Kugugugug-
The ground trembled with a slight wave. Protruding rocks pushed out the mithril ore that had been deeply embedded.
It was a method that consumed a lot of mana but eliminated the need for miners or mining equipment.
Only those proficient in earth magic could do this, and it was one of the many reasons why Gerhard had chosen the earth attribute.
"There's more than I expected."
Gerhard barely suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out at the sight of the blue-green ores filling his view.
In the prophecy book, Lord Gardner Alpenfassen had mentioned there would be roughly 5kg of mithril.
Honestly, he had thought it was half a lie, and would have been satisfied with just half of that amount, but it was the opposite.
'This is heaven...!'
Just the exposed surface was about 5kg, and as he dug deeper with magic, there was even more.
Approximately 20kg. This amount was valuable enough to buy a small country and still have some left over.
—!
——!
Gerhard raised a stone barrier as rocks tumbled down.
The impact and vibrations were intensifying as time passed.
"They're fighting quite fiercely."
This kind of battle had caused that thick barrier to collapse, revealing the mithril.
The distance from where the water dragon had been to this place was considerable.
Moreover, it had been blocked by a thick wall over 2 meters thick. While Gerhard had tunneled through using earth magic and then restored it, Aint Armian couldn't do that.
To break it down and discover the mithril would require more than a mediocre level of combat.
"I hope he's not losing down there?"
Although Aint had become stronger than mentioned in the prophecy book thanks to the spirit potion, Gerhard felt somewhat uneasy since they had defeated Veriana Kalproten on their side.
[Shaaaaak!
The sea dragon's breath struck various parts of the cave. Kwalung, debris fell from all directions, but it was just a final struggle.
Beyond the collapsed ground was an abyss so deep its bottom couldn't be seen. Even for a water dragon, it would be difficult to get up immediately after falling from such a height.
"I-I survived!"
Wait a minute.
Gardner stopped speaking.
"What are you talking about?"
Behind exactly where the water dragon had been sleeping, through the half-collapsed wall, a soft beam of light could be seen.
Aint, who had been carefully collecting spirit herbs, slowly approached.
"...This is."
Gerhard nodded while clutching his throbbing head.
"So he didn't win by skill after all."
That made sense. It was easy to accept.
"Well, it's natural that he couldn't win."
If Veriana, who had received demonic power, was that weak, then defeating the creature after awakening wouldn't be much different.
"...I need to hurry."
Soon the sea dragon's attacks would strike the wall and cause it to partially collapse. Before that happened, he needed to collect all the mithril and escape.
"At least I don't have to hide the traces of mining, which is fortunate."
The battle would turn everything into a mess anyway, and anyone who could recognize mining traces would be a professional miner, not a knight.
Gerhard spurred himself on.
***
"Hukh, hukh...!"
Aint took heavy breaths. His body was drenched in sweat, and small wounds scratched his skin.
In front of him was a vast darkness whose end couldn't be seen. It was the bottomless pit that had swallowed the water dragon when the ground collapsed.
"...Do you think it's dead?"
The problem was that the water dragon wasn't the only thing that had fallen through the collapsed ground. Aint had fortunately managed to take shelter in a cave in the wall, but the impact had caused injuries.
"If only there hadn't been a sudden earthquake...!"
"...But it's quite high up."
"Can we climb back up?"
Aint murmured as he looked up vertically at the faint light visible quite far away.
"Of course not."
Though it was a dangerous place where one misstep could mean falling, it didn't seem impossible to climb. If he used aura to embed his fingers in the wall and move forward, it would be slow but manageable.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me the water dragon...?"
A tense Aint spread his senses, but he couldn't feel the presence of the water dragon.
It was a small hole inside a niche. It was so narrow that Aint had to crouch, but the interior seemed to widen gradually.
"Is there something inside?"
At those words, Aint squeezed his body into the hole and went inside. First crawling, then crouching, then standing up.
Finally, a small cavity appeared.
And there...
<...Jackpot!>
"But there are no spirit herbs."
It was an ore that emitted a soft light. Similar in color to steel, yet giving off a more diverse feeling.
"What is that?"
"Adamant? What's ad... adamant?"
Aint was shocked. He knew very little about ores, but he did know about the three legendary metals.
Mithril, the metal blessed with mana.
Adamant, the hardest substance.
And Orichalcum, which had the property of wanting to float and was also called the floating stone.
All three were so rare that no amount of money could buy them.
"Is it really adamant?"
"That's not what's important right now!"
Aint wrapped his sword in aura with a determined expression and struck the adamant.
—!
The shattered aura scattered with a massive rebound force. His face contorted from the impact.
"...This doesn't seem to be working."
"Isn't this how it's done?"
"I see."