The basic way to find magic stones was to channel magic power into the rocks. The magic stones would absorb the magic power, so you just had to dig in the direction where the magic power rapidly disappeared. It seemed like an excellent training program to improve both magic power detection and control.
'Except for the fact that my magic power is terribly low...'
Baek In-hwa frowned as she watched Yeon-woo, who had decided to take a break after using only as much magic power as he could recover naturally.
"Taking a break already?"
"I can't help it, my magic power is low. What if monsters come?"
For reference, Baek In-hwa had already gotten bored and handed the magic stone fragments she had mined to Yeon-woo before taking a break.
Well, that's how it goes. How fun could mining be anyway? She might be thinking that she shouldn't have come.
"Would you rather go outside and hunt some monsters...?"
"...No, it's okay."
He had offered an alternative, but it was rejected. He had heard in his past life that she had a strong aversion to monsters, but it seemed she didn't enjoy simply killing them.
But still, honestly, Yeon-woo himself was feeling suffocated from continuously swinging the pickaxe. During his time as a porter, he had focused solely on carrying luggage, so he hadn't been to the mine, but he thought he could handle being here for a day.
After just an hour, the feeling of suffocation had reached his throat.
"Should we go outside and take a break? It's hard to breathe in here."
"Sure."
Baek In-hwa must have felt the same way, as she readily accepted Yeon-woo's suggestion. As they walked through the tunnel, the echo of the pickaxe swinging reached their ears.
"That person is amazing..."
It seemed like there were only three people in the mine, including Baek In-hwa, Yeon-woo, and that person. There were no overlapping sounds, and it continued at regular intervals.
With such consistent and regular sounds, it was impossible not to notice their presence.
'...Wait, isn't that a bit strange?'
The thought suddenly occurred to him. He didn't know where that person was, but the sound had been coming at the same volume since they entered the mine.
There was no one on the right path from the mine entrance, so that meant the person was somewhere on the left path.
Then, shouldn't the sound have gotten quieter when they went in to mine magic stones? At the very least, shouldn't the sound have gotten closer as they moved towards the entrance?
Even if the consistent sound of the pickaxe was just due to incredible stamina, the sound itself was strange.
There was no response from his territory either. It was certain that there were only three people in this mine, including the mysterious pickaxe man.
It was as if... the sound was coming from beneath their feet.
"Isn't that sound strange, Baek In-hwa?"
"...Yeah, I think so too."
"Do you want to check it out?"
"...Sure. We don't know what might have happened."
It was a statement that couldn't be more hunter-like. Yeon-woo smiled faintly at her response.
Did something like this happen in his past life...? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't remember. Maybe it really was just a miner with ironclad stamina. Hoping for that, Yeon-woo stepped into the dark tunnel.
* * *
"I'll take the front."
At Baek In-hwa's bold statement, Yeon-woo briefly pondered what he could do from the back. To be honest, there wasn't much.
Apart from his domain, he had only learned a few spells similar to Flash and Stellar. He hadn't brought a bow either, so his ranged attack power was nonexistent.
But it was also true that she would handle any situation much more skillfully. Then, it would be more helpful for him to have a wider field of vision from the back.
"Okay. I don't have any means of support, but I'll let you know as soon as something happens. I have good eyesight."
"Yeah, got it."
Yeon-woo first surrounded his body with his domain. Even if he was taking a support role, who knew when or how he might be ambushed? He was glad he had made it more efficient. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to use it.
A slight headache pulsed in his head, but he shook it off.
Clatter, the lantern inside the tunnel swayed in the blowing wind and bumped against the cave wall.
The atmosphere felt eerie. Mines weren't a common setting in horror movies, but they were quite frequent in disaster movies.
Even Awakened would die instantly if the mine collapsed, so in the current situation, the mine was scarier than monsters.
But the atmosphere was too depressing, eerie, and tense, so Yeon-woo deliberately spoke to Baek In-hwa. What were friends for? Let's have a conversation!
