It had been six months since Ashen settled in this region, and he had never forgotten the main reason for choosing it.
'So? You told me to stabilize myself here before revealing where these so-called riches were. I think I'm stable enough. Out with it.'
{So impatient. Very well…}
'Just spill it.'
{...Several kilometers under the mountain behind your settlement, there exists a gigantic mineral vein of mithril.}
Ashen's heart started pounding the moment the word 'mithril' echoed in his head.
Sabrina, standing at her post beside him, tilted her head as she watched her master go completely still. If not for her keen senses, she would have thought his heart had stopped.
'The mountain,' Ashen said carefully. 'You mean the mountain right behind this city?'
{Indeed.}
He let out a shuddering breath. "Fuck."
The involuntary curse escaped before he could stop it. Sabrina's stare intensified, her expression shifting from blank to puzzled concern.
Ashen barely noticed, nor did he care. He had a mithril vein sitting right under him.
Mithril and adamantium were the two most illustrious metals on the Seravelle continent. Adamantium was sought after because it was the hardest metal to exist anywhere, capable of holding an edge that never dulled and withstanding impacts that would shatter lesser materials. But mithril's distinction was different.
While also exceptionally hard, its most valuable quality was mana conduction. Even in its raw state, it could conduct over eighty percent of mana through it. When properly refined, that number climbed to ninety-five percent. Rumors suggested that dwarven smiths from the demi-human empire could push it to ninety-nine.
But both metals shared one critical trait: rarity.
Finding shards or weapons in ancient sites was the most anyone hoped for. Historians had determined that both metals had been more common before the Reign of Terror, but whatever war occurred in that era and whatever entities fought had rendered them nearly extinct. No one knew the details. They only knew the results.
'And now you're telling me there's an entire vein beneath me,' Ashen thought. 'A gigantic one.'
He didn't know whether to be frightened or ecstatic.
{Yes. But the mithril is merely an obstacle.}
Ashen's stomach dropped.
{Beneath the mithril vein exists another type of metal. Nullsteel.}
The name pulled him back from the edge of panic. He exhaled slowly.
'Oh. It's just that useless thing.' Relief washed through him. 'You scared me for a second.'
Nullsteel's name came from its defining property—it absorbed mana from its vicinity, leaving the surrounding atmosphere null of it. It didn't matter if the mana was intertwined with natural phenomena like fire or water; nullsteel would devour the mana and leave the effect to collapse without fuel.
Even conceptual applications like divination and scrying failed in its presence. The moment mana attempted to pry, it got absorbed.
At first glance, nullsteel's defensive utility seemed obvious. In a world ruled by mana, a material that negated it should have been invaluable. Anti-divination, anti-scrying, defense against mana-infused attacks—the applications were countless.
The problem was contact.
Anyone in the vicinity of nullsteel would also have their mana drained. That single fact had made the metal worthless. No one wanted to experience prolonged mana deprivation. The sensation alone was deeply uncomfortable, and for pathwalkers whose abilities depended on mana flow, it was crippling.
A few abnormal individuals had attempted to hone their physical strength to the limit and abandon mana entirely, wielding weapons forged from nullsteel. They had died like the fools they were. Every transcendent forged their body to be as strong as possible regardless of their Thema—trading mana capacity for a weapon that might not absorb incoming attacks fast enough was suicide.
Even mining nullsteel was a chore. Only mundane means worked on it, and miners had to approach it as mundane humans with slightly enhanced bodies rather than pathwalkers.
Ashen's first instinct was to dismiss his twin's words. But suspicion followed immediately. A regressor wouldn't call nullsteel the real treasure if it was truly worthless, not with mithril sitting right above it.
His suspicions were correct.
{One unknown quality about this metal is that it has a saturation point. The amount of mana needed to reach saturation is so vast that no one has ever stumbled upon this fact.}
Ashen said nothing, listening with rapt attention.
{And when saturation occurs… the trash metal becomes treasure.}
'How?'
{The only path for its value to reverse is by reversing its qualities. When saturated, the metal stops absorbing mana and becomes a conductor instead, seeking to release the stored energy.}
A pause.
{The degree of conduction is one hundred percent.}
'Oh.'
