Chapter 98: The Key That Chose Him

Fortunately, the pickaxe broke at the same time I managed to dig out the meteorite.

Thump thump—

I calmed my heart, pounding with anticipation, and reached out to pull out the meteorite.

It was only the size of a grape, but it felt quite heavy. An energy I’d never felt before emanated from it.

Ding.

[Meteorite removed.]

[Circuit interference from the meteorite has been eliminated.]

[Restoring the Floating Island’s underground.]

The walls that had cracked open and the collapsed ceiling filled in like new flesh growing.

The Floating Island returned to its original state in an instant, as if by magic. It seemed the meteorite’s interference had indeed slowed the recovery.

“That was a +3 pickaxe, you know.”

I looked at the pickaxe, split in half, and swallowed my regret. Its condition was too severe to repair.

But it wasn’t a waste since I’d helped the underground creature. 

Thanks to that, the underground habitat could recover, and I’d gotten the meteorite as a bonus.

Squeak.

That aside.

…What has the gnome been doing over there all this time?

It had been staring at me without moving, frozen like a statue.

Its eyes looked as if it were entranced by something.

“Gnome? What are you doing over there?”

Flinch.

The gnome, who had been wearing a dazed expression for a while, finally snapped out of it with a start.

“Ahem, so you succeeded in mining the meteorite after all.”

“It was a lot of work.”

“…Impressive.”

“Huh?”

What did I just hear?

Did I hear that wrong?

Even if it was just a casual remark, for the gnome to call me impressive.

I looked at the gnome with surprised eyes.

The expression that had previously looked down on me with contempt seemed a bit softer now.

It might be my imagination, but it felt like something had changed in its heart.

This might be a good time to try talking. I decided to ask what I’d been curious about while I had the chance.

“Hey, but why do you hate me?”

“Because you tried to steal the underground minerals without permission!”

It seemed I’d gotten off on the wrong foot from the start.

Still, I wanted to get along with the gnome. 

I knew it wouldn’t acknowledge me easily, but it was too much of a shame to give up on the underground minerals like this.

“I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll definitely ask for permission.”

“No, I can’t acknowledge you!”

“Why not, exactly?”

The gnome vehemently objected.

But I couldn’t back down like this.

“What do I have to do for you to acknowledge me?”

“Just give up! You stubborn human!”

“What? Stubborn? You got that right. I’m not backing down!”

“Grr!”

That’s strange. Was it just my imagination that something had changed?

Still, I decided to hold my ground.

Since it had come to this, I’d push through with sheer determination!

“Hmm….”

The gnome closed its eyes and pondered deeply.

Then, after a moment.

“…Fine. I’ll give you a test!”

“R-Really?”

“Yes, if you pass the test, I’ll acknowledge you. But if you fail, you give up cleanly!”

“Deal!”

“Follow me.”

The gnome waddled along on its short legs. I followed closely behind.

If the gnome was proposing this, it probably wasn’t an easy test. But I wasn’t one to back down.

It stopped at a dead-end wall.

What was it planning? There was nothing here.

“Step back.”

As the gnome placed its short hand on the wall.

Rumble—

The wall split in half with a crack!, revealing a hidden space behind it.

“Whoa….”

So that’s why I couldn’t find the gnome until now.

“Are you sure it’s okay to show me your home like this?”

“After today, I won’t have to see you underground anyway.”

“Why are you so sure I’ll fail?”

“…”

The gnome closed its mouth as if it didn’t need to answer. 

For some reason, its expression was full of confidence.

“This way.”

The gnome started walking again.

Following the path inside the wall a bit further, a wide cavern opened up.

“Huh? My kimjang jars!”

There were the kimjang jars the gnome had stolen, along with my cooking tools. 

On the other side, I saw cotton-like fluff that looked like it had been brought from the surface.

It seemed the gnome had made this wall space into something like a home.

“That’s not what’s important. Look over there.”

“Huh? That’s….”

Attached to the wall was a stone sarcophagus. It looked like an ancient relic at first glance.

A sudden wave of tension made me swallow dryly as I asked.

“It’s a relic, isn’t it?”

“Why? Nervous?”

“Not at all! What do I need to do here?”

The gnome raised one corner of its mouth and pointed at the relic.

“Open that sarcophagus you see there. Then I’ll acknowledge you.”

“The sarcophagus?”

I’d been had. I twisted my lips. I never expected there to be another hidden relic underground.

Dealing with relics wasn’t easy. 

Especially treasure chests. They were usually protected by mechanisms, and if you tried to force them open, you never knew what might happen.

Well, with the pickaxe broken, I couldn’t force it open anyway.

“I’ll be resting over here, so tell me when you’re done.”

