At the hillside with exposed yellow soil, rugged rocks rose and fell, and on the overgrown shrub path, Bai En and his two companions were heading to the mines surrounding Mohart Town, led by a white-haired young man named Nois Daren.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting fragmented shadows. Looking at Daren Nois, whose appearance seemed vaguely familiar, Bai En suddenly asked, "Nois, have we met somewhere before?"
"Have we?"
Nois turned to look at Bai En, thinking seriously for a moment: "Probably not? I haven't had any contact with the Magic Knights before."
"Perhaps it's just because he resembles someone, and you feel a sense of familiarity."
"That's right," Bai En mumbled, nodding, seemingly agreeing with the statement.
But he still felt he had met this guy somewhere, only the impression was vaguely lost in his mind... Of course, it might also be because his hair color was similar to Asta's, giving him a sense of familiarity.
The three continued to walk forward... The mission was progressing much smoother than expected. After Bai En and his companions arrived at Mohart Town on their flying brooms, they immediately went to the mayor's house. With the mayor's detailed explanation, they gained a deeper understanding of the mission's intel.
The so-called missing persons in the mission did not disappear within the town but rather vanished without a trace while mining in the nearby mountains. Initially, it was thought they had simply wandered off, but subsequent search parties found nothing.
The frequent disappearance of miners gradually caused panic among the people of the entire town. The mayor, left with no choice, had to prohibit people from mining in the surrounding mountains.
However, more than half of the people in Mohart Town relied on the mountain's mineral resources for their livelihood, so a sudden ban on mining was equivalent to cutting off their means of survival.
Under various circumstances and pressures, the mayor urgently reported the situation to the Magic Knights.
Yet, during this period, even with a strict ban on mining in the surrounding mountains, many people still secretly went, which did not reduce the number of missing persons.
It was during this period of secret mining that someone discovered an absurd thing.
The Iron-eating Rats, which originally fed on mountain ore, were actually gnawing on living people... "The mayor suspects that the missing people in the town are related to the man-eating Iron-eating Rats in the mine?"
"Although it's just a guess, judging by the panicked expression of the survivor who returned that day, it doesn't seem fake. However, the outcome of the matter will depend on your investigation, so I apologize for making you go through this trouble."
The mayor, citing his old age and difficulty in moving, dispatched a young man from the town, Nois Daren, to guide Bai En and his two companions.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
As they walked further, the surrounding vegetation gradually thinned, leaving only barren land and withered wild grass. Occasionally, they would see some greenish crystal stones protruding from the mountain and sharp, dark rocks emitting an orange-yellow glow.
Bai En placed his grimoire near those ores, but there was no reaction. He had conducted an experiment before: when his grimoire encountered materials suitable for 'blade quenching,' it would emit a faint, glowing white light.
When he heard the mayor mention that this town had rich mineral deposits, Bai En belatedly remembered that this town called Mohart was the place where Boss Eugene at the royal capital's forge had mentioned his basalt material for quenching kitchenware.
It seemed quite a coincidence, saving him the time of a special trip.
"The ores protruding from the mountain surface are mostly green stone crystals and orange pulp stones, which have no value or use. Of course, if you like, you can collect some as a souvenir of your first visit to Mohart."
Nois introduced the ore situation to Bai En and his two companions along the way: "The truly valuable ores are mostly inside the mountain, such as magic iron used and inlaid in magic tools, and basalt, purple cloud iron, and the like in buildings..."
Before long, the four arrived at a mine shaft in the mountains. Many greenish crystal stones grew and stood at the entrance of the cave. The mine shaft was not as dark as imagined; there was a faint glimmer of light.
At the sunlit entrance of the cave, there was a wooden boardwalk extending inwards, seemingly used for transporting goods.
"Big Brother Tam was the one who discovered the Iron-eating Rats eating people inside this cave." Nois pointed to the cave in front of them, indicating they had reached their destination.
He smiled shyly: "I can only bring you this far. I won't go in with you for the rest of the way, as I'm afraid I'll hold you back."
Jie Kai looked at Nois and nodded, then turned to look inside the cave. The mana concentration inside was much higher than outside, which should be related to some rare ores. He responded to Nois: "Alright, thank you for your trouble. Just leave the rest to us."
