Show Me Your Stats! - Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The merchant Ronya looked at the map with a doubtful expression.
He had a difficult visit the other day; a young man, dressed suspiciously in a robe, had asked if he could trade textiles and provisions in Solar. The man offered more money, but Ronya flatly refused. Crossing that rugged mountain range in winter was suicide, and it wasn’t any easier to pass those accursed peaks during the summer.
As if it wasn’t enough, there were unfavorable rumors about Solar circulating within the merchant sphere recently–increased earthquakes and deadly avalanches burying entire settlements alive. As Mollunka’s supposed burial ground, it wasn’t so unexpected for such harshness to prevail. Moreover, not long ago, Bolney’s army had pushed straight into the center of Solar and threatened the ruling party.
However, the young man whom he thought had given up and returned home had visited Ronya once more. Unlike a few days ago, perhaps he had encountered many hardships, the young man was a bit pale and haggard. Instead of requesting a trade of goods, he smiled brightly and shared strange stories.
‘I’ve found a way to travel from Solar to Bolney in a day or two; would you be interested in taking a look?’
‘What? A road that can take you to Solar in a day or two?’
In fact, the distance between Solar and Bolney wasn’t that far. The trip took about a week, though, due to the mountains and the winding path needed to cross the range. To claim that there was a path that could be traveled in a day or two through the mountains seemed like the words of a scam artist.
Ronya didn’t say anything further–he opened his eyes and stared at the young man; without further ado, the young man handed Ronya what seemed to be a hand-drawn map.
‘I stumbled upon this place completely by accident; it’s not a scam. If you’re worried, feel free to visit it with servants or mercenaries. Actually, just in case, the more escorts the better. Please come to the location marked on the map by tomorrow.’
Then, the young man chicly whirled around and left his store. Ronya frowned and stared at the map all day.
When the next day arrived, unable to deny his curiosity, he left his store. He headed to the place marked on the map with trusted mercenaries who had signed a life contract with his caravan troupe. After all, he wouldn’t lose anything by trying. A path directly connected to Solar–if that were true…
‘I can increase my paying clientele.’
Alongside his considerable escort, they reached the foothills of the mountain; once there, one of the mercenaries stared at the map for a while and then let out a belated sigh as if something had suddenly dawned on him. “Sir, if we keep going this way, won’t *that* come out?”
“That?”
“The Silent Cavern.”
“Well, come to think of it…”
The Silent Cavern was infamous among the folks here. In Bolney, every child would be warned that, if they were naughty, a monster from that cave would come and snatch them away. In reality, the cave was infested with unpleasant-looking demonic beasts, and numerous attempts had been made to conquer it, even before the merchant was born. All of which had failed. However, as long as one didn’t go near the cave, they were safe, so Bolney had long given up on any extermination attempts.
‘As expected, it was a scam!’
Since he had come this far, Ronya decided he would at least give the scammer a piece of his mind. The merchant reached the place marked on the map and opened his eyes wide in surprise. He had wondered why he could hear murmurs as he approached, but, now that he drew near, he saw that groups of people had gathered near the Silent Cavern. Cautiously observing them, Ronya noticed that they were all merchants accompanied by hired mercenaries. At least a few dozens of those gathered were mercenaries.
“You’ve arrived, just in time. I was just about to explain and go inside the cave.”
As Ronya was still bewildered by how massive in scale this scam was, someone smiled and engaged him in a conversation. The man’s face was as white as snow; he had bright silver hair and blue-gray eyes. His features basically shouted that he was a citizen of Solar. Only then did Ronya realize that the man before him was the young man who visited the store yesterday. The young man passed by him before he could even say anything.
“Hey, how much longer do we have to wait here? Are you sure this cave is safe?” Someone couldn’t stand the wait and shouted.
In sympathy, the discontented murmurs grew louder. Ronya pushed through the crowd and looked at the Silent Cavern, stretching his neck past the throng of people and scrutinizing it carefully. From what he had heard, the cave should have been full of monsters, but it seemed like a simple, round cave. It almost looked man made, as the cave had few divots and bends. He couldn’t even see any bats inside.
In response to the question, the young man walked briskly and stood right in front of the entrance to the cave. The mercenaries, who had witnessed the dangers of the Silent Cavern firsthand, stepped back hesitantly, visibly shaken. Yet, nothing happened.
“Hello everyone. My name is Hess, from Solar. Do you remember me?” Under the sunlight, the face of the young man, Hess, gently shimmered. He had a fairly androgynous face that could charm both men and women. Perhaps his face and voice was styled to be intentionally alluring–typical of a scammer? Ronya gave Hess a suspicious look and scanned him up and down.
“Since the merchants said that the mountain range was too rugged to cross, I searched for my own way through. And now, look, a road.” The man raised his hand as if to say ‘Tada!’ and pointed towards the cave. A chilly silence answered.
