Volume 6 - CH 16

When I passed through the stairs, I found myself in a snowy land.

"Wha!?"

"Huh?"

"Hawawa"

Even I, who had been informed to buy winter gear for each of us, was stunned by the sight before me.

There was a completely white space, and it was quite large.

I could even see what looked like the sky.

The bellowing sound that I had just heard from the passage seemed to be the echo of the wind.

"...... We're underground, aren't we?"

"We're supposed to be. ......"

"I don't really care where we are. I know you're surprised, hicc, but the enemy won't wait for you."

Edgar, who is behind me, says. That's true. And don't you drink alcohol.

"Meena, Ione, guard around! The rest of you, put on your gloves."

I give them quick instructions and pull out the woolen gloves I bought from the item storage. They're made of 100% wool, which sounds good, but I really wanted polyester gloves, considering how wet they get.

"Here are the gloves, too. I'll take the precaution first."

"No, Elisa-sama, I'll take the watch, after you."

"Okay, Abel, let's do that."

"These gloves are so thin. I doubt they'll hold up."

Edgar, wearing a pair of fluffy gloves, looks at us and says,

"No problem. It's been taken care of."

I'm going to replace it with a spare when it gets wet. This way I can hold the sword better.

"That's a good thing."

"Let's get going. Alec, I'll leave you to decide where to go. We've made very little progress in this area."

"All right. First we'll cross the suspension bridge in front of us."

We could go around the wall, but there doesn't seem to be anything to see from here.

Stepping on the piled up snow, we continue onward.

"Ugh, this thing might be hard to move when we're fighting."

Jouga says, but he's right. It's hard to walk because the snow is piled up so high that my boots are completely covered.

"Everyone, if you have any skills that look good for movement, take them."

I said so, and acquired【Snow-Shoes Lv5】and【Cold Resistance Lv5】for a total of 126 points.

"Take it? I don't have enough points!"

"It can't be helped. Use this."

I still had about 10,000 points, so I generously gave them to Jouga. But it's only a hundred points.

"What do you mean 'use' Oohhh!?? My points are increasing. Seriously?!"

"M-master, please let me, please let me have some too!"

"Letty, you're not my slave."

"I can become your slave from today. Brrr, my ears are freezing... it's cold..."

The pointy hat wasn't enough to protect her from the cold.

In addition, I looked at Fianna, but she was wearing a knit cap, scarf, ear muffles, and a mask, so she was perfectly protected from the cold. Tsk.

"Then give me your left arm."

"What? Really?"

You said so yourself.

"Wait a minute! You can't make her fall into slavery over something like that, Alec. Why don't you just share some of it with her?"

"Who the hell are you to ask others to give up their precious points, Serina?"

"Ugh, well, I'll do whatever you want for once instead."

Hmm, the right to command anything. I'll have to think long and hard about what humiliation I'm going to inflict on the cocky high school brave girl later. It's going to be a lot of fun.

"Okay. Letty, you got it. You can thank Serina for that."

"Thank you very much, Serina-sama!"

You don't have a shred of pride, do you? Where's did the genius mage go?

"Alec-dono, are you a slave trader?"

Elisa asks me with a look of disdain and disgust.

"No, I'm not. I just have that kind of skill. I'm not in the business of forcing people into slavery or selling them to places they don't want to go."

"I see, yeah. ......"

"Elisa-sama, it's not a good idea to associate with such people."

Abel, who is very serious, would say something like that.

"Oh, come on. He say he's not a slave trader, and from the looks of it, he's not roughing up slaves. It's a small matter for those of us who are friends with Portiana, who uses beastmen as slaves."

"Edgar-dono, she's not a beastman!"

Abel argues, but is that your logic?

"Abel, a promise is a promise. This is my apology as well. I know you don't like it, but please bear with me."

"No, I have nothing to complain about, as long as you are reasonable."

I can't help but wonder about Abel's blind obedience, but it's someone else's way of life. Do what you want.

"It's a monster!"

