Chương 37: To the Mines

A day later, Kayzen and Vasser were trekking through a sparse forest. After parting with Derrick the two had decided to go straight to the mine. Now that their loot was taken care of and the third member of the Cursed Dawn was keeping an eye out for news, they could relax and focus on clearing the mine. The fact that the Archwolves were interested in going towards the mine proved that there was something interesting going on over there.

And if the flow of Ether and ley lines was anything to judge by, the mines were indeed going to be special.

"Gaia certainly didn't bless this land," Kayzen cursed as his foot stuck against a protruding rock. The soil here was abnormally hard. One moment there was nothing, and in the next second your foot would be stabbed by a sharp rock. Only those who had walked in this area would realize how uncomfortable that could be. Vasser chuckled at his remark and simply kicked along the way. She was having a great time since the rocks had no way to affect her defensive abilities.

Apart from the two of them, there wasn't anyone else in the forest. The humans had long since retreated, and as for the local animals and Fiends, the Archwolves had made a meal out of them. Thus, the forest had gained a momentary quiet.

"Do you think we'll find any useful metal out here?" Vasser asked as she knelt down to pick up a shiny rock. Unlike its glowing appearance, it didn't contain any trace of Ether whatsoever. It was a mundane material unsuitable to be made into any form of artifact. Kayzen also knelt beside her and looked at the nearby crystalline rocks. He was no geologist and he knew next to nothing about minerals. However, as far as his knowledge went, a rock shouldn't be this shiny. Not when it was out in the open trails.

"I'm guessing there should be something abnormal going on around the ley lines that is causing the soil itself to mutate. Who knows, perhaps after a couple of years, these rocks might form into a new type of material." The two picked up a few rocks just for fun and went along their way. Not everything had to make sense, and besides, it wasn't bad to keep some souvenirs to remind them of this day later on. Soon, the duo reached the area that was near the mine. The soil was no longer undisturbed.

Tracks of carriages and other human activity bore marks on this land even to this day. The past month hadn't erased the traces left behind by human civilization. However, traces were all that was left. There was no mining equipment, and even the temporary stalls and other areas set up by the merchants and traders were long since demolished by the monsters. Even the entrance to the mine was covered by cobwebs, indicating that Archwolves had indeed made their way into their target.

"I'll scout first." Kayzen pressed his palm against the rugged soil. Soon, his roots of perception stretched out in every direction, as well as deep beneath. He couldn't help but flinch as the raw current of Ether crashed against his roots of perception. If he hadn't become a Warden of Records by now, then he would have spewed out blood from the backlash alone. The ley lines here were indeed disturbed. In fact, calling it disturbed might be an understatement.

The entire vein of the Ether network was fractured and leaking out turbulent flows of Ether all around the mining area. He could scout no more than a hundred meters in every direction above the land. As for underground, his perception didn't even go beyond ten feet.

"Found anything?" Vasser asked.

"I'm afraid not. This time we'll have to rely on you for scouting. I can only play a supporting role unless there is another spacious area underneath."

"Well, that's fine with me." Vasser clenched her knuckles and moved straight towards the mine tunnels. With strength came confidence, and after defeating the Arachne, the two were certain that there wouldn't be much threat in the mine. Of course, that didn't mean that they didn't have to be cautious. Nothing was safe in the wild. One wrong step, and in the next moment they would find themselves in the halls of Argia. After Vasser blew the webs away, the light of the sun finally shone into the carved tunnel.

The ceiling arched high enough that a giant could walk through without even ducking. Needless to say, Kayzen and Vasser had no trouble going in. Bits and pieces of blue stones were embedded in the ceiling above, casting enough light for them to see without straining their eyes. These crystals were the major source of the Ironheart town's income. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The air here was musty and smelled of copper.

Not the most pleasant combination, but bearable enough. However, things like these weren't their biggest concern.

"This is going to be troublesome," Vasser frowned as she sensed the flow of Ether. Kayzen couldn't help but nod along as well. The ley lines here were even more disturbed than they had imagined. As a matter of fact, it would be wrong to call this a ley line anymore. Pretty much the entire mine had no fixed flow of Ether current. It was perhaps on the verge of becoming an Ether node, or to be specific, an Ether hazard. This was something almost unprecedented within the human territories.

