“Borland. How far have you been?”
“If you go down a little further, there is a shelter called the square. I used to go there often. Anything beyond that is a bit scary, even if it’s me.”
“Then, shall we go there first?”
We walked along the tracks in the dark abandoned mine. Borland stood at the front, holding a lamp that miners used, followed by Caspal and I, Ver and Ethel in the middle, and Katyusha and Dimitri in the back, preparing for a surprise attack from behind.
“Would you like to go for a ride? It’s fun because it feels like an adventure.”
Borland said to Caspal, patting the wrecked wagon with his foot. Certainly, the scene of running through a mine in a wagon is a standard in adventure movies. To be honest, I want to try it once.
“Sounds like an idiot. Who’s having fun with that?”
“… … Well, I’m not here to play. Do it next time.”
It’s not too bad. really.
There was no threat until we reached the square. Katyusha, who was following her, sensed the movement and threw a knife that pierced several bats, but nothing happened.
“… … What the hell is that tent for?”
“Of course it’s my tent.”
In the middle of a fairly large plaza, a yellow tent stood surrealistically. It is a complete opposite of the dark and somber landscape of an abandoned mine, and you naturally laugh at it.
“Sometimes I fall asleep. It’s nice because it’s cool in the summer.”
“… … I don’t know where to start. You are such a great guy.”
“Suddenly, you’re all complimenting me.”
“It’s not a compliment.”
Caspal and Borland exchange sitcom-like conversations.
In any case, we have secured a foothold within the abandoned mines.
After defeating the undead in the tent, we roughly organized our luggage around the base. Exploring abandoned mines is not an overnight task. You have to be prepared for the attack step by step.
“Prince.”
“Is it Dimitri?”
As I was sitting next to the tent and cleaning my sword stained with undead bodily fluids, Dimitri started talking to me. It was a rather tense voice.
“Have you seen the ceiling over there?”
“ceiling?”
I got up and looked where Dimitri was pointing.
“that… … .”
In the middle of the plaza’s high ceiling, there were three huge lines of scars, as if someone had scratched them. The mark was large enough to be recognizable even in this dim light.
“Are those claw marks?”
“I think so too.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the scar. Then I opened my hand and roughly measured the length.
“… … Isn’t that too big though? It’s almost the size of a dinosaur.”
It’s a rough estimate, but it’s so big that I’m at a loss for words. It was so large that it was questionable whether a creature of this size could live here.
“At that level, it can’t even compare to the wolf monsters I met in Saratov.”
“I hope there is something wrong. I guess that makes no sense.”
It’s not that I’m particularly scared, but fighting something like that and being buried when an abandoned mine collapses is a no-brainer. Assuming that this square appears, about 50% of it is filled with black beasts.
“Borland, you said you’d seen a black dog before, right? Were you that big?”
I asked Borland, pointing to the ceiling. Borland had just loaded the undead corpse into the luggage compartment and pushed it away.
“What do you mean? ceiling… … ? what is that? There are some kind of claw marks.”
“Didn’t you know? Didn’t you say you came here often?”
“I didn’t know because I don’t have the habit of looking at the ceiling. It looks like it was scratched by a beast.”
Borland looked up at the ceiling and tilted his head. It was really the first time I saw it.
“Is that the black dog you saw left behind?”
“no way. Not that. not that big How could I have slept here because I was scared if I knew that such a thing existed? The dog I saw was of normal size.”
Borland waved his hand and denied it. Actually, I pitched a tent and slept well. The more I look at it, the more I manage to live until now.
“Then what should I think of that?”
“… … There is a possibility that there are several black beasts.”
Caspal shared a cup of black tea with Katyusha and said. When Katyusha called, Ethel and Verdo came closer, and it felt like a small tea party. Although the place is a dark abandoned mine.
“Well, it is not impossible. Divided from one entity or originally multiple entities. There is no law against it.”
Ethel sipped her tea and agreed with Caspal. I inadvertently thought that there would be only one very large one, but I think it was a prejudice.
From noble mtl dot com
“Then, would it be better to think that there is a small black beast and a large black beast that left that scar on the ceiling? Quite annoying.”
“First of all, it’s better to prepare for the worst case scenario.”
“It might be a tougher fight than I thought.”
Caspal and Dimitri agreed, not too brightly. Borland was busy drinking black tea while saying the same thing about the tea that nobles drink.
“Um, I came here only to hear about the investigation of the abandoned mine, but since yesterday, only unusual stories have been coming out? I’m not involved in anything very dangerous, I… … ?”
Ver, who had been silently listening to the story, asked with a trembling voice.
“Isn’t it too late to notice?”
“I can’t go back now.”
“… … Honestly, I feel like an idiot for being a little excited. I was so excited that I brought my pajamas.”
