Chapter 48: Vaults Beneath the Earth

Deol-leok—

Ku-ru-ru-ru—

The inside of the warehouse began to tremble chaotically, and the innermost wall started to move.

Kong—

As it sunk downward, another passage was revealed.

[<The Mountain Man’s Mine> has been discovered!]

“A mine.”

The word “mine” piqued Jaeho’s interest.

There really might be something valuable in here.

However, going in right away was out of the question.

“If it’s a dungeon, the timing’s a bit tricky. Soon it’ll be access-restricted hours, so it’s better to come back another time.”

Rather than stopping awkwardly midway, it seemed wiser to prepare properly and bring the Elves and Samantha along.

Chi-i-i—

Jaeho emerged from the capsule, did a quick stretch, then gathered his things.

Having played non-stop through the weekend, his body was definitely feeling stiff.

And thanks to Wooram, who had interrupted his gym shift to support Jaeho, he now had plenty of spare time.

At least since he’d kept exercising steadily, there were no issues with stamina.

“Mm? Going to work out?”

Eunhye, who was in the living room, asked Jaeho.

“Yeah. I’m just going to move my body a bit and unwind.”

“Alright, make sure to take care of your health too. Ah! By the way, did you make a decision?”

“Huh?”

A decision?

“Sigh. I knew it. I thought something was off…”

Eunhye, who had temporarily muted the TV, raised the volume.

—From what I can see, Alicia is maintaining an air of mystique to increase her own value. The fact that none of the Pro League teams around the world have spoken about a contract with her is proof.

—Could it be that she simply isn’t interested in the Pro League? I’ve heard that, supposedly, Elysia Call Center staff completely block all Authority except for flower-related inquiries.

—If she wasn’t interested, there’d be no need to respond so aggressively. I believe the time when she reveals herself is approaching.

—And… There have been reports that Alicia was spotted at a recent major festival in the Ottolk region. Maybe she was busy with her own quest…

—Haha, Representative Kim. Still, rejecting the Gokmal is going too far. I’m certain! This is 100% about inflating her value! And Alicia is a king. A king going out alone on an expedition? Nonsense.

Jaeho was left speechless by the broadcast.

What on earth had happened in the world while he was playing the game…?

“Pfft… Judging by your expression, you really didn’t know, did you?”

“Uh… I guess there was a bit of a breakdown in my information system.”

“So what are you planning to do?”

“Uh… Write about it?”

He needed to know what was going on first.

He’d first heard about a pro gaming team in New World from Wooram, and even then, he didn’t quite understand what a “pro” meant in this game.

“I’ll check with the staff once I log in tonight.”

He’d have to confirm if there really had been any contact from a gaming team.

But when he went to the gym, Jaeho heard something even more ridiculous.

***

What he heard from Muscle Taengtaeng Ham Wansik after coming out of the gym was shocking.

“You… got kidnapped…”

Ham Wansik, of all people, kidnapped?!

“Are you kidding me?”

Though he was often overshadowed by Jaeho, Wansik was also, objectively speaking, quite a looker.

Ordinary people could hardly even approach him…

“How does something like that even work in the game?”

Wansik said, sounding incredulous.

“So… what happened?”

“The Bulgeom Guild bastards.”

Wansik spoke with obvious irritation.

It had happened so suddenly that there was no way to react.

He had been heading into the forest for the Elves’ quest when Taylor ambushed him and kidnapped him outright.

Truly the skills of a ranker assassin.

Wansik had been captured without being able to put up any resistance.

However—

“That idiot confused you with me and kidnapped the wrong person. Considering he got beaten by you before, he seems like a few screws are loose.”

“Yeah… He did seem a bit off. When his assassination failed, he started ranting about fighting fair and square.”

If Taylor heard that, his eyes would flip, and he’d go on a rampage.

“Anyway, I’m currently in the Bear Kingdom’s underground prison. Seriously, never thought I’d see the inside of a jail in my life.”

“They’re not letting you go?”

“You think the Bulgeom bastards would let me go? They told me to contact you.”

