Chapter 71-72

Chapter 71 – I trained!

"Lord Heal, that statue. Are you really fine with it?"

Fule muttered as we descended to the underground through the railway.

"Uh, I don't think I would say I'm fine…"

The giant Golem I had made yesterday by the shore of Sheorl Island.

The plan had been to model the body after Erevan, but due to Mappa suddenly appearing in front of me before I made it, both the body and face had turned into Mappa.

Yes, it was a Mappa Golem with rolled back eyes and doing the peace sign.

Erevan had howled at the sky before crumbling onto the ground.

He must have thought that there was no going back now.

However, I told him that I could still make alterations and fix it.

But then we suddenly heard a commotion coming from the reclaimed ground. And so I turned to look.

Many people had gathered there.

They were the goblin, kobold, and orc children.

At the time, I had no idea what they were saying. But it was clear that it had to do with the sudden appearance of the Mappa Golem.

Upon hearing them, the Mappa Golem stopped doing the peace sign, and instead moved on to other strange poses.

It flexed its muscles…puffed out its chest, and blew kisses…

This seemed to be well received. The children had decided that they liked the Mappa statue.

Once Erevan realized this, 'I lost,' was all that he could mutter.

And so the Mappa statue had been left as it was.

However, I did try to at least make it maintain its pose of raising the axe high into the air… But its eyes remained rolled back, and its jaw was slack.

"Well, for me personally, I would have found a statue of my father to be more embarrassing. So I'm glad."

So, Fule was among those that preferred it to stay this way.

His own daughter… I was starting to feel bad for Erevan. I would have to make it up to him somehow.

As I thought about it, the train reached the lowest part of the cave.

Here, there was a giant, square-shaped chamber.

The place where we had defeated all of the Golems.

It had been littered with fragments after the battle, but everything was cleaned up now.

A few monsters were currently inside, and they were either wiping the floors or creating parts for the railroad.

"Now, let's dig from here today. Still, it would be a waste to not do anything about all of this space."

It took about three minutes of walking to reach the back from where we were.

That meant it was the same size as the largest hall in the royal palace.

"I wonder if we could use it for something… In the first place, what was this room used for?"

I turned to look at Shiel, who always followed me.

Shiel was silent for a while as if troubled. And then the mark of a shield appeared on her body.

Fule looked puzzled.

"Does that mean it's dangerous?"

"Maybe there is something dangerous here. So I should use Shield?"

Shiel nodded.

"Alright then… I will put up a Shield."

And so I surrounded us and the other monsters in the area with Shield.

Once Shiel saw this, she headed for the center of the chamber. And so I followed her.

When we reached the center, Shiel began to hit the floor with her body.

And then a square stone appeared from the floor and hovered in the air.

Shiel touched it…

"…Huh? I suddenly feel heavy?"

"You're right. I feel like I'm being weighed down…"

Fule was feeling the same sensation.

Shiel then took the stone and started to move towards the entrance.

And then she gestured for Fule to take one step out of the area.

"You want me to move out? Okay… Oh!"

Fule started hopping around.

"I'm light! Was I always this light?"

"I see… So I really do feel heavier when I am in this area."

Shiel nodded. Then she raised the stone again, and the area returned to normal.

And then, just for a second, the room was filled with a blizzard, with fire, thunderous rain, and strong winds.

Of course, Shield was blocking all of it. But it also seemed like Shiel was also holding back a little.

"I see…so you can create all kinds of environments here. But why would you want to do that?"

I asked. And then what looked like two little hands stretched out of Shiel and began to thrust forward like fists.

"You mean it was for training?"

Shiel nodded.

"I see. So those Golems were for battle training then…"

They were tough and could absorb magic.

And they did not break easily.

Yes, that would make them the perfect targets for training.

The various changes in weather and your body feeling heavier were ways they recreated harsh environments.

Fule turned to me.

"We'll be able to train with magic and martial arts here."

"Yeah. I think Erevan would be happy…"

If I knew him like I thought I did. He would actually enjoy training while feeling heavier.

