We were fed up with the narrowness of the passage we had entered, but within a minute of walking from the entrance, the path had widened enough for the two of us to walk side by side.

　Even so, wielding a long weapon was not easy, so Toya and Mary took the lead, followed by me and Natsuki.

　We haven't encountered any enemies so far, though.
　--Except for Rock Shell.
　As for this thing, I've found two of them since then.

　One of them was on the ground with a face like a mere rock, and the other was so tightly packed in a gap in the ceiling that it was almost impossible to tell them apart.

　I was able to kill both of them easily with an impact hammer, but in terms of threat, the rock shell above me was a bit dangerous.

　The outer shell is mostly rock, and if such a thing were to suddenly fall on your head, you would be seriously injured at best, or killed at worst.

　However, a rock shell that has been peeled off from the rock is just a small fish, so it would be almost like a suicide attack for the opponent.

　Probably, once you're turned over, you can't even get back up by yourself.

　I asked Toya and Natsuki about it, but they didn't find any cases in the book of rock shells falling from above, so I guess it's safe.

　We continued walking, and when the number of Rockshells we had killed reached four, the flat path gradually turned into a downward slope, and the height and width of the passage began to increase.

　This way, I could handle my weapon with some leeway.
　As if he had been waiting for it, there was a response to [Search Enemy].

It was an enemy other than the Rock Shell. They're not moving very fast, but they're getting closer.
It's not moving very fast, but it's getting closer." "Finally, a decent enemy. ...... No, I'm not happy about that.

　It's not something to be happy about, though," Toya said, somewhat relieved that he didn't want to have to smash something that didn't move.

　But I understand. Rockshell, safe is safe, but it doesn't feel good, like you're killing an unrestrained creature. --It's not 'like' it, it's just...

Toya, this is probably the first time you've faced one of these, so be on your guard, okay?
Of course!

　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

It's a rock golem!

　What appeared was a rock golem, slightly larger than Toya.

　It was not as big as Toya, so it was not as intimidating, but instead, it moved quite fast.

　It may have been reacting to the light, but it was running towards us with noisy footsteps, but it was fast enough to be recognized as "running".

　Its movement is similar to that of a bipedal robot, but it does not move unnaturally like a robot.

"Hmmm, why is it moving?
"What?　Isn't it magic?



　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

...... Ah, yes, it's magic, isn't it?

　I understand it in theory, but when I see the rock moving smoothly in reality, I can't describe it. I wonder what's going on with the joints and all that.

　Natsuki, Haruka and the others, who were smiling wryly, were probably of the same opinion.

　This may be the difference between Mary and the others, who take magic for granted, and us.

"Toya, can you take care of that?
It's the only way!　Got it!

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, and what you can do about it.



　GAGONG!


　A dull, fierce sound reverberated around the area, and Mitya frowned at the deafening sound and turned a deaf ear.

　This is quite annoying if the battle goes on too long.

I'm not sure what to say.

　It was Yuki who blurted out the words, but the sentiment was probably the same for everyone.

　Toya had only attacked once, but that was all it took for the Rock Golem to stop moving.

　Toya, who was behind him, stopped attacking once, as if confused by the unmoving Rock Golem with his hand raised, but then he raised his hammer again and lightly punched it in the back.

　And that was the end of it.
　The rock golem, split into pieces by its joints, crumbled to the ground with a sound.

...... A blow?　Is this what it looks like?　What is a Rock Golem?

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

In other words, the magic stone was destroyed?
"I suppose so. Let's have a look.

　"Let's take a look," said Natsuki, taking out an ice axe and other tools used for rock climbing, and began to destroy the body part of the rock golem lying on the ground.

　The process was quite smooth.



　The Rock Golem is also classified as a demon, but does it benefit from the [Dismantle] skill?　It looks like a stonemason to me.

There's ....... It's broken. No, it's been shattered.

Maybe it's the impact hammer. Maybe it's the impact hammer. It's a good way to penetrate the shockwave.

Looks like. By the way, the stripped part of the rock golem is .......

It's just a magic stone. And that's the magic stone.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.

　It's not going to sell.

I'm not sure what to make of this.　You have to break more than half of this rock.

That's right. The other part of the money can be found at ...... In very rare cases, this rock may contain ore, but the probability is so small that almost no one will look for it.

　The probability of finding something of value is about the same as finding something of value by digging up rocks in the middle of nowhere.

　Yeah, that's almost zero, isn't it?
　And there's no reason to dig up the remains of a rock golem, right?

Weapons are expendable, but they don't pay. That's a nasty enemy. ...... Let's let Toya do her thing.

If she gets tired, I can take over.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

Thank you. But it's only one blow. If there aren't too many of them, they might not get tired.

"I don't need inedible rock golems to come out. I'd rather have a rock shell.

　I'm more than happy with rock shells. I'm more than happy with rock shells." Mitya tossed the dead rock golems lying on the ground (?) to the side of the passage and piled them up.



　We helped him clear the passage and resumed our search.

　After that, we encountered a few more rock golems, but Toya killed them all with a single blow, and we had no income as well.

　The occasional Rock Shell is a small source of income.

　As long as you don't use the wrong amount of force, you can collect the magic stones and get some meat to eat, so it's still good.

　The results were more sour than expected, and Mitya was not happy, muttering, "It tastes better outside," perhaps in a double sense.

　But that doesn't mean there hasn't been any change, the descent has become steeper and steeper, and golems have begun to appear, sometimes two at a time.

　Thanks to Toya and Mary, we didn't have to fight too hard, but the lack of merit in killing them was making us feel like we were wasting our time, so Haruka called out and stopped Toya.

"Toya, can you give us a moment?