The gnome went to a bed made of piled fluff and plopped down. Then, with one leg crossed in an arrogant pose, it spoke.

“If you’re going to give up, do it quickly.”

“Who said I’m giving up?”

It irked me, but getting worked up in this situation would only hurt me.

Since I’d already made the bet, I had to open that sarcophagus no matter what.

“Let’s see.”

I examined the area around the sarcophagus.

At first glance, it seemed like just a sarcophagus sitting there alone, but there might be traps installed somewhere. I had to approach carefully.

Gulp.

I swallowed dryly again.

Still, with the body I’d trained so far, if a trap activated, I could dodge it agilely.

Tip-toe tip-toe.

I advanced toward the sarcophagus one careful step at a time, like a thief.

The gnome glanced at the human.

“Tsk tsk… Pathetic.”

***

This hidden room was originally a resting place for the ancients. That’s why that treasure chest was here.

The gnome had tried to open it several times but never succeeded.

Of course, it hadn’t done something stupid like smashing the treasure chest. 

Powerful ancient magic protected it, and it didn’t know what calamity that might bring.

‘No matter what he does, he won’t be able to open it.’

What could a mere human do that even it, a spirit of the earth, couldn’t handle?

The outcome of this bet was as good as decided.

Sneak sneak.

The human was approaching the treasure chest with a tense expression. 

The way he scanned his surroundings with every step looked quite pitiful.

‘To think I was impressed by such a human.’

It had momentarily gotten lost in old memories, clouding its judgment. Yes, it was just a brief mistake.

That guy was just a human, after all.

His effort to break the meteorite was admirable, but that wasn’t enough to earn this gnome’s acknowledgment.

I’d teach him that some things couldn’t be done no matter how hard you tried.

Taste despair, human.

“Kya kya kya!”

The gnome laughed like a demon.

But then.

Click—

‘Click?’

“Oh! It opened!”

“…”

‘……?’

An ominous sound suddenly rang out, along with the human’s voice.

“Aw, I got tense for nothing.”

The gnome, its laughter completely gone, turned its head.

…!!!!

“It just opened?”

As expected.

The steadfast form that had always kept its mouth firmly shut was nowhere to be seen.

“…I-It just opened?”

“Huh? Yeah, when I touched it, it went click and opened.”

Wide open.

The treasure chest had its mouth wide agape, as if inviting him to take everything inside.

“Wh-What in the world is going on?!”

The gnome’s eyes shook violently.

It couldn’t believe what it was seeing.

It had tried for a whopping hundred years and failed, yet he opened it in a single attempt?

Without any hardship? Just by touching it?

The gnome felt its own struggles had been utterly in vain.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

The human peered into the treasure chest.

“Huh? This is?”

Then he reached in and pulled something out.

“Hmm… No matter how I look at it, it’s a key.”

A small key lay on his palm.

But then.

Sparkle sparkle.

“Hmm? Why’s it doing this again?”

A soft light emanated from the key.

“Gah!”

The gnome’s mouth fell open.

Not only had the treasure chest opened easily, but the relic was reacting!

“Y-You! You! Who are you really?”

“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”

“You you you!”

The gnome spat as it ranted.

“That was an ancient relic that should never open!”

“You mean you deliberately gave me an impossible test?”

“Th-That’s not what’s important!”

The gnome pointed and shouted.

“What’s with that light?”

“This? I don’t know. It happened when I grabbed Vulcanus’s dagger last time too.”

“What did you say?!”

The gnome’s eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.

“No way! You! Are you a descendant of the ancients?”

“What? Ancients? Pfft.”

The human burst out laughing.

“What kind of nonsense is that? There’s no way I’m a descendant of the ancients.”

“Then what’s that light? If ancient blood doesn’t flow in you, then what is this?!”

The human looked down at the softly glowing key.

“What is this thing, anyway?”

“That’s the light that appears when a relic resonates with its user!”

“Resonates?”

“Yes! Ordinary humans can’t resonate with ancient relics!”

“What do you mean? Everyone uses ancient relics.”

You get it! Even if they use relics, without resonance, they can’t draw out their full potential!

“Huh?”

“Relics don’t resonate unless ancient blood flows in you!”

“…Wh-What?”

The human wore a dumbfounded expression.

It seemed quite shocked.

“M-Me… an ancient?”

The human looked at the key again.

The key still held its soft glow.

“No wonder I saw shades of the old ancients in you! I wasn’t mistaken after all!”

The human stood there dazed, staring at the light for a while.

“Ha, ha….”

The human suddenly let out a strange laugh.

Shuffle shuffle.

Then, without any strength, he walked off somewhere.

“Human? Where are you going all of a sudden?”

Even when the gnome called, he didn’t answer and left the underground with a blank face.