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TL: ALT
Chapter 214 – Day 45 of Management Life
When I woke up, Hel was adding wood to the bonfire.
“What about the monsters?”
Thanks to the monsters shielding us from the wind, I had slept soundly.
“Sylvia’s watching them. Gargoyles usually stay still, so they shouldn’t be much trouble.”
“Are you both feeling better now?”
Hel and Sylvia had been so impatient about their awakening that they suffered serious injuries.
“Thanks to you, I’m fine.”
“Don’t push yourself.”
“No, I was thinking of pushing myself and haunting you again.”
When I first met Hel, she turned into a living spirit.
“I didn’t like that. Please find another way.”
“I’ll cling to Makyo if I have to, just to survive. The soup’s warming up. Once Chel wakes up, you can leave anytime,” Hel said while hanging a pot over the campfire.
It seemed she was also drying the hooded coat.
Such thorough preparations for a disaster were rare.
We warmed ourselves with mushroom soup. When Chel woke up, Sylvia helped her put on the coat.
“Shock, slashes, and the like can be blocked by the magic circles woven into the lining. I also have a hammer made from a dragon’s tooth. Want to bring it?”
Sylvia seemed to gain confidence when talking about weapons.
“Hmm…”
“Since there are no magic circles woven into it, pure magical attacks should pass through without restriction…”
“I’ll bring it. But this time, it’s just for preparation for negotiations, so there shouldn’t be any fighting.”
“That’s the best outcome.”
I slung the two-handed hammer over my back; it didn’t feel particularly heavy.
My dungeon quietly clung to my body under my coat. I had equipped myself with dried meat, a waterskin, and healing potions for emergencies.
“Chel. If we ever end up in Midgard, I won’t be able to go in.”
“Hm? Oh, the dungeon. I suppose it’s about time we found a proper place for that little one, huh?”
The dungeon, wriggling and shifting, showed no intention of leaving me anytime soon. I was gradually learning to alter not just its shape but also its size. Using spatial magic, I could increase the maximum size of its swallowing capacity. The only flaw was that it would sometimes swallow things whole and digest them.
The sky remained dark today. It probably wouldn’t clear up until the giant magical beast left.
“Shall we go?”
“Alright.”
Rain gathered in Chel’s hand, forming a water sphere.
I plunged my hand into the sphere and sensed its buoyancy; my body naturally used levitation magic.
Chel was also floating in the air without issue.
We flew just above the treetops of the coniferous forest, passing over Hel and the others. As long as we didn’t forget the initial buoyancy, we could withstand gusts, even if it rained or the wind blew.
As we headed east, the rain grew heavier. I thought I might get cold, but the coat was excellent, and I didn’t feel cold at all. If anything, it felt muggy.
“It’s coming.”
Chel’s voice made me look up. Inside the clouds, a vortex swirled with lightning streaking through it. Smoke-like clouds hung down from the vortex.
Thud.
An earth-shaking rumble echoed, and a giant magical beast emerged from the clouds.
“We’re boarding.”
…Thud.
“Huh!?”
The giant magical beast took a step forward, then halted abruptly and began to change direction.
For countless years, the beast had trodden the same path with the same stride, heading through the ruins of Midgard towards the desert. Now, it turned eastward.
The path of the giant magical beast, unchanged for a thousand years, had altered.
Thud.
“It’s the earth’s veins! It’s being pulled by a greater current!”
“Where is it going!?”
“The sea?! We have to report this to Lute immediately!”
We flew toward the neck of the headless giant beast.
Lute, the Keeper of Time, was signaling to us as he turned his magic stone lamp. He looked exactly the same as he had three months ago.
“Well, it’s been a while for you two, I suppose. Makyo and Chel, right? The giant magical beast is changing course. Did something happen?”
Lute asked casually, as if it were nothing.
“In the southern part of the demonic land, now the land of the bird-people tribe called Cliff Garuda, we pulled out the ‘Sealing Wedge’ located there. That’s why the flow of the earth veins changed.”
“You mean that massive stake said to split continents!?”
“Yes. A Beast Demon Disease was spreading among the nearby bird people, and a harpy swarm appeared. Then, a great storm struck the village, dealing devastating damage. We tried to lift the curse, but it required pulling the stake.”
“Huh… Well, it sounds like quite the ordeal.”
One day might not be enough time to explain three months. How much of this could Lute possibly grasp?
“The supplies are stored in the teleportation magic circle in the western cave,”
Chel reported.
“That’s a relief. The food should have reached Midgard inside the dungeon, too.”
Lute pointed at the giant magical beast dungeon. Lute’s food supplies had been delivered three months ago.
“Do you have enough food?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. The food here will last another month. Well, seven and a half years in your time flow. How’s the Keeper’s soul doing since you took it?”
He was referring to Ka-Ryu.
“Yes, she’s in the southwest town, building a lighthouse with the undead. For the descendants of the Magic Sealing Clan.”
“Oh, right. I meant to ask you all sorts of things when you arrived, but now that you’re here, I don’t know what to ask.”
Lute scratched his head and let out a blank laugh.
“Well, then. I have a request. Is that all right?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“We’ve decided on a relocation spot for this giant magical beast.”
“Oh? Where is it?”
“The place where the ‘Sealing Wedge’ was earlier has turned into the perfect magic energy pool. We’d like to take it there. Is that okay?”
“If you can take it, that’s fine. But we’ll need to tell the people of Midgard, too.”
“Yes, I included a letter with similar details in the supplies I sent.”
“I see. You should receive a response in three months or six months.”
