Chapter 364: Eighty-Fourth Floor, Sea of Lava (5)

[Investigate the Sea of Lava, identify the source of the problem, and resolve it. Time remaining: 108 hours 43 minutes.]

Of course, returning from the volcano took roughly the same amount of time as it had to ascend, which was about four hours.

Though a decent stretch of time had passed, the city remained restless, likely stirred by the tremendous tremor originating from the mountain.

Some people were hurriedly packing their belongings, while others simply stood there and stared uneasily at the volcano. Although tremors occurred from time to time, they clearly didn’t to this extent.

Then again, the shockwave had been extremely immense.

Things are still stable. Well, for now.

Watching the people flee or tremble in fear because of a tremor I had caused, I felt a twinge of guilt.

However, there was nothing I could tell them to ease their minds. Even if I assured them everything was fine, I had neither the credibility nor the power to dispel their deep-rooted fear.

As I watched their retreating backs, a quiet heaviness settled over me. Despite the world teetering on the edge of collapse, they still seemed to cling to hope.

They probably don’t realize that once the volcano erupts, it is all over. Leaving won’t change a thing.

In the end, I could only do one thing. Find the trench, discover the core issue, and resolve it. Only then could these people return to their ordinary lives.

Moreover, as someone who needed to reach the next floor, the same applied to me.

I turned away from the people, and the scorched terrain spread before me.

This day is nearly over already.

Although I couldn’t determine the exact time, I recalled that I had been summoned sometime during the morning. All I had done was briefly meet the king, stop by the Sea of Lava Countermeasure Headquarters, and journey to and from the volcano.

Yet somehow, that had consumed an entire day.

Drifting through the sky, I let my gaze sweep across the landscape. There was something strangely beautiful about the lava zone at night.

It is oddly soothing.

Since entering the Tower of Ordeal and exploring its many worlds, I had encountered more than a few breathtaking sights. This was certainly one of them.

Darkness had fallen over the land, and even the moon was absent. Artificial light wasn’t really needed, though.

From the peak of the volcano to the edge of the sea, tens of thousands of molten streams glowed like living veins of fire. The area surrounding the Sea of Lava was so bright, it was almost blinding.

The stark contrast against the pitch-black sky gave the landscape an eerie and captivating view.

It looks like something straight out of hell, but not in a menacing way. More dreamlike than infernal, really.

Far ahead, the Sea of Lava Countermeasure Headquarters came into view. Perhaps due to the earlier tremor, that place was also abuzz with movement. Despite the late hour, every window in the large facility was alight, and the grounds outside were even more active.

Several people stood out front, along with carts and supply wagons. I spotted Remtal and Sokin giving orders to the researchers.

From where I hovered, I caught fragments of their conversation.

“Is everything packed?”

“Not yet.”

“Move quickly. Something’s not right. We've never recorded a tremor this powerful from the volcano before.”

Hmm.

It sounded like they were preparing to send a team up to the summit.

That, too, was because of me.

All I had done was discover a hidden mission, but here they were, scrambling late into the night. Guilt crept in again.

I left the villagers, but I can’t do the same to these people.

Tomorrow, I was scheduled to board a submersible bound for the Sea of Lava. If key personnel were diverted now, it could seriously compromise the mission.

For instance, if a researcher who was supposed to board the submersible ended up heading to the volcano instead, they could miss something crucial out at sea.

Originally, I had planned to slip quietly into the facility unnoticed. That no longer seemed wise, however. I revealed myself and made my way toward Remtal.

As soon as he spotted me from a distance, he hurried over. “Adventurer! You’ve returned!”

“Yeah.”

“We were worried. The volcano trembled so violently. You were surely on your way up, but I feared something had happened.”

“I’m all right. Nothing went wrong.”

Remtal exhaled softly, and the tension in his shoulders eased. “You must be disappointed. With a tremor that strong, you likely had no choice but to turn back.”

He looked genuinely regretful, clearly assuming I hadn’t made it to the summit.

It wasn’t an unreasonable conclusion.

I shook my head. “No. I made it to the summit.”

“Excuse me?”

“I reached the top.”

“Y-you went all the way up?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me, wordless. Though he said nothing, his expression said it all, disbelief written all over his face. I had expected as much.

After a pause, he drew a breath and tried again. “You returned because the volcano’s about to erupt, right?”

“No. Like I said, I reached the summit.”

Remtal narrowed his eyes. Even though I kept repeating the same thing, suspicion lingered in his gaze.

At this point, words wouldn’t cut it. It would be better to show him some tangible proof—with something that didn’t involve absurdities like portals.

I pulled the permit from my pocket and handed it over. It had been stamped at the summit earlier.

Squinting, Remtal took the document and inspected it.

He stiffened in surprise. “

Huh?

”

Muttering to himself, he checked it thoroughly, examining both front and back. He even angled it toward a nearby light source, likely checking for signs of forgery.

“Would I really go out of my way to fake something like that? What would I even gain?”

“W-well, that’s true. But still, this just doesn’t make any sense...”

Halfway through speaking to me, he had started murmuring to himself again, visibly flustered.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected this.

Moments like these required pressure. Now was the time to push, while his mind reeled and grasped for the smallest semblance of logic.

“There’s no need to send anyone up the volcano. It’s not going to erupt. At least, not yet.”

“What?”

“

Oh

, and I’ll be boarding the submersible tomorrow.”

“I-I don’t understand any of this...” Remtal still looked completely at a loss.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I would probably be just as confused in his position.

