Chapter 83
We arrived at the Sen Mine at dawn the day after all the paperwork had been completed and ownership had been transferred to me.
“It’s bigger than I expected. I thought it’d be a tiny pit since it was so cheap…”
Ray muttered in admiration as he looked down at the massive pit.
“It’s like a giant stone quarry.”
I picked up a couple of rocks lying by my feet and smiled dryly as I examined them.
This place had been purchased by the Frey family long ago, along with the Dallong Mine. It was known that both mines had been formed around the same time.
Back then, some shamans and merchants had claimed they could sense a strong magical flow from this place.
Thinking there might be magic stones buried here, the late Baron Frey had gone ahead and purchased the Sen Mine. But in the end, nothing was found.
He had simply shrugged and said a failure like this was common in business, and since then, the mine had been left untouched for decades.
“This looks like a great place to bring the kids for a game of hide and seek.”
“No, it looks more like a perfect dragon’s cave.”
Lyn and Kyle popped their heads out of a tunnel they’d been exploring and commented.
“I told you not to wander off like that—it’s dangerous!”
Rician shouted at them. But unlike before, he didn’t chase after them and instead simply instructed them to return on their own.
Now a proper guard, he rarely left my side.
“Duke, do you really think this will work?”
Ray asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
“No one’s ever tried something like this, right?”
“True. But there have been some similar experiments,” I replied. “Sometimes, you’ve got to take a leap of faith.”
“I thought I was pretty bold, but you…” Ray shook his head in disbelief.
“Well then, let’s be careful. Lord David said it himself—communication here is spotty, and information is limited. We’ll need to make judgment calls on the spot.”
“That’s right.”
I thought of David, who had looked so disappointed at not being able to accompany me.
All those warnings about poor communication and inconvenience had really just been his way of asking to come along. But I had left him behind with a mountain of paperwork and came here without a second thought.
There wasn’t enough time, and if I was away from the ducal estate, at least David needed to be there.
“Let’s get started.”
I murmured to myself as I pulled a small, round object from my pocket.
When I peeled away the black cloth wrapping, a brilliant red glow tinged my hand.
It was the red fruit of “Transfer.”
I took a deep breath.
I’d never used one before, but the process was simple enough.
Bzzzz—
The fruit was already vibrating.
It had recognized it was now in the world and was seeking a source of magic to absorb—and a target to transfer that magic into.
“Ray, did you bring what we discussed last time?”
“Here.”
Ray dropped three small, transparent crystals into my palm.
A faint magical aura flowed from the crystals, and they vibrated similarly to the red fruit.
They were young magic stones—sourced from the Dallong Mine.
I smiled.
David and Ray were both amazing in their own right.
It took David only one day to identify which of Grace’s people had visited the Dallong Mine just before the auction and to find out he was struggling with gambling debt.
Ray, undercover, had befriended him within half a day.
That very evening, drunk, the man confessed to Ray that he had stolen a few magic stones from the Dallong Mine.
When he expressed concern about how to sell them, Ray handed him a bundle of gold on the spot and brought back the remaining stones.
“All four of you, step back.”
I instructed Ray, Rician, Lyn, and Kyle to move away. Holding the transparent stones in one hand and the red fruit in the other, I climbed to the highest point of the mine and checked the wind direction.
As expected, the cold dawn wind was blowing from the Dallong Mine toward the Sen Mine.
Clear air, similar conditions and terrain to Dallong, the dormant potential of Sen Mine—everything was perfect.
Bzzz—
The red fruit began to vibrate even more intensely, as if it had sensed the young magic stones.
I took a deep breath and brought the stones and the fruit together in my hands.
BZZZZZ—
The fruit buzzed loudly and glowed brightly.
I could feel the magic flowing from the young stones into the red fruit.
Bzzz—Bzzzz
After a few seconds, I looked into my hands.
The once-transparent crystals had turned dull gray, now lifeless stones. Meanwhile, the red fruit grew hotter, glowing more fiercely.
It worked.
The magic within the stones had clearly been absorbed by the fruit, which was now looking for its next recipient.
If I waited too long, it might mistake me for that recipient and burn me to ashes.
Without hesitation, I knelt and pressed the fruit to the edge of the large pit that made up the mine.
This time, the magic from the fruit spread into the ground and stones it touched.
Soon, three nearby rocks began to shimmer and vibrate just like the ones Ray had handed me earlier.
“…”
I confirmed that the transfer had succeeded and picked the fruit back up in my hand.
The real challenge began now.
I stood still, not even blinking, and stared at the fruit.
The other four seemed to be holding their breath too.
Bzzzz—BZZZZZ—BZZZZZZZ—
After a few minutes, the red fruit began vibrating again—much more violently this time, like a miniature earthquake.
“Iris, it’s dangerous—”
Rician called out behind me, but I raised one hand to signal that I was okay.
I continued to hold the fruit in my hands and waited.
BZZZ—
Its color deepened until it glowed a blood-red hue that radiated in all directions.
Flash!
The once-cold dawn air turned hot, and the air grew so dense it was hard to breathe.
Everything was happening just as I had predicted.
The magic stones from the Dallong Mine were still young and had all originated from the dragon Batoonoa’s body.
That meant they were once a single entity.
So when a strong current was created, the young stones’ magic would naturally be drawn to it.
And the best tool for generating that current was the red fruit.
FWOOOSH—
The fruit’s bloody glow suddenly turned into the blazing color of a torch.
The air around the Sen Mine took on the same hue.
Like a typhoon, an immense wind blew—coming from the direction of the Dallong Mine.
BZZZZZ—
A massive amount of magic began surging from Dallong to Sen.
“Duke!”
This time, Ray shouted.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rician preparing to dash toward me.
“Not yet.”
I shook my head again. At the same time, the fruit grew so hot it felt like it would incinerate my hand.
FWWWWOOOOOSH—
Just when it felt like my palm would turn to ash, the fruit finally stopped absorbing magic.
The heavy air, the wind, and the reddish glow in the atmosphere all vanished, leaving behind only the scorching sphere in my hand.
“Ugh…!”
I grimaced and quickly pressed the fruit back to the spot I’d used earlier.
This time, red light spread across the entire Sen Mine.
Thousands of sparks burst forth here and there.
I forgot the pain in my palm and stared, entranced, at the dazzling display.
BZZZZ—POP
A few minutes later, the fruit, having released everything it had gathered, finally stopped vibrating.
It was over.
I let go of the fruit and collapsed to the ground.
The brilliant light filling the mine remained.
“It worked… it actually worked.”
I whispered.
I had successfully transferred all the magic from the Dallong Mine to the Sen Mine.
