Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 180

Dust swirled around their boots as Logan, Clayton, and Hamarr finally reached the Taren region. A week’s journey from McLane Town had brought them to this empty place.

Hamarr looked around at the flat land. “This is it? There’s… nothing here. Just dirt and rocks.”

Clayton looked at Logan, his eyes questioning. “Master, forgive me for asking, but… what exactly are we doing in this empty place?”

Logan smiled slightly. “Patience, Hamarr. Just a little further. The things that will make you rich and famous are just ahead.”

Hamarr frowned. “You’re not thinking of building a big workshop… in this empty wasteland, are you?”

Logan chuckled. “No, not here. Just past this empty land is an old mining area. That’s where we’ll build the workshop.”

Hamarr’s face had lit up, but now the smile faded quickly.

“But… what can we do in *these* old mines? They look completely ruined,” Hamarr gestured around at the ruins.

“I told you, these are just abandoned mines now. But once, this was the site of the kingdom’s greatest mining city.”

Hamarr sighed heavily. “Oh, no.”

Hamarr’s gaze moved from the base of the mountain range, past the remnants of what seemed to have once been a castle, to the mountainside where the forest itself had been cut away, revealing the deep, bare rock.

The ‘abandoned’ mining region of the Taren territory. Even the stone paths leading in all directions from the castle ruins were barely visible, thanks to the weeds sparsely growing between the stones. The traces of the mining city, which had been responsible for more than half of the royal treasury until 200 years ago, were this desolate.

Hamarr frowned. “These are abandoned mines. That means they weren’t making money anymore, so the kingdom left them. Are you saying you’ve found something they missed, Master?”

Logan shrugged. “It’s not that I’ve found something for sure. But I think there’s a good chance, like with the McLane gold mine.”

At those words, Hamarr’s face hardened as he recalled the arduous life he had led back then. Clayton, who was still looking around with a curious expression, joined the conversation.

“But how did you think it would be here, Young Master?” Clayton asked.

Hamarr’s voice rose. “If you’re just going to tell me to dig again, with no plan, like last time… I’m not doing it! It’s too hard! It almost killed us! These are *abandoned* mines, Logan. People have already searched them. They’ve already looked for veins!”

Logan shook his head. “If I just wanted you to dig blindly, I would have brought Pale and all the miners, just like before.”

Hamarr breathed a sigh of relief at Logan’s immediate response.

Logan continued, “This time, I don’t know exactly where it is either. So, we need to search around first, *before* we start digging.”

Hamarr’s shoulders slumped. He knew what ‘searching everywhere’ meant. It meant even harder work than before.

Hamarr threw his hands up. “No! Absolutely not! Go down into those old mine tunnels? They could collapse! And search *every* tunnel? There are hundreds of them! No way!”

“No, that’s not what I meant…” Logan replied.

Hamarr argued, “Those tunnels are probably all caved in by now! And you said there are many mines here, not just one or two!”

Logan smiled. “I told you, it won’t be like that. If it was just hard digging, would I have only brought the two of you? No, right?”

Logan spread his arms, gesturing to Clayton. “Because this time, we have Clayton with us! He’s a mage – a very skilled earth mage.”

Logan gestured proudly at Clayton, like he was showing off a prize. Clayton stood behind him, looking uncomfortable.

Hamarr sighed deeply and asked.

“So, instead of mobilizing a bunch of miners or humans, you’re going to use that mage?”

“That’s right,” Logan replied.

Hamarr stared at Clayton. “Wait… why is *he* here? What did he do wrong?” He turned to Clayton. “Hey, mage! What’s going on?”

“Well, a sin of losing about ten million gold?” Logan answered.

Hamarr’s eyes widened. “Ten million gold?! You’re serious? A mage did *that*?'”

Hamarr’s eyes grew even wider. Clayton just gave a weak smile. He knew he couldn’t argue. He *had* lost a lot of money.

Clayton lowered his voice. “Young Master… why do you think there’s a magic stone vein under these old mines? And why are you so sure?”

There was a good reason why Clayton was so cautious.

At those words, Hamarr opened his mouth.

“Ma, magic stone?!”

Hamarr, who had shouted without realizing it, quickly shrank back and looked around.

“You’re saying a magic stone vein is buried here?” Hamarr asked.

Hamarr’s excitement faded quickly, replaced by a frown.

“Is there any way the country wouldn’t have known about it if there was a magic stone vein under the mine they were digging?”

“They didn’t know,” Logan replied.

Logan shrugged, but Hamarr and Clayton exchanged doubtful glances.

Logan leaned in, lowering his voice. “I think… I think someone hid the truth. A long time ago, maybe two hundred years, a prince who was angry at his brother changed the mining records. He wanted to cause trouble for the kingdom.”

“……How did you know that, Young Master?” Clayton asked.

Logan hesitated. “I… I saw some old documents in the palace archives. They were hidden away.”

Hamarr and Clayton were silent, exchanging skeptical looks.

Logan continued, “And there’s more. I also found records saying there are about 120 tunnels in these mines. And…” he paused for effect, “…one of them shows a strange magical energy. Deep down, about a hundred meters past the end of the tunnel. Too deep to notice easily.”

Logan saw they still looked unsure. He kept explaining.

“Before they could even start building, the royal family was removed from power. This happened at the same time as talks about closing the mine. So, they blocked the tunnel and destroyed the records. I just found some information that was thrown away. Now, we just need to find the blocked tunnel. Easy, right?”

Logan’s words sounded convincing, but Hamarr found a big problem.

“Master,” Hamarr asked, “didn’t you say this was two hundred years ago?”

“Yes,” Logan replied.