There was no point in scolding him or doubting his intelligence.

“It’s simple. I’m not like everyone else. I got up there quickly and that’s all. Didn’t I tell you before? I’m fast.”

“But— even so—”

I had lost count of how many times he had objected to my statements.

Then, all of a sudden, Remtal looked up sharply. “Wait. Adventurer, are you a mage?”

Caught off guard, I echoed, “A mage?”

He nodded, still looking bewildered. “I heard that before the great cataclysm, and before the world fell, mages roamed the lands. And that some descendants of that legacy still exist hidden in the shadows.”

So, conspiracy theories existed here, too.

No, perhaps it wasn’t just a conspiracy theory. If the corpse I discovered belonged to this world’s god, then the world would have begun to lose its power the moment that god disappeared.

After all, a world’s strength was directly tied to the strength of its deity. If powerful beings like mages had vanished around that time, it would certainly explain a lot.

Not a bad story to lean into, really.

In hindsight, it almost seemed inevitable.

Even if an ordinary climber were in my place, someone who had cleared eighty-four floors would still be beyond these people’s comprehension.

Despite that, it wasn’t strange for hidden histories like this to exist beneath the surface.

After a quick glance around, I nodded subtly and summoned a faint spark of lightning at my fingertips.

Remtal jolted back and instinctively drew his upper body away. “W-what the!”

“

Shh.

” I quickly pressed a finger to my lips. “You can’t talk about this. Not to your family. Not even to your king.”

His attitude shifted immediately. “I-I understand.”

The suspicion that had lingered in his gaze disappeared, replaced by something similar to reverence.

After a moment’s hesitation, he cautiously asked, “Earlier... when you said there was no need to go to the volcano, what exactly did you mean?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

I had already prepared an excuse. It wasn’t perfectly airtight, and I couldn’t say whether he would buy it. Regardless, in his current state, I could have claimed I made soybean paste from red beans, and he would have nodded along.

“I had my permit stamped and was inspecting the area around the volcano when I noticed a massive boulder near one of the lava streams.”

“I see.” He listened intently, eyes sharpening.

“It melted and tumbled down into the lava. That’s what caused the tremor.”

“That was it?”

Is that too much of a stretch?

“Well, maybe the impact triggered something deeper inside the volcano. After the researchers fled, I stayed behind for a bit. Aside from that, nothing unusual stood out.”

“I-I see...” He nodded with a somewhat reluctant expression, still unsure but trying to convince himself.

If I hadn’t claimed to be a mage, I probably would have been met with immediate doubt.

Still, everything seemed to be unfolding smoothly.

“

Um...

do you perhaps know why the Sea of Lava’s level has been rising since you are a mage?”

Just like that, “adventurer” had become “mage.”

I smiled faintly and shook my head. “Not yet. The volcano didn’t reveal much. We’ll likely need to examine the trench to find out.”

“

Oh

, okay,” he remarked with a slightly grim look.

“And please, don’t refer to me as a mage when others are around.”

“

Ah!

Yes, ma— adventurer.”

“Anyway, that’s all. There’s no need to send researchers up the summit. Let’s focus on tomorrow’s submersible expedition instead.”

“Still, perhaps we should investigate, just to be safe,” he disagreed, then watched me closely as he continued, carefully choosing his words, “The impact could have caused structural issues.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“You’re not planning to send the actual sub crew up there, are you?”

“We were, up until now. But if you say it’s unnecessary, then we’ll send someone else. A few off-duty members.”

“That’s better.”

Phew.

They had nearly sent the main dive team up.

I was glad I had spoken up, even if it meant leaning into the mage persona a little further.

That had paid off as well. Remtal hadn’t been particularly warm toward me until now, but after that exchange, something had shifted. It could pay off in the long run, especially after we reached the Sea of Lava, since Remtal would be joining us in our dive.

I nodded lightly and sent him away with a small wave. “Well then, I’ll head in and get some rest.”

“Yes, of course! You must be exhausted. Please rest well.” Remtal bowed his head respectfully.

***

The next morning, the submersible returned.

Though our departure wasn’t until the afternoon, out of curiosity, I trailed after Remtal down to the shore to meet it.

It was forged from a black stone, appearing sleek, seamless, and durable.

I wasn’t an expert when it came to construction, but even I could tell it must have been incredibly difficult to build—and expensive.

At least it didn’t seem like it would melt in ordinary lava. They had already used it, and it looked solid enough.

Still, one concern lingered.

It will probably melt in lava imbued with divinity.

After yesterday, I felt confident in my assessment. That lava had nearly dissolved not just my mana barrier, but my shield of divine energy as well. The four missing submersibles hadn’t necessarily been stranded at all.

They could have simply melted away in the divinity-infused lava.

If that was the case, things had become far more complicated. Even if I found the trench, I would have to disembark and solve it single-handedly.

Unfortunately, drilling vertically from the Sea of Lava’s surface would be far too draining. The divine energy from a single horn had nearly torn through my shield. To even have a chance, I would need to be at full strength.

Can I disembark alone from the sub?

I made my way toward Remtal, hoping to get an answer. He and Sokin were still welcoming the researchers who had emerged from the vessel.

Before I could speak, Sokin turned to me with a beaming grin. “Adventurer! This is the submersible we built, the Kalain! Isn’t it magnificent?”

I stopped in my tracks.

His enthusiasm was just as infectious as yesterday’s.

That wasn’t what I was focused on, however.

Kalain? W-why is that name here?