“…What brings you here?”
Bertrand welcomed Ortes as if he had seen a ghost.
As usual, after coming out of the mine and sighing at the steadily declining production statistics, he returned to his office only to find that man with the faint smile waiting for him.
“Geryon’s alchemy can be put aside. I’ve secured the magic-restraining shackles and locked it deep within the mine. There hasn’t been any unusual movement.”
“That was a task given by the Chairman, not me. I have nothing to say about that matter.”
Ortes waved his hand, dismissing any interference or authority over himself. Bertrand’s gloom only deepened.
“So, does this mean there’s another reason for your visit?”
“I would like to review the investigation records regarding Mount Etna.”
The glance during the meeting wasn’t a mistake. Bertrand nodded slightly.
“But as for the investigation records, there isn’t much to them. As you know, all the results eventually concluded ‘No abnormalities.'”
Ortes took the report handed to him and began reading it right there. The sound of flipping pages echoed through the office.
Though feeling uneasy, Bertrand soon refocused on his own work.
Despite his pride as a dwarf and being one of the best miners in Etna City, Bertrand still worked on-site. However, as the guildmaster, he had no shortage of paperwork to handle.
For a while, both men were focused on their respective documents, creating a scene that could almost pass for an ordinary day in any company.
“Director Bertrand.”
“What is it?”
“Is Pythos Tower’s event still ongoing?”
Event? Bertrand pondered whether such a thing existed, then nodded after reading the paragraph Ortes pointed out.
“Ah, yes. It’s ongoing, though it’s rather modest to call it an event.”
The “event” Ortes mentioned was a ritual. A common practice in construction sites where heavy machinery and tools are used—places where a momentary mistake can cost lives—a tradition of praying for safety and good fortune.
Pythos Tower’s factory produces various machines, including automata. While they don’t dominate the market, their products are known for durability and good value.
Even in Caike’s absence, the factory ran smoothly, revealing its complete automation. Yet why the machines continued to conduct rituals puzzled even Bertrand.
“It seems Caike set up a behavior routine that hasn’t been canceled. With no one to issue a cancellation command, it has persisted until now.”
What made it peculiar was that the ritual involved burnt offerings.
“Each month, the first unit produced of each model is dropped into Mount Etna’s crater as an offering. Quite fascinating, isn’t it?”
“The Miners’ Guild once worried it might be part of some special magical ceremony.”
The strange ritual of burning lifeless automata as sacrificial offerings, combined with the fact that it was overseen by a magician, naturally raised suspicions.
“But that was long ago. The ritual started before Caike’s disappearance, and no abnormalities were found during previous investigations.”
“Thank you. So, no one cares about Pythos Tower’s rituals anymore?”
“Some magicians stole the offerings, thinking they might contain clues to finding Caike’s Artificial Tenth Rank.”
Bertrand recalled old memories. Some went as far as diving into the lava with androids, believing Caike might be beneath the volcano.
Of course, none of them resurfaced.
A magician capable of cooling the endless magma of Mount Etna?
Such powerful magicians do exist. The Elders of the Frost Magic Tower could perform the miraculous feat of freezing lava.
But if someone possessed such power, they’d likely be enjoying heavenly treatment at Proper Tower instead of chasing baseless rumors in this decaying city.
“…Yet no one has found him. I remain skeptical. Is Caike really beneath the volcano?”
“Yes. Observing this ritual only strengthens my belief. Thank you.”
Just as Bertrand nodded, Ortes vanished without a trace.
“…Is he a descendant of some ancient assassin group?”
The Mage King’s rise buried countless names in history. Temples already in decline before the Mage King’s arrival faded away, as did other forces wielding abilities beyond magic.
Warriors’ fighting spirit survived only as formulas for mercenaries and combat androids.
Even in normal times, Ortes’ faint presence was ideal for assassination. If he truly inherited the legacy of a lost assassin order, why did he serve Carisia?
Bertrand continued his unanswered musings.
And seriously, why doesn’t anyone have an SSS-grade stealth skill?
Something that renders all physical attacks无效 while hiding in the world’s shadows.
Untouched by fire or water…
“There’s no way something like that exists.”
At least not for me.
I massaged the space between my eyes, drenched in fatigue, because every clue about Caike seemed to converge on one conclusion.
“Volcanic diving… Do I really have to do it?”
Caike definitely built some kind of secret lab inside Mount Etna.
After all, the Artificial Tenth Rank in the original story remained motionless in its place for decades, accumulating magic.
However, getting information from the outside while sealed beneath the volcano would be difficult, even for a brilliant magician like Caike.
Perhaps he recorded external information in the storage devices of the machines offered as sacrifices and somehow transferred them into the lab.
The reason the magicians who dissected the sacrifices didn’t discover hidden information could be due to fragmented compression across multiple storage units or advanced security measures.
Can I deduce a way to infiltrate Caike’s hideout from these clues?
There are people capable of finding Caike’s lab.
“It’s just that it’s Carisia.”
If I confidently told the Chairman, “Sir, I’ll find Caike!”
And then said something like, “Sir, you need to find Caike for me,” what reaction would I get?
“Wow, that sounds fun. Let’s establish a horizontal relationship.”
“Horizontal?”
“Lie down and spread out.”
No, that wouldn’t happen.
Carisia’s torment is far more refined. Still, I could easily guess what similar situations might lead to.
“I roughly understand how it filters things…”
Like most objects in this world, automata also use magic as their power source. Newly produced automata from Pythos Tower naturally have magic charged into them.
The source of that magic is Pythos Tower’s magic core. Caike must have created a spell that selected specific magic frequencies and transmitted them to his location.
Magicians can alter the attributes or frequencies of their magic to some extent.
Meaning a magician born with fire affinity could learn water magic with effort.
But…
I have no magic.
Not close to zero, but exactly zero.
“d*mn this magic-based society.”
This problem has plagued me since I opened my eyes in this world.
“Even if I dive into the lava, I won’t d*e immediately, but swimming in it n*ked…”
Wait.
n*ked?
I flipped through the catalog of Pythos Tower I obtained from Bertrand, quickly skimming past the numerous automatons listed.
I’m sure I saw it being maintained at the Miner’s Guild.
“There it is.”
In the corner of the catalog was a multi-purpose powered suit.
Since it uses magic for enhancement, it naturally contains Pythos Tower’s magic charge. If I wear the powered suit and jump into Mount Etna, will it transfer me to the lab along with the suit?
I should test this hypothesis.
On the off chance that the continuous automaton sacrifices at Pythos Tower are simply due to Caike forgetting to stop them…
I’ll end up being the fool swimming in lava in a powered suit.
Arabel greeted Ortes in her fully operational form. There was no need to hide anything since all secrets were already exposed to Ortes.
Her upper body resembled a woman’s, while the lower half looked like a giant spider.
The steel spider was her specially crafted external computational support system, built over many years. She only wore it when hacking targets as fortified as magic towers.
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“I need you to hack into Pythos Tower’s factory.”
