Faceless Phantom

'Yikes... Why it has to be a spider?'

The thing called Phantasmagoria piqued my interest, but for it to be a spider really bugged my feelings.

'Still, I'm really lucky.'

The description said that the specie might be already extinct. And that made the egg a super rare loot! No, it was probably a jackpot.

I might get a lot of money if I put it on store. However, I wanted to keep the egg for myself. Raising the spider as pet might be useful for later.

'Wait a minute, this canyon was Dwarven Mine in the past right? Then these spiders probably the reason why they abandoned this place.'

A sudden idea came to my mind, and it continued feeding me with thoughts as to how the site was abandoned.

Mist Spiders outbreak and they wreaked havoc. Mist Spiders were found deep inside the mine and attacked the dwarves. Also the idea of someone raising Mist Spiders and put them on the canyon.

'Or maybe something else.'

I could only assume because there were no evidence. However, it was fun theorizing about it.

'Let's hope I can find a journal inside the mine.'

With a new plan set in mind, I went deeper into the canyon and Mirage followed right behind me.

A few moments later, we found an entrance which looked like what a mine entry look like. A cave which supported by timber braces.

For the next few meters, however, there were no more supports but a stable stone passage which seemed to be roughly chipped.

<Dalgor Mining Site>

It was a long dark passage into the depth. A window appeared as I stepped into the mine.

///////

First Visitor

You have discovered Dalgor Mining Site!

You are the first player who enters this place. For a week, you are granted 2x EXP and Drop in this dungeon.

///////

The tip of my lips went up.

"First Visitor Buff!" My voice leaked in excitement.

I immediately fixed my expression and looked at Mirage.

"Isn't that awesome?" Mirage asked.

"Y-yeah. Double experience for a week. It's great."

"That sounds amazing. Then I'll do my best!" Her eyes were sparkling.

"You seem excited."

"Of course! I want to get stronger so I can be more useful for you." She said as she put her fists in front of her chest.

I was a bit moved by her determination. It felt familiar in a good way.

"Alright. Let's explore the mine and searching for a good place to grind." I said and smiled at her.

"Unh..." She nodded and humming excitedly.

As expected of dwarven mine. There were so many paths, so many forks, so many dead ends and pits. The dwarves might be already mined every minerals in this ground.


It was understandable. Their greediness of shiny things moved them to collect everything they deemed worthy and precious. Dwarves were like that, indeed.

What amazed me was their architecture. The deeper we went, there were more hallways with unique interior design. There was also this wide room which looked like a grand hall. Though there was nothing in it, it was still an amazing place to be in. It was the enjoyment of exploration to the point that I wouldn't mind if I met every dead end.

Well, many gamers sought dead end first rather than the right way. In hope for finding loots and also to know the place's structure very well, so we didn't get lost on our way back.

In this kind of case, drawing the dungeon map was also an option. You could sell the map for extra money. However, I was drawing for my personal journal instead of profit.

Mirage watched me drawing and spoke in awe.

"Amazing... You have so many talents I have yet to see with my own eyes."

"Umm..." I was flattered and let out a wry laugh. "Haha... What are you talking about?"

"I know that you like to draw..."

"Did you see it in my memories?" I asked her back.

"Unh..."

She looked at me expressionless, but I could see sparkling curiosity within her eyes.

I sighed and gave her a little smile.

"I see... You're right. I used to be serious about it..." I stopped for a moment and looked away. "But now, It's just...something I like to do in my spare time..."

She was quiet. I occasionally moved my eyes toward her while facing the map I was drawing. It seemed like she was thinking. Then she opened her mouth.

"It will be great if you can get Drawing Skill or Drawing Magic in this world as well."

Well, it would be easy for me since I had drawing skill in real life. But to be honest, I was doubting if it would be useful or not.

Of course, every single skill was useful in their own way. However, I still could draw even without the skill.

A skill was an additon, a boost for what you could do. Without Sword Mastery skill, you could still be able to use sword. However, it was less effective.

A skill was like an understanding of your own ability and printed it to your mind and muscle memory. Thus, addional damage, stats, etc.

There was no limitation as how many skills you could learn. Even if there were restrictions, the chance was not 0%.

"Maybe... Is it really good though?"

"Well, I don't know if it's exist or not. But I read about it from a book."

"R-Really?"

"Unh..." She nodded. "It's a great story about a painter who made his paintings became alive. The story starts when he was not seen for years. The neighbors was concerned, so they decided to send some people to check his mansion."

'That sounds like a horror story...'

