Chapter 70

"Good work, it was impressive."

The crown prince offered words of encouragement to the soldiers. After that, the monster hunters, other than the mages, along with the soldiers, defeated the encountered beasts, reaching the boundary between the shallow and middle layers. The crown prince, considering the consumption of catalysts, instructed the mages to hold back from combat. For Ricardo, it was a relief, but he felt guilty watching the Silver Ridge members fight nearby.

That day, Ricardo only managed to catch one headbutting rabbit with his monster-forming rod.

Night was approaching in the monster realm. They emerged in a clearing where the trees thinned out.

"Your Highness, shall we set up camp here?"

The crown prince nodded at the soldier's suggestion, and preparations for camping began.

"Ricardo, did you bring the thing I asked for?"

"Yes, I have it ready."

Ricardo searched for a flat spot and took out the container house from the storage amethyst.

The sudden appearance of a large steel box surprised the soldiers and monster hunters.

"What is that?"

Amadeo of the Silver Ridge asked Ricardo.

"It's a lodging facility for camping."

Ricardo took out another container house.

When the crown prince requested Ricardo to explore the monster realm, Ricardo told him he was making a container house, thinking the crown prince would be interested.

Sure enough, the crown prince asked for one for himself. He hastily requested Galofaro to make another one. Initially reluctant, Galofaro agreed to do his best upon learning the client was the crown prince.

The completed container houses were almost identical, except for the paint. The crown prince's was a deep purple, and Ricardo's was a deep green.

Both colors were designed to be inconspicuous at night.

The entrance was on the opposite wall from the toilet and on the ceiling, and it was recommended to use the ceiling entrance in places like the monster realm.

Ricardo guided the crown prince into the container house. Opening the small purple door, they entered to find a small closet on the right and a bed on the left.

"It's cramped."

The crown prince muttered to himself.

"There are size limitations for what can fit into the storage amethyst, so it can't be helped."

"Hmm, I can't be too picky, I suppose."

He seemed to understand.

After showing him the toilet and shower,

"How do you get water?"

Ricardo and the others climbed a ladder attached to the wall and went out through the ceiling entrance to the roof of the container house.

There was a water tank right above the toilet and shower room, and Ricardo explained that water was added by opening a hatch on the roof.

"Just remember to wash quickly, as there's a limited supply of water."

"Of course, that's to be expected."

The crown prince looked a bit disappointed, perhaps because he was unexpectedly clean despite his rugged appearance.

Leaving the crown prince to rest, Ricardo went outside. Monta emerged from his backpack and climbed onto the container house, apparently unable to hold still any longer in the cramped space.

"Monta, be careful; there are dangerous beasts around."

"No problem, Monta's ears are amazing."

Ricardo took out a shovel from the storage amethyst and, with Amadeo's help, dug a deep hole outside the toilet.

"Hey, Ricardo, what's inside?"

"Just a small room."

"Can you show us?"

"Sure."

Ricardo invited the Silver Ridge members into his container house.

They squinted to see the bunk beds, toilet, and shower room.

"Wow, you carry a room around with you."

Bruno, the spear user, sighed.

Ricardo told the Silver Ridge members,

"You can use the toilet and shower if you need to."

"Really?"

The only female member, the mage Maribella, was delighted. It seemed the women were struggling with the lack of facilities.

A campfire was burning in front of the container house.

The soldiers were preparing the meat of the tusk boar they had caught that day. Not wanting to burden them, Ricardo started cooking a dish.

He cut the root vegetables into large pieces, laid dried kelp in a large pot, added water, and put it on the fire. After taking out the kelp to make the broth, he added the cut root vegetables and diced rabbit meat and simmered them.

He carefully removed the scum and seasoned it with salt and fish sauce.

"This looks delicious."

Maribella commented.

"It's a simple dish."

"Are you not eating the first thing you cooked?"

"That was just to make the broth; I don't eat it."

The rabbit and root vegetable soup Ricardo made was well-received by everyone, including the crown prince.

That night, everyone except the crown prince took turns on watch.

Ricardo took out another bunk bed from the storage amethyst to make room for four people in the container house.