“I suppose that will mark the end of your time travel. Is that acceptable?”
“Ah, so that’s how it will be. I don’t know what the nobles in cold sleep will say. If they don’t like it, they’ll just travel through time again using the magic circle.”
“I met the White Deer God.”
“Wasn’t that Satra’s evil god?”
That was right. Lute didn’t know everything, either.
“It was likely the God of Time. Since it helped remove the ‘Sealing Wedge,’ I don’t know if it can travel through time again to return.”
“Even now, they sleep to transcend the decay of their own flesh. Their philosophy is beyond the understanding of mere mortals.”
Lute chuckled. “I see. So, we’re heading to the southern magic pool? Light clothing might be fine then.”
Meanwhile, a black chimera golem emerged from the dungeon, but Chel and I destroyed it instantly. I handed the cube from the golem to Lute.
“Huh? Something’s definitely off here!”
Lute shouted, cube in hand.
“Even though it’s headless, this giant magical beast, the Ten-Thousand-Year Turtle, is on a different path.”
Looking left through the torrential rain and whirlwinds, we saw the mountain range forming the border with the Elven Kingdom.
“That’s right.”
“How does it gather the magic power needed to activate the time magic circle?”
Was the giant magical beast collecting soil and water while walking, absorbing magic power?
“What happens if it runs out of magic power?”
“This Ten Thousand Year Turtle has no will, so it will just keep walking, following the earth’s veins.”
Then it’ll end up in the sea.
“If it reaches the sea, blood will flow, and it might get eaten by monsters before we can move it. That’s bad, right?”
“Yeah, that’s bad.”
Lute and Chel looked at me simultaneously.
I could easily imagine the giant magical beast’s carcass sinking into the sea before we could negotiate with Midgard’s inhabitants. Perhaps the area of the sea where it sank would become unusable. Trade with the Meiju Kingdom might collapse.
“Isn’t the giant magical beast absorbing magic power directly from the Earth’s veins?”
“It absorbs magic power from dead monsters and the land itself, but I’ve never heard of it sucking power directly from the earth’s veins.”
“What the hell!”
We have to hurry and create a magic power reservoir!
“I don’t know how much I can do, but I’ll try my best. When you see the sea, fly to land.”
“G-got it!”
Chel and I took Lute’s advice and immediately flew into the stormy sky. I hadn’t thought about it, but the dungeon must have covered my body in water.
“This isn’t the time to listen to the Keeper of Time’s story! The fleeing monsters are getting trampled by the giant magical beast!”
“Yeah, you’re right. Hmph!”
I imbued my two-handed hammer with wind magic and moved ahead of the giant magical beast. Like sweeping with a broom, I blew the fleeing monsters away.
“Chel, Can you do it?”
Chel nodded and took the hammer.
“What about Makyo?”
“Whatever happens, we have to stop it. I’ll dig a pitfall trap at the eastern edge.”
“Huh?! What are you talking about?”
“All right then, you take care of it!”
I left the monsters’ evacuation to Chel and flew east.
Following the earth veins, I found an old iron mine.
The open-pit mine has a bowl-shaped depression that should easily swallow the giant magical beast whole.
My speed had increased dramatically since I gained the ability to fly. After seeing the area around the white serpent frozen solid, I flew for about an hour. Before I knew it, I had reached the old iron mine.
“Now it’s just a matter of whether I can dig down to the earth veins.”
As I removed my coat, the hidden dungeon revealed itself.
Numerous side tunnels had been dug into the old iron mine.
“Partner, where do you think the right spot is?”
I asked the dungeon, but it merely tilted its serpentine head.
“There’s no ‘right’ spot, is there? Then I’ll just have to make one.” I should’ve had Sylvia make me a pickaxe.”
I straightened my posture and focused. After confirming the earth vein’s position, I directed my magic power toward the ground.
Surprisingly, the tunnel had been dug right up to the vein.
“Ah, I should’ve brought a magic stone lamp.”
As soon as I said that, the dungeon pulled a magic stone lamp out of its mouth and showed it to me.
“What the hell? Did you steal it? This is the right tunnel. Light the way.”
I gave the dungeon instructions and entered the tunnel leading to the earth vein.
A black iron Guardian Spider appeared halfway through. Its first attack is always a heat ray, so I blocked the opening it was firing from with collapsed rocks.
Gulp.
Dungeon, who had been watching, swallowed the spider whole. He must have trapped it with spatial magic.
“You swallowed it?”
Dungeon tilted his head, showing no sign of remorse.
“Don’t get an upset stomach.”
The brightness of the magic stone lamp made it clear that the concentration of magic power was steadily increasing.
“Look. Magic stone particles are appearing on the walls and ground.”
The magic stones reflected the lamp’s light. Eventually, this place might become a magic stone mine.
“Let’s stop here for now. Stay back.”
I said, but the dungeon wouldn’t leave my side as I channeled magic power into my arm.
With no other choice, I released magic power from my finger, creating a hole in the earth’s veins.
Psssh!
Magic power erupted like purple smoke.
I led the dungeon and hurried back along the path we had come.
When we reached the bottom of the bowl-shaped area, Guardian Spiders emerged from other tunnels.
Spotting us, they attacked us with heat rays without warning.
“I’ve got that attack covered.”
No matter how many heat rays they aimed at me, I could easily dodge them once I saw their initial movement.
I kindly asked all the Guardian Spiders to return to the tunnels they came from.
Amid the pouring rain, the thudding footsteps of a giant magical beast echoed loudly.
Magic power gradually pooled at the bottom of the mine.
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