Chapter 605 - The Path to Treasure
"Hmm... it's the shell of a Wealthy-Shelled Great Earth Mole. Same as the last one."
"Yeah, figured as much. So that means?"
"Right, the quality is... pretty mediocre. Not quite reliable enough to make weapons or armor out of, I think?"
A few short seconds was all it took for Nia to inspect the mountain of shells. With a quick glance, she delivered her conclusion, but of course, that didn't mean it was time to pack up and leave. The three of us tilted our heads, driven by curiosity and wonder about the massive pile before us, and the master magitechnician elaborated.
"This is just a guess, but I think these are all failures. That's probably why they were just... discarded here."
"Failures...? Wait, so this is just a pile of trash?"
"Probably. And while they're mediocre overall, the fine quality of each one varies. It's like... it gives me the same feeling as when we artisans build up a mountain of prototypes."
"I see...?"
I asked for more details with a simple interjection, while Lux nodded along as if he understood completely, though he almost certainly didn't. And then there was Sora-san, hiding behind my back in the face of the bizarre object.
When it comes to battle or emergencies, she displays all the courage she's cultivated, but in normal times, this is pretty much how she is. At her core, she's a fifteen-year-old young lady. It's cute.
"Anyway, the quality of this stuff itself is low... or rather, it's crude and seems pretty useless, but that doesn't change the fact that—hya!"
As she spoke, Nia, whose eyes had been gleaming at the shell-mountain, suddenly swung one hand. A flash of light shot out from her index and middle fingers, which were wrapped in a luminous effect.
The blue light didn't slice the entire thing in two, but it effortlessly cut through the shell of the [Feidran Armoire]—which we had already confirmed was quite durable in combat—as if it were butter.
This wasn't some ridiculously sharp attack skill; it was [Saidansha no Mite], a skill exclusive to the Magic Craft tree that only affects objectified 'materials'.
Manipulating the light we'd seen countless times during the event's pioneering work, Nia sliced and dug through the mountain with a series of crisp sounds...
"—Aha, found it. It's small, but... I wouldn't call this low quality, would you?"
What she held pinched between her fingers was not the golden hue of the mole's shell, but a pale crimson sparkle.
The light of a gemstone, instantly recognizable as a 'treasure'. And it wasn't a raw stone; it was a piece that shone with a deep brilliance, as if it had been perfectly polished... or condensed.
"Unlike the 'ants' that just hoard things... I think those creatures probably refine the gems they eat inside their shells. In that sense, they're a lot like us artisans."
"...It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Sora-san, who had been watching in surprise as Nia began digging with unexpected vigor, was now gazing at the gem with slightly sparkling eyes.
Even if it's just an object in a virtual world, seeing the real thing gets even a guy like me excited. For a girl, it's a perfectly natural reaction.
Among the girls, only one was an exception. Lux, who simply reacted with a casual "Huh," and started poking at a shell, could be considered the minority here.
"By the way, this is a [Putong Rubellite]. In terms of rarity, it's not supposed to be anything special, but... this one has surpassed its original quality. It's not quite first-rate, but it's become a 'good piece,' maybe second-rate or just below."
Just as I thought, her concluding remark suggested she'd had a rough idea from the moment she first appraised the mole's shell.
In other words, it meant this.
"High expectations... or rather, can I take this as a sure thing?"
"You certainly can. This place is definitely a 'quality over quantity' type of spot. If we can find a gem that was already high-rank to begin with, refined just like this Rubellite..."
As if to say 'finders keepers,' she handed the gem she'd plucked to Lux.
"Now that might be a little exciting."
The famed [Milmarinus], jewel crafter extraordinaire, declared with a joyful stamp of approval.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—Sora!"
"Yes!"
As the creature swung its tail—or rather, its lower body, which had short legs at the end—I deflected it with my left arm, [An=Ru Galta] activated, and shouted her name.
Instantly, a giant sword of sand flew in and slammed two [Feidran Armoire], their positions adjusted by my guidance, into the wall. A rather spectacular crash and tremor shook the cave, but we had already confirmed that the tunnel's structure wouldn't budge from such an impact.
