Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 125

As I passed through the area where the Lazona were wandering, the width of the path gradually widened.

It’s no longer a narrow limestone cave; it’s already an impressive cavern.

“Feels like it’s getting hotter.”

Somehow, the air has become noticeably warmer. Just walking, I can feel sweat starting to trickle down.

This change in temperature is probably evidence that I’ve passed through the foothills and am getting closer to the midsection.

I heard that from the center to the summit, lava flows, so it’s not strange to feel hotter as I get closer.

Advancing cautiously while surveying the surroundings, a red light so intense that it stings my eyes suddenly bursts forth.

“So bright!”

Perhaps because my eyes were accustomed to the darkness, the light is quite startling.

Still, I try to get used to the light by blinking as I proceed, and I realize that the source of the light is lava.

In the far distance ahead in the widened cavern, bright red lava flows. It exudes a sticky viscosity far from the smooth coolness of a river. Yet, it emanates an overwhelming energy that fills the viewer with awe.

“Wow, there’s lava flowing. Even just looking at it from a distance is impressive.”

The ground covering the surroundings is charred, and red light leaks out like blood vessels.

The intense light from the lava reflects off, casting a eerie glow throughout the cavern.

“Seriously, it’s unbearably hot!”

Whether it’s the heat radiating from the lava spreading through the air or not, it’s incomparably hotter than before.

I feel suffocated, as if trapped in a small sauna room.

Just the touch of air against my skin feels hot… no, scalding.

Every breath draws in hot air, searing me from the inside.

Almost instantly, sweat beads like pearls on my skin, and my body craves moisture.

I can barely move forward like this, and no amount of water seems enough.

“Freeze.”

I promptly cast ice magic, enveloping my body in a chill.

The cool air dispels the heat. The burning sensation on my skin fades away, replaced by a soothing breath.

The heat that had engulfed my body is instantly swept away, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Whew… I’m glad I can use ice magic.”

If I couldn’t use ice magic, I’d have to rely on items for all this. Even then, it wouldn’t be enough, so it’s an adventure enduring the heat.

It seems it’ll get even hotter at the summit, so without ice magic, it would be quite challenging.

Just a moment of ice magic won’t last long, so I continue releasing cold air to protect myself.

Using cold air consumes magic power, but I have plenty, so this level of consumption is negligible. It feels like I could sustain it for days.

Feeling relieved with the ice magic, I take out a water flask from my magic bag and drink.

My parched throat is quenched, and my body is cooled from within.

I broke out in a sweat in the short time before using ice magic. I need to replenish fluids properly to avoid dehydration. And not just fluids, but salt too.

I take out the salt I bought beforehand and lick it up. It tasted delicious, perhaps because my body craved the salt.

I wipe away the sweat with a towel and stick cooling sheets around my neck and underarms.

“Ah, it feels so good and cool.”

I couldn’t help but let out an uncomfortable sound in the cave because it felt so good.

I’m totally a weirdo. I’m glad I don’t have any companions on this mission.

Once I’ve sorted out the heat countermeasures, I put on the Ring of Flames. I don’t know what kind of monsters might appear from here on out, so it’s better to be safe.

“Come to think of it, I feel like storing the water flask in the Magic Bag would be a bad idea.”

I thought suddenly as I was packing the towel and other items into the Magic Bag.

Time is frozen inside the Magic Bag. That means the function of items that generate water over time would stop too, wouldn’t it?

It might be a bit of a burden, but I’ll hold onto it without storing it to check its effectiveness.

With preparations complete, I continue deeper into the cave.

“Detection.”

Looking around, it seems there are plenty of materials buried in the rock walls.

Being a volcano, there seems to be abundant ore here. I wonder what kind of ore can be found in this area.

I take out the Hard Magic Stone pickaxe from the Magic Bag and head towards the materials indicated by my survey skill.

Swinging the pickaxe, I chip away at the rock wall. The pickaxe made of Hard Magic Stone seems to be able to dig through the rock walls of Ladeo Volcano without any problem. Chunks of rock come crumbling down.

【Magic Iron】

Iron with a slightly higher affinity for magic. It becomes sturdy when processed with magic.

【Red Pyroxene】

A red, shining stone. When subjected to high heat treatment, it becomes even more vibrant in color. Untreated specimens with bright colors fetch high prices. Only found in Ladeo Volcano.

【Everburning Stone】

A stone that continues to emit a faint flame indefinitely. As long as it is not watered or cooled, the fire will never go out.

“Being in a volcanic area, it’s no wonder there’s such a wealth of ore.”

