Chapter 496: The Sealed One 1

The Sealed One 1

* * *

Now, let’s rewind time a little and shift our perspective to the other group, the survey team led by Kalamaruyu.

After defeating Shimegamamo, they proceeded smoothly towards the center of the Great Grassland of Beginnings, without any major incidents.

Taking occasional breaks, they continued on for several hours.

The surroundings gradually began to darken, and the grass was dyed orange by the setting sun.

They need to stop for the day and quickly set up camp.

It was as Kalamaruyu was about to make that decision…

“Hmm…? What… is that!?”

Googydan, the eldest of the triplets dispatched from the ‘Chakigit Geological Survey’, looked towards the setting sun, and shouted in surprise.

“Hmm!?”

Drawn by his voice, Kalamaruyu also turned towards the setting sun.

And there he saw—an unnatural hill, that suddenly appeared on the flat grassland.

He had no idea what it was, but…

“That’s a good landmark. Alright, let’s set up camp at the foot of that hill.”

He decided that.

“Roger!”

“Got it!”

“Understood!”

The triplets immediately agreed.

“…………”

Saint Ad, their guard, silently exhaled a long plume of smoke.

She doesn’t seem to have any objections.

So they changed their course slightly, towards the hill.

…This was the turning point of fate.

* * *

“Hey… Hey, hey, hey… What… is this… !?”

And then, Kalamaruyu and the others, approaching the hill, saw an incredible sight!

As they got closer to the hill, the number of plants covering the ground decreased, and rocks began to appear…

“Th-Th-This, this, this color!”

The color of the rocks was the problem.

It’s hard to see because of the redness of the sunset, and the blackness of the shadows, but…

That color is definitely purple.

“Isn’t that Kodorokizo oreーーー!?”

In other words, the ore they were looking for—was just lying around there, in abundance!

Googydan, even with his vast experience, had never seen such a sight before, and shouted in surprise.

“…………”

Kalamaruyu, on the other hand, was stunned, trembling, his mouth flapping open and closed.

There is definitely a Kodorokizo ore deposit in this Great Grassland of Beginnings.

He predicted it himself, but even so, this is unexpected.

Exposed like this, on the surface!

As if begging to be mined!

He never thought they’d find what they were looking for so easily!

“Ah… Ah…”

Kalamaruyu, feeling as if a light had suddenly shone upon the future of his territory, which had been shrouded in darkness, quietly sobbed.

“Amazing! Amazingーーー!”

“So that means, this hill too!?”

“Ooh! The entire hill is Kodorokizo ore!”

In contrast to Kalamaruyu, who was shedding tears, the triplets were ecstatic.

After running over to the hill and confirming that it was a lump of Kodorokizo ore, they started clearing away the vines covering it, laughing loudly.

“Look at that beautiful purple color… 【Magic Shovel Slash】!”

“We just have to get rid of these annoying vines… 【Magic Pickaxe Bomber】!”

“Uoooooooo… 【Magic Measuring Tape Whirlwind】!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The three brothers unleashed their special moves one after another!

The hill, which had been covered in vines, was quickly cleared, its purple brilliance revealed!

But.

But…

That’s how far their joy went.

Zuzu… Z… Zuz… Zuz… Zuz…

“…Huh?”

The first to notice the ground shaking beneath their feet was Saint Ad, who was vigilantly paying attention to her surroundings.

“Hmm?”

“An earthquake?”

“What’s with this shaking?”

The triplets, a little later, also noticed the shaking, and stopped using their special moves.

They looked at each other, confused, scratching their heads.

And then, it was the next moment!

“YUGYAAAAAAAHーーー!!!”

With a terrifying scream unlike any they had ever heard before—the ‘hill’, which should have been completely still… suddenly started moving, as if rearing its head!

And large chunks of Kodorokizo ore, which had been attached to its surface, rained down on the nearby triplets!

“““UWAAAAAAAAHーーー!?”””

A desperate situation!

At this rate, they would definitely be crushed by the giant chunks of ore, and turned into mincemeat!

“Tch… 【Barrier・Roof】!!”

But that didn’t happen.

Saint Ad quickly created a barrier above the triplets, blocking the falling rocks.

“H-Hiih, hiih!”

“Thank you!”

“A-Anego, thank you! Thank you, Anegoーーー!”

The triplets, scrambling, ran back to Kalamaruyu and Saint Ad, gasping for air, their faces pale.

“Now then… Viscount First? Do you know anything about this… giant monster?”

Saint Ad, after confirming that the triplets had returned, created a barrier around the entire survey team, and asked Kalamaruyu, who was standing behind her.

“I don’t know… I don’t know! The only monsters that live in the Great Grassland of Beginnings are Stone Head Rabbits and grassland wolves! I’ve never seen a monster like this!”

Kalamaruyu, his face pale, shouted, looking at the giant monster.

“But…!”

But Kalamaruyu felt as if he’d seen this monster before.

It… which was curled up in the shape of a hill until a while ago… has now completely transformed into something like… ‘a giant, thick earthworm’.

There are no eyes on what appears to be its head, just a large, gaping mouth, filled with countless sharp teeth and a deep darkness.

On the other hand, its body has started to glow purple.

The light is quite strong, shining through the Kodorokizo ore attached to the monster’s surface, illuminating the surroundings, almost as bright as daytime.

A glowing creature that looks like a thick earthworm, with magic ore attached to its surface.

Kalamaruyu knew the name of a creature with these characteristics.

So he shouted the creature’s name, in disbelief!

“This is… an Armored Yumushi!!”

Yumushi.

On Earth, it’s an annelid that lives in the mud at the bottom of the sea.

It lives by eating detritus, doesn’t glow purple, doesn’t have teeth, and is edible.

But this is the other world, Ardyst, and those common sense things don’t necessarily apply here.

Armored Yumushi are earthworms that have evolved to live on land, and their main diet is magic ore.

They crush and dig through bedrock with their hard teeth, which they acquired during the course of their evolution, ingesting magic ore fragments, absorbing mana from them to survive… That’s the kind of creature they are.

They’re often seen at magic ore mines, and Kalamaruyu, who was a magic ore researcher, is familiar with them.

“This is an Armored Yumushi!? No way!? It’s too big!?”

But as you can tell from Googydan’s words, Armored Yumushi are normally much smaller creatures.

They’re usually about 10 centimeters long, small enough to fit in your hand, and when a large one, over 50 centimeters long, appears, it’s a big deal.

But this Armored Yumushi in front of them—!?

Its giant body, towering like a hill!

How many years would it have to live, to become this huge!?

“Grand Armored Yumushi…!!”

This giant monster, probably a mutant Armored Yumushi—

Kalamaruyu, before he knew it, called it that.

And Kalamaruyu, as well as the triplets—

They were simply overwhelmed by the monster’s size, staring at it dumbfounded, sweating.

“Hey, you guys! Get a grip!!”

The one who sharply scolded them was Saint Ad!

Because she was the only one who was calmly observing the Grand Armored Yumushi… and sensed a sign of an attack.

And that sign of an attack was light.

The glow of the Grand Armored Yumushi’s body suddenly dimmed, and instead, a strong, purple light began to overflow from its mouth!

“It’s definitely going to do something! I’ll create five layers of barriers… but everyone, get down, and brace yourselves for impact!”

It was right after Saint Ad’s rapid warning…

“YUGYAAAAAAAHーーー!!!”

The Grand Armored Yumushi, with a second terrifying scream!

Towards Saint Ad and the others!

…Shot out an incredibly thick beam—shining purple!!