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An Otherworldly Scholar - 195
🕑 Added 2025-01-18 03:54:37 +0000 UTC“I don’t want it!” Astrid said, covering her head with both hands.
“You have to use it,” I replied.
“It’s uncomfortable!”
“It’s mandatory!”
I had lobbied for the usage of safety helmets since the opening of the mine, and an obstinate beastfolk woman wouldn’t undermine my efforts. Orcs wouldn’t even use helmets to fight against Crystalboar Matriarchs, and forcing them to use the helmets to mine had been near impossible. Despite my influence, the orcs only obeyed Wolf and the Chieftains.
Astrid dodged the safety helmet.
“I’m telling Elincia you are being a crybaby,” I said.
“Fine!”
Astrid folded her ears like an aggressive cat and softly put the helmet on her head.
“It wasn’t that hard, was it?” I asked.
Ash put on his helmet, and we entered the mine. Clumps of light stones illuminated the way—all of our enchanted items were hidden among the orc tribes or locked inside Lowell’s manor. Above our heads, thick wooden beams supported the rock ceiling. A pipe made of flax and resin pumped fresh air into the deepest corners of the mine, powered by a huge hamster wheel and a bellow.
The air-pumping system was one of my favorite non-enchanted creations.
Orc miners saw us walk down the main drift. It pleased me to see everyone was using their breathing masks. Without Wolf around to give the direct order, I had to use alternative methods to convince them, such as showing them a pair of lungs with silicosis. I had never seen lungs with the disease, but they didn’t have to know. Instead, I used the picture of one of those anti-smoking campaigns I had seen during high school. The illusion had been as horrible as it was effective.
We reached the sector where the beams collapsed. Other than a hole in the ceiling where the material came loose, there was no sign of the incident. The debris had been cleared, and the beam had been replaced.
“Where are the damaged beams?” I asked.
“In the warehouse,” the pit boss said.
I made a mental note to check them afterward. Technically speaking, I wasn’t there for a forensic examination but to check the repairs. I let my skills analyze the area for weak spots or flaws in the construction. There were none I could detect. After a few hundred meters of tunnels were built, the orc’s work was spotless.
“What do you think, Ash?”
The boy looked around.
“This has to be the cleanest mine in the kingdom. There’s no place for ants to hide.”
I let my mana sense take over my eyes. I detected traces of mana, but those could be attributed to the magical jackhammers or the orcs themselves. Despite my magical creations requiring little magic to be activated, the enchantments still moved significant amounts of mana stored inside the circuits.
“Something feels odd,” Astrid said.
My mana sense had a huge weak spot; it was tied to my [Mana Mastery], so it was susceptible to System-based stealth skills. Sure, it took a lot to hide something from a high-level Prestige Class, but it wasn’t impossible. I decided to trust Astrid’s gut.
The pit boss didn’t seem happy with Astrid’s words.
“There is nothing wrong with my mine. Beastfolk see the end of the world behind every flock of birds taking off,” the pit boss said matter-of-factly.
Astrid was too busy sniffing around to feel offended.
“Did you get something?” I asked.
“I wonder,” Astrid replied.
We continued our mine tour with the excuse of greeting the miners while Astrid sniffed around. The iron veins were reddish-brown and extended like sheets into the stone. In some areas, the vein went almost parallel to the ground, making it easy to mine. The initial prospecting report made by a high-level Geomancer also indicated a rich deposit underneath the mine, but we weren’t technologically ready for shaft mining yet.
After a few minutes, we reached the deepest part of the mine. The ventilation pipe yawned at regular intervals, pumping air into the tunnel. Orcs equipped with magical jackhammers mined the ore. The sound was deafening but not as loud as a pneumatic jackhammer. With a sign of the pit boss, the miners stopped working. All of them were using cotton and wax earplugs. They seemed happy to see us.
Suddenly, Astrid tugged my sleeve with urgency.
“Look,” she said, pointing at the corner of the tunnel.
“It’s stone,” Ash replied.
“The layers on the rock don’t match!”
On the wall opposite the iron vein, near the corner where the lightstones barely illuminated, was a square of the wall whose strata didn’t match with the rest. It seemed like someone had cut a square section, taken out, turned it ninety degrees, and then put it back.
“That’s strange,” Ash said.
“Strange indeed,” I replied.
I channeled my [Geokinesis] to extract the square section.
The rock didn’t budge.
“A moment, please.”
I accessed my mana pool and changed [Geokinesis]’s target attribute back to stone. Then, I channeled my mana and pulled the disturbed rock from the wall to reveal a deeper hole underneath. Suddenly, the stench of death filled the mine.
“That smells like a monster nest,” Astrid pointed out.
I nodded.
“I want everyone outside the mine right now. Seal the entrance,” I said, peeking into the hole. A natural cave opened on the other side of the wall. “Bring me the first aid kits.”
