Chapter 82 - Another Soul Artisan, and Spell Creation

Arthur held the oil lantern he had bought for the dungeon, lighting the way. His feet almost sank into the damp dirt, every step making a wet squelch.

The place was clearly abandoned. Pickaxes lay scattered across the ground, covered in cobwebs, dust and dirt, like they had been sitting there for years. Not to mention the abandoned mine carts, and the few wooden structures still standing in what was left of the mine.

"Help, please! Anyone?"

The screams kept coming. Point Blank pulled her bow off her back, ready to attack any creature that showed up.

Arthur frowned as he walked deeper into the mine, his eyes scanning every corner. Where were the monsters? This place was supposed to be packed with them. At least that was what the players had said in the posts about this mine.

’What’s wrong here?’

His heart sped up, and his breathing turned heavy. Every strange noise or movement made Arthur snap his head around, startled, only to calm down when he realized it was nothing, just his mind playing tricks on him.

The unknown was something he feared. What had always kept him calm when facing all kinds of bad situations was having prior knowledge, and right now, that was exactly what he didn’t have.

As they moved deeper into the abandoned mine, the screams grew louder, until Arthur finally spotted who was shouting. It was a man, pinned under a boulder. His body wasn’t crushed, for some reason.

"Hey, hey, you, I can’t believe someone actually showed up, hahahaha."

The man kept laughing uncontrollably. Arthur watched him, realizing that this NPC was high level, since checking his level was impossible.

’Is it really a good idea to help this guy?’

Not every NPC was friendly, of course. And the last thing Arthur wanted was to free someone who would kill him, or worse.

The NPC, smart as he was, noticed that Arthur wasn’t moving. He stopped laughing out of joy and turned more serious.

"I’m not your enemy, I swear. Are you scared because of my high level? I’m only level 40."

"40? And can you tell me what happened here? Why the hell are you stuck inside this abandoned mine, where there’s nothing interesting, just ores to be collected?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms and looking down, as if the sight of this man trapped was none of his business.

"Abandoned? No, no, you got it wrong. This place is home to an incredible treasure! That’s why I came here, to find that knowledge. Come on, I thought you knew about it? I don’t think anyone even knows this mine exists, and here you are, coming to gather ores?"

That place, if it really was the gateway to an immeasurable treasure, had been hidden from the player who found the mine.

Arthur tried to dig through the countless memories in his head, wanting to recall more about the player who first discovered this mine, and that player was nothing impressive. Just an average player. That could only mean one thing.

’The first player who found this place never shared that fact with anyone!’

It had to be that. Arthur, who had only wanted to gather ores quickly and get out of this abandoned mine, now wanted to understand more about this so-called incredible treasure.

"If you tell me what’s hidden in this place, I can try to help you. And if it’s interesting, I’ll want you to share it with me, or rather, with us."

The man, whose name was Leonard Pendragon, shook his head.

"I’d love to share this treasure with you in exchange for your help, I don’t want to stay stuck here and die of hunger and thirst... But I can’t. You wouldn’t understand, and you’d think I’m just lying..."

Curious, of course, Arthur asked for more. He wanted to understand why that man was unable to share the treasure. Was it just greed, the kind that affects every man, or could it be something else? Another plausible reason that, maybe, Arthur would believe.

"I’m listening," he said.

The man looked down at his body pinned under the rock, and sighed.

"Alright. Look, I’m what they call a Soul Artisan, and this treasure can only be accessed by someone like me. And..."

He kept going on about a bunch of things, but Arthur’s mind had stopped the moment he said Soul Artisan. Everything that came after went in one ear and out the other. In a trance, Arthur only came back to reality when Point Blank tugged on his arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Point Blank asked, already knowing why he had gone like that.

Arthur looked at her and smiled awkwardly. "I’m fine."

He walked toward the man and crouched in front of him. Scared, the man thought that his whole story hadn’t been enough to convince Arthur to help him without wanting something in return.

"I’m a Soul Artisan too," Arthur said, his eyes narrowed. "Are you the bastard working with the Holy Church?"

Leonard Pendragon denied it with everything he had. "Never! I would never work with those bastards."

Only then did he realize what Arthur had said in full.

"Wait, what? Impossible, there’s no way you’re a Soul Artisan. We all came from another continent! I sailed for a long time to get here."

"I am. How can I prove it to you?"

Arthur was very excited about the situation. He already had a master, Bram, but Bram was a blacksmith. Powerful and skilled, sure, mysterious too, but still a blacksmith.

If he wanted to unlock everything his class had to offer, having a master who shared the class was obviously ideal.

"Give me your hand," Leonard said. "I can feel whether you’re really who you say you are."

Without thinking twice, Arthur held out his hand for Leonard to take. The scene itself was a little weird, but Arthur tried not to think too much about it.

Leonard’s expression slowly changed as he realized Arthur really was who he claimed to be. It was like his mind had exploded.

"Impossible! How? Was your father a Soul Artisan who fled here and passed that legacy down to you? That could be it..."

Leonard was already coming up with all kinds of theories about Arthur’s true identity.

"So, are you going to tell me what this treasure is, and share it with me?"

"Of course, of course!"

Leonard changed completely, like he had found someone from his own family.

"The treasure down here belonged to a very ancient dragon. He was the creator of magic, and he decided to teach it to a few humans, the ones who became known as Soul Artisans."

"Magic?" Arthur frowned.

Dragons being involved was nothing new. Arthur had already noticed that the history of the Soul Artisans was directly tied to the dragons. They had been allies for a long time.

"What he taught wasn’t magic directly, but the way to create it! The knowledge beneath this place will teach us to create spells from scratch, which means we can become mages without necessarily having a magic class! Isn’t that incredible?"

[New quest unlocked]

[Special legendary class quest]

[Free Leonard Pendragon and explore the secret of spell creation.]

If what Leonard was saying was true, then Arthur had just found something truly powerful.

He had already thought about learning spells, but he figured he’d have to swap out his contracts and completely change his class. Now, being able to create his own spells and use them without having a class for it? That was something he had never imagined he could do!

Determined, Arthur helped Leonard Pendragon out from under that rock.