Chapter 100 - 98: The Mountain That Moved When Nobody Was Looking

Chapter 100: Chapter 98: The Mountain That Moved When Nobody Was Looking

The expedition began with an argument about luggage.

Not Arin’s luggage.

Not Lucan’s.

Lyra’s.

Arin stood in the family residence, staring at three enormous bags arranged beside the front door.

"Absolutely not."

Lyra folded her arms. "You haven’t even looked inside."

"I don’t need to."

"That’s unfair."

"You’re eight."

"That doesn’t mean I can’t pack."

Arin pointed toward the largest bag. "What’s in that?"

"Emergency supplies."

He opened it.

Inside were biscuits, dried fruit, two blankets, a wooden sword, four storybooks, a stuffed rabbit, and a small cooking pan.

Arin slowly lifted the pan.

"Why?"

"Pancakes."

"Lyra."

"What if you get hungry?"

"I have an inventory."

"What if your inventory gets hungry?"

Arin stared at her.

Behind him, Lucan burst out laughing.

Luna, standing beside the staircase, looked thoughtful.

"Can inventories get hungry?"

EVE, who had been watching the entire exchange, answered with perfect seriousness.

"Not under normal operating conditions."

Arin closed the bag.

"Neither of you is coming."

Lyra gasped.

"But you said we were going exploring!"

"Eventually. When the exploration platform is finished and we’ve confirmed the route is safe."

"That’s seventeen days!"

"Approximately."

"That’s forever!"

Luna looked at the bags.

Then at Arin.

"Can you bring back a pretty rock?"

Arin smiled.

"That I can do."

Lyra considered.

"Two pretty rocks."

"Fine."

"And a monster egg."

"No."

"Just a small one?"

"No."

Lucan leaned against the doorway.

"Bring me one too."

Arin pointed at him.

"You’re walking."

The expedition team consisted of Arin, Lucan, EVE, A-01, Rian, and four Elysium survey specialists.

Victor had wanted to join.

Unfortunately, Greyhaven’s Hunter Corps had reached an important stage in its training, and Cassian had specifically requested that Victor remain for another week.

Victor’s response had been dramatic.

"You are abandoning me."

Arin nodded. "Yes."

"To fight mountains."

"To calibrate sensors."

"Same thing."

"No."

Victor had eventually accepted his assignment after learning that the next training exercise involved defending a caravan against an experienced Royal Guild assault team.

He had immediately begun planning.

Arin felt sorry for the trainees.

Not enough to intervene.

But somewhat.

The destination was the Varric Highlands, a remote region approximately eight hundred kilometers northeast of Elysium.

The area had never been completely unexplored.

Old trade maps showed several mountain passes, abandoned watch stations, and the remains of a mining road.

But modern surveys were inconsistent.

Some maps placed a particular valley twelve kilometers from the nearest ridge.

Others placed it twenty.

A third survey claimed the valley did not exist.

EVE displayed the records as their aircraft approached the highlands.

"Navigation discrepancies increase significantly within the central region."

Lucan examined the projection.

"How significantly?"

"Previous expeditions reported positional errors exceeding forty kilometers."

Rian nearly dropped his tablet.

"Forty?"

"Yes."

"That’s not a navigation error. That’s getting lost."

EVE nodded.

"Correct."

Arin smiled.

"Excellent."

Rian stared at him.

"Why is that excellent?"

"Because our navigation matrix needs a difficult test."

Lucan looked toward Rian.

"You’ll get used to that answer."

The aircraft landed on a broad plateau outside the interference zone.

Arin deliberately avoided flying deeper.

Not because he feared the terrain.

Because the expedition’s purpose was to test navigation under difficult conditions without risking the entire team unnecessarily.

They deployed two survey vehicles, six mapping drones, and a portable communication relay.

A-01 inspected the equipment.

"All systems operational."

EVE nodded.

"Initial calibration complete."

Rian looked toward the mountains.

The peaks were dark and jagged, their upper slopes covered in pale vegetation that shimmered faintly with mana.

Clouds drifted between the ridges.

The air smelled of cold stone and pine.

"Beautiful," Rian said quietly.

Arin smiled.

"Yes."

Lucan adjusted his sword.

"Suspiciously beautiful."

"Not everything is trying to kill us."

"That sounds like something you say immediately before something tries to kill us."

Arin considered.

"Fair."

The first hour went smoothly.

Too smoothly.

The vehicles followed an old mining trail through a narrow valley.

Drones mapped the surrounding cliffs.

EVE recorded ambient mana fluctuations.

Rian compared the readings against the navigation matrix.

Everything appeared normal.

Then the first discrepancy appeared.

"Arin."

EVE highlighted the route.

"We have traveled eleven kilometers."

