"Well then, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
Upon arriving at our destination, we prepared to begin the investigation immediately. We currently stood before the entrance to one of the tunnels. However, the ground was almost entirely swallowed by tall weeds, and the exposed rock around the entrance was cloaked in thick vines. It was clear that no one had set foot here in a very long time.
Entering the tunnel with me were the Young Lady and her usual escort of four guards, led by Jill. The other guards had come along as well, but they were headed to a different tunnel to hunt monsters.
Furthermore, Reinhardt and the Madam were heading off as a pair, while Lord Reinbach intended to investigate a section entirely on his own.
When I asked if they would be alright, Jill and the others reassured me.
"Don't worry about them. Those three spent a portion of their youth traveling as adventurers. Lord Reinbach, in particular, earned significant military honors during past skirmishes with neighboring countries. A few monsters nesting in an abandoned mine this close to the city couldn't leave a single scratch on them."
"In all honesty, they don't even need guards like us," Camille added. "All three of them enjoy walking through the city unescorted, they're perfectly capable of looking after themselves, and as long as Sebas is around, they have everything they need. We didn't even accompany them when they went into town, remember?"
"Unlike most nobles, the Young Lady's family hates being ostentatious," Hughes said with a shrug. "They'll hire someone like me who lacks manners as long as they have the skills, and they've told us to speak casually so long as we aren't in a public setting or in front of other nobles."
It seemed all three were masters of either the blade or magic. I could sense their strength to some degree, but was it really okay for them to go alone? Well, I suppose it must be.
"Let’s do our best, Ryoma-san!"
The Young Lady usually wore dresses that—even to my untrained eye—were clearly made of simple but high-quality, expensive fabric. Today, however, she was dressed for action in a shirt and pants. Over that, she wore leather armor likely crafted from monster hide. She seemed incredibly fired up.
I wondered if her nerves had finally settled?
As we spoke, I saw the Madam waving at us from in front of another tunnel a short distance away. Perhaps she had overheard Elia’s voice? When we waved back, the Madam gave one final, grand wave before disappearing into the darkness with Reinhardt.
After seeing them off, we stepped into our own tunnel. Zeff took the lead, followed by Jill and Hughes. The Young Lady and I followed them, with Camille and my slimes bringing up the rear.
We walked in a single-file line. The interior of the tunnel was pitch black; after only a few dozen paces, the light from the entrance vanished entirely.
"Tch. Looks like the tunnel lamps are gone after all," Hughes grumbled.
"Probably stripped them to use in the East Mine, don't you think?" Zeff suggested.
"They are supposed to remain installed until the mine is officially decommissioned," Jill noted, his voice grim. "But looking at the state of the entrance, the management has been negligent. By repurposing the equipment from here, they could temporarily lower the operating costs of the East Mine."
"And the saved coin goes straight into their pockets, I'll bet," Hughes spat.
"It certainly invites that suspicion..." the Young Lady murmured.
"Regardless of the truth, it makes them easy targets for doubt. That is the fate of those who have squandered their trust. Young Lady, please be careful. 'Light'."
As Jill finished speaking, he cast the beginner light-attribute spell, creating a glowing orb.
The sphere of light floated above our heads, illuminating the gloomy tunnel. While the light didn't reach the deepest recesses, it was more than bright enough to see our immediate surroundings.
"Young Lady, Young Master, watch your step. The ground is uneven. This is a man-made tunnel, so it's unlikely, but dungeons often have traps. It’s the job of a scout like me to find those. This is a training exercise, so please, whatever you do, don't step out in front of us."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
We continued for a while until something came into view ahead. Zeff came to a halt, so we followed suit. Looking closely, I saw...
"A bug?"
There was an insect that looked remarkably like a praying mantis. However, its body was roughly the same size as mine—absurdly large for a mantis. It was undoubtedly a monster.
If that thing were a normal bug and not a monster, this place would be a living hell for anyone who hated insects.
