TNG Vol. 22 Chapter 3 Part 1

CHAPTER 3

The next day, after breakfast, the head of the Marine Department Shima appeared in the dining hall. Like Druk, it seemed she would be giving the explanation personally.

“Then let’s get going!”

Following behind Shima and exiting through the gate, the group found carriages waiting for them. Given the size of the guild house, fast means of transport were essential.

Pulling the carriage was a horse-like monster with bull-like horns on its temples, known as a Bull Horse. Compared to other monsters in the same rank range, it was notably tough. In the game era, NPCs often used them as farm horses to till fields. While they were generally docile outside of combat, the Bull Horses hitched to the carriages now seemed raring to run, snorting eagerly at Shin and the others.

Unlike the container they rode when arriving at Parda Island, this time they were split into two carriages. Shin, Schnee, Yuzuha, Filma, and Shima were in the first; Shibaid, Sety, Tiera, Milt, and Kagerou rode in the second.

The paved road looked almost no different from roads in the real world. While these carriages also had vibration-dampening mechanisms like Shin’s, the road was so well maintained that they hardly came into play.

“I thought the same thing when I first arrived—being on a paved road really changes the riding experience.”

Shin’s comment was met with agreement from Shima.

“Indeed. We owe that to the folks who built the guild house. We’ve been researching paving techniques ourselves, but issues with durability and aging remain unresolved.”

It seemed the paving used here came from game-era technology. Most likely, it incorporated a mild self-repair feature. Since the discovery of this tech, the cost of facility maintenance has significantly decreased.

“What kind of research are you working on, Shima?”

As Shin pondered the paving tech, Schnee struck up a conversation with Shima. Unlike Druk, whose field was immediately obvious, Shima’s specialty wasn’t clear to the others.

“Due to my position, I have to oversee nearly all research in my department. But personally, I focus on underwater equipment. I often collaborate with the Blacksmithing and Unexplored Technology Departments.”

When it came to weapons and armor, cooperation with the Blacksmithing Department was essential, and developing new gear meant working with the Unexplored Tech Department. When it came to important technologies, they didn’t hesitate to have open discussions.

“I’ve heard tight-fitting suits are the mainstream here?”

“Yes. When considering water resistance, thermal insulation, and protective capability, the type we call ‘diver suits’ are the most practical. However, old documents describe other designs, and there are also technologies to adapt land armor for underwater use. The field is far from settled. Some existing suits still survive, but they’re extremely difficult to acquire.”

Shin figured the transformation-enhancing technique he used to convert battle gear into swimwear before arriving at Parda Island must have been recorded somewhere. Though the method hadn’t been passed down, showing it off wouldn’t be a problem.

“As for today’s tour, we were considering giving you a choice: observe from one of our submarines or try out underwater equipment.”

“‘Were considering’? You mean the plan changed?”

Wondering if something had gone wrong, Shin watched as Shima averted her gaze slightly before speaking.

“The truth is… we’ve received intel that you, Shin, successfully returned from entering the ‘Demonic Sea Zone.’ There’s been speculation that you possess a submarine even more advanced than ours…”

“Ah, I see…”

Apparently, word had gotten out about the search for Celciutos. Perhaps someone in Barbatos, the city where Shin launched the expedition, was gathering information for the faction.

(Or maybe… someone I worked with there was secretly part of the faction?)

Shin recalled how back then, support characters of “The White Chef” Cook had been building a ship to explore the Demonic Sea. When Shin commissioned a ship himself, a dwarf from the shipyard he used had practically begged to be allowed to study it.

Even after Shin left Barbatos, that dwarf submitted a special request to the Adventurer’s Guild. He might not have given up yet—and considering how skilled he was, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were connected to the Black Faction or a dwarven guild.

“How about this—why don’t we show each other our ships? Mine’s technically not a submarine, but it has similar functionality. Seeing ships built by others is always interesting. They often include ideas I’d never think of myself. And it’s not guaranteed that our ship is more advanced.”

Shin’s proposal was instantly accepted by Shima.

“We’d love that, honestly! Will you be trying the underwater gear?”

“Well… actually, our combat gear has been enhanced to change form.”

“…Wait, what?”

Hearing that a technique she’d just mentioned from ancient documents had already been implemented left Shima speechless.

“I can’t share how it’s done, but I don’t mind showing the transformation.”

“You can!?”

Shima’s eyes widened dramatically. Sitting across from Shin, she leaned forward so intensely it looked like she might jump across the carriage, and Filma had to grab her shoulder to stop her.

“Now now, Shin’s not the kind to tease like that. Just sit down, will you?”

With a sigh, Filma tugged Shima back into her seat.

“Ahem… please forgive my outburst.”

Once she’d calmed down, Shin asked about how the undersea mining was actually carried out. During the game era, players wearing underwater gear could swing hammers and pickaxes freely thanks to high stats. But with fewer Chosen Ones around now, Shin figured that method wouldn’t work anymore.

“We use submarines to reach the ocean floor. Equipped workers take turns mining using hammers enhanced to emit shockwaves. Underwater breathing time maxes out at six hours, but since it’s physically demanding work, they switch out every two hours.”

Even among production-focused Chosen Ones, those with high strength were recruited for mining.