My partner, who was in top form again today, would make short work of the two blasted-away creatures. Making that judgment, I turned on my heel and headed towards Lux, who was facing two more of the great moles.
...I knew full well she didn't need my help either, but still.
"I'll take one."
"Thanks a bunch!"
Apparently, she's usually a solo player but doesn't dislike party play.
When I offered a simple follow-up, she flashed me a bright, cheerful smile... which wasn't half bad, so I charged at one of the moles as declared, feeling pretty good about it.
After an hour of exploration, we'd gotten the hang of dealing with these things.
Their shells didn't nullify magic, but they did dampen the power of weaker spells to the point of dissipating them. Even without that, their bodies were generally tough, impenetrable to ordinary blades.
Against this kind of opponent, this is the only way—activate [Frezon Revolver].
I gathered the maximum number of charges into my gauntleted left fist. Without any feint, I simply charged straight ahead and swung my arm. The great mole instinctively took a defensive posture, and...
"Sextuple!"
The moment my fist (the spear) and its shell (the shield) made contact, the latter, along with its owner, exploded with a deafening roar. The mole burst into a shower of blue phosphorescence, and the shattered pieces of its shell clattered to the ground.
Now that's some power, my favorite skill. The name revolver punch isn't just for show.
Its predecessor, [Elfast Ruger], only had one shot and was a bit awkward to use, but after evolving, it turned into a god-tier skill with its ammo count increased to six and a massive power boost.
I can either channel it into my fist to amplify the power of my punches, like I just did, or, true to its name, I can fire it off as a ranged attack. Furthermore, the cooldown for each individual shot is extremely short, less than twenty seconds.
It's a simple, easy-to-use, and powerful 'fist-strike enhancement & range-extension skill' that I might end up relying on for all my trash mob fights—but that aside.
Lux, who had been doing something similar right next to me, seemed to have finished her battle in seconds as well. She turned around, dispersing a trail of 'wind,' and flashed a wide grin...
"Yeah!"
"Alright, alright, yeah!"
I returned the high-five she offered with her friendly, outstretched hands. With a satisfying smack, Lux happily zipped off towards the back.
Her target was likely Nia, who was hiding behind a rock, scared out of her wits.
"—Even outside the circle, this is probably overkill, isn't it..."
"Coming from you three, that's a classic 'pot calling the kettle black' situation."
Just then, my partner, who had also dispatched her two opponents in seconds, came up beside me.
Although the moles had special defenses against magic, the sand swords created by Sora's [Cradle of Sword-Craft] were a half-physical, half-magical hybrid. Even if only half the damage gets through, from the enemy's perspective, there's likely no escape from the virtually endless onslaught of demonic blades.
As always, when it comes to PvE where she has no hangups, her power is just ridiculously, game-breakingly reliable.
"Ahaha... I wonder how long this goes on?"
"Who knows. I feel like we've descended pretty far, though..."
Unlike before, where it felt semi-indoors, the party was now advancing through a completely enclosed space—a dim, suffocating, single-path cave.
Considering the size of the moles that must have dug it, it made sense; the scale was spacious enough for Sora to swing her 'towers' with ease... but the moment the sky disappeared, I felt an immediate sense of oppression. I wonder if that's an unavoidable psychological reaction for humans, or any living creature for that matter.
We entered this great cavern through a 'crack' that Lux had found, as usual.
Since then, we've been pushing deeper and deeper, dealing with an increased encounter rate of moles, but we still haven't reached the end—though, I can at least imagine what lies ahead.
"...It's probably there, right?"
"...It probably is, yes."
Whether you consider the atmosphere or the game mechanics, it's impossible to think it doesn't exist: the deepest point where the master of the domain, the boss, resides. In other words, the place where the parent of those moles holds court.
And in that moment, I believe we were both thinking the exact same thing.
""............""
Namely... a wish that would likely go ungranted: "Please don't have a visual design that's even more ridiculously grotesque than its underlings."