Chapter 113. Encounter (1)
Mine Passage Entry. 12:37 PM. Clear Weather.
I checked the time and looked away from the terminal I’d pulled from my pocket. One hour had passed since the operation began. We’d ventured quite deep into the mine’s passages.
But there was little to show for it.
The guards, likely scouring other parts of the mine, didn’t seem to have found anything substantial either.
Occasionally, their communications came through the earset in my ear, but they were always about trivial matters. Since thirty minutes ago, even those had dwindled.
Rumble!!
Suddenly, a faint vibration echoed under my feet as I walked through the vast tunnel.
“…”
Since the full-scale search began, sporadic skirmishes, large and small, continued throughout the mine.
With no significant progress in the investigation, the only sounds were the faint noises of the guards engaging magical beasts somewhere in the mine.
Of course, it was the same for my side.
As I investigated the mine, magical beasts occasionally charged through the tunnel’s darkness, but Sirocco effortlessly kicked them to pieces each time.
“There’s a ton of beasts here.”
Sirocco tilted her head, gazing down at our surroundings.
Following her gaze, I saw dozens of beast corpses scattered and crushed on the ground beneath her feet.
It was clear that without Sirocco, the investigation would’ve taken far longer.
“They’re getting more numerous the deeper we go.”
“Yeah.”
I scanned the surroundings and nodded quietly.
In other words, as expected, there was something deep within this magic stone mine.
If so, it was about time for something to show up. Just as I thought that, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.
The inner wall of a deep quarry, faintly lit by the mine’s lights.
There, embedded in irregular polyhedral crystal forms, was something glossy, translucent, and black.
Sirocco, catching a glimpse, let out an impressed exclamation, her ears perking up.
“Oooh, are those all magic stones?”
“Seems like it.”
The mine’s towering walls, visible only by craning my neck, were dotted with sharp, translucent black mineral ores.
I stared at them for a moment.
I quickly realized these were the “magic stones,” a key resource of the empire.
‘The original story made a big deal of them.’
A memory flashed through my mind: the text from Atlas of the Magic Empire, presented with high-quality illustrations against a pristine white lab backdrop.
> “Magic stones are ores crystallized from intensely condensed natural energy. The most critical resource, they’ve advanced the modern magical engineering civilization of the empire to its peak.”
>
> “Essential minerals used in crafting magical gear, artifacts, communication devices, vehicle engines, and mechanical horses.”
Seeing such a thing in reality—especially in such quantities—was a first.
“…”
It’d be a lie to say I wasn’t moved.
Based solely on the original story’s vivid descriptions, magic stones were practically an all-purpose material, indispensable to the empire’s current civilization.
As such, they were supposed to be strictly regulated.
But, whether due to the beasts’ actions or not, the tip of one massive exposed magic stone ore on the wall was shattered, its fragments scattered across the steel floor.
I naturally picked up the largest crystal.
Holding the translucent magic stone to the light, I tilted it slightly.
A crystal small enough to fit in one hand. At a glance, it resembled black quartz.
‘Jackpot!’
For the first time in a while, a faint smile spread across my face.
No need to hide it—this was another goal I’d hoped to achieve through this investigation.
As I recalled, the original story often highlighted:
> “Pangaeon-origin magic stones”
They boasted mana conductivity dozens of times superior to other magic stones, treated as rare metals due to their difficult production and processing.
As such, they were the material for top-tier, high-end magical gear, unrivaled in performance in the original story.
A crystal of this size would surely fetch a fortune.
I didn’t know the exact processing methods, but that wasn’t my concern.
‘I should take this to Elena later.’
I gripped the magic stone, reaching a simple conclusion.
As the military enthusiast heiress of SIEG Industries, who dabbled in crafting magical gear and artifacts, she’d surely produce something significant with such a premium material.
In hindsight, forming an unofficial sponsorship with her was proving to be the right call.
“…”
I turned my head, eyeing the surrounding ores with a hint of longing.
‘It’s a shame I can’t take them all.’
If I had my way, I’d sweep up every magic stone in this mine, but we were in the middle of an operation.
Carrying heavy rocks bundled up would cause all sorts of problems.
And…
Doing so wouldn’t make me any different from the escorts suspected of exploiting the mine’s magic stones.
I wasn’t in a position to preach morality or claim to be particularly virtuous, but it just didn’t sit right with me.
I exhaled briefly and turned away.
Though it was a bit regrettable, I decided to consider this one crystal as my reward for the beast extermination effort and tucked it into my pocket.
After all, I was going above and beyond the original goal of escorting the Saintess. This was a form of compensation.
But this was merely a byproduct.
What I truly needed was to gather clues about the full scope of this incident.
“—Over there!”
Just then, Sirocco’s shout rang in my ears.
Turning, I saw she’d already wandered far off to a secluded corner of the mine’s tunnel.
Her next words, as she glanced back at me, caught my attention.
“Hey, what’s this?”
A bad feeling crept in as I approached the spot she pointed to, revealing a door set into the side of the passage.
It seemed to be a living space for the guards stationed inside the mine.
‘Come to think of it, they mentioned the Saintess’s escorts and guards who suddenly went missing.’
An ominous premonition washed over me.
But I had no intention of backing down.
This could be a chance to find clues about why the Saintess’s escorts and the guards stationed here had vanished entirely.
