Chapter 17 – We were attacked!!
"Argh!!!"
The voice of a small goblin echoed inside of the cave.
It was Fule, Erevan's child, who was desperately swinging her pickaxe.
Fule wanted the Ascending Stone that allowed monsters to evolve.
She wanted to be able to use magic.
However, the Ascending Stone I had found wasn't acquired through randomly digging around.
It was in a specific place… Stored in what felt like a small shrine.
Now that I thought about it, it was quite strange that there was a single room right there.
What if there was actually some kind of ancient ruin, and that room was just a small part of it…
And so I decided to go back and inspect the stone room again.
However, I was unable to find anything. No artifacts or even writing.
Well, it wasn't as if I would have been able to read any ancient writing anyway…
The only thing I can do is to continue to swing my pickaxe like this.
I felt that Fule was looking at me every time I swung.
Then she stopped in order to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"…How are you able to dig so fast? Are you human, Lord Heal?"
"Yeah, I'm a human. Just a normal…well, a pretty bottom-of-the-barrel one too."
"Hmm. But you can use magic. You don't seem like a human at all."
"You know, there are times when I agree with you…"
After all, 3㎡ of rock would fall away with every swing.
This wasn't something that any human should be able to do.
Perhaps Fule was bored with such simple work because she continued to ask me questions.
"…Don't you have a father, Lord Heal?"
"Me? Uh, I had one."
"…He must have been an amazing person."
"I guess you could say that. My father had the 'Supreme Ruler' crest. It allowed him to raise the power and skills of not just himself, but his soldiers. And so he never lost a war."
It wasn't just him.
My brothers also had crests that were considered to be impressive.
That's why I had felt like such a failure. Because I had 'Cave King,' which I didn't really understand.
"Huh…that sounds crazy."
Fule said seriously.
She was probably thinking that my father was much stronger than me.
However, if we only looked at magic, I had surpassed him by now.
In the first place, Fule had this mentality because of her own father, Erevan.
Erevan was pretty strong.
If we had to fight with swords, I would easily lose.
Hell, if I went against him with ten men, we would probably still lose.
"Fule. Are you trying to become stronger than your father?"
"Huh? No…"
She suddenly became quiet and returned to swinging his pickaxe.
She was so easy to read…
However, was wanting to surpass your father really enough to create such an obsession with getting stronger?
In my case, even though my father and brothers were brilliant, I hadn't wanted to be better than them.
I just wanted to be like everyone else so that I wasn't a laughing-stock.
Of course, people wouldn't laugh at me anymore. But they might look at me as if I were a monster…
Well, that would be the best outcome. At worst, I might be locked up somewhere as a dangerous person.
Thankfully, I intended for this island to be my final resting place, so none of that would happen.
And so I continued mining for some time, when I suddenly heard the echo of rocks crumbling behind me.
When I turned around, I saw that Fule looked very surprised.
Apparently, she had dug her way into a large, open area.
"Yes! I bet there is something in here!"
Fule grabbed her Shining Stone torch and entered the area.
I followed her and went inside.
This place was at least ten times the size of the stone room I had discovered.
And there was a row of giant statues.
I immediately felt a sense of dread, and then I sensed the movement of magic within the statues.
Magic detection…it was an automatic skill that those with great power acquired.
It was reacting to this.
"Wait, Fule!"
"Huh?"
I quickly cast Shield around us.
Shield was able to protect people from all kinds of magic and attacks.
However, it didn't block everything and it didn't last forever.
A lot of it depended on the strength of the caster.
The moment that the shield went up, the giant statues started to spew out scorching flames.
Fule was so surprised that she fell on the ground.
However, as much as the flames raged around us, they did not penetrate the shield.
Perhaps my power was too great, as it did not even shudder.
"Are you alright, Fule!?"
"I-I'm fine… This is nothing!"
Fule answered as if she was trying to persuade herself.
However, her legs were shaking.
But I was scared too.
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While I had more power and was stronger now, we were currently surrounded in giant humanoid statues.
These things…were they Golems?
It seemed very likely that they were.
However, the Golem I had made was not supposed to be able to use magic…
Furthermore, some of the ones here were wearing what looked like armor.
The ones in armor were currently moving towards us while brandishing swords.
I was sure that the Shield could block them…but if this continued, we'd just be ganged up on and mauled.
And so I unleashed the wind magic, Storm, in the area around us.
All at once, the Golems were thrown into the air and smashed against the walls of marble. And like that, they were shattered.
"Wh-what were those things?"
"I think they're Golems. Can you stand up?
I offered Fule a hand and helped her to his feet.
"Th-thank you, Lord Heal…"
She said with a bow. But she looked quite angry.
I could see that she was biting her lip. It was probably because she hadn't been able to do anything.
"Also, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run ahead like that."
"No, I was also careless…"
She really wasn't to blame.
Who would have known that such dangerous Golems lurked underground here?
I should have been more careful.
This meant that it was too dangerous to let just anyone dig freely down here.
If there were other places like this, who knows what would happen?
