All-rounder Healer Chapter 296: Holy Horse

　I gave the three of them the bag with the Horned Rabbit in it, told them to dismantle and eat it, and sent them on their way.

　I then waited for the night in the shadow of the rocky area.

　On the way there, I detected a group of adventurers passing nearby with my [Magi Location], but time passed without seeing anyone, and the area was shrouded in the darkness of night.

“…darkness.” (Rook)

　The effect of the Dark Robe is activated when the time is right.

　A darkness thicker than that of the night overflowed from the Dark Robe and covered his entire body.

　Then I slowly emerged from the shadow of the rock and advanced toward the abandoned mine.

　The only sounds around me are the roar of the wind and the cries of creatures that seem to be monsters coming from far away.

“…” (Rook)

　Even with the effect of the Dark Robe, I’m still nervous about approaching a suspicious figure on my own.

　I proceed while checking the surrounding situation with Magi Location.

　The man standing guard in front of the abandoned mine was still standing there, not using any lights, even though it was night.

　That’s pretty suspicious at that point. Normally, people would use [Light Source] or something to secure the light, and I guess they can’t do that because they have a reason to hide.

　To avoid leaving any footprints, I avoided the fresh snow and picked up small stones as I approached the abandoned mine, choosing to walk on stones or on a well-trodden path. When I came within sight of the abandoned mine, I threw a stone hard.

“!” (Masked Person)

　The masked figure reacted with a jerk and looked out of the abandoned mine.

　I knew they wouldn’t miss even the smallest noise. …I have no idea where this person belongs or what kind of mission they’ve been assigned, but I get the feeling that they’re trained to a certain degree.

　The masked figure slowly emerged from the abandoned mine and proceeded cautiously toward the rock that had fallen.

　I watched them go and then entered the abandoned mine.

“…” (Rook)

　I managed to get through it…

　I was relieved and proceeded inside.

　I thought of a map of the abandoned mine in my mind and tried to think of the shortest route to explore.

　Considering that you can explore to some extent with magi locations, there should be no need to investigate all the paths.

　Walking as quietly as possible, we proceeded east and west through the pitch-dark abandoned mine.

　On the way, I passed the place where I met John and the others before, but all the dizzy mushrooms there were gone.

　Did John take all of them? No, there was a food crisis this winter, and a lot of slum people must have come there.

　So, it’s possible that John went deeper.

　I checked the Magi Location for multiple branches of the path as it sloped downward. I continued deeper onward, and–

“…” (Rook)

　I stopped when I heard the faint sound of people talking.

　When I stopped, I could hear the voices more clearly.

“Someone’s there…” (Rook)

　There’s someone ahead.

　However, the map of this abandoned mine did not show such a strange place, nor did it look any different the last time I was here.

“What’s ahead?” (Rook)

　As I was thinking this, I began to see a light at the end of the passage, and a shadow of a person appeared in the Magi Location.

　Someone was walking toward me from the darkness.

　I hurriedly entered the side passage and hid behind a rock.

　As I moved out of the way a little and checked the passageway, the sound of footsteps and talking gradually approached me.

“-Plan-” (Voice)

“–Lock it down.” (Voice)

　They were talking about something, but I couldn’t hear all of it.

　The footsteps are getting closer and closer, and I can hear the voices more clearly.

　It’s a man, from the sound of his voice. There are two… or maybe three.

　The voices are getting closer and closer.

　Then they cross the path where I can see them from the side where I am.

　At that moment, I peeked at them for a moment.

“What do you want to do about the kid?” (Voice)

“Make him talk first.” (Voice)

“Understood.” (Voice)

　The people were dressed in black robes and masks, just like the one at the entrance to the abandoned mine.

　I am sure that I am in a very tricky situation. I’m going to have to prepare myself for a lot of things that might happen…

　After the group passed by, I returned to the passageway and hurried in the direction they had come from.

　For now, I just need to find out what’s going on up ahead and where John is.

　I proceed down the passage, down the stairs, and down the passage again. Then–

“This is…” (Rook)

　The Magi Location shows a space that is clearly not on the map.

　Of course, this space didn’t exist when I was here before.

“Did they dig a new path?” (Rook)

　No, I don’t see the point in doing that.

　As I cautiously approached the space, I sensed that there was a large space that looked to be at least 20 or 30 tatami mats in size.

