Around two hours had passed since they first stepped into the Frozen Crystal Abandoned Mine, and not a single monster had crossed their path. They managed to reach the forward base without incident.
As they approached the entrance, Bilek raised his hand to signal the guards.
But the gate didn't budge.
"Hmm?"
"No response?"
"There's no one around, either."
A tense atmosphere fell over them. Sensing something amiss, the mage-warriors rushed to Bilek's side and pooled their magic to blast open the front gate. The moment they entered, a nauseating stench overwhelmed them.
"Ugh... What is this?!"
They were greeted by a gruesome sight: blood splattered everywhere, and lifeless bodies scattered across the base.
Seeing the gruesome sight, Bilek's face filled with disbelief.
"How did this happen…? Check the rear gate! Quickly!"
Fearing that the rear gate, which was supposed to block monsters from entering the mine, might have been breached, the mages rushed toward it.
"T-This can't be! There's a massive hole in the rear gate! Principal, we have an emergency!"
"Damn it…!"
Clutching his staff, Bilek sprinted to see for himself. Sure enough, the solid metal barrier bore a gaping hole, large enough for a house-sized beast to fit through.
But something was odd.
If the opening was this enormous, monsters from the Frozen Crystal Mine should have already poured inside.
So why was it dead silent?
"P-principal... Something feels off. Shouldn't we just head back?"
After all, they weren't here to subjugate the mine. This was only supposed to be a training mission.
Retreating in an emergency like this seemed like the logical choice, but Bilek thought differently.
"No. By the time we return and organize a proper strike force, who knows what could happen to the city? We'll stay and investigate."
Then, turning to one of the cadets, he added.
"Take this to the city at once. Report what's happened here to the command center."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
After sending one mage back to the city, Bilek walked toward the rear gate and gave orders.
"There should be photon-shielding stones stacked in the western storage room. We'll temporarily seal the hole in the rear gate with them, so get them here quickly."
"Yes, sir!"
Despite their panic, the cadets followed Bilek's commands without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Florin's voice trembled with confusion.
"What on earth is going on...?"
"Not sure."
While Bilek maintained control over the situation, Baek Yu-Seol focused on analyzing the cause of the disaster.
'A hole in the barrier, yet no monsters came through. No tracks, only mutilated corpses…'
The bodies looked as if they'd been sliced by an impossibly sharp blade. The walls and structures bore similar cuts. The carnage reminded Baek Yu-Seol of the white, mist-like creature he had seen just days before.
'Don't tell me… there's more than one of those things?'
A chill ran down his spine at the thought.
What if there were two, or even more of those monsters?
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Even with his Harmony of Heavenly Qi at full power, he had barely managed to handle one of them.
If such monsters had already infiltrated the city, the consequences could be catastrophic.
"Sister, come with me."
Baek Yu-Seol grabbed Florin's arm and made a beeline for the rear gate, sprinting past Bilek.
"Wait! Stop! It's dangerous out there!"
"Principal, you should come too!"
"What…? Damn it!"
Cursing under his breath, Bilek hurriedly followed after them.
"What the hell are you trying to do in this kind of emergency—w-wait…?!"
When Bilek finally saw the situation outside the rear gate, he froze in place, his mouth hanging open in shock.
Blade marks were scattered everywhere.
Giant zombie-like humanoids, each over 3 meters tall, lay shattered into pieces, letting out grotesque groans.
Even the monsters that had emerged from the Frozen Crystal Ores were destroyed beyond recognition, unable to regenerate.
"What… Is this…?"
"All the monsters within a few hundred meters are completely dead."
"... You can see that far?"
"Yes. Beyond that, my view is blocked by the terrain, but I suspect it's more of the same."
The monsters here weren't particularly strong… mostly risk level 4 or 5 threats.
But their sheer numbers had been overwhelming, which was why Bilek's assistance was needed in the first place.
Now, however, such assistance was no longer necessary.
"Principal, from here on out, we'll go our own way. Please focus on repairing the gate."