The miners quickly obeyed.
“Are we going in?” Ash asked, covering his nose.
“You are going back with the miners,” I replied.
Ash wasn’t happy.
“Come on! This is a teaching moment, a field trip. Besides, I’m taller than Ilya when she first went into the Farlands, and I have these,” Ash said, showing the magic wands on his belt.
I didn’t want Ilya’s height to be the gold standard of risky expeditions. However, Whiteleaf Manor was technically located in the Farlands, and accidents like this could happen even with all the security measures in place. It might be better for Ash to start getting experience dealing with monsters.
“Give the kid a chance,” Astrid said with a mischievous grin. “I’m sure a Prestige Class, a malfunctioning Zealot, and a Classless kid are enough to deal with any monster living down there.”
I rubbed my temples. [Foresight] caught Astrid winking at Ash.
“Alright, let’s go,” I said.
The orcs dragged the ventilation hose into the hole while the pit boss collected the first aid kits from the emergency boots along the mine. I opened the leather bag and retrieved a potion.
Lungwort-Night Lily Safebreathing Potion. [Identify] Alchemy potion. Effect: High. Toxicity: Low. Allows the user to breathe safely in the harshest conditions. Smells like fresh pine. Minor antitoxin effect.
If something lived inside the caves, it was safe to assume air was breathable; however, I wasn’t risking my life for a rogue pocket of hydrogen sulfide. I drank the potion and grimaced. Elincia’s potions were getting more bitter by the year.
Ash and Astrid pulled similar potions and drank them.
We grabbed the enchanted flashlights and tied the first aid kits to our backs. Ash lacked [Night Vision], and having a source of light was always better. The colors were clearer that way.
I jumped down the hole and used [Aerokinesis] to cushion the fall. Astrid and Ash dropped behind me, and I caught them with the skill. Then, I used [Geokinesis] to seal the hole behind us, leaving only the ventilation hose inside the cave section. I didn’t want anything skittering through our backs and into the mine.
“I’m going to warn Elincia we have a situation,” I said, touching the yellow stone on my bracelet. Across the valley, Elincia’s twin bracelet should’ve received the signal. The twin bracelets worked similarly to the enchanter rings but shared a light pattern instead of a tug. Green meant a non-dangerous delay. Yellow meant dangerous but under control. Red meant dangerous and out of control.
A moment later, my bracelet buzzed twice—message received.
“Do you have to report every step you take?” Astrid pointed out as we walked into the cave.
“Information is worth a thousand swords,” I replied. “If this is more than we can quickly clear out, I want everyone back into the shelters as soon as possible.”
Astrid sighed.
“Brother, you are a Sage. No monster in a hundred kilometers can scratch you. Have some pride!”
“I have weaknesses like any other person,” I replied.
“I’ll be there to cover you in case an ugly elven girl hits on you,” Astrid grinned.
Ash stifled a laugh.
The cave grew as we advanced into the mountain. Above our heads, stalactites reached down like bony fingers. Around us, stalagmites had been crushed out, forming paths wide enough for the three of us to walk shoulder to shoulder. Water flowed on the bottom of the shaft, ten meters below us, and the walls were covered with bioluminescent moss—no sign of the source of the smell.
“Bandits or monsters?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
The displaced block of stone made me think of bandits.
With the first elvish delegations crossing the trade route, Farcrest started getting unwanted attention. Whiteleaf Manor looked like an excellent target, considering its distance from the city.
Upon Lyra’s request, I had dispatched several orc squads to survey the mountains for hidden monster lairs. They found nothing unusual: a few Roc Harpy nests, a massive Crystal Matriarch with her Crystal Piglets, and some Blood Eagles—no sign of insects or burrowers.
Other than the crushed stalagmites and the smell of putrefaction, nothing indicated that it was inhabited.
The cave went deeper than I expected.
“I think we can rule out bandits,” Astrid said.
Suddenly, [Foresight] caught a movement in the darkness.
Stonemason Ant Lv.7. Magical Beast. [Identify] Stonemason Ants are smart creatures who prefer dark and humid places to establish their nests. These creatures are extremely territorial and will dismantle any structure created by rival nests. Weakness: Light, Wind.
The ant was the size of a small dog with gray chitinous armor and tiny mandibles. They had two little black eyes on each side of the head, and their backs had the same appearance as the cave floor, perfect for camouflage. For a Lv.7 monster, it was way less intimidating than a Black Wolf. The ant turned its head towards us and moved its feelers for a moment before returning to lazily munch on the rock.
“Doesn’t seem aggressive compared to the other monsters I’ve met,” I pointed out.
Astrid approached the Stonemason Ant and poked its abdomen with the tip of her sandal.
The ant looked over its shoulder and let out an angry chirp.
