“This isn’t going anywhere…”
“It isn’t.”

Karen and I stared towards our feet, watching Ria as she desperately tried to dig through the floor. Her progress? Negligible. At best. Thankfully, she was aware of it as well, stopping her futile work after hearing us.

“Mmm… This is… troublesome…”
“Should we ask the captain for help?”
“Mm… It seems… that might be… necessary…”

Too bad that he wasn’t around right now. Either we had to wait or someone would go and report to him. Well, we probably should do the latter anyway but nobody even attempted to suggest that. After all, you might get stuck with going. And I definitely didn’t want to go into that horror room.

“Uhm, if I had some actual tools I could try it?” suggested Karen.
“Nn… what would we even need? A pickax?”
“A pickax should work, I think.”

Well, then we’d need one. Or that’s what I was wondering as the door behind us suddenly opened.

“Oh? What’s going on, why are you all standing there?”
“Ah, captain. You’re back already.”
“Sure am. So? What’s going on here?
“Well…”

I told Korwen about our discovery, how the Elder had restored part of the ritual drawing and how we believed that there was some kind of space below the floor. Likely leading to whatever we were looking for.

“Well, well, isn’t that quite the discovery we got here. Now I slightly regret having left and missing out on all of this.”

Well, he sure seemed eager to leave at the time, though.

“I can have someone bring pickax or two, then we can dig through this spot. That shouldn’t be a problem. Yumi, how deep did you say it should be?”
“Approximately as deep as I am tall. Well, a little less.”
“That’s still pretty deep.”

That it was. And it wasn’t just solid rock he had to dig through, but rock empowered by Earth magic. Though I was able to deal with that, so it actually didn’t matter all that much.

“That’s not something we can dig through in a hurry… Mm… Ria, can you do something about this?”
“Mmm…”

Ria stared at the ground for several seconds, lost in thought, before she answered Korwen.

“There is… a way… but… I am… not very… good… with that type… of magic… I think… someone else… would be better… at this…”
“Wenners or Krutz?”
“Yes…”

She affirmed it with a nod.

“Krutz… can use… a little bit… of Earth magic… As long… as Yumi… can drain… the mana… he should… be able… to dig… a hole… deep enough…”
“Mh… Well, it’s not like they have anything else to do right now anyway. I’ll call for Krutz and let them bring us some pickaxes, too. Just in case.”

Korwen sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

“Seriously, I never thought I’d have to dig holes when we arrived here. This sure wasn’t what I was imagining.”

Despite his complaint, he went to the door, talked with someone—probably a mercenary who had been waiting there—and then returned to us.

“He should come after a while. Incidentally, you didn’t say you couldn’t do it, Ria. I’m curious, how would you go about digging that hole?”
“Mm… I would… melt it…”
“... Excuse me?”

She would… melt it? The floor?

“Stone… can melt…”
“That’s not the part that surprises me, Ria… Haa… I guess it is better if we let Krutz handle it.”

Ria tilted her head, confused about Korwen’s reaction. I could feel myself smiling wryly as I watched her reaction. Melting the floor… Yes, that was pretty ridiculous…

Anyway, I got something else to discuss. Ria. It’s about the other room… I’d appreciate it if you could come with me for a moment.”
“... I understand.”
“Good.”

After confirming that Ria would come along with him, he turned his attention to us.

“You all wait here. If Krutz comes before we’re back, explain the situation to him.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Yes, Mr Captain.”
“As for Miss Meela. Thank you for helping us out and sorry for occupying your time. I’m sure the other elves are waiting already.”

Meela jumped up a little, startled at being addressed so suddenly.

“Ah, err, ye— yes. It was a… a pleasure. To work with you?”
“It was a pleasure indeed. Until next time.”

After a final nod towards Meela, he turned around and left with Ria in tow.

“Mmm…”

Next to me, Meela was staring towards the door. While Korwen hadn’t explicitly said it, she understood that the things that came next weren’t something he wanted her involved in. Whether out of worry for her safety or for some other reason wasn’t clear but…

“Meela. Mr Korwen is right that the others are waiting for you.”
“Ah, but… Old Elder…”
“You still are their elder now. You shouldn’t leave them alone for too long.”
“Mm… I… understand…”

She looked towards the door again, seeming a little wistful. After a few seconds passed, she shook her head as if she was trying to shake off some thoughts.

“I will return. Old Elder, thank you. Miss Yumi, Miss Yumi’s Beloved Ivy, until the future.”
“Nn, until next time.”
“Eh? Until next… time?”