{In that state, the metal can be used as a mana battery. It won't run out for years because reaching saturation requires that much mana to be present in the first place.}
{A five-meter cube of saturated nullsteel could power your city and all of Alice's constructs for a decade.}
Goosebumps traveled down Ashen's spine.
{Give even a few grams of this metal to an experienced dwarf, and they could create an alloy that eclipses both mithril and adamantium combined.}
His breathing became labored.
{Now do you understand? Mithril is just a cheap imitation of saturated nullsteel.}
Ashen's breath suddenly caught.
'Wait. If you know about it, then it must have been discovered in the future.'
{That is correct. The nature of the metal makes it undetectable by magical means, but it was eventually found.}
{There were wild rumors about mithril in this region initially, but those rumors died quickly. Talking about the subject became taboo.}
{Years later, an accident occurred. Everyone knew what had been hidden here… a mana paradise in a sealed cave surrounded by nullsteel.}
'The mana paradise,' Ashen said slowly. 'What was its source?'
He didn't wait for an answer before asking the next question.
'The accident that happened… does it relate to this source?'
{The source is a World Ender.}
'What?' Ashen had never heard the term, but the grandness of the name didn't suggest anything wholesome.
{You have seen Catastrophes before. The equivalent of second-step humans on the monster hierarchy, correct?}
'Yes. Don't tell me—'
{It is as you think. World Enders are what comes after.}
'A being on the same level as the Sin Lords.' Ashen's head throbbed. He wanted to strangle his other self for guiding him to a place where such a creature resided.
What use were riches if he died getting them?
{Comparing this one to Sin Lords may not be accurate. Unlike the Thralls serving Outer Gods, this being is a beast native to our planet. Just like the beasts you hunt, only significantly more powerful.}
{When such beasts reach the first step, they achieve something akin to metamorphosis. I will not explain the details, but to slay it, you would need to gather all the Sin Lords present at that Assembly.}
Ashen's thoughts turned darkly sarcastic. 'Wow. That's so easy. I'll give them a call this afternoon. I'm sure they'll be delighted to help me deal with this pest.'
{Since I guided you here, you can rest assured there is no immediate danger. The beast is in slumber.}
'It's asleep?' Ashen latched onto that. 'Then how is it saturating the nullsteel?'
{Simply by existing there. Its presence and sufficient time are enough.}
'What if it wakes up by being disturbed by the nullsteel devouring its mana...? Won't I be screwed then?'
{The amount of mana the metal would extract is so minuscule from the beast's perspective that it wouldn't notice the loss even when awake. In fact, it chose this location specifically to avoid being found or disturbed.}
'...Mining won't wake it up?'
{No.}
Ashen absorbed that. 'So for now, it's safe.'
{Yes.}
'Mining the mithril won't wake it either?'
{Correct.}
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then Ashen abruptly stood up and let out a laugh that echoed through the empty administrative building.
"Hahahaha! We're rich!"
Sabrina, who had been watching his various strange reactions with increasing puzzlement, suddenly found herself being lifted off her feet.
Ashen spun her around like a child with a new toy, his grin almost manic. "We're rich! We're rich! Kakakaka—!"
He planted two enthusiastic kisses on her cheeks—one on each side—then a third on her forehead. Sabrina's blank expression flickered with surprise, but she didn't resist or pull away. She simply allowed it to happen like a maid who had learned not to question her master's eccentricities.
Ashen threw her into the air.
For a brief moment, Sabrina was airborne, her maid uniform fluttering up to reveal black lace panties before he caught her smoothly on the descent. Her platform heels clicked once against his forearms as he steadied her, and she looked down at him with an expression that remained mostly blank but carried the faintest hint of fond exasperation underneath.
He set her down gently, still grinning.
"Sabrina, we are going to be disgustingly, unreasonably, obscenely wealthy. Hehehe…"
She blinked twice, processing this declaration, then tilted her head. "Congratulations, master."
Her tone was perfectly composed, as if being tossed into the air and kissed repeatedly was a normal part of her duties.
Ashen laughed again, a bright and unrestrained laugh.
For the first time since arriving in this godforsaken continent, everything felt like it might actually work.
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