Chapter 633: Forgotten Mine

[You have joined the expedition “In Search of Belto.”]

Including Hyunsoo, four people had set out to find the dwarf Belto.

“Four. Only four people may enter the Forgotten Mine.”

The more people they had, the better.

The dungeon’s restrictions made that impossible, however.

After explaining the most important condition, Revas introduced himself.

“My name is Revas. I serve at His Majesty Gordon’s side as his personal guard.”

Revas.

Of all the elven knights present, he had the most aristocratic appearance.

The black rapier at his waist immediately stood out.

Hyunsoo recognized it at a glance.

It was made with orichalcum.

Revas also wore silver armor engraved with the image of the World Tree, the symbol of the elves.

Serving at the king’s side was proof that he ranked among the strongest of his people.

The remaining two elves introduced themselves as well.

“I am Poso, commander of the elven forces.”

A commander and a personal guard were distinctly different positions.

Poso.

Though an elf, he had the build of an unusually tall dwarf.

His torso was exceptionally thick, and even his bones seemed massive.

He stood close to two meters tall and carried an enormous black rectangular shield almost as large as his body.

The shield’s black surface gleamed beneath the sunlight. It, too, appeared to have been made from orichalcum.

Lastly—

“I’m Elvin. I teach archery to the elves.”

Elvin, captain of the archers.

He looked like the sort of elf most people would picture when they heard the word.

His primary weapon was clearly the bow, but what truly astonished Hyunsoo was the material from which it had been made.

The World Tree...?

According to the system, the World Tree was the finest artifact material currently in existence.

All three elves also wore cloaks emblazoned with the image of a white World Tree.

Their gazes turned toward Hyunsoo.

“I’m Hyunsoo. For now, I’m a Legendary Miner.”

At the words “for now,” the elves clicked their tongues inwardly.

Does he lack confidence?

He can perform such extraordinary mining, yet he still sounds so uncertain. Then again, how much confidence could a mere twenty-one-year-old human possess?

Twenty-one... At that age, I hadn’t even gone on my first hunt yet....

The future suddenly seemed bleak.

There was a clear reason for their concern.

As they walked, Revas, the leader of the expedition, explained the situation to Hyunsoo.

“We entered the Forgotten Mine once before, several years ago.”

Hyunsoo had already heard the broad outline from Elder Verua.

But the explanation had lacked detail, so he listened closely.

“The Forgotten Mine is inhabited by Devolved Legends. Most of their faces have been twisted beyond recognition. And as the term ‘devolved’ implies, their ability to use special powers is restricted.”

By special powers, he meant things like skills.

“Even so, a legend remains a legend. Their individual strength exists on an entirely different level.”

Of course it did.

A legend’s strength did not come solely from skills.

Take an artifact that granted 500% additional attack damage.

That was an astronomical bonus by the standards of an ordinary user. Yet if the wielder’s fundamental strength was weak, the artifact would still be worthless.

All power ultimately began with the user’s own foundation.

“Their speed, strength, destructive power, adaptability—every aspect of them vastly surpasses that of ordinary beings. Hunting them is extremely difficult, even for a group composed of the elves’ finest warriors.”

“How many can you handle?”

“Two at most. Anything beyond that is too much.”

Poso gave a humorless laugh.

“And that was when we had four of the elves’ greatest warriors. The position now occupied by the Legendary Miner originally belonged to Varan, the greatest elementalist among our people.”

Poso’s voice was filled with undisguised concern.

It was obvious what troubled them.

Even with four of their finest warriors, fighting two of the mine’s inhabitants had been difficult.

Now there were only three.

Worse, they would have to protect a miner at the same time.

Revas, however, understood the reality of their situation.

“Stop complaining. Without Hyunsoo, a Legendary Miner, we would be unable to advance at all. We must at least recover Belto’s body if we are to repay what we owe him.”

“....”

Poso fell silent.

Everyone present had grown up benefiting from Belto’s kindness.

The weapons they carried evoked memories of the past.

On the day Revas was appointed as the king’s personal guard, Poso had presented him with an orichalcum rapier like the one at his waist.