I was waiting for her to continue but, for some reason, she stopped her story there. So I replied her to continue our conversation.

"That sounds interesting..."

"Yup! Even Lena got curious too! But Balar seemed not interested at all."

"I-I see... That kind of ability exists too. But I think the skill can only last for a moment."

Construct Magic.

A magic that was constructing a living being or an object based on one's memory or imagination. The power also depended on their sharp mind to picture the being or the thing.

However, it only lasted for a while because it was not the same as creation ability. It was just an imaginary. Still, it was really an amazing ability to possess.

"Unh..." She nodded. "You really know a lot of things."

"Well, it's because those kind of things are common knowledge for fantasy genre in my world."

"That makes me want to see your world."

I didn't know how to respond to those words. An NPC aware of their existence and wanting to go in real life. Well, it was because she read my mind with Soul Connect. That very event was starting this strange scenario.

Even with an AI, I didn't want to be rude. I carefully thought about what I was going to say. They had their own consciousness and personality like real people after all.

Therefore, I didn't want the mood going down so I immediately changed the topic.

"Anyway, it seems that you read a lot of books, right?"

"Unh... Since I have amnesia. I like to learn a lot, no... I need to. I have to replace what I've lost. So I won't be a burden to you."

"Don't worry... You saved me a lot of troubles." I turned and patted her head for a moment. "Thank you."

She looked at me expressionless and smiled a little. I pulled my hand and continued walking forward.

"Can you tell me about everything you've learned so far? I'd like to hear a story or two."

"Sure!" She smiled joyfully.

It was then I saw a new Mirage. She kept talking while we were walking deeper. It seemed I found another side of her each day. It was really strange seeing the usual quiet girl turning into a chatty one, but it made the silent mine became lively. So I wasn't really complaining about it.

We found some wooden crates along the way. There were mining tools and equipment inside. It was probably a good loot for someone who had Miner as their hobby since they were still in a good shape.

I could use them to mine here. Though I found no minerals yet. The dwarves really emptied the place. However, I didn't give up. I was still expecting some precious ores deep inside the mine. I took a pickaxe and moved on. Thus, we went deeper and deeper. Until we encountered the first monster inside this dungeon.

A pair of red eyes flying up and down, slowly moved toward us. I could hear the sound of flapping wings and a cry.

Flap. Flap. Flap.

Kiii kiii kiii...

It was a Mine Bat.

A big hairy bat which was two meters wide when they spread their wings. Wolf-like head with pointy long ears. Long fangs could be seen as they opened their mouth.

'At last, a monster!'

I was excited. And I immediately pulled my sword out and readied my stance. Then I casted Wind Blessing on myself.

Once they were closer, they stopped for a moment and screeching.

Kiiiiii Kiiiiiii

It seemed they tracked and observed us with their sound. And then they immediately flew straight to me.

Kiiiiii!!!

I thrust my sword straight to the bat, but they flapped their wings and made them moved sideways. They evaded my sword.

In a split second, I saw their movement as if ready to tackle me. My body moved in reflex. And I was right, they flew straight with mouth wide open trying to bite me. Luckily, I saw that coming and evaded the attack.

As I was seeing the bat flew beside me, I swung my sword immediately.

Slash Slash

They were fast but I was faster. Their stats was still below me. It was all thanks to the Broodmother, my stats grew significantly.

Two hits were enough to kill the Mine Bat.

'That was easy.'

Of course, after dealing with a boss, a mere monster wasn't really a challenge anymore.

・・・

Mine Spiders, Rock Salamanders, Rock Crabs, Red Worms, Cave Rats, etc.

Most of their average stats was about 75-85 points, and there was nothing particularly dangerous about their skills. I had an average stats of 95 points, so I could still defeat them leisurely with Mirage as my support.

There were also some monsters which had way higher stats than me and the Broodmother, but I didn't dare to fight them yet. Perhaps later in the future I would be back in this place again.

We kept exploring deeper until we found a room which seemed to be Miner Quarters. It was a good place to rest and made it as a base to grind inside the mine.

Also, I decided to craft new weapons there. Especially blunt. I needed one against Rock Crabs. Their defense was really hard to penetrate because of their hard shell.

'Let's do this...'

I took my portable smelter and anvil out, then I began to swing my hammer onto the burning metal.

A few hours later, I successfully created two fine weapons.

///////

Durable Steel Sword (Uncommon)

Quality: C

Type: One-handed sword

Restriction: 50 STR

Durability: 210/210

A sword that was made from steel. It is surprisingly strong and durable.

It is imbued with Wild Boar's Soul.

