Volume 1 - CH 11

Chapter 11 – I Stepped Into The Underground City

The fight with the Orichalcum Golem was what I would describe as a fierce battle, but fortunately, neither Iris nor I were injured. I guess we don’t need to use potions for this.

“By the way, I have a question.”

Iris raised her voice as if she had suddenly thought of something.

“Kou, are you by any chance a [Transmigrator]?”

“…Is that a well-known skill?”

When I asked her back, Iris shook her head.

“It’s not generally known, and I don’t know much about it either. The dragon-folk has a lore that talks about [Transmigrator]. They are uncommon beings who come from far away and possess a tremendous number of skills.”

“I see.”

I nodded.

“I’m indeed a [Transmigrator]. Just don’t spread it around too much, okay?”

“Of course. It’s considered illegal for adventurers to reveal other people’s skills without permission. …If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of place is Kou’s hometown? I’ve heard it’s deep in the mountains, but it’s probably not on this continent, is it?”

“Well, yeah.”

What would happen if I told her the truth about me coming from another world? Would she even believe me?

If it were treated as a joke, I’d rather not be thought of as a crazy person.

Because I was thinking about these things, I could only nod vaguely.

“It’s a place so far away that Iris can’t even imagine it. That’s how it should be.”

“…Yeah, I see.”

She nodded as if she was convinced of something. After that, she bowed her head with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, that’s not something you want to talk about, right?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing that serious. It’s just that there are so many things about where I’m from that it’s hard to explain…”

“It’s okay, take it easy. I’ve had a lot of problems in my hometown, too, so we both have that going for us.”

By the way… Iris continues.

“Now that we’ve defeated the Orichalcum Golem, why don’t we go into the underground city?”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s go there.”

We returned to the bottom of the cliff and stood in front of the metal door. Then, a mechanical voice came from the top of the door.

“──Magic pattern authentication complete. Welcome back, Master.”

Immediately after that, the door opened automatically with a buzzing sound.

I’m familiar with facial recognition and fingerprint recognition, but this is the first time I’ve ever been authenticated with magical power.

This kind of thing is very other-worldly, isn’t it?

I felt a bit amused and thought about the technological level of ancient civilizations. I heard that their magic technology was very developed, but what exactly was the level of technology?

Was it on the same level as modern Japan? Or were they dipping their toes into the near future or science fiction?

The underground city would probably have some traces left behind, and there may be some amazing items lying around.

I’m kind of looking forward to it.

Beyond the door was a downhill tunnel. It was reasonably wide, so Iris and I could walk side by side.

On the ceiling, there was a crystal ball embedded, which was emitting dim light.

“Iris, could that crystal ball be a magic tool?”

“I think so. It’s probably the original magic lamp. I’ve never seen one before either.”

“Original?”

I parroted the question back to Iris, and she immediately explained it to me.

It seems that magic tools are made based on the heritage of the ancient civilization. The magic lamp is one of them, and it is one of the most common magic tools in circulation today.

“It is said that it is impossible to create a new magic tool with today’s technology. …Well, here is someone who has made the impossible possible though.”

Iris said as she looked at the Black Spider gauntlet on my hands.

“If you want to make a living as a craftsman but want to be an adventurer freely, it’s best not to spread the word about your skills too much. If word gets out that you can make magic tools, you’ll probably get into a lot of trouble.”

“I’d rather not do that.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s better to keep the item creation skill a secret as well.”

“Sorry, you have to keep so many secrets for me.”

“I don’t mind. It’s nice to share information privately; it’s kind of like being in a close relationship.”

Iris smiled mischievously.

“By the way, the entrance called you Master earlier, didn’t it? What does that mean?”

“I was given the Mastership when we defeated the Orichalcum Golem earlier. …Well, I guess it doesn’t matter if other people know about this.”

“I think I might rather make it public and claim ownership. You could eat for the rest of your life just trading in your discoveries. You could even turn it into a tourist attraction.”

“In that case, Iris and I will split the profits.”

“Oh, why?”

“We both fought the Orichalcum Golem, so we should share the profits.”

“But you are the master of the ruins, aren’t you? …Well, we’ll figure out the shares later then.”

We went through the tunnel while exchanging small talk. The whole passage curved gently to the right and was long. After about fifteen minutes of walking, we finally saw the exit in the distance.

“…Is this the underground city beyond?”

“I think that’s probably it.”

Both Iris and I naturally started to walk faster. As we exited the tunnel, we were greeted by a surprising sight that we doubted our eyes. 

The sun was shining brightly; the breeze was refreshing. A vast grassland stretched on forever and ever. A little farther away, a stream was flowing, glittering in the sunlight.

“Kou, we’re supposed to be in an underground city, aren’t we…?”

Iris muttered in wonder.

I can understand that feeling.