Meela bowed slightly before heading out as well, leaving us with the Elder. Karen continued to stare after her, confused at the weird name she had gotten.

Speaking of which, Meela did the same when we met the first time, too…

Thankfully, that had been resolved quickly. It didn’t seem to fix that nickname habit overall, though.

“Miss Elder… What did Miss Meela mean with ‘Beloved Ivy?’”

Confused as she was, she asked the Elder, who could probably explain it to us. Once she stopped chuckling.

“Hehe, it’s how us elves call our lifelong partners. Those, we decide to spend all of our time with.”
“So, it’s how the elves call a couple?” I asked her.
“... It is close to that, yes.”

A beloved ivy… That was quite an interesting way of calling it. If I recalled correctly, ivy was a plant that clung to other things. Walls, trees and all that stuff.

“The matter of the address aside, we should take a small rest as long as we can, now that we have the chance..”
“That sounds good to me.”
“Nn.”

Krutz would probably need a while before he’d arrive. Korwen and Ria would probably need a while as well.

Well, breaks are always appreciated.

---

A little later, the door to the hall opened and Krutz came inside, followed by two mercenaries right behind him.

“Ah, Mr Krutz has come.”
“Nn.”
“Mh? Ehh… Miss… Yumi, Miss Karen and Miss Elder? Hello.”

He quickly spotted us and gave his greeting with an awkward smile. Seeing him like that, I remembered that he and Wenners both weren’t very good with people.

“Ehh… I heard Ria needed me but…”
“Ria is with the captain. They’re doing something else right now but they should come back soon.”

Probably.

“I… I see…”

Well, wasn’t someone disappointed there? Sorry that we couldn’t replace Ria.

“Ehh… Then, what am I supposed… to do here?”
“Ah, well…”

I exchanged a glance with the Elder and Karen. Korwen did tell us to fill him in, after all. But first… The two mercenaries behind him were carrying some stuff that they clearly wanted to get rid off.

“Mr Krutz, where should we put this?”
“Eh? Ehh… Just put it down there… Is that all right?”
“Nn, it is.”

The two mercenaries put down the stuff they were carrying, two boxes filled with various tools. I could even spot a few pickaxes among those.

“If there’s nothing else.”
“Ahh… good work.”
“Mr Krutz!”

The two mercenaries saluted and left us.

“So…” Krutz stammered again, looking towards us.
“Ah, right…. Well…”

I explained to him the situation. Basically, the same stuff we told Korwen earlier. In addition, I told him about why Ria wanted him to come.

“My… my magic?”
“Nn. That’s what Ria said.”
“I see… I can use only a little Earth magic but… if it’s just digging a hole, I should be able to, yes.”
“Ohhh.”

Great news. No need for picking up a pickax and picking away at the stone… That didn’t sound as good as I imagined it…

“May I take… a look at the floor?”
“Nn, sure.”

We made space for Krutz so could examine it. It didn’t take him long to come to his conclusion.

“Mm… I should be able to do this…”

He put his hand on the floor before quietly invoking his spell. There wasn’t a chant, he was only making some strange gestures with his free hand, before putting it on the floor as well. Right after, mana poured into the floor.

“Ohhh.”
“The floor is turning soft?”

Under our watchful gaze, the floor softened up like jelly. The small hole that Ria dug was collapsing as the soft stone poured into it. The broken shards melted into the floor and even the fist imprint was losing its shape. Once the whole floor became uniform, an indention formed in the middle, slowly growing in size. It reminded me of how the water flowed away when you pulled the plug of a bathtub. Except, the stone didn’t exactly flow away, it simply moved towards the edges and stayed there.

“Haaa…”

When the spell finished, Krutz exhaled deeply as he sat down on the floor. Where there had been only the floor, there was no a small hole, the depth of my forearm.

“This is as far as I can right now. Miss Yumi, if you could.”
“Nn, sure.”

I kneeled down next to the hole and put my hands into it. There was plenty of mana inside the floor, strengthening the stone. This mana had to go away lest we wouldn’t be able to get through here.

Still, this is quite a lot of mana. It’s like the whole floor is made of mana crystals.

In a way, it was nice getting so much mana just like that. On the other hand, maybe it was because it was attributed mana but absorbing these amounts made me feel a little uncomfortable. It wasn’t anything serious, more like eating something you weren’t too fond of.

“Okay. I can’t get further,” I said.
“Understood. But… let me rest for a moment.”
“Ahh… sure.”

I didn’t know how exhausting magic like this was but it seemed to be rather demanding for Krutz.

