Chapter 84: Escaped Chimera and Poisonous Air

“Wh-what is this!?” Risou let out a surprised cry upon seeing it.

After defeating the Bahamut that had made its home on the bottom floor, we retraced our steps and headed downstream. The reason was the high probability that this path, which formed alongside the underground water vein, continued all the way to the outside.

If such an escape route existed, it was highly likely that many monsters and Chimeras had been released into the outside world. That was why we continued downstream, defeating the monsters and Chimeras we encountered. And what we found was this dead end.

Though I call it a dead end, it was merely the end of the path we had walked. The underground water vein itself continued even deeper, through a hole in the wall.

And the thing that surprised Risou was that hole. Or, to be precise, the traces of destruction that seemed to be from forcibly crushing and widening the water vein’s channel.

“It seems something forcibly widened the narrow channel of the underground water vein and proceeded deeper,” Lamies speculated as he observed the expanded hole.

“Crushed the rock to pass!? Are Chimeras capable of such a feat!?” Risou questioned Ganei, the creator of the Chimeras.

“Hmm, did any of the Demon’s failed Chimeras have the guts to do something like that?” Ganei tilted his head and pondered, recalling the Chimeras the Demon had created.

“…Ah.”

And he let out a cry, as if he’d remembered something.

“Now that I think about it, the prototype Chimera wasn’t among those we met on the way here.”

“A prototype Chimera?”

“Yes, the final prototype Chimera I made to implant the fragment of the White Calamity. Since it was the last one I made, it was quite a confident work—no, rather, my greatest masterpiece. However, I didn’t want to waste the last remaining fragment of the White Calamity, so I only tested the base body’s performance before dropping it into the disposal hole to get rid of it.”

“Why would you dump something so dangerous!?”

Everyone’s retort echoed across the bottom floor.

“Well, it was too well-made. I couldn’t bring myself to kill it with my own hands, you see.”

“No, no, that’s ridiculous. I mean, abandoning such a dangerous Chimera is completely insane, right!?”

As Rodi raised his voice, the S-Rank adventurers, including Risou, who had fought Chimeras with him, nodded in agreement.

“Hey, Lord Rodi, were the Chimeras you and your group fought really that strong?” asked Arumo, Rodi’s companion and a Priest.

“Hmm? Ah, they were quite strong. Though, apparently, the ones we fought were just failed prototypes for the real deal.”

“Failed prototypes?”

Rodi recalled the battles with the Chimeras they had encountered in the courtyard and laboratory, and he nodded with a look like he had just bitten into a bitter bug.

“Yeah, especially the fight with that giant Chimera in the courtyard—I honestly thought I was going to die.”

“For Rodi to say that much…”

Chein, the Mage who was also Rodi’s companion, joined the conversation with interest. Being a Mage, she seemed fascinated by Chimeras created with magic technology.

“The Demon we met in the ruins called those Chimeras failed prototypes, yet they were immensely powerful. If we, Cyclone, had taken the quest alone, we might have been wiped out even before encountering the finished Chimera.”

“…No way, that much!?”

Murcha, the Swordswoman and the last member of Rodi’s party, was stunned. Because they trusted Rodi completely, his statement seemed all the more shocking.

“Honestly, we only managed to survive because the kid was here,” Rodi said, looking over at me.

“That kid again…” Arumo stared intently at me. Her gaze held a complex mix of emotions, looking neither angry nor not angry. She must be doubting whether they were truly saved because of me.

“Not at all, that was more like a welcoming party for a rookie S-Rank like me. If Rodi and the others had fought seriously, I wouldn’t have had a chance to step in.”

“Exactly!”

Rodi’s party members brightened up with smiles at my words. They really do trust Rodi completely.

“No, but struggling was real…”

Yet, Rodi maintained his stance that I was the one who defeated the Chimera. The only reason he didn’t say he could have won without a struggle if he’d fought seriously—only pretending to struggle for the sake of the test—must have been because I had managed to defeat the Chimera and the Demon on my own.