Arin looked at the terrain.

"Yes."

"According to our primary positioning system, we have traveled nineteen."

Rian frowned.

"Which is correct?"

"Physical wheel rotation and inertial measurements support eleven kilometers."

Lucan looked toward the road behind them.

"Then why does the map say nineteen?"

EVE examined the data.

"Unknown."

Arin smiled.

"Good."

Rian sighed.

"Please stop saying that."

They continued.

The second discrepancy appeared twenty minutes later.

A mountain ridge that had been directly ahead now appeared farther east.

Rian checked the visual records.

Then checked again.

"That can’t be right."

Arin looked up.

"What?"

"The ridge moved."

Lucan stared at the mountain.

"Mountains don’t move."

Rian turned the tablet.

"Then explain this."

Two images appeared.

Same observation point.

Same elevation.

Same weather conditions.

But the ridge’s apparent position had shifted.

Arin studied the images.

Then looked toward EVE.

"Optical distortion?"

"Possible."

"Mana interference?"

"Likely."

"Spatial displacement?"

"Unconfirmed."

Lucan folded his arms.

"I preferred the forest fire."

Arin laughed.

By midday, the expedition reached a broad valley filled with pale grass.

At its center stood a formation of enormous stone pillars.

Not ruins.

Not buildings.

Natural columns of dark mineral rising from the ground at irregular angles.

Their surfaces reflected faint blue light.

EVE scanned them.

"High concentrations of mana-responsive crystalline material."

Rian stepped closer.

"Are those Mana Crystals?"

"Not conventional ones."

Arin approached the nearest pillar.

It was nearly thirty meters tall.

He placed a hand against its surface.

A faint vibration passed through the stone.

Then the navigation system emitted a warning.

POSITIONAL REFERENCE CONFLICT.

Rian looked at his tablet.

"Oh, that’s bad."

Arin examined the readings.

The system placed him in three different locations.

All within the same valley.

All separated by several kilometers.

He looked toward the pillars.

Then smiled.

"Interesting."

Lucan groaned.

"Here we go."

EVE deployed additional sensors.

The results revealed something unusual.

The pillars were interacting with ambient mana currents.

Not generating illusions.

Not teleporting anything.

Instead, they were distorting the signals used by conventional navigation devices.

Magnetic compasses became unreliable.

Mana-based positioning systems received contradictory readings.

Even long-distance communication relays suffered delays and phase shifts.

Arin examined the data.

"So the terrain isn’t moving."

"Correct," EVE answered.

"Our instruments are lying."

"More precisely, they are receiving distorted environmental references."

Lucan looked relieved.

"Good. I was beginning to dislike that mountain."

Rian frowned.

"But what about the visual recordings?"

EVE displayed a comparison.

The apparent movement resulted from unusual atmospheric refraction combined with the pillars’ mana emissions.

The mountains remained exactly where they had always been.

Lucan stared.

"So the mountain wasn’t moving."

Arin nodded.

"No."

Lucan looked offended.

"I spent an hour threatening a mountain for nothing."

Rian laughed.

The discovery was valuable.

Very valuable.

Not because the pillars contained treasure.

Although Arin was already considering their material properties.

But because they provided an excellent environment for testing the Civic Exploration Platform’s navigation matrix.

A conventional system depended heavily on external references.

Elysium’s system combined multiple methods.

Inertial tracking.

Terrain recognition.

Visual mapping.

Local reference markers.

Mana-field analysis.

And continuous error correction.

The highlands forced those systems to disagree.

Which meant the matrix had to determine which measurements could still be trusted.

Arin loved it.

Rian was less enthusiastic.

"Every time we correct one error, another appears."

Arin nodded.

"Good."

Rian stared.

"You’re doing it again."

"Because that’s how we find weaknesses."

EVE smiled.

"He’s correct."

Rian looked betrayed.

"Not you too."

The first serious problem arrived at three in the afternoon.

A mapping drone disappeared.

Not from the sky.

From the network.

One moment, it was transmitting normally.

The next, its signal vanished.

EVE attempted reconnection.

No response.

Arin examined the last coordinates.

"Battery?"

"Seventy-eight percent."

"Mechanical failure?"

"Unlikely."

"Interference?"

"Possible."

He deployed another drone.

It followed the same route.

Then disappeared at almost the same location.

Rian stared.

"Two drones?"

Arin nodded.

"Interesting."

Lucan looked at him.

"Please don’t say good."

Arin smiled.

"Excellent."

Lucan sighed.

They approached the signal-loss zone on foot.

The valley narrowed between two rocky slopes.

A shallow stream crossed the path.

Beyond it lay a small depression filled with mist.

A-01 moved ahead.

"Environmental readings unstable."

EVE examined the area.