“Haa… Okay, I will continue.”

Once more Krutz used his magic to deepen the hole in the floor. After that, I absorbed the mana. We repeated this two or three times until the was so deep that I couldn’t easily reach down anymore. I had to climb down because it was now so deep that the floor reached my waist when I was standing inside.

“Oh? Looks like you are making good progress.”
“Ah, captain, Ria. You’re back.”

Right when Karen was helping me climb out again, Korwen and Ria returned and took a look at our progress.

“Mi— Miss Ria?!”
“Mmm… Krutz… You did… a good job…”
“Ye— Yes! Tha— Thank you very much!”

Krutz shot up straight the moment he spotted Ria. In the meantime, I finished climbing out of the hole with Karen’s help.

“Aren’t you nearly through at this rate?” asked Korwen.
“Nn, probably? It did feel like this should be the last bit.”

I was a little impressed how Ria and Korwen didn’t even react to Krutz’ reaction. That aside, there wasn’t as much mana to absorb this time for me. So I was pretty sure there really was something below this. An empty space.

“Guess we came at a good time then.”
“Nn.”

They definitely did. After all, we’d now find out whether I was correct or not. And I sincerely hoped I was.

“Krutz, do it.”
“Huh?”
“Krutz.”
“Ah, yes, captain, sir!”

Korwen let out a sigh when Krutz snapped out of it and hurried towards the hole. Once more, the stone softened up and slowly flowed towards the edges, solidifying there and deepening the hole bit by bit. Until…

“Ah, there’s something. A hole.”

I had been right, there really was something there. The hole slowly grew bigger and bigger, until it had become wide enough for a person to pass through.

“...”
“...”
“...”

We could stare only down, into the hole, astonished by the sight. And so did they, staring up, astonished at the sight.

“... This is not what I expected.”

Korwen pressed his thumb against his forehead. Maybe this was his new way of dealing with a headache. Honestly, not too surprising. After all, inside the hole, there were several rainbow hoggies staring up at us.

“Nn… This is unexpected.”

Yes, there was a space below the floor. A pretty big space even. Big enough for a person to get through, probably. Except, that there was a good dozen of the small rainbow hoggies there. And most of them were notably smaller than the rainbow hoggy we had seen before.

“Well, they’re cute.”
“That they are but…”

Korwen sighed again as he turned away from the hole, shaking his head.

“Err, what do we do now, Mr Captain?”
“Give me a moment.”
“Okay…”

In the meantime, we’d watch the rainbow hoggies. They were surprised at our appearance but, interestingly, they just ignored us now. The small hoggies were following the bigger ones around, into the surrounding holes. Other hoggies came out of those holes, staring up at us for a moment and then going their way again. It reminded me somehow of an ant colony, even though these little critters weren’t even remotely similar to ants. Apart from the structure of this place.

“Hey, Yumi.”
“Nn?”
“Look, there.”

 The hole in itself was big enough for a person to walk through, but the walls were littered with smaller holes from which the rainbow hoggies entered and left through. But at the spot where Karen pointed through, the cave continued deeper… but most importantly, there was something there that seemed to be stairs.

“Are those… stairs?”
“I think so.”

Well now.

“Stairs? Where?”
“Ah, captain. Over there.”
“Mm… That’s hard to see. But… I see… There is a space here but the rainbow hoggies just moved in afterwards. I see, that makes sense. Hahaha!”

Korwen broke out in laughter before he carefully jumped down into the hole, careful not to hit any of the hoggies. The hoggies themselves scurried away into the holes in the walls immediately.

“I still can’t see anything down here. I need some light. Ria.”
“Mmm…”

With Korwen’s help, Ria climbed down as well. Then, she cast a spell, creating a small light on the tip of her finger which slowly grew bright enough to illuminate the cave.

“Ah, there. There really are stairs.”
“Captain… wait…”

Korwen was already beginning to move forward, clearly interested in exploring the place. However, he was stopped by Ria. He looked at her, then up to us.

“Ahh, sorry. You all, we’Re going to take a look, so come down here. And be careful of the hoggies. They won’t bite as long as you don’t hit them. Krutz, you can go back and take a break. Thank you for your work.”
“Ye— Yes, captain!”

Krutz saluted and let out a sigh of relief. He was without a doubt quite tired from that magic. Dfiferent from me, who was actually feeling quite good. Probably because I absorbed all that mana.

“Yumi, Miss Elder, I’ll go first.”
“Nn.”
“Okay.”

