Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 530 - 528: Gray Moonstone Mining Area

Chapter 530: Chapter 528: Gray Moonstone Mining Area

In the blink of an eye, a whole day had passed, and there was no news from Narlyd.

Two whole days had passed, and still, there was no news from Narlyd.

By the time three whole days had passed, and Narlyd was still missing, Richard had virtually lost all hope.

This was, in fact, expected. He had not exaggerated when describing how rare molybdenite was. At least in the entirety of Florence, it was very difficult to obtain; even Sherlock didn’t have any.

He had spent nearly a whole week searching with no success; for Narlyd to find some within half a week would require not just effort but also some luck.

And luck was obviously not so easy to come by; without any surprises, it was likely that the other party wouldn’t be able to find molybdenite.

In that case, he might have to turn to the underground black market or some unorthodox auctions; after all, molybdenite was a vital mineral for his research, and it would be somewhat troublesome to operate without it.

Under the glow of the setting sun, Richard paced in the courtyard, contemplating.

...

Suddenly, night fell.

Narlyd appeared about ten miles outside of Florence City at the perimeter of a mining field. She hid under a tree, concealing herself as she looked toward the interior of the mining field. It was a large field, and a few lamps flickered dimly, casting a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

Narlyd wasn’t afraid; she lowered her head to look at the small, bean-sized piece of lead-gray mineral she held in the palm of her hand and pressed her lips tightly together. She was eighty percent sure that what she had found, and what was produced at this mine, was indeed Gray Moonstone—it seemed her sleepless efforts over the past three days had not been in vain.

Now she pondered whether she should try to quietly take some of the mineral back to Richard or go straight back and inform him of this location.

Narlyd considered her options seriously.

According to Richard, if she found the source of the Gray Moonstone, that would be enough to repay the favor. However, based on what she felt in her heart, it would be better to deliver the mineral directly into Richard’s hands. She didn’t want to be underestimated by Richard simply because she was a woman—if someone helped her, she wanted to repay them doubly.

But the current state of this mine presented a risk; it appeared to have lax defenses and was not heavily guarded, yet it gave her a sense of great danger. Infiltrating might not be safe. After all, her own strength was not that formidable. Not to mention facing a wizard, but even facing a group of well-trained ordinary guards could prove to be problematic.

So what should she do?

Narlyd furrowed her brows.

Just then, the sound of a horse carriage came from outside the mining field. Narlyd ducked and looked in its direction, only to see a caravan approaching the mine in the night, adorned with the emblem of a flying fish on the exterior of the carriages—this was the insignia of Deep Blue Castle.

Narlyd couldn’t help but guess: Could this mine belong to Deep Blue Castle? If this caravan had come now, could it be that they were planning to transfer the Gray Moonstone from the mine? If so...

Thinking this, Narlyd grasped tighter...

...

"Squeak, squeak..."

The caravan entered the mine and slowly came to a halt.

A few foremen approached with smiles plastered on their faces to greet the newcomers.

From the lead carriage stepped a young man in a blue Flying Fish Robe, a wizard apprentice from Deep Blue Castle.

Upon seeing the wizard apprentice, the ordinary foremen showed the utmost respect, quickly greeted him, and after quite a bit of polite exchange, led the apprentice towards a warehouse in the mine.

"Mr. Kru, look, this warehouse holds this month’s yield," a foreman opened a box and introduced, revealing light yellow stones inside. "These are all high-quality Acid Sulfur Stones; some are of exceptionally fine quality and are completely suitable as magic materials for the masters at Deep Blue Castle."

The wizard apprentice listened and then nodded, "Very good."

After that, his tone shifted, "But the main reason I’m here this time isn’t to see the Acid Sulfur Stones—despite their not being cheap, they can be found in many places.

The main reason I’ve come is because of the Gray Moonstone you mentioned before. This stuff is very rare, and it plays an irreplaceable role in casting some Shape-shifting Magic, holding extremely high value. Many Wizard Organizations, upon finding it, would take complete possession and use it internally, seldom selling it, with at best some circulation in the black market.

This time, the discovery of a Gray Moonstone mine has been taken very seriously by many teachers of the Deep Blue Castle. My purpose here is to take the Gray Moonstone you’ve mined back with me, for the teachers to assess its quality. If the quality is good, perhaps more people will be sent to increase the mining efforts. Understand?"

"Yes," the foreman nodded quickly.

"Good, no more rambling then. Where’s the Gray Moonstone? Hurry up and bring it out, I don’t have time to waste with you."

"It’s over there," the foreman said as he quickly pointed toward a corner, explaining, "Due to its extreme rarity, and the difficulties in mining, we’ve only mined one boxful, all placed right there."

The Wizard Apprentice followed the direction the foreman was pointing to and saw, his expression turning slightly cold, "Are you kidding me?!"

"Why would I dare?" the foreman hurriedly responded.

"Where is that box?"

"Ah?" The foreman was startled and looked towards the corner, his eyes widening in shock, standing frozen, "That shouldn’t be. I checked it a moment ago, it was right there, how could it be gone..."

"Are you sure it was here just before?" the Wizard Apprentice asked sternly.

"Yes."

"And you’re sure your miners haven’t touched it?"

"They wouldn’t dare touch it! If they did, I’d kill them. This is all for the Master Wizards!"

"In that case—" the Wizard Apprentice narrowed his eyes, surveying the surroundings quickly, "then it’s simple. It seems we have a thief in this mine."

"A thief?!" the foreman exclaimed in shock.

"Stop blabbing!" the Wizard Apprentice shouted at the foreman, "Gather everyone up, start searching. We have to find the thief! It might be someone from another Wizard Organization, we absolutely cannot let them take the secret or the Gray Moonstone out of here!"

"Yes!" the foreman, under the Wizard Apprentice’s chilly gaze, didn’t dare dawdle any further, and ran out of the warehouse shouting. Soon after, the entire mining area boiled with activity as many guards appeared, commencing a stringent search.

The Wizard Apprentice stood in the open space of the mine, keeping an eye on every section of the mine, ready to act at any moment.

As such, time ticked by minute by minute.

When the guards searched the pile of discarded rocks at the mine, a figure suddenly dashed out, holding a large box, knocking over an unsuspecting guard and sprinting towards the exit of the mining area.

The Wizard Apprentice from the Deep Blue Castle saw this and prepared to take action, only to be surprised when the figure holding the box suddenly turned his head and looked at him. Then, spitting out a black-green seed from his mouth.

The seed hit the ground and grew rapidly, turning into terrifying black vines that entangled everything around.

The Wizard Apprentice’s expression changed, not daring to be careless, quickly casting Acid Liquid to corrode the vines. But by this time, the figure holding the box had already reached the mine’s exit. There, he spat out another seed to ensnare the guards with vines, and it looked like he was about to escape.

"Damn it!"

The Wizard Apprentice cursed, his lips moving as he condensed a black Energy Arrow at his fingertips, firing it with full force towards the figure.

The Energy Arrow flew with immense speed, reaching the back of the figure with the box in a blink of an eye. But then a flash of white light appeared on the thief’s body, as if some Magic Tool had been activated. When hit by the Energy Arrow, the figure merely staggered slightly, seemingly unaffected, continued running and disappeared into the night outside the gate in the blink of an eye.

The Wizard Apprentice, red with fury, yelled loudly, "The thief can’t be moving fast with the box, chase him down! Chase him down!" With that said, he led people out of the mine, embarking on a night full of turmoil.

...