“Alright, heave-ho.”
The shallow layer of the ant nest was quite narrow for me to pass through.
I made my body as thin as possible, wriggling my way forward.
“Aren’t you going to undo that magic?”
Fiss, walking behind me, asked.
“W-well, yeah. It consumes 〖Mana〗 every time I switch it on and off, so it’s better to just leave it on…”
I made up that excuse on the spot.
She didn’t seem very interested in the first place, and she easily accepted it.
“…Ah, this place looks like it has good Mana Minerals.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The 〖Mana〗 is a bit dense.”
When I concentrated as she said, it did seem to have a slightly higher concentration.
“You found it well.”
“I’ve been a miner since I was a kid, so it’s only natural I can do this much.”
“The difference in experience, huh?”
I only started focusing on 〖Mana〗 perception after I started training with Paula, so I’m still quite inexperienced.
“…Wait, if you were a kid, then Fiss, you’re still a kid, right…?”
“Excuse me. I am already sixteen years old. I am an adult.”
“Eh, you’ve been working in the mines since you were younger than sixteen?”
“…Yes. My father and mother died when I was eight, and I’ve been a miner ever since.”
…Did I ask a bit too much?
“…………”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind my circumstances. Thanks to my 〖Attribute〗, mining isn’t hard, and I’m not having trouble making a living. So, Kouya, you don’t have to worry about it.”
“…Sorry… By the way, what’s your 〖Attribute〗, Fiss?”
I asked that to change the subject.
“Mine is a 〖Second Canon〗 of 〖Physical Attribute〗. It’s a unique 〖Attribute〗 that governs the body, and I can use abilities and magic that enhance physical functions.”
That’s why she’s good at physical labor, Fiss gestured as if swinging a pickaxe.
By the way, she threw away her pickaxe while escaping, so she doesn’t have it now.
We skipped the place with the dense 〖Mana〗 we found earlier and were still moving through the nest.
We just reached a fork in the road.
“– It seems like there are Demon Beasts on this path. I can hear footsteps.”
“Is that also the power of your 〖Attribute〗?”
“Yeah, I have better hearing than other people.”
Fiss said that and was about to go down the east path, but I stopped her.
“The town is to the northwest, right? Then we should go west. Besides, it’s better to confirm my combat ability so we can proceed with peace of mind, right?”
“…That makes sense. It’s probably just a 〖Lesser Beast〗 anyway, let’s go west.”
As we climbed a gentle slope, three Steel Ants appeared.
Before they could even get into a battle stance after seeing us, I approached and attacked.
I sharpened my body into a spear shape and thrust three times, annihilating them in an instant.
“No way…”
“Well, that’s about it.”
“You’re really strong, aren’t you?”
Fiss, who had come closer, said in surprise. It seems she now trusted my abilities.
And so, we continued through the Steel Ant nest.
“How did it come to this…”
Some time had passed since we re-entered the ant nest.
Fiss and I were standing on the ground, dumbfounded.
“It’s hot…”
Yes, it was hot. It was hotter than the place we were before entering the ant nest.
Even though it should have been a chilly evening, it felt like midday.
“That’s a volcano… right?”
White smoke was rising from the mountains in front of us.
Against the twilight sky, white streaks rose like an industrial area.
The reason we ended up in a place like this is, well, there are very, very complicated circumstances that can’t be explained in a single word.
However, if I were to put it extremely simply, it would be, “We got lost.”
“I failed… Ant nests aren’t like mine shafts, the structure is distorted, and the paths are winding, there’s no way I could reach the destination with just my 〖Sense of Direction〗… And to make matters worse, we came out at the border of the Scorching Zone…”
“Scorching Zone?”
“? You don’t even know about the zones?”
“I really came here with nothing, I’m ashamed. If you don’t mind, could you give me a lecture, senpai?”
“Going into the mountains without gathering information is reckless.”
I could feel Fiss’s gaze of exasperation, but she didn’t seem to be suspicious.
Maybe it was good that I answered, “I tried entering the mountain for a test and got lost,” when she asked why I was at the collapse site.
Anyway, she started explaining, so I listened.
“First, the Goronomua Mountains are divided into four zones.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“The safest of them is the General Zone. Everyone mines here. Demon Beasts appear normally, but if you’re as strong as Kouya, you don’t have to worry about it.”
It seems to be a low-risk, low-return place.
“South of that General Zone… in the center of these mountains is the Twilight Zone. The 〖Mana〗 is especially dense, and it’s easy to find rare Mana Minerals, but it’s the most dangerous zone, teeming with 〖Dire Beasts〗. If you want to enter, you should hire a guard adventurer.”
This Twilight Zone must be where I was before I fell into the ant nest.
