Forte went alone to the assistant foreman and said, "I'm a new stonemason. The foreman told me to report to you."
The assistant foreman was clearly not as good-tempered as the foreman. He sized Forte up and said, "Since the foreman recruited you, he must have already tested your strength, right? You're such a young kid, but if you're strong, then go carry some water over first and pour it onto the stone slabs. That'll make the stone easier to mine."
Forte nodded and said, "Yes!" He went down to the foot of the mountain, filled a bucket with water, carried it into the cave, and poured water over each area. Only after every stone slab had been thoroughly soaked did Forte return to report to the assistant foreman. "Assistant Foreman, I'm done watering them."
The assistant foreman had not expected Forte to work so quickly. He said in surprise, "You're quite strong. Looks like you could handle some terrifying magical beasts! How about this? There's an area deeper in this cave where quite a few magical beasts are gathered, and the path is extremely difficult to traverse. Many stonemasons don't dare take that route. Can you go through it and check the condition of the road? And if you can, take care of the magical beasts along the way too. What do you say?"
This was exactly what Forte had hoped for! At that very moment, he was holding the magic map, which showed that there was a Resonance Stone inside this cave!
If he could explore the route while working, that meant Forte had a chance to come into contact with the Resonance Stone. So he agreed, "All right! I'll go check that path right away."
Following the path the assistant foreman had indicated, Forte walked onward. The