"Yes! Father will be so happy about it! He's always saying how no one here except for Taran can put up a decent fight. I'll go and call him now!"

"Thanks. It should make up for yesterday…"

And so Fule got back on the train and headed for the surface.

Yes, this would be very useful for training…however, there was also a problem.

The thing was, I wanted to keep digging towards the back.

"Shiel. Could you do that to just a certain sector of this room?"

And so Shiel made it rain in just the back.

And then little by little, the rain moved from the right to the left.

On closer inspection, I saw that there were small holes in the floor where the water drained out.

"So, you can. In that case, this place can be a training ground for everyone."

And not just for fighting. It would be good for getting exercise, if there is anyone who doesn't move around enough.

"Hey, Shiel. Is there anything else?"

Shiel seemed to think about it for a while before nodding slowly.

However, she looked at me again as if not sure I was serious.

"It's fine. You'll hold back a little, right?"

And so Shiel held the stone used to control the room.

"Lord Heal!"

At the same time, Rienna's voice echoed from behind me.

"Oh, Rienna. What? Huh!"

I turned around to see Rienna running towards me without any clothes on.

Then she purred sweetly as she pounced on me.

"Ri-Rienna! Where are your clothes!?"

"Lord Heal! I love you!"

She then tried to kiss me with a childlike persistence.

"Uh, no, I… But in a place like this! Oh…"

This was all very impossible… I see. It was an illusion.

However, it was so detailed and realistic as well… I was suddenly worried about how this would be used.

In any case, I was not to be fooled so easily…

It was right when I thought this.

"Ah."

My eyes turned towards the entrance, and I saw a shocked Rienna standing by the entrance.

This Rienna was properly dressed and carrying a basket of fruits.

"Lo-Lord Heal… Why are you…"

"It-it's not what you think, Rienna! It really isn't! I swear!"

"You somehow captured my likeness and… Oh, I did not think you to be that kind of person."

Her expression turned colder than I had ever seen. She may as well have been looking at an insect.

"You're wrong! Shiel! Help me!"

Shiel squeezed the stone.

And then the Rienna that clung to me, and the Rienna that glared at me, both disappeared.

"Bo-both of them were illusions?"

Shiel nodded.

"I-I see…"

I had only just had breakfast with Rienna.

So it would have been odd for her to come down at this time.

And yet I had mistaken her for the real Rienna.

And I panicked… It was a good thing that it wasn't real.

Regardless, that face she had made…to be honest… No, I couldn't think about that now!

In any case, this place would be quite useful for training.

And I could train myself to be stronger against illusions.

If we used the Magic Absorbing Crystals, Rienna and Baris would be able to practice using magic to their heart's content.

They could use high-power spells that they would not be able to use outside.

And like that, it was decided that the chamber would be Sheorl's new training ground.

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Chapter 72 – The sky became pitch black!

Three days passed after we dug up the training ground.

As for me, I was once again digging towards the control device that was supposedly below us.

In the training ground, Golems that were equipped with Magic Absorbing Crystals and Magic Defense Stones were created as training partners, allowing those who wanted to train.

Erevan and Ashton were especially happy to be able to move their bodies.

Furthermore, Rienna and Baris would also come down when they had time, and practice using attack magic.

If they became stronger, Sheorl's fighting force would be enhanced greatly.

On the other hand, we continued to do little but dig.

Which was of course, all I ever wanted…

I muttered while swinging my pickaxe.

"Fule. Taran. I'm sorry that you have to be here with me."

"Oh, it's fine. I can just do my magic training later."

Fule answered. Taran also nodded.

"Besides, we will be able to dig safely once we find the control device. And so we shouldn't be focusing on anything else right now, Lord Heal."

"Ah, you're right…"

I answered as I swung my pickaxe.

A few hours must have passed after that. The Mithril Golem, Number 15, came to tell us that it was lunch time.

"Alright, let's head back."

And so we used the railway to return to the surface.

Everyone who was in the mines digging was to return to the surface for lunch. It was a rule on this island.

However, it was just as we were close to the surface, that a huge explosive sound echoed.

"Wh-what!?"

