''When the hell did they get here...?'' I mutter.

No, really, I didn't feel anything at all. No mana presence felt, no sound, no nothing. It is as if they were here from the beginning.

''Let me take care of them.'' Bald Saint sighs. ''They're nothing but fakes anyway.''

Fakes? What... Oh, illusion dragons? That's amazing mana perception, I can't feel much from down here. Does explain the fast appearance though.

As I'm thinking that, Bald Saint soars into the sky, three giant fire spears manifest around his body.

On the ground, I see Fox Saint walks over to the people in the crater, who are rightfully horrified.

''You guys can continue your work.'' She says. ''I will protect you from those.''

'''' ... ''''

Hearing that, some of them weakly nod. They seem to have calmed down a bit, but anxiety is still evident in their eyes.

Anna is doing a good job calming down the young sliver cat and Grandma Tara as well, even though she is not perfectly fine herself. What a good girl.

''What do we do now?'' Liana asks. ''Go help them dig?''

''Yeah, probably.'' I reply. ''I'll find the medium for those illusions.''

Making illusion dragons is hard. Really hard. So the caster, or casters must be insanely strong. But here's a question, why are they not attacking us directly if they are so strong?

There are a few assumptions I can make here.

One, the caster(s) doesn't want to eliminate us or the people here, they just want to prevent anyone from excavating the Core.

Two, the caster(s) is stuck somewhere, thus resorting to this illusion thing that they're doing.

Three, they're just doing their job half-assed.

Whatever the case, I and the former Saints didn't sense any person capable of doing this nearby, so there must be a medium for maintaining these illusions. And it's vital that we find them. These mediums could be extremely well-hidden or disguised, so I will probably need Fox Saint's help too.

KIEKKK

Right when I'm thinking that, earsplitting wails can be heard from above. Bald Saint took care of the dragons, it seems.

''See that? Don't worry and keep doing what you're doing.'' Fox Saint points upward.

''Woah...''

''Incredible...!''

The responses of the people are generally like these.

''It's not over.'' Suddenly, Sara speaks up, on her shoulder is a magical pickaxe, the same one that my fiancés are holding right now.

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'''' !!! ''''

ROARRR

Okay, well. This is a certified Deja vu moment. Another batch of dragons manifests in the air instantly after the old ones vanished. Godspeed to Bald Saint, I'll try to do my best here.

Focus, focus, sense the mana... Ergh... I don't feel anything?

''Fox Saint, you feel anything nearby?'' I open my eyes and ask.

''Nothing on my end.'' She furrows her eyebrows.

If even she couldn't feel it, then there must be something else. Oh, the Core. I forgot to check it.

So I put my hand on the ground again, using earth magic to extend my reach underground. Ignoring the constant colliding sounds of tools hitting dirt and rocks, I close my eyes and begin to focus.

'''' ... ''''

...Huh?

I remember skimming through the part about Super Cores in a textbook before, and it said that they are usually buried between fifty and a hundred meters underground. The problem is... Even though I reached over two hundred meters underground already, I couldn't find anything.

Instead of the strong mana signal from the Core that should have been there, there is nothing. No, literally an area of nothing. Even dirt will have mana inside them, but there is a large cube-like space below that doesn't contain any mana at all.

I immediately rise to my feet and briskly walk over to Grandma Tara.

''Grandma, there's no Core down there.''

Instantly, she widens her eyes in complete shock.

''What'd you say?! How is that possible??'' She jumps up from the boulder that she has been sitting on.

That prompts quite a few digging enthusiasts to stop and look at us in confusion.

''I sensed no Core down there.''

''Then how the hell are we still having drought?!''

''I don't know either, trust me.'' I let out a sigh. ''Let me stop these people first.''

With Tara following me, I go to behind Fox Saint and tap her shoulder, when she turns to me, I just chin towards the crater. You heard all that, didn't you? So you tell them, they seem to trust you more than me anyway.

''You all, stop for a moment!'' She turns away from me and speaks with a rather loud voice, catching the attention of everyone. ''Don't worry, we have all day here. That bald man will hold off for as long as you like.'' She smirks.

Hey, hey, don't treat your colleague like that. Or is that the standard? Either way, it seems like that statement was able to convince the people. Most of them flop down to catch a break, while my fiancés and Sara - the stronger people, climb up and regroup with the three of us.

''Let me brief you guys.'' I begin. ''There is no core down there, instead, I felt a suspicious empty space void of any mana.''

They immediately fall into contemplation, especially Sara, who's looking like an average student five minutes before the final exam.

''Is there a technique that allows such mana vacuum?'' Tina asks Fox Saint.

''Not that I know of.''

'''' ... ''''

KIEKK

Oh, another batch died, it seems. Well, better cut the bald man some slack.

''Interrogation it is, then.'' I let out a sigh.

''What do you mean...?'' Sara tilts her head along with Grandma Tara, while the rest have an understanding look on their faces.

I extend my arm toward the gate and pull two specific people in using my telekinesis. The Chief couple. I held them still for the whole time, yes.

''WaaaAAH~!'' Their screams get louder and louder the more they get close.

Stop being so dramatic.

''What's going on here.'' Suddenly, the bald man lands in front of us. ''What? They stopped spawning.'' He points to the calm and clear blue sky.

Wait, what? It knows to stop when we halt the mining? Whatever.

''Hey, you.'' I crouch down to meet the kneeling Chief, again, with a psychotic smile. ''Tell me, what exactly is below this land?''

'''' !!! ''''

''How'd you...!'' The Chief gags her own mouth before she can continue.

Suspicious, even her wife seems to be on alert more than ever.

''I said, tell me?'' I smile even deeper while increasing the magical pressure on her. ''I'm not very patient, you know?''

BANG

I pull out the Desert Eagle and quickly shoot it once, purposely missing her cheek just a bit. That startles almost everyone, and although both of the 'prisoners' are trembling profusely, looking at the gun in my hand in terror, it doesn't seem like they want to talk.

''Hah...'' Do I really need to interrogate them for real?

THUD

Suddenly, I hear something land in the distance with a considerably loud sound.

''I'm here again, people! Where are the evil dragons?!''

...What is that elf lady doing here? And what is that pose?

''Oh, that's one of our benefactors.'' Sara mutters.

Eh. That one is...?