Maribella and Ricardo used one bunk bed, and the other was to be used in turns.

Even though it was summer, the night in the monster realm was cool. The breeze from the window with a screen felt refreshing. The futons and blankets were ordinary, but they were a world apart from sleeping outdoors.

The screen kept out insects, providing a sense of security.

Ricardo slept soundly until Amadeo, who was on watch, woke him the next morning. His body felt refreshed from the previous day's fatigue. Making the container house was a good decision.

"Wow, I've never slept so well in the monster realm."

Maribella's voice echoed in the container house.

After waking up, Ricardo and the others had a simple breakfast, put away the container house in the storage amethyst, and set off.

"That container house is great. I slept so comfortably, it didn't feel like a campsite at all."

The crown prince seemed satisfied with the container house.

As they advanced deeper into the monster realm, about thirty minutes later, Monta, who had only half-emerged from his backpack, warned them.

"There's a dangerous one over there."

Everyone braced themselves. A giant spider appeared.

Its body was two meters long, and it had a snake's head where a spider's head should be.

"Be careful, it can spit poison from its mouth."

Amadeo warned.

At first glance, it was a monster of the same class as the Elbir tree. The soldiers' swords and spears wouldn't be enough to defeat it.

Of course, even with a Wind Magic Gun, it would be difficult to take it down.

"Use the Magic Guns to buy time while the mages prepare their spells."

The crown prince gave instructions.

The soldiers aimed their Magic Guns at the giant spider and pulled the triggers.

Shockwaves hit the spider's body, but its tough exoskeleton deflected them. Another shockwave from a different Magic Gun hit the head.

It seemed to have caused some damage, as small scales flew off. However, the giant spider continued to advance.

"Aim for the head!"

Shockwaves continuously shook the giant spider's head. Disliking the attack, the giant spider stopped and let out a strange hissing sound.

Maribella was the first to cast the Water Collapse Spear spell. The water blade spun and swirled, attacking the giant spider.

The water blade hit the spider's back but couldn't penetrate the armor and dissipated.

The giant spider's defense was extremely high.

The other two mages cast the Storm Fang Array and the Shredding Rain spells. These were intermediate-level Wind spells. Dozens of wind blades sliced the giant spider's head, and shockwave clusters rained down on its body.

The giant spider was bleeding from its head, indicating significant damage.

The crown prince took out his Magic Rifle and aimed at the spider's head, pulling the trigger. The shockwave caused the air to vibrate, and the large shockwave hit the snake-like head, tearing it apart.

Seeing the giant spider's lifeless body, the crown prince addressed everyone.

"Good job."

Holding the Magic Rifle, the crown prince came to Ricardo.

"Hey, Ricardo, don't you think if we had a lot of these, we could create an invincible army?"

Ricardo pondered the meaning.

"However, large Magic Vines aren't easy to come by."

"…Life doesn't always go as planned."

The crown prince stored the giant spider's corpse in the storage amethyst.

They took a short break.

Monta emerged from his backpack and started climbing a nearby tree.

"What's up? Did you find something?"

"These look delicious, tree fruits."

Monta found tree fruits that looked like cherries and was excitedly collecting them. Monta didn't seem to fear the monster realm's beasts.

After storing the collected fruits in the storage amethyst, Monta returned and gave three to Ricardo.

Since Monta could tell which fruits were edible, Ricardo trusted him and ate one.

"Delicious."

They looked and tasted like cherries.

Monta said, "Please," and distributed one fruit to everyone, who accepted them with smiles.

They encountered giant spiders twice more. The third giant spider was taken down by Ricardo using an Earth Magic Rifle.

The most efficient way to defeat them was to use the soldiers' Magic Guns and the crown prince's Magic Rifle to immobilize the giant spider, then finish it off with Ricardo's Magic Rifle.

They also encountered tree-biting lizards and spotted tusk boars. The crown prince left these to the mages.

The two mages from the Wind Slash Hunters seemed to specialize in Wind magic. While it had a wide attack range and was easy to use compared to Earth and Fire magic, it lacked power.

They could damage threat level 4 giant spiders, but encountering stronger monsters might result in insufficient combat power.

