Chomp chomp.
A mimic was loudly chewing on a girl.
"Ah, it's so dark! So scary—let out—!"
Her upper body was tightly clamped inside the mimic's mouth, leaving only her hips and legs sticking out, kicking wildly yet unable to break free. Her miserable cries echoed through the silent cave.
Although it was an unfortunate scene…
Shane held his forehead, trying to suppress it, but still couldn't help laughing out loud.
"?"
Hearing the sound, the girl inside the mimic's mouth stopped her futile struggling.
"Is soone there?"
"Please help ."
Even without seeing her face, just from her clothes and the staff lying nearby, Shane was certain—the one stuck in the chest was the legendary mage who had once defeated the Demon King, Frieren.
Help? Of course he would.
But how?
A mimic's suction power was terrifying—once bitten, it was impossible to pull soone out.
However, its physiology was actually similar to a human mouth. If you shoved the victim further in, the mimic would feel nauseated and spit them out.
Shane looked at Frieren's backside and hesitated for two seconds.
Then he bent down, grabbed her legs, lifted them up, and with both hands, shoved her firmly inward.
Blegh.
In an instant—
The mimic opened its mouth wide, retching violently. Even its wooden body twisted as it gagged, and it spat Frieren out directly.
"Haa… I'm saved."
(≡ᆺ≡)
The elf girl sat on the ground, soaked through.
A look of relief after surviving a disaster.
Her white twin-tails were drenched, dripping steadily, and large wet patches had spread across her mage robes.
Frieren closed her eyes, gently shook her head, flicking the droplets from her ears.
Then she stood up, casually shook her sleeves, raised her head, and looked at her rescuer with sincere gratitude.
"Kind child, thank you."
Child?
Shane raised an eyebrow.
He sized up the white-haired elf who didn't even reach his shoulder, feeling sowhat speechless.
Then he rembered—she was over a thousand years old, and her brain was… well, a bit like that—so… forget it.
Though he had no idea why she, who should have been traveling in the Central Lands, appeared near this southern town, since they t, it was a heaven-sent chance to latch onto soone powerful.
A life-saving favor should be repaid with—
Cough.
Just as Shane was about to speak and properly introduce himself—
A cold breeze suddenly passed, and Frieren shivered all over.
"Achoo…"
The petite elf, with a snot bubble forming, hugged herself, shrinking her neck pitifully, looking like she was about to freeze to death.
Shane sighed helplessly, pulled out a clean thin blanket from his backpack, and handed it to her.
"Thank you, kind child. You're truly very kind."
"ꐦ"
"My na is Shane. I'm an adventurer. By the way, you're Frieren the mage, right? Don't you have so kind of 'Magic to Dry Clothes' or sothing?"
Frieren simply wiped her hair a bit, then wrapped the blanket tightly around herself.
"An adventurer, huh? No wonder you're here."
"As for the spell to 'dry clothes,' of course I do, but…" As she spoke, Frieren picked up her staff from the ground, tapped the air a few tis, then looked up and said calmly, "I haven't been able to use magic since earlier."
!!!
Shane was stunned.
A mana seal?
How could you say sothing so dangerous so calmly?
To seal her magic—what level of opponent would that be?!
The sword he had just sheathed was drawn again as Shane cautiously scanned the surroundings.
"Ah, no need to be nervous. There shouldn't be any monsters in this cave."
"None?"
Shane glanced at the mimic in the corner. The aning was obvious.
"In any case, to be safe, we should leave first."
Boom.
The mont he finished speaking, the tunnel he had co through behind him suddenly collapsed.
An awkward silence filled the air.
Wrapped in the blanket, Frieren pointed upward and said calmly, "Natural caves collapsing is normal. I fell from above."
Only then did Shane notice—about four or five stories above them, there was a hole the size of a well opening. Small bits of gravel were still falling, making it look quite dangerous.
A cave-in?
Why did that feel even scarier than encountering monsters?
…
A few minutes later.
The two began searching for another exit together.
To keep track, every ti they reached a fork, Shane chose the right path and continued in a single direction. Before entering each fork, he carved a mark into the stone wall with his sword to avoid getting lost and going in circles.
Wrapped in her blanket, Frieren followed quietly behind.
Shane's cautious actions made her feel at ease.
"An adventurer must never take risks."
That was sothing Flam had taught her in her very first lesson.
Whether exploring dungeons or fighting the Demon King's army, what killed the most adventurers was not the strength of their enemies, but their own carelessness.
Unexpectedly, this "novice," who didn't seem very experienced in combat, understood and followed such a principle.
A reliable person.
Entrusting navigation to Shane, Frieren turned her attention to observing the cave.
"…There should be Sealing Ore inside these stone walls."
"What's that?" Shane asked.
"When we passed through earlier, you probably noticed glowing, beautiful ores occasionally exposed in the walls. Those are Sealing Stones. Within three ters of them, magic cannot be used."
No wonder—even a great mage could fall straight down…
"This stuff is quite rare. Even a piece the size of a pebble is worth several gold coins."
Gold coins!
Shane imdiately beca interested.
Seemingly reading his thoughts, Frieren continued:
"However, with current human capabilities, it can't be mined."
"Mana-Sealing Ore has the highest hardness among all materials. Moreover, unlike other substances, it cannot be cut or processed with magic. It's sothing beyond human ability."
What a pity.
"If magic doesn't work, what about magic tools?" Shane asked casually.
"Magic tools?"
Hearing those words, Frieren stopped walking, a hint of interest appearing in her eyes.
She stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"In the Mythical Era, there were great sages skilled in crafting magic tools. But by the ti of the Unified Empire over a thousand years ago, those sages who excelled in alchemy and forging had disappeared. Functional magic tools today are extrely rare."
Alchemy and forging…
Shane thought of his own ability to "manually craft attributes." Could his "class" be sothing like those sages?
Boom!
A massive shockwave suddenly ca from deeper within the cave, interrupting his thoughts.
User Comments
0 comments from readers