Yuki was the first one to follow us.
　This was as we had decided beforehand.

　We decided to give her some time to make sure she wouldn't come at us again, and if she did, Yuki would be able to stop her.

　However, it seems that this concern was unnecessary, and Yuki landed next to us without being attacked.

"Hmm, I'm a little nervous.

"Good work. But Yuki can also use the Isolation Field, so even if it flies at you, you should be fine, right?

I don't know if I can protect you!　I don't know if I can protect myself!

...... Well, the strength is proportional to the magic power consumed.

　I'm not sure how much magic I used to block the flying gar.

　In the event that you've got a lot of money to spend, you'll be able to get a lot of things done.

I'm sure they won't fly back to the same place though. ...... I'm not sure for how long.

That's right. Is this like a trap in a dungeon?　Once it's triggered, it takes a while for it to come back.

"The fish won't fly back?

　I'm sure you've heard of it.
　If you can deal with the viciousness of the proboscis, you can, in a sense, eat all the fish you want just by waiting.

I think this one will come back to life after a while, just like the boss comes back to life.
"Right. If it's like the boss, it'll take a few weeks.　But if it's a trap, a few days?
Oh, thank God!

　We laughed again when we saw Mitya smiling happily at us.

　Toya was in a lot of danger with this fish, but that didn't stop Mitya from being happy to get a fish.

　After Yuki, Mary came down, followed by Natsuki, Haruka, and finally Toya.
　Toya, however, retrieved the rope ladder and rappelled down using only a rope.
　The rope used by Toya will be left behind.

You made it. Well, this is .......



　We descended about 20 meters, but there was not much change in the scenery.

　We still couldn't see the bottom of the valley, and the waterfall was too big to be seen from this height difference.

　From the back of the ledge, there was a narrow path cutting through the rock wall, but we couldn't see it from above because of the sheltering rocks.

　It might be a good passage to get wet even if it rains, but does it rain in the first place?　In the dungeon.

　Normally, I'd say it's impossible, but looking up, I can see something like clouds, so I can't say it doesn't happen.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to continue down that pathway or if it's a dead end and I'll have to go down the cliff. ......

I think I'm going to go down the cliff again, don't you?　Pattern-wise.

"The same type of trap?　I think it's unlikely that the same type of trap?

　Natsuki nodded to Yuki's words, and Toya pointed to the top of the waterfall and opened his mouth.

It's a great location, after all.

　The flying gar flies to the top of the waterfall where Toya pointed, where the water begins to fall.

　If it were to fly slowly, it would be no threat at all.

I'm not too happy about it.

　I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

But there are so many fish!

　But there are a lot of fish!" Mitya said with a smiling face as she looked into a bag full of fish.

　Behind Mitya, Mary peeked at the bag, still looking happy.

　They said they had never eaten fish before they came with us, but they seemed to really like the fish that sometimes appeared on the table, and they were probably expecting the same thing from this fish.

　They haven't decided yet that this fish is good, but ...... it's good to enjoy it.

I bet you could eat this every day!
"Yes!　Even if we eat two fish each, we can eat for a while!

　We both looked at each other and laughed.

　　　　I'm not sure what to say.

　Fortunately or unfortunately, Toya's prediction was correct.

　After walking for a while, we found that the passage was still a dead end, and if we looked at the bottom of the cliff, we could see some rock shelves.



　If you go down the same way as before, you will find more fish in leather bags.
　The smiles on the faces of Mitya and the others are dazzling.
　So I guess it's lucky for them.
　Of course, it's not as if we weren't hoping for a chinwag.

　After three more times like this, we kept going down, but we still couldn't see the bottom of the valley.

　We wondered how high we were.

　The fog seemed to be getting deeper little by little, so we were sure we were getting closer to the bottom.

　When I came here this time, I had prepared enough money from the sale of the wood, and I had quite a few ropes, but of course there is no limit to the number of ropes.

　Strong ropes are expensive, and there are only a limited number of them available in Rafan.
　We can't afford to buy cheap rope when our lives depend on it.

Maybe we should start thinking about what to do. It's getting darker and darker.

　It's getting darker and darker." For some reason, the sun-like object we could see was slanting, and as dusk began to fall, Haruka sighed and made such a suggestion.

　If there was something that would bring closure, I would have said something, but since there has been no change, I was out of time.

"Well, yes. It's a little difficult to stay here in the open.
It's getting wetter and wetter.

　At the first ledge, there was a slight spray of water blowing in the wind, but by this point, the surrounding area was completely covered in fog.