“Do you really think a tunnel will still be there after all this time? Especially with the tools people had back then!”

“…Oh,” Logan said. His eyes opened wide as he understood. Hamarr’s face became very angry.

“So, you mean we have to search everywhere!” Hamarr shouted. “You did this to make me suffer on purpose! Didn’t you?! Fortune and glory? Nonsense! I knew it was too good to be true!”

*Whoosh!* As if to calm the angry dwarves, a cold wind suddenly blew through.

“Damn it…” Even Clayton, who was usually calm, cursed. Logan had to try hard to calm them down.

“So, first we check if the mana stone (a lode is a vein of valuable minerals in the ground) is really there ourselves. Then, we decide how to dig and rebuild the mine based on that mana stone?”

Another voice asked, “Then, we bring in many people to dig the mine, make it strong, build a town, get the many refugees from 맥라인 (a town in the kingdom) to live here, and build a big workshop near the mine? Did we understand you correctly, Master?”

They were inside simple buildings made quickly at the old castle place. The dwarf and the mage, who were talking about Logan’s plan, looked serious and unhappy.

“Exactly,” Logan said. “We can tell the royal family we are bringing back an old mine. Maybe we can even get help to build it. But it’s okay if we don’t.”

“It’s a reasonable plan,” one of them said.

“However…”

“Except for the part where I and that mage have to suffer for a while,” Hamarr interrupted. Hamarr and Clayton looked very angry as they spoke.

“I would rather just bring in many people from the start…” Hamarr complained.

Clayton argued, “How many people can find mana stone deep underground at the end of a tunnel? And how much would it cost to buy or build such tools? Wouldn’t people suspect something is here?”

“For someone who has so much money…” Hamarr started to say, but Logan cut him off.

“Quiet! Keeping this secret is the most important thing. At least until we start building, and if possible, even after that!”

That last part about keeping it secret forever was just a hope. But Logan had very high hopes for this mana stone mine. He would say anything because of it. The gold mine had made 맥라인 town rich. But this mana stone mine could make the whole kingdom richer. In the history of this land, wars often started over mana stone mines when people found out about them.

*‘It might even make the empire invade faster, but it’s worth the risk,’* Logan thought. War was always about money. The money from this mine could make 맥라인’s army stronger, and also the kingdom’s army. Also, if Clayton finished the research Logan asked for, this mana stone mine could become a place to make new weapons. These weapons would make money and make the kingdom stronger. It would be a big step to stop the empire’s war, or even win it.

So, Logan said firmly, “We must find the mana stone and start building secretly. If anyone sees us, it will just look like we are looking around the old, empty land. We have to start now.” Logan made it clear that he would not listen to any complaints. If Clayton wasn’t here, Logan would have brought many people and not worried about being seen. But with Clayton’s magic, they could be secret.

“Haa…” Hamarr sighed loudly.

“Damn it…” Clayton cursed again. With the unhappy sighs of the dwarf and the mage behind him, the work began.

Luckily, Clayton’s magic made the search work much faster. They had thought it would be a very hard job. Clayton’s famous magic, called Golem Army, could now control 40 golems. Each golem dug into the blocked tunnels at a terrifying speed. In just three days, 120 tunnels were made like they were before, at least for a short time. Also, Clayton used magic to make the ground strong. This made tunnels that people could use for about a week to go to the end of the tunnel.

“Clayton, you are really, really amazing!” Logan gave Clayton a thumbs up. The results were much better than they had hoped.

*‘When the best builder becomes a mage, he becomes a builder who will be remembered forever…’* Logan stopped himself from saying something that would shock Clayton.

Hamarr said the thought out loud.

“No way! A worker as strong as ten thousand people! Mage, will you sign a contract with me! Be the boss in my workshop… Mmph! Mmph!” Hamarr’s eyes were wide. He struggled as Logan covered his mouth. Luckily, Clayton didn’t seem to mind Hamarr’s words. In fact, he seemed to be smiling proudly.

“I guess so. It’s working…” Clayton said. His face was covered in black dust, not like a normal mage. Logan felt a little guilty. He felt like he had turned a very skilled mage into just a builder. So, he decided to finish the job quickly and forget about it.

“Okay, let’s check each tunnel one by one.”

“Aargh! Wait! Why am I even here then?!” Hamarr complained. Logan, carrying Hamarr, went first. The mage, still sighing, followed behind. And the search for the mana stone began.

Just four days later. They were at the end of a mine tunnel that was an iron mine two hundred years ago. In a corner, Hamarr was drawing on the ground, his eyes half-closed.

“Let’s sleep, just sleep. Finding the way in the mine is easy. Why don’t you just let me do it… Damn it…” His grumbling sound went through the quiet tunnel, but no one reacted. This was the 82nd tunnel they were checking. Clayton was tired from doing the same thing over and over. He used his magic to find things, but he looked bored and tired. This time, the feeling was a little different. Logan and Clayton, being a mage, both felt something was different. And they were right.

*Ooooooo…*

“Y-yes! Mana stone! I can feel the mana stone!” Clayton shouted.

*Tap tap tap tap tap. Rumble!* Hamarr jumped in surprise when Clayton shouted in the tunnel. But Clayton cheered, his face covered in dust. Next to him, Logan, also covered in dust, grinned, showing his white teeth.

The next day. Logan sent a magical message: **[Hire all the dwarves in Harun. Pay them a little extra if needed. Send them all to the old mine area. Get more workers, and send about one third of our soldiers here!]** This message was to quickly do the things they had talked about in the meeting with his advisors. The magical message from Logan made the office in 맥라인 Town very busy and chaotic.