Chapter 71

"Well, in the end, it was just a place where we could only get the heavy metals."

"Yeah, that's right. Our inventories were pretty much filled up, though."

After leisurely exploring for about three hours with the effects of the Tomatton, we were slightly disappointed to find no boss fragments even at the deepest part, and we escaped from the Scorching Rock Cave. Besides the heavy metals, we also encountered new ores like light steel and Red Metal, and monsters like Dodorock's evolved form, Dododorock, and its pre-evolution form, Drock. Despite only spending about three hours, it was quite a fruitful exploration. Still, it's human nature to hope for something at the deepest part.

With lingering dissatisfaction, we decided to explore the Eternal Scorched Land as long as the Tomatton's effects lasted.

"Still, this place is pretty much nothing, too."

The Eternal Scorched Land is a field of scorched and smoldering earth. The ground is cracked and red, emitting heat, but it's basically just a completely blackened surface. There are no trees or living creatures. Within this desolate landscape, there are flat fields with the Flame Ancient Ruins and mountainous areas with the Scorching Rock Cave. We were in the mountain area.

There weren't as many monsters as in the Scorching Rock Cave, so it felt more like a casual hike. It was a bit too desolate to call it a picnic, though.

"Since we don't have much time, let's head back once we reach the nearest peak."

"Right. We're almost there."

Even though my inventory was almost full, it was already packed, so there was no reason to stay longer. We set a simple goal and climbed to a place with a wide view of the entire Scorching Rock Cave.

"That area over there is the Flame Ancient Ruins... right?"

"It's a big hole in the Eternal Scorched Land... so that must be it."

In front of us was a large hole in the flat field, with layers of smoldering earth visible like a mille-feuille. This hole seemed to be the location of the Flame Ancient Ruins. Unlike the World Tree Cave, which you climb, the Flame Ancient Ruins are more like a place you delve into, but from this view, it seems to run through the center of the Eternal Scorched Land. This means we would need to prepare enough Tomatton for a long exploration. Rin and Aru, and everyone I know, seem to head to Griffith through the World Tree Cave. Rin can't use magic freely in the narrow ruins, and Aru chose the World Tree Cave because there are many rock-type monsters that aren't suitable for a swordsman. But it might also be because they don't like dungeons that require heat resistance. Even with the Tomatton, it's still warmer than normal areas. Anyway, conquering that place will be a post-event story. For now, it's good to have confirmed it.

"Let's head back... Toka-chan!"

"Huh? Kyaa!?"

Suddenly feeling a sense of fear, I instinctively hugged Toka-chan. Before I could even think about what was happening, a burning boulder fell with a loud thud. I looked up, but there was no shadow or sign of more boulders falling. I scanned the surroundings, but there was no sign of anything. It didn't seem like anything was coming from the side either. I calmed down and thought. The first odd thing was that the boulder was on fire. The Eternal Scorched Land is just scorched earth, not a volcano. From the Scorching Rock Cave, it's clear that digging up the earth here wouldn't produce flames. So, it must be an attack from some kind of monster. But there was no sign of any such monster...

"Or is it that...?"

In the distance, probably a few kilometers away, there was a spot where the earth was slightly raised and smoke was billowing. Judging by its size, it must be quite large up close. I saw light flashing five times. It was probably the same thing that just fell. The target was obviously us. I felt that if we ran, there wouldn't be any follow-up attacks, but I was really curious about it.

"Lady, what is this...?"

"Toka-chan, about five more of those are coming this way. I think this is targeting players who reach the peak. I think we should run..."

In response to my vague words, Toka-chan nodded as if she understood something and took out a menu card.

"...I see. I kind of expected something like this. Lady, you always get involved in trouble. Here, take this."

With a slightly resigned expression, Toka-chan operated the menu card and sent me an item transfer request.

"This is...?"

"I secretly bought one for you. There must be more than just the Tomatton for heat resistance."

Toka-chan had covered for my oversight, which I had overlooked due to the Tomatton. The transferred item was a Heat Resistance Potion. It had the same 2-hour effect duration as the Tomatton, but its heat resistance was much higher. Apparently, there are levels to heat resistance, with the Tomatton being Level 1, which reduces environmental effects and weak heat attacks, and the Heat Resistance Potion being Level 3.

"But if you only have one, what about your share, Toka-chan?"

"I would like to come with you, but I have plans after this..."

"I see. Thanks for coming with me."

"Not at all. Just being able to play with Lady is happiness for me. Good luck, Lady."

"Thanks. I'll go check it out and come back without overexerting myself."

Because there were more, the sound of the boulders approaching was different from before. Toka-chan ran down the mountain to avoid being crushed, and I looked up to predict and avoid the impact.

"I wish Toka-chan was here to give me some support."

'???'

'Why didn't it hit?'

'It's like what experts do in manga.'

'Did Toka-chan leave?'

'She must be a student, so it's understandable.'

"Real life always comes first. Well, let's go see the source of those boulders."

With the extra time to read comments, I started descending the mountain while dodging the incoming boulders. The fact that they were accurately targeting my movements showed some intelligence, but dodging falling rocks was easy once you saw their trajectory. The distance and time before impact were considerable. Considering the time to return, I couldn't take my time.

"I'll run a bit."

'Where is it?'

'What can you see... uh?'

'Did you use binoculars?'

'Is that the smoke?'

Most of the listeners probably couldn't see the mysterious object yet. I chuckled at the comments expressing confusion and ran through the Eternal Scorched Land. I guided the occasional monsters to the boulder drop zones to crush them, dodging the rain of falling rocks without stopping. After a few minutes, the destination became clear. As I approached, I was overwhelmed by its size.

A viscous substance, probably a slime, several dozen meters in size. I don't know the principle, but it had a strange structure, with flames enclosed in a semi-transparent viscous material. It seemed to be creating projectiles by digging into the ground. The rock firing had stopped, probably because I was close enough. Instead, six crystal-like cores, resembling eyes, looked down at me as if sizing me up.

"Flame Wraith Meneas Lv89"

The name displayed was that of a named boss monster. The giant slime named Meneas was standing there calmly, making a squelching sound.