The Golias were far too large to fit inside the mine shaft, so the actual exploration was left entirely to the team members.
Fortunately, the cave-ins were concentrated primarily around the entrance. Although the shaft was littered with fallen rock, gaps remained that were just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
"It’s tight, but we can make it," someone noted.
The Klein Kingdom investigation team took the lead. The female knights, however, remained on standby outside. Fritz, who held command over the Golias units, also stayed behind.
"Right, we’re going in," Captain Bernardo said as he led his men forward.
The group consisted of thirteen people in total: Bernardo and five members of the Klein Kingdom team, Captain Bruno and five members of the Kingdom of Egerea team, and Jade Nephroi.
"The air is often stagnant in these deep places. Proceed with caution, Lord Bernardo," Bruno warned.
"Understood."
Illuminating the path with magi-lamps, Bernardo led the slow advance. The soldiers cleared whatever rocks they could move, smoothing the way as much as possible. At the very rear, Jade Nephroi used the Craft Magic 'Blower' to pump fresh air into the tunnel.
They had traveled roughly twenty meters when the shaft opened into a large chamber. The walls, ceiling, and floor had been worked smooth, giving the space the appearance of a grand hall.
"Oh?"
"What’s that over there?"
In the far corner of the hall, several objects glinted under the magi-lamps, reflecting a brilliant golden light. A hoard of cylinders was stacked against the back wall.
Bernardo approached and found that the objects were indeed made of gold. Each was approximately thirty centimeters in diameter and fifty centimeters tall. When he gave one a gentle nudge, it shifted easily.
"Hmm, is it hollow?"
He attempted to lift it. It was heavy, but manageable. As he moved it, he heard a distinct slosh from within. There was liquid inside; the container was, essentially, a small drum.
"Lord Jade!" Bernardo called out to the Egerean magi craftman.
"You called, Captain?"
"I’d like you to examine this container. Is it pure gold?"
"Let me see. 'Analyze'... Yes, it is undoubtedly gold."
"Can you tell what’s inside?"
"My apologies, but beyond the fact that it’s a liquid, I cannot say."
Craft Magic 'Analyze' was limited; it could not identify substances the caster was unfamiliar with.
"I see. Still, if we can recover this much gold, our national treasury can finally breathe again."
There were roughly fifty containers. Even accounting for the weight of the contents, the gold itself likely weighed about twenty kilograms per drum. That meant a total of one ton. At a market price of 300 Tolls per gram, the find was worth 300 million Tolls.
"A staggering amount," Bruno remarked, clearly impressed. A ton of gold was enough to bolster even a national budget.
"Move them out!" Bernardo ordered.
The weight of a single container was roughly equivalent to that of an adult man, so the soldiers were able to carry them by hand. The team made several trips back and forth, hauling the treasure to the surface.
As the pile of gold drums shrank by half, different containers began to emerge from behind them. These were the same size, but their color was a distinct silvery-black—a hue both Bernardo and Bruno recognized instantly.
"'Analyze'... Just as I suspected," Jade confirmed.
They were made of adamantite. There were ten in total. When Bernardo tried to lift one, he found it lighter than the gold version. Adamantite was far rarer and hundreds of times stronger than gold, allowing the containers to be crafted with much thinner walls.
Even so, each likely weighed about ten kilograms. Ten of them meant a hundred kilograms of adamantite. At a market value of ten million Tolls per kilogram, these ten containers were worth a staggering one billion Tolls.
Beyond the sheer monetary value, acquiring a stockpile of a rare metal like adamantite was an immense strategic victory. Bernardo ordered these to be moved as well.
"Well, this has turned into quite the discovery," Bruno said.
The two captains began scouring the room for anything else of value.
"Hmm?" Bruno stepped on something hard. "What’s this?"
He picked up what appeared to be an iron plate. Because the hall was quite damp, the plate was heavily rusted, and the inscription on its surface was nearly unreadable.
"...to... seal... do not... touch... danger..."
That was all he could decipher. The warning was too fragmented to make sense of.
"Anything else?"
They swept their magi-lamps across the chamber, but no other notable items were found.
"Regardless, we have found something precious today."
Bernardo was already beginning to calculate how to divide the haul, which was worth over 1.3 billion Tolls in total.
Then, it happened.
"Aaaaaagh!"
A scream echoed from outside. One of the soldiers had apparently tripped while carrying a container.
"What happened?!"
A soldier who had already set his load down rushed to help his comrade, but he suddenly recoiled in horror.
"Ugh! Gaaah!"
"What is it? What’s wrong?!"
"My hands! My hands!"
The soldier’s palms were rapidly discoloring, turning a charred, blackish hue. It seemed the container had been breached when it fell, splashing the liquid inside onto the man. He was now writhing on the ground in agony.
"Don't touch the liquid! Stay back!" Bruno shouted, his voice sharp with urgency. Bernardo, momentarily stunned, was slower to react.
"What’s going on?!" Gloria and the other female knights outside rushed toward the commotion, but Bruno waved them off.
"Don't come any closer! Water! Get water on him now!"
Fortunately, a small stream trickled nearby. Despite their confusion, the female knights quickly fetched water in large basins and poured it over the screaming knight. The man eventually crawled to the stream himself, plunging his hands into the flowing water. The cooling effect seemed to dull the pain slightly.
"...What happened?" Fritz asked. He had been using the Golias to organize the gold containers when he saw Bernardo emerge from the ruins.
"I’m not entirely sure, but the contents of those drums appear to be hazardous. One of the men tripped and was splashed. That was the result."
Tiffany Bardak, a female knight specialized in healing magic, was already attending to the casualty.
"This is horrific... What could cause such a burn?"
The man’s hands and chest were scorched black. Even with the constant application of cold water, the pain was clearly agonizing. However, as the liquid was washed away, the burning sensation seemed to slowly recede.
"Recover!"
Tiffany cast her most powerful spell—surgical mid-level healing magic, 'Recover'. Under the light of the spell, the man's condition finally began to stabilize.
"He’ll be all right," someone muttered in relief.
By then, the rest of the team had finished transporting every gold and adamantite container out of the shaft.
"Are all the gold containers filled with this liquid?"
"It’s highly likely," Bruno replied. "They probably used gold specifically because it wouldn't react with such a dangerous substance."
The two captains conferred in low voices.
"Then that begs the question... what exactly is inside the adamantite containers?"
No one present had an answer.
Exhausted and unnerved, the teams decided to make camp there for the night.