"What's going on?"
Lieutenant Colonel Bastille, who had primary jurisdiction over the entire labor camp, rushed over.
A guard with the rank of captain pointed down into the depths of the pit.
"There's been a mysterious explosion in the center of the Level Nine sector."
"It's different in scale from the previous incidents. It seems to be a sign of something bad."
"We are not yet able to investigate because of the lava and gas, which could cause further collapse."
After receiving his subordinates' report, Lieutenant Colonel Bastille said coldly.
"Send a few prisoners to investigate."
"What? Ha, but if we go down there now, there's room for us to get caught up in a further collapse...."
"That's why I say send some prisoners. If you promise to exempt them from a day's labor and throw in a few crusts of bread, they'll volunteer."
The guards fell silent at Bastille's words.
No prisoner would sell their lives for a day's rest and a few crusts of bread.
But there was a surprising volunteer.
"I'll go."
Vikir took a step forward.
Lieutenant Colonel Bastille flinched.
"You? What do you have up your sleeve?"
"Nothing much. I just want some bread."
"...hmm."
Lieutenant Colonel Bastille thought for a moment.
But Vikir had been a model prisoner for the past two years, with no incidents since he first arrived.
Bastille finally nodded.
"Good. Do you think you can make it down through that fire and gas?"
"Only if you can get me out of my BDISSEM restraints."
"Don't play games with me...."
"Just kidding. Bye."
Vikir stepped into the pit with a dry joke.
Gurgling!
The gas storms, flames, and lava that erupted from within the surface were more than even Vikir could handle.
It was at times like this that the physical and magical resistance stats he had maxed out in the Hell Tree came in handy.
"Hey, Decarabia, can you put up a shield?"
[I'm out of mana, so I can only do a little].
"That should be enough."
At Vikir's words, Dekarabia raised a small barrier, covering a few meters around him.
Vikir, hiding behind a curtain of fire and gas, moved forward, shaking off lava that was up to his knees.
'...I can't hold out much longer.'
If he stayed in this place with no mana, his legs would burn without a trace.
Vikir paced, eager to find the cause of the explosion as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, beyond the thick cloud of sulfurous gas, the roaring flames, and the brilliant red aurora of lava, a giant shadow loomed.
"...!"
Vikir knew at once that this was what he had been searching for.
"This is the first time I've seen it with the naked eye."
But there was no doubt nonetheless.
In the heart of Nouvelle Vague, in the deepest reaches of Level Nine.
Is this the only 'sphere of blue lava' that exists here?
Vikir quietly raised his head to take in the sight before him.
An oval-shaped sphere, about five meters in diameter, covered in blue flames and roiling, it looked like the 'egg' of something.
"I found it. Poseidon."
Vikir reached out and stroked its surface once.
Underneath the sphere, roots made of aura extended out from beneath the ground, and they resisted violently at the slightest impact.
kwakwang! kuleuleung! uleung!
Because of that resistance, it seemed like explosions were occurring all around.
…peog!
Vikir stretched out his fist and punched Poseidon's outer surface.
Then, something amazing happened.
Swoosh!
Poseidon absorbed the impact from Vikir's fist.
Wriggle!
The blue flames that had been roaring grew ever so slightly larger.
The surrounding light also seemed to grow a little brighter.
"I see. It grows by absorbing external shocks."
Vikir nodded.
Finding this Poseidon is not the end of the story. In the future, we need to provide numerous shocks to grow.
'... They don't call it "synchronized" for nothing.'
Vikir stroked his chin.
Just like discovering Poseidon, making this thing work was not a solo effort.
'But once you've discovered it, 90% of the work has been accomplished. The rest is just a matter of time.'
Vikir, of course, had a plan for the future.
…cheolpeog! …cheolpeog! …cheolpeog! …cheolpeog!
Vikir turned and ran back through the lava swamp.
Eventually, everyone who saw Vikir rising above the rocky area was frightened.
"Oh, you're not dead?"
"How did you get all the way inside that hell?"
"Didn't you just come back from the entrance?"
The others chattered, but Vikir didn't care.
"There's a strange mass of lava inside. It seems to absorb shock."
"...Absorb shock?"
Lt. Colonel Bastille looked impressed.
It might be better if it was something that exploded, but materials that absorb shock are not very pleasant.
This is true from the perspective of having to dig down a tunnel.
Then, as the gas and oil vapor cleared, the blue orb Vikir had spoken of became more clearly visible.
Searing flames, roots of auras reaching beneath the ground, and a mysterious entity that explodes with a loud bang at the slightest touch.
Lt. Colonel Bastille raised his greatsword and struck.
kwa-kwakwakwakwakwang!
The blue sphere absorbed even the aura of a Graduator Superior without difficulty.
