Magic Stone Mine Request

The news was in an uproar day after day.

The matter was that serious.

Criticisms from journalists followed, asking what the government had been doing until such an event occurred at Seoul Station, and there was much talk in the political sphere in the form of urging punishment for those responsible.

However, the interesting point was that public opinion, which was already poor, turned even worse at the news that the perpetrator was a black mage; they began to denounce black mages as if they were social evils, and the political world attempted to muddy the waters.

In reality, it was an issue that could not quite be called “muddying the waters,” but An So-mi and Go Yu-jin felt frustrated that all black mages were being treated as a single lot.

“Why on earth are they so desperate to tear black mages apart!”

At An So-mi’s angry shout, Go Yu-jin also yelled along with her.

“Exactly! We wrapped it up well with minimal damage. If the one person who caused the accident died, that should be it, so why all this fuss!”

The reason was simple. They used those who were no different from scapegoats in order to prevent the arrows from being pointed at themselves.

“Don’t they use the expression ‘operating in the shadows’? There are 3,000 black mages in Seoul alone, and 20,000 nationwide. How much more would that number increase on a global scale?”

Upon hearing my words, Go Yu-jin cornered me, asking whose side I was on.

So I spoke calmly.

“It’s not about whose side I’m on, but rather that everyone survives on their own. There’s also an interesting statistic.”

Then I paid attention to an article.

Go Yu-jin and An So-mi also examined the part I was focusing on, which was an article related to rampages, noting the fact that this black mage rampage incident was not such a massive deal.

“It says the ones most frequently involved in rampage incidents are of the ‘Warrior’ class. Interestingly, the ‘Mage’ class follows. Looking at it, they are just using us as scapegoats now as they did in the past. Doesn’t this government hate black mages quite a bit?”

The current president was a war hero. From that perspective, he likely had acquaintances among various groups of people, and most of them were heroes who were active on the front lines together.

However, among the three people known as particularly eccentric heroes who were active on the front lines, two were black mages.

Moreover, their relationship with the president was not good.

It might be because they often fought over achievements, but it was also because they clashed a lot over the chain of command while being treated as top heroes.

‘It would be nice if the resentment were resolved between the parties involved, but they aren’t the kind of people to do that.’

“It is upsetting.”

“You’re right. Just how much longer do we have to be treated like this?”

“If these things don’t happen at all and it stays quiet for a few years, another job class will surely be crowned as the scapegoat like us. That will be the period for an image makeover. It’s useless before then.”

The two were left speechless by my blunt evaluation.

Black mages not causing accidents?

That would be similar to Gates no longer opening.

So I spoke to change the atmosphere.

“Let’s go to work. Didn’t you say there was cleanup work today?”

Since today was not a Gate where one would see ‘blood’, even An So-mi was deployed to the field. Because of that, the office was lively from the morning.

“I hate mines…”

I lightly ignored An So-mi’s complaint and got into the vehicle, and after traveling for about an hour, we reached a village on the outskirts of Goyang-si.

“I think I heard this place used to be quite lively, but it’s desolate now, isn’t it?”

Just as Go Yu-jin said, the neighborhood we visited was called ‘Hwajeon’.

It was an area where an aviation university was located before the Great Cataclysm, and when the aviation industry was quite developed, it was a fairly decent area due to the infrastructure and many students.

However, after the Great Cataclysm, the aviation industry died.

The reason was simple.

Airplanes that produced massive noise often became targets for flying monsters, and even additional massive losses occurred due to debris scattered during crashes, leading the industry to develop in a completely different direction.

That was the ‘Portal’ business, which began to activate based on new materials and various Awakeners.

At any rate, it meant the world had become one where airplanes were no longer needed at all.

Consequently, unlike the early stages of the incident when efforts were made to reorganize and revitalize the school in other ways, the region itself had now collapsed as if everyone had given up.

But a Gate appeared in such a place, and ironically, because it was a mine-type Gate, there was a sense of expectation that it might become an opportunity for the area to become lively again.

“It’s been a long time since a Gate investigation.”

As Go Yu-jin said, the investigation of this Gate was for exploring the inside of the mine as well as ensuring safety.

There was only one known threat factor so far: the ‘Golem’ existing inside the mine, which was something commonly used as mining machinery but had turned into a monster due to some cause.

“I heard quite a few Golem users have gathered; are they valuable as byproducts too?”

“I don’t know the details. Even I, who am called a Golem Meister, actually specialize in handling undead golems.”

She seemed to feel curious.

This was because we, who could use the powers of the Summoner class, were well aware of how golems operated anyway.

“A Magic Stone mine…”

Commonly, after hunting monsters, extracting the Magic Stones settled somewhere in their bodies and using them as an energy source is the core of the current new materials industry on Earth.

In all byproducts, including leather, blood, internal organs, and bones, a power called ‘Magic Essence’ dwells, which is a slightly different concept from mana; by converting and utilizing this in various forms, it is a power to the point where those seeking the source of mana might even ask if this too isn’t ‘mana’.

