Magic Stone Mine Request (2)

When I finished the work late at dawn and settled down to take a rest, Go Yu-jin, who had woken up, asked.

“Is it all finished?”

“For now, it is finished.”

“It would have taken others several days; you really are amazing.”

I lightly nodded at Go Yu-jin’s praise, but An So-mi, who had just woken up, spoke as if she had seen it.

“Don’t just accept it with an expression that says you did something so obvious. Don’t you know humility?”

“Because it’s something I don’t need to be humble about.”

An So-mi looked at me with a face that said she couldn’t stop me. However, since An So-mi always seemed full of complaints and dissatisfaction, I also asked her a question.

“If you’re always that full of irritation, what fun do you have living in this world?”

“I’m just sensitive about my satisfaction levels. I have no complaints about living. And I’m living quite fun enough, you know?”

“If so, then that’s a relief.”

An So-mi glared with narrowed eyes, and Go Yu-jin shook her head as she stepped between us.

“Seong-chan should rest too, so get some sleep. We will keep an eye on the surroundings.”

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

It wasn’t that I overexerted myself, but this was an exploration that could end at any time. In fact, mine explorations could take as little as two days, four days on average, or stretch up to fifteen days if long.

Therefore, there was no need to set a forced schedule.

After that, while I was taking a proper rest, the two of them left their spots, and I fell asleep to the light melody coming from the core.

How long did I rest like that?

I opened my eyes to a small presence and soon flowed my mana to grasp the location where someone was approaching.

‘Four people…’

Judging by the sound of footsteps and their stealth, they were definitely Awakeners.

There are largely two types of Awakeners who approach a ‘core’.

One is when government officials approach to check if the core is being properly protected, and the other is a group trying to forcibly close the Gate by destroying the core because they do not want anyone to own the mine.

This happened often in international relations, and considering they were individuals approaching stealthily, it was likely not with good intentions.

‘Guests. How should I handle them?’

This was a place where movement was restricted. In such a place, one could cause massive damage just by digging a trap and waiting.

Moreover, since the intention of the approaching group was the destruction of the core, they would inevitably fall into a trap. So I pondered what kind of trap to use to mess with them, and soon I planted mana throughout the cave and set light explosion traps.

Next, I planned to obstruct their vision by creating a black fog trap as a linked trap to trigger simultaneously with the explosion trap, and I proceeded to enchant it with Paralyze using infusion magic.

With the traps installed in an instant, I emitted a light message magic toward that location in a ‘diffusion’ form.

“If you approach further, I cannot guarantee your lives. So, withdraw.”

If I were to attack them without warning, they might instead use that to raise an issue, so along with the light warning, I also activated and operated Image Save magic to leave a video recording of the situation.

It was literally to create proof that the opponent had ignored my warning.

As a result, the entire process was finished in an instant, but the opponents did not seem to have any intention of stopping.

They continued to approach, and seeing them emit mana while stopped at the location where the first explosion trap was installed, I was certain they were uninvited guests.

‘How will they respond?’

I was curious about their actions. So I searched for insects common in the cave and used Wizard Eye after making one into a familiar.

The insect, which now shared my vision, identified the intruders.

‘Two men and two women, dressed in black with even their faces covered, and the masks are… familiar.’

For some reason, organizations that worked stealthily always wore matching outfits. And the guests who had come for the job now were members of a quite famous underworld organization.

They were people who mainly focused on closing Gates, assassinations, or infiltration.

‘The Chinese seem quite desperate for us not to have an additional mine.’

There were only about 600 Magic Stone mines in the entire world.

It was common for a country not to have even one. However, South Korea was a small nation, yet it had been reaping massive profits by operating four Magic Stone mines.

It was no exaggeration to say that by having hero-class individuals as directors to strictly control and defend the entrances, they had contributed to the history of world development with massive profits.

Even a massive country like China only possessed six mines without any disputes. So their pride might have been wounded since we were about to obtain one more.

‘Their rank must be quite high.’

The act of naturally grasping the location of the explosion traps and interpreting the mana made them look like experts, and observing them neutralizing the traps while picking them apart one by one with various pointers showed they were quite experienced.

‘I wonder how much skill they have?’

I was not afraid of them. It was just a nuisance.

The reason the government had additionally deployed 1st or 2nd generation Awakeners was because of such interrupters.

They should have handled it themselves, but they used mercenaries like us, claiming that it took time because of those ‘authorizations’.

They did not stop their actions despite the warning. So, while I was debating whether to handle it alone, Go Yu-jin and An So-mi, who had been exploring the inner area, rushed over and asked.

“There was a flow of mana; what’s going on?”

“We have guests. It seems a specific organization is trying to intervene; at what level should I set the response?”

Only then did Go Yu-jin also emit mana and grasp the general situation.

Search ability is an ability that anyone who has rolled around battlefields cannot help but develop. Soon, as if she had deduced the number of opponents and their approximate skill, Go Yu-jin spoke.

“Subduing them and digging for their mastermind would be the best thing, but is that possible?”

