189. Catacombs (1)
The city of Dweep, Irban.
If the city of the elves is located in a forested area, the city of the dwarves is a mining city with the nickname of the city of steel and mountains.
Since it is located in the northwest of the empire, we took a wagon from Westbahn and headed for Irbahn.
As the novel says, the city of dwarves is a city made of gears and machines.
Like the Dwarf race, there were numerous artisans living there, and many of them used to mine ore. And with the ore, weapons and machinery are made.
For reference, Irvan is in close proximity to the Arken Ore Zone.
If the northwest end of the Empire, the Human Ore Zone is Arken, then Irban is the Dwarf Ore Zone.
Arcenite steel is so popular that the Arken ore fields dried up a long time ago… .
anyway.
Currently, the four of them, Sepia, me, Arthur, and Anya, have been dispatched to the Dwarven City.
Arthur and I requested to be dispatched on this mission, so we were dispatched this time as well. Rapter was quite impressed when I said I would go first.
Our mission was to annihilate the forces of the Church near the Dwarven City.
The Church’s forces settled in the underground labyrinth, and because of that, an incident occurred in which miners disappeared, and the Dwarves requested the Empire to dispatch warriors.
Why did the Dwarves ask for dispatch from the Imperial side instead of solving it alone?
That’s because the underground labyrinth is politically neutral.
As the underground labyrinth is a neutral zone, it was easy for the Dwarves to make hasty moves that could be misunderstood as military action, and to prevent such misunderstandings in advance, the Empire requested dispatch. It’s to monitor and send a hero to annihilate the church.
“here… , the city of the dwarves.”
When we got off the carriage, a city made of gears was welcoming us. And a dwarf and a man were waiting.
A man wearing a lion skin reached out his hand first.
“Nice to meet you. It is Klein who is in charge of this mission.”
Champion, Klein.
That identity is Hercules. It was Hercules who accomplished the twelve labors of Greek and Roman mythology. Like Reus, he is the type to grow with support through his own channel.
It was a case of displaying superpowers like Hercules and rising to the second place in the rankings.
Why do neither Reus nor Heracles use their real names?
This is because of the setting that channel operators cannot use their real names.
“nice to see you. The hero Klein-senpai.”
“Did you say Ethan? I heard a lot of stories. I’ve been hearing about it often lately.”
“I was just lucky.”
“Luck is also skill.”
I didn’t know what else to answer, so I laughed awkwardly. Soon, the dwarf who was by Klein’s side approached.
Because he was hidden by the giant Hercules, we were able to face the guide dwarf only when he approached. When the dwarf’s eyes met, Arthur opened the rabbit’s eyes.
“uh? Mr. Grandelph?”
“Do you know me… ? ah? Are you sure?”
“It is me. mister. Arthur Pendragon.”
“Oh My God! Has that little boy grown up this much already?”
Anya tilted her head as she looked at Grandelph and Arthur.
“Are you familiar? Arthur?”
“yes! Uncle Grandelph was an adventurer who lived in our neighborhood for a while!”
“Heh heh, now he has given up his adventurer life and is living as a palace official in his hometown!”
The person who instilled Arthur’s dream of becoming an adventurer was Grand Delf Arthur.
“I still remember the story of the crystal dragon!”
“Heh heh, you still remember that. You must have been very impressed.”
She wanted to solve the long-awaited remorse, but since she was acting as a guide, she couldn’t, so Grandelph felt sorry for herself.
“Anyway, welcome to Irban, the city of steel and cogs. I’m Grand Delphine, who acts as your guide.”
Soon after, we were guided by Grandelph and headed to the inn. And I was able to hear what had happened in the Dwarf City.
“It looks like the Devil Church bastards have been hiding in the Labyrinth City lately. The dwarf workers have disappeared and I heard that I saw them wearing black robes near the city recently… .”
What we have to do is to explore the labyrinth city with the dwarven soldiers and rescue workers who may have been kidnapped.
Fortunately, the story was flowing as the original.
If so, one of the kidnapped workers in this episode must have mined the ‘magic amplification stone’.
The strongest artifact that surpasses the core of winter.
According to the explanation during the work, it is said that it is not difficult to obtain the power of the demon lord if there is only that artifact.
In the original work, Arthur, who noticed this with the system ability, destroys the amplification stone before it falls into the hands of the devil.
As the name of the Magic Amplification Stone suggests, it is a skill that only Mine can use. Even if humans had it, it would only increase useless risk factors, so of course it would be right to destroy it.
“In the end, you just have to annihilate the church hiding in the underground labyrinth, right?”
At Arthur’s question, the Dwarf nodded.
“And you just have to save the dwarven workers kidnapped by the Church.”
“All right.”
“The mission starts tomorrow. Get some rest.”
After familiarizing ourselves with the mission, we entered our respective rooms.
At night, the cogs stopped and the city became so quiet that it gave the impression that it had fallen asleep.
* * *
The next day, after a snack, we headed to the Catacombs. A huge labyrinth built to prevent outside invasion.
Thanks to the labyrinth, Irban was able to avoid external aggression for a long time. There was only one road to Irban until they opened a tunnel to trade with the Empire.
If it was ironic, it was ironic that the Church became a threat by entering such a fortress-like underground labyrinth.
“Before entering the labyrinth, remember one thing. It means that you can escape from any labyrinth if you keep walking with your hands on the wall.”
Saying so, Grandelph handed out maps to us one by one. It meant looking at the map and escaping in the event of falling behind.
Even just looking at the map, you could feel how wide the underground labyrinth was.
“Okay, let me guide you. There are many traps and cliffs, so please follow me without distraction.”