　I also sensed that there were various “things” in that space.

“…” (Rook)

　Moving forward slowly.

　After walking for a while, I saw a pale blue-white light leaking from the end of the passage.

“…what is this?” (Rook)

　Like a summer insect attracted by the light, I proceeded toward the light.

　And then I reach the place.

“…Did the wall of the passage collapse?” (Rook)

　The place that was just a passage wall on the map collapsed, and a mysterious space spread out beyond it, from which a blue-white light was leaking.

　I stuck my face out of the hole in the collapsed wall and asked what was going on inside.

“…Hey, hey, what is this?” (Rook)

　What was there was an altar.

　There was an altar in the center of the large room, surrounded by a blue-white magic circle glowing on the ground, and at the end of it was an altar—

“The Gate of the Holy Horse”

　Words came to my mind.

　Behind the altar stood a whitish pillar that looked familiar to me from somewhere, and when I looked at it, the words “Gate of the Holy Horse, Gate to the World of Holy Beast” came to mind.

“Seriously…?” (Rook)

　That’s something similar to the fairy gate I saw in Karim Kingdom, right?

　What’s going on? My head is just filled with questions.

　Why does such a thing exist in such a place in the first place? What are those masked people planning to do with this when they found it?

　As I entered the room, my head spinning, I saw a man lying in the corner of the room.

“John!” (Rook)

　I ran over to check on John’s condition.

　I put my hand under his nose to check his breathing. I grabbed his wrists to check his pulse.

　He was tied up and out cold, but did not appear to be badly injured.

“Thank goodness…” (Rook)

　I patted my chest, cut the rope with a knife, then used [Heal] just in case and stood up.

　John is still unconscious.

　I really don’t understand what’s going on.

　Why is John lying in this place? Why did those people grab John? What good would it do to lock this place down?

“…Let’s find out for now.” (Rook)

　Those clues should be here.

　We approach the altar and walk around it to examine it.

　The altar is made of stone and has steps. There is something placed on the altar.

“…” (Rook)

　I want to check it out right away, but I’m worried about the huge magic circle glowing on the ground, and I hesitate whether I should enter it or not.

　But, strangely, I didn’t feel anything bad about this magic circle. If anything, I feel a wave similar to the three-dimensional magic circle that appears when I call Lizzy… I have a feeling like that.

　I can’t be sure, though, because it’s completely a feeling.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll trust my intuition.” (Rook)

　I don’t have time to dwell on this for too long. The masked men could come back at any moment.

　If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it; if not, I’m going to leave. We have no choice but to decide and act immediately.

　I made up my mind and reached out my hand toward the inside of the magic circle.

　The moment my hand entered the magic circle area—I felt a fleeting sensation similar to when I approached the Golden Dragon’s Nest—but there was no problem, and I had no problem at all stepping into the magic circle as it was.

“…? What is the purpose of this magic circle?” (Rook)

　There is something, but I don’t know what it is at all.

　I don’t know what it is, but I have no choice but to go on.

　So, I entered the magic circle and touched the Gate of the Holy Horse first.

“If it’s the same as the Fairy Gate, then this…” (Rook)

　The moment I touched it, information flowed into my head like when I read a grimoire, and I also received bits and pieces of information about magic.

“Summon Unicorn… a magic to summon a Unicorn!?” (Rook)

　At the Gate of the Holy Horse, I learned a magic called [Summon Unicorn].

　Considering it’s the same as [Summon Fairy] that summons Lizzy, it’s only natural that I can summon them.

“No, wait… I think I heard about unicorns somewhere recently…” (Rook)

　I’m sure the saint is related to it somehow.

　…So, is this a place associated with the saint?

　It’s starting to make less and less sense…

　Anyway, we can’t use the summon unicorn here now, so we’ll head on to the next place. We need to check out what is on the altar.

　I went around to the front of the altar and approached the object on the step until I could pick it up.

　There was a bag. It was a bag made of high-quality fabric, and I could see that there was a rectangular object inside.

“Is it okay if I touch this?” (Rook)

　In a game, if you’re overjoyed to try to take something like this, the boss will appear, and you’ll enter a battle…

　I’d like to save before I touch this, but unfortunately, save points is not a convenient thing in this world.

　Giving up, I reach into the bag and check inside.

“A book… This—” (Rook)

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