“You went out of your way to tell us about this, huh? I didn’t know you guys were so concerned about your comrades.”
The dwarves who had been invited to investigate the new mining site laughed, as if joking.
Rather than being concerned about comrades, it was more about their own safety.
Even if their share of the haul was slightly reduced, it’s better to mine safely.
“This is it. It doesn’t seem to be collapsed and buried, but be careful.”
“It doesn’t look like it would collapse easily, but still, I can’t believe you found this place.”
The hole, located in the crevice of jagged rocks, was so hard to spot that if we didn’t know where it was, we might easily have missed it.
I didn’t want to admit that we found it by accident, or rather, because I almost fell into it, so I glossed over the explanation and proceeded inside.
“We’re already finding magic stones right after entering…”
Perhaps because they had only half-listened to what was said, the dwarves, who had been in a light-hearted mood as if drinking, now looked around the cave with serious expressions.
It was understandable. As soon as we entered, large veins of magic stones were visible in the walls.
“Last time we prioritized getting out and didn’t take the magic stones there.”
“So it’s untouched, huh… Still, impressive.”
Had we taken the magic stones there, we wouldn’t have returned empty-handed. But in that situation, we were too pressed for time to even think about it.
While it seemed safe to mine here, the amount of magic stones available, though plentiful, could be exhausted in just a few mining trips.
That’s how rare magic stone deposits are.
That’s why I wanted to secure all the magic stones that might still be hidden in this cave.
“Let’s go. Stay alert.”
“Yeah. But… I don’t see anywhere that looks like it could collapse so easily. Are you sure it was due to old age?”
That was something that had been on my mind too.
Ever since we returned safely from here, I’ve thought about it many times, and while we were excited to find the place, we weren’t so reckless that we ignored safety.
Still, we had to stay vigilant, especially when entering a completely unknown mine.
“But the collapse did happen. Big rocks fell, and if this guy hadn’t been here, we might have been buried alive.”
“Maybe the deeper parts are more unstable.”
We reached the spot where the collapse had occurred and proceeded with extra caution, checking our surroundings as we moved.
Our pace slowed, but fortunately, the site wasn’t too far away.
We reached the collapse site, making sure to secure our safety along the way.
“This is it… These rocks are pretty big. Hard to believe six of these fell and we came out unscathed.”
“We were lucky to avoid being hit directly. But still, something’s off…”
“Yeah, this is solid. I don’t think the whole area is about to collapse.”
“But these rocks are here, so the collapse definitely happened. We don’t even know where they came from…”
“What’s up? Did you find something?”
One of the group members stopped mid-sentence, scanning the area around him.
I called out to him, sensing something was off, and he narrowed his eyes, staring into the distance.
“It’s hard to see in the dark, but what’s that…? It looks like some kind of artificial object.”
“You’re right… It looks like a mechanism made of iron.”
“It’s likely part of the equipment used when this was a mine, maybe from back then.”
“No… that looks like something meant to hang something up.”
Hang something…?
There was no sign of the rock that had fallen before.
Could it be…?
“Was this rock part of a trap…?”
“A trap? For what?”
“To protect the magic stones?”
“But there’s no one here.”
No, that’s not it.
It’s not that the trap exists because no one’s here, but rather that it might have been a trap used when someone was here.
“It’s likely a trap used in the past to deal with intruders…”
“So, that trap is still active, and we happened to trigger it.”
“If someone’s still around, we were the perfect prey, trapped by the rockfall. The fact that no one came for us until we escaped suggests that this place is probably abandoned.”
While I was fumbling with the rocks, they could have easily arrived here.
And if they were to catch or deal with us, it would have been easy, especially since I was the only one who could move properly at the time.
“But to think they’d set up such a deadly trap…”
“A trap filled with hostility toward the magic stones… Maybe this was a mine abandoned by a Demon Lord?”
“It’s strange that other races would create a mine in our territory, especially the demons.”
The atmosphere grew tense.
Now that we knew it was likely the demons, we felt less hesitation about taking all the resources. However, if there were a lot of them, even our group might be in danger.
We weren’t weak, but the unknown number of demons was unsettling.
If this place had been abandoned, our worries would be unfounded, but we had to proceed even more carefully now.
◇
“Magic ore… Hey, how about we take some of this back with us?”
“I get what you’re saying, but our priority is to fully understand the layout of this place.”
After advancing a few times, we find points where magic stones, ores, and even magic ores can be gathered. We add these to our hand-drawn map, continuing deeper and deeper into the cave.
“Still, the structure here seems incredibly sturdy. That rockfall might have been a trap after all.”
The one leading the way says this while looking at the ceiling and walls.
It seems we’ve been too focused on whether the ceiling will collapse or if rocks will fall on us.
There’s a loud impact sound, like metal colliding with metal, beneath the feet of the person ahead. Shortly after, a scream echoes through the cave.
“Damn it!! I got caught!!”
“What is this!? Is this a trap aimed at large beasts or monsters’ feet!?”
The jagged, sharp metals were originally designed to fit together perfectly. However, now they are separating as one of our comrades’ feet is caught between them.
“I’ll pull you out! Hold on!”
“Ahhh!!”
The pain of the metal being pulled from his injured foot causes our strong comrade to scream in agony.