As they were worrying about this, a double-horned armored bear appeared as if called.

"I'll use my magic here..."

When Ricardo tried to step forward, the two Wind specialists stopped him.

"Wait, this isn't a place for a kid like you."

"Right, leave it to us."

The two mages simultaneously cast the Storm Fang Array.

A storm of flashing wind blades attacked the double-horned armored bear. The bear stood still, taking the magic without trying to avoid it.

The fierce monster showed no signs of damage and glared at the two mages.

"Damn, it's no good. In that case, big brother..."

"Right, we'll use our trump card."

The two mages, full of enthusiasm, raised their voices.

The crown prince watched with a worried expression.

"Let's go, our combined magic."

Hearing about combined magic, Ricardo widened his eyes and started observing.

The two mages began chanting spells simultaneously, but Ricardo couldn't make out what they were saying.

A wind tornado and a water vortex appeared and merged, heading towards the double-horned armored bear. The wind and water vortex hit the bear, lifting its massive body and spinning it.

"Wow!"

The soldiers watching cheered.

When the wind and water vortex disappeared, the double-horned armored bear fell to the ground with a thud. There were no visible wounds or blood on the bear's body.

The double-horned armored bear stood up.

"Hey, big brother, the bear doesn't even seem dazed."

"Damn, this isn't good."

The enraged double-horned armored bear charged at the two mages and swept them away with a powerful swipe.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The two mages flew through the air.

Ricardo, who had been watching in shock, silently screamed in his mind that that wasn't combined magic.

The crown prince also had an indescribable expression, looking in the direction the two mages had flown.

"Ah, Your Highness, give an order."

One of the soldiers spoke up.

"R-right, Ricardo, it's up to you."

The crown prince entrusted the task to Ricardo, who had a record of defeating the double-horned armored bear.

Ricardo felt his fighting spirit wane and experienced a sense of deflation.

Still, there was an enemy in front of him.

He gathered his strength and cast the Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet spell.

Silver steel particles appeared in the air and began to spin rapidly. The spindle-shaped mass then shot forward at high speed, emitting sparks and a crackling sound.

The Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet hit the double-horned armored bear's chest, sending an electric current through its massive body. The steel particles' vortex carved into the bear's motionless flesh, creating a large hole.

The double-horned armored bear's chest was left with a large hole, and its massive body fell.

Ricardo's magic was incredibly powerful, but the image of the two mages flying through the air was etched in everyone's memory.

The moment the double-horned armored bear fell,

"Search for the two, and check if they're alive."

The crown prince ordered a search for the two mages. – They were alive.

Both were severely injured, making it impossible to continue the monster realm exploration.

The two members of the same party asked the crown prince to let them withdraw from the exploration, wanting to carry the injured mages back.

The crown prince had a stern look, considering the difficulty of the exploration if four monster hunters were to withdraw. Ricardo waited to see what decision he would make.

"First, find a suitable place to camp."

Following the crown prince's order, they set up camp about five minutes away.

The location had a small rock hill behind it, so they only needed to be cautious of monsters approaching from the front.

"Set up the container house."

Ricardo set up the container house as instructed by the crown prince. He was told to move the injured inside and lay them on the beds. These were the beds the crown prince had been using. There was just enough space to lay the two side by side.

Then, he provided the best treatment he could.

"I'll lend you this container house. The four of you from the Wind Slash Hunters, wait here until we return."

The crown prince ordered the Wind Slash Hunters. The two swordsmen were moved to tears and knelt to thank him.

For some reason, the crown prince seemed to like the two comedic mages.

Ricardo and the others stayed the night and set off early the next morning.

Over the next two days, they reached the boundary between the middle and deep layers. Whenever they encountered dangerous monsters, Ricardo used the Thunder Vortex Steel Bullet to repel them.

The crown prince and Maribella showed interest, but Ricardo couldn't easily share the spell. It was one of his trump cards.

When they discovered the structure, Ricardo honestly thought it was out of place.

A metal dome-shaped building stood there, far beyond the technological capabilities of their country.

The entrance-like door had what appeared to be a display embedded in it. As Ricardo and the others approached the door, text and symbols appeared on the display-like surface.