Still, I’d really like to see Rodi and the others go all out someday. Since they’re S-Rank adventurers who specialize in teamwork, I bet they’d be amazing.

“But, this makes tracking impossible…” Oh, Risou and the others were still talking.

“Yes, anyone who jumps in there would certainly die.”

Huh? Die? Why? And why would they jump in? I thought we could just expand the hole normally. Let me try something.

“Tunnel Extension!”

I activated the magic, widening the hole the Chimera had forced open, reinforcing the ceiling and walls, and further changing the rate of expansion to create a path wide enough for a person to walk beside the underground water vein.

“See, it can be done.” I was surprised Risou and the others said tracking was impossible, but as I thought, I could just widen the hole normally.

“In that case, let’s track the escaped Chimera.”

“…”

When I turned around, for some reason, everyone was staring at me with wide eyes.

“Is something wrong, everyone?”

“S-something wrong? Don’t ask that!”

For some reason, everyone retorted in unison. Huh? What’s going on?

“H-hey!? Why are you widening the hole like it’s the most natural thing!? What kind of magic is that! You better teach me!”

Lamies, who loves magic, rushed at me with eyes full of excitement, but Foka and Rodi appeared from behind, grabbed both his arms, and dragged him away. Instead, Risou stepped forward.

“Big-Eater, what you just used… was that… magic?”

“Yes, it’s Mining Magic for expanding caves.”

“Mining Magic!? B-but wouldn’t the cave collapse if an amateur, not a miner, bored a hole into it?”

Ah, Risou and the others don’t know about miners’ magic techniques. That’s why they thought they couldn’t widen the hole for tracking.

“It’s fine. Mining Magic doesn’t cause a collapse when expanding a cave. On the contrary, the soil and rock from the expansion increase the density of the surrounding hole, so widening it a little actually makes it harder.”

“M-magic can do something like that?”

“It’s the same principle as soil or snow hardening when you press down on it really hard. It’s often used in mines with easily collapsible geology.”

“Is that right?”

“Beats me.”

The adventurers checked with each other, Did you know that? Well, it might be a type of magic you don’t often get to know unless you have acquaintances in mining.

After all, an acquaintance Blacksmith told me to find good materials with my own eyes and taught me about it. I ended up spending several months inside a mine until I could appraise good ore, but… yeah, let’s forget about that time.

“…Alright, shall we go!”

“O-oh, okay…”

“B-but before that, more details on the spell’s incantation!”

“Yes, yes. Be a good boy and we’ll talk about that after work, ‘kay?”

“Y-you promise!”

Uhh, somehow it seems I’m obligated to teach him later.

“It’s fine. You can just ask a Mage who specializes in a moderately sized mine; they’ll teach you.”

“Got it! A specialized Mining Mage!”

Lamies really is unshakeable.

Even so, the prototype for the strongest Chimera, created to defeat the mysterious monster that collapsed ancient civilization… this looks like a considerably troublesome opponent is waiting.

$diamond$

As we advanced while expanding the hole with Mining Magic, the wall ahead crumbled with a boko sound, revealing a pitch-black cavity.

“It seems to have connected to some kind of passage.”

“Hmm, then the escaped Chimera might be ahead. Everyone, increase your caution!”

When Risou ordered caution, everyone raised their weapons and took battle-ready stances.

“We’ll proceed then.”

“Wait a minute, please.”

But I stopped everyone who was about to move forward.

“What is it, Big-Eater?”

“Before that, I’ll survey the connected space with magic. Air Diagnosis!”

A blue ball of magical light shot from my fingertips and proceeded into the hole ahead. The blue light then turned purple midway, and the next moment, it transformed into a bright red color. Ah, just as I thought.

“The color changed!?”

“Big-Eater, what does that mean?”

Asked by Risou, I explained the meaning of the red light.

“That indicates the air ahead is filled with poison.”

“Poison!?”

Everyone present cried out in surprise and backed away.

“What do you mean, Big-Eater!?”

“Sometimes in mines, there are places where the air is filled with toxins poisonous to the human body. This magic is for checking that poisonous air. Blue means pure, purple means prolonged stay is dangerous, and red means life-threatening.”