"Can you see it, Young Master? That’s a Cave Mantis. It’s an insect-type monster. They have a habit of using those scythes on their arms to dig burrows or settling in existing caves and mines."
"Tch! A real nuisance has moved in..." Hughes muttered.
"Is it strong?" I asked.
"Not particularly," Zeff replied. "The scythes aren't that sharp and the shell is soft. If a miner found one, he could usually beat it to death with a pickaxe the moment he spotted it. The problem is they breed fast, so there's usually a lot of 'em. There's also a chance a superior species called a Blade Mantis might be mixed in. They look so much like Cave Mantises that they're hard to tell apart."
"A Blade Mantis's scythes are much sharper," Jill added. "If you're careless and fail to notice one mixed into the group, you can suffer unexpected injuries. Be on your guard."
"How do you tell them apart?"
"Blade Mantises are a tiny bit larger, though it’s not a huge difference," Zeff explained. "The only way to spot 'em quickly is through experience. Luckily, the one over there is just a Cave Mantis. I'll go pull it over; take a look at it up close."
Zeff approached the Cave Mantis alone and led it back once it noticed him. He then held its position where Elia and I could see, blocking its attacks with a small buckler.
"That is a Cave Mantis. Their scythe attacks are reasonably fast, so stay sharp."
"Young Lady," Hughes prompted, "take it down with magic while Zeff’s got it busy."
"No fire magic," Camille warned. "The smoke will have nowhere to go in these tunnels."
"I understand..."
"Anytime you're ready, Young Lady!" Zeff called out.
"In that case... 'Ice Arrow'! ...! 'Ice Arrow'!"
The Young Lady’s first Ice Arrow was dodged, but she successfully finished the Cave Mantis with a second shot fired immediately after.
"Your casting speed is acceptable, but you must strive for more precision in your aim," Jill coached.
"I understand."
We resumed our walk. About two minutes later, we encountered more Cave Mantises. This time, there were four of them.
"What do you think? The Young Lady took the last one, so I thought it should be Ryoma’s turn, but... is four at once too much?"
When asked, I simply replied that I would try.
"Be careful out there."
I nodded, drawing the two daggers at my waist and activating the no-attribute spell 'Physical Hardening'. As I dashed toward the Cave Mantises, one of them noticed me and reared up, raising its right scythe.
Before it could swing, I snapped my left foot out, kicking through the right foreleg that supported its weight. The joint shattered, and the Cave Mantis collapsed, its balance destroyed. I crushed its head under my right foot as I moved toward the second one.
The second mantis swung its left scythe. Timing the descent, I pivoted my body a quarter-turn counter-clockwise, dodging the blade by a hair’s breadth while my right dagger sliced through its joint. As I snapped my body back, I used the dagger in my left hand—held in a reverse grip—to take its head.
The third one was right behind it. I switched my left dagger to a standard grip, spun counter-clockwise to parry its scythe with my right blade, and closed the distance. I beheaded it with my left.
The fourth mantis swung its left scythe in a horizontal sweep aimed at my throat. By lunging inward, I bypassed the tip of the blade, caught the scythe with my right dagger, and severed the joint with my left. It tried to sweep with its right scythe next, but I caught that with my left and severed the joint with my right. With both its scythes gone, the monster had no way to resist, and I quickly took its head.
No problems there. The daggers didn't even have any nicks.
After confirming the kills, I returned to the group.
"Good work. Seems you've got no issues with close-quarters combat either," Hughes said. "Young Lady, insect monsters are tenacious. Never lower your guard until you've beheaded them or crushed the head like Ryoma did."
"I shall keep that in mind."
"Using hardening magic as a precaution was a sound judgment," Jill noted. "With that active, a Cave Mantis’s attacks wouldn't be a threat."
"You were wonderful, Ryoma-san."
I was used to insect monsters because of the Green Caterpillars in the Gana Forest. They were weak, but they had incredible vitality. If you spent your days catching them to feed your slimes, you got used to them whether you liked it or not.
