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The quiet journey continued. I don’t know how the ice worms sense prey that has entered their territory, but since there was no pursuit, it seemed we had managed to evade them.

If we had stayed there any longer, things might have gotten dangerous.

So, we’re cautiously making our way through the quiet ice cavern.

“…A snowman?”
“Nya?”

An object that looked like two small, round snowballs stacked on top of each other sat right in our path.

Just a structure? Or a magic beast?

Unsure, we all stopped to observe it. No matter how we looked at it, it was just a snowman, but it seemed strange for one to be sitting all alone in the middle of a place like this.

“A magic beast…? Or just snow?”
“…It’s suspicious, huh?”

While we were discussing it, perhaps sensing our presence, the top of the snowman swelled up…

“Watch out!”
“Yikes!?”

Ice spikes flew at us at high speed. Sufi and Noche, who were already on high alert, immediately cut them down.

By the way, I’m on Filia’s back. We wanted to keep those two, who excel in combat, free to fight.

The snowman-like creatures were firing icicles at us like machine guns. If there were just one, it might be manageable, but with multiple of them, this is no joke.

“Alice, can’t you make a wall, nya!?”
“‘Forge.’”

In response to Noche’s request, I summoned ice from the ground to serve as a shield. I was a little worried about its strength, but it should be able to block icicles.

“It blocks them, but what should we do?”
“That’s the problem, nya…”

Our defense is fine, but the problem is offense. …Our party is lacking in long-range attack options.

I have a limited ammo count that can’t be replenished, and Sufi’s spells still tend to backfire.

If we don’t strengthen that, things are going to get tough from here on out.

“Hmm… ‘Forge.’”

I’ll try attacking by shooting ice out like needles from our position… but even though it’s piercing through the snow creature’s body, it just keeps firing icicles back at us without batting an eye.

I wouldn’t say it’s completely useless, but it’s not effective.

“From what I’ve tried, regular slashing or punching might not work.”

“Nya… So what should we do, then?”
“Mm, Sufi…”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Sufi, but I’d definitely stop her if she tried to use fire magic in this situation.

Since the heat would cause oxygen combustion, activating it in such a narrow, enclosed space would result in our self-destruction.

What should we do…?

“I know.”

I put my sudden idea into action: I summoned thick sheets of ice to surround the enemy on all sides, then sealed the ceiling to finish it off.

…It’s making a loud banging noise, but I guess I sealed it?

“…That’s brutal, nya.”
“Can’t we just do it like this all the time?”
“No way.”

It worked because the enemy was a stationary turret type, but it wouldn’t work against a large number of enemies or ones that move.

“What about the finishing blow, nya?”
“Let’s get away from here.”

There are too many unknowns. If we can’t move, let’s just keep moving forward. We left the trapped snowman behind and pressed on.

After that, a few more magic beast-like creatures appeared.

Floating snow crystals. They fired shockwaves wrapped in cold air, freezing my hair stiff. We managed to physically destroy them by throwing ice blocks I’d carved out using alchemy.

A massive, 4-meter-tall ice golem blending into the wall. Apparently, the automatons alchemists create are based on these silicon-based creatures.

There are many types—ice, stone, and so on—but the main body is ultimately a gem-like entity called the “core.” It seems to anchor itself to the surrounding material to move, so perhaps it’s more like a shell than an exoskeleton.

Since the surrounding material is just filler, I cut out the core using alchemy and left Sufi and Noche to directly destroy it to finish the job. It puts up a fight, but I’m actually pretty good at “hacking” materials like this, and it’s fun.

The real danger is the ice worms that occasionally burst out of side tunnels. I’m practically useless against those.

Up close, their heads look like centipedes, and the rattling of their segmented legs is gross. I was a sheltered kid in my past life, and since there are some pretty nasty bugs in the Unknown… honestly, I’m not a fan.

I made up some flimsy excuse about not knowing what might trigger the rest of the ice worms to chase us and refused to collect the materials.