Hess shrugged his shoulders and, while everyone watched with tense, bated breaths, walked into the cave. He went far enough that the sound of his footsteps were too distant to be heard. After a while, he returned. He appeared immaculate, without a single stain or blemish. Again, he raised his hand dramatically and pointed to the cave, shouting, “It’s been completely cleared of monsters, making it a clean, safe, and comfortable path!”
This time, the crowd was buzzing. Those who didn’t know much about the cave only tilted their heads; those who knew well looked between the cave and Hess with half-doubtful and half-shocked eyes.
A little excited, Ronya asked out loud, “Have the demonic beasts truly disappeared? When did that happen?”
“Two days ago. There were incredibly dangerous monsters about, so I cleaned them all up.” Hess spoke quite casually, as if the beasts were nothing but dirt that he had to wipe away.
“You did? By what means?”
“With magic.” Hess snapped his fingers, as if he had been waiting for that comment. In an instant, several dazzling sources of light floated above his head. Most people were simply amazed, but a few of the mage mercenaries widened their eyes and stared intently at the mage and the lights. They had realized that this was no ordinary level of light magic.
Even after he confirmed that the man was a mage, Ronya couldn’t easily believe him. Were all the mages that tried to subjugate the cave in the past all idiots?
Before people like Ronya, who couldn’t let go of his doubts, could start bombarding him with questions, the mage, Hess, swiftly whirled around. “I will lead the way. If you all would just invest one day, you can confirm that you will be able to reach Solar. If you’d like to follow me, please come this way.”
Then, he slowly walked into the cave without even giving the audience a chance to ask questions.
The merchants exchanged glances; the bravest among them rushed in after the mage. Many others followed cautiously. They took courage in the fact that they weren’t alone–they had brought along mercenaries as escorts.
The cave’s floor and walls were very smooth, as if someone had deliberately rubbed them with sandpaper. On the ground, gravel had been scattered to prevent slipping. The passageway was so wide and high that many people could move at once. Without realizing it, Ronya began to mentally calculate.
‘When crossing the mountain range, one may never know when and where beasts, monsters, or bandits might attack. Inside the cave, sudden ambushes will be unlikely. Plus, several wagons and horses can easily pass. The slope is almost nonexistent, making the way feel like a flat plain.’
Ronya even had to peel off a few layers of his outerwear because the cave was much warmer than outside.
Looking around, he could see that the other merchants had come to the same conclusion as he did. It didn’t even feel like they were crossing mountains, and they could easily sell food and cloth on this route. He thought about the generous payment that the mage had offered–trading to Solar would be more profitable than selling in Sobleche or Bolney.
‘With such a well-polished, cleaned road, I would be okay with signing a long-term contract with Solar.’
Moreover, wasn’t Solar where Mollunka-nim had passed away? Devout followers were still immigrating there, packing their bags and risking their lives. What if ordinary devotees who were too afraid to even think about crossing the treacherous mountains started to use this path to travel to Solar?
Money follows a well-travelled road. Ronya attentively listened to Hess even as his brain was busy making plans and organizing all that he had heard. The merchant was, after all, interested in learning more information.
“Isn’t it so beautiful? Even though it might not look like much, this cave was created over three thousand years by hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts melting and molding it, one sekron at a time. I’ve seen many beasts create holes here and there, but… This cave is truly a piece of art. This type of cave is extremely rare, you know. Various conditions–such as a constant, precise acidic environment–had to align for these past 3000 years! In fact, it was a little heartbreaking to think that I had to clear out these creatures. Although it’s unfortunate that the path isn’t straight due to the land’s magnetic fields, the cave is still remarkable. The distinctive and aesthetically pleasing wave-patterns unique to the Zittorgit subspecies is so pronounced. Especially, if you look towards the sediment on the floor, where you can observe Heorope waves in units of about 20 ipkrons…”
Ronya couldn’t understand what the young man was saying at all. The mage kept spouting crazy nonsense with such an ordinary expression, but Ronya played along and nodded.
After walking all day long, they finally reached the end of the cave. Unlike the smooth path they had been travelling on, the end of the cave was a bit uneven and rough. It seemed like someone had forcefully carved through it. As a few merchants stumbled and fell, Hess spoke with a somewhat embarrassed expression, “The way would have been smoothly paved through if we had another 50 years. I struggled a lot–I almost ran out of magic while drilling through the cave, and my melties almost ate me.”
‘Is ‘melties’ a name for a monster?’ As Ronya pondered, the bright sunshine finally greeted them. Standing at the entrance of the cave, Hess opened his arms wide and shouted, “Now, everyone… We’ve arrived at Solar!”
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ileliax
i love how indifferent ayra is lmao