The three walked into the cave. Bai En, who was at the very back, glanced at Nois standing at the entrance. His vague figure made him instantly remember who this guy was—it was him who Grace had pinned to the wall with magic at Moli Restaurant last time.
At that time, he had even saved him, but in the time it took to prepare a dish, this guy had disappeared.
But why was this guy pretending not to know him now?
Did he forget, like himself, or... Many people don't like others to know their embarrassing moments, so pretending not to know is understandable. Bai En thought, continuing to follow the team deeper into the cave.
Just as the three figures gradually merged into the darkness and walked away, Nois, who had been standing at the entrance with a smile, saw his smile fade. His deep brown eyes scanned ahead, as if contemplating something.
After a while, he also walked into the mine shaft... Silver ores in the shape of quadrangular crystals were embedded in the cave walls, emitting enough light to illuminate the path ahead. Faint, fragmented sounds echoed deep within the cave.
Jie Kai observed his surroundings and said to the two behind him: "Due to the ores, the mana concentration inside the mine is much higher than outside. However, it seems that precisely because of these various strange ores, there's a peculiar magnetic field here that blocks mana perception."
Bai En tried it out and indeed found that his perception range had narrowed significantly. It seemed to be a strange resistance.
"Do either of you have any perception-type magic?" Jie Kai looked at the two behind him and asked.
Nancy and Bai En exchanged glances, shaking their heads almost simultaneously.
"Eh? No one at all? What a coincidence, I don't either... By the way, is all your magic combat-oriented as well? Does no one have healing magic?"
Looking at the silent Nancy and Bai En, Jie Kai rubbed his smooth, round head and chuckled: "Haha~ So, everyone who came this time... is a bunch of brutes."
"..."
"Hey, I seem to remember you two have been in the Aqua Deer for a long time, but I still don't know what magic you use? Is it convenient to introduce yourselves now?"
Jie Kai's grimoire flew out from his waist, and a crimson light shone in the mine shaft. He muttered to himself, "Alright, I'll start~"
"My magic isn't like ordinary magic. Most magic basically materializes a certain substance or element, but my magic is related to strength. I call it Strength Magic. When I cast it, it can raise my strength by several levels, and it's not inferior to some fierce beasts!"
"So, I'm super strong."
'Strength Magic? Increasing strength, purely physical magic? This is magic that didn't appear in the original work. It sounds good, and its upper limit should be quite high.'
While Bai En was pondering, Nancy also introduced her magic: "My magic is Earth Magic. I can generate earth blocks and, to a certain extent, manipulate the ground beneath my feet."
Bai En had already witnessed her magic from afar during the team battle with Rill last time.
"Eh? Earth Magic, able to manipulate the earth?" Jie Kai exclaimed in surprise, "Is there such an outrageous magic?"
"But speaking of which, since you can control the ground beneath your feet, you should be able to awaken perception-type magic, right?"
Jie Kai offered Nancy some advice: "You can try to learn and research this aspect, after all, perception-type magic is quite important in the Magic Knights."
"I understand."
The next moment, both their gazes fell on Bai En. Even Nancy, who had already witnessed Bai En's magic, still seemed to want to understand it in more detail.
His grimoire, emitting a glowing white light, floated out.
Bai En began to introduce: "My magic is Mikuriya. In nature, it's similar to the captain of the Jade Mantis squad, related to slashing. Of course, besides slashing, my magic can also unleash flames, just like a chef's knife and fire."
"Just like this~"
A wisp of flame ignited in Bai En's hand, like a fire spirit dancing in the darkness.
"Mikuriya? Slashing, flames..." Nancy mumbled to herself, "No wonder his cooking is so delicious."
"Two attributes? That's rare. But, Bai En, what the hell is your grimoire? Why is it so thin?" Jie Kai suddenly asked, looking at Bai En's grimoire.
Bai En smiled and didn't offer much explanation, retracting his grimoire from the air.
Jie Kai looked at Nancy, realizing he seemed to have said something wrong, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Bai En didn't mind: "You didn't say anything wrong? Why apologize? I don't mind. My grimoire is just simply thinner; there's no difference from other grimoires."
"That's also true."
Jie Kai suddenly sighed with emotion: "But you're really amazing. You're neither a noble nor royalty, yet you passed the Magic Knights' assessment in one go. I, on the other hand, had to take the exam for three consecutive years before being chosen by the Grey Deer squad."