“Sheesh, girl, I’m sorry!” Astrid said.
The ant turned around, insulted, and focused back on its work. Behind the Stonemason Ant, a dozen more nibbled on the stalagmites, turning them into fine dust. They noticed our presence but didn’t seem to care.
“Do you think they snuck into the mine?” Ash asked.
Looking at their work, they didn’t seem responsible for the disturbed stone square.
“One way or another, these will become a problem if they keep expanding their territory,” Astrid pointed out. “Should we clear them out?”
“I kinda feel bad for hurting a creature that isn’t actively looking to kill me,” I said.
Astrid rubbed her eyes.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me you said something like that? What’s next? Building them a nest in our living room next to Loki’s nap bed?”
Before I could answer, the ground trembled, and a piece of ceiling fell not far from us. The Stonemason Ants scattered as an army of brown ants rushed into the cave. The newcomers were bigger than the Stonemason Ants, with long serrated mandibles and bodies covered in Corruption streaks.
Corrupted Woodcarver Ant Lv.12. Corrupted Magical Beast. [Identify] Woodcarver Ants use their jaws to cut down trees and build floating wooden nests in the middle of lakes and rivers. These creatures are generally peaceful but attack those who approach their nests. They are great swimmers. Weakness: Light, Wind.
The Woodcarver Ants pounced on the Stonemason Ants, crushing their bodies. The Stonemason Ants, with their small mandibles and delicate legs, weren’t equipped to fight back.
“We should help the Stonemasons!” Ash said.
“Okay, but if they mistake us for enemies, don’t hesitate to attack,” I said.
Astrid grinned, and before I finished the sentence, she took a magic wand with a slime core from up her sleeve and summoned a cutting wind blade. Corruption only reacted when Astrid used mana from her mana pool. Using pre-recharged enchanted items didn’t seem to affect her.
The Corrupted Woodcarvers noticed our presence and charged at us.
Ash flicked his wand and a fireball the size of a fist hit the closest ant. Yellow and orange sparks exploded in every direction like a firework. Despite the chaos, Ash kept his cool, always aiming at the nearest enemy and scouting our surroundings to avoid getting surrounded.
Astrid shot towards the ant army, jumping from stalagmite to stalagmite like a circus acrobat while she unleashed a storm of wind blades on them. It was quite the sight. I could almost guess how deadly she was during her Zealot days.
Out of nowhere, a block of granite flew towards me. Instinctively, I raised a mana barrier, and the projectile shattered into a hundred pieces. Alarms went off inside my brain. Someone was using System Mana in huge quantities.
“I think we have our stone-slinger culprit,” I said.
A lone ant stood under the hole in the ceiling, its body covered in dark mana.
Corrupted Woodcarver Leader Lv.1̵̤̄3̵̪̄. Corrupted Beast. [I̶d̶en̴t̶i̷f̴y]. ???
The prompt disappeared just as another block of granite hit my mana barrier. The corrupted text sent a shiver down my spine, but I quickly recovered. The Corrupted Woodcarver Leader’s attacks didn’t seem strong enough to penetrate my mana barrier. The monster was only Lv.13, after all.
“Astrid!” I called the beastfolk girl. “That’s our target!”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” she replied with a fiendish smile on her face.
Astrid focused on the Woodcarver Leader, but her wand fizzled before she could attack. The only drawback of my enchanted wands was the limited mana storage. That didn’t seem to hinder Astrid’s eagerness to fight. With a swift movement, she pulled out four daggers from the folds of her robe.
The Woodcarver Leader realized its attacks wouldn’t hurt me and switched targets.
Astrid dodged the granite blocks, jumping and balancing her body over the stalagmites. Her movements made me wonder if her [Acrobatics] was corrupted like the rest of her Character Sheet. My gut told me it wasn't. Astrid moved like a dart, dodging ants and stone shards like she was in bullet time. With a graceful movement, she threw a knife and hit the Woodcarver Leader between the eyes.
Meanwhile, the Stonemason Ants were making their last stand around a crevice by the end of the cave.
“Let’s help them,” Ash panted, his forehead covered in sweat.
Although the boy unlocked [Mana Manipulation] at only thirteen years old, his mana pool was barely enough to activate my Blazing Wand a dozen times.
I put a hand on his shoulder.
“You did well, Ash. I’ll finish it,” I said.
I activated [Geokinesis]. Sharp stone spikes emerged from the ground and impaled the remaining invading Woodcarver Ants. A moment later, the shrieking and screeching of the combat ceased. Behind us, the Woodcarver Leader lay dead with a dozen daggers embedded in its head.
“Careful, they might be hostile towards us,” I said, but the Stonemason Ants worried more about bringing down my stone spikes than attacking us.
“Not the smartest creatures, uh?” Astrid said, stretching her back.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
Astrid elbowed my arm and grinned.
