Chapter 23

Jumping down from above with a pounce,

quickly diving into the crack,

the mother spider appeared, holding a small silver ore.

I was surprised by the mother spider's agility.

Since it seems to be offering it, I take the ore, about the size of a 10-yen coin.

Is what lies beyond the crack this beautiful silver ore?

"Thank you, Mother."

...I somehow called her Mother, but is that okay?

Come to think of it, I haven't named her yet.

The mother spider already feels like a mother.

The baby spiders

...

Wait, wait until I can tell them apart.

Same size, same color, same type... Will there ever be a time when I can tell them apart?

The crack is narrow, and I can't fit in.

I check the space with spatial awareness to see if there are any other cracks or holes in the silver ore space.

None!

Finally, I've conquered the rock formation!

For now, I put the silver ore in my pocket.

I don't know the name of the ore, but it's precious because I got it from Mother.

While returning to the surface, I pick up a piece of fallen rock.

Speaking of which, caves always seem to have lots of rocks,

but this is the first piece of rock I've picked up... Is this rock hard?

But can I process this?

I plan to use this dwelling as a base and explore the surroundings to find people.

I look around.

No matter where I look, it's bumpy.

I trip multiple times, and I can predict a serious fall someday.

Especially at night, it's scary!

Hmm, processing is difficult.

It's a rock, after all.

To make the surface smooth, I need sandpaper, I guess. Wood can be smoothed with sandpaper.

I remember the shelf I made as a hobby.

It hurt when splinters got into my hands, so I worked hard to sand it down.

"Hmm, processing."

Huh?

The bumpy rock in my hand has a smooth surface now.

The rough stuff on my palm is probably rock dust.

Can I process things with magic?

Wow, magic is amazing.

Kalen on my shoulder and Mother, who had just climbed down from my head,

are staring at the smooth ore.

Koa and Chai, who usually stay a bit away, also come closer.

Actually, they are incredibly close.

What's going on?

Is the smooth rock rare?

Is it something you don't see often in nature?

Well, at least this will make the living conditions of this dwelling a bit better.

For now, I'll polish all the surfaces in the space.

One of Chai's baby spiders jumps toward the smooth rock.

It slides and falls...

...

I'll make the floor non-slip.

Mother, baby spiders, no running on the floor!

That was close.

I'm glad no one stepped on it.