“This is terrible!”

Risou twisted his face in frustration.

“With this, we can’t advance any further…”

“So, let’s purify the air ahead with magic and proceed.”

“…Huh?”

Risou looked at me with a blank expression, asking, What do you mean?

“I’ll purify the poisonous air ahead using Mining Magic.”

“C-can Mining Magic do something like that!?”

“Yes, because it’s magic developed for working safely in mines.”

“Mining Magic is amazing.”

“Could it be that miners are incredible people?”

The adventurers were having a conversation that changed their perception of miners.

“Yes, they often have to fight powerful ancient monsters sleeping inside the mines, so miners also have an aspect of being tough warriors.”

“Seriously!? Miners are awesome!”

“I’m sorry for thinking they were only good for digging rocks!”

“Shoot, I snapped at an old miner guy the other day!? What should I do!”

“Go apologize right now!”

“Got it, I’m going!”

“Do it after you finish work, you idiots!”

Oops, Risou scolded them.

“At any rate, Big-Eater, can you purify the air for us?”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

At Risou’s request, I activated the air purification magic.

“Air Purification!”

As I cast the magic into the space ahead, the Air Diagnosis orb, which had been bright red, returned to blue.

“Purification complete. Let’s go then.”

“O-oh, okay. …Are you absolutely sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, it is.”

Resuming our movement, we advanced along the underground water vein, sending the Air Diagnosis orb ahead. The orb’s light turned red again midway, so we purified the air each time.

“Hey, the color is turning red often, are we really okay?”

Rodi asked anxiously, so I reassured him it was fine.

“Air Purification is a spell that purifies the air within a few hundred meters of the caster. So, if the entire passage is filled with poisonous air, we’ll be fine as long as we purify the air in our immediate location every time we move.”

“S-so that’s how it works.”

As we continued on, we heard the sound of something approaching from deeper inside the cave.

“Something’s coming! Send the light ahead!”

The Mages received the order and sent the magical light forward. Then, the shape of the monster approaching from the depths came into view.

“That’s a Hell Basilisk!?”

Hearing the name, the adventurers grew agitated. After all, it was the name of the monster that had attacked the camp in front of the mine before we arrived, endangering the lives of many adventurers with its special evil eye, called the Black Death Evil Eye.

“Healers, fall back! Attack from a distance to avoid the Black Death Evil Eye! Shield-bearers, move forward!”

Immediately, an adventurer with a shield stepped forward, holding the shield up to avoid the Hell Basilisk’s evil eye.

“Wind Lancer!”

Lamies intercepted the Hell Basilisk with Wind Magic, taking care not to collapse the cave. Alright, my turn to intercept!

“Land Lancer!”

Matching Lamies, I attacked with rock-spear magic. Lamies attacked from the front to halt the enemy’s advance, and in that opening, my magic pierced the Hell Basilisk, thrusting up from directly beneath it.

The Hell Basilisk was lifted by the rock spear, and it was impaled, its own weight causing its body to drive deeper into the spear.

“H-hey, he already defeated it.”

“Huh? What? It’s over already?”

Hearing the voice of the adventurer waiting in the back, the shield-bearer cried out in surprise. Well, only one Hell Basilisk had attacked, after all.

“Hell Basilisks have soft bellies, just like other lizard-type monsters.”

“I see, so that was its weakness.”

“No, no, even knowing the weakness, it shouldn’t be easy to defeat.”

“More importantly, my magic didn’t stand out at all…”

Lamis, who had used Wind Magic, looked deflated.

“But thanks to your magic halting the Hell Basilisk’s advance, my spell hit exactly where it needed to.”

“Hmm? Really? Well, I suppose so.”

Complimented, Lamis brightened up and flashed a grin.

“Aren’t you a little too simple, Master Heavenly Mage?”

Rodi stared at Lamies with a look of exasperation, but in reality, Lamies’ magic made it easier for my spell to hit, so it certainly had an effect. Wind Magic is convenient for surprise attacks and setups because it’s invisible, but the downside is that its contribution is hard to notice.