Since materials might be needed by any department at any time, all departments cooperated on resource gathering.

While talking, the sea became visible through the carriage windows. There was a port too, with ships docked in rows.

When the carriage stopped at what seemed to be a terminal, everyone disembarked. Shima pointed toward the port.

“Shin, how large is your ship? The open space over there is probably the widest.”

The area she indicated was more than large enough for Shin’s magic-powered ship. Whether it was stored in his item box or as a card, Shima seemed to understand that Shin had it in portable form.

Shin responded with a nod and approached the dock. To make it look like he used a card rather than an item box, he mimed drawing a card from his pocket and summoned the ship.

Its appearance and internals were just as they had been during the Demonic Sea search.

“Impressive, as expected. Mining has already begun, so how about we exchange ship tours afterward?”

“That sounds good. Since we’re here, would you like to come aboard ours too?”

“You’re inviting me aboard? I’d love to if you’re offering, but—wait, don’t tell me… it can submerge?”

Shin knew his magic ship could dive, so it was only natural to offer the ride. But seeing Shima’s confusion, he realized he’d been thinking with game logic again.

Apparently, she now believed his ship could dive based on what he’d said and the context.

“Well, yeah, that’s how it’s built. Is that a problem? Do we need to use a designated type of sub to approach the site?”

Shima froze for a few seconds before snapping back to awareness and nodding rapidly. She was too shocked to respond right away.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes! Then I’ll take you up on your offer. Let me notify the on-site supervisor real quick.”

Undersea mining was a large-scale operation. Even a department head like Shima couldn’t just bring an unknown vessel to the area without warning. She seemed quite responsible in that regard.

Once she returned, the group boarded the magic ship.

As Shin gave a brief explanation of the interior features, they made their way to the control room. With a soft chuckle at the awe in Shima’s eyes, Shin activated the ship, and they began to submerge.

Lights for underwater use had been installed throughout, so even at depths where sunlight couldn’t reach, visibility was excellent.

“What a smooth descent… And to maintain this level of visibility with such wide glass coverage, while also diving deeper than the mining site—it must be incredibly durable. Is the manufacturing process different from regular glass? And if a ship this size is moving, the output required should be incomparable to modern models. Wait, the structure isn’t that different from our ships, so how is it changing direction? The propulsion system must be completely—”

“Um… Shima?”

Tiera nervously addressed Shima, who had suddenly shifted from wide-eyed wonder to a full-on technical monologue, muttering like a mad scientist.

“Ha! I’m terribly sorry. The experience was just so overwhelming, I lost myself for a moment.”

As someone knowledgeable about ships, various questions must have come to her mind.

However, she didn’t bombard Shin with them. In her eyes was a strong determination to eventually uncover the secrets behind this technology.

“Ahem. Now then, the seabed vein we’ll be mining today is over in that direction. The depth of the site is approximately 300 mels.”

Following Shima’s instructions, they continued their descent until the mineral deposit came into view.

Rather than the typical mine tunnel structure often seen on land, it was more like an open-pit mine with ore beds spread across a wide area.

Illuminated by the ship’s lights, glints of reflection occasionally reached Shin’s eyes.

It looked like the mining was being done from the outer edge of the visible area.

The vein resembled a gentle hill with step-like levels, growing deeper toward the edge.

There were about twenty miners visible within range.

All of them wore equipment resembling diving suits.

What stood out was the spherical helmet they wore—like a reversed vase or goldfish bowl.

In addition to the miners, others in similar gear or aquatic combat gear—like mermen or mermaid-type Beasts—swam nearby, likely as guards watching out for monsters.

Only 50 mels from the workers, the light ceased to reach, leaving only darkness.

That’s the danger of the underwater world; monsters could appear suddenly from that darkness.

While the currents seemed gentle, the workers were all tethered with safety lines, which were connected to small submersibles.

The submersibles looked like rectangular hulls with masts and four screws (propellers) on the front and back; much simpler versions of what most would imagine when thinking of submarines.

These were early-model submarines made of magic steel. What Shima referred to as submersibles were called that in the game era.

Their basic specs allowed for diving up to 350 mels deep, with decent durability; ideal for beginner-level underwater exploration.

However, they had few weapons to counter sea monsters and weren’t very fast, so they were mostly used as mobile underwater bases.

As first-generation models, their durability left much to be desired.

Even attacks from level 100 monsters could sink them if sustained.

The submarine Shin saw had some added armor, but it was barely better than nothing.

Monsters underwater tended to be larger than those on land, and when underwater exploration began during the game era, it wasn’t uncommon for players to be eaten—submarine and all—by high-level sea monsters.

It was a terrifying panic-horror experience for those on the receiving end, but now, it was almost nostalgic.

“This location yields various kinds of magic steel on a regular basis.”

“On a regular basis?”

“Yes. This area seems to be rich in magical energy. After a certain amount of time, the iron we bury here becomes infused and transforms into magic steel. On very rare occasions, we even find orichalcum during extraction—just small fragments, though.”

They would remove the material that had transformed into magic steel and bury new iron.

By repeating this process, they could regularly harvest a fixed amount of magic steel.

Shin tilted his head in disbelief, wondering if such a dream-like method could actually exist.