Volume 2 Chapter 41: Worth

Gulf Cordius ran through the cave formed of semi-transparent, faintly glowing crystal-like stones, his breath ragged and his face contorted with desperation.

His armor was crushed and broken in places, his honed body bleeding profusely from countless wounds. His sword was shattered, his tools exhausted, and both water and food had long since run out. Even his strength, willpower, and mana were reduced to mere traces.

He was, for all intents and purposes, a dead man walking. Yet, he kept running. To be caught by the screeching monsters pursuing him would mean nothing less than a torturous death.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn iiiittt!”

Gulf screamed in frustration, fully aware that this predicament was his own doing. He knew his reckless actions, unbefitting of his abilities, had led to this disaster. Regret burned fiercely in his chest.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but his exhausted body couldn’t even muster the strength to let them fall.

The Crystal Labyrinth—a mining site located inside an enormous structure of semi-transparent crystals, southwest of the Capital City of Elist.

Gulf was there now.

The Crystal Labyrinth was designated a C-rank danger zone. The Miner’s Guild strongly recommended that miners only venture into sites ranked one level below their own. Even in a party, miners were expected to stick to excavation sites matching the rank of their strongest member.

Entering a site ranked higher than one’s own—and doing so alone—was tantamount to suicide unless one harbored a death wish.

Gulf’s rank as a miner was D. What would happen if he challenged the Crystal Labyrinth alone was blatantly obvious.

Yet, Gulf had entered the labyrinth regardless.

He had begun to sense his limits as a miner. No matter how much he trained or gained experience, he was stuck as a perpetual D-rank. His prime had long since passed, and now, he was simply growing older without progress. Worse still, his strength had started to decline. He grew disgusted with himself, plagued by a growing sense of desperation.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He had envisioned himself climbing higher as a miner—attaining status, wealth, women—everything he had ever dreamed of.

But what had he become instead?

Back in Calisa Village, where he was born, no one could match him. He had believed himself to be special. But the moment he ventured beyond, he was forced to face the truth: Gulf Cordius was an ordinary man.

As he stagnated, younger miners, full of talent, steadily racked up achievements and left him behind.

In truth, reaching D-rank was already an impressive accomplishment. But Gulf couldn’t see it that way. Compared to true geniuses, he felt unbearably small.

He turned to alcohol for solace. To protect his fragile pride, he began intimidating ordinary people, trying to assert dominance. Yet, these actions brought no relief—only guilt.

Eventually, a younger and more talented miner reprimanded him, exposing the childish nature of his attempts to feel superior.

The humiliation was unbearable—deeply, agonizingly unbearable.

Consumed by frustration, Gulf recklessly chose to challenge the Crystal Labyrinth, a site well beyond his abilities, without any plan or preparation. After years as a miner, he should have known better than anyone just how foolish such an act was.

Still, he pressed on, clinging to the belief that he could do more—or perhaps, refusing to acknowledge the grim reality staring him in the face.

None of his party members in the Fierce Lions followed him. Gulf had tried to persuade them, claiming the labyrinth was in its cooldown phase after a recent Mana Stone harvest. But they refused, calling his plan reckless and begging him to abandon the idea.

Their words had been spoken out of concern for him. But Gulf took it as cowardice and lashed out, calling them spineless fools.

But now…

“…”

The only fool here was himself.

Kneeling before a semi-transparent wall blocking his path, Gulf realized he had reached a dead end. There was no escape. Behind him, the monsters closed in.

With the last remnants of his mana, he activated his Magis Gear. A plain greatsword materialized, and he used it to push himself shakily to his feet.

His Magis Gear was called Lion’s Fang. It had no special abilities—just a slightly sharper and sturdier sword.

“Heh… Hahaha!”

Gulf laughed bitterly. What had he been dreaming of, with such a pathetic weapon? He had known all along that he lacked talent.

Turning to face his pursuers, Gulf saw monsters with slim, green bodies, razor-sharp claws, and two long legs supporting their frames. Their headless forms featured no eyes or mouths, but instead, their abdomens split open vertically to reveal needle-like teeth. From those grotesque maws came screeching cries.

These creatures were the Man-Eaters, the iconic guardians of the Crystal Labyrinth.

The monsters found in excavation sites were unlike anything encountered outside. Unable to survive beyond the sites and leaving no remains upon death, their nature was a mystery. Some believed them to be remnants of experiments by gods or defensive mechanisms for ancient ruins.

Many non-miners mistook them for regular monsters, but anyone who saw them up close would realize they were something far more terrifying.

Relentless, powerful, and merciless, they targeted intruders with a ferocity far exceeding that of ordinary magical beasts.

The Man-Eaters filled the wide corridor, writhing as they approached.

This was why talent and luck were said to be prerequisites for advancing beyond C-rank. The sight of this overwhelming horde explained it all.

Even during the labyrinth’s cooldown phase, such formidable creatures prowled its depths.

The Crystal Labyrinth was in a league of its own, far beyond the scope of D-rank sites.

Gulf had no idea how long he had been fleeing through the labyrinth.

But now… it was over.

Gripping Lion’s Fang with both hands, Gulf glared at the approaching creatures, their cries echoing through the cavern.

Maybe it was better for it to end here.

Gulf had come to understand that there were worlds he could never reach. He had tasted despair, and his fangs had long since been broken.

Even if he survived, how would he go on living after this?

