Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Episode 6: Into the Mines!

*Lei*

Mithril lead us into the cavern which was filled with glistening stone that glimmered like gold.

"Is that fool's gold?" I asked, pointing at it.

"Surprised you didn't fall for it," Nyima said, snickering.

I grumbled. "I'm not an idiot!"

"Shh," Mithril said. "Try not to speak to loudly here, especially as we go deeper, else you might cause a cave in."

I shivered as I remembered our narrow escape from the collapsing underground passage way leading from Hou to Xian.

I gasped. Wait, Kadriya said that it was part of a greater complex, assuming that the rest of it remained intact then we could...

"What is it now?" Yen asked, leering at me.

I smiled. "I came up with an idea."

Kun laughed. "For what?"

"I'll tell you later, it's best that Sarah listens to it too."

"Is it about the invasion?" Iah asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it might just give us the element of surprise."

"Hmm, curious to hear it, but for now let's focus on finding what Elliot asked us to get." His yellow eyes peered deeper into the dimly lit cavern. A thundering noise grew stronger the deeper we went in.

"Would yelling really make much of a difference with all that noise?" I asked, putting a hand on my hips.

"Best to be cautious," Mithril said, turning on the light on his helmet. "Let's take the elevator to the lowest floor, that's where we have the best chance to find orichalcum."

"You got an elevator?" Yuzuki asked.

"Yeah, this mine is rather old, our families have been had digging for generations. There's even old paths that have ran dry." The glimmer in his light-green eyes subsided somewhat. "Though, soon the whole mountain might follow. It likely has two or three years left in it."

"What will you do when that happens?" Iah asked.

Our guide lowered his eyes. "I'm not sure. We would need to find a new location to dig up, but that would also mean moving the village if it proves too far."

"All of the miners are locals?" I asked.

"Not all, but most of us are. Some came here from various parts of Mina, a handful of who did so thinking they could strike it rich."

"You haven't?" Yuzuki asked. "I mean, orichalcum itself is expensive, especially the highest grade kind."

I gulped as I thought back to the orichalcum target I had punctured during the games. Wonder how much money that alone costed... but it had to be C rank at best considering how easy it was to puncture... Or maybe I was simply more awesome than I gave myself credit for.

A ghoulish suddenly reverberated across the mine, causing Yuzu and Nyima to jump.

"That was wind, right?" Yuzuki asked, drawing closer to me.

I smiled. "Yeah, it was."

"Goddess, it sounded like a banshee," Nyima said, rubbing her shoulders.

Iah chuckled. "Stick close to me, I'll protect you."

Her face reddened. "I'll be fine..." she said, averting her gaze.

"How about you stand in front?" I asked. "Your light would help lead the way."