Warily gripping the rusty iron door’s handle, I pulled. With a creak of hinges, the stiff door opened. It wasn’t locked.
“…!”
I froze for a moment at the dim interior revealed within.
Behind me, I felt Sirocco peer inside, muttering quietly.
“This is…”
The floor was splattered with dark red bloodstains.
A foul stench of blood hung in the silent, dark room.
I picked up an object on the floor. Amid the bloodstains, a crushed round item—it was a tactical helmet used by the city’s guards.
“Hey, are these people… dead?”
“I don’t know.”
I shook my head lightly at Sirocco’s slightly shaken tone. But I had a sense of why they’d gone missing.
“At the very least, the guards stationed here were attacked and disappeared.”
“But by what?”
“Not beasts, at least.”
There were no traces of beasts around. The attack was too clean, targeting only people.
“This.”
Sirocco pointed at something. As the fire in the room’s fireplace died down, something was visible deep inside.
Instinctively, I picked it up.
It was a charred document file, likely thrown too deep into the fire to burn completely. The remaining text was visible.
Miraculously, only the last page, and just its final section, had survived.
“This is…”
My eyes narrowed as I read it. The text was as expected.
> “Report Date ▊▊ Inside the mine, Vendetta’s ▊—”
My hand, gripping the paper, trembled faintly. No doubt about it. Vendetta was involved.
As predicted, I wasn’t wrong.
I touched my lips, sinking into thought.
I didn’t yet know exactly what Vendetta had done or their purpose.
But the reason for the sudden surge of beasts in the mine and the catastrophic aerial assault on the city was becoming clearer.
And there was something even more important.
“So, who attacked this place…?”
Sirocco asked, her tone wary. I scanned the room’s carnage and replied quietly.
“Rank 10 or higher… No.”
With sunken eyes, I corrected myself.
“At least Rank 9.”
Sirocco’s ears shot up in tension. She looked at me coldly.
“…Rank 9?”
There was evidence to support the guess. The amount of blood splattered was unusual—likely from over a dozen people. There were no signs of resistance or a prolonged fight in the room.
They were likely taken out in a single strike.
“Yeah. There’s a high chance they’re still somewhere in this mine.”
That much seemed certain.
The document file, thrown into the fire, didn’t look like it had been burning for long.
Whoever attacked the guards likely tried to destroy evidence, but if they’d escaped immediately after, they would’ve crossed paths with me or the guards searching the mine by now.
My heart was pounding fiercely.
This was definitely tied to the main storyline. As directly as Tantalus had been.
If so, there was only one thing to do. I slowly gripped the cloth bag slung over my shoulder with one hand.
There was still much I didn’t know about this world.
That’s why I had to act.
If it was a way to get closer to this world’s truth. If it was the surest way to prepare for the original story…
I wouldn’t run.
Cutting through my spiraling thoughts, Lien spoke coldly.
“You might not have noticed.”
She glanced to the side with icy eyes.
“But it’s been silent for a while.”
Straining my ears, I realized the sounds of the guards sporadically fighting beasts had completely stopped.
Had the search operation ended?
No. The answer came instantly. If it had, they would’ve contacted us to report the search’s completion.
Before the ominous feeling could fully settle, a small beep sounded, and the comms activated. I touched my earset.
[Slen! It’s Slen!]
His urgent voice rang out.
[During our return after the investigation, Teams 1, 3, and 6 have gone completely silent. Have you had any contact with them?]
“No. We haven’t been in touch.”
A brief silence. I could almost see Slen’s hardened expression through the earset. His next words came faster.
[At the very least, they’re not being attacked by beasts or engaged in combat.]
“How can you be sure?”
[Well, ‘Section F,’ where they were investigating, was a tunnel we thoroughly cleared in collaboration with other teams.]
“So, after that, only those three teams stayed in the safe Section F to continue the investigation, and then suddenly lost contact?”
Slen’s silent pause over the earset confirmed it. I glanced aside.
—Section F passage.
It was very close to here.
I’d memorized the layout of each passage’s sections while descending the mine.
[Since we’re all spread out investigating the deeper areas, even the closest team would take at least 20 minutes to reach them.]
Slen added in an anxious tone.
Perhaps a quirk of Pangaeon’s mine, but there were sections where vast caverns twisted like an ant’s nest.
As he said, my team might be the closest to Section F.
[Your passage is likely the closest to where they were investigating. If possible, could you check it out first, Enoch-nim?]
“Sure.”
I nodded calmly.
There was no reason to refuse. Even with clues about the culprit behind this incident, it was far from resolved.
Whether investigating this case or delving into the mine’s caves, I’d need to venture deeper.
‘Especially since Vendetta’s involved.’
Like with Tantalus and Flare, Vendetta still seemed to know something I didn’t.
Something hidden, unknown in the original story.
Something tied to this world’s main storyline.
If possible, I needed to track their traces and confront them. That way, I’d at least have a chance to learn what I didn’t know.
Beep.
Suddenly, a beep interrupted, and the comms line activated again. It seemed to be from the guards who’d just been out of contact.
Slen immediately shouted.
[Team 1! Team 3! Team 6! Where are you all?! What’s going on?!]
There was a faint sound, as if someone was trying to speak, but it was too weak to make out clearly.
Then, the next moment.
A strained, gasping voice, as if squeezed out with effort, echoed lowly through the line.
> […Encounter.]
Hearing it, I instinctively knew.
Section F.