Effect:

+250 P. Attack

+100 P. Defense

+10 STR

Wild Boar – Rush Lv. 5

Active: Rushing toward your designation way. If you use it toward your opponent, they will be knocked back and stunned for 2 second.

///////

///////

Durable Steel Mace (Uncommon)

Quality: C

Type: One-handed blunt

Restriction: 50 STR 50 VIT

Durability: 270/270

A heavy mace that was made from steel. It can trigger stun effect with basic attack.

It is imbued with Eortel Duruduron's Soul.

Effect:

+300 P. Attack

+10 VIT

5% stun chance

Eortel Duruduron – Powerful Bash Lv. 3

Active: Throwing a powerful strike onto the opponent. Dealing heavy damage and breaking their defense for a certain duration.

///////

I wasted the First Visitor buff for a few hours creating those weapons, but it was worth it.

The new blunt could definitely destroy Rock Crab's hard shell easily with Powerful Bash. And the sword would be durable enough for long grinding.

I was satisfied with the result. Three additional stats for uncommon rarity was really hard to get, but I managed to get them by luck.

With those weapons, my hunting proficiency would raise significantly.

'Time for hard grinding!'

A week had later, the First Visitor's effect was finally worn out.

I checked our status window.

///////

Zeroth

Race: Aphu

Job (Class): Astral Artisan

Hobby: None

[Stats]

HP: 3750/3750

MP: 5184/5184

STR 121 VIT 88

DEX 98 AGI 95

INT 105 WIS 112

///////

///////

Mirage

Race: Ania

Job (Class): Astral Alchemist

Hobby: Crystal Siren

[Stats]

HP: 4275/4275

MP: 5070/5070

STR 91 VIT 92

DEX 95 AGI 94

INT 119 WIS 108

///////

'We've raised a good amount of stats.'

My stats surpassed Mirage's. And Three of them already broke the 100 point threshold. Thus, it made me becoming more confident in protecting her. I couldn't hold myself from smiling. I was satisfied with my efforts.

'We also got some good spoils.'

The monsters had C and D quality items if looted. They could become crafting materials and cooking ingredients.

Furthermore, the lucky drops I got were 2 unidentified items.

I began to check them one by one, starting from the identified ones.

///////

Mineral Shell (Rare)

Quality: C

A shell that consists several minerals in it. It's really rare for a Rock Crab to make it as their home as its weight is way heavier than their usual hard rock home. However, it still does have an advantage since it can easily break low quality weapons.

///////

///////

Red Worm's Gem (Uncommon)

Quality: C

A hard red gem that is sometimes formed inside the Red Worm's stomach. It is said that it was an egg before, but it is failed to developed any further. But some people believe that it is just their unusual faeces.

///////

///////

Rock Salamander's Skin (Common)

Quality: D

Flexible and durable. It can stand multiple hits from sharp weapons. However, it's weak against blunt.

///////

///////

Rock Salamander's Meat (Common)

Quality: D

Rock Salamander tender meat. It is edible.

///////

///////

Mine Bat's Fangs (Uncommon)

Quality: D

Abnormally grown fangs which are becoming more lethal but also make their movement slower. They can even break stones and low quality minerals.

///////

I gave the meat to Mirage so she could cook them later. I took the rest back into my bag.

Then I used Astral Eyes to identify the two unidentified items.

///////

Small Titanium Ore (Rare)

Quality: C

A soft, ductile, silvery gray metal. It has low density and high strength. It also has an excellent corrosion resistance in most environment.

///////

///////

Small Orichalcum Ore (Rare)

Quality: C

An incredibly solid, strong and hard metal, but it also quite heavy. Dark in color, yet reddish and golden when lightened depending on its quality.

///////

Even if they were both less than a fist-sized, they were still precious metals. I couldn't hide my smile, and I was excited to get more of them inside the mine.

'Let's get not too excited. I also need to sleep.'

・・・

The next day, we continue to explore the mine deeper. Until we found a passageway which led to a gate-like structure. It was huge and magnificent, very dwarven-like which pretty much showing their pride.

Words were engraved on it. However, it seemed it was dwarven. We had no knowledge to read the words, so we just passed the gate and went through the wide path ahead.

"Wow..." Mirage and I gasped in unison.

A whole new world was waiting at the end of the path.

A massive grand hall was in front of us. Two rows of pillars were towering through the dark roof on each sides. It was majestic and mystical.

Beyond the hall was a big underground city. It seemed like the hall was on the higher ground so we could see the whole town. Some part of the town had become ruins. Some still intact. There were lights on the road, and also inside the building. They were illuminating the city beautifully.

