More than three years ago, due to some special reasons, the superiors ordered the cessation of the excavation of the Kanda magic stone mine. All the miners were withdrawn, remaining closed off until today.
The seventh squadron was only responsible for the peripheral defense, monitoring whether there was any activity in the protective array. They didn’t know much about what was inside the magic stone mine.
“You’ve worked hard. I’ll take some people inside to investigate, and we may stay for several months.”
After listening to Captain Beke’s narrative, Ivan went straight to the entrance of the magic stone mine with Locke.
Sorcerers are human too. There were a total of 11 people in the seventh squadron, stationed in this remote wilderness for years, and they inevitably harbored some resentment. Plus, the folks from the City Lord’s Residence had their pride, and they weren’t particularly intimidated by the status of a Level 2 Sorcerer.
If it had been an average person coming to take over the mode mine, Beke and his people definitely wouldn’t have been so cooperative.
Ivan seemed to be enjoying the treatment of a celebrity; the people of the fourth legion not only caused no trouble but also spilled everything they knew, with some members nearly asking for his autograph.
The entrance to the magic stone mine was located half a kilometer behind the encampment.
By the stone cliff, the earth moved fluidly like flowing water to both sides, creating an opening. As a group entered, the soil once again closed slowly, returning to its original state.
The external entrance was a cool cave, giving off a suffocating and oppressive feeling.
“Boss, do you know the reason?”
“I know some.”
Ivan casually responded.
The higher-ups had given him the Kanda magic stone mine for a reason related to his research project. It mentioned the origin of the Black Magic Wind Fire Array, which was the “black-robed monster” born in the Kanda magic stone mine at Mongna Ant Land Cottage.
The Kanda magic stone mine had undergone similar changes.
They wanted him to continue his research on the Black Magic Wind Fire Array, so they allotted this place to him.
This was what the messenger from the City Lord’s Residence who delivered the contract and “earth stone command” had told Ivan.
“Once we’re inside, you’ll understand.” Ivan took out the “earth stone command,” pressed it against the inner side of the protective array barrier, and a two-person high passageway appeared in the center.
Like other magic stone mines, the Kanda magic stone mine was also covered by a defensive sorcery array.
The earth stone formation—an intermediate Earth-type runes sorcery array—with energy gathering, protection, monitoring, and extermination effects.
He could see that this was a basic yet comprehensive defensive sorcery array, melded with the surrounding earth—simple to the point of complexity. The earth stone command he held was the master controller of the earth stone formation and also a high-level magicalized item.
With the earth stone command, the group walked steadily down the passage and arrived at the mining area of the magic stone mine, where its distinct aura hit them.
“Indeed befitting of a large-scale magic stone mine, this aura is very—very—” Locke praised, but his words trailed off.
“Ancient, profound, substantial—making one unconsciously want to maintain a solemn demeanor, except for the likes of you who are irreverent,” Ivan’s senses spread forward along the dim cave.
Compared to the Kanda and Solo magic stone mines that he had visited, the unique atmosphere of the Kanda magic stone mine, accurate for its large scale, was especially intense, causing the concentration of other energy particles to drop.
It would also suppress spiritual power. If a 3rd Class apprentice were to come here, they would be fortunate to exhibit half of their abilities.
Ivan and Locke were barely affected, while the Silkworm Queen and swamp ants were slightly suppressed by it, but not significantly so.
“I’m just trying to share the burden with you,” Locke muttered under his breath.
“This is our territory, summon your people, and get ready to work,” Ivan said, ignoring him and instructing the Silkworm Queen and swamp ants accompanying them.
“Alright!”
“As commanded.”
Following his orders, the Silkworm Queen released the other rapid wood silkworms, including Scented Butterflies and Wind Moths, while the swamp ant called forth a host of ant sentinels.
In a short time, the number of participants grew from a handful to hundreds.
Without mentioning strength, just the momentum alone made a difference, reducing the darkness within the cave considerably.
As expected, the Kanda magic stone mine, being much larger than medium-sized mines like Kanda and Solo, took on an impressive front as all the creatures explored deeply into the mines following Ivan’s command.
The three-plus years weren’t long enough for many other creatures to breed, so the journey was uneventful and safe.
As they reached a certain point, unusual noises came from ahead.
A subterranean palace appeared at the end of one cavern, with shadows flickering inside, apparently holding an important meeting marked by intense and humorous disputes.
“Earl Wildwolf, why were you absent without cause from the court banquet I hosted yesterday, an event of such importance?”
“Begging your pardon, Grand Duke Flaming Tiger, yesterday I was on my way here in an airship, but on the route, I received an urgent notice from the domain’s defense troops. A ferocious beast had descended from the mountains, entering my region, slaughtering the people, and wreaking havoc.
I had no choice but to return to my domain to combat this fearsome beast. By the time everything was dealt with, I realized it was too late to attend the banquet.”
“How dare you! You’re clearly making excuses for not coming.”
“Grand Duke, please calm your anger. Earl Wildwolf didn’t mean to offend. I implore you not to reprimand him.”
“Marquis Wind Swallow, Earl Fierce Fox—you dare advocate on his behalf, you’ve turned against me!”
“You tyrant, today—”
“Pfft—Pffft!”
At the moment when the atmosphere within the palace was at its tensest, an out-of-place laugh broke through, disrupting the gravity of the court meeting. The ‘nobles’ looked over with varied expressions.
