Cold. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Under the cover of ice and snow, even rivers and lakes are inevitably frozen.

Walking along the stream, the one-meter-thick ice made Akai and I want to fish in our free time in the winter and nullify our sentiments (just to pass the time, right, what do you say so nicely!). ）。

Originally, I also tried to make a hole in the ice, so I heard that it would make the sun shine like water and attract fish.

The idea was good, but Akai and I gave up on fishing in the ice after watching me smash the huge fireball on the ice and not lose a single hair.

How can I fish without powerful tools that I can't break through with magic?

That's why Akai and I will go out again to explore the abandoned mine indicated on the map.

To put it bluntly, it means that there is nothing to do when you are full, and you are idle when you are idle.

We had already walked through it several times, so this time Akai and I made a very quick way through the creeper forest, and after a short time of exploration, Akai and I arrived at the entrance of the abandoned mine in the afternoon.

"Wow, what an eerie feeling." As I looked at the pitch-black entrance, I couldn't help but think of the same dark horrors that Akai and I had explored when we first came to this world.

"This must be the mine dug by the villagers who used to live on the edge of the nearby desert." Akai spoke uncertain words in a sure tone.

"So, do you want to go in now?" I turned my head and asked Akai for his opinion.

"It's all here, let's go." Akai took the torch from his backpack and walked in first.

"Really, what are you doing in such a hurry?" Shaking my head helplessly, I held a fireball in my hand and followed Akai into the dark mine.

――――――――I was almost caught in the dividing line――――――――

The mine was abandoned for a short time, and Akai and I walked along the way, seeing some ore that hadn't been mined yet.

But now that we're here, we'll be able to smile at the ore that hasn't been mined yet.

There was no light in the abandoned mine, so it was probably removed, and it was pitch black from beginning to end.

Akai and I planted torches along the way, and we finally lit up some of the surroundings.

The mine is well connected in all directions, and I often encounter many forks in the road, all the way down. I think that the villagers often come to this place to mine, so after many years, such a mine road is formed in all directions.

ding！ ding！ ding！

With a swing of his pickaxe, Akai knocked a pitch-black object from the wall, which was coal.

The villagers do not seem to have much demand for coal and iron, and we can see traces of coal and iron everywhere in this mine.

Of course, this seems to be cheaper for us, and coal and iron are far more attractive to us than the villagers are gold, which is of little use.

Akai and I were like autumn winds sweeping away leaves, mining and exploring, choosing to explore one of the forks in the road first, and sealing the road with dirt or cobblestone when we were done.

"Ahem!"

With a wave of his hand, Akai struggled to crawl out of the pile of gravel, having been accidentally buried by the gravel falling from above during the excavation.

"Be careful." I immediately went to help, took out a shovel and shoveled the grit away.

"Ahem, that's bad luck."

Nowadays we have to wear helmets every time we go to the mines, just like miners' hats. This is also to prevent the top of the head from being hit by something, and it is worn for safety.

Rao is like this, Akai, who was hit by such a large handful of gravel, also had a headache.

Gravel is not sand, gravel is much heavier than sand, after all, there is something like flint wrapped in it, and it hurts to be smashed.

I stayed by Akai's side and cast a healing spell on Akai.

After a while, with the recovery of the [Healing Technique], Akai's headache was reduced a lot, and it did not affect his movements, so we continued to move forward.

・・・・・・

In the long and boring process of exploration and mining, there will always be some surprises, such as now.

"Drink!" With a soft snort, a fireball took away the young life of a bat, but left me with nothing.

Bats, which are creatures that only live in shady places, are not monsters and have little attack power. However, when bats fly in swarms in the mines, I don't think anyone wants to go down.

This is the situation we are facing now.

A part of the mine, which had been abandoned by the villagers, was now occupied by a swarm of bats. As Akai and I passed by, the bats began to stir up due to the light of the fire.

"What a hassle! If you continue like this, you're going to have a phobia of intensity! Harassed by the swarm of bats, Akai wielded his iron sword to drive away these bats, because it was too dense, so even if he waved the iron sword in his hand indiscriminately, he would always shoot down a few.

The dead bat, like a monster, dissolved into pieces and disappeared into thin air.

But nothing was left, and our experience did not grow in the slightest.

"In other words, even if we clean up such a large group of bats, we won't get any benefit at all!" Akai suddenly realizes that he is doing something that has no reward.

"Stand down!" Realizing that this would not work, I told Akai to step back first.

"Oh!" Akai answered, reflexively hacked a few bats that tried to harass, and then retreated.

【Insect Swarming】!

In the narrow tunnels, dense insects are more lethal than bats!

Suddenly, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, and both sides were densely packed.

Eventually, the insects collided with the bats and fought each other.

But don't forget, the summoned creatures summoned by the [Insect Gathering Technique] are all condensed by magic!

Akai watched the battle from the sidelines, and after a while, I felt that my magic was almost restored, and I used the [Insect Gathering Technique] again.

In an instant, the scales on the field tipped in favor of the insects.

Half an hour later...

"Whew, it's finally over!" Looking at the emptied tunnel, Akai sighed.

"Let's go." I took my staff in my hand and walked forward.

Seeing this, Akai also put away his iron pickaxe, raised his bow and arrows, and followed behind me.

I sent them to the front to explore the way after the battle, but soon after the news came that the insects had died and dissipated into magic.

Realizing that something was ahead of us, Akai and I tensed up.

Perhaps, that's why the villagers gave up on the mine.

After a careful stroll, our horizons were a little wider than before.

"These are... cobwebs?" Akai held the torch and looked at the cobwebs in his eyes, and couldn't help but say in shock.

Suddenly, Akai's and I's pupils constricted.

One, two...

Scarlet is dense.

This is a spider's nest!

"Looks like we're in trouble."