"It feels like a ghost might pop out. Baek In-hwa, have you ever seen a ghost?"
"...Why bring up that topic in this atmosphere? Are you talking about ghost-type monsters?"
Baek In-hwa replied with a sullen expression, as if she had been thinking the same thing. Her voice was filled with disbelief.
Well, what could he do if no other topic came to mind? But ghost-type monsters, huh. In his past life, he had no way to deal with them until he obtained a magical artifact, but it would be different this time.
"No, I mean a real ghost..."
"There's no such thing."
Baek In-hwa cut him off and answered firmly.
What was with this reaction speed?
However, unfortunately, the existence of ghost-type monsters had revealed the fact that ghosts did exist in this world. The surprising thing was that they could be detected using magical engineering.
"You know, ghosts. The academic consensus is that ghosts turn into monsters. Haven't you heard?"
"If I say."
Yeon-woo spoke tentatively, wondering if this was a chance to tease her. But Baek In-hwa cut him off again.
"There are no…"
With a movement that seemed to produce a rusty creaking sound, Baek In-hwa turned to look at Yeon-woo. Her expression was filled with a sinister aura.
"Ghosts."
"Ah, yes..."
Overwhelmed by Baek In-hwa's presence, which was more ghostly than a ghost, Yeon-woo nodded and agreed. It seemed Baek In-hwa was weak to anything related to the supernatural.
Finding a weakness wasn't bad.
Who knows, maybe the cause of her death in his past life was something supernatural.
He tried to dig up some more information by continuing the conversation, but Baek In-hwa started keeping her mouth shut on any topic related to the supernatural. It was quite a different reaction for her, who was usually so composed. Ignoring him when she was at a disadvantage, huh.
He wasn't enjoying it. He really wasn't.
"...This is the end."
Yeon-woo and Baek In-hwa walked for a few more minutes along the tunnel. Finally, the end came into view. Baek In-hwa, who had stopped after passing the corner of the tunnel, spoke with a bewildered expression. Yeon-woo couldn't help but feel confused as well.
The sound of the pickaxe was still echoing, and it was neither close nor far. It was simply resonating at the same distance as when they first entered the mine.
Judging by Baek In-hwa's reaction, it seemed the owner of the pickaxe sound wasn't at the end of the tunnel either. Yeon-woo stood beside her and looked beyond the corner.
There was nothing. There was only a slightly wider section of the tunnel, perhaps a midpoint. Even at this moment, the sound was still echoing, but the only thing that was clear was that there was no one else in the mine except for the two of them.
"...Sorry, Baek In-hwa. I have no idea, did you find anything?"
"...No, nothing."
Baek In-hwa's face was genuinely puzzled. Hadn't they thoroughly examined the entire tunnel as they walked through it?
The right path was a single path, and his territory indicated that no one had entered yet. They had just finished checking the left path as well.
"This is driving me up the wall."
As Yeon-woo muttered, Baek In-hwa glared at him sharply.
Clang!!!
A sharp sound, like a pickaxe striking the cave wall, resonated loudly within the tunnel. They felt as if their bodies were floating in the air. No, their bodies were actually floating in the air.
Looking down to grasp the situation, Yeon-woo saw that the floor of the tunnel was now stained with a black, sticky liquid. Damn, it was too dark to see properly...!
"Damn it, what the hell is this!!"
The floor began to completely submerge in the liquid. He tried to escape quickly, but it held onto his legs like a swamp, refusing to let go. When it reached his ankles, Yeon-woo realized that this sensation was somewhat familiar and exclaimed,
"Damn it, this is a Gate!! Baek In-hwa, give me your hand!!"
He could feel his body gradually being pulled beyond the Gate. Once you were submerged in a Gate, there was no escape. It was a hundred times better to reduce the chance of being separated from Baek In-hwa on the other side than to waste his energy struggling.
Baek In-hwa, though flustered, responded to Yeon-woo's shout, and their hands met—.
Their figures soon disappeared completely.
And the floor that had swallowed them began to return to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