“But for a monster to be in a place filled with such poisonous air…”

“Hell Basilisks are said to favor corrupted places. This cave, filled with poisonous air, must be a perfect habitat.”

Lamies’ guess was correct, and monsters and Chimeras carrying poison continued to attack us even after that.

“I see, it seems the poisonous monsters and Chimeras fled to this area to escape from the Bahamut and higher-ranked monsters!”

While dealing with the poisonous monsters, Risou deduced the reason for the Chimeras’ presence as well.

“In that case, there might be a path leading here from somewhere else in the cave. We need to instruct the survey team to be careful of the poison when we send them later!”

Rodi also insisted that attention should be paid to the poisonous air, thinking about the future. Both of them are thinking so far ahead.

“Oh my, with so many poisonous monsters, the anti-poison magic can’t keep up. It was a good call to bring extra Mana Potions.”

Foka, the Priest, was healing the wounds and poison received by the injured with anti-poison magic.

“Sei!”

Liliera swung her sword, which was imbued with the Ice attribute using Attribute Enhancement Magic, freezing the monsters’ claws and beaks to fight without being poisoned. When a monster dodged and counter-attacked, she prevented the poison from entering her body by creating ice armor on the targeted part of her body.

“Taa!”

She then stuck the ice armor onto the monster’s body, preventing it from attacking, before striking it again.

Liliera is completely mastering Attribute Enhancement now. Maybe I should teach her a new technique next time.

“Mokyu!”

And Fluffy was devouring the meat without caring if the opponent was poisonous or not. Don’t get an upset stomach. …Wait, huh? I thought I left Fluffy behind, but it followed me? Good grief, I guess it can’t be helped.

“H-hey… that white one is eating a poisonous monster!? Is it okay!?”

“Well, it’s an S-Rank’s pet, so it’s probably fine, right?”

“Yeah, since it’s an S-Rank’s pet…”

Well, it’s not like it’s fine just because it’s my pet.

As we fought and continued to advance, a bushuuu sound could be heard from the depths of the cave.

“What is that sound!?”

“Ah, it seems this area is the source of the poisonous air. Look, the Air Diagnosis orb is blinking, right? That tells us where the poisonous air is especially dense—the source. If we purify the air here normally, it will immediately be refilled with poison.”

Everyone’s faces went pale after hearing my explanation.

“So we can’t go any further?”

“Seriously, we’ve come all this way, defeating Hell Basilisks and poisonous monsters, and now we have to give up!?”

The adventurers complained about having to give up after getting this far. Yep, they really are brave. They show no sign of flinching, even from the poisonous air.

“No, it’s easy; we just have to seal the hole. Tunnel Extension!”

I cast the cave expansion magic over the entire space, widening the hole. The bushuuu sound that had been echoing throughout the cave rapidly faded, until it could no longer be heard.

“Air Purification!”

I then activated the air purification magic, and the magical orb that had been blinking red changed to blue and stayed that way.

“When I expanded the hole with magic, I sealed the openings where the poisonous air was leaking out. Now, we don’t have to worry about the poisonous air overflowing. All that’s left is to purify the remaining toxic air.”

Hearing my explanation, everyone let out a relieved hooo sigh.

“Mining Magic is amazing. It can neutralize poison this easily?”

“Yes, yes, it’s wonderful! To purify an entire space wrapped in evil poison! You really should come to the Holy City!”

Excuse me, Foka, but please don’t recruit me amid the confusion. Also, the cave’s poison isn’t exactly evil. Well, people in the church seem to have a strong image of poison that can be cured with divine healing magic equaling evil power.

“Ooh! I can ask a miner about this too! Mining Magic is magnificent! No, taking this quest was absolutely the right call! I’m getting so much new magic knowledge!”

While everyone else was relieved, only Lamies was happily bouncing around.

Then, advancing further while expanding and purifying the cave, we finally arrived at a vastly open space.

“It seems this is the final destination.”

The place we had arrived at was a colossal underground lake situated within a massive subterranean space.