Grandelph walked ahead first. It was said to be an underground labyrinth, but it was easy to secure the view because magic lights were installed.
The reason why I didn’t ride the wagon in this underground labyrinth as well as the tunnel was because of the unique moving sound of the wagon.
“The labyrinth was built a thousand years ago, but does the magic light still work?”
“That’s right, dwarves’ technology is the best in the world!”
At Arthur’s question, Grandelph laughed heartily.
“What number is it made of?”
“Isn’t it the wisdom and technology of our ancestors?”
“How amazing.”
“Arthur, there are still many unsolved mysteries around the world. And adventurers are those who peek into the secrets of the world.”
At those words, Arthur’s eyes twinkled as if he had remembered a forgotten dream.
Grandelph led us to a place where the Church’s forces could be located. Everywhere I looked, a similar scene continued on the gray-white walls.
By the time we got tired of such scenery, we entered a certain room before we knew it.
The bridge was long, and black darkness swayed beneath the bridge.
“Carefully. If you fall down there, you will fall endlessly. Looking at it like this, this place is a labyrinth that is said to have been built on top of the abyss.”
I thought the church members who had entered a place like this were also amazing. Should I say fanaticism?
“Are you going to fall without end?”
“If you’re curious, throw a stone at me.”
Sepia kicked a stone into the black darkness. For a long time, there was no sound of stones falling and hitting anything.
“Of course, words are bottomless, but there is an end. However, if it falls, you won’t even be able to pick a bone.”
“Is there anyone who fell into that abyss and came back alive?”
“Well? Considering that there are only anecdotes about a curious dwarf who went down the rope but couldn’t come back… .”
At that answer, Sepia shuddered. An uneasy darkness still lurked beneath the bridge.
* * *
underground labyrinth.
The unique wet and sticky sensation underground was unpleasant. No matter where you look around, it is a space made up of tunnels, grey-white walls, and darkness.
There was no sunlight, so it was a perfect place to get mentally ill after staying for a long time.
Arandelf glanced over the barbed wire. I had heard that the Church’s forces were active not only in the empire but also in various parts of the continent.
However, he never dreamed that he would actually face the religious forces. I didn’t know what they were staying here for.
As usual, Arandelf led a team from the ore field beyond the labyrinth to mine minerals, and was attacked on the way back by wagon.
And the place where I opened my eyes was inside this cage.
The team members all looked exhausted.
They were dozing or holding their breath like sick chicks. They didn’t even know if it was daytime or nighttime.
Arandelf looked around again. When the guards were nowhere to be seen, he took an ore from his bosom.
The ore shed a red light on the thick palm.
It was neither ruby nor garnet.
It was not even clear whether it was an ore because the identity was unknown. It was the first thing he had ever seen in his life as it had been buried in a heap of iron ore in this mining operation.
After 15 years of working as a miner, Arundelf realized at a glance that it was something unusual.
When I returned to Irban, I intended to find the mage and investigate this item more closely.
Maybe we can sell this ore to secure a solid share.
There was no better life for a dwarf than spending the rest of his life crafting golems or weapons in a workshop or blacksmith’s shop.
To do that, I had to get out of here first.
Then footsteps were heard.
Arandelf hurriedly pushed the ore back into his sleeve. Soon the owner of the footsteps appeared.
It was a woman with black hair and black eyes.
“Who is Arandelf here?”
Arandelf was very nervous at that question. She scanned all those trapped inside the cage. Is it because they are confused because dwarves look alike in the eyes of other races?
But what was clear was that she was looking for herself.
Arandelf was nothing more than a miner.
He wasn’t a famous blacksmith or a golem maker. He wondered why she knew his name.
When the name Arandelf was mentioned, the eyes of the Dwarves were shaking.
However, as long as they lived together as miners, they didn’t do the ugly thing of selling out their colleagues.
“I am Arandelf.”
Arandelf slowly raised himself. I don’t know why she knows his name, but he seems to have some business with him.
“Well… , is that Arandelf? After all, it is different from what I thought.”
“Did you say it was different from what you thought? do you know me?”
“No, it’s okay. I’m talking to myself. don’t mind.”
As she beckoned, Church personnel pulled Arandelf out of the cage.
“My name is Seir. Arandelf Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Soon she led Arandelf down a hallway. He followed her without knowing why.
Seir looked around as if he had something important to say.
“Did you get the red mineral from this mining?”
“… … ”
Despite that question, Arandelf did not change his complexion. As if she knew everything, she shrugged.
“I want you to hand over that mineral to me. Then I will release you all.”
“Did you say you would release us?”
Seir nodded slowly.
“Can you swear? You want to send us back home?”
“I swear. goddess… , No, even in the name of the Demon King”
After hesitating for a long time, Arandelf pulled out a red mineral from his bosom. It was unfortunate because it was a valuable mineral, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to save everyone.
“Here you are. Set us free.”
“Yeah, fine.”
Then a gray-haired girl walked this way. Behind her, people with hair of the same color followed.
“Seir, what are you doing here?”
At that question, Seir hid the mineral in his hand as if nothing had happened. His actions were so relaxed that it was almost impossible to suspect.
“Helia-sama, I talked to the Dwarf Miner’s representative for a while.”
“Huh? okay?”
Then a commotion was heard from nearby. Church personnel hurriedly ran and knelt on one knee with Helya.
“Helia! It’s a raid! It is the combined forces of the Dwarves and the Empire.”
Helena let out a short sigh.
Metal sounds were coming from all over the underground labyrinth. Soon, Helya spotted the dark-haired swordsman.