Korwen and Ria made space so that Karen could climb down. Once she was down, she helped the Elder and me climbing down into the hole, too.

“Well, shall we go and take a look?”

Korwen grinned, his excitement visible to us all.

“Let’s see just what the Worshippers decided to hide down here.”

With that announcement, he stepped into the dark cave, Ria right behind him to provide the light.

“He looks like he is enjoying himself.”
“Nn, he does. But isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is.”

Karen and I exchanged smiles as we whispered to each other.

“Yumi, Karen. While it is pleasant to see him enjoying himself, we should be careful nonetheless. This is a place the worshippers used. And not to mention, if our expectations aren’t wrong, we might not be abler to advance for long.”
“Huh? Why?”
“If the mana density raises too much… Do you remember?”
“Oh, right.”

I nearly forgot until the Elder mentioned it now, but that would be a problem… Meela told us about how the mana density had gotten so high that even the elves couldn’t easily traverse that place.

“Didn’t you say Ria might be able to deal with that, though?”
“Maybe. I have yet to ask her about it.”
“Ahh… Then, we should do that.”

It’d be better to clear that up now, after all.

“Ria.”
“Mmm… Is something… the matter… Yumi?”
“Nn, there is. If the mana density around here gets too high, can you do something about that? Meela mentioned that there was a spot in the forest where the elves couldn’t go because of that.”
“Mm… the mana density… you say?”
“Nn.”

I nodded, causing Ria to furrow her brows.

“Ria, Yumi, what are you talking about?” asked Korwen, having noticed that there was something going on behind him.
“Well, we were asking Ria about the problem with the mana density.”
“Ah, that. So, Ria, can you do anything about that?”
”Mmm…”

Ria closed her eyes, thinking for a while.

“I am… not sure… but I… might be able… to do… something…”
“That’s better than nothing I guess.”
“Mm… But… if that… really happens… we probably… shouldn’t linger… for too long… even if… I can do… something about… the mana…”
“I see. We’ll try to get as far as we can then. In the first place, there is no guarantee that there will be a problem.”

There wasn’t but the chances were quite high, if you asked me.

“For now, let’s continue. Got that?”
“Yes, captain.”
“Yes, Mr Captain!”
“Yes, Mr Korwen.”
“Mmm…”
“Good, let’s go.”

We continued down the cave. The path was a slight slope downwards. Occasional steps were placed here and there to help with some of the uneven areas. There were also some metal holders for torches placed here and there on the wall. Black marks on the wall bore proof of past visitors to this place. The number of rainbow hoggies we were encountering had also fallen to pretty much zero.

“Just what the heck did the Worshippers even keep here… and how deep does this place even go? I can’t even feel much mana in the walls anymore.”

The walls back at the fort were filled to the brim with mana. But this had gradually died down to the point that the stone here was just normal stone.

“No mana?”
“Nn? Yes, captain.”
“Huh… Then, is this a natural cave?”
“Ehhh… That might be the case?”

I didn’t really think about that much but this place didn’t look like it had been dug through.

“Ria, what do you think?”
“Mmm… I don’t… think that… it is a… natural cave… I think it… might be closer… to what Yumi… did earlier…”
“You mean, someone absorbed the mana?”
“Yes… Or otherwise… removed it… But… at the entrance… the walls were… full of mana… right?”
“Nn.”

I nodded in agreement. They definitely were.

“The walls… we saw there… and the walls… we see here… They feel… too similar… to be made… in a different… way…”
“Nn… Well…”

It was a bit unnatural for a tunnel like this to be perfectly straight with no detours, staying just the right size for people to pass through at all times and other things like this.

“Mm… Well, the construction of the tunnel is pretty irrelevant to us anyway. We just need to find out what is at the end of it. Ria, Yumi, how does it look in regards to the mana density or whatever that was?”
“Nn, well… It feels like there’s a little more? I’m not sure.”
“Mm… There is… more…”

Ria agreed with me so it wasn’t just my imagination, huh? That was nice to know.

“I guess we’ll need Ria’s magic at some point then?”
“Probably… If it… keeps going… like this… then yes.”

Which was likely to happen…

Well, but Ria knows what she is doing so it’ll be fine.

We kept going for a good while, most likely around a quarter-hour by this world’s time. Which was quite a long time. The mana around us kept getting denser the further we walked, to the point that even Karen could say with certainty that it was. Until finally Ria suggested she should use her magic.

