Chapter 96

“The Tomb of Emperor Kaisha? If you intend to go inside, you’d best bring plenty of food.”

The gravekeeper tending the tomb addressed the party. Dressed in black robes, he looked far from ordinary.

‘The Dark Zone must have spread this far. If he’s still alive, that means one of two things.’

Either he was powerful enough to withstand the Dark Zone, or he wasn’t human.

“Why is that?”

“Because once you enter, you won’t be able to find the exit. But don’t worry too much. If you haven’t made it out after three days, you’ll automatically be warped to the exit.”

Eyes gleamed beneath the hood that concealed his entire face.

“It is the Emperor’s grace.”

“... If he’s going to bestow his grace, I wish he’d just make it easy to get through.”

“Heh heh.”

The gravekeeper chuckled softly at Woojin’s remark.

“Do you happen to know anything about this?”

Woojin took out the key Bensina had given him and showed it to the gravekeeper.

“...!”

The gleam beneath the hood wavered.

“You’ve brought something extraordinary. I’ve been here for many years, but you’re the first to bring this.”

The gravekeeper took the key from Woojin and examined it.

“This opens the burial chamber at the center of the tomb. There are only three on the entire continent... Where did you get it?”

“There’s more than one?”

“Indeed. Well, you couldn’t have received it from the Black Dragon... And no one has heard from Juter the alchemist in ages... Could the Queen of Nemes have bestowed it upon you?”

‘I did get it from that Black Dragon, though...’

“Something like that. Thank you for the information.”

Woojin tucked the key away again.

“What do you all think?”

“May I speak frankly?”

“Of course.”

“I’d prefer that we put this off.”

Standing before the tomb, Peron spoke cautiously.

“Why?”

“The Tomb of Emperor Kaisha remains uncleared even after several years. That means it isn’t somewhere you can conquer through brute force alone.”

“I suppose so.”

True to his title of King of the Labyrinth, his tomb was a fiendish maze.

“Master, wasn’t making the most of your time the reason you pushed yourself to leave Thorn Bach?”

“That’s right.”

“If we make the mistake of going inside, we could waste three whole days.”

He had a point. Woojin was curious about the Dragon Knight’s legacy, but failing to clear the dungeon could complicate matters.

If they were trapped inside for three days, the area around Thorn Bach would be bustling with people again by the time they emerged, and they could attract attention in any number of ways.

“House Balan has a private hunting ground. I’ll speak to my father and have him open it to you.”

That was one of the reasons Woojin wanted to reach the Kingdom of Tekan quickly. According to Peron, House Balan’s private hunting ground was good enough to take him all the way to level 60 without needing to hunt anywhere else.

‘Helping Ruen grow stronger comes first. I can raise my own level while I’m at it.’

Even if they were to visit the Great Forest as the Fairy Queen had advised, it would be safer to at least complete Ruen’s class advancement first. And for Woojin, who needed a reliable hunting ground, there could hardly be a better place.

“I think we can afford to gather information and take our time clearing it. We have the Tomb Key, after all.”

“I agree. A dungeon that’s remained uncleared this long isn’t likely to fall in a day or two.”

Woojin nodded at their words.

“All right.”

“I’ll also arrange for you to consult our family archives, so you can find whatever information you need.”

Karlan seemed to agree as well.

‘And...’

There was one more thing to investigate: Juter the alchemist and the Queen of Nemes, whom the gravekeeper had mentioned.

The other people besides the Black Dragon who possessed keys to the tomb.

‘They wouldn’t have keys to the tomb simply because they had some connection to Kaisha.’

Surely their connection was to Bensina, not Kaisha.

‘Those two will be important to clearing the tomb.’

Woojin decided he should meet them both before entering the labyrinth.

“Do you happen to know anything about those two?”

“Hmm... I don’t know this Juter either. But I’m quite familiar with the Queen of Nemes.”

“What sort of person is she?”

“She is the head of Polter Garden, an alliance of Druids.”

Woojin tipped his head, signaling Karlan to continue.

“It’s quite far from Tekan... Several hundred kilometers farther east lies Lake Yorn. She leads the Druids who live along its shores.”

“Hmm...”

Unlike this Juter, she was an NPC whose whereabouts were publicly known.

‘I’ll have to visit sometime.’

Connections always led to further connections, after all. Meeting her might reveal Juter’s whereabouts too.

“Then... we’re heading to Tekan? It won’t take much longer now. Another half day’s travel will bring us to a village called Yorka.”

“... Yorka?”

Woojin nodded at Karlan’s answer. The name sounded familiar.

‘Oh, right.’

“Now that the Dark Zone is gone, you should be able to use the portal there.”

Yorka. It was none other than Raoul’s hometown.

“Then we should stop there.”

That was a relief. It seemed he could fulfill Raoul’s request sooner than he had expected.

“Um...”

“What is it?”

Peron, who had been listening to their conversation, addressed Woojin with a worried look.

“If it’s Yorka, I’d advise against going. It would be better to travel a little farther to a city called Kashan instead.”

