Chương 87: Chapter 86: The Mine

The following morning, Sieghart sat beside the dying campfire while the four summoners finished breakfast and prepared their equipment for the cave. Kart inspected his guardian constructs, Lucia tested the crystal eyes of her scouts, and Hernan summoned each weapon briefly to confirm that its formation remained stable. Mellia reviewed the map of the abandoned mine while checking their supplies. She looked calmer than the previous evening, but her attention repeatedly returned to the dark entrance.

Sieghart used the quiet moment to examine his status screen. Three years of training, guild work, monster hunting, and constant magical experimentation had changed his parameters considerably. He had not learned new spells, but nearly every ability he possessed had improved by at least ten levels. The attribute bonuses had accumulated much faster than his personal levels. That was the real advantage of his system, even if its progression rules remained needlessly mysterious.

His ten Free Status Points remained unspent. Sieghart still wanted to see what weaknesses this mission exposed before deciding where to place them. He focused on the translucent screen.

Name: Sieghart Emberhart Race: Human Age: 10 Level: 10 Experience: 0/1000 Free Status Points: 10 Health: 200/200 Mana: ∞ Stamina: 200/200 Strength: 23 Endurance: 20 Vitality: 20 Dexterity: 25 Magic: 238 Mentality: 120 Resistance: 54 Perception: 10 MAGIC PATHS ══════════════════════════════════════ BLACK MAGIC — Level 12 ├── Fire Magic │ ├── Flame — Level 12 │ ├── Fireball — Level 30 │ └── Giant Fireball — Level 11 │ ├── Water Magic │ ├── Water Creation — Level 13 │ └── Water Cannon — Level 21 │ ├── Wind Magic │ ├── Breeze — Level 11 │ └── Wind Blade — Level 20 │ ├── Earth Magic │ ├── Sand Control — Level 12 │ └── Earth Bullet — Level 22 │ ├── Ice Magic │ ├── Frozen Floor — Level 17 │ └── Ice Shuriken — Level 17 │ └── Lightning Magic └── Spark — Level 11 WHITE MAGIC — Level 01 ├── Support Magic │ └── Protection — Level 17 │ ├── Reinforcement Magic │ └── Muscle Reinforcement — Level 16 │ ├── Healing Magic │ └── First Aid — Level 18 │ └── Enchanting Magic └── Elemental Imbuement — Level 12 SUMMONING MAGIC — Level 1 └── Construct Magic ├── Mana Sword — Level 15 ARCANE MAGIC — Level 01 ├── Transmission Magic │ └── Mana Transfusion — Level 40 │ ├── Rune Magic │ └── Mana Rune — Level 13 │ └── Illusion Magic └── Phantom Image — Level 12 Sieghart studied the numbers with quiet satisfaction.

His Magic had risen the most because nearly every elemental spell granted one point per level. He also used some free points on it as well… most of them he spent on magic actually. Some in mentality as well and some in vitality and endurance. Giant Fireball provided two points because of its greater complexity and destructive scale. Mana Sword also contributed to Magic through the progression of his Construct Branch. Mentality had nearly caught up through Mana Transfusion, Mana Rune, Phantom Image, and Mana Shield.

The increase allowed Sieghart to control multiple spells without suffering the mental exhaustion that once made him fall asleep after a single experiment. Mana Rune increased both Mentality and Dexterity, while Phantom Image improved Mentality and Resistance. Those overlapping bonuses explained why both parameters had grown so quickly. First Aid, Elemental Imbuement, and Phantom Image increased Resistance as they leveled.

Sieghart's body remained physically young, but magical effects had become much less dangerous to him than before. Strength had finally improved through Muscle Reinforcement. The spell's permanent gains raised the parameter a lot, while activating the Level Sixteen skill temporarily increased it to a lot more. That still did not make him comparable to elite Aura users, but he no longer possessed the physical strength of an ordinary ten-year-old child. Those weaknesses made his ten Free Status Points tempting.

Placing everything into Perception might improve his awareness dramatically. For now, the points could remain available. Sieghart dismissed the status screen and glanced toward Mira's Telekinesis book beside him. He had read nearly half of it during the journey and the previous night. He had not learned Telekinesis in a single evening. That would have been convenient enough to make him suspicious of the system. Still, he understood the principles much better than before.

His increased Mentality probably helped him process Mira's explanations. The detailed training he received during the previous three years also gave him foundations that his younger self lacked. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Yet Sieghart suspected his mental state mattered just as much. He had become calmer. The desire for revenge remained inside him, but it no longer demanded that he make progress every waking moment.

He had stopped treating every failure like proof that he would never reach his goal. During his first life, studying for college had felt like running toward a wall while his parents, relatives, and comparisons chased him from behind. Every page carried pressure. Every mistake became another reason to believe he was falling behind everyone else. His efforts in this world belonged to him. Sieghart wanted power because he valued freedom, survival, and the ability to decide what happened to his own life.

No one forced him to learn magic or demanded that he meet their expectations. Even revenge remained his choice. He had not reached his goal, but he continued making visible progress. For now, that was enough to keep frustration from consuming everything else. Sooner or later, the people who attacked the farm would confirm that Sieghart had survived. Once they did, they would probably try to kill him again. He did not need to chase every weak rumor or expose himself before he understood his enemies.

