Dark and Deep, at the Bottom of the Earth

* * *

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

When It vaguely regained consciousness, the first thing It recognized was the sound of dripping water.

The implication of that was the deterioration of the facility.

This facility that It had created to escape the eyes of the foolish ones lounging up above was in a dark and deep place at the bottom of the earth.

In other words, if a crack were to form in the ceiling, there was a good chance that groundwater would seep in and flood the place.

It hurriedly tried to get up and assess the situation but quickly realized it was impossible.

Because now, It no longer had the limbs to move on its own.

It had become a lump of metal.

The emotion that filled Its heart upon realizing that fact.

It was.

Joy.

Success.

The experiment was a success!

Although It no longer had the limbs to jump and raise Its fists, inside Its cold metal body, Its soul was dancing wildly with joy.

Magical technology and cultural levels had declined, and now It was the only one left.

Insufficient personnel, insufficient materials, insufficient time.

And the watchful eyes of the foolish ones, the approaching pursuers.

It was a project forcefully pushed forward in a poor environment.

In the end, it was truly a gamble, an impromptu performance.

But It had won the bet.

It had finally succeeded in transplanting Its soul.

Into Its greatest masterpiece the Infinite Mana Extraction Device!

Now, having grasped Its current state, It began to assess the surrounding situation next.

Although It no longer had eyes, ears, or a mouth, It could clearly hear the sound of dripping water and see the state of the old stone walls around It.

It was proof that the mana sensing system was functioning normally.

Unintentionally, It sneered in Its mind.

This was the deepest part of the facility It had created.

The only things that existed in the room were the pedestal on which It was enshrined and the weathered skeletal remains lying in front of it.

These skeletal remains were, in other words, Its physical body from when It was alive.

As a human, It had lived four times, and these bones were from Its fourth body.

Well, It had no interest in such things, so It immediately accessed the management system and began checking the maintenance status of this facility.

First, the drainage system was functioning without issue.

With this, there was little chance of the facility being flooded.

The cracks in the ceiling where the water leak was occurring didnt seem to be a big deal either.

For now, It was relieved.

More importantly.

While going through the recent logs, It discovered a significant fact.

A few months ago, one of the guardians of this facility had escaped to the outside.

And perhaps triggered by that, it seemed that the existence of this facility had been exposed to the surrounding humans.

Quite frequently, intruders had been entering this facility, although still only up to the middle layers.

It licked Its lips in Its mind.

This situation was by no means undesirable for It.

Rather, It had scattered various baits to make it happen, to make greedy and strong humans infiltrate deep into this facility.

Its efforts were coming to fruition.

The reason It had awakened from Its long slumber at this moment was because of that current situation.

Humans exploring this facility to a certain depth.

That was the trigger for Its awakening.

Now, all It had to do was wait.

<Ihihi Ihihihihi!>

Excited for the encounter that was sure to come, It laughed ominously.

And with that, Arc 15 begins!

I would be glad if you could continue to accompany me.