“Is there a problem?”

“That’s Genesis Corps territory.”

“Hmm... And?”

“Of course, I know you aren’t afraid of the Genesis Corps, Master... But this isn’t the Dark Forest. There are a lot more of them here.”

“It doesn’t really matter. I’ve already run into them here.”

“... Pardon?”

“A fellow named Colson was in Thorn Bach. I think he came looking for me...”

“S-so? What did you do?”

“What else? I sent him back.”

“Whew... That’s a relief, then. I’m glad you settled things amicably...”

Peron let out a quiet sigh of relief at Woojin’s words.

“To the shrine.”

“...”

Peron and Woojin stared at each other.

“W-wait! How have you stirred up so much trouble when you’ve barely arrived on the central continent?!”

“Stirred up trouble? I was minding my own business. They came looking for me.”

Woojin sounded aggrieved.

“Oh, my head...”

“But how did Yorka end up in their hands? As far as I know, the Genesis Corps’ base is a long way from here.”

“That’s true, but they actually have a presence across the continent, almost as extensive as the Church’s.”

“They’re that big?”

“Yes. Even some of the ten great clans are smaller than the Genesis Corps in sheer size.”

Peron lowered his voice.

“You know JR Group, right? The number-one group in IT.”

“... Number one?”

Woojin frowned slightly.

‘Since when is the likes of JR number one...?’

“Apparently, the family’s second son leads the Genesis Corps. His name is Karyu. He doesn’t have to worry about pleasing sponsors and can do whatever he likes, so his faction has grown enormously.”

JR Group’s second son. Woojin knew him well.

Nomura Shun.

‘He was the moron who secretly siphoned off headquarters’ funds and pushed development too hard trying to overtake [R&C Technology], the company I founded, only to destroy his own company...’

He had also resorted to every dirty trick imaginable to bring Woojin down, from spreading rumors to corruption.

But now that Woojin’s existence had been erased, naturally, [R&C Technology] did not exist either. Perhaps that was why JR Group now occupied the top spot.

He clicked his tongue. Remembering the real-world affairs he had briefly forgotten left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“The Genesis Corps used JR Group’s vast funds to buy villages and land all over the place.”

“Why would they do that?”

“That’s the strange part. They offered huge sums for villages with little traffic and no particular importance, so the kingdoms jumped at the chance to sell them off.”

“And?”

“And every village they bought turned out to be a jackpot.”

“A jackpot?”

“Things like dungeons appearing in the villages, or mines being discovered.”

“Oh! I saw that on the community forums too. Apparently, they made enormous profits selling those villages back to the kingdoms at inflated prices.”

“That’s right. But there are a few villages Karyu absolutely refuses to sell, and Yorka is one of them.”

“What’s there?”

“A mana stone mine.”

Mana stones.

Unlike runes, which increased a specific stat, consuming a mana stone raised a random stat. However, since they counted toward the same consumption limit as runes, they were inferior to runes purely in terms of stat increases.

But mana stones were also used as ingredients in alchemy, magic, and many other fields, so demand for them was greater than for runes.

Moreover, unlike runes, which could only be obtained from monsters, mana stones could be mined and were inexpensive, making them a serviceable substitute for players unable to obtain runes.

“...”

Woojin’s expression hardened at Peron’s words.

“Don’t tell me... they’re using the villagers as laborers in the mana stone mine.”

“That’s exactly what they’re doing. Most of the village probably works mining mana stones.”

GRIND.

Woojin’s rigid expression turned to anger, and he ground his teeth fiercely.

Mana stones enjoyed high demand and a stable supply. Yet despite their many advantages, they posed one enormous problem:

Mana poisoning.

Unrefined mana stones were highly toxic. Mana poisoning was an illness caused by prolonged exposure to those raw stones.

“That’s why the kingdoms banned mana stone mining. But Yorka is private property. It seems the Genesis Corps has restarted the mining operation that was shut down.”

“That stupid bastard. He did nothing but pull scummy shit when he was running a business too...”

“Pardon?”

“No. Nothing.”

“That’s why I think it would be best to avoid Yorka if possible. You aren’t on good terms with the Genesis Corps to begin with... We can’t risk trouble just to use a portal.”

Peron continued,

“As you said yourself, Master, isn’t getting to Tekan quickly more important?”

“It is.”

Woojin nodded.

“You’re right, but... something more important than time has come up.”

“What do you mean?”

“My benefactor’s mother lives there.”

The others tilted their heads in puzzlement.

‘But he only just arrived on the central continent...’

‘When did he form a connection like that...?’

“I’m sorry to go back on what I said... It might have been different if I didn’t know, but now that I know there’s a mana stone mine there, I can’t ignore it.”

[“Would you tell her to be careful not to catch a cold?”]

[“... Pardon?”]

Woojin recalled Raoul’s words.

[“... My mother has suffered from pneumonia all her life.”]

It had been his final request.

“I wouldn’t be able to face my benefactor otherwise.”