First Light of a New Age

Chapter 61: The Dungeon

Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, Jayapura Papua

1st Year of God, Monday, 1st Week, Month Of Abraham.

In the heart of the land lies a city called Jayapura Papua within the Imperial Majahapit. Once bustling, it now stands eerily silent as the only sounds being the whisper of the wind and the creak of doors swayed by its force. 

Like many cities, towns, and villages, this city was one of many that fell on the first day of the New Year Tragedy, and went into darkness for a long time.

After the war, the Liberation Army moved in, tasked with purging any trace of demons and searching for survivors. But, as with most of the abandoned cities they encountered, they found none.

Suddenly, the plan to decimate the city for its materials changed when a worker uncovered a massive deposit of mana crystals. 

Nearly a month has passed, Jayapura Papua had transformed into a massive mining facility, rivaling the Imperial Majahapit’s largest ones known as Grasberg mine.

The city, once thought to hold little beneath its surface, revealed a wealth of new ores and minerals after being transported to this world, minerals like Mithril and Mana Crystals, alongside familiar elements from Earth, such as Nitrate.

While this discovery was a boon for the Empire's economy, it was what they uncovered next that would soon etch itself into the annals of Austronesian history.

On the outskirts of the mining facility, a convoy of half-tracks rumbled down the road, their path hugging the coastline as they ferried miners to the renowned site. 

Among them sat Odysseus Von Aston, a nobleman, a General, and a powerful Level 6 mage. Right now, he sat quietly on his padded seat, staring at the fleeting seaside scenery flying past his window, while absently rubbing his small beard.

Odysseus was a staunch supporter of Melian, the Elf Queen, though he initially harbored deep doubts about her ideals. The very notion seemed ludicrous to him. However, his perspective shifted dramatically after he witnessed the political structure and inner workings of this human nation. Despite the tangled mess of its bureaucracy, he began to see the wisdom in her views.

He recalled waking up in this foreign land, confused and disoriented, only to be questioned by a strange human man in some kind of uniform. Soon after, a healer came in and informed him that he had collapsed due to severe magic exhaustion and minor blood loss.

His memory drifted back to the battle in the Ironclad fleet, how he had expended nearly all his magic fighting off demons and sea monsters. He remembered the moment when their fleet fired upon the metal ship, only to be met with a devastating counterattack that obliterated their ironclads within seconds. 

As he struggled for survival, submerged in the cold depths, Odysseus had used the last of his mana to cling to life. When he finally found refuge on a wooden plank, his body succumbed to mana exhaustion, which caused him to enter into a coma for several days.

Upon awakening, his first instinct was to attack the human doctor attending to him, to take him hostage as leverage against the guards. But before he could act, Melian intervened, calming his turbulent thoughts.

After listening to her explanation, Odysseus felt a wave of disappointment wash over him, regret for the time lost during his unconsciousness. However, something else stirred within him, such as a growing curiosity about these strange humans from another world. Over time, he found himself willing to aid them, sharing his knowledge of this world and its mysteries.

With each passing day, his belief in these humans deepened as he observed the remarkable ways in which they navigated both the magical and mundane aspects of their existence.