hear it."
Ha-yeon readily agreed, perhaps due to Baduki's Earth magic.
Seo-jin touched the cave wall with his hand and opened his mouth.
"First, this mine collapse was no accident."
"Are you saying someone deliberately collapsed it?"
"That's right. No rescue team will come. We have to escape with our own strength."
At this, Ella, the Supreme Leader of the 10th floor, frowned and asked.
"On what grounds are you saying that? Do you have evidence?"
It was natural for Ella, who could be called the representative of the 10th floor, to show displeasure when an unheard-of outsider claimed this incident was the work of an insider.
But even if she felt bad, it couldn't be helped. This was a clear fact.
Seo-jin looked at Ella and parted his lips.
"The fact that the mine collapsed when the Supreme Leader visited the mine shaft is evidence in itself. Who knew about your visit?"
As soon as she heard those words, several faces flashed through Ella's mind.
But Ella shook her head as if trying to deny it.
"......The Eternal Snow Ice mine has been unstable since before. Your words have no basis at all."
"What if even that was artificial?"
"What?"
Seo-jin said, pointing to the earthen wall with his hand.
"I mean the mine's vibrations and collapse weren't natural phenomena."
"Eternal Snow Ice is an important source of income for Primgard. I don't know who you're talking about, but as long as they're sane, there's no way they'd touch this place."
Seo-jin nodded.
"Eternal Snow Ice is a specialty popular with foreigners, so it's a good source of income. Moreover, there are reports that the more you dig, the more it raises the temperature of this world, even if slightly, so it's a resource that has a good impact on the world's future."
"That's why even more-."
Seo-jin interrupted Ella's words and shouted.
"Don't you understand? Someone doesn't want this winter to end."
"......!"
Ella was startled.
At Seo-jin's statement, Ha-yeon asked in a coldly subdued voice.
"Do you happen to know about Primgard's three families?"
"Yes. Henry the Builder, Inventor Kabila, Steam Philemon. Unlike the powerless Supreme Leader, they're the three families that actually rule Primgard."
Even at the words that ignored her, Ella only shook her head in denial.
"Th, that can't be. Everyone suffers from this cold, so there's no way......"
"Hmph. Don't those people live in warm greenhouses anyway?"
Whether the lowly ones freeze to death or not, it doesn't matter to them who enjoy the warm heat of the semi-permanent engine and abundant life.
"If spring were to return to this land...... their achievements and the great three families would be forgotten too."
The walls that block the cold, the engines that supply heat, the drills that dig the ground would no longer be needed.
Their power would only be maintained as long as this winter continues.
No, the colder and more bitter this winter becomes, the stronger their influence would become.
Ella actually shook her head as if she didn't believe it.
"There's insufficient evidence. Anyone can make claims."
"The structure of the Eternal Snow Ice mine supports this."
According to Seo-jin's investigation through mana penetration, the mine shaft was made very inefficiently.
It was structured to go around in circles so that Eternal Snow Ice couldn't be mined to the maximum extent.
Moreover, it was designed to easily increase the risk of collapse by touching the ley lines.
At least the part Seo-jin examined had a structure that was extremely dangerous.
'This structure means only one thing.'
Both the decrease in Eternal Snow Ice production and the mine collapse were artificially induced.
"That can't be. The drill has a function to track the mana of Eternal Snow Ice......"
"Who's in charge of developing that drill? And how well do you know about that technology?"
"......"
Just because she's the Supreme Leader doesn't mean she's knowledgeable in every field.
She's busy handling the major and minor affairs of the Citadel and looking after the citizens' welfare.
Would she have time to check whether the Eternal Snow Ice tracking function attached to the drill actually works properly in the real mine?
When Seo-jin shot back, Ella actually got angry instead.
"There's nothing you can be certain about. Rather, aren't you speaking too carelessly for a foreigner? I may be young, but I'm the rightful leader of this Primgard. You'd better choose your words carefully."
Ella's sapphire-blue eyes shone piercingly cold beyond her silver hair.
"......"
‘What a bold young lady. Perhaps she trusts the Kwon Ha-yeon beside her.’