"The lights are on. Is there any dwarves in here?"

"I really hope so. But look, the town itself is in ruins. We cannot see anyone in there either. This place is completely abandoned."

"I see... But it's amazing. Those lights are similar to the ones in your world."

"Y-you're right."

As we walked closer to the town, we could see a massive space above. There were some lights within the dark sky. Some were blinking. Some were dim. Some were bright. They looked exactly like stars. They were sparkling in their own ways, creating an imitation of night sky.

"This place is indeed amazing."

"Let's explore the whole town! Ehehee..."

It was the first time that I was witnessing the remains of the world of Dwarf. And it was truly beautiful.

As we were about to enter the city. We noticed something in front of the gate.

A giant humanoid statue was sitting on their knees. Then I noticed they moved. Their rock body was cracking as they were going to stand. Some were peeled and falling.

Slowly, it was revealing their glowing red eyes.

///////

Boss Appeared!

Dalgor Guardian Golem

///////

'Hahhh... Of course, we haven't encountered the dungeon boss yet. And here it is.'

I sighed as I pulled my sword and readied myself to fight.

I looked back and saw Mirage nodded. I smiled and nodded back at her.

After inhaled and exhaled deeply, I began to rush forward.

・・・

<K'Ludar Marshland>

"We're going in circles. Do you know where we are going?"

"This marshland is huge. And it has been a long time ago since I was here. Let me think for a moment."

"We're here for days. I'm tired of eating Broggums." Vallas said as he lift something which looked like a grilled frog in front of his face.

"I like those actually." Ylvaark said as he looked at the brown meat.

Hearing that, Vallas looked at him strangely. And then he threw the grilled Broggum at him.

"At least, they're not following us here. We're safe, for now." Nel'Thas said as he was sitting on a rock.

"Well, of course. This place is damned." Vallas said. "There was a witch living here a long time ago, right? Or maybe she's still here, in this cursed marsh. What is her name again?"

"Now that you mention it." Nel'Thas eyes sharpen as he folded his arms on his chest. "I can't seem to find a right path within my vicinity. Something is strangely disturbing the mana surrounding this area. And I can't dispel this without proper items."

"So the witch must be the one setting the spell." Ylvaark said as he was eating the grilled broggum.

"It seems so. She's still annoying, I see." (Nel'Thas)

"Well, no wonder. She probably wants to protect her marsh." (Vallas)

"…"

"…"

"What? Why are you two silence all of sudden?" (Vallas)

"Ahem… Well, what should we do then?" (Ylvaark)

"Since I can't dispel this illusion, we need to find another way around." (Nel'Thas)

"Ah, right. If I remember correctly, there should be a dwarven mine at south of here." (Vallas)

"Oh you're right. It's through that canyon." (Nel'Thas)

"Did you ever go there before?" (Ylvaark)

"No, we just heard the story from someone. It's about 700 years ago, I think." (Vallas)

"Ah... It's already that long, isn't it?" (Nel'Thas)

"Yeah, I miss my old man. I'm definitely gonna pay him a visit after this." (Vallas)

"Alright, back to our problem then."

"..." Ylvaark was looking at them, speechless and confused.

"I asked Orbania's people before... The mine seems abandoned by the dwarves a long time ago." (Nel'Thas)

"Is that so...?" (Vallas)

"Wait a minute, guys! What the heck? How do you guys live that long?" Ylvaark cut their conversation as he was surprised. "I mean, I can understand Nel'Thas, but you…" He said as he looked straight at Vallas. "You're a human, right Vallas?"

"It's a long story…" Vallas just scoffed and then smiled. "And yes, I'm a human."

"By Gor'Zavuul..." Ylvaark eyes widened. "You're older than me! I was just born 300 years ago."

'He is… No, they are men of mystery.'

Knowing a bit of clue about their age, Ylvaark was amazed and respected them more.

"Haha… I see. You can call me big brother if you want."

"Hmph! Not a chance." Ylvaark scoffed and looked away whilst biting the Broggum on his hand.

"Enough lollygagging. Let's just leave this place quickly." Nel'Thas said as he stood up.

"Yeah, I agree. This marsh gives me the creeps." (Ylvaark)

"If I remember correctly, the wandering dwarf said that there's a path leading to the western cave near Karmia's Territory. If what he said is indeed true, then we're going to be safe down there without worrying about Nightalons." (Nel'Thas)

"Sounds like a plan. To the mine it is." (Vallas)