The scenery around us was completely unlike anything underground, and I was beginning to wonder if we had been warped to another location above ground. However, if I look at the sky, I can see the stone ceiling peeking out from behind the cloud-like white blur.

I guess we are underground.

…Where is the city?

As I looked around, I heard the sound of grass swaying, rustling, and rustling.

It’s getting closer and closer.

Is it a monster?

I took out my Hikino wooden sword and gave Iris a look. We didn’t exchange a word, but there was something we could both understand.

Iris nodded and stood right next to me with her spear at the ready. A tense atmosphere prevailed in the area.

And then…

“W-whoaaaaa! No, no, no! I’m not a bad monster! In fact, I’m not even a monster!”

A mysterious translucent, chubby creature popped out from behind the grass with a cute, bell-like voice. It was round in shape and reached about the height of my knees… less than 50 centimeters.

If I were to apply my fantasy knowledge, it would resemble the so-called “Slime.”

I did an appraisal, and the results were as follows.

Helper Slime: A magical creature created by an ancient civilization. It is responsible for the management and operation of the No. 0 underground city. It has a high level of intelligence and lives to take care of others. Kou Kousaka is registered as its master.

In other words, is the Slime some kind of staff member of this underground city?

At least it doesn’t seem to be an enemy.

When I put away my weapon, Iris followed suit and put her spear in her pouch.

The Slime trembled for a while, but when it realized that we were not hostile, it breathed a sigh of relief.

“Phew, I was so surprised. Nice to meet you, Master-san! We’re Helper Slimes!”

We? Could it be that the one in front of me is not the only one?

Just as I thought that, dozens of Slimes began to gather from across the grass.

“We were made for you, Master-san!”

“We’ve been waiting for you for four thousand years!”

“Do you need any help?”

“I can clean, wash and cook!”

“I’m good at construction!”

“I’m good at plowing fields, raising cows and pigs, and digging mines.”

“If you need anything in particular, just let me know.”

“If you ever have any problems, you can always ask me!”

“””””Nice to meet you!”””””

The Slimes stretched their bodies a bit vertically and bowed their heads (?).

I wonder if they were bowing to me. It’s kind of a surreal scene.

As I smiled, Iris was standing next to me with her eyes glittering. She walked over to the Slimes, extended her finger, and poked them on the cheek.

“W-whoaa! That tickles! Onee-san!”

“…Fufu.”

Iris looked somewhat satisfied.

However, this was not enough to get the conversation going, so I decided to stop it for a moment.

“What are you doing, Iris?”

“…Huh?”

Iris looked as if she had come back to herself, and then she quickly moved away from the Slime. Her face was as red as an apple.

“I-I’m sorry. Uh…”

“Could it be that you like cute things, Iris?”

“…I won’t deny it.”

Iris muttered sulkily and averted her eyes with a pout.

She might be embarrassed. It’s kind of cute.

When I was slightly relaxed, a Slime jumped up and down at my feet and called out to me.

“Master-san! Master-san! Do you mind if I explain about this underground city?”

“Of course. Please do.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

The Slime stretched out his chest (?) a little proudly and began to speak cheerfully.

“This place was prepared as a shelter when there was trouble on the surface. Right now, there are too many grasslands for people to live here, but it’s okay! We will be able to build a city from now on! Master-san, you have [Full Assist] in your skills, right? Isn’t it about time to finish the preparations?”

Preparation? What exactly is that?

When I thought that, an inorganic voice echoed in my brain.

The link with the underground city main system has been established by [Full Assist].

…Status check complete.

Kou Kousaka is not a hero, demon king, or sage and possesses [Creation]. The effect of [Creation] will be extended as it meets the hidden conditions.

In the next moment, some information flows into my mind.

…I see. Two features have been added to [Creation], albeit with the condition that they are only available while staying in the underground city.

To sum them up simply, it was something that would support city building.

The first new feature of [Creation]:

It now automatically consumes my surplus magic power and creates items called [Building Materials].

Currently, I have 10,100 MP.

Compared to the average magician, I have the magic power of one hundred and one magician.

…That’s a hell of a lot of MP.

The recovery rate is 1% per second or about 101 MP per second.

When my MP is full, this recovered 101 is wasted magic power, but it seems it can be converted into building materials. Currently, the building materials are increasing at a rate of five per second.

By the way, here is the result of the [Appraisal] of the building materials.

Building materials: A set of materials that were used in the construction of ancient civilizations. You can’t take them out of the [Item Box], but you can use them as materials for [Creation] only when you are in the underground city.

In fact, I had several recipes floating around in my mind. It seems that by consuming building materials, I can create a variety of buildings that existed in ancient civilizations.

For example, one of the recipes is “Building materials x 10 → Housing (small) x 1”.

