Vol. 1 - Ch. 238 - Ruins (3)

"Whoa, it lit up!"

I exclaimed, marvelling at the success my random tinker got me. It was some kind of mana tool, I think, that I found embedded in the wall, so I tried to channel my mana, and it unexpectedly bore fruit, setting stones at my feet aglow with a bluish light, illuminating the tunnel like a fluorescent bulb.

Well, I had only imbued a tiny speck of mana, so I really doubted if they'd been illuminated due to my action. Which means... there must be an energy source somewhere which made it possible to light up the long path, or was the feature hidden within the paved stone? I couldn't tell. But hey, at least there was some shine at last! 

I trekked the path with skippy gait. 

I should have been quite used to acting amidst the faint illumination, using the mask with only a narrow hole for the vision, as a form to train my 'inner eyes,' but the complete lack of light of unnerving, having only the wind magic to rely on.

My gaze travelled down the now-illuminated tunnel, dispelling the pitch-black darkness it had been occupying. Humans sure do yearn for the sunshine, ain’t they? I wonder if the people of the ancient era shared the same feeling as me, hence the structure? 

The tunnel was obviously a work of the bygone era. I couldn't help but imagine the people of that era whenever I glanced at it.

"Wonder’s going full-on Wonder-full~!"

I muttered the words absentmindedly while watching the ethereal blue light. If anyone were watching, I’d definitely turn red, but there was no point in trying to look cool in a place like this, deep underground.

I needed to mutter to myself a little or else my mood would sink lower than the underground place I was walking on.

With that thought, I shrugged it off and hummed a tune as I continued deeper into the tunnel.

As always, I kept encountering nothing but frogs, dealing with them as I progressed, though keeping away the bow. 

I'd love to deal with these unique species from a distance with my bow, but the repeated use of arrows, even if I keep retrieving them, would cause their shafts to distort. 

Beside that, I also was making sure to wipe everyone of them out. Who knows if they surround me after I slip past them? I was still far from a warrior to tackle them down. 

It takes time, but I dealt with every frog I encountered using my dagger, prioritizing safety as I continue forward.

After a while, I discovered an area that was clearly carved out of the rock, resembling an eight-tatami room without a door.

The entrance was wide, with no door in sight.

I used wind magic to probe the interior and, after confirming it was safe, cautiously entered.

"A temporary shelter, perhaps?"

In the center of the space was a sunken hearth, clearly designed to keep oneself warmth and simple cooking.

At the back, there was what could be called a bed—or well, it was more like the rock had been shaped roughly into the form of a bed. There were no mattresses, though it might have just decayed over time.

And then—

I removed the stone slab covering a floor storage compartment.

This storage wasn’t hidden per se, but wind magic was incredibly useful for finding hard-to-spot hidden doors like this one.

"Oh, charcoal, huh?"

The inside of the compartment was stuffed with charcoal. 

I took two pieces out and struck them together. The high-pitched, metallic sound rang through the room. 

This charcoal should be made from materials of plant-based monsters. 

Alright, first is... think of the meal. My stomach had already surpassed the hunger limit, now echoing a roar perhaps even louder than the frog monsters. 

I had been carrying portable ration, but I wouldn't want to use them willy-nilly if possible. 

I mean, I had yet to sketch an escape plan. and using the emergency resources would spell trouble for later. I had thought I would have to make-do with dried frog-meat as my last resort, so the means of fire was a life saver. 

I’d read somewhere that frog meat tastes like chicken, and since this wasn’t a poisonous species, it should be safe to eat.

I retraced my steps, carrying one ordinary Steinfrosh and one unique species that I had taken down along the way.

I carefully broke the charcoal and arranged it in the hearth, then held my hands over it, whispering a little incantation, hoping the fire doesn't die on me. 

I cut a piece of hemp cord that I had been carrying to use as kindling, unraveled it, and then held it in my hand. With a snap of my fingers, I muttered—

"Ignition."

Once the hemp cord was lit, I tossed it inside the hearth, and promptly, the distinct crackling sound dominated the air as charcoals began to burn.

How did I light it? Good question. It was an application of my Wind Cutter—simply, I compressed the air, and then decompressed it within my hand. Quoting what I learned from my middle school: air gets hot when you compress it via a piston. 

Or, in the words of chemistry—the good ol' application of Boyle’s Law. A concise example was how satelite when it's crashing down from space burn due to friction against air. To be precise, the air gets too compressed at the nose part of the nose diving satellite due to the terrific speed it drops at, creating a heat in process which could melt even its metal portion. 

The ignition was probably the oldest craft, and the igniter made from horns of animals or bamboo—a crude application technique—was something that seized the whole world in its spark since the antiquity era. Or... that's what I learned from my middle-school teacher. 

