For the first time, I got on a hovering carpet, a valuable magic item classified as rank A according to the Strategy Book.
According to the strategy book, it's a valuable "magic item" classified as rank A, and apparently there are only five of these in the Kingdom of Luxta.
　It is a vehicle that can carry about six people and can float and run as if it were sliding along the ground.
　The maximum speed at a straight line can be twice as fast as a horse.

"With this, we should be able to reach the Great Tunnel in less than two hours.

　Aria, sitting next to me, said.
　Yes, this precious carpet is the property of her - or rather, the Malm Chamber of Commerce - the property of the Malm Chamber of Commerce.
　It was on the border of the Laxta and Halicon kingdoms, and had been specially loaned to her in order to get to the great tunnels of Megolaus, which were even more remote.
　If it weren't for this carpet, we would have had to take a shortcut through the Town Gate to the nearest town and still be on foot for a week each way.

Thanks for the help. Hey, Bazelfr?
Oh, oh. Yeah.

　Behind us, Bazelfr was shrinking badly.
　It is common knowledge that dwarves are not good at riding horses, but apparently they are not good at hovering carpets either. I'm not much of a talker, but it's obvious that my voice was shaky as well.
　Well, it can't be helped. I'll have you put up with it until we get to our destination.

''Mr. Magnus. I have prepared a lunch box as well. Let's come while we eat.
It's like a picnic.

　I can't help but smile at Aria as she opens her basket with a wink.
The hovering carpet, which barely shakes at all, no matter how fast we're going, doesn't bother us for lunch.
　The sandwiches that are said to be made by Aria are very tasty.

　　　　◇◆◇◇◇◇

　There is a large mine named Megoraus.
　It is a rare deposit known to produce rare metals with magical properties, such as mithril, adamantite and orichalcone.
　However, that was a long time ago.
　Because it exists halfway between Rakstad and Halicon, both countries claimed ownership of it, and Megolaus was often the scene of battle. Horrific battles were fought many times both inside and outside the Great Tunnel.
　Today, it has become a den of the undead and has been abandoned.
　It has become a symbolic spot for the stupidity of humans.

　We received a request from Aria's father - the wealthy merchant Malm himself, and we set out for Megolaus.
　We mined a large amount of rare metals there, and as a reward for bringing back the Orichalconsmith Hammer from the Malm Trading Company, we were to receive the Orichalconsmith Hammer.
　I went through the information in the Strategy Book and found out that Marum the Great asked for a hammer to be used in the great tunnels of Megolaus. That was when I discovered a sub-quest called "The Subquest".

　I was somewhat surprised when Aria said she was also going to follow me in the mood for a date, but I decided that, well, with me, there would be no danger. I'd have to protect Bazelph anyway, and if that happened, one or two of us wouldn't make much of a difference.
　Besides, thanks to Aria accompanying me, I'm allowed to use the Malm Chamber of Commerce's treasured "floating carpet" (hovering carpet), and it was not a bad choice.

　It's a good idea to have Aria with you for the duration of your journey (an important factor that cannot be ignored).

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆.

Is this the Great Gallery of Megoraus?
Hmm. Wide entrance and aisle.
Of course. In the old days, they dug and dug and dug for all kinds of rare metals. That's because they were digging for all kinds of rare metals in those days.
Well, Bazelfr is right. And it's just what we need. We could ride this hovering carpet right in.
'You're still going to ride!　In this unreliable cloth!
'It's hard to keep walking to the back, isn't it?　I don't care if it's me or your sturdy legs, but Aria's woman's slender legs have their limits.
'Oh!　I'm so glad you're worried about me, Magnus-san.
Mmm-hmm. Do what you gotta do!

　--The result of this discussion was that we rode directly into the tunnels on the hovering carpet.
　The tunnel was not straight, so we couldn't go very fast. It's not so different from walking.
　But in terms of ease, it's much easier, and I'm sure I'll be able to make progress in my search.

　However, even if I say progress, it's just a story limited to movement.
　The monsters that roamed the tunnels attacked within a short period of time after we entered.
　They are a group of skeletons - skeleton soldiers, holding rusty swords and shields and wearing decaying armor.

'Poor - and stupid people. This is the end result of the desires of the humans. They can't even ascend and will have to wander this cave forever.

　Bazelph sniffed unamusedly.

'The desire of the humans?　It appears there are dwarves in the mix as well?

　I pointed out with ridicule that there was a mixture of skeleton soldiers who were much shorter than humans and yet had stocky skeletons.