The knight Marin announced. I looked at the enemy, wondering why she noticed it earlier than Meena, who has a better sense of smell, but then I realized it was a ghost.

If that's the case, there's no smell.

There are several translucent ghosts floating in the air, approaching. Each of them is equipped with a wand and a robe, but I'm pretty sure they're magicians.

"It's Specters! Everyone, spread out!"

Elisa draws her sword and gives the order.

"We're spread out, too!"

I don't even know why Elisa and the others scattered, but it seems like a good idea.

"％■λ●☆Λ□◆◇……！"

Spectre chanted something quickly, and the fireball flew at bullet speed.

"Kuhh, these guys use spells!"

Serina tried to avoid the fireball and got hit, but it seems a little impossible to avoid these flames.

I also took a hit, but the damage was around 20 points. If this is the case, I can take five hits in a row with this thing.

But, the only problem is that the field is covered with snow and the footholds are bad, and if the opponent is going to attack from a distance using floating movement, it will be troublesome.

"What the heck!? It's gone!? What it is!?"

Jouga struck out as hard as he could, but the Spectre came out right behind him.

"Behind you! Jouga!"

"Huh?"

"Watch out! Sometimes the Spectre can travel a short distance at a moment's notice."

"I didn't hear that. Hey!"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm late to say."

Oh, no. Don't worry about it, knight. I was just complaining about these guys."

"I'm sorry, I knew it too, but I forgot to tell you."

As Luka said, this is the least we can do, but we'll find out soon enough if we fight.

"――Shatter the darkness with the light of holy judgment!　Divine Punishment!"

Since it's an undead type, Elisa's party, skilled in holy attribute attacks, is a good match for this enemy.

She took care of it in no time at all.

"Clear!"

"This one's clear too."

"All right, then, let's cross the bridge while we still can. There's no wind blowing."

"Let's hope it doesn't turn into a blizzard today..."

Marin said, but it's exactly like the field outside, holy shit.

I peeked down from the suspension bridge and saw a dark valley opening up from below. The bottom was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing.

Scary.

"Letty, do you know what's going on down there?"

"Yes, I've used levitation magic to get down there and check, but it's a black stone floor with no snow on it. It's pretty high, so if you fall without any precautions, you'll die."

So that area is just inside the labyrinth.

"Let's cross as soon as possible. We don't want to get into a battle here."

Howell is right.

"Hauu, I-I'm going to fall."

Nene is too limp to move forward, grabbing the rope, so I carry her up.

Of course, I've acquired the skill [Don't Look Down Lv5].

"Here, let's go."

"Ah, thank you..."

"M-master, carry me too."

Pointy Hat No. 2 says with a limp.

"Letty, you can use levitation magic, can't you?"

"Oh, that's right."

Letty, who immediately cast a spell and crossed to the other side of the river, was doing a useless, decisive pose, perhaps to appeal to the genius mage, and it was annoying.

"Let's go."

After confirming that everyone had crossed safely, we continued onward.

This time, I saw a hut on the other side.

"What's that?"

I ask Elisa and the others.

"It's some kind of resting place. It's got a fireplace."

Howell tells me, but I don't understand this dungeon.

"Did someone build it?"

"I don't know... what do you think?　I think they might have."

"No, there's a never-ending supply of firewood, so I don't think it's human handiwork."

Letty says, well, it doesn't matter either way.

"Let's go in and see if we can use it."

"Okay."

As expected, the cabin was barely big enough for fifteen people to sit in it, let alone lie down in it.

The fireplace was already lit, and although it was not warm enough, I could catch my breath.

"This was a safe zone. If we close the door, the specters won't come in."

Elisa said, and I appreciate that.

"Okay, well, let's take a break here."

"Roger that."

Just as everyone was relaxing, someone's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Oh, I'm so hungry! Brother! It's almost time for dinner, right?"

"I see. Let's eat, then. Meena."

"Yes, it's that thing. Leave it to me, Master!"

Meena is very enthusiastic, and it looks like today will be a good dinner for this field.