Regressor of the Fallen Family novel Chapter 180

Chapter 180

The modest trio of Logan, Clayton, and Hamar arrived in the Taren region on the seventh day since departing from Maclaine Town.

Whoooosh.

“There’s literally nothing here.”

As Hamar pointed out, all they could see around them was barren land.

“Master, why have we come here?”

“You’ll see soon enough. The wealth and honor you desire await us just beyond there.”

“You can’t possibly be thinking of building a royal workshop in this wasteland… can you?”

The royal workshop was the foundation of the promised wealth and honor Logan had vowed to Hamar. It was a promise to gather hundreds, if not thousands, of craftsmen to produce goods and make Hamar head of the operation.

“Of course not. Past this wasteland lies a mining area, and that’s where we’ll build the real workshop.”

Hamar’s face lit up with expectation at Logan’s response. However, it didn’t take long for disappointment to crease his features.

“What are we going to do in a place like this?”

“I told you. It’s all abandoned mines now, but it was once the seat of the kingdom’s greatest mining city.”

“Damn it… all that’s left is a trace of it.”

Hamar’s gaze passed over the remnants of what could have been the site of a castle beneath the mountain range and moved to a crest where the forest itself seemed sheared off, revealing the deep innards of the cliffside.

The mining area of the ‘abandoned’ Taren region.

Paths of stone trailing from the place of the once-standing castle were barely visible thanks to the weeds sprawling sporadically along the path.

Up to two hundred years ago, this place was a mining city, accounting for over half of the royal treasury, but now it lay in ruins.

“If these mines have been abandoned, then they must have been unprofitable and deserted. Are you saying you’ve found something the kingdom has not, Master?”

“I’ve not found it, but I suspect there’s a high probability that it’s there. Like the Maclaine gold mine.”

Just as Hamar, who remembered the hardships from that time, was about to scowl, Clayton interjected with a curious expression.

“But how do you come to think that it might still be there, my lord?”

Before Logan could answer, Hamar cut in with a shout.

“If you’re going to dig just because it’s there, like before, without any plan, I truly won’t partake in it! Digging the veins of an abandoned mine after others have thoroughly investigated it—it’s a fool’s errand!”

“If I intended to dig on the mere chance, I’d have brought the miners and Pale along with us again.”

Reassured by Logan’s prompt reply, Hamar let out a sigh of relief, but it only heralded more hardships to come.

“This time I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. We’ll have to search thoroughly before we dig.”

“I won’t do it! I mean, I can’t! How can you expect me to investigate every single abandoned vein beneath the workings?! It’s impossible!!”

“Not at all, what I mean is…”

“With the shafts barely intact, it’d be a miracle, let alone—according to you—there’s not just one or two abandoned mines but more?!”

To be precise, it was the site of a major vein with five iron mines, two gold mines, and three copper mines.

What Hamar was truly realizing was that even if each mine had just ten shafts, this meant investigating one hundred shafts from mines that were dug for at least thirty years.

And that was after others had already deemed those shafts fruitless.

However, Logan had no intention of ordering them to undertake such grueling, blind labor.

“I’ll say this again—there’s no need for such hardship. If that were the case, I would have brought a significant workforce, not just us.”

Fortunately, Logan had an ace up his sleeve.

“We have among us the kingdom’s only remaining magician, specially one from the ‘earth’ class—Clayton.”

With a flourish, as if revealing a hidden gift, Logan spread his arms behind Clayton, who could only offer a wry smile in response.

“So, instead of bringing in hordes of miners and laborers, you’re planning to use this magician?”

“That’s right.”

“And what crime did he commit to deserve such fate? Huh? Let’s hear it.”

“Let’s see. About ten million gold worth of crime?”

“What?! He actually did commit a crime? Magician, sir?!”

Hamar’s eyes widened in shock at the revelation, and Clayton could only respond with a forced smile, bearing the consequence of his ‘crime.’

He, too, had heard from Logan prior and was intent on at least trying, though he had some doubts about the truthfulness of the venture.

“My lord. Why do you believe that a mana crystal vein lies beneath these abandoned mines? And with high probability?”

Clayton asked, lowering his voice even though they were alone.

It was a question loaded with importance—as the mana crystal vein was a matter of great significance.

“Ma, mana crystals?!”

Hamar gasped unintentionally loud and quickly looked around nervously.

Mana crystals were an essential component used by mages for casting spells, creating artifacts, scrolls, or communications crystals.

That’s why, even the once-mighty Empire handled its mana crystal mines as a state secret, and the economic value alone was dozens of times that of a similar-sized gold mine.

“A mana crystal vein buried here? In this place?”

Hamar was momentarily shocked, but he quickly scowled.

“Is it possible that the nation overlooked the existence of a mana crystal vein underneath the mined vein they exploited?”

It was a logical presumption.

That’s why everyone was shocked when they heard that the Empire had started developing a mana crystal mine right here in their previous lives.

“They missed it.”

Logan shrugged, but that only deepened the looks of skepticism.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t confess, ‘I heard about it in my previous life. They constructed a fortress and carefully monitored the entire mining area. Although I don’t know the exact location.’

So instead, he brought out a prepared excuse—based on investigations and deductions from the previous life’s Grandia Liberation Front.

“It seems like two hundred years ago, the deposed crown prince manipulated the documents. Maybe he wanted to screw over his siblings who would step over him to become King.”

“How could you possibly know that, my lord?”

“I happened to find it during my time at the royal court.”

“…”

“…”

It sounded like such a lie, but what could they say against finding it in the royal court? They had no opportunity to verify it themselves.

Besides, Logan added more trustworthy information.

“There are about 120 shafts here, and it seems that one of them has shown a magical response. It was discovered late because the response came from more than 100 meters below the dead end.”

Seeing the doubtful looks on their faces still, Logan continued.

“However, the royals were overturned before they could start development, and since they were discussing closing down the mines at that time, they simply collapsed that shaft and destroyed the records. I found those discarded records by chance. So all we need to do is find the collapsed shaft. It should be easy, right?”

Logan’s explanation gave more credibility, but Hamar identified a significant problem.