Only then did the nobles notice the myriad of creatures outside, seemingly surrounding the palace.
“Cough, cough, continue, continue, don’t mind us,” Locke quickly gestured with his hands, noticing he was being watched, but the smile on his face was unstoppable.
It was no wonder he couldn’t help but laugh—a bunch of eight Spiritual Bodies pretending to be nobles, holding so-called court meetings in a so-called palace made of piled stones. They were oblivious to so many people approaching, which looked utterly absurd and comical.
No one had expected that the interior of the Kanda magic stone mine harbored a settlement of Spiritual Bodies.
Perhaps they were newly formed, or maybe because the magic stone mine had never had an enemy, these Spiritual Bodies weren’t very vigilant about their surroundings.
“Who are you?”
Spirits looked just like humans on the outside, but their bodies were semi-illusory. Upon seeing Locke and his group appear suddenly, the spirits’ expressions drastically changed, turning grim, and they began to be on guard.
“We are the owners of the magic stone mine,” Locke said with a grin.
“Insolence! This is the great hall of my royal palace, outsiders shall not behave recklessly here,” the spirit playing the Grand Duke shouted loudly.
As his voice echoed, an ominous force field swiftly intensified, trying to distort the surrounding scenery with illusions.
However, the presence of the magic stone mine suppressed the area, making the ominous force field seem like a mere ‘flower shelf’, full of flaws in Locke’s eyes.
“That fire cat Grand Duke, right? You have a lot of talent for acting, I’m quite impressed, haha.”
“Impudence!”
Locke’s mockery fueled the spirits’ anger even more.
When a spirit saw Ivan standing behind and recognized him, its expression became extremely exaggerated—as if its eyeballs were about to pop out—and it was seething with rage.
“I know you, you malefactor.”
“It was you, sorcerer, who stole the treasures from Wafting Scent Castle, destroying the hope of our race’s rise. Your crime is unforgivable.”
Reminded by the spirit, the others also recognized Ivan, and their rage instantly transferred onto him.
“How do you know it’s me?” Ivan looked at the spirits in front of him with surprise. Wafting Scent Castle was several days’ journey from here, and with the great array in between, that suggested there should be no connection between the two.
He glanced at Locke.
Locke shook his head to indicate that he didn’t know either.
“Upon sighting the malefactor, one must slay him!” No one responded to his words; the spirits, ignited by rage, launched a ferocious self-destructive attack on them.
Leaving behind only the broken stone hall and the pervasive ominous force field.
Ivan frowned as he focused on the stone hall.
“Boss, it’s not that we didn’t want to hold back, but their way of taking action was just too bizarre,” Locke explained upon seeing this.
“I saw.” Ivan also couldn’t react in time to stop it.
The death of these spirits was very odd; in an instant, they were enveloped by the breath of death, irreversible, and he could only watch helplessly. On second thought, spirits were essentially creatures of death, so maybe they were just returning to their natural state.
“Good grief, these spirits have excavated quite a few magic stones. Don’t worry, boss, I’ll clean the foreign energy off of them right away.” Seeing that he was not rebuked by him, Locke approached the stone hall to inspect it.
He discovered many magic stones piled up like stones behind the hall, the magic stones clearly tainted with the spirit’s energy, much like a curse.
“Okay.” Ivan did not object.
The stone hall wasn’t far from where the magic stone ore was located. Turning a corner and walking a bit further, one could see the magic stone ore embedded in the earth and stone, the characteristic aura of this place was the most profound.
He didn’t rush to order the mining of magic stones, instead, he took his subordinates to explore the entire magic stone mine twice.
According to the City Lord’s Residence, there was a suspected emergence of a ‘black robed monster’ in the Kanda magic stone mine, but now it had completely vanished without a trace.
One mountain cannot harbor two tigers; he had reason to suspect that it was these spirits who caused the special evolution to falter.
Or, perhaps they directly transformed into a gathering place for spirits.
It must be said, this was a pity.
After a while, Ivan chose a suitable location and had the swamp ant expand into a spacious cave, letting the Silkworm Queen bring out various materials from the Silkworm Nest Space, for he was ready to get busy with the important matters.
[Enchantment Skill: lv10 (767/7000)]
[Runes Skill: lv9 (108/5000)]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv9 (28/5000)]
[Apothecary Skill: lv8 (214/4000)]
[Biology Expertise: lv7 (690/3000)]
[Energy Particle Skill: Lv7 (383/3000)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv6 (311/2000)]
[Meditation Skill: Lv6 (262/2000)]
[Study of Planes: lv5 (539/1500)]
[Curse Skill: lv4 (92/1000)]
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In the past, as his fame spread, Enchantment Skill duly became the first Level 10 discipline. Level 10 was a significant threshold, allowing him to obtain both a Small Light of Wisdom and a Light of Great Wisdom.
Runes Skill advanced to Level 9.
This would undoubtedly make him more adept at setting up the Black Magic Wind Fire Array.
It’s worth mentioning that the Experience Points required for Level 10 disciplines were two thousand more than for Level 9, making upgrading considerably more difficult.
“The Black Magic Wind Fire Array has been deduced to 25 runes bundles, transformed into an Intermediate Runes Sorcery Array. However, a part of it is biased towards spirits. Using the power of a large magic stone mine here, I should be able to further research and add a few more runes bundles.”
“Then let’s enhance our power while deepening the Formation.”
Surveying the area, Ivan made up his mind to stay here for some time longer.