Chapter 56: Buried Resolve (2)

“We just want to help you… big brother. We don’t want to lose you,” Chai said softly, his eyes filled with worry and sorrow.

Ethan shook his head.

“If you really want to help… then grab shovels and start digging with me.”

He let out a dry, mocking chuckle.

“But I can’t interrupt your precious hunting time. So I suppose this is where we part ways.”

He resumed walking, ignoring their attempts to stop him.

Then suddenly, he stopped.

“Oh… I’ll see you at the training grounds later, Moon. Make sure you come. We have a duel waiting.”

Moon frowned deeply.

“You still intend to continue? After what happened yesterday?!”

Her voice trembled faintly.

Incantations did not work on him. Healing him was far more difficult than it should have been.

Yet Ethan simply smiled.

“I’ve already found a solution. So make sure you come.”

With that, he left.

He did not argue with them.

He did not fight them.

Yet they all felt the same thing.

They felt him drifting away from them.

As if an invisible distance had begun to form between them.

All of it…

had started after he lost his memory.

—

After distancing himself from his team, Ethan returned to the pit.

He stood at its edge, staring down into it .. and at the piles of dirt and stone beside it.

He let out a long sigh.

“Back to manual labor…”

He jumped down lightly.

Then rolled up his sleeve, revealing his mechanical arm.

Slowly.

Steadily.

He drove the shovel deep into the earth and began digging with practiced precision.

“Soon… I’ll need different tools once I reach the hardened layer.”

He said as he dug faster.

Soon, the pit began to deepen.

’I have a clear plan in mind… but the problem is, I don’t know how deep I’ll need to dig to reach my goal.’

That was the only problem.

And the only solution was simple.

Dig.

And keep digging ..

until the answer revealed itself.

Minute by minute, time slipped by.

As he drove the shovel deep into the earth, a sudden grin spread across his face.

“This reminds me of the time I got excited after learning oil came from underground. I started digging behind the house… until I accidentally hit a sewage pipe and unleashed a fountain of shit.”

Ethan burst into laughter, talking to himself like a madman.

“I suppose this is my fate. No matter how hard I chase something… in the end, all I find is suffering … and shit.”

He dug harder.

“Ishizaki, you bastard… I bet you’re watching from somewhere, laughing at me right now.”

The shovel sank deep into sand and gravel.

“Manual labor followed me from my previous life into this world…”

“Why do protagonists in stories and games begin with battle… while I begin with digging?!”

The sound of metal striking earth rang loudly, accompanied by his complaints and muttered curses.

He dug.

And dug.

Then suddenly ..

an idea flashed through his mind.

“Wait… I can use that.”

He raised the shovel high and activated one of his abilities.

“Night Lord’s Aura.”

He whispered the words … and something astonishing happened before his eyes.

From his arm, a heavy, dense black aura erupted … dark and suffocating.

It spread like a living creature, slithering outward until it wrapped itself entirely around the shovel.

The shovel now resembled a greatsword cloaked in overwhelming darkness.

Ethan stared at it, stunned.

“Incredible…”

He gripped it firmly and struck the earth again.

The impact sank far deeper than before …

many times deeper.

So deep that it shocked even him.

Ethan smiled, excitement flickering in his eyes.

“So this is the Night Lord’s Aura…”

An ability that multiplied offensive power severalfold … but reduced his Health and Defense to 1.

“Overwhelming damage… but death in a single hit. Heh… it’s like a no-hit challenge. How thrilling.”

He laughed happily, continuing to dig while conversing with himself like a lunatic.

But suddenly—

he stopped.

The aura dissipated instantly.

He had sensed someone approaching.

Looking up, he saw a massive silhouette slowly come into view.

A thick head.

A towering body.

Holding an enormous shovel.

The man looked down at him from above.

“Why are you talking to yourself like a madman, Ethan?”

Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Raiden?”

It was his closest companion—the one who had stood beside him since he arrived in this world.

Raiden stepped forward .. and dropped into the pit like a cannonball.

He landed beside Ethan with a heavy thud.

The pit was narrow, forcing them into close proximity.

“What are you doing here?” Ethan asked, confused.

Raiden answered immediately.

“What do you think I came to do?”

He gestured to the massive shovel he carried.

The answer was obvious.

“I thought you didn’t approve of this.”

Raiden nodded.

“That’s right. I still think we should be hunting instead of wasting time on this nonsense.”

“Then why did you come?”

Raiden smiled.

“Because I trust you.”

The words struck Ethan harder than any blow.

Raiden drove his shovel into the earth and began digging with tremendous force.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do. I don’t know what you’ll gain from digging like a madman…”

“But I know you wouldn’t do something like this without a reason.”

“If I can’t convince you to hunt… then I have no choice but to become a grave digger like you.”

Ethan remained silent for a few seconds, stunned by the unexpected support.

Then he chuckled softly and resumed digging.

“We can start a digging team—just you and me. Then slowly expand until we become the greatest excavation company in the region.”

Raiden sighed.

“If you still have the energy to make stupid jokes… then you’ve clearly recovered.”

He drove his shovel down like a beast.

“Enough talking. Let’s dig this damned ground.”

“Yeah!”

Together, they dug faster.

Harder.

Their rhythm synchronized.

Ethan’s efficiency increased dramatically.

Working alone was suffocating.

Working beside someone else …

made it bearable.

Time passed quickly.

Once he finished, Ethan immediately went to clean himself—

then headed straight for Asterion’s place.

The old drunk was waiting for him.

Moon was there as well.

And another person.

A girl who had been forced to come.

It was Luna.

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