“How’d they know you and I are friends?”

“How many people in Elysia can move about freely? The Bulgeom have some brains, they can figure out the basics.”

Plus, recently, even Huka’s broadcast had covered the topic of the Four Heavenly Kings, so it wasn’t a secret anymore.

“By the way, why is your message function still blocked?”

“Ah, I guess I haven’t lifted it yet?”

“You bastard, how long have you had it on that you can say that?!”

“You could have told Meina or Samantha to let me know. They would have passed it on to me.”

“When you’re in prison, your Authority is blocked! How can you not know something so basic about the game?”

Wansik was fuming, but Jaeho just let it slide.

“Anyway, I’m not calling you to beg for help. Just wanted you to know.”

“Hm? Is there a way to escape from there?”

“Of course. No way the system would allow kidnapping and imprisonment like this. The game would die.”

As Wansik said, even if players were imprisoned, the maximum was a month.

Especially if there was no specific crime, you’d be released after a day.

“Well, getting back from the Bear Kingdom will be a hassle, but… Even if they kill me, I’ll respawn in Luxi Forest.”

It wasn’t a big problem.

But Wansik was too optimistic.

The Bulgeom Guild hadn’t become the largest force in the world just by luck or muscle.

No one had expected them to stoop to such dirty tricks.

***

After his workout, Jaeho logged back in and immediately sent a Gokmal to the Call Center staff.

—A Gokmal looking for Alicia?

—There are so many, I couldn’t tell you which.

Well, even when Jaeho had made his Gokmal code public, most contacts were just spam.

—There were a few job requests just a little while ago.

—Ah, do you know the deadline?

—They said there isn’t a set deadline, but would appreciate it being done as soon as possible.

It seemed he’d have to check the mine and head right back.

A party of five Elves and Samantha gathered at the mine entrance.

“We’ll go in first.”

The Elves stepped into the mine ahead of Jaeho, determined not to put him in danger.

“It’s safe!”

After a moment, upon the Elves’ confirmation, Jaeho and Samantha followed inside.

After descending the long, sloping passage, they arrived at a vast cavern.

A place so dark you couldn’t see without a light.

All around were abandoned shovels and picks, but they seemed to have been unused for ages, with all the handles rotted away.

Jaeho wandered around the mine, checking for any hidden mechanisms.

—The spirit energy here is extremely weak. It means this place has been cut off from the outside for a long time.

At Jingjing-i’s words, Jaeho nodded.

“What did they mine here?”

Jaeho had no ability to analyze minerals.

They just looked like ordinary stones to him.

“Ah! Alicia-nim!”

At that moment, one of the Elves shouted urgently.

“Look up!”

“What?”

When he raised his head, the sight that greeted his eyes—

“Gasp?!”

Mysterious lights were twinkling on the ceiling.

No wonder it was so bright, even though they’d only lit it with a torch—those things were the reason.

“What are those?!”

“Bright Stalactite Flowers!”

“Bright… what?!”

“They’re flowers! Flowers!”

“?!”

At those words, Jaeho immediately used his Observation Skill.

[Bright Stalactite Flower]

[Observation Progress: 50%]

[A mysterious flower that blooms in deep caves at an extremely rare rate. Many people don’t even know it exists, and even most experts have never been able to cultivate it. (More)]

[(Omitted)]

[Effects]

[1. In darkness, all combat stats increase by 20%]

[2. (Unconfirmed)]

Reading the basic effect, Jaeho was shocked.

All combat stats increased by 20%?

[ <The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘Bright Stalactite Flowers are truly, truly rare flowers.’]

“Amazing. It’s been ages since even we have seen Bright Stalactite Flowers.”

The Elves, clearly astonished, couldn’t take their eyes off the ceiling.

[ <The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘However, Bright Stalactite Flowers cannot self-propagate.’]

“Hm? What does that mean?”

[ <The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘If Bright Stalactite Flowers have proliferated this much, it means someone is managing them directly.’]

Ku-yung—

No sooner had the spirit finished speaking than the entire cavern shook violently.

