Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32. Baum Territory's Mine (4)
Everyone wandering the mine was walking with their faces distorted in grimaces.
It was indeed a candy worthy of being presented by Blanc as a countermeasure to the situation. It was enough to maintain sanity without wrapping oneself in Aura.
"When I was young, I once stabbed my thigh with a knife to wake up from a Warlock's hex. This is almost at that level."
Sir Hansen was describing the power of the candy lingering in his mouth by digging up memories from the past.
"This damn candy doesn't disappear no matter how much I roll it around!"
"I don't know if I should say that's fortunate or unfortunate."
The knights had their cheeks bulging and were frowning. If seen from the outside, it would have been quite a funny sight.
'In the end, we do use this.'
Even Blanc hadn't brought the item predicting he would use it. He had just brought it in case of emergencies.
After all, his plan was to retreat first and then reorganize.
"Rakshar, open the backpack."
"Yes, yes, Young Master."
Blanc took out a small pouch packed by Billy from the backpack and tied it to his waist.
It was fortunate that he had at least brought the Mint Candy. Right now, it was just a candy with cult popularity among a few people, but after it became known that its unique atrocious taste produced effects surpassing stimulants, it was a candy frequently used by mercenaries.
However, even though the Mint Candy saved them the trouble of constantly wrapping themselves in Aura, the group's problem remained.
They absolutely could not find the way.
"This damn it!"
Even the patient Noel finally reached his limit and threw the map he was holding onto the ground.
"Nothing fits properly!"
Noel was right.
No matter how much he looked at the map, he couldn't even tell where they were, so it was understandable for Noel to burst in anger.
Just when they thought this was the place, a different path would appear somewhere, and paths not even on the map would suddenly pop out, making it impossible to determine the direction.
Unlike Noel who had given up on finding the way, Blanc was grasping their location by recalling the map recorded in his previous life within his head.
Blanc wasn't a rare genius who memorized everything he saw once, but despite it being a map recorded nearly 30 years ago, it was vividly alive in Blanc's mind.
Just as writing carved in stone lasts a thousand years, Batai had carved the map of the Baum Mine into young Blanc's soul through violence and fear.
To avoid being beaten by him, to not starve for dinner that day, the young boy had no choice but to desperately record the map.
Thus, the map of the Baum Mine, embedded like trauma in Blanc's soul, could rise vividly in Blanc's mind again.
'As expected, there was a reference point.'
As a result, Blanc played a decisive role in breaking through the current situation.
Blanc noticed that their location changed instantly when the group passed a certain reference point.
He wasn't sure, but he thought they were being made to go in circles by changing their location using magical formulas.
The reason was that when matched with the map in his head, they were only circling the periphery without being able to enter the center where the Warlock's dungeon was.
Perhaps if the scale of the mine was small, the knights in front would have noticed. However, because it was large and similar scenery continued due to the nature of the terrain called a mine, Blanc was the only one who noticed.
'It's around here.'
Blanc found the place suspected to trigger the magical formula and quietly called Noel and Aubert.
"Brothers."
"What is it?"
"What's the matter?"
"I think I found something."
At the good news Blanc spoke of, color returned to everyone's faces.
"Is that true? Did you find the way?"
"Not as far as finding the way, but I discovered something strange."
Blanc explained the deduction he had thought of so far to the knights.
"The paths are tangled in disorder. Right now, this place and."
Blanc drew a line with his foot.
"This place is not a naturally connected path. If you look at the surrounding walls, you can see the grain of the rock is subtly cut off."
When the knights ran to the place Blanc pointed out and looked at the rock face on the wall, the grain of the rock was indeed subtly misaligned, just as Blanc said.
"How did you find this……."
However, because it was literally a subtle change, it looked strange only because Blanc said it was strange; to the knights who had no professional knowledge of mines and rocks, no distinct difference was visible.
"Indeed, a knight acknowledged by Aselheit."
"He is certainly different."
The knights could only praise the talent Blanc possessed once again.
"Then what shall we do?"
Noel naturally asked Blanc for a solution.
Since he had no way to break this situation, he decided to expect a solution from Blanc, who had brilliant talent.
"It seems a magical formula is activated based on this line. If there were a mage in our group, I would have asked them to attempt dismantling it, but since there is no method right now……."
Blanc gazed at Bauer, who had smashed the wall blocking them two days ago.
Bauer, meeting Blanc's eyes, blinked his bovine, clear eyes.
"How about we just smash everything first?"
Since we can't dismantle it, let's just smash it all.
Blanc smiled and suggested to Sir Bauer to smash everything in this vicinity.
Noel and Aubert, having no particular method, agreed with that opinion.
"That is exactly why I am here! Sir Blanc!"
Bauer tapped his chest as if to say 'trust me' and grinned, lifting the corners of his mouth.
***
In conclusion, Blanc's judgment was correct.
If you can't untie it, cutting it off is also a method.