　It wasn't as thick as a fog, but even so, the visibility was definitely getting worse, and it was becoming a little difficult to shoot down the Arrowhead Eagle against the Flying Gar, which could only be detected and avoided by [Searching for Enemies].

　However, compared to the almost constant number of Flying Gars, the number of Arrowhead Eagles was decreasing every time I went down the cliff.

　When we had just descended the cliff, only one or two birds had flown at a time, so this was not so much of a problem.

　What was more of a problem was that their bodies would get wet.

　Sometimes Haruka would dry them off with Purify, but only for a short time.

　In no time at all, you'll be soaking wet all over again, like you've been caught in the rain.
　If it were hot, this might be a good thing, but the current temperature is very comfortable.
　On the other hand, if you become a wet rat, it's usually cold.
　This takes away your energy and makes your feet and hands slippery when they are wet.
　Especially Toya, who had to rappel down with a rope every time, had a hard time.

　From the halfway point on, we all put on our cloaks to keep our insides dry, but fog is a tricky thing, and you can't completely protect yourself from it.

　Moreover, wearing a cloak inhibits our movement.

　Of course, if you camp in such a condition, you will not be able to recover your strength, and if you are not good, you will get sick and catch a cold.



...... Hey, I wonder if this is a trap that includes this long cliff?　There's no warm place to rest, and it takes a lot of energy to get back. It's pretty hard, isn't it?

　Yuki said a little disgusted, and looked up at the height of the cliff she had come down, and then looked down and sighed at the fact that she could not see the bottom.

"Well... In our case, it's still better because we have a comfortable tent with a magic tool. ......
I'm sure that's why you came out there.　Comfort tent.
I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. It's common. In the game.
You'll have a hard time making a fire in this state. ...... aside from us.

　If you have firewood, it will get wet, and it will be difficult to make a fire with a regular flint in this situation.

　In other words, it would be difficult to warm ourselves by the fire.

　We have firewood in our magic bags, so it is still dry, and we can use magic to make a fire. We are very fortunate.

We have plenty of firewood!
"Do you want to cook some fish?

　The only saving grace is that Mitya and the others are full of energy.

　I'm not sure if it's the abundance of fish that's making them happy, or if it's the fact that they're beasts and have different basic stamina compared to Yuki, who's about the same size but is the most groggy of us all. .......

　I'm not sure what to make of this.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out when you get back to layer 20. That way we can eat in peace.
Are we going back?
I think I can make it down at least one more time. ......

　We can go down at least one more time.
　Yuki, on the other hand, only let out a small breath.

"Is Yuki okay?
I'm not sure.　But when you come back, let me ride on Nao's transfer, okay?


Copy that. The distance isn't too far, so you should be fine.

　I also consume a lot of magic, but I think the difference between elves and humans is that I can afford it more than Yuki.

So, let's go down again, and then go back to the 20th level and set up camp. And cook some fish.

"Yay!

　Mitya expressed his joy honestly, and Mary looked happy with a modest smile on her face.
　While being softened by these two, I checked the ledge below and went down.
　We had already done this several times, so we were used to it.
　It had become a routine, and the roles of each of us had been roughly fixed, so things were going smoothly.
　But that was not good enough.
　It was while Natsuki was getting off that something strange happened.

"What?

　The upper rock wall that held the rope ladder in place suddenly collapsed.
　Natsuki's body floated in midair.
　Her body floated in the air. The height from the ledge was about ten meters.

　With her current physical ability, she would be injured but not killed, but that was not the problem.

　A chunk of collapsed rock was falling from above Natsuki.
　There was no way she would be able to survive being caught underneath it.
　For a moment, she was troubled.
　She slammed her naginata against the rock wall and shifted her body away from the rock fall.

　This allowed her to escape the threat of the rock, but at the cost of being off the ledge.

　A straight fall would send me straight down the cliff.
　I look at Haruka and Yuki and check their positions.
　Yeah, I can't.
　I immediately jumped towards Natsuki, who was falling down the side.
　It was just in time.
　I grabbed Natsuki's arm, which had accelerated considerably, and pulled him to me.

"Natsuki!　Hold on!
Yes!



　When I saw that Natsuki's hands were behind my back, I grabbed his harness firmly with both hands.

　But I wasn't wearing a lifeline either.
　It was a mistake.
　But if I had been wearing a lifeline, I wouldn't have been able to grab Natsuki either.

"Nooo!

　Haruka's scream echoed in the air, and I fell into the deep fog with Natsuki in my arms.