As the three spoke, they continued to walk deeper into the mine shaft. Imperceptibly, their initially somewhat unfamiliar relationship began to grow closer.
The path ahead began to fork, with shimmering silver pyroxene and wooden boardwalks extending in both directions. As they hesitated which path to take, or whether to split into two groups, crying and shouting sounds came from the left passage.
"Who will save me?"
"Brother?! Where are you?"
"Run!"
Bai En and his two companions almost simultaneously ran towards the left passage. Jie Kai led the way. At the end of the passage, an open space appeared, and their vision gradually widened. There were stacked wooden boardwalks, overturned train cars, and some mining tools like hammers and hoes... Above the open space, many connecting passages were faintly visible.
The continuous cries and shouts drew the three's attention to a corner of the open space, where three pitch-black, wolf-sized animals had cornered a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl against the wall.
The sharp gnashing of teeth made one's nerves tense.
Bai En drew Zhan Yan from his grimoire. Accelerated by his Mana Skin and breathing technique, he bypassed Nancy and Jie Kai, and in a blink of an eye, he slashed past one of the pitch-black creatures and arrived in front of the little girl.
Dismembered flesh scattered, and in the bloody light, he clearly saw the pitch-black, wolf-like animal in front of him—it resembled a giant rat. Its eyes bulged, swollen and red, with bloodshot lines, and its snarling mouth emitted a sharp screeching sound, as if grinding its teeth.
"These are the Iron-eating Rats they spoke of? This appearance... doesn't look like it lives on eating ore; it clearly looks more like a man-eating monster!"
Upon seeing the dangerous Bai En, the other two Iron-eating Rats did not flee. One of them even terrifyingly launched an attack. It opened its mouth wide and bit down, its sharp teeth baring a fierce glint.
Bai En extended Zhan Yan, and the sharp teeth bit directly onto the blade. With a clang, the Iron-eating Rat pulled back, still biting the blade, and sparks flew as teeth and blade ground against each other.
Jie Kai leaped from behind into the air, then swung his fist down fiercely towards the Iron-eating Rat attacking Bai En. With an invisible gust of wind, his fist slammed hard onto the Iron-eating Rat's back. The dense fur on its back rippled like water.
The Iron-eating Rat instantly collapsed to the ground, a large gush of blood pouring from its mouth, and it stopped moving.
The last Iron-eating Rat, which had intended to attack Bai En similarly, had its entire abdomen directly pierced by an earth spike that erupted from the ground.
Looking at the Magic Knights' cloaks, the little girl leaning against the wall rushed over like a madwoman. She tugged at Bai En's clothes: "You... you're from the Magic Knights, aren't you?"
"Please... please... please save my brother. To save me... he... he led away a very... very big man-eating rat... rat."
'Very big one? How big?'
Jie Kai stepped forward, intending to ask something.
In an instant, a dark shadow plummeted from the air. The black figure grew larger and larger in Nancy's vision. It had jumped directly from the passage above!
The ground vibrated, and dust and debris swirled up. As the dust settled, a swaying figure stood three to four meters tall, estimated to be seven to eight meters long, with a pair of strikingly crimson eyes.
It was precisely during the time of its fall that sharp grinding sounds continuously echoed. Countless Iron-eating Rats crawled out from the passages above the open space. From a distance, they looked like black lines, crawling down the walls and gathering together like a black tide.
The astonishing number and the exaggerated size before them made Jie Kai blurt out an expletive: "Shit, what the hell?!"
Bai En also noticed the surrounding Iron-eating Rats, but his attention wasn't entirely on them. His grimoire, emitting a glowing white light, subtly flickered in front of the previously dismembered Iron-eating Rat.
"?"
Bai En flipped through the blood-stained chunks of flesh. When he noticed the teeth in the Iron-eating Rat's head, a small sword flew out from his grimoire and instantly plunged into the head. The Iron-eating Rat's dark, steel-like teeth turned into a puddle of molten iron and flowed into the sword.
The sword's color deepened.
And at that moment, looking at the tide-like Iron-eating Rats and the behemoth standing in the middle of the open space, Bai En's eyes lit up. The small sword rapidly absorbed the liquefied steel teeth of the Iron-eating Rat, flying into his hand.
The small sword, wrapped in black liquid, constantly swayed in his hand, as if incredibly excited.
Bai En walked forward step by step...