“Captain… The mana…”
“It’s getting too much?”
“Mmm…”
“Okay, let’s take a small break then first while you prepare for that magic of yours.”
“Understood…”

Once we stopped, I plopped down on the floor, a little exhausted from all that walking. Next to me, the Elder sat down as well. Karen looked at us with a wry smile. I really envied her stamina in times of these.

“You two should really work on your stamina.”
“You say that so easily, Sis.”
“Ahaha… She is not wrong, Yumi.”
“... I know.”

I sighed. If only it was easier to increase my stamina. Well, it wasn’t like I was going out of breath to the point I couldn’t take a step anymore or that my legs would give away from exhaustion. But while it stopped at me being tired and exhausted it was still… Well, I’d prefer not being exhausted.

Whatever, I’ll manage. For now, I kind of want to know what Ria is going to do.

I didn’t know what type of magic could even protect us from the dense mana surrounding us.

“Nn? What is that?”
“What do you mean?”
“In Ria’s hand.”

Ria was gathering mana in her hands, forming something like a ball. Except it seemed to be hollow inside, which probably made it closer to a balloon or bubble or something. As her spell continued, this bubble grew larger and large, until it swallowed her hand and gradually her arm.

Is that the magic she was talking about? Is that… something like a protective bubble?

I could see how the mana around the growing bubble was pushed away, while the mana inside was relatively thin, compared to our surroundings. As we watched, the bubble finally grew to the size of an adult person, swallowing Ria whole. It didn’t stop growing there, of course. It kept on growing.

Korwen, who was the closest to Ria, was the next one to be swallowed by the bubble. Not like he even noticed, as he was unable to sense the mana.

“Mm? Somehow, the air feels a little lighter? Is that her magic?”

Correction, he noticed something.

After a short while, the bubble grew large enough for all of us to fit inside.

“This is quite incredible… but what kind of use would this spell usually have, Miss Ria?”
“It’s a… protection against… curses…”
“Curses?”
“Yes… This barrier… disperses mana… And curses… they are… spells… after all… they weaken… and fall apart… inside…”
“That’s… a little surprising.”

It was. But definitely useful.

“It’s useful… but tiring… and it… only protects… against curses… so there is… rarely a use… for this…”
“Well, there is this time.”
“There is… indeed…”

Ria smiled a little, maybe proud of this little spell.

“It’s indeed useful but we shouldn’t waste too much time, you girls. Ria already said it’s tiring her so we should hurry up.”
“Ah, yes, captain.”

Oops, he was right. We didn’t have the time to leisurely discuss her spell now.

With Korwen in the lead again and surrounded by Ria’s barrier, we continued on through the tunnel. It didn’t take long until we hit upon an iron door, signaling the end of the tunnel.

“Well, spirits take me, there really is something here, isn’t there?”
“Nn.”

Without a sign of fear, Korwen walked up to the door and pushed against it. The door was rattling but didn’t really budge.

“Stuck? No, a lock? Mmm… Ria, can you spot any magic or traps?”
“Mmm… It should… be safe…”
“Great!”

Korwen chuckled, a savage grin on his face.

“You girls, stay back a little.”
”Huh?”
“Mr Captain?”
“Mr Korwen?”

While we were a little confused at his words, Ria was the only one who reacted immediately and pulled the three of us away. Somehow, this reminded me of the time when Ria blew up the door. The way they immediately retreated. Only, this time it was Korwen over there.

“Now, let’s see how sturdy you are. You’re not even a magic door, aren’t you? Then this should be quick.”

Korwen took a step back, taking a stance. I thought for a second that he might try to punch the door but… he kicked it. A dull sound echoed through the tunnel, loud enough to reverberate in my stomach. Then he kicked it again and a loud creaking sound accompanied it this time. And upon the third time, the loud noise of something breaking entered my ears, followed by the large door hitting the floor.

He kicked the door out of its hinges! A solid metal door! And it even flew for a few metres there, hitting the wall behind it!

A grim reminder not to mess with Korwen.

“Good. Now we can get in.”
“””...”””

The three of us could only stare dumbfounded at the broken door. There was an imprint of Korwen’s boots on it…

“Now, let’s see what all this is… about…”

Korwen stepped into the room, full of vigour. But that vigour died very quickly, as he stared up to the ceiling. When we followed inside, we followed his gaze, only to be taken aback just like him.

“What… is that?”
“... I don’t know, Yumi.”

There was… a giant creature. An absolutely… gigantic creature… right in front of us. While we were staring at the thing in front of us, the Elder stepped forward, touching what I had previously thought to be a wall.

“It’s a spirit.”