Reckless Courage

Past the grasslands, just as I'd been told, there were cliffs.

Behind me, the adventurers had gathered and were fighting the Black Snakes.

None of them seemed interested in coming this way.

I wish I could have joined them, I sighed to myself.

The cliffs were deep… dangerously so. A fall meant certain death.

The far side was a long way off, thick with trees. A completely different landscape from over here.

I walked along the cliff's edge toward the end. The pickaxe weighed on me.

The scenery stayed the same for a while. Glancing at the cliff face below, I could see black stone exposed in patches here and there. If my memory was right, that was burning stone.

Even if I was wrong, I'd bring it back and hope for the best. All I knew was that it was rough-textured and black.

I kept walking. No monsters appeared near the cliffs, probably because of the terrain.

Even if something did show up, the open ground would give me plenty of warning.

The grasslands were far behind me now, and I could no longer see anyone.

The wind picked up, fluttering my skirt.

When I reached the cliff's end, there was a slope, a path of sorts.

It was too narrow for an adult, but someone my size could manage.

I peered over the edge. It was too dark to see the bottom from here.

Fear made my legs lock up, but unfortunately, turning back wasn't an option.

Carefully, with small steps, I began my descent down the cliff.

My left hand traced the rock wall as I went.

No sign of monsters. Come to think of it, there hadn't been any tracks or traces on the way down either. Was there really anything to find here?

But I couldn't ignore Master's orders without at least checking.

The deeper I went, the less sunlight reached me, and the colder it got.

I pulled a cloak from my rucksack and wrapped it around myself. That would do for now.

Eventually, I reached the bottom of the cliff.

Dark… My eyes could barely make out my immediate surroundings.

There was a torch in the rucksack. I struck the flint and lit it.

I was well-practiced with flint. Cooking had been my job back home.

The torchlight revealed nothing at the cliff's bottom.

But to my eyes, it looked unsettling. I felt something ominous.

I walked around for a while exploring, but the only encounter was a fist-sized scorpion.

I smashed it as hard as I could with my sword. It didn't cut, but it splattered nicely.

Could I sell it to the Adventurer's Guild? No, that master of mine would just tell me to save the space for burning stone.

Right. There was nothing here. Fortunately, I'd spotted burning stone several times on the way down. I'd mine some and head back. That seemed like the best plan.

Decision made.

I propped the torch against a rock so it wouldn't fall, then set my rucksack down near a cluster of burning stone.

Heavy gloves on. Pickaxe gripped tight.

Heavy, but not so heavy I couldn't lift it.

I brought the pickaxe down on the black stone.

A dull thud, and a sharp jolt shot through my hands.

I nearly dropped the pickaxe, but held on.

A chip of burning stone tumbled to my feet.

Small enough to fit in my palm, but I put it in the bag all the same.

I kept swinging, resting between sets, chipping away steadily.

The last piece of stone in this section broke free.

I lost my balance at the same moment and sat down hard, finally dropping the pickaxe.

Both hands had gone completely numb.

But it had paid off. I'd collected as much burning stone as the rucksack could hold.

This should keep Master from getting angry. It was the most I could carry.

I struggled out of the thick gloves and gulped water from my canteen.

I was drenched in sweat. The cloak was long since packed away.

Another scorpion could show up at any time, so sleep was out of the question, but I leaned against the wall to rest for a while.

When the numbness in my arms finally faded, I decided to head back.

I stood up, praying the stones were all genuine, and the section of wall I'd been mining suddenly caved in.

I grabbed the torch and stared at the wall.

It kept crumbling, the hole growing wider. I stuck the torch inside. There was a cavity beyond.

Tall enough for a person to walk through, it stretched deep into the darkness.

A draft blew through, carrying what might have been the faint smell of blood.

Air was moving, which meant there was oxygen.

I'd been told that using a torch in an airtight space could poison you with bad air.

I hesitated. I was already exhausted from mining. Going back would be the safe choice.

But this might lead to something related to the quest.

If I reported the hole, someone else would come investigate it.

… More results were better. I didn't want him to give up on me.

I knew what happened to people deemed useless.

Just a little deeper. If it seemed dangerous, I'd turn back. With that resolve, I stepped into the cavity.

The burning stone was too heavy, so I took it out and left it behind. I'd collect it on the way back.

The cavity was slightly damp and uncomfortable.

A single passage, no forks.

Suddenly, I stepped on something hard. I shone the torch down.

Bones. I swallowed involuntarily.

Feeling a bit sick, I braced my hand against the wall, and something crawled across my skin.

I shook it off violently and aimed the torch at where it fell.

A long body with legs at every joint. A… centipede.

They lived in places like this, sure.

I hated centipedes. Everything about their shape was terrifying, and I'd been stung before. My hand had swelled up.

My nerve crumbled. I didn't even know why the bones were here.

This was too much for someone working solo.

I turned around to head back—and everything shook violently.

I dropped to my knees, unable to stay standing.

As if that had been a signal, the ground beneath me gave way.

"Huh?"

A comically dumb sound escaped my lips.

I'd been holding the torch in my left hand, so I could only reach out with my right, but the lingering numbness robbed me of grip strength. I missed.

I was falling fast.

I'm dead, I thought.

I was wrong.

Instead of hard ground, I landed on something soft that cushioned the impact.

Whatever it was squished beneath me, and something foul-smelling splattered across my body.

Fortunately, the torch was still lit.

I checked myself for injuries and breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked at what I'd crushed. Eggs, each one as big as a fetus, piled up everywhere.

I'd been lucky enough to land on them.

Yellowish, slightly translucent.

I'd never seen anything like them. They were far too large to be normal.

While I stood staring blankly at the eggs, I heard something crawling.

Getting closer… Something big. If it was alive, it was massive.

I looked around, but the cavern was almost pitch black save for a faint glow from crystals in the walls. I couldn't see a thing.

Staying here was bad. I scrambled to my feet and ran in the opposite direction from the sound.