'Hmph. That's just a chibiscuit. It can't be a dwarf.
'You won't admit it?　You're a stubborn bastard.

　Bazelluf and I laugh at each other as we clap our hands together, laughing without hesitation.
　Bazelfr's guy is afraid of the hovering carpet, but apparently he's not afraid of undead monsters.

　On the contrary, it was Aria.
　As soon as she witnessed the creepy appearance of the skeleton soldiers, she paled with a "huh".
　She had talked about it beforehand and she would have been prepared for it, but after all, the degree of fear was probably different between hearing it and actually seeing it.
　Still, Aria was stout and didn't subject herself to the ugliness of panic and fuss.
　She would have liked to cling to me, but she held on, just pinching the hem of my long robe with her trembling hands, trying not to get in the way of my fight.
　What a healthy girl!
　I chanted the incantation in a cheerful voice to put her fears to rest.

'Moura a nou a bain on ren tilt!

　Countless jet black arrows gushed out of my raised staff.
The manabolt.
　In other words, it is pure destructive power made of magic.
　With other attack magic, the scope of destruction was too wide to be used in the tunnels. It was likely to cause the tunnel to collapse.
　However, this Mana Bolt is a single-attack magic, and it's deadly.
　It effectively destroyed only the target and did no harm to the surrounding area.
　Moreover, thanks to the special ability of the Rank S equipment, the Great Magic Staff, the single-attack mana bolt could attack a group of people.
　That manifested itself in the form of countless arrows that flew around in a complex trajectory, landing one after another on the skeleton soldiers.
　In a single blow, each of them reduced the skeletons, each of which were level 3 small fry monsters, to a fine piece of wood.

''What.......wiping them out with a single magic shot.......!
Mr. Magnus, it's amazing!

　Bazelph is blindingly amazed, and Aria hugs me with admiration.
　It's true that if I, a level 28 person, used it, even the beginner's level magic, ManaVolt, could produce a power that would surprise them.
　I'm not sure what kind of reaction I'd get if I used the ManaVolt III, which I just learned the other day.　Mischief flickers through my brain.
　But I shouldn't. I didn't come here to play. Waste of useless MP is against my principles.

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆.

　My advance was unstoppable.
　The tunnels were filled to the brim with skeleton soldiers, and I was able to completely overwhelm them with my collective annihilation, or "manabolt," as I called it.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.

I'm sure you are a far greater wizard than I ever imagined you would be.

　And he rubbed his beard with admiration, such as Bazelph.
　Aria, on the other hand, seemed to understand that as long as I was with her, she wasn't scared at all.

Oh no! A monster... There's a monster in front of you! Magnus, you're scaring me.

　She's already overjoyed and excited as if it's some kind of attraction, and she's hugging me.
　He understands that my well-honed spell chanting won't waver in the slightest with that much, and he is spoiling me with this as well. He's chanting the excuse, "Scary, scary," while coming in close without paying attention to Bazelph's eyes.

''Don't lose your way, Master Wizard.

　Bazelph also laughed and nailed it just there.
　I'm not going to get bothered by the softness of Aria's limbs or the good smell of her, so I don't want to do anything foolish like chomping at the bit.
　While kicking out the skeleton soldiers, I'm still checking the "strategy book".

　That's what they're describing.
　A complete map of the Great Tunnel of Megolaus.

　As long as we use this map as a guide, we will never get lost in the great tunnels, even though they are as complicated as an ant's nest.
　If you decide to go through it, you will not wander into the deepest part of the tunnels, either.

I'm here. I'm here!

　I shut down the hovering carpet.
　I reached a very open area at the end of a narrow passage and cleaned out a swarm of skeleton soldiers. The place is secured.
　This is a rare metal mining site that was abandoned during the war while it was still being mined.
　The three of us will be mining here, carrying a pickaxe - there's no way. There was no way we were going to carry a pickaxe and mine it.
　So I cast a new spell.

"Genk-a-tilt-el!

　Immediately, a jet-black gate opened in the empty void.
　The end of the gate led to the royal city of Laxtia.
　From the other side of the gate, a group of strong miners came lumbering in from the other side.
　That's right, by connecting the mining site to the royal capital with the Town Gate, the men hired by Aria's father were brought here in large numbers, safely and at high speed.
　If we left the rest to them, they would be able to extract the rare metals with ease.
　Besides, there were plenty of bodyguards among the men hired by the wealthy merchant Malm, so there was no way we could just protect the mining site from the skeleton soldiers once we got to this point.
　My request is complete.
　Now let's go get the Oryhalcon Smith Hammer!
　And now, the synthesis.