"Mana interference intensity has increased by approximately three hundred percent."

Rian swallowed.

"Should we turn back?"

Arin considered.

"No."

Lucan drew his sword.

"Of course not."

They entered the mist.

Immediately, Rian’s compass spun.

His tablet displayed three conflicting maps.

Then his communication link failed.

He looked toward Arin.

"That’s not good."

Arin nodded.

"Agreed."

Rian blinked.

"You agreed?"

"Communication failure is bad."

"Then why are we still walking?"

"Because we’re going to find out why."

The answer appeared beneath the mist.

A massive crystalline outcrop protruded from the ground.

Its surface was fractured.

Bright blue mana pulsed through the cracks.

Around it lay the remains of several old mining machines.

Not advanced technology.

Ordinary mana-powered excavation equipment.

Rusting.

Abandoned.

Arin examined the machinery.

"Someone tried mining this."

EVE scanned the records engraved on a metal plate.

"Varric Mineral Survey Company. Operations ceased approximately thirty-one years ago."

Rian looked around.

"Why?"

Arin pointed toward the outcrop.

"Probably because their equipment stopped working."

EVE nodded.

"The crystalline formation produces severe mana-field interference."

Then A-01 spoke.

"Movement."

Lucan turned.

Something shifted behind the abandoned machines.

A low growl echoed through the mist.

Then another.

And another.

Rian slowly reached for his weapon.

"Please tell me those are goats."

Arin looked toward the shadows.

"Very ugly goats."

The first creature emerged on four muscular legs.

Its body resembled a wolf, but its shoulders were covered in jagged mineral plates.

Blue light pulsed beneath its skin.

Its eyes glowed faintly.

Then six more appeared.

EVE identified them.

"Craghowlers. Mana-adapted predators. Likely territorial."

Lucan smiled.

"Finally."

The largest Craghowler lunged.

Lucan stepped forward.

His sword flashed.

The creature twisted midair, avoiding the strike with surprising speed.

It landed against a boulder.

Then released a sharp howl.

The sound carried a pulse of distorted mana.

Rian’s tablet shut down.

One of the survey specialists stumbled.

Arin frowned.

"Mana-disruption attack."

EVE nodded.

"Confirmed."

The pack charged.

Lucan met the first two.

His sword moved in controlled arcs, striking armored joints rather than the thick mineral plates.

A-01 intercepted another.

Its shield absorbed the creature’s impact.

The damaged shoulder plating from Greyhaven had been repaired, but Arin had insisted on additional monitoring after the hydrothermal incident.

A-01 moved carefully.

Efficiently.

One Craghowler attempted to flank Rian.

Arin stepped into its path.

The creature leaped.

Arin caught it by the throat.

Its claws scraped harmlessly against his armor.

He looked at it.

"Bad idea."

Then he threw it into a patch of soft ground.

The creature landed heavily.

Staggered upright.

And fled.

Rian stared.

"You’re letting it go?"

"It’s territorial, not evil."

Another Craghowler lunged.

Arin knocked it sideways.

"That one can leave too."

Lucan laughed.

"You’re becoming selective."

"Trying something new."

The largest Craghowler was different.

Its mineral plates were thicker.

Its mana output stronger.

And its howl disrupted the expedition’s equipment every few seconds.

Lucan fought it across the rocky clearing.

Steel struck stone.

Sparks flew.

The creature moved quickly, using the mist and uneven terrain to conceal its approach.

Then it changed tactics.

Instead of attacking Lucan, it rushed toward the survey specialists.

Arin’s expression hardened.

"Enough."

A compact restraint launcher appeared in his hand.

He fired.

Three reinforced cables struck the creature.

Anchors slammed into nearby stone.

The Craghowler struggled.

Howled.

Pulled.

Then stopped.

Arin approached.

The creature bared its teeth.

He crouched several meters away.

"Listen."

It growled.

"I don’t want your territory."

Another growl.

"I want my drones."

The creature stared.

Lucan lowered his sword.

"Do you think it understands you?"

"No."

"Then why are you talking?"

"Because I’m annoyed."

Rian started laughing.

EVE located the missing drones.

Both had crashed near the crystalline outcrop after their navigation systems failed.

Neither was badly damaged.

Arin retrieved them.

Then examined the formation.

The outcrop wasn’t merely producing interference.

Its fractured structure amplified certain mana frequencies while suppressing others.

That created unpredictable signal distortion.

A nightmare for ordinary navigation.

A perfect calibration environment.

Arin smiled.

"EVE."

"Yes?"

"Record everything."

"Already doing so."

"Can we use the data to improve the navigation matrix?"

"Significantly."

Rian looked relieved.

"So the expedition was successful?"

"Very."

"Can we leave now?"