Before Poso departed to lead the elves on a dangerous subjugation campaign, he had received the orichalcum shield that went on to save his life several times.

Elvin, the greatest marksman among the elves, had only been able to reach that position because of his bow.

Belto’s warmth remained with every one of them.

Their reminiscence did not last long.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the entrance to the Forgotten Mine.

A gigantic gate, rusted almost beyond recognition, had been tightly bound in chains.

“We secured it in case anything happened.”

CLINK, CLANK—

Revas unlocked the chains, and they fell with a deafening crash.

CLAAANG—!

“If things are the same as before, a single Devolved Orc Legend will appear. I recommend remaining as far back as possible and observing the battle.”

Revas gave Hyunsoo that warning as he entered.

The three strongest warriors of the elves began moving cautiously into the mine.

The stench inside was so rancid that the smell of decay stabbed at their noses.

Is this really the smell of a mine?

Hyunsoo had entered countless mines before.

Yet instead of iron and stone, this one reeked of rotting corpses.

Once they had advanced beyond a certain point—

DING!

[You have entered the Forgotten Mine.]

[You are the first entrant.]

[EXP and artifact drop rates will be doubled for one week.]

Hyunsoo received the privileges afforded to him as a user.

The pleasant notifications were short-lived.

Everyone fell silent and tensed.

The elves had already experienced this place once before. They understood the concept of respawning and followed the same route they had taken during their previous hunt.

However—

“It’s not here?”

“Perhaps it didn’t revive?”

“Then we may reach the wall more easily than expected.”

The three elves smiled in relief.

The creature was absent from the spot where the Orc Legend had appeared before.

Perhaps they had been mistaken in assuming it would respawn when they entered the mine for a second time.

Just as they relaxed—

“Above!”

A voice rang out from behind them.

“...?”

The three elves looked puzzled by the low, forceful warning.

The voice continued.

“Shield.”

Poso’s arm reacted instinctively.

He thrust his enormous rectangular shield upward.

A massive axe was already descending from above, carrying enough force to split them apart in a single blow.

BOOOOOOM—!

It was the Orc Legend.

Without that warning...

We would have been cut in half...!

The Orc Legend had fallen at an absurd speed.

But the voice from behind had made Poso move before he could even think.

His enormous shield was already facing the ceiling.

KRAAAAAANG—!!!!

He blocked the falling axe with barely a tenth of a second to spare.

RUMBLE—

The impact sent a shock wave through the entire mine, shaking dust loose from the ceiling.

Poso’s knees buckled, and a groan escaped him.

The gigantic creature landed on the ground.

It was exactly as the elves had described.

Its face had been warped so severely that it seemed more accurate to say it had no face at all.

Only its green skin, the shape of its muscles, and the orc insignia engraved upon its axe revealed what it had once been.

[Devolved Orc Legend Lv. 586.]

Its level was monstrous.

The creature itself stood a full three meters tall.

“Whew....”

Revas let out a small sigh of relief before glancing back in astonishment.

How did he notice it before we did?

The voice from behind had come first.

The elves possessed exceptionally sharp senses.

Having lived in harmony with nature, their perception far surpassed that of humans.

Then how had Hyunsoo noticed it first?

Ah....

Revas soon understood.

The Legendary Miner had been walking seven meters behind them.

Naturally, his wider field of vision had allowed him to spot the Orc Legend clinging to the ceiling first.

“You have my thanks.”

Even the proud and prickly Poso expressed his gratitude after realizing that the warning had saved him from being split in half.

Elvin was already firing arrows at the monster.

WHIZZ-WHIZZ-WHIZZ—!

An orc’s skin was said to be twice as thick as an elf’s and three times as thick as a human’s.

The arrows bounced away, proving the claim.

Revas slipped through the opening with his rapier in hand.

Revas.

As befitted a swordsman who wielded a rapier, he was fast, and his movements were extraordinary.

“Rampage of the Wind Spirit.”

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHK—!!

A single swing carved into the Orc Legend twenty times in one second.