I don’t know if we’re deep or shallow here, but the magic beasts themselves aren’t that vicious. However, every time I move or breathe, the freezing cold steals my body heat.

There are so many enemies blending into the scenery that I can’t relax. Long-term exploration is pretty tough.

Even for us, after about two hours, we’d reached our limit.

“…Let’s take a break.”
“Hm? I can still go, nya.”
“That’s why we should do it now.”

Both Noche and Sufi look a little pale, and their breathing is short and rapid. We can’t take off our winter gear, which already makes it hard to move, and our body heat is being sapped with every movement.

Even if we’re fine now, if we end up fighting back-to-back battles in this situation, cracks are bound to show.

“But where are we gonna rest, nya?”
“Hmm.”

I tried to persuade her, and Noche finally seemed to agree.

I nodded in response to her question, then used alchemy to cut a hole in a nearby ice wall. After confirming there were no ice worms in the way, I installed the door inside.

We’re taking breaks as we go, but my mana is starting to run low.

I’ll make the entrance just wide enough for a child to pass through… I hesitated, but it’s better to have an escape route.

“You’re pretty much capable of anything, aren’t you, nya…”
“I’m not quite that versatile.”

Camping outside the door is out of the question this time. It’s scary not being able to check on the situation outside, but it might be better for all of us to go inside and cover our tracks.

I can’t imagine creatures living in this freezing cold environment tracking their prey by scent. Besides, Sufi and Noche don’t seem to have a very keen sense of smell either.

I suspect they most likely tracked us by heat.

“Hngh!? Grrrrr!”

Sufi is pulling on the door with all her might.

……? Oh, crap.

“Sufi, wait.”
“Hm? Eek!?”
“Guh!?”

As Sufi throws her full weight into the door, a gap opens, and it flies open as if it’s been knocked back. Just as I try to cushion her fall, a warm gust of wind—feeling almost like a blast of heat—sweeps through.

“Hot!?”
“Whoa!?”

Pulled by the air current at our feet, everyone crouched down. At the same time, the warm wind blew directly into our faces.

After freezing in place and enduring it for a few seconds, the wind began to settle.

“That was a surprise.”
“Wh-what the hell, nya…?”
“Huh, it’s not that hot…?”
“I completely forgot…”

It’s still early autumn on the Japanese side, and with summer lingering this year, the temperature is high. Over here, however, it’s a freezing cold freezer. I hadn’t taken the pressure difference into account…

“Ah, Alice! Are you okay!?”
“Yeah.”

Sufi, realizing she’d been using me as a cushion, hurriedly picked me up and carried me inside. The outside air has circulated and it’s gotten quite chilly inside, but it’s still warm.

Maybe I shouldn’t close it all the way; opening it again might cause trouble.

…Plus, the door’s a little warped.

I stood up, took off my shoes, and stepped inside. It was still warm toward the back.

“Isn’t it warmer out there?”
“Ah, wait—”

Before I could stop her, Noche dashed all the way to the back and flung the window open.

“Nya!? Hot! So hot!”
“Our bodies are so cold that even room temperature feels hot.”

I call out to Noche, who’s shielding her face from the warm breeze pouring in while using a doorstop to keep the window from closing all the way.

Just opening the window raised the room temperature quite a bit. We have an AC, but I don’t think I’ll turn it on just yet.

“It’s warm, nya…”
“Hot, hot!”

Before I knew it, everyone had gathered on the balcony to soak up the sun. While I took a moment to relax, I boiled some water in the kettle.

“Once we’ve calmed down, let’s take a bath and then eat. It’s better to be careful, even if it takes time.”
“That’s right, nya…”

Honestly, if it weren’t for the Unknown Items we found, we’d be totally screwed.

Thinking I’d look through the unopened boxes in the warehouse later to see if there was anything usable, I poured the hot water into a cup and carried it out to the balcony.

***

#Author’s note: #

If you’re exploring normally, the most threatening magic beast is the Ice Golem.
Tough, strong, huge, and it lurks in stealth. It’s made of nothing but ice.