Regardless, there were numerous researchers saying it was strictly different, and since they said it was different, everyone had no choice but to agree.

Anyhow, thanks to the discovery of that Magic Stone mine, everyone was almost dancing with joy.

‘They say regional development happens through simple opportunities…’

The area near the Gate was already lively, and I expected circumstances to change greatly depending on how long the Gate would remain.

“Isn’t the investigation mostly over?”

I shrugged at An So-mi’s question, and as mine and An So-mi’s eyes turned toward Go Yu-jin, she sighed and answered.

“Why don’t you listen during the briefing?”

An So-mi feigned ignorance, and I spoke confidently.

“I won’t remember it all anyway.”

“Honestly… you two need some mental training.”

“So how long do they say it will likely last?”

“They say about three years. Although that’s the maximum limit, the Gate’s maintenance itself can change for any reason, so we can’t be too hasty.”

Three years was a considerably long period.

It meant a period where, literally, everything inside the mine could be picked apart, tasted, and enjoyed, which was likely why people’s expressions seemed even more festive.

“Will the price of Magic Stones get a bit cheaper?”

“Isn’t this the fifth one?”

Go Yu-jin nodded at my question.

It meant there were a total of five Magic Stone mines in the country.

Magic Stone mines existed worldwide, but it was rare to have five in such a small land.

Even China, which boasted a vast territory, did not exceed ten.

Even those were in a state where frequent disputes over ownership occurred with various countries because they appeared near the borders.

At any rate, it was clear that there was a festive atmosphere for now.

“Oh, it looks like they’re about to head in.”

It seemed all inspections that could be done from the outside were completed, and a government official leading the miners was seen entering the Gate.

Countless personnel followed behind them, and while looking at them, Go Yu-jin spoke.

“Let’s head in slowly as well. It’s a request to figure out how far the mine digs in anyway, so there’s no reason to rush.”

“We might have to hold out for up to a week if it’s long, though?”

Hearing my words, An So-mi told me not to say such horrible things, and Go Yu-jin also, though I don’t know what she was worried about, sternly told me not to say it, as words can become reality.

Investigation Day One.

There were largely two things to investigate on the first day.

One was to identify the density of the core that maintained the Gate.

Since it could only be confirmed by digging fairly deep inside, powerful Awakeners were deployed first to secure and identify it.

However, since mine Gates generally had almost nothing to be gained from hunting monsters, they were Gates that Awakeners with decent power avoided at all costs, and the general assessment was that they were Gates where so-called ‘nobodies’ or ‘extras’—Awakeners from the 4th generation onwards—participated.

Yet, we were deployed to such a place.

The reason was partly to identify the core density mentioned earlier, but also because high-grade black mages like us were needed to perform the work of guarding the core and preventing anyone’s prior access.

Since no one could match us in techniques related to sealing as well as curses, it was a natural creation of jobs.

As a result, we had to descend into the mine on the first day to identify the core.

‘It’s in a fairly deep place.’

There was the matter of simply handling the golems encountered while moving, and since it had been a while since we were in a Gate where one didn’t see ‘blood’, both Go Yu-jin and I were being spared the trouble thanks to An So-mi, who was actively participating.

“It feels so good to sweat after such a long time! All my stress is flying away!”

If one were to talk about the stress received so far, it would probably just be the glares due to the bad reputation.

Making good money, steady work, certain commute times, and with the only flaw being the public’s assessment, wouldn’t this be considered a ‘white-collar’ job?

Regardless, unlike me, who had no complaints in many ways because Go Yu-jin did not run a black company, it seemed stress was piling up for her for whatever reason.

‘They say women are not creatures to be understood, and it seems that’s true.’

It was something the comrades I met while wandering battlefields used to say.

Did they say cats and women should be viewed on the same level?

Thanks to the active destruction magic, we smoothly found the Gate core on the first day, and I was put in charge of its sealing.

An So-mi was a Destruction Mage, and Go Yu-jin was a Golem Meister—technically a Summoner. Only the fact that she was the physical type was a bit of a quirk.

I was the only one who could properly use sealing magic, so I ended up emitting magic power and building multiple layers of magic power barriers around the Gate core.

At least ten or more had to be maintained to buy time against a strong impact, and in the case of the barrier constructed to protect the Gate core, I installed four or five mana accumulation circles next to the final defense shield inside.

The reason was that since it was black magic powered by magic power, the basic power flowing in the surrounding atmosphere, evaluated as ‘mana’, had to be drawn and converted into magic power.

The only magic capable of this was the mana accumulation circle, and it was common to seal it by converting it into magic power and configuring it to form and maintain the remaining defensive walls.

Since the stronger the foundation, the more perfect the barrier becomes, I focused on it, but while I was working for a long while, the two women had fallen asleep out of boredom; I looked at them for a moment, mesmerized by how they looked like nothing less than angels while sleeping, before resuming my work and thus ending the first day quite normally.