Something had exploded… Was someone performing an experiment?

At the same time, monsters who were unarmed began to run inside of the cave.

One of them, who was a goblin, said to me,

"Ah, Lord Heal! The sky! The sky has turned black!"

"Black? Is it the Killer Birds again?"

Previously, when the flock of Killer Birds had attacked us, the sky had also turned dark.

"No, nothing like that! The sky over there is pitch black! And it's coming this way!"

I didn't quite understand what was happening, but it seemed like an emergency.

The Golems were ringing the alarm bells.

And when I went outside, it was indeed pitch black.

"Wh-what the hell…"

I got out of the train and stood there in shock.

The sky was so dark that it covered the sun.

And this shadowy sky was moving towards us as if to swallow up the island.

I had never seen a natural phenomenon like this before.

However, Haines the kobold, found me, and it looked like he knew what it was.

"Lord Heal! This is a disaster!"

"Oh, Haines. What is that… Huh?"

Just then, the Golem I had just made suddenly opened its mouth at the dark sky. And unleashed a storm of flames.

Once it touched the black sky, it exploded furiously and smoke rose everywhere.

So the explosion we had heard was from the Mappa Golem's fire.

Mappa had returned to the surface with us, and he now stood next to me with a very pleased expression. He was raising his arms as if to cheer it on.

The Mappa Golem had not looked the most reliable when I first made it, but it was quite intimidating once the flames shot out.

But in spite of these fiery attacks, the sky showed no signs of turning blue again. The hole was quickly filled up, and the black sky continued its advance towards us.

Still, it took damage… But what was it?

Haines turned away from the Mappa Golem and looked at me as he continued.

"Those are locusts! Devil Hoppers!"

"Devil Hoppers!?"

Devil Hoppers could be found in my country as well, if you went deep enough into the forests.

They were about as big as a human head, and they were carnivores.

They were known to descend upon crops, livestock, and people. They ate everything without prejudice, not unlike bears.

However, one thing that set them apart from bears, was that they spat out a substance that melted living creatures and plants.

They did not like hard things. And so they softened their targets before eating them.

But this was strange.

"Are you sure they are Devil Hoppers?"

"My nose has never been wrong… After all, I have the 'Hunter' crest. And those things reek."

"I see…"

I nodded at Haines, even though I wasn't really satisfied.

Unlike Killer Birds, they did not attack in large groups.

And this was the sea…

There were things about this that made no sense. However, it was not the time to dwell on them.

"Fule, Number 15! Protect the entrance here! Don't let a single one get inside!"

"Understood!"

Fule brought up Shield and Number 15 raised its Mithril shield in front of the entrance.

Most of the monsters had already evacuated.

As it was midday, there had not been many by the shore to begin with.

On the other hand, many Golems and armed monsters had gathered by the tower. They had even prepared the giant crossbow…the ballista that Mappa had made.

"Erevan is in that tower!"

Haines said as he pointed to the tower that was the closest to the shore.

"Taran. Take me and Haines to the tower!"

And so Taran carried me and Haines to the watchtower. Then she shot out her webs to the top and climbed up all at once.

Here, Erevan, Baris, Rienna, and Ashton were waiting.

"Everyone. What's the situation?"

"Lord Heal! The cave spiders are currently helping those who had gone out by boat so they can return. The only ones who haven't escaped…are the Mappa Golem and the water Golems."

Rienna reported. And then Baris opened his mouth in order to add,

"If those really are Devil Hoppers, the Golems should be safe. Their liquid is not able to melt stone or metal."

"I see… In that case, we should also evacuate, but…"

I looked up at the sky and saw that a flock of Killer Birds were flying away from the Devil Hoppers as if to escape.

However, they were swallowed up in a flash.

"Yes, we cannot do that…"

"Aye. If we allow them to land…"

They would eat up the World Tree and our crops. This island would be stripped bare until there wasn't a single blade of grass left.

"The crops and the World Tree are precious treasures of this island. And so we must stop them with our own hands."

Everyone agreed with me by nodding silently. And then the Mappa Golem unleashed another storm of flames with a thundering roar.