“It’s not impossible. If I just create problems for those who are approaching while removing them, that will be enough.”

Hearing my words, An So-mi had a look on her face asking what that meant, but I moved my mana nonchalantly, increased the weight of the insect I had made into a familiar with mana, and made it charge into the pre-prepared explosion trap.

In an instant, black fog spread with a small explosion, and just as it covered the four intruders, I spoke to Go Yu-jin and An So-mi, who were about to move at the sign of them trying to quickly turn and run.

“It’s a curse that is absorbed and applied through the skin. Most people are easily fooled because they tend to think you have to inhale it to be affected by a curse.”

The two of them stood still and stared at me blankly, and soon, after confirming the presence of the intruders slowing down rapidly in less than 10 seconds, I began moving toward the frozen individuals while slowly deactivating the traps I had set.

When about five minutes had passed like that, I was able to capture the four of them, and I spoke to those who were struggling to dissolve my mana and break the Paralyze while in their frozen state.

“If your level is lower than mine, it will last at least 30 minutes, so don’t struggle, and only those who want to live should move their eyes up and down.”

Then, all four of them moved their eyes up and down fiercely.

‘Are they loose-lipped for members of an information organization?’

If not that, they might just be doing it out of a simple desire to live.

‘They might be trying to spill information quickly after realizing the person who captured them is a black mage.’

“Now, I’ll take the information without torture. Execute: eyes up-up, down-down, left-right.”

It was six eyeballs looking dismayed at my playful behavior, but among them, one quick-witted pair of eyes moved as I wanted. So I immediately reached out toward the other three and applied stimulation with a strong current using ‘Electric Shock’.

“Kughhhh!!”

“Kuh-eup!!”

Two of them were electrocuted while unable to even open their mouths, and I pointed at one of them and spoke.

“Why didn’t you get electrocuted?”

Trembling, the eyes expressed extreme anxiety.

“Oops, it seems I habitually reached out my power to only two. I have a habit of taking down ‘even numbers’, you see. I’ll kindly do yours with the portion for two people.”

At that moment, the guy moved his eyes fiercely up-up, down-down, left-right.

In the end, I ‘pretended’ to contemplate while looking at the two of them and spoke.

“I’m going to hear information separately. Instead, if I think either of you is lying, I’ll make you vividly feel what it’s like to rather want to die, so you must speak only the truth. Got it?”

To the guys who replaced their answer by moving their eyes up-up, down-down, left-right, I snapped my fingers and weakened the Paralyze of one fellow.

It was the guy who had moved his eyes first.

As soon as he gained a bit of freedom, the guy spoke urgently.

“I-I will tell you everything. Please just spare my life!!”

“I know. If you only tell the truth, I won’t have any particular reason to kill you with my own hands. You’ll be able to breathe the outside air and live out your natural life. Keep that in mind. Let’s go.”

I used mana to manipulate the opponent’s body, and as I moved toward the inner part of the cave, I spoke to Go Yu-jin.

“I’ll be back within five minutes. If any problem occurs, please emit mana immediately.”

“Yes… I understand.”

Go Yu-jin was looking at me as if I were a mysterious creature. An So-mi had a similar look, though I wasn’t sure why.

After moving further into the cave for about a minute, I set up a barrier with mana and began to talk.

I quickly questioned him about the organization he belonged to, his rank, his name, and the mastermind or client, and after a confirmation process to see if what I remembered was correct, I returned immediately.

Then, after paralyzing him again, I took another fellow and moved him just like the first one to dig for information.

In the process, I started asking about several additional pieces of information, and the guy spilled everything when I spoke as if I already knew; after finishing the talk with him and joining the group, I dragged one of the electrocuted guys who had regained consciousness and began to question him as if aggregating all the information I knew in a similar way.

After obtaining consistent information, I called Go Yu-jin and released the information I had gotten from them, and she looked somewhat surprised.

“A government official is involved?”

This was a part that surprised me a bit as well.

I had thought another country was trying to close this place down. But a Korean government official had hired personnel to cause problems for the mine’s closure.

“Have you heard of Chu Jin-yeong?”

“He is the Vice Minister of Industry.”

The Ministry of Industry is the department that manages all mining industries in the country. I didn’t quite understand why someone as high as a Vice Minister would request such a thing, but I could expect that digging into this matter would involve something quite significant.

“What will you do?”

If we just handled them now, we could simply wash our hands of it and move on.

There was no need to get involved in a nuisance. So I asked for Go Yu-jin’s thoughts.

“…What would happen if we reported this fact to the government?”

“On the contrary, the evidence isn’t clear, and it would be difficult to prove or punish them just by listening to their words. Literally, if they persist in saying we framed the government, it would become a source of conflict in many ways.”

Furthermore, there aren’t many government officials who would sincerely accept what a black mage says.

Go Yu-jin let out a sigh, so I thought she was going to bury it just like that.

“I have to hold them accountable. Because they might have been trying to screw us over.”

“Well, if that’s what you want… I shall actively help.”

“Thank you.”