[Vol. 8] Chapter 183: The Price of Greed
For some reason, just thinking about all this made Rowan feel a bit uneasy inside. So he cautiously spoke up.
“Professor Malcolm, this entire rocky pit we’re standing in can almost be seen clearly at a glance. And this fifth-tier magic crystal... it seems to be growing all alone, out of nowhere. If the Source of Magic Power you mentioned really exists, then…”
He pointed downward. Everyone, including the old professor who had just finished examining the crystal and was now putting his tools away with a thrilled look on his face, understood what Rowan meant.
Malcolm gently stroked his beard. A habit of his whenever he was thinking.
“Hm… You’re right. A magic crystal couldn’t have formed from nothing in this kind of environment. If we don’t see anything on the surface, then it must be underground. This strange pit… it’s almost like a whole chunk of land was removed from the earth. In other words, we might be standing in what used to be deep below ground.”
“If it weren’t for this crystal, which absorbed underground elements and just happened to be discovered by us, we might never have guessed the truth… Hahaha! Excellent, excellent!”
Hearing the professor laugh so joyfully, the other students couldn’t help but smile as well. After months of difficult travel and research, they had finally made a breakthrough by chance. Their graduation theses were finally going to have something solid to write about. Even if they didn’t end up finding the Source of Magic Power, discovering a fifth-tier crystal here in the Chaos Magic Valley was enough for a long and impressive paper.
Thinking of this, everyone became more excited. Even Nidiel, the student who had previously argued with the professor, no longer showed any frustration. She quickly took out her notebook and pen to record everything they had found about the surroundings and the crystal.
Only Rowan didn’t immediately start writing. Instead, he quietly looked at the plain-looking crystal that was barely noticeable among the rocks, and then turned his gaze toward Professor Malcolm.
“Professor, even if we now have a rough idea of where the Source of Magic Power is, with our current tools and supplies… how are we supposed to dig underground? The ground here is made of solid rock. Normal picks and shovels probably won’t do…”
“Heh, I’ve noticed you’re calm and careful, not like a certain hot-headed girl,” Malcolm said, clearly pleased.
He nodded approvingly, looking at Rowan with growing respect.
“No need to worry too much. In fact, this research trip has strong backing from the Imperial Royal Family behind the academy. As long as we can locate and confirm the Source of Magic Power, that will prove my theory is correct, and I’ll receive a large reward. As for the digging and the heavy work, we can leave that to the Empire and the academy to handle.”
Rowan was caught off guard by this and looked surprised.
“You mean… the Empire will send people to help dig up the Source of Magic Power? But this area is clearly inside Holy Nation territory. And lately, I’ve heard that the two countries’ relations are…”
“That’s enough. You don’t need to worry about that. In the end, we’re scholars, not adventurers. Just focus on doing your part.”
For some reason, Malcolm clearly didn’t want the conversation to continue in that direction. He glanced at the sky, which was already starting to darken, and after thinking for a moment, quickly made a decision.
“It’s getting late. Let’s mark this spot and return to camp. Tomorrow, we’ll begin moving the large equipment here, piece by piece. For now, we’ll prepare for a full investigation of this area in the coming days…”
Rumble—
“!?”
“Professor, watch out!”
Just as the words left his mouth, the ground under everyone’s feet suddenly shook lightly. The unexpected tremor caused the elderly professor to stumble in place, and if it weren’t for Rowan reacting quickly to catch him, Malcolm would’ve fallen to the ground.
“What… just happened?”
There was no time to thank his student. With decades of experience in field research and sharp instincts, Professor Malcolm immediately realized this small tremor wasn’t normal. He quickly looked around, trying to find what had caused it.
And when he did, he was shocked.
Right then, one of the students in the group was squatting on the ground, holding a rock he had picked up nearby, and was lightly tapping the base of the fifth-tier magic crystal, testing it out. He had paused when the ground shook, clearly frightened, but Malcolm had already seen everything.
The old professor's face turned red with anger as he shouted:
“What do you think you’re doing, you little brat!?”
“Huh?”
Startled by the shout, the student quickly dropped the rock and stood up, looking nervous.
“P-Professor? I-I just wanted to see if I could break off a small piece of the crystal to take with us. I mean, our goal is just to use it to confirm the location of the Source of Magic Power, right? As long as the main crystal stays here, it should be fine… right?”
“We’ve been working so hard for a month to find this. We can’t go back empty-handed. If we wait for the Empire to come and take over, we might end up with nothing...”
He even shrugged and tried to make a joke.
“Haha, this thing is way harder than I expected. I tapped it a few times and nearly hurt my hand. There’s not even a scratch on it... A fifth-tier magic crystal really is something. I wonder how much it would sell for?”
To his surprise, not only did Professor Malcolm not laugh, he looked even more furious, almost like he was going to explode.
“Idiot! You greedy fool!”
“Eep!”
“You don’t pay attention in class, fine. But did you forget the most basic rule of field research? Until we fully understand where something came from and what it does, you never damage or break it! Do you want to get everyone here killed!?”
After being scolded like that, and thinking back to the strange tremor just now, the reckless student started to panic.
“S-Sorry, Professor! So... what should we do now?”
Even though Professor Malcolm had a short temper, he was still a highly experienced scholar. Even though he, too, felt uneasy, he made the right decision without hesitation.
“You reckless fool! We’ll deal with you later, we’re leaving now! No matter what, we need to get out of here immediately!”
BOOM!
Before he could even finish, a loud explosion-like noise roared from below their feet. This time, the shaking was even stronger, much more intense than before. The surrounding rocks began to vibrate, and the air itself became so heavy that it felt hard to breathe, like something terrible was about to happen.
Now, even the slower-reacting students who were only here for field practice started to panic.
“Professor…”
Still holding onto Malcolm to help him stay upright, Rowan looked alarmed. The professor didn’t hesitate and shouted again at the top of his lungs:
“What are you waiting for? RUN! RIGHT NOW!”
But before anyone could move, a massive cloud of dust shot into the air, and countless rocks and an earth-shaking boom followed, making the whole valley tremble. The sound was so loud that it drowned out all the screaming and shouting.
“RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!!”