What emerged were three types of ores.

Magic Iron, a mixture of black and silver. Red Pyroxene, a round stone that shines red. And Everburning Stone, gray with a red-hot center.

Magic Iron was on Lumia’s wish list of ores. It’s fortunate to obtain it in the first mining attempt.

However, the quality is average.

It seems the better the quality, the more silver parts there are.

Checking the note written by Lumia, it specifies high-quality ones, so this won’t do.

But thanks to having seen it once, I can now search and investigate it.

“Magic Iron, Detection.”

When I investigated whether high-quality items could be harvested in this location, all I found were ores of ordinary or lower quality, like blue or purple.

It seems that high-quality items cannot be mined in this location.

I’ll need to mine further ahead.

Red Pyroxene is indeed a beautiful red stone as its name suggests. There are some small-sized ones with nice hues here and there. Since they seem to have more value as decorative items rather than for armor crafting, I’ll get them as souvenirs for Rosca.

The Everburning Stone is a stone that emits a faint heat indefinitely.

While there doesn’t seem to be much demand for it in the sweltering Ladeo Volcano, it seems like it could function well as a heating tool in winter. It might be good to put it in your pocket as a hand warmer substitute.

After mining a sufficient amount of materials, I store them in the Magic Bag.

As I continue through the cave after finishing mining, there was a response in the monster detection.

【Lizardman, Danger Level C】

A bipedal monster with a lizard-like face. While it has a certain level of intelligence, it cannot communicate verbally. It possesses strong physical strength, along with weapons and armor, and has robust physical abilities.

【Firebird, Danger Level E】

A bird-like monster wrapped in flames. When it uses wind, the flames intensify, increasing its speed, so caution is advised. Pouring water to extinguish the flames will render it unable to fly.

When I appraise them, information about each monster comes up.

The Lizardman roams around with a sword and shield.

And the fiery bird soaring around the ceiling seems to be the Firebird.

Those are the only two visible in my line of sight.

However, there’s a monster visualized as a silhouette within the lava in my field of vision.

【Magma Crab, Danger Level C】

A crab-like monster inhabiting volcanic areas. It wears charred lava on its sturdy shell.

It can move through the lava and quietly approach to attack.

Its heat-resistant shell is often used as material for heat-resistant armor.

“…They really can withstand being inside the lava, huh?”

It doesn’t seem to have noticed us yet, but that monster was indeed moving around within the lava.

The temperature of the lava is over a thousand degrees.

To be able to remain calm in such a place, it makes me realize once again the awe-inspiring nature of monsters as living creatures.

It’s a low-quality monster to lurk in the lava where we can’t enter and approach from there.

As I cautiously advance while being wary of the Magma Crab within the lava, the Firebird swoops down from above.

The Firebird takes up a position directly above me and circles, waiting for the right moment to attack.

I don’t like not knowing when they’ll attack.

While staying alert for the Firebird as I move around, I spotted the silhouette of a monster at the edge of my field of vision and retreated.

“Wa~that’s Dangerous!”

Suddenly, as I looked down, a Magma Crab had approached from within the lava.

It’s a crab covered in charred rock and dripping with red-hot lava.

Its thick claws are clicking menacingly.

If I get caught in those, it’ll be curtains for my legs.

I freeze the Magma Crab with Freeze.

Then, the Firebird, which had been directly above, swooped down towards me, scattering flames.

It’s a nasty combo. Just being scorched by those flames would give me serious burns. They’re that intense.

The Firebird’s feathers were also on Lumia’s wishlist.

Since it seems to be weak to water magic, I hit the charging Firebird with a Water Sphere.

The flames enveloping its body seemed to serve as propulsion. As soon as they were extinguished, it lost its balance.

I freeze the wobbling Firebird with Freeze as it approaches me.

After confirming that both monsters have frozen to death, I store them in my Magic Bag.

It’s nice dealing with monsters that have clear weaknesses. Thanks to appraisal, dealing with them is easy.

However, it’s not like I enjoy fighting them.

After taking a breather following the battle, a Lizardman in the distance raised its cry and began to approach.

I thought I could ignore it since it was far away, but it seems like it noticed us due to the sounds of the battle.

Because Ladeo Volcano generally has many places with good visibility, it’s difficult to hide and avoid confrontation.

We need to retrieve the eggs of the Volkanos that inhabit the vicinity of the summit, but I wonder if it’ll be okay.

As the Lizardman comes running towards us, I shoot out an Ice Pillar, feeling anxious about the way back.