Arin considered.

Then looked toward the outcrop.

"One more thing."

Rian groaned.

Arin collected several small mineral samples.

Not enough to damage the formation.

Just enough for laboratory analysis.

The samples were unusually dense and responded strongly to controlled mana pulses.

EVE estimated that they might be useful for interference shielding or sensor calibration.

Arin carefully stored them.

Lucan watched.

"Treasure?"

"Research materials."

"Expensive research materials?"

"Potentially."

Lucan smiled.

"Treasure."

Arin sighed.

"Fine."

The expedition returned to the plateau before sunset.

The Craghowlers remained in their territory.

The crystalline formation remained undisturbed.

And the navigation matrix had gained an enormous amount of useful data.

Rian sat beside the survey vehicle, exhausted.

"I thought we were going to die."

Lucan handed him a water flask.

"You did fine."

Rian looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I barely fought."

"You kept the survey equipment operational under interference and helped recover the drones."

Rian looked down.

Then smiled.

Arin approached.

"Good work."

Rian straightened.

"Thank you."

Then Arin added:

"Next time, bring backup navigation instruments."

Rian sighed.

"Of course."

Back at Elysium, the laboratory began analyzing the samples.

The results were promising.

The crystalline material could absorb certain disruptive mana frequencies without losing structural stability.

Not a universal shield.

Not a miraculous solution.

But potentially useful.

EVE proposed incorporating a small amount into the Civic Exploration Platform’s navigation housing.

Arin approved a prototype test.

Not full installation.

Not yet.

The platform was already under construction, and changing a critical system without validation would be foolish.

Even Arin knew that.

Usually.

That night, Lyra and Luna demanded their souvenirs.

Arin placed two polished stones on the table.

One blue.

One silver.

Lyra gasped.

"Pretty!"

Luna held hers carefully.

"Does it do magic?"

"No."

"Can it explode?"

"No."

"Can it become a monster?"

"No."

Lyra looked disappointed.

Arin smiled.

"It’s a rock."

She considered.

Then nodded.

"Still good."

Luna hugged him.

"Thank you."

Arin smiled.

"You’re welcome."

Then Lyra looked toward his inventory.

"Did you bring the monster egg?"

"No."

"Not even a small one?"

"No."

Lucan entered the room.

"Actually, we found giant wolves."

Lyra’s eyes widened.

Arin slowly turned.

"Lucan."

"What?"

"Don’t."

Lucan smiled.

"Very fluffy."

"Lucan."

"Extremely dangerous."

Lyra gasped.

"Can we visit?"

Arin closed his eyes.

He was going to throw his older brother off the exploration platform.

Eventually.

The following morning, EVE delivered the updated construction report.

"Navigation calibration data successfully integrated into the simulation environment."

Arin nodded.

"Results?"

"Positional error reduced by eighty-three percent under comparable interference conditions."

"Excellent."

"Further validation required."

"Naturally."

"Construction progress: fifty-one percent."

Arin smiled.

"Halfway."

"Estimated completion: fifteen days."

He looked toward the enormous vehicle frame.

The exterior hull was beginning to take shape.

The observation deck had been installed.

The medical bay was nearly complete.

The workshop was operational.

And the Long-Range Mana Core continued passing its tests.

Fifteen days.

Then they could finally travel beyond the familiar roads.

EVE smiled.

"One additional matter."

Arin sighed.

"What?"

"The Varric Highland samples have attracted interest from our materials research division."

"Good."

"They believe the crystalline material could improve communication reliability in high-interference environments."

"Also good."

"However, the required research may take several weeks."

Arin nodded.

"Let them work."

EVE looked surprised.

"No immediate deployment?"

"No."

"You’re being patient."

Arin smiled.

"Don’t sound so shocked."

Then he looked toward the map.

The Varric Highlands remained marked with several unexplored valleys.

Not mysteries demanding immediate answers.

Just places.

Places he could visit later.

With a proper vehicle.

A proper crew.

And perhaps a little more time.

Arin leaned back.

"Fifteen days."

EVE nodded.

"Fifteen days."

Then Lyra’s voice echoed from the hallway.

"BIG BROTHER!"

Arin closed his eyes.

"What now?"

She appeared holding a notebook.

"We made a new business plan!"

Arin looked toward EVE.

EVE smiled.

"Would you like me to schedule a meeting?"

"No."

Lyra gasped.

"But it’s important!"

Arin sighed.

"Fine. Five minutes."

Lyra beamed.

Luna appeared behind her carrying a small wooden sign.

LITTLE ELYSIUM WORKSHOP — EXPLORATION SOUVENIRS.

Arin stared.

Then slowly smiled.

Maybe the next expedition would be expensive after all.

Chapter End