Seeing that reaction, Seo-jin realized there was no need to discuss this more logically in the current situation.
He couldn't immediately prove the mine's strange structure anyway.
"Fine, then let's stop standing around talking and rescue people first."
CLAP CLAP-.
When Seo-jin clapped his hands, a puppy appeared from the darkness.
GRRR-.
An undead about the size of a medium dog but with a somewhat bizarre form.
The multiple eyes shining beyond the fur were particularly impressive.
While Ella and her escort Victor frowned in disgust.
"Oh my, how cute."
Ha-yeon's eyes lit up behind her mask as she looked at Baduki.
"......?"
"Isn't it cute? Are you raising it by any chance?"
Seo-jin looked at Baduki once more and tilted his head.
'She thinks this thing is cute?'
Even Seo-jin, the creator, was confused, but Ha-yeon even clapped and reached out her hand to Baduki.
"Come here~"
GRRRR-.
Baduki immediately went to Ha-yeon, even showed his belly, and began panting as if enjoying her stroking hand.
He had wagged his tail in front of Witch Circe, a practitioner of black magic, and now as an undead, he was clinging to a saint and acting cute.
Has this dog gone crazy?
However, Hyeon-wol laughed as if it wasn't such a strange thing.
[What. It's taking after its master.]
'Shut up.'
Seo-jin waved his hand in the direction where Hyeon-wol was floating around to chase her away.
Then he sighed and gave Baduki a command.
"Stop playing around and get up to work."
WHINE-.
Baduki, who had been enjoying Ha-yeon's touch, glared at his master Seo-jin once, then got up and started digging a hole.
DIG DIG DIG-.
Baduki quickly dug the ground with his front paws.
"Hey, this......"
Except for deliberately throwing dirt at Seo-jin while digging into the ground, the work went smoothly.
"Yes, in that direction. I think you need to dig about 30 meters further down."
Ha-yeon, who identified the location of survivors remaining in the mine shaft and informed them.
Unlike the flow of ley lines, the mana of individual workers was weak, so Seo-jin's search ability couldn't detect them and he had to borrow Ha-yeon's help.
If he knew the location, Baduki's ability could rescue them without problem.
DIG DIG DIG-.
A technique of digging holes with front paws while simultaneously emitting Earth magic to coat the holes so they wouldn't collapse.
It was similar to the operating technique of heavy equipment used when digging subways or tunnels.
Though it looked a bit ugly, it was more mana-efficient than creating space by building earthen walls around.
DIG DIG DIG-.
After digging for a while, Baduki and Seo-jin's party soon arrived at the mine shaft where the miners were trapped.
GRRRRR-.
"Huh?"
"A, a monster!"
The miners who had been in despair were startled once by Baduki's appearance, and twice by Ella's appearance.
"Su, Supreme Leader! Did you come to rescue us?"
The miners grabbed Ella's hands and cried with emotion.
Actually, Ella was trapped too, but they didn't mention it for the sake of the Supreme Leader's honor.
Ella forced a smile and calmed the miners.
"......I'm glad you're safe."
Thanks to Baduki's efforts afterward, they were able to rescue all survivors except for the 10 who died during the mine collapse.
"Phew."
DIG DIG DIG-.
Seo-jin's party met fresh air as Baduki, who had been going ahead like a drill, burst out to the surface.
"You've come out!"
Many people were waiting outside the mine.
The heads of Primgard's three noble families were all present at the collapse site as well.
Whether they couldn't enter due to the danger of additional collapse, or whether they were waiting for confirmation of the kills, was impossible to determine.
They smiled brightly and greeted Ella.
"We were worried when we heard you were caught in the collapse, but we're glad you're safe."
"......"
Even at the family heads' greetings, Ella only nodded with a strange expression.
She wasn't completely convinced, but she had heard Seo-jin's words earlier that this collapse might be their scheme.
"Thank you for worrying about me."
Ella passed by the three family heads, looked back at Seo-jin, and said.
"I'll invite you to the central government building. Since you rescued the miners from this mine shaft collapse incident. I should...... hear the rest of what you have to say."