It seems good to think of the 〖Mana〗 there as being between the Ferocious Beast Zone and the Feral Beast Zone.
“And this Scorching Zone is east of the Twilight Zone… or rather, northeast? It’s shaped like it’s encroaching on the General Zone. This place is probably the junction of the three zones.”
I see.
Certainly, the 〖Mana〗 around here is thinner than in the Twilight Zone. Still, it’s about the level of the Long Beast Domain.
“But that doesn’t mean the Scorching Zone is safer than the Twilight Zone. One reason is that there’s a volcano and lava flowing. Also, there’s a 〖Feral Beast〗 in the deepest part, so going too far is strictly prohibited.”
“There’s a 〖Feral Beast〗!?”
I couldn’t help but ask back.
One of the purposes of coming to these mountains was to subjugate a 〖Feral Beast〗. If there’s information, I want to know.
“Yes. There’s a 〖Feral Beast〗 called ‘Flame Sea’ in the Scorching Zone… or so I’ve heard.”
“Do you know its abilities or appearance?”
“It’s a salamander that manipulates lava, and it’s said to be the strongest 〖Feral Beast〗 in the mines, but other than that… If you’re active in the General Zone, you won’t encounter it. Also, if you do encounter it, you’ll die even if you have information.”
She stated it clearly.
She’s not an adventurer, so I guess that’s how it is. It’s enough to hear that it’s the strongest.
“Then what about the other 〖Feral Beasts〗? Do you know where any of them are?”
“Well, in the last zone, the Colossus Zone, there’s a Golem 〖Feral Beast〗. I heard it’s been alive since these mines were discovered.”
“Huh, where is that zone?”
“The southern part of the Goronomua Mountains. It’s further south than the Twilight Zone, where the 〖Mana〗 becomes thin.”
“…Huh? What do you mean? There’s a 〖Feral Beast〗, but the 〖Mana〗 is thin?”
Demon Beasts usually move to places with denser 〖Mana〗 as they get stronger.
“I don’t know the reason. It’s just that it’s been there since a long time ago. There’s an incredibly strong Golem in the western part of the Colossus Zone, so I heard that’s why a town isn’t built there.”
In addition, it seems that strong Mana Minerals can’t be mined in the Colossus Zone.
There was once a plan to build a mining city there, but due to distribution and geographical reasons, the functions were concentrated in Minefa, the mining city where Fiss lives.
“The remaining two are both in the Twilight Zone. There’s a Gargoyle called ‘Hanji’ at the summit, and a Steel Ant called ‘Steel Castle’ underground.”
“Hoh…”
The Steel Ant 〖Feral Beast〗 must be the Queen Ant I defeated.
So there’s also a Gargoyle 〖Feral Beast〗.
Once I deliver Fiss, I’ll hunt either “Hanji” or “Flame Sea” first.
“Alright, thanks for telling me a lot. Let’s get going soon.”
“Even if we go now, we’ll just get lost again. It’s already late, we should sleep today.”
“No, we won’t go through the ant nest this time. We’ll cross this mountain range. If we just follow our 〖Sense of Direction〗, we should be fine, right? You can sleep while we move, Fiss. I’ll carry you to the town.”
“It’s scary to be carried while sleeping. I’d like it to be tomorrow.”
“…That’s true.”
I wouldn’t get hurt even if I was attacked while sleeping, but that’s not normal.
If I thought about her getting hit by a stray bullet, I wouldn’t be able to relax.
I have to make sure I don’t forget my human senses, even though I’ve been a Jewel Slime for a long time.
“Then let’s go to sleep quickly.”
“Huh? Aren’t we going to eat dinner?”
“I have the characteristics of a 〖Physical Attribute〗, so I’m fine even if I don’t eat or drink for a while. There’s no way we can prepare anything here…”
“No, I actually have a little bit.”
As I said that, I took out Mana Fruits on wooden skewers from my 〖Weapon Storage〗.
In terms of 〖Skill〗 judgment, they are hammers with wooden handles and Mana Fruit heads.
I brought about a few dozen from my hometown forest so I wouldn’t run out of 〖Mana〗, but I didn’t need them anymore after getting the Mana Crystal.
I never thought they would come in handy like this.
“〖Azure Jade Attribute〗, right? It’s a very convenient ability.”
“It is, right? But I think your 〖Attribute〗 is strong too, Fiss.”
The 〖Azure Jade Attribute〗 is a fake 〖Attribute〗 name I came up with on the fly.
I’ve decided that the various 〖Skills〗 I use are all considered Azure Jade magic.
After that, the white-haired girl ate a few Mana Fruits and fell asleep.
–The incident occurred late at night.