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At first glance, it looks like just another ordinary ice cave.

We carefully feel our way down, watching our step to avoid slipping.

The terrain consists of a gentle slope that circles a large, gaping hole. Since a slip here would be no laughing matter, we tied ropes around each other’s waists and proceeded with caution.

There were no worm nests in sight, and since we’d passed through the ice golem’s territory, we hadn’t encountered any monster attacks so far.

What worried me was that every time we descended into the hole, it grew colder—so cold that even my winter gear couldn’t fully protect me. Even after using alchemy to mitigate the cold and breathing slowly and quietly, the chill made my airways ache.

Resigned to the fact that it would make movement more difficult, I added another cloak and pulled it up to cover my mouth, managing to minimize the damage.

To prevent the cold from causing chest pain, I naturally spoke less and less as we explored.

“…………”
“……”

While I was considering whether we should retreat, we reached the bottom of the hole. There was what looked like a side tunnel at the top, so it seemed we were taking a different route from the owner of the light. I felt relieved that we hadn’t run into each other.

The bottom of the hole had formed into a fairly open, spacious area. When I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear anything moving, but… was that the sound of flowing water?

Though puzzled, I moved away from Filia and followed the sound of the water. A long, undulating path of ice stretched out at my feet. When I shone my lantern on it, I saw a pale blue liquid flowing just beneath the ice.

The thermometer read below minus 100 degrees Celsius. I thought maybe the thick layer of ice was keeping the water below from freezing, but it was glowing faintly—perhaps there were fluorescent plankton in there.

But there’s no light around here for them to absorb…

As I was lost in thought, Noche—having checked the area for safety—dragged over some cold-weather gear. When I turned around, she was pointing at the wall with slightly trembling hands.

I nodded immediately and used ‘Forge’ to create an escape hole in the wall.

……Strangely enough, the texture of the ice changed again. If I had to describe the feel of the upper layer of ice when manipulating it with alchemy, it would be “hard,” but the ice here feels “heavy.”

It looks the same and feels the same to the touch, so what’s the difference?

I set up the door and opened it little by little with Sufi. We opened the door slowly while considering the pressure difference, let the wind blow past us, and finished setting up.

For now, we’ve decided to retreat.

■■■■■

“Brrr! Zo kold!”
“…………”

Noche dashes into the room, runs through the living room, and bursts out onto the balcony. Sufi and Filia are huddled together on the living room sofa, wrapped in a blanket. They don’t even seem to have the energy to complain.

“Honestly, just moving forward here puts our lives at risk. I recommend we retreat. Under normal circumstances, we’d die just from breathing.”

It’s a world where temperatures drop to minus 100 degrees—a place where ordinary living creatures would die from their lungs freezing just by breathing.

“Then why are we still alive, nya?”
“Because I’ve been using ‘Forge’ on the surrounding air to raise the temperature.”

Up until now, it had only been around minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius—barely better than a freezer—but ever since we got close to the hole, the thermometer started showing temperatures that were no joke.

I’d been dealing with it by instantly using “Alchemy” to raise the temperature around us to minus 30 degrees Celsius.

Since I feel like this is getting dangerous, I was planning to suggest retreating if the temperature dropped any lower than it is now.

From here on out, specialized gear or other countermeasures are essential. I tried it along the way, but even using a flint didn’t produce a single spark.

“W-w-wait, you okay, A-a-alice?”
“I’m not .”

Sufi, who seemed to have warmed up and recovered a bit, asked curiously, so I showed her my hands, which were trembling from the cold.

It’s just a habit of mine not to show weakness or panic, so I’m acting calm, but I’m actually frozen to the bone and in pretty bad shape. Actually, I haven’t been able to move my legs since we entered the living room.

“Tell me that sooner!”

Sufi, who had been stuttering from the cold, hurriedly jumped out from under the blanket, scooped me up, and pulled me back inside.

I almost fell from being pulled so suddenly, but I obediently curled up inside the blanket like a human pillow.

Noche joined us too, and the four of us huddled together for a few minutes to warm up. Finally, the cold started to subside.

“Still, I wonder just how far that cave goes, nya.”
“I think we’ve gone pretty deep already.”

Once we were able to move again, we chatted casually while sipping hot water. At this point, the magic beasts weren’t making a move, so keeping watch was a breeze.

Based on the estimated depth, we’re probably very close to the deepest point.

Actually, even without any specific threats, the environment itself is a lethal trap, and if conditions get any worse from here, I don’t think we’ll be able to make it out.

……Ah, I found myself impressed—this explains why, despite the strength of the enemies here, no one has managed to conquer this region for thousands of years.

“Nya, we did pretty well, don’t you think…?”
“I think it’s quite an achievement for F-rank adventurers.”

Of course, the gear we’re using is way too specialized, and people would probably think we’re blowing hot air, so we can’t really go around telling everyone about it.

“That’s fine by me, nya. Life’s priceless, nya.”
“Agreed.”
“Yeah… let’s take care of our lives.”

Once again, by unanimous decision, we decided to retreat.

It seemed the cold—so intense they couldn’t even speak—was really getting to Noche and the others, and they’d been thinking about retreating anyway.

This was a detour to begin with, so there was never any reason to push ourselves in the first place.

“Alright, let’s take a break, then head back the way we came.”
“Will there be a bunch of ice golems again?”
“On the way back, we’ll dig straight up to avoid them.”

I’m concerned, but I won’t take any risks on the way back. Once we reach the top of the hole, we’ll dig a hole in a suitable wall and dig stairs straight up from there.

During our exploration, we’ve gotten a pretty good handle on how to detect golems and worms, their detection ranges, and the signs of their nests and territories, so we can proceed much more safely than when we first entered.

Even though our first exploration of uncharted territory ended up being a bit of a half-measure, I’d like to think we did pretty well for a team of rookie kid adventurers.

***

#Author’s note:#
Things will be a bit laid-back and shorter for a while