“W-What?!”

The tremor was so intense it felt like the cave might collapse, and it didn’t stop after just one shake.

Kong—Kong—Kong—

The regular tremors sounded like…

“Footsteps?”

The suspicion proved true.

—Who dares set foot in my mine!

A booming shout echoed from deep within the cavern.

[A powerful fear effect weighs on your mind.]

“Gah?!”

Samantha’s vision went black.

But thanks to his passive, Jaeho was able to remain standing.

Kuu-yong—

A massive creature appeared from the large passageway connected to the cavern.

“A g-giant?!”

Isn’t this Mountainside Hermit’s Mine?!

Thanks to the light of the Bright Stalactite Flowers, the giant’s figure, covered in tangled beard and thick hair, was clearly visible.

His skin was crusted over with who-knows-what, stone or keratin, and every time he moved, flakes fell off.

—Get out of here immediately!

At the same time, a huge palm came crashing down towards Jaeho and Samantha.

If it hit, they’d be turned into meat paste!

“Yikes! Hurry!”

But Jaeho had his dependable bodyguards.

Jjeo-jeo-eo-eong—!!!

—Kraaaagh!

The Elves’ arrows exploded as soon as they struck the giant’s palm.

“Hey, hey! Is it safe to set off explosions in here?!”

—What, what is this? Are you pointy-eared brats?! Grrr!!!

Only then did the giant recognize the Elves and start rampaging wildly.

“Hey, hey!! The cave’s going to collapse at this rate!”

Jaeho dodged—not falling rocks, but clumps of keratin.

Sha-sha-shak—

On top of that, the sound of scurrying legs echoed from all around.

“We’ll light the place up!”

For a second, he thought they were casting magic to illuminate the area.

“Salamander!”

Instead, she summoned a Fire Spirit.

The surroundings grew much brighter, but—

Kwa-kwang!!

The battle only grew more intense.

[ <The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘Still don’t know the Elves?’]

There was no time to argue with the spirit’s nagging.

Thanks to the Fire Spirits, they could at least see what was going on.

Kii-i-iik—!!

Giant centipedes, nearly a meter long, surrounded them.

“That’s… That’s disgusting!!”

Jaeho quickly drew the Legendary Sapling Shovel in response.

“Shh, real combat…!”

Meanwhile, Samantha was practically giddy with excitement at her first real battle since her job change.

It was the perfect opportunity to burn away the stress she’d accumulated.

As the power of a low-ranking spirit infused Samantha’s dagger, a long blade of flame burst forth.

Hwarururu—!!

With every swing of the blade, fiery tails instantly incinerated the centipedes.

“A-amazing!”

Jaeho was astonished by Samantha’s spectacular attacks.

Her level was so high that she overwhelmed these bugs with ease, and at a glance, she seemed even stronger than the Elves.

Of course, the Elves were completely occupied beating on the core—the giant.

—Kraaagh!!!

Kuu-yong—

In the end, the giant collapsed to one knee in pain!

Seizing the opportunity, they cleaned up most of the surrounding bugs.

“Let’s go!”

Jaeho shouted to Samantha.

They had to deal some damage before the giant died, or they wouldn’t get as much reward!

But unlike Samantha, Jaeho’s little Legendary Sapling Shovel couldn’t pierce the giant’s thick skin, no matter how hard he tried.

As a result, his damage was halved.

“I need to find a spot that will really hurt…”

Then, he spotted the giant’s bare foot!

“Over there…?!”

As soon as he made up his mind, Jaeho leapt into action!

He jabbed the Legendary Sapling Shovel right under the giant’s toenail.

Puk, puk, puk!

—K-heo-eo-eok!

The giant screamed as if he’d faint from the pain!

—Y-you cruel fiend…!

“Shut up! Who was it that tried to crush us first?!”

The giant tried to kick, but Jaeho clung to his toe and stabbed again.

[<The Spirit of Vitality> says, ‘We were the ones who intruded first…’]

But Jaeho couldn’t even hear the spirit’s words.