Vera lowered her head and let out a deep sigh. Looking at it, I thought it might have been better to just leave it at Caspal’s house. It’s actually of no use at all.
“Then I’ll set up a barrier for now. If there is such a big thing, I can’t because I’m scared now… … .”
As soon as he thought it was useless, Ver took out something like chalk from his bosom and said, as if to deny him.
“A barrier, did you know you could make something like that?”
“of course. In alchemy, magic circle skills are also important, so you can create barriers to some extent. Although not as good as Senior Fromm.”
When the name of Fromm suddenly came out of Ver’s mouth, Dimitri sipped black tea. Katyusha, who was nearby, quickly handed Dimitri a handkerchief.
“B-Ber. Did you know Fromm?”
“We are in the same class. He’s my favorite senior. When a flask exploded in the past and my hand was tattered, he treated me well without leaving a scar.”
To Dimitri’s question, Ver answered in a rare pleasant voice. The content is not enjoyable at all.
“hmm. surely. Because Fromm is good at healing magic.”
“Even though the image of the other side is bigger for us.”
Fromm in our heads was hard to imagine because the image of a torture technician who overtreated until his hands rotted came first. To be honest, rather than treating them kindly, I think much better of them snapping their fingers one by one and threatening to tell them something they don’t know.
“Don’t be too friendly.”
“… … ? I think he’s a good person. For now, I’ll set up a barrier around the plaza and come back.”
Ber tilted his head in disbelief and stood up.
“Please. But what barrier?”
“The barrier of approach detection and purification. And a little device just in case.”
After a brief explanation, Ver started drawing a magic circle, starting from the end of the plaza. I was wondering what the device was for just in case, but it didn’t seem easy to draw a barrier that covered the entire plaza, so I decided not to disturb it for now.
It was night. I took the third shift and stood vigil.
Everyone said there was no need for me to do it. Since I was comfortable in a place like this, I pushed myself to just do it. The last time I took a break during the Saratov remnant subjugation, now I was a little bit worried.
‘Still, I didn’t know it would take time in the middle of the most tiring day.’
Now that I’m on my watch, it’s a little past 3:00, the most vague time in my watch, and the vaguest time to wake up.
It was a bit like saying that I would do it and then saying I didn’t like the time zone. In addition, Borland, who still did not know that I was the crown prince, got caught in the previous round, so I woke up with a merciless knock on the pillow. I was genuinely annoyed, but I endured it.
‘What can I say… … . It reminds me of not-so-fun times.’
I was disturbed by various thoughts. The situation is also a situation, but there was something in the sunken air of the abandoned mine that made people emotional.
How long have you been absent-mindedly vigilant?
‘I don’t think anything will happen, but should I just go to sleep… … ?!’
As I nodded my head at the rushing drowsiness and slowly felt the limit of my patience, I felt the air flow change.
I woke up from sleep and looked around.
‘… … what? Something is coming. I can feel it.’
The plaza we used as our base is connected by three passageways.
The passage we came in and the passage opposite it, a small dog hole at the top that was created naturally. The current was blowing simultaneously from the passage on the opposite side and the dog hole above.
‘No, it’s not the air flow. This… … It’s the flow of magical power.’
Concentrating on my senses, I realized that I was mistaken. It wasn’t air flowing in.
It was the magic of chaos, as heavy and low as the air of this abandoned mine.
With my daughter, my daughter and my daughter… … .
“!”
A bell rang out somewhere. I looked around cautiously and saw that a wooden stick with a bell hanging from it was inserted into the center of the barrier drawn by Ber.
‘Is it the barrier of approach detection? You did a good job, Ver.’
If I leave it alone, my comrades will wake up. And you will be able to fight those with chaotic magic that come together.
However, somehow I didn’t feel like it.
‘… … .’
I approached the center of the barrier. The bell jingled slowly, giving off a small warning signal. It might be a bit too quiet to wake everyone up.
After a bit of thought, I opened the bell hanging from the wooden stick.
‘This is enough for me alone. You don’t have to wake everyone up.’
Although the square is wide, it is too small for 7 people to fight. Waking everyone up here and moving around in a hurry will only interfere with each other.
‘… … no. Actually, it’s just an excuse.’
I shook my head. It’s honestly an excuse. My comrades don’t fight so badly that they get in the way of each other.
‘I’m just.’
There is only one reason why I stopped the drops.
‘I just want to rampage properly.’
I turned my head and looked at the exit where magic power was gradually approaching. The undead were approaching with the sound of footsteps dragging the ground.
“Ego.”
He pulled out the sword he was wearing at his waist. The undead were not alone.
“I personally see you,”
welcome sea. The more you can cut, the better.
“I will kill you one more time.”
Don’t run wild with all your might.