He only needed to become ready for their next attempt. When they came, Sieghart intended to use someone capable of providing real answers. It did not matter how many spells he needed to learn or how many monsters he had to kill before that happened. People could call him a monster, demon, or cursed child if those names made them feel safer. Their opinions would not decide what he became. Mellia closed the mission folder and stood.

"We're ready." Sieghart rose and brushed the dust from his clothes. He placed Mira's book inside a waterproof satchel before securing it beneath his cloak. The others gathered around Mellia while their constructs moved into position. Kart's two largest guardians stood at the front, each shaped like a broad armored hound. Lucia released four small flying scouts. The metal creatures circled above the camp before landing near the entrance, awaiting her commands. Hernan summoned a short sword and two narrow spears.

The weapon constructs floated around him while he adjusted their formation. Mellia activated four defensive plates. They separated around the group, prepared to create barriers from whichever direction an attack arrived.

"We'll use the usual formation," Mellia said.

"Kart's guardians lead. Hernan follows behind them, and I'll maintain the center." She pointed toward Lucia.

"Keep two scouts ahead and two watching the upper passages. Don't let anything approach from above without warning." Lucia nodded. Mellia turned toward Sieghart last.

"You remain behind me. Focus on healing and support."

"Sure."

"Don't do anything unusual without warning us." Sieghart tilted his head.

"What qualifies as unusual?"

"Anything we don't know you can do."

"That includes almost everything." Hernan looked toward him. Mellia's expression tightened.

"Use healing magic unless the situation requires something else. If it does, tell us before casting." Sieghart nodded. Arguing before entering hostile territory would only distract them.

"I understand." Kart left one guardian construct outside to protect the camp and warn them if anyone approached. The remaining three moved toward the mine. The largest construct crossed the entrance first. Its metal feet struck the old rails with dull echoes that traveled into the darkness. Lucia's scouts followed, their crystal eyes glowing faintly. Hernan entered behind the constructs while Mellia maintained the shields around the group. Sieghart took his assigned position near the rear.

From outside, the location resembled an ordinary abandoned mine. The opening was wide enough for two carts, while old support beams framed a gradual descent into the mountain. The interior immediately felt wrong. The tunnel should have remained narrow and functional, designed only to allow miners and equipment to reach the iron deposits. Instead, the passage widened after less than fifty meters. The walls moved farther apart until the light from the entrance could no longer reach both sides.

The ceiling rose beyond the glow produced by Lucia's scouts. Sieghart could hear wings shifting somewhere above them, but the darkness concealed the source. Kart's guardian constructs appeared smaller inside the expanding space. Even their footsteps returned as distant echoes from directions that should have contained solid rock. Mellia stopped beside a rotten support beam and examined the old mining marks.

"This wasn't in the report." Lucia kept her eyes closed while viewing the tunnel through her scouts.

"The passage continues ahead, but the walls are too far apart for both scouts to see." Hernan looked upward.

"Maybe the miners found a natural cavern."

"That would explain one chamber," Mellia said.

"Not the entrance expanding gradually." Sieghart studied the ground. Old rails continued forward despite the enormous width, proving that miners had once used the route. However, the area surrounding those rails had changed after the mine was abandoned. The original walls might have collapsed, or something had enlarged the passage deliberately. Small bones covered the ground near the edges. Most belonged to rats, rabbits, birds, and other animals brought into the mine as food.

Some had been stripped completely clean. Others remained cracked open, with the marrow removed from inside. A thick layer of dark waste coated portions of the ceiling and walls. The smell grew worse with every step, carrying the sour odor of blood and decaying meat. Lucia's forward scouts crossed another hundred meters before stopping.

"One of the passages splits."

"How many directions?" Mellia asked.

"Three on the ground. There might be more above." Kart's constructs slowed as the group approached the intersection. Their bodies turned independently, prepared to block attacks from each tunnel. Mellia directed one shield above them. The defensive plate expanded into a curved barrier covering the upper section of the formation. Sieghart approved silently. The bat monsters would possess the greatest advantage when attacking from the darkness above.

The team was young, but they prepared for the enemy's strengths rather than moving carelessly. A faint scratching sound traveled across the cavern. Everyone stopped. The noise came from the left passage, then repeated somewhere above the right one. The echoes made determining distance almost impossible. Lucia's scouts moved closer to the ceiling. Their crystal eyes revealed long scratches across the stone and several masses hanging between natural columns. She inhaled sharply.

"There are creatures above us."

"How many?" Mellia asked.

"I can't tell. Their wings are wrapped around their bodies." Hernan's weapon constructs shifted upward. Kart moved his guardians closer together while Mellia expanded the shield above them. Sieghart activated Protection and allowed Muscle Reinforcement to spread silently throughout his body. He did not create an offensive spell yet. A sharp shriek tore through the darkness. Dozens of answering cries emerged across the enormous cavern. The sound struck from every direction, making the air vibrate around them.

Lucia's scouts turned rapidly as shapes detached from the ceiling. Wings unfolded above the group. The creatures were much larger than ordinary bats, with long claws, narrow bodies, and mouths filled with pale teeth. Several carried strange metallic fragments embedded along their chests. Sieghart narrowed his eyes. Those fragments did not look natural. The young summoners assumed their combat positions while the first monsters began descending. Sieghart remained behind Mellia and watched them carefully.

Before revealing what he could do, he wanted to understand how the four fought under real pressure. The shrieks became louder as more bodies left the ceiling.