Anyway, by constricting the air and using an easily flammable object like hemp cord, I easily cleared the ignition point and made it burn with just my magic. And of course, the sorcery-like act of holding my hand together and so was just an extra flair. 

I also had to warm up the charcoal already to ignite them easily. 

Well, the igniter mana tool, one that doesn't consume the mana but does the work, was obviously more simple and handy, but let's not bring that out. I mean, that's cool, but not as cool as doing that by your magic.

The only tricky part of this trick was to seal surrounding air from equalising the atmospheric pressure. Fortunately, I had decently mastered this problem during my training of wind cutter while I'd been travelling in a carriage. I must say, controlling the air flow wasn't hard, but, the wind cutter on the other hand? Ugh, it's too tough. 

I controlled the wind to fan the flames, making them burst up as I sliced down the frog. 

"It's quite tough... Hmm, oh right, it should do."

I quickly fetched the metal pole from the trolley and used it as a skewer to poke the frog's leg meat, sprinkled some salt, and left it to grill.

◆◆◆

To put it concisely, the meat was barely palatable. It reminded me of various flavours and textures of chicken meats. Well, in its favour, it atleast offers high protein, though it certainly felt dry to eat. But I would certainly give minus to meat of mutant variants, perhaps because of their muscle density. 

I should have expected it. Steinfosch were not rare to find, so if their meat were delicious, they would've surely been more in circulation.

Anyway, I also made another discovery.

The metal pole I had used as a skewer had very low thermal conductivity, and even after I left it to grill for so long, it wasn't hot at all when I grabbed it.

"Hehehe... maybe this is what they called stumbling on a pot of gold?"

BBQ was almost an integral activity among the lifestyle of many in this world. I wonder how others would react when I bring out this MY BBQ skewer, a thing of ancient era, to show off? ...My thoughts drifted into daydreaming imagining the situation, chuckling to myself.

◆◆◆

"Set up the pillars, then lay down the beams! We are going to clear the tunnel as quickly as possible, but keep an eye on any sign of collapse-in!"

Under Ignis’s leadership, the tunnel leading to the collapsed Area 81 saw a rapid restoration. He would have pushed even more, but recalling back the sacrifice Allen made to keep everyone safe, he also couldn't let a second disaster strike them. 

The support like beams and pillars had been provided by everyone, including the Mining Association, Explorer Association or Knight Order, and not just Dragoon. The area was crawling with guards to keep monsters in check. 

The restoration was truly moving forward at an extraordinary pace. Albeit, the cloud of anxiety in Ignis's mind had yet to see any relief. He wasn't sensing the presence of Steinsberg at all, and that should've been impossible. The entire place was crawling with its place after it had descended into a berserk state.

He refused to believe a monster in such a frenzied state would calm down unless... it had tasted the blood of its prey. He hadn't wanted to, but all the clues were indicating—*no, this shouldn't be everything.* He shook his head, dispelling the creeping premonition. 

He would believe in Allen. With that thought, he proceeded to clear the path ahead. Standing at the frontline, he swung down the giant pickaxe to break through the giant boulder blocking the way.

◆◆◆

After taking a short nap for about two hours in the shelter, I continued my exploration of the ruins.

I was really glad that I had found a base to take a nap around. I also managed to secure some water from nearby puddles. 

It's just that I had only a leather bag so it was impossible to have fresh water, but I guess maybe I could utilize the pressure-distillation method to make this drinkable. I had no doubt this hard water would otherwise upset my stomach.

Wind magic was incredibly useful for such things, definitely the hail mary type that brings convenience in life. Anyway, either I take that option or opt for a more efficient solution; just drink it normally and let my body work to remove harmful substances. The later option should've been my choice, but... nah. Why would I opt for such a bland option when I could add I had the magic at my fingertips!

Ahem, moving onward, I now had a safe Safety Area to take a rest.

I decided to use my time to thoroughly explore the mine.

Then, around the time two full days had passed since being trapped in the tunnels, I had nearly finished searching every path, except for the main route that seemed to lead to the exit.

Along the way, as expected, I found another door with a pedestal, similar to the ones I’d seen before, but this one too was locked. And given the uniform design, it likely led to a storage area for minerals or something of the sort.

In conclusion, unless there was a hidden path beyond the locked doors, it didn’t seem like there was a way out. 

Of course, I had wanted to just take the path that obviously was 'obvious' enough, especially with the flow of air, but I couldn't. Why, you ask? Because I hadn't forgotten about those froggies, and I fear this exit was crawling with them, which, I fear, might be their nest.

Now, I could stop here, and look around for another path to escape, however. There was a problem. I was fine, but the delay was only going to make things harder on my body, and the benefits of postponing any longer seemed to be diminishing.

Alright, I know what to do. 

It's going to be a gamble, one where I was stalking my life. But I was determined, and together, I could feel a switch inside me click into place.

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