And so I turned around and told Shiel to tell the others to stop digging at once.
I had taught Shiel a number of signs. When Shiel stretched out to form an 'X,' that meant you were to stop digging.
Shiel went off immediately.
Now, I had to investigate this place.
I looked around.
But from what I could tell, there was nothing in this vast marble room but the remains of the Golems.
Even though the last room had had an altar…
Well, it could not be helped. And so I decided to inspect the Golem remains.
There were close to a dozen in all.
Every one of them had a Heart Stone…
"Lord Heal! This golden rock! Is it an Ascending Stone?"
Fule asked as she brought the shining, gold stone to me.
The golden stone I had found at the altar had been an Ascending Stone.
I had told Fule about that. And this one did look similar.
"Hmm. Let's see…"
I had the Advisor explain it to us.
<
So, that must mean that this was inside of the Golem that used magic.
And someone had created it…
"Hmm. This isn't it…"
"Oh…"
Fule's shoulders dropped.
However, in the next instant, she turned ghostly pale.
"Ah-aaaaahhhhh!!!"
She suddenly shrieked. I turned to see what she was looking at.
"Wh-what is it? …Aaaaahh!! …Oh, it's just Mappa."
What we saw…was Old Mappa in just a waistcloth.
However, there was nothing unusual about that in itself.
Mappa tended to wander around the tunnels without any light source. And so there was no end to the screams of goblins and Cave Spiders during the day.
…How long had he been here?
Regardless, Mappa was now gleefully carrying the Golem's 3-meter long silver sword as if it weighed nothing.
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Chapter 18 – An amazing tool was created!
"What…what is he doing?"
Mappa raised the Golem's silver sword into the air and laughed.
After a while, he started rubbing his face on it and kissing it.
It seemed like he also had an interest in the armor, and he licked and knocked on the surface to hear the sounds it made.
Fule watched with a look of mild disgust. Then Mappa took the silver sword with him and left the stone chamber.
Fule muttered.
"…By the way, why does that guy still not wear a shirt? Are most humans like that?"
"No, he's definitely in the minority… Well, maybe he's just more comfortable like that. However, why was he so excited?"
Of course, this wasn't the first time he wandered around the cave.
And he often grabbed ore and took it with him.
However, I had never seen him like this before.
Perhaps there was something about the armor and sword that was exciting to him…
And so I grabbed the hilt of one of the remaining silver swords and tried to pick it up.
However…
"Wh-what the… I can't pick it up at all!"
I tried using both hands and using all of my strength, but it still wouldn't budge.
Fule tried to help me after that, but we failed just the same.
Yes, 3 meters was incredibly long for a sword.
However, in spite of that length, the blade was quite thin. So I was expecting to be able to move it a little…
"In any case, I should take it back."
But…
<
The Advisor told me.
I see. This wasn't ore or something I acquired through mining.
However, maybe there was a way around that.
And so I hit the sword and armor with my pickaxe.
Both the sword and armor broke down into smaller pieces and were automatically stored in the Inventory.
It seemed like a waste to do this, but there were still about five sets of them left.
That should be enough to find out what they are.
And then, I discovered that the sword and armor were made of the same material.
…Mithril? Now that was a name I had heard before…
If I was not wrong, it was a kind of ore that was very popular with dwarves and elves in legends.
Hmm? Dwarf?
Now that I thought of it, weren't dwarves supposed to be short and have large beards…
Was it possible that Mappa wasn't a human, but a dwarf?
But dwarves were also supposed to be noble and resolute…
They were a race that was much stronger than humans and had incredible skills.
Hmm…well, the first two points aside, he was strong and very skilled?
But I couldn't imagine that the dwarves from legend would prefer to be naked… Oh, I hoped they didn't.
The Advisor then told me more about Mithril.
<
It was harder and lighter than steel and could be enhanced with magic…
Both these and the magic stones were incredible materials…
I had not been able to mine any Mithril in the caves until now.
So perhaps this Mithril had been mined far away from here and turned into weapons.
But more importantly, how could it be lighter than steel if I couldn't even pick it up?
And so I checked the amount of Mithril I had gathered.
Mithril Ingots x 900… In other words, just a single set was made of 900 ingots.
1 ingot in my Inventory was 1kg.
So that meant it weighed 900kg in all…
I didn't know how much of that was used for the sword, but it would have at least been 100kg.
However, it really didn't look like that many ingots had been used.
Perhaps they had some kind of ancient technique for compressing it?
Furthermore, Mappa had still picked it up as if it weighed nothing…
"In any case, we should go and see what Mappa is doing. Besides, we made everyone else stop mining."
"Yes!"
And so Fule and I gathered the Heart Stones and Magic Stones from the Golem remains.
I decided to leave the swords and armor for now.
And with that, we headed to the entrance of the cave.
When we were outside, we saw that everyone had gathered together and it was very loud.
I saw Rienna's long dark hair as she watched with a worried expression. And so I asked her what was happening.
"Did something happen?"
"Ah, Lord Heal! Mister Mappa brought this sword and everyone…"
"I see… So everyone is trying to lift the sword."