"Wait, what? That's too dangerous! There might still be monsters out there!"
"We'll be fine. Thank you for guiding us this far."
With a polite bow, Baek Yu-Seol firmly held Florin's hand and led her onward. She had to quicken her pace to keep up, and she bit her lip as she tried not to slow him down. Baek Yu-Seol held her hand as though he'd never let go… and Florin had no intention of pulling away.
"Baek Yu-Seol-ssi."
"You can just call me Baek Yu-Seol. No need for formalities."
"... Baek Yu-Seol. Will we really be okay? Those traces… They look exactly like the ones we saw on that creature a few days ago. What if it's headed toward the city?"
Even in this tense situation, Florin's concern for the city was touching.
But Baek Yu-Seol knew there was no need to worry about that.
"It hasn't reached the city yet. It probably wreaked havoc here and got lost trying to find a way out. A creature powerful enough to smash through a gate like that wouldn't exactly open it gently and slip away."
"Ah…!"
"The mine is like a maze from here on. It won't be easy for that thing to navigate. Yes, I'm going to hunt it down."
"So… you're planning to hunt it down?"
At her question, Baek Yu-Seol paused and listened carefully.
Ahead of them were four branching paths.
Clang! Clang, clang!
The distant sound of pickaxes striking rock echoed from one direction.
'Left.'
And then…
Rustle—
There was a faint ripple of mana behind them, and a shadow stepped cautiously.
Sensing at least three different signals at once, Baek Yu-Seol quickly decided and began walking toward the source of the pickaxe sounds.
"That's right. I'm going to hunt it."
"Ah… But this place still feels ominous. I think there might be more monsters around..."
"Exactly. If monsters are still alive here, it means that creature hasn't made it this far. By the way, you can take off your hood now. It must be stifling."
Florin's face brightened, and she removed her hood with relief. She inhaled deeply, savoring the open air. For someone forced to hide her face most of her life, it felt liberating to breathe freely.
Even though her curse had mostly disappeared, her appearance… combined with the absurd synergy of her [Absorbing Affection], meant that she would likely have to hide her face for the rest of her life.
In truth, Baek Yu-Seol was the only person in the world she could freely show her face to without worry.
And deep down…
She secretly hoped that he might be just a little affected by the faint charm she naturally exuded.
Now that the lethal abilities of her [Absorbing Affection] had been completely sealed, the only power remaining was its ability to subtly attract the hearts of others.
Even this ability was usually sealed because it could still be dangerous… but wasn't it natural to want to use it, even just a little, on someone who had captured her own heart?
Until now, Florin had never worried about her appearance or grooming. But suddenly, she became self-conscious.
What if her hair was a mess? What if her lips were chapped?
Hurriedly, she smoothed her hair and touched her lips.
Thump—!
'…Huh?'
She froze mid-gesture, pressing a hand to her chest, startled by an unfamiliar heartbeat.
"What's wrong? We should keep going."
"Ah, n-nothing…"
Her voice trembled unconsciously.
All her life, Florin had been asexual, never experiencing such feelings. Yet now, she felt a gentle flutter, a clear sign of change.
'Not yet… It's still too soon…'
Thankfully, this was only a slight indication of what elves in love might undergo… a complete transformation at a pivotal moment. For now, it was just a minor symptom. She had no idea why it was happening so suddenly, but she quickly used the Blessing of Pink Spring Moon to steady her emotions.
Clang! Clang!
They ventured deeper into the mine, following the increasing racket of pickaxes striking stone.
"Another split path…"
"Let's go this way."
Clang! Clang!
Florin peered anxiously into the darkness. With her connection to the World Tree weakened, her vision had reverted to that of a regular elf, making it hard to see clearly. At last, after a long trek, they reached the source of the clamor… and discovered its disturbing truth.
Clang! Clang!
"T-Those are…!"
"Shh."
They crouched low, peering into the chamber where the sound of metal on rock originated.
Zombies.
Standing over three meters tall, they were dwarven zombies with snail-like features.