Since they were knights who couldn't unravel magical formulas, simply smashing everything visible was a method if one could call it that.
"The scenery in front has definitely changed."
"Though it's the same mine anyway. I can at least tell it's a different place from where we were looking earlier."
While Bauer and the squires mercilessly smashed everything around, the remaining knights were staring straight ahead with their eyes wide open.
According to Blanc, if the magical formula was broken, the original path, not the tangled and twisted one, would pop out, so they were keeping their eyes peeled to check that difference.
It was indeed as Blanc said.
As Bauer smashed the surroundings indiscriminately, he must have broken something properly, because the knights felt the scenery in front of them change subtly in an instant.
It was a subtle change they wouldn't have noticed if they hadn't been watching continuously.
"Since it's mine, similar scenery continued, so we probably didn't notice."
"Damn Warlock bastard. Playing dirty, just fitting for their level."
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
The knights walked while looking at the rock faces beside them, and if there was any subtly different part, they reported it to Blanc.
"I don't think it's this one."
"Damn it. I can't tell even looking at it?"
Aubert reported the seventeenth rock face he found, but when rejected by Blanc, he lost his temper.
"Blanc, how do you recognize it so well? Were you a miner in your past life?"
'I don't know either. Brother.'
Even if Blanc combined the experiences of his past life, there was no way he would recognize the subtle breaks in rock faces that only miners might notice.
Blanc determined the group's location after two days of wandering, then inserted it into the map in his head.
The next part was simple. Compared to the map of Baum Mine floating in Blanc's mind, if the path in front appeared different from the map in his head, he would assume it was around here and look around.
As the group smashed their way through whenever suspicious spots arose, a suspicious passage finally appeared before them.
"I am not a mage, but I definitely know this ahead is suspicious."
It was as Aubert said.
The path that appeared before the group was different from the mine tunnels they had passed so far.
The mine tunnels had earthen floors and rough walls because the paths were forced through, but the path that appeared now was a well-trimmed passage.
The floor was made of flat stones for easy walking, and the walls and ceiling, clearly touched by human hands, formed an arch shape.
'We've arrived.'
Blanc could also feel that they had arrived at the Warlock's dungeon looking at the passage in front.
From now on, they had to be on high alert and prepare for incoming threats. In his past life, the search parties of Tolome had swept everything away, so there were no traps to speak of, but now those things would be alive.
"We enter."
Noel said, drawing his sword.
The knights held their swords upright and looked at the passage before them.
A passage sized such that three people standing would fill it tight.
Whether it was just a feeling or not, darkness of a different grain from the mine they had wandered so far seemed to lurk there.
It was darkness that was not easily illuminated by torches.
It was darkness that seemed to have a sticky texture.
As Noel took the lead, the knights maintained their formation and moved towards the entrance standing there with its massive mouth open.
***
At first, it was a place that seemed like an ordinary passage with only a bizarre atmosphere, but as they entered further inside, antique decorations like those in a noble's mansion were embroidered on the walls and ceiling.
"I can tell the Warlock bastard's taste. These are decorations that went out of fashion a long time ago."
Aubert smirked at the unidentified Warlock as if to relieve the tension.
Blanc was also watching the walls while moving his tense steps.
At first, the walls only had patterns carved on them, but as they walked, the patterns became more ornate, and in this case, elaborate sculptures were carved into the wall entirely.
"I agree with the opinion that the Warlock bastard's taste is tacky. Brother."
And as they went further inside, the ornate decorations disappeared from the walls, and instead, grotesque statues were lined up in a row.
"It looks as if they are trapped in the wall."
What was carved on the walls were figures of people. The depiction was so excellent that one might think they really trapped people in the wall and poured plaster over them.
The vividly expressed screaming expressions, the wrinkles around the eyes carved in detail, and the hands reaching out desperately as if asking to be taken out.
They were statues protruding out as if they would jump out of the wall and attack the group right now.
"If I had time, I would want to take one home."
Sir Hansen, who was examining the wall, could not hide his admiration. As Sir Hansen had an artistic sense for a knight, he could grasp the value of the sculptures he was seeing now.
However, since they were figures of people carved in such terrible forms to be admired, the group couldn't help but feel chilled.
Only Hansen, seriously assessing the artistic value of the statues, and Bauer, who had nerves of steel to begin with, were looking at them with curiosity.
To Blanc and the group walking with the statues lined up on both walls, the sound of Hansen and Bauer's conversation drifted over.
"Huh? This statue. It seems to resemble someone."
"Hmm, it certainly does. It looks similar to Sir Chelman."
Knight Chelman was one of the first knights to go missing.
At the conversation of the two knights, the group naturally turned their heads toward the statue said to resemble Chelman. Since a familiar name came up, curiosity was piqued.
Blanc wasn't particularly interested in the two's conversation, but like the group, his gaze naturally shifted to the statue they were talking about.
"Damn it……."
And at the end of that shifted gaze.
His eyes met with the statue said to resemble Knight Chelman.