Each individual strike failed to inflict overwhelming damage, but the relentless barrage steadily wore the creature down.

STAB-STAB-STAB-STAB-STAB—!

Green blood repeatedly sprayed into the air.

Elvin fired into the openings Revas had created.

THUNK—!

THUNK—!

THUNK—!

The flesh beneath the thick skin was inevitably softer.

Arrows that had been unable to pierce the hide began burying themselves all over the Orc Legend’s body.

At the same time—

KRAAASH—!

Poso repeatedly slammed his shield into the massive body of the Orc Legend, which towered a full meter above him.

BANG-BANG-BANG-BOOM—!

Then—

“GRAAAAAAH!”

The Orc Legend gripped its enormous axe with both hands and brought it down against Poso’s shield with all its strength.

KRAAAAAANG—!!!

Poso blocked the axe, but the impact hurled him backward.

“Cough...!”

Its raw strength was absurd.

Watching from the side, Hyunsoo concentrated on reading the flow of the battle.

Revas, the elf.

He appeared to be nearing the realm of legends himself.

He was incredibly powerful, even among the elves.

Without him, the group would never have been able to fight the Orc Legend head-on.

They had claimed they could handle two of these creatures.

Is that only possible because Revas is so far above the others?

No.

Poso’s defensive ability was excellent as well.

He was comparable to one of the top five tankers among all users.

And Elvin—

In terms of pure skill, he was equal to Mio, or perhaps slightly superior.

Strictly speaking in terms of technique.

Elvin’s accuracy defied common sense.

Hyunsoo also noticed something else about the three of them.

Not one Legendary artifact.

The rapier.

The shield.

The bow.

Not one of the three was Legendary.

Just as excellent materials did not guarantee the creation of a Legendary artifact, none of their equipment had reached that grade.

What a waste.

Each of them possessed exceptional combat ability.

Their equipment, however, clearly failed to keep pace with their strength.

While Hyunsoo continued calculating, the Orc Legend was steadily being reduced to a bloody wreck.

“Hup!”

Revas, slashing rapidly with his rapier, moved to finish it.

The blood-soaked Orc Legend was growing slower and weaker by the second.

Then—

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The Orc Legend stomped the ground with all its strength.

The earth caved beneath its foot.

Gathering every last ounce of power, it swung its enormous axe in a wide arc.

BAAAAAANG—!!!

Revas raised his rapier.

Elvin raised his bow.

Poso raised his shield.

The Orc Legend’s single attack struck all three of them at once.

KRAAAAAANG—!!

The three elves were blasted backward.

“Ghk!”

“Urgh!”

“Gaaah!”

Revas shook his head violently as he flew, forcing himself to regain his senses.

Why...?

Had it exhausted its final reserves to create an escape route?

Revas’s eyes widened.

No....

He had overlooked something.

Even though it was a Devolved Legend, it was still an orc—an intelligent being.

And one who had once become a legend would possess even greater intelligence.

The creature had made a choice.

If it could not kill them, it would at least kill one of their companions before it died.

It possessed tremendous physical strength.

Its grip alone could tear an ordinary elf or human apart.

After throwing the three warriors aside, the gigantic Orc Legend charged at Hyunsoo, who was holding a pickaxe, and swung its enormous axe.

If Hyunsoo died, they would be unable to advance any farther into the mine.

And—

The first new friend to appear in a hundred years....

We’re going to let him die...?

They understood exactly what their failure to protect him would mean.

But the axe was already falling.

WHOOOOOSH—

KABOOOOOM—!

The impact made Revas’s heart sink.

He was certain Hyunsoo had been split in half.

But—

What?

BOOOOOOM—!

Instead, the Orc Legend that had struck the Legendary Miner suffered tremendous damage.

“GRAAAARGH!”

It was as though the force it had inflicted upon the man had been returned directly to its own body.

Mortally wounded, the Orc Legend slowly began to disintegrate.

As its body scattered, Hyunsoo was revealed standing behind it.

His cloth clothing turned into armor?

He was no longer dressed in simple fabric.

He now wore a full suit of black plate armor and a black horned helmet.