Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 159: A New World

"Smart," Kashi complimented.

"Indeed," Gregor agreed. "When it comes to making money, Master Miote possesses exceptionally keen insight."

"That accent, you did not grow up in Merriheim, did you?" Larsial noted.

"The miss has an excellent ear," Gregor conceded. "I did indeed spend my childhood up to my rebellious young adult ages in Imperium. As a matter of fact, I was once esquire to a knight during the Great War. Unfortunately, the squad I was enlisted in suffered a terrible ambush during one of our campaigns here. I was the sole survivor. I was too lazy to move back, so I stayed and opened up my own business. Luckily, Master Miote found me recently, and after proving myself, handed me this prestigious job."

"Oh? As someone who has been through the Great War, what's your honest opinion on Rosendun and their conquest?"

Gregor proved why he was deserving of his position. Aside from a slight twitch of his eyebrows, his expression remained largely the same. "My honest opinion? There were already too many skirmishes in Merriheim amongst warring factions. It was only a matter of time before one side won and took over the others. I never expected an outsider to be the one to stop the fighting in one swoop." Gregor sighed. "In times like these, you can only pray that the person who eventually takes over will not be the greatest of tyrants. That he will care for the people. In this regard, Rosendun has far exceeded any prayers we dared to have. So, in my honest opinion, I am all for Rosendun's conquest. Our other route was an endless cycle of orphaned children and armed teenagers without a goal in sight."

"An astute analysis," Larsial stated. "You have been asked this question before?"

"The locals often discuss this amongst ourselves," Gregor openly admitted.

Larsial's gaze flashed. She looked at the unassuming daeben then back at Gregor. In the end, she only muttered, "Interesting." She remained silent for the rest of the trek.

Gregor stopped in front of a small settlement. Gregor introduced the little hamlet as the temporary lodging for the construction workers. The accommodation was built around a building that acted as the entrance to a flight of stairs descending to a tunnel.

A guard stood at the head of the stairs, verifying the workers' identities before letting them pass. He greeted Gregor as the mertian passed, sending a curious glance at the strange party following behind. It would not be until later that night while drinking with friends that he would realize who he just met.

Meanwhile, Gregor led Kashi and company down the stairs, which bottomed out to a brightly lit tunnel. Gregor explained they had been fortunate enough to find some rare gemstones while creating the tunnel. He pointed out some branching tunnels where he stated miners had found some rich lodes of gemstones. Immediately the tunnels were declared safe, they would have miners come down to dig up the minerals.

The group walked for another twenty minutes, often descending deeper into the earth through carefully constructed sloping tunnels. Eventually, they reached the end of the road, where the tunnel opened out to a massive cavern.

"Kashi."

"Yeah," Kashi acknowledged. His gaze traveled from the massive lake at the center of the cavern to large pieces of crystals scattered on the strangely grass-covered floor. "It's the place we fought Krakul." Kashi was understandably surprised. He had assumed the cavern was buried when the tower rose.

In fact, Kashi had only asked that people explore below Suvron's Gate in the hopes that they found some of the scattered crystals. Maybe the R&D division could figure out some of their secrets and utilize them for the guild.