Chapter 82: Let’s Go to the Mine
Today, I decided to take on a job at the Adventurer’s Guild. Yesterday, after ordering a dress, I ventured outside the city to magically renovate our Camping House.
By the way, the dress will be ready for a fitting in a week, and it will be completed a week after that. I can hardly contain my excitement.
The Camping House originally had only a bathroom and a bedroom, but now it has evolved into a two-story, two-bedroom layout. Rio’s growth in Magic Power knows no bounds; she can now effortlessly open an entrance to a Dimensional Box large enough for a soccer game. While I can’t quite reach that level, I have no trouble with the logistics of bringing the Camping House in and out. Preparedness is key, so I created another Camping House and stored them in our respective Dimensional Boxes.
“Wow, there are a lot of people at this hour,” I remarked.
Finally, I made it to the guild in the morning. It was bustling with adventurers vying for quests, and the area in front of the request board was crowded.
“How about we check out the mine today?” I suggested.
“The mine? Not the Forest?” Rio replied, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“I guess I’m a bit tired of the Forest…” I admitted, though the real reason was a secret from Rio. I wasn’t even sure if I could create anything there.
“Ahaha. Well, I think that’s fine. By the way, I don’t recall seeing any mines or caves in the Forest of Enchantment.”
“Exactly! That’s why I’m curious about what it’s like.”
As I looked at the request board again, I noticed there were ongoing requests for iron ore from the mine. It seemed they were always accepting submissions.
“Speaking of which, I wonder what else can be mined besides iron ore?”
“Shall we ask one of the staff members?”
And so, our work for the day was decided. We gathered information from the staff about precautions in the mine, the types of monsters that might appear, and the ores that could be collected. After leaving the guild, we equipped ourselves with mining tools and headed toward the mine through the eastern gate.
“I ended up buying a pickaxe without thinking, but was it really necessary?” I pondered aloud, striking my fists together while wearing gauntlets.
“Well, I think I’m doing a decent job of pretending to be a novice adventurer,” I mused.
Rio chuckled softly, and I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh in response. I could probably break through walls with just my fists, so why did I even buy the pickaxe?
“If I strike the wall with the sharp end of the pickaxe, I’m sure I can achieve some delicate control…”
“Can you?”
“I have no idea.”
When I admitted that honestly, our eyes met, and we both burst into laughter.
We were now on the uphill path leading to the mine. Other adventurers were also making their way there, but it was still early enough that we didn’t encounter anyone returning from the mine.
“Still…”
“Is something wrong?” Rio asked, noticing my distraction.
It seemed she hadn’t realized it yet. At this point, I was facing a phenomenon that was hard to dismiss as mere coincidence.
Since the day before yesterday, when we left the Mimina Trading Company, it felt like someone had been following us. I had thought it was impossible to identify someone just by their presence, but recently, I had started to distinguish between them. Perhaps my earlier experience with being scammed had made me wish I could use Presence Detection to identify people.
When we left the Mimina Trading Company, I hadn’t thought much of it. When they followed us to the Rashiyu Trading Company, I considered it a coincidence, but now that it was happening again today, it felt suspicious.
“So far, there hasn’t been any harm, but it’s unsettling,” I confessed.
“Really? Should we ask them directly?” Rio suggested.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I still think it could be dismissed as coincidence.”
“That’s true. If they play dumb, it might end there.”
“Exactly.”
“You mentioned you could identify who it was with Presence Detection, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, can’t you detect where they’re going?”
“Ah, that might be a bit tricky.”
“Is that so?”
As we walked up the slope toward the mine, I continued to converse with Rio. The presence behind us remained constant. They kept a distance just out of sight, but they were well within the range of my Presence Detection, rendering their stealth ineffective.
“I can sense where the presence is, but pinpointing its location on the city map is difficult,” I explained.
Since we had just arrived in the city, I didn’t have the layout memorized. It wasn’t like a game where you could see your current location.
“I see. I thought you were skilled enough to handle anything. …Oh, maybe there’s a skill for that?”
“Wait, what?”
“Ahaha! It’s just a random thought. But if such a skill existed, it would be super handy!”
Ah, the Map Skill… I had thought it would be useful if I could acquire it. Until now, I had only considered my own abilities and magical skills, but I had assumed that skills directly related to the world’s system were beyond my reach. It felt like something that deviated from my own capabilities.
…But if I said that, then what about the Appraisal Skill? The ability to know things I didn’t know was baffling. If that was the case, then the Map Skill could very well exist!
“Hey, Shuu?”
I reflected on the path we had taken. I felt I had explored a decent area around my master’s home in the Forest of Enchantment. After that, I had visited several towns and even destroyed a castle. But that aside…
“Well… I guess I’ll just have to give it a shot.”
I wasn’t particularly directionally challenged, so it might be worth trying. If the Map Skill displayed icons for allies, neutrals, and enemies, that would be the ultimate tool. Perhaps I could aim for that in the end. I felt a surge of motivation!