"I heard most miners here were Ain. These must be snail-type Ain."
"Ain zombies… Are they mining even after death…?"
"Exactly. Mining was their whole life. Even now, their bodies move out of sheer habit."
Clang! Clang!
And there were dozens of them. Farther in, a row of snail-like Ain stood aimlessly, endlessly swinging their pickaxes at solid rock. Their hollow eyes seemed to focus on nothing.
"This is horrifying…"
"I warned you. This place isn't nearly as harmless as it looks."
"Could it be that all the people in the city…"
Baek Yu-Seol shook his head.
"No. Only a small group involved in managing the mine did this. Most of them have moved on to other professions by now."
"You seem well-informed."
Startled by an unfamiliar voice behind them, Florin instinctively covered her mouth. Baek Yu-Seol quickly positioned himself between her and the newcomers.
Seven figures in black hoods approached, each exuding the aura of at least a Class 5 mage. Their leader's presence felt more like Class 7. With calculated calm, the leader reached into his robe and drew out a staff. The others followed suit, aiming at Baek Yu-Seol.
"Ah, I see… A High Elf? The information about a mage wasn't wrong, then?"
"What if I'm not a mage?"
"That would be unfortunate. Our 'clients' specifically requested mages,,. It would lower your value if you weren't."
A beautiful female mage as a slave. What a twisted desire.
Their clients were mostly non-mages or low-tier mages… people with wealth but without the ability to use magic. They were often looked down upon in a magic-dominated society.
In this world, where magic supremacy reigned, no matter how talented or capable someone was, they were often ignored if they couldn't wield magic.
And from that frustration…
Warped desires were born.
A desire to dominate and humiliate the mages who had once looked down on them.
'I want to crush the arrogant mages who always stood above me and looked down on me!'
By forcing those high-ranking, talented, and beautiful mages - praised by society - to crawl at their feet, they sought to satisfy their inferiority complex.
With slavery nearly abolished, the slave traders who remained catered to such depraved demands.
"Will you resist?"
The Hunter leader smirked.
"I've heard you're somewhat famous in the central continent… But that was only against dark mages. We've captured hundreds of mages like you."
They advanced, their mocking laughter echoing through the mine. It was a spell meant to crush his will, yet Baek Yu-Seol remained unmoved.
"If you value your life, hand over the girl behind you and leave."
Even after hearing those words, Baek Yu-Seol didn't draw his staff.
Seeing this, the Hunter leader sneered.
"You've given up? Smart move."
"Given up?"
Baek Yu-Seol chuckled softly.
"I just don't need a staff."
"What?"
The Hunter froze for a moment, confused.
And then—
A scream erupted from behind him.
"Aaaaaargh…!"
In an instant, one of his comrades toppled to the ground, body neatly severed in two.
"W-What the…!"
The remaining Hunters spun around, aiming their staves at a gruesome creature.
Roughly two meters tall, it had a grotesquely thin form, its elongated arms and legs twisting in a half-human shape.
Its body flickered like white mist, as though it had emerged from a haze.
"Wasn't one of you a Class 7 mage?"
Baek Yu-Seol firmly held Florin's hand, stepped back, and spoke.
"Then I'm sure you can handle this. Do your best for the sake of the city!"
With that, Baek Yu-Seol abruptly turned and bolted, dragging Florin with him.
The zombies were stirred by the commotion and simultaneously turned their heads toward the Hunters.
"W-Wait! Hold on—!"
Why were the zombies only looking at them?
Wasn't Baek Yu-Seol and Florin still running?
It was only then that the Hunters realized. There were no footsteps.
Not a single sound.
'Zombies are blind but highly sensitive to sound.'
Recalling this terrifying detail, the Hunter's face paled.
"No… This can't be…!"
They were well and truly trapped. Before they could do anything, the massive zombies lunged at them with hideous moans.
"No—NOOO!"
And so, deep in the bowels of the Frozen Crystal Mine, the hunters' frantic screams soon dissolved into silence.