"Yes. It's apparently very heavy. But everyone seems to be angry that only Mappa can lift it… I'm afraid they might hurt themselves."
"That's true. But I doubt any of them will be able to do it…"
I went closer and looked at the center of the crowd.
Taran, the Cave Spider, was using its four legs in order to try and lift the Mithril sword that Mappa had brought.
As for Mappa, he was humming to himself while adjusting the fire in the furnace.
Taran tried hard, but the sword would not move.
In fact, Taran toppled over the moment its legs let go of the sword.
Judging by how the Cave Spider and the goblins were lying exhausted on the ground, it seemed that I was right. No one was able to lift it.
The goblins were one thing, but I was sure that Taran would be able to do it…
Erevan had been watching up until now, and he now started to rotate his right arm in preparation.
"Heh. You're all so pathetic! Little Mappa was able to do it. Look! I can wield such a sword as well!!"
So saying, Erevan put his hand on the sword.
"AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!! …What the… AAARRRRGGHHH!!"
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However, in spite of his deafening roars, the sword would not be lifted off of the ground.
"Haa…ha… Damn it. Mappa can carry it, but not me…?"
"General! Please stop! Even if you could lift it, it would not be for long. This is dangerous!"
Baris, the old goblin, tried to reason with the panting Erevan.
However, there was determination in Erevan's eyes now.
Apparently, he had noticed that Fule was standing next to me.
Perhaps he didn't want to look weak in front of his child… Erevan's face turned a little red as he wrapped his hands around the hilt again.
AAAAAAARRRRGHHH!!!!"
Erevan shouted. And with that, the sword was lifted high into the heavens.
"Woah!!"
Not only I, but everyone else raised their voices in surprise.
I had not imagined that a single person would be able to lift it by themselves…
"That's our General!! He has the 'Great Warrior' crest, after all!!"
One of the goblins said.
So, Erevan had a crest.
I didn't even know that monsters had them…
In that case, maybe Rienna and Baris had them too.
'Great Warrior.' …There were royals and nobles in Sanfaris with this crest.
I believe it greatly increased your arm strength.
But it could also give you an insane additional and temporary boost.
Erevan shouted proudly.
"Haaahh! How was that!? …Ah!"
Erevan had gotten so excited that the sword slipped from his fingers.
"Damn it! …Wind!!"
I unleashed wind magic in order to stop the sword from falling too fast.
However, while it did not have the same force, the hilt still hit Erevan on the head.
Then it fell to the floor.
"General!!"
Baris and the other goblins ran towards him.
But Fule reached him before anyone else.
"Father! Father!!"
Fule cried out as she shook her father's body, but there was no reply.
While Wind had killed its momentum a little, it was still really heavy.
I would not be surprised if it cracked his skull.
And so I approached Erevan and cast healing magic on him.
If needed, I could use a Turtle Stone…
But there was no need for that.
Apparently, it wasn't a severe injury, and Erevan started to breathe again.
"Ah…Chief. Did you save my life again? …I'm terribly sorry."
"No, it was my fault for not stopping you. However, please don't do anything like that…"
I paused when I saw that Fule was hugging her father and crying.
"…Idiot…idiot father! Why do you always do this!? If you died…"
"So-sorry, Fule…I'm sorry… But stop crying so much…"
Erevan looked at Fule awkwardly and hugged her back.
I felt like I understood why Fule wanted to be stronger now.
I didn't want to pry into their lives, but judging by the fact that Erevan's wife wasn't here, I had an idea of what might have happened.
Fule probably wanted to protect the last person that remained of her family.
I'm sure Erevan was sorry enough after hearing Fule's words.
And so I decided that I didn't need to say anything more.
In fact, the real problem here was the guy who picked up the sword as if it was nothing…
I turned to look at Mappa.
Just then, Mappa threw the Mithril sword into the furnace.
Apparently, he was going to melt it and hit it with his hammer.
After a while, the sword turned into a clump of Mithril.
He took a small part of it away and hit it with his hammer until the shape started to change.
Once it was finished, Mappa kissed it with the kind of pride that suggested he thought it was his masterpiece.
Then he handed it over to me.
"This…it's a pickaxe?"
It was a pickaxe. And the entire thing had a silver glimmer.
A pickaxe made of nothing but Mithril.
But, would I be able to carry it?
I hesitantly stretched out my hand to accept the pickaxe from Mappa.
"What the…"
…It was light.
No, that was an understatement. It felt like I was carrying a tree branch.
Judging by how much Mithril was left, he had not used a lot of it…
Mappa looked at me with a smug expression.
I hated to admit it, but he was the real deal…
His skill and strength far exceeded any human.
Yes, he had the features of the legendary dwarves.
Except I had never read any books that said dwarves preferred to be naked…
After that, Mappa continued to make pickaxes, axes, knives, and other tools out of the Mithril.
Because of this, work became more efficient and less tiring.
Up until now, people had looked down on Mappa and wanted to avoid the mysterious man. But for now, no one could deny that he was truly amazing.