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

Episode 11: Dark Depths

*Lei*

"This looks good," Kun said, picking up a prism of green rock from the wall on our left. The gem seemed to be glowing on its own.

"It looks so pretty," Yen said, her eyes glistening.

"What is it?" I asked.

Kun rubbed his chin and raised the stone toward the light. His eyes lingered on it for some time. "I'm... not sure what it is. Its color and sheen is different than that of emerald and it's not as soft as olivine."

"I see you got an eye for stones," Mithril said, walking over to us. Nyima, Iah, Yuzuki, and he had been digging on the opposite wall for stones and metals.

Kun smiled weakly. "Not a great enough eye as to identify this one."

Mithril took it from him. "Hmm, I think this might be aurivite, but I'm not sure. I'm going to have to run some tests on it in the surface."

"Think it could be a yet to be discovered mineral?" Iah asked, making his way over along with the girls.

"How fortunate if so. It might help save the mine," Nyima said, smiling.

Yuzu nodded. "First the orichalcum, and potentially this. It seems that The Goddess has listened to your pleas."

Mithril cupped his hands around the stone. "We would indeed be fortunate if that turns out to be the case."

"Speaking of discoveries, where did you find einril?" Nyima asked.

I swung my hands behind my head. "Wouldn't using that for a wand be counterproductive for you?" I asked.

"I don't want to use it for a wand. It's just that... usually that material appears around portals to the abyss."

"You think there's one nearby?" Yuzuki said, gulping.

"We should probably find it before it's accidentally reawakened like the one back in Nine Petal was," Kun said.

Ny nodded her head. "My thoughts exactly. Digging for einril is hazardous."

"Guess it's a good thing that the demand for it isn't too heavy," Mithril said, frowning. He pointed into the depths of the cavern we were now in. "Up ahead is where we excavate it."

"Let's go," Nyima said, running into the dark section of the cavern. "I need to see if there's still a portal here or if the presence of einril was caused by a temporary one."

"Temporary ones can create mithril?" Yuzuki asked as we followed after her.

"The very short-lived ones don't, unless if there's a massive outpouring of darkness."

"That explains why Tahoma, Aria, and Rhys found traces of the metal in the destroyed camp in Kyuu Seishin's far-east."

"The camp where Yuuta and the others were?" Nyima asked, turning to look at him.

Iah tensed up. "Do you know why those creatures appeared there when the portal affected was the one in Nine Petal?"

Nyima gritted her teeth. "Good question." She looked at my brother for an answer.

Kun sighed. "The portal at Nine Petal is similar to the one you're in charge of, but for the ones in the surrounding region."

My blue-haired teammate gulped. "So it's like a regional 'master key', huh?"

"Master key?" I asked.

"The portal we Taiyang guard has the potential to impact all others. That's how we managed to close the portal at Nine Petal completely shut."