What was that? Was it just a bear trap? Was it meant to catch a monster that wandered into this mine?
Or perhaps… was it meant to injure any intruders other than the demon race who entered this mine?
“I’m glad we brought healing potions.”
“Sorry… Damn it! Why would something like this be here!?”
The comrade who got caught in the trap doesn’t shrink back in fear, but instead, seems to be filled with anger as he continues forward.
It’s dangerous like that. Thinking so, the others switch positions to the front.
Not only should we be wary of rockfalls, but we also need to be cautious of the traps set in the floor…
We proceed cautiously, with slower steps than before.
“There are still traps, but it’s clear no one is here anymore.”
“Yeah, we haven’t seen any other creatures up to this point.”
We continue. We have to explore further to understand the full scope of this mine, which is far larger than we imagined when we first discovered it.
Suddenly, something catches my attention at my feet.
The floor is dark, and unpaved. It looks like a shadow, or perhaps a change in color. I think it’s probably just the shadow of a rock.
In fact, the comrade leading the way probably thought the same and overlooked it… This groove.
“Something’s here! Get back!”
Ah… In the heat of the moment, the warning was insufficient.
Who was I speaking to? What should we move away from? I hadn’t conveyed it clearly.
So, everyone hesitated for a moment and tried to retreat from the spot.
But during that brief moment, I saw a disc-shaped saw rise from the groove where my comrade had been standing.
“Ahhh!!”
“Hey, stay with me!!”
I use all the healing potions I have on him.
I’m not sure if the warning had any effect, but fortunately, he wasn’t completely bisected.
However, one of his legs was completely severed, and I could see it lying on the floor.
“With this quality, we can’t heal the missing limb!”
“As long as he doesn’t die, that’s fine! First, we have to close the wound!”
We certainly didn’t bring the highest-grade healing potions.
The lost leg won’t grow back, but we should be able to heal the wound itself.
“Hah… Hah…”
Breathing heavily from the pain, he collapses where he stands.
It’s understandable. None of us have ever experienced losing a limb.
“…This is beyond us. We can’t handle it any further.”
“Are you saying we have to give up…?”
I can understand both perspectives.
It’s beyond our abilities. There’s no doubt now that the traps set here are cruel and vicious, meaning this place was probably once a stronghold of the Demon King.
It’s possible there are no demons here anymore.
Even if this place was abandoned, the fact that the traps are still functioning is a huge problem.
At the same time, it’s true that many of the mining spots we’ve found so far have been very attractive.
Should we just collect the stones from the place we found? It might be the best decision, considering the worst-case scenario.
However, the further we go, the better the quantity and quality of the stones.
We must kill the Demon King and the demons. To do that, we absolutely need those magic ores.
But this is clearly a dangerous dungeon.
Should we give up? While I’m considering this, I find a treasure chest that I missed earlier.
“A treasure chest… If there’s something like this, I don’t want to give up just yet.”
Opening it reveals a sealed container of liquid.
Is it a healing potion or something? Since I’ve never seen this liquid, I decide to smell it first.
“…It smells like alcohol.”
“Alcohol, huh. Should we drink it?”
Of course, the others suggest this without hesitation.
The alcohol found in a treasure chest in an abandoned place.
We don’t even know how old this alcohol is, but no one is cautious about it.
“Anything that comes from a treasure chest shouldn’t be spoiled.”
Since that’s the general rule, this alcohol should be safe to drink.
The problem is whether we’ll be able to make it back safely after drinking it…
“This isn’t cheap stuff. I can’t resist it here.”
With those words, we all ended up drinking the alcohol we found.
“Dammit, looks like we’ll have to ask for help from other races…”
If it were just ores, we could probably find a different way.
We could even get magic stones from the elves.
So, there’s no way we can’t get magic ores, too.
But this alcohol is something else.
Which country sells this kind of high-purity alcohol that directly contains magical power?
If we can get this alcohol, I don’t care about the petty negotiations between races.
From now on, we’ll fully investigate this dungeon.
◇
“We didn’t fall into the cage, huh?”
“That seems to have been unlucky for those guys, doesn’t it? What was up with that trap? I’ve never seen a trap like that—one simple snare being that troublesome, that’s not the kind of trap I know.”
“But isn’t that exactly what a snare is supposed to do?”
“Seeing a tough dwarf scream like that, there’s no way that’s normal.”
“Is that how it is?”
“…Maybe, just like how intelligent monsters or surprisingly fruitful fields are sometimes different, maybe traps have also been powered up somehow.”
“Dungeon Master skill. Could it be that everything it can do is not just cheaper than before, but also more effective?”
“If that’s the case, it really is a skill with good fuel efficiency… To make the most of such a fuel-efficient skill, I should increase my magic power.”
“It seems like the dwarves are asking other races for help, so it would be nice if that dungeon could thrive too…”
“By the way, that liquor was made by Primilla , right?”
“Yes. It’s made from liquor fruit and magic fruit. I’m good with water, so…”
“That’s impressive… The dwarves were fighting over it, drinking it all up.”
“I’m good at it.”
Primilla , who looked unusually proud, certainly had every reason to be proud. If it’s her, she will probably continue to supply high-quality and stable alcohol and medicine in the future.