“I’m fine, man. Stop worrying for a second!” She said. If anything, her Corruption had been a blessing in disguise. She was free from the System’s hand. “How about you, Ash?” She asked.
“I smoked a couple of them,” the boy said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Astrid’s arm coiled around my neck as she poked my ribs with the tip of the drained wand. In any other situation, I would’ve been content with the outcome. Ash maintained his cool during his first encounter with real monsters, while Astrid showed she could fight even with all the Corruption flowing through her body. However, the corrupted text of the Woodcarver Leader’s prompt haunted me.
“Look!” Ash said.
Two bigger Stonemason Ants appeared from the hole in the wall. Like the others, they glanced at us and focused on their jobs. The two ants grabbed the bodies of the fallen combatants and dragged them into the hole from where they had appeared.
Janitor Stonemason Ant Lv.9. Magical Beast. [Identify] Janitor Stonemason Ants are responsible for cleaning the nest and preventing infections from proliferating among the workers. They use their feelers to detect rotting organic matter. Their senses are twice as powerful as a dog’s. Weakness: Light, Wind.
“Shall we see where they are taking the bodies?” I asked.
“I’m sure Old Abei would love to know everything about the habits of Stonemason Ants,” Ash replied.
“Please, don’t call Master Abei that.”
Astrid grinned.
We followed the Janitor Ants down a corridor with more Stonemason Ants. As we went further, the smell of rot and decay increased. Finally, we found out where the smell came from. The Janitor Ants dragged the bodies into an isolated chamber full of dead bodies. Most were old Stonemason Ants, but there were also Woodcarvers and other small animals that found their demise in the caves. I sighed in relief when I encountered no orcs among the death.
“I don’t think these ants are carnivorous,” Ash pointed out.
“Me neither,” I replied as I examined the gravesite.
The bodies of the old Stonemasons glittered under my flashlight.
Carcass of a Stonemason Ant. [Identify] A deceased old Stonemason Ant. The protruding structures on its body are formed by the accumulation of undigestible minerals.
I approached the graveyard and scratched one of those lumps from the back of the dead ant. The chitin cracked down under my fingers, but the lump remained. It was the size of a chickpea. I examined it.
Topaz. [Identify] A silicate mineral made of aluminum and fluoride. Has a high affinity with fire enchantments. Enchantment Threshold: 1000.
“Maybe we can coexist with these magnificent creatures,” I said, looking around. The mineral deposits on the ant’s backs weren’t just gemstones but iron, copper nuggets, and other useful minerals like lead and tin. “With a bit of ant repellant, we can totally coexist.”
Astrid sighed.
“Don’t come back crying when they chew on your precious railroad tracks.”
“Come on, Astrid. How can you not like them?” Ash asked, petting a passing Janitor Ant. The ant stopped and happily moved its feelers like a dog moved its tail. “They like head rubs.”
Astrid tried to pet the Janitor Ant, but the creature chirped angrily before skittering away. Astrid sighed, defeated. Beastfolk had a difficult relationship with wildlife, after all.
“Less petting and more working,” I said.
After gathering a pouch of semi-precious gemstones and metals, we left the Stonemason Ant nest and searched for more Corrupted Woodcarvers. We examined the old tunnels for the next hour but found nothing besides old ant battlefields. We had killed every single corrupted monster. As the effects of the Safebreathing potion ran out, we returned to the mine.
“It seemed it was just an isolated incident. Just a few ants waging war against each other,” Astrid said, in a very good mood.
I nodded, but the Woodcarver’s corrupted text occupied my mind.
Corruption had slowed down, but it hadn’t yet stopped.
“Send a message to Elincia and tell her today we celebrate,” Astrid said, putting an arm around Ash’s shoulders and messing his dark hair. “Ash just won his first battle against monsters. Let’s take the kid for a drink!”
“No drinks until he’s eighteen,” I replied with a smile. “But I guess we can arrange a small party.”
I pushed my worries away. As Astrid said, this had to be an isolated incident—just a rogue monster with corrupted text. If the Corruption situation were that bad, I’d get a message. After all, bad news travels fast.
Comments
Paul McGlynn
I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that he'll get a real, REAL friendly reminder eventually.
Trevayne
Thanks for the chapter. Forgetting about Murphy is bad. Failing to realize that Murphy was an optimist is worse.
Ben Bass
TYFTC! Congrats on Ash taking part in their first fight! I don’t think things are as positive as Astrid thinks. That corrupted leader ant is a bad sign of things to come.
bcd051
It's nice to have an MC that is OP, but doesn't flaunt it, uses it to protect people, but also is willing to make difficult choices. This is a well written character and I dig it. However, need more talk about the glory of potatoes
David Ellis
How has this man forgotten about Mr. Murphy?