In that case, why not die as a miner, fighting to the end?

There were still things he regretted, but this wasn’t the worst way to go. At least no one was around to witness his pitiful self.

A crooked grin spread across Gulf’s face as he forced his battered body to stand.

His life had been a damned mess. So, at the very least, let him go out in style.

Taking a deep breath, he roared:

“Come at me! I am Gulf Cordius-samaaa!”

“Ah, yes. I know.”

“Huh!?”

Gulf blinked, stunned, as a black-haired man descended from above, landing beside him mid-battle cry.

“Guardian!”

At that moment, ten shimmering, semi-transparent shields appeared around the black-haired man, radiating light. In an instant, they shifted shape, surrounding both Gulf and the man.

The approaching Man-Eater swung its razor-sharp claws downward, but the thin, membrane-like shield blocked the blow, protecting them both.

Even as the horde of Man-Eaters swarmed and pressed against the shield, it held firm, unwavering.

“Whoa… that’s gross.”

The black-haired man frowned and let out a flat remark, his gaze fixed on the Man-Eaters clinging to the shield, their stomach-teeth gnashing with metallic clicks as they emitted high-pitched cries.

Gulf had no idea what was happening. His mind couldn’t keep up, and all he could do was blink repeatedly in confusion.

In the next moment, the Man-Eaters were peeled away from the shield.

“Guess I’ll use this as stress relief.”

Black cat ears, a tail, and gauntlets with razor-sharp claws.

A figure moved at a speed so fast it was impossible to follow, tearing through the Man-Eaters with ease. Gulf recognized her instantly.

It was Mina Carat-san, the B-rank miner known as Black Cat.

“So hideous! But then again, maybe that’s its charm! Still, for me, it’s a nahhhh—oh, dodged you!”

Slipping through the gaps in the Man-Eaters with exaggerated, almost dance-like movements was a strikingly handsome man. He wasn’t attacking; instead, he seemed to flow through the chaos with ease.

It was Kreis Tialue, the A-rank miner known as Nightmare.

“Knock, knock. May I come in?”

Standing silently next to the shield, without bothering to knock, was a woman with an unchanging expression.

She was Sophie Chalmil, the C-rank miner known as the Perfect Maid.

“Ah, sure.”

The black-haired man nodded and opened a gap in the shield just big enough for one person. Sophie bowed politely before stepping inside.

“I’ll begin treatment, so please don’t resist.”

“Uh, yeah… sure…”

Gulf nodded blankly, his mind still trying to process everything.

“Hmm, your mana reserves are quite low…”

“I’ve got an expensive mana bottle if you want.”

“I appreciate your concern, master, but I have my own.”

“Could you stop calling me that?”

As Gulf listened to their leisurely exchange, Sophie handed him a mana bottle.

It tasted terrible—unbelievably so—but Gulf forced it down. He couldn’t afford to throw it up, as every bit of mana would help the treatment.

Thanks to the bottle’s horrendous flavor, his mind began to clear. The group was unmistakable, even without one of their key members, Let Cryster the Fireball.

These people were—

“Mina, are you done yet?”

A sharp voice echoed through the area.

“Not really… but these things are too weak. I’m done.”

“I see.”

Long golden-white hair, jade-green eyes, and an otherworldly beauty.

There was no mistaking her. The person who had achieved an impossible feat and was said to be on par with the legendary S-rank miners: Spirit King Elsion Farseed.

“Now, my beloved Maiden of the Wind, let me hear your elegant song.”

With a snap of her fingers, a gust of wind swept through the area.

But it wasn’t a chaotic gale—it was precise, as if alive. It captured only the Man-Eaters, lifting them into the air and slicing them apart.

The creatures disappeared without a trace, unable to do anything in the face of such overwhelming power.

It was absolute.

In an instant, the horde of Man-Eaters that Gulf could barely handle alone was wiped out as easily as sweeping away trash.

And they had done it casually, chatting as they worked.

This was Spirit Wind, the party that had risen to fame in the Capital City of Elist in just three years. Their name was now known to all.

“Were you aiming at me just now?”

A suspicious voice came from above. Gulf looked up to see a woman with sky-blue hair, silver wings on her back, and goggles obscuring most of her face. She was pointing a gun at Elsion Farseed.

It seemed she had been the one to carry the black-haired man to Gulf’s position.

“Of course not.”

“Really?”

After exchanging a tense conversation, the winged woman snorted and landed gracefully, removing her goggles. Gulf recognized her face. She was the woman who had once caused a scene at the Miner’s Guild.

And standing beside her, the black-haired man who deactivated the shield, was also familiar.

They were at the tavern that day…

“Why are you staring? It’s unsettling. Do you want me to kill you?”

“You can’t kill someone you just saved.”

As Gulf stared at the two, the woman pointed her gun at him, only for the black-haired man to casually lower it with a fluid motion.

It was almost comedic, Gulf thought in a daze.

“But, senpai…”

“No buts.”

“Understood… but later, you’ll kiss me, right?”

“No buts.”

After placating her with a weary expression, the man let out a breath, then clapped his hands and pulled something from his pouch, holding it out to Gulf.

“Mana bottles leave a weird aftertaste, right? Want some water? …Uh, Cordius-sama?”

Looking at the man’s sheepish smile, Gulf thought with his still-confused mind:

“Please… stop calling me that…”

With that, he took the offered flask of water.