Chapter 161

Chapter 161 Strongest Sage, Digs Out Dragon Vein

" . . . It should be around here . "

I stabbed the dungeon wall with a pickaxe as I said that .

It's the same magically enhanced pickaxe I used to gather mithril at the Second Academy .

Since we're not making barrier this time, I dig out the wall at a quick pace .

And then–a few minutes after I started digging .

Mana gushes out of the dug wall .

"Here it is . This is the great dungeon's Dragon Vein . "

"W-what incredible mana . . . "

Ruli muttered while gazing at the huge amount of mana gushing out of the wall .

At a glance, it only looks like an ordinary rock wall .

But those who can detect mana to a degree will immediately notice that there's a vast amount of mana lurking inside this wall .

And those who have gotten a bit more used to detecting mana should also notice what lies inside .

"Umm . . . Don't you think this mana kinda feels like demons?"

Looks like Ruli noticed .

"It's cause the demons' mana is mixed in it . . . . That said, the majority of it doesn't seem to have been from a recent interference . "

"Not recent? . . . You mean it's old?"

"Yeah . It's 100 year old at the very least . This amount of mana . . . It's probably the work of a powerful enough demon at the cost of its life . The demons in this time are only doing the finishing touch . "

The reason why demons haven't destroyed mankind as soon as possible is probably because they're waiting for this to activate, in addition to their power decline .

I mean simply activating this should cause a great disaster huge enough to wipe out the present humanity .

"More than 100 years ago . . . but since it needs a finishing touch, that means we can still stop it right?"

Ruli turns toward the Dragon Vein .

Looks like she's braced herself .

"That's right . For now put this magic circle for communication in the Dragon Vein . . . Afterward, interfere with the Dragon Vein while consulting with me! If you make a mistake in the control, it will explode and cause Mana Disaster, in the worst case scenario, this entire city could be destroyed, so be careful!"

"Y . . . Yes!"

Telepathy magic won't work with Disqualified Crest at a distance .

Thus, we're using the Dragon Vein as a medium for it .

If it's only for relaying info, I don't need to get too close to the Dragon Vein at its present state, thus it's an effective mean of communication inside the dungeon .

I've taught her how to make magic tools to control Dragon Vein after all .

"You two, I'm counting on you to guard Ruli!"

"Yup!"

"I understand!"

After confirming Alma and Iris's reactions, I dive down the floors .

Due to the demons tampering the Dragon Vein, the floor structures seem to have have changed from yesterday .

『Ruli, any change in the Dragon Vein's fluctuation?』

While progressing through the dungeon, I touch the wall with my hand and communicate with Ruli .

『Yes! It kinda feels unnatural somehow!』

Just as I thought, the demons have started the finishing touch .

This is the perfect timing to interfere with it .

『Interfere their Dragon Vein control! Use any rank 2 Magic Tools you want!』

『I understand!』

Rank is a number that indicates the scale of the effect a magic gives to the Dragon Vein .

Magic doesn't have that kind of classification though, it's just me saying 『This is rank 1, this is rank 2』 on my own .

Since among the magic I taught her, there are some that could cause a great disaster if used carelessly .

Pointing out which magic to use or not to use at times like this will take too much time, thus classifying them into ranks would lessen the work .

While giving pointers like that–I reached a floor that's so obviously different from a natural dungeon .

Right now I'm on floor 31 .

Normally, the dungeon should have been much deeper .

However–there is no path that leads beyond here on floor 31 .

"Now then . . . The real thing starts now . "