"It's true! It absorbed all of Lt. Colonel Bastille's attacks!"
"Huh? Doesn't that lump... seem to have gotten a little bigger than before?"
"It looks like an egg or something."
Even the guards were agitated.
Now that the mysterious sphere was stuck in the middle of the labor camp, it was difficult to do their work.
Even if they wanted to dig around it, they couldn't because it absorbed all the impacts from pickaxes, shovels, and other tools.
Even worse, the veins of the aura, which were laid down like roots, would explode in a massive explosion if they were disturbed.
Lt. Colonel Bastille grunted.
"If an explosion of this magnitude can be caused by merely touching one of those twig-like veins,... it's going to be a mess if the main body of that lump explodes."
At best, the entire Nouvelle Vague fortress would be blown away.
Worst of all, it could reawaken an extinct volcano that was thought to be dead and begin to erupt again.
"Damn it. Nouvelle Vague is not a fully extinct volcano."
But the veins of aura around Bastille, the sulfurous gas, steam, and bubbling magma that were erupting in real time, were more than a glance away.
Until now, he had assumed that it was an eruption of old geothermal heat trapped in the ground, but he might have to revise his thinking.
"Call in the geologists. We need to do a full survey to see if Nouvelle Vague is really an extinct volcano...."
But Lt. Colonel Bastille's order was unfinished.
"What nonsense."
From behind him, a large man in a dark uniform walked out.
Colonel D'Ordume. The moment he appeared, Lt. Colonel Bastille straightened up and saluted.
D'Ordume returned the salute with a wave of his hand and got straight to the point.
"Tell me again what you said earlier. You're going to do the whole survey again?"
"Yes! It's none other than the unidentified object found in the labor camp on Level 9...."
D'Ordume frowned at Lt. Colonel Bastille's words.
"Let me take a look."
D'Ordume followed Bastille's lead down to the blue sphere.
"If you hit it, it absorbs the impact, and if you touch the veins of the aura underneath, you get a loud explosion, which is also absorbed by the sphere. If you mess with it too much, the sphere might release all the shock it's accumulated at once. If Nouvelle Vague is a dormant volcano, not an extinct one, then...."
"Nonsense. Nouvelle Vague is definitely an extinct volcano."
D'Ordume dismissed Bastille's words.
Then he spoke again.
"Don't prolong the construction period over something you're not even sure of. Do you have any idea how long it will take to conduct a full survey again? At least a decade."
"Ha, but...."
"What about the astronomical budget that will be incurred if the construction period is extended? Will you be responsible for that?"
"...."
When Bastille shut up, D'Ordume drove a wedge.
"Labor will proceed as scheduled. You will meet the construction deadline at all costs."
"...."
"This is all for your own good. The sooner Level Ten is finished, the sooner I'll be ahead of that Souaré, that bitch, if I become the head of the prison, and the sooner you'll be promoted to warden."
At D'Ordume's words, Bastille nodded.
"You're right, Colonel."
"Yeah. If there's going to be an explosion, it's going to be a bunch of scumbag prisoners dying anyway. If you're really worried, tell the guards to stay away from that area if they can."
As he spoke, D'Ordume's eyes glowed.
"Personnel evaluation season is coming soon."
"...."
"Souaré, that bitch is keeping the old man Angajumang in solitary confinement, and she's always getting near perfect personnel scores for that alone."
"...."
"Me, on the other hand, I'm the one who takes the initiative to put down the prisoners' riots, I go out and fetch food, and I always do my job as the warden's closest confidante."
"...."
"If I and that Souaré bitch have similar quarterly personnel scores, Why should I be a candidate for the next prison director along with that bitch?"
It was the first time Lt. Colonel Bastille had ever heard D'Ordume talk this much.
With a click and a grinding of teeth, he finished.
"So the Level Ten project I've been entrusted with must be completed on time, no matter what. It's the only way we can stay ahead of Souaré, and when I'm the next warden director, you're the next warden. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I only accept it."
D'Ordume nodded in satisfaction at Bastille's polite reply, then disappeared down the hallway.
Behind him, Bastille sighed in unease.
'I have a bad feeling about this. Once that thing goes off, it won't just blow up the Nouvelle Vague, it might even affect the climate on the ground....'
Lt. Colonel Bastille thought to himself for a long time.
But then he shook his head.
'I know. Worrying too much is my weakness.'
Lt. Colonel Bastille decided to resume his labor the next day.
He had no time to worry about it now that he was involved in a political battle between D'Ordume and Souaré, the next in line for the head of the five wardens.
...and.
'This is good for me in many ways.'
Standing behind a stone pillar, listening to their conversation, Vikir quietly melted into the darkness.
With a bag of bread in his hand as a reward.