With our first skirmish concluded, we continued deeper into the mine. After about ten minutes, the formation changed so that I walked in the lead with the Young Lady following, and we shared the combat duties for any monsters we encountered.
Our only enemies were Cave Mantises. It was becoming more like a repetitive extermination chore than actual combat training, so Jill and the others saw no issue with the arrangement... but as we progressed, the number of mantises increased. They began appearing in groups of four or five, and the gaps between encounters grew shorter.
This wasn't a problem for me.
"Hup!"
The Cave Mantises were truly weak.
However, the Young Lady was the concern. She used Ice Magic to snipe distant enemies, thinning the herd or weakening them before they reached us. Her support made my job much easier, but she seemed to be tiring, likely from the strain of repeated casting. I could feel the mana she used for each spell gradually increasing—a sign of waning control.
The four guards behind us would surely step in if things truly became dangerous, but still...
"'Playing Clay'."
"!?"
I used Earth Magic to seize the leg of a Cave Mantis as it lunged at me. It tripped, and I finished it off with a quick strike.
"Why don't we take a short break?" I suggested.
"Here, have some dried meat. Eating a bit will help you feel better," Hughes said, passing some over.
"Thank you very much."
The break was accepted without any argument.
We settled down to rest, deep in the tunnel, though we remained alert for any unseen threats. The 'Light' spell kept the area bright, and there seemed to be air vents connected somewhere, as the air didn't feel thin. It was a bit damp, but otherwise a perfectly fine environment for a rest.
"Are you all right, Young Lady?"
"Thank you for your concern. I still have plenty of strength and mana. But for some reason, I feel as though I am tiring more easily than usual."
"Combat in an unfamiliar environment is exceptionally draining," Camille advised. "It happens all the time, especially in places like this where it’s hard to track the passage of time. You just have to get used to it; that’s why we’re training. By the way, Ryoma-kun, are you doing okay?"
Camille turned toward me, but this environment felt quite familiar to me.
"My home was a bit like this," I replied.
"Ah, right. I forgot."
As Camille nodded in realization, Hughes spoke up as if a thought had just struck him.
"That reminds me, Ryoma. What was that magic you used to trip that mantis earlier? I could tell it was Earth Magic, but..."
"You mean 'Playing Clay'? It’s a spell that uses mana to temporarily turn soil or stone into a clay-like consistency."
Much like the 'Create Block' spell I had used during the landslide, it was a combination of two Earth Magic spells: 'Rock' and 'Break Rock'. It used Break Rock to crumble the medium while using Rock to maintain the bond between the particles. It was a utility spell I had created back when I was still struggling to use magic properly. I had given it the simple name 'Playing Clay' on a whim.
"Back then, I found it difficult to create the exact shapes I wanted with just a single cast of 'Rock', so I started making them by hand. I’d hold a stone in my hand, channel mana into it to make it soft like clay, and then knead it. Eventually, I just got used to the feeling, and my 'Rock' spell improved because of it."
Furthermore, once the mana used to maintain the clay-like state is exhausted, the material returns to its original form. Soil becomes soil, and stone becomes stone.
It’s actually a very handy spell for softening stone to plug gaps or cracks in a wall, or even for resurfacing walls. I hadn't thought that far ahead when I first came up with it, though.
As I explained this, the five of them—the Young Lady included—stared at me with exasperation.
"Hey, Camille, Jill. What do you think? You guys are the magic experts."
"Creating an entirely new spell just because you were struggling with a beginner one..." Camille sighed. "Ryoma-kun, your actions always defy our expectations."
"I won't say it's impossible, but it's incredibly tedious," Jill added. "It’s one thing to be taught, but if you're going to invent it yourself, it's usually much faster to just keep practicing the basics."
I enjoyed the rest while they discussed my oddities.
Meanwhile, my slimes were busy in the back, devouring the monsters we had defeated. It was a subtle contribution, but it was incredibly helpful for keeping the path clear.