…Up until now, [Creation] was only about weapons and armor, so it seemed as if the scale had suddenly increased. Putting that aside, let’s try activating the [Creation].

Normally, the “Housing (Small)” would be added to the [Item Box], but this time it was a little different.

A blue-white ball of light appears around my right hand and begins to drift around me. It looked as if it was waiting for instructions.

“Anyway, let’s build it over there.”

When I pointed to a spot some distance away, the light ball began to move at a walking speed, and when it arrived there, it released a large flash of light. …After the light disappeared, a two-story house was built there.

This is the second new feature of [Creation]. It allows me to place buildings in specified locations.

I feel as if I am playing a city-building game.

This is interesting; I thought as I turned my gaze back to the Slimes, who were all rolling their eyes for some reason.

“M-Master-san, what was that…?”

The Slime at my feet spoke to me in a trembling voice. I wondered why it reacted in surprise.

“I used my skills to build a house. This is how you build a city, right?”

“No, it’s not! This is completely different!”

“Different?”

I didn’t mean to do anything crazy.

“Master-san, have you unlocked a skill called [Construction Command]? If yes, you should be able to use it to give us instructions on how to build the city…”

“No, I don’t have that skill.”

What’s going on here?

When I thought about it, [Full Assist] was automatically activated to provide me with more information.

If you fall under the category of a hero, demon king, or sage, [Construction Command] will be added. Only if you do not fall under any of these categories and you possess [Creation], the function of [Creation] will be extended as a special exception.

Apparently, my case is special.

When I told the Slime about this, it was even more surprised.

“M-Master-san, you have [Creation]?”

“…As I thought, it is a great skill, right?”

“It’s amazing! It’s outrageous! [Creation] is called God’s skill, and only a really limited number of people can possess it!”

From this reaction, it seems that [Creation] is a much rarer skill than I imagined.

Before I knew it, the other Slimes had gathered around me. They were all looking up at me with glittering eyes.

“You’re so special, Master-san!”

“As expected of our Master-san!”

“Master-san will be able to build a great city in no time!”

“That house is so shiny and beautiful!”

The Slimes were so excited that they were jumping and rolling around me. They looked so innocent like children, that I couldn’t help but smile.

When I looked at Iris, she was also looking at the Slimes with gentle eyes, but when she noticed my gaze, she put on a cool expression and spoke to me.

“I’ve never heard of the [Creation] skill before. To be able to build a house in an instant… it seems like a skill that would make enemies of carpenters all over the world.”

“It’s not just housing. I can make weapons, armor, gauntlets, potions, and even tableware and chairs.”

“I stand corrected. You’re going to make enemies of all kinds of craftsmen.”

“Could it be that they will send assassins after me?”

“…I wouldn’t say it’s impossible.”

Iris muttered jokingly and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

“If you ever need an escort, give me a shout. You helped me with the Black Spider, so I’ll be happy to return the favor.”

“I’ll be counting on you, then. …Well, it would be best if nothing happened to me, though.”

So far, I haven’t made a huge fuss about [Creation], and it should be fine.

In light of this, it was probably a good decision to follow Chrome-san’s advice and become an adventurer. If I had chosen the path of a craftsman, word of my creation would have spread around, and I might find myself in a situation where assassins were sent to kill me.

When I thought about it, I remembered that the explanation about the underground city had not been finished yet.

When I looked at the Slime at my feet, it seemed to think the same thing and shouted, “Ah!”

“I’m sorry, Master-san. We were still in the middle of our explanations, weren’t we?”

“No, I’m sorry for interrupting your explanation.”

“No, don’t worry about it!”

The Slime smiles innocently.

“To continue with the story, this underground city is still unfinished. So instead of using [Construction Command]… it would be great if you could use [Creation] to build a great city. You never know what will happen in the world, and I’m sure the underground city will come in handy.”

“I understand. …But can you wait about the city for a moment?”

The idea of freely building a city sounds interesting, but I need to calm down a bit here.

To begin with, the fact that this underground city, which is supposed to be the legacy of an ancient civilization, is still functioning properly is a great archaeological discovery.

Should I be allowed to mess around with such a thing as I please?

It’s a very troubling question.

When I asked Iris about it, she suggested, “Why don’t you report it to the Adventurer’s Guild first?”

That sounds like a good idea.

When in doubt, report, contact and consult. It’s the three principles of working people.

So, Iris and I decided to leave the underground city for now.

The Slimes looked sad but waved us off with their hands (tentacles?)

“See you later, Master-san! Beautiful Onee-san!”

“Please come back! We’ll be waiting for you!”

“I’ll make sure the house is ready for you to live in! I will make it comfortable for you. I promise!”

To be honest, I would have liked to bring one of them back to the city, but it seems that the underground city is magically set up so that they can’t leave. It was unfortunate.