CH 19

Chapter 19: - Not Everything That Enters Our Mouths Is Delicious Food.

“Ugh, this is the most unpleasant job I’ve ever had in my life…”

“You’ve got to switch it up! Your muscles are crying.”

“Muscles don’t cry!”

Adjacent to the town of Atorumtein was a large silver mine. The dark, cold tunnels of the mine were filled with the strange conversation happening between Tia and Gonzo.

“That’s enough from both of you. So, Ed, are you sure this is the right direction?”

“Yes, of course.”

I nodded confidently to Alexis, who asked me while making a dismissive remark to Tia and Gonzo, who were arguing with each other. I was holding a map in my left hand, and on my right hand, which I had curled back into a ball, the familiar banishment skill [Akashic Compass] was present.

For this mission, I confided in Alexis and the others about the [Akashic Compass], one of the countless banishment skills I possessed. Knowing the existence of this, and having done a fair amount of verification … and searching for the clues hidden all over town… Alexis made the rather reckless decision to “close the mine for one day and evacuate all the workers”. They really took action. The authority of the hero was seriously impressive.

Incidentally, the reason I didn’t tell them about [Auto-Mapping] and had a borrowed map in my hand was because the military value of an accurate map was too high. Even if we were not talking about this aspect, if that ability was inadvertently leaked somewhere, there was a possibility of kidnapping or assassination. Well, if something like that were to come along, we would either beat them in a second or run away in a second.

“The fact that it can even detect the location of magical beasts in the mountains makes it a very useful magical tool indeed. It is inconvenient, though, that it can be used only by you. …” Alexis said.

“Ed has so many things; like that bag. where the hell did you find it?” Tia asked.

“Haha. Well, that’s a secret. … Let’s take that path to the left. The compass seems to be pointing that way.”

We walked quickly through the unoccupied tunnels. Since this was a place where people had worked until yesterday, there was no chance of strange magical beasts attacking us by surprise, and we knew exactly where our target was, so our vigilance was at a minimum. Then, with minimal physical and mental exhaustion, we went deeper and deeper … and eventually arrived at the end of the tunnel.

“Hm. Dead end.”

“What are you going to do, Ed? Don’t tell me you’re going to dig a hole from here to Rockworm’s place?” Tia questioned while looking at the dead end.

“Gahaha! Looks like it’s my turn to show off my muscles!”

“No, I’m going to ask you to postpone that option forever. … And there’s no need to dig a hole. See?”

I grinned at Tia and tapped on the rock face at the end of the road, lightly passing over old man Gonzo, who was showing off his muscles. Yeah, this one won’t collapse so easily. Then …

“Sei!”

I kicked as hard as I could at the rock wall. But of course, a mere kick didn’t do anything to the rock wall.

“Ed? What are you doing?” Confused, Tia asked.

“What, you wanna dig holes with your muscles? Hmph, fine. Sometimes it’s our duty as elders to let the young muscle do the work!”

“That’s not what I said! Sei!”

Two or three kicks and still no change on the rock wall.  …. Yes, there were no changes … not a single pebble fell, even though I was kicking as hard as I could. So, the shock accumulated again and again, and eventually Alexis sighed, right at that moment.

“This… How is it!”

My last kick shook the mine with a slight wobbling of my feet. I returned the impact that I had accumulated through my banishment skill [Orbit Reflector] in a single stroke.

It was not, however, something that would shatter the rock wall and make a huge hole. It only shook and conveyed the impact. ….That was enough. The vibration, which was different from the one I gave, was rapidly approaching us.

“We’ve caught the fish! They’re coming out!”

“All members, ready for battle!” Alexis shouted.

Alexis drew his holy sword at the same time I hastily took my place, and old man Gonzo stepped forward. His naked upper body, still without armor or even clothes, was boiling bright red, and steam was about to spurt out at any moment.

“GYUOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“HOOOOOO!!!!”

With a squeal, a rockworm mouth so large that it could swallow Tia whole came flying out. Old man Gonzo took the jagged teeth, which could chew up even hard ore, head-on in the flesh.

“Let’s go, Ed!”

“ORA!”

After confirming this, Alexis and I split to the left and right and ran past the rockworm. When we reached the wall, we thrust our swords deeply into the rockworm’s body.

“GYUOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“Heh~ You ain’t gonna get away from here.” I snickered.

“Tia!”

“I’ll take care of it!”

If it tried to move forward, old man Gonzo would get in his way, but if it tried to pull back, the sword me and Alexis had thrust into him would become a wedge that would cut his own mouth in half. Tia, in response to Alexis’ call, unleashed her all-out spirit magic against the rockworm, which was desperately flailing about in a desperate attempt to retreat.

“The red lance that glistens with red flames, the four-fingered spirit arm that pierces with dull light! Penetrate, tear, burn and extinguish! In the name of Lunaritia, manifest [Volcanic Lancer]!”

As soon as she finished her chanting, two bright red spears of flame slipped past Gonzo’s side and pierced into the mouth of the rockworm. Moreover, the spear didn’t fly in a straight line, but instead curved in all directions to match the shape of the rockworm’s body, flying inside its body to burn it completely from head to buttocks.

“GYUOOOOOOOO!!!?!!!?!”

The pain was so intense that the rockworm pulled itself into the hole, not even willing to tear its mouth open. The body was torn open, but only a small part of the huge body of the rockworm was exposed. In human terms, it would be like being cut in two from the neck up, but unfortunately, the head of a rock worm was not a vital part of the body, so even though it was extremely painful, it would not kill it.

Tia’s magic was not powerful enough to completely burn the rock worm’s entire body. If this kept up, the rockworm would be able to escape into the rocks and enjoy a relaxing vacation in a place where we couldn’t touch it. …

“Sorry, you’ll have to wait until another time for your vacation.”

“Ed!?”

Tia called out to me from behind as I jumped into the mouth of the rockworm without hesitation. I ignored it and activated the [Hermes Dash]. Taking advantage of the fact that everything around it was soft flesh, I forced my way through the body of the rock worm, and when I reached the middle of the body, I found a part of the wall of flesh that was raised.

“I stand by my earlier statement. You can rest … forever! Blood Sword Refinement!”

With the knife at my waist, I slit my right wrist and thrust the blood that flowed out that turned into a blade into the area of the varicose vein. Then, the whole area vibrated … and the movement stopped.

“Ehe~. The hilt is gone, so I can’t make the Sword of Thin Life, but I can make this one. There’s nothing it can’t pierce! I win, you worm.”

While healing the wound on my wrist with the banishment skill [Regenerate], I announced my victory quietly, alone in the belly of the scorching, foul-smelling magical beast.