Afterall, it took ages for the flows of Ether to change. The two became even more cautious as they moved forward. This area should be well explored and well maintained since it was right at the entrance. However, the Archwolves' presence had ruined everything. Mining tracks and sleds were scattered everywhere, and even the passages were half collapsed due to the Archwolves' movement.

As if this wasn't enough, the annoying critters had spewed their webs all over the underground network, making it hard to see which direction was where. Fortunately, Kayzen had the foresight to bring along the map of the mine. He took it out from his Hemogaster backpack and guessed where the deeper layers would be. Guessed, because again, the map wouldn't be certain. If the Archwolves could destroy the passages, then they could make new ones as well. Judging things based on the map alone would also be dangerous.

Thus, its only value was to be of reference. There was a heavy silence as the two moved deeper into the mines. Just as Vasser punched at another network of webs, a sudden change occurred. The ceiling caved in, and blocks of stone and other metals fell down right above her head. Even if her reflexes were fast enough to dodge them, there was no place to move. The way was blocked ahead, and if she moved behind then she would collide head-on with Kayzen, resulting in both of them being injured.

Thus, she could do nothing but take the impact head-on. Kayzen didn't have as good reflexes as her. He only reacted after the first piece of stone fell.

"Look out!" he screamed and immediately used his latest ability, Web Conjuring. His roots of perception stretched towards the ceiling and made flickering purple webs. They were distinctly different from the ones created by the Archwolves. Instead of sticking to the stones, they corroded them and even sliced them apart. This was the mixture of his records combined with his authority. And unfortunately, it meant that this particular ability wouldn't be of much use in this situation.

At least the stones that should have crushed their limbs became small enough to cause them some surface bruises and wounds.

"Are you alright?" Kayzen coughed a mouthful of dust while he looked for Vasser. He wasn't worried that she would be injured by some mere stones. Or that should have been the case. He couldn't believe his eyes that a spike of metal had pierced right through Vasser's calf. That should be impossible considering that she was a Xin right now. Her defenses weren't something to be penetrated by a mere metal spike, one that didn't emit any Ether fluctuations.

Unlike his flustered expression, though, Vasser was far too calm. This wasn't her first time being injured on a mission.

"Do you have any more of that Dragon's Blood sap?"

"I do," Kayzen nodded and took out a vial of amber-colored liquid. Vasser took a deep breath and on the count of three, she plucked the spike right from her calf. Even she couldn't help but flinch under the intense pain. Immediately, Kayzen moved forward and layered the paste over her wound.

"Damn aliens, they even know how to make a trap," Kayzen cursed under his breath as he sat down beside her. The archwolves that came here should be different from the ones they fought. Perhaps this was how the mercenary teams had gone missing.

"This was a mistake on our part. We thought that we were being cautious, however, we didn't consider such a scenario. Not to mention that the metal here isn't normal." As Kayzen thought deeper about her words, a spark suddenly lit up in his head. Indeed, even without Ether, things weren't the same after the apocalypse. The biggest fundamental change wasn't the materialization of Ether, but rather, the descent of Akashic records.

If humans could gain records, if plants could gain records, then who is to say that these metals couldn't? As absurd as his thought may seem, that was precisely the case. Kayzen picked up the bloodied spike in his hand and examined its records. Indeed, there they were. The records related to durability and sharpness. An inanimate object had mutated and gained records. He placed the spike in his backpack and asked Vasser, "Should we head back to the surface first?

Things are more complicated than we thought, so it would be better if we took this slowly. This time we'll work together on scouting so something like this doesn't happen."

"There's no need," Vasser shook her head.

"We can't retreat at the slightest sign of trouble. We couldn't afford such luxury when the world is literally changing with every moment. If we fall behind in this race, then it would be too late." Her words resonated deep within Kayzen. Indeed, they couldn't afford to laze around. Even a damn rock was powering up.

"Very well then, let's just rest right here for an hour or two. You recover from your wounds while I'll make some disposable tools. They should come in handy going forward." Vasser nodded and channeled Ether to recover her wounds. Kayzen took out various things from his backpack and began working. So far the materials he had worked with either came from the rift or other living beings. Using the metals should be easier since they didn't have unnecessary records.

He was certain that not long after the whole gear industry of Erde would be changed forever. If even inanimate objects could gain records, then there was no way other symbolic objects like ceremonial swords and statues wouldn't. The same would apply to the weapons used by all races.

'But that's all in the future.' Kayzen cleared his head of distractions and began working on the materials. It was time to make some limited-edition web grenades.