The deeper they went into the mine, the more humid the cave became.
Sylvie carefully avoided the water droplets falling from the cave ceiling, holding the torch and moving slowly through the cave. Even without light, the Eye of Truth wouldn't be hindered by darkness, but this was just to conserve magic.
"We've reached a fork," Nightingale, who was at the front, stopped. "Which cave is this again?"
"The first fork of the twenty-third cave, Ermu," Lightning said, glancing at her notebook.
"Hopefully, this is the end," Sylvie muttered, opening her eyes, which were completely formed of magic. "Left... leads out of the mining area, no ore. Right... same."
Lightning noted the results. "Then, there's only one more door in this cave to check."
"Let's go," Nightingale circled from the front of the group to the back, leading everyone back the way they came. Her ability seemed to be more than just invisibility; Sylvie could only vaguely see Nightingale's shifting magic and couldn't capture her form and movements. According to Lightning's introduction, she was the strongest combat witch in the Association of Witches.
This was probably why Roland had her follow Sylvie—there were rumors that this mine used to be the nest of an ancient monster, and there had been several incidents of miners disappearing. Before they left, His Royal Highness had repeatedly instructed them to be cautious. If they encountered anything uncertain, they should retreat from the mine and report to him first.
Sylvie was unimpressed. No monster could escape the detection of the magic eye. Even the animal carcasses and squirming soft worms in the stone walls, she could see them clearly.
There were four people in the expedition: Sylvie, Nightingale, Lightning, and a little girl named Lucia. Every time she discovered ore, Lucia would convert it into various fragments and carefully sort and put them into her pockets, saying that she would give them to His Highness to identify.
Lightning was in charge of mapping the mine, and of course, according to her own words, no expedition could be without her. This proud tone reminded Sylvie of the captain who was temporarily stationed on Sleeping Island.
The twenty-third cave was a huge, deep cave near the bottom of the mining area. After going in a few hundred steps, it split into three forks. Continuing deeper along these forks would reveal more branches, but by then, they would have almost extended out of the mining area, and the possibility of finding ore veins was low, so they would only go this far.
Back at the initial fork, which Lightning recorded as the "door," Sylvie unleashed her ability to observe the "three doors" of the twenty-third cave.
The wider the range of the Eye of Truth, the greater the magic consumption and the heavier the burden on the body, so she chose to observe at each fork, checking one passage at a time.
"The third door... hmm, no ore. At the end, there are..." She paused. "Five forks, one of which seems to be winding back downwards."
"Downwards?" Lightning repeated.
"Yes, it is," Sylvie looked again. The slender passage curved after a short distance downwards, heading straight towards the mining area. When she wanted to continue looking along this fork, a strong sense of dizziness flooded her mind, interrupting her connection with the magic eye. "I think it might lead to a deposit of ore."
But this explanation was far-fetched. The complex caves in the Northern Slope Mine were clearly not artificially dug and wouldn't deliberately seek out ore. The previously discovered vein of unknown ore was sandwiched between two forks. If it weren't for the Eye of Truth's ability to penetrate obstacles, it would have been impossible to find the pile of metallic stones hidden beneath the stone walls and soil.
"Whatever it is, let's go take a look," Nightingale shrugged.
The group entered the third door of the cave in single file, arriving at the end of the passage about a quarter of an hour later.
The passage split into five here, the narrowest of which was no longer accessible, barely wide enough to crawl through. The strange passage that Sylvie had seen earlier was located in the middle of the five forks, the terrain dropping sharply, almost forming a steep slope with the ground they were standing on.
"Looks pretty deep," Nightingale shined the torch around. "I think the caves here are a bit similar to the ones I saw in the Impassable Mountain Range."
"Let's go back quickly after we're done checking," Lucia couldn't help but grip Nightingale's arm tightly. "I don't like it here... It feels like something is staring at us from inside the cave."
"There's nothing in the cave, except mud and rocks," Sylvie said, although she didn't like this quiet and humid place either. However, her ability told her that there was no danger here. "The four forks on the left and right all have no ore and are leading out of the mining area." She quickly scanned the straight forks, turning her gaze to the one in the middle, and then paused slightly. "...Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Lightning asked.
"I... I can't see what's below."
"Can't see?" The little girl said in surprise. "Are you too tired and your ability failed? Take a rest."
"No, it's not a problem with my ability," Sylvie closed her eyes and opened them again, but it was still pitch black, as if her vision had been taken away. She endured the headache and further expanded her field of vision, but the result was still the same. The surrounding soil was clearly visible, only the middle area was completely shrouded in endless darkness, as thick as ink that couldn't be dissolved. "Something is blocking my sight."
"You all stay here and don't move," Nightingale pulled out two glittering silver weapons. "I'll go down and check it out, I'll be right back."
"Don't go!" Sylvie pressed her aching forehead and stopped her. "Only one thing can produce this effect. Even if you go, you'll be in danger."
"What is it?"
"God's Stone," she said through gritted teeth. "There are God's Stones underground, and the kind that can cover the entire area!"
...
When Roland learned of this news, he immediately mobilized the First Army soldiers to enter the Northern Slope Mine.
The final investigation results were just as Sylvie had guessed: the deep cave at the bottom of the mine contained massive amounts of God's Stones.
After confirming that there was no danger, Roland entered the twenty-third cave under the protection of his guards. He also wanted to witness what the God's Stones that could prohibit magic throughout the bottom of the mountain looked like.
"Your Highness, please be careful," Carter reminded him. "The exit is ahead."
"Magic can't be used here. It's safer for you to stay up there," Roland looked back at Anna, Nightingale, and Lightning, who were following behind him. "Can't you learn from Sylvie?"
"I'm better than you even without magic. If you can come, of course I can come," Nightingale pouted.
"Where there is adventure, there is me." Lightning puffed out her chest.
Anna said nothing, but stared intently at Roland. Seeing the clear eyes reflecting the light of the torch, Roland knew that whatever he said would be useless.
"Okay," he sighed. "You must stay by my side, and don't stray too far."
Following the sloping cave to the end, Roland immediately understood what the chief knight meant by "the exit."
The sight in front of him suddenly opened up, and a deep and vast cave appeared before his eyes.
Even without the aid of torches, he could clearly see the entire cave. The light came from the God's Stones, which were like crystal prisms. They rose from the ground, each one with a diameter of twenty or thirty meters, like neon giants, towering before him.