Kays Translations

Chapter 13: "Spirit Light Stones"

*Swish—!*

Swinging the obsidian dagger smeared with slime, the Cave Spider's goo was flicked off the blade.

Obsidian daggers, resistant to oil, were easy to handle in such situations.

"Now that the nearby monsters have been exterminated, it's time to give it a try."

Just to be sure, I use my detection ability, but there are no monster presences within several dozen meters around me.

Even if they're hiding, with my level 3 Detection ability, I shouldn't overlook monsters of lower rank.

If I miss something, it must be a formidable foe or a skilled one.

However, this is a low-level dungeon, so it should be safe and sound.

"Alright, everything seems good—right, left, all clear!"

With that in mind...

Vroom...

※ ※

"Resource to be collected: Spirit Light Stone"

⇒ Time required for collection: "00:33:10"

※ ※

The quality of what I can mine might be poor, but it's better than nothing.

Here we go!

Spirit Light Stones...

"............Activate!"

I activated my usual 【Automatic Function】, and my consciousness drifted away, just like when I usually use it...

And then, when I became aware again, I was holding a faintly glowing mineral in my hand...

"What...?"

It wasn't the familiar rock wall of the twilight Mine.

It was within a creepy darkness with numerous eerie holes scattered around...

W-Where is this?

Finally, when I had the chance to survey my surroundings...

Klaus, who had regained his consciousness as usual, was holding a faintly glowing mineral in his hand.

Moreover, it was quite large, almost the size of a fist. It was probably a Spirit Light Stone...

But right now.. 

That wasn't important... more important than that...

"Eek?!"

When I realized it, a scream had escaped my mouth.

B-Because...

"H-Human bones?! Ewah!!"

Crunch, crunch! The sound of stepping on something. 

And then, even more startling, I jumped at the sight of the space around me, flickering in the light of the Spirit Light Stone I was holding.

And what the faint light revealed was a mountain of white bones, densely filling the space.

"Eeek! W-Wait a minute!? W-Where is this place—!!"

Klaus tried to escape in a panic, but it wasn't clear where he had come from. Moreover, this place seemed to be a dead-end passage with no apparent way out.

"Uh... Th-This is bad...! Did I accidentally dig into some weird place—?"

I've heard that in old mines, there are hidden tombs of ancient dwarves, but... could it really be in the 'Twilight Mine'?!

The scattered human bones at my feet were quite ancient, all belonging to small-sized individuals.

At first glance, they seemed like children's bones, but...

"T-This, could it be... is this... a dwarf's tomb after all?"

The weathered designs on the deteriorated bones somehow reminded me of what the dwarves in town prefer to wear. 

Moreover, there were numerous bones with small yet sturdy skeletal structures.

N-No, no, no, this isn't the time to carefully observe the bones. 

Something is seriously wrong here!

"....Damn it!"

Thank you, it seems I've wandered into a strange place.

'Automatic Resource Harvesting' faithfully mined the spirit stones for me, which is great, but I never expected it to punch through hidden tombs and enter the interior...

Truly, automatic functions like this can be extremely dangerous in places like these.

However, fortunately or unfortunately, the disturbed bones were pointing the way Klaus had gone.

Right. First, calm down.

I'm not trapped...

"There's an exit—. Let's calm down and slowly make our way back. Since I came in, there must be an exit, naturally."

Carefully storing the spirit stones I acquired in my bag, I took out a large magic light stone to use as a substitute for illumination.

"...If this had turned into a dungeon-like tomb, I'd be surrounded by skeletons—scary..."

It appeared that only weathered bones were scattered around, not belonging to any undead creatures.

Even so, the atmosphere was eerie enough...

Silence.

Klaus walked slowly through the eerily quiet cemetery.

The sound of crunching bones echoed deeply throughout the tomb as he stepped on them, permeating the air.

If you listen carefully, it feels like you can hear someone's breathing, but in this world of the dead, apart from Klaus, all life has ceased...

"T-There's a sound..."

The flickering light from the unstable magic stone created eerie shadows, making it feel like something might suddenly leap out. 

Klaus, moving unconsciously due to the automatic function, must have come here alone...

"If someone were watching from the sidelines, I'd seem quite insane—"

I hate to admit it, but I tend to be reckless and impulsive...

"A-Anyway, for now, it doesn't seem dangerous, but let's proceed with caution. We don't know what might be lurking—"

With that, Klaus started to advance slowly, but...

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

"Ahh?!"

The sudden scream made me jump in surprise.

※ ※

Screams pierced the air—

Like the sound of tearing silk, a woman's scream.

It's just like a banshee's cry!!

"Ahh!!"

Klaus couldn't help but let out a deep scream.

A figure suddenly emerged—there it was!!

The woman's scream reverberated through the corridor, causing Klaus to involuntarily tense up.

Well, anyone would be startled if they suddenly heard a voice other than their own echoing, right?!

Moreover, there shouldn't be anyone else in the Twilight Mine besides Klaus—

And this is a hidden? passage, mind you.

But, really,

"Ahhhh! Someoneeeee!!"

Crack! Crackle! Crunch!

And, while violently trampling on bones, a girl jumped out from the corner of the winding passage.

"Wha-whoaaaaa!! A ghost girl!!"

Startled by the girl who came running with incredible speed, Klaus didn't hesitate and fled without looking back.

"Wa-wait! Hey! Who's the ghost here—aaaaah, she's comingggg!!"

Splish-splash!!

Another figure making intense footsteps.

However, without even confirming who it was, Klaus frantically maneuvered through the narrow passage in an attempt to escape the girl.

"H-Help me! I'm sorry! I'll give you anything! Anything you want!!"

"H-Hey, calm down a bit! Oh no, I can't stay calm in a situation like this!!"

Splish-splash!!

"Ko-kakakakakakaka!!"

Following the girl, a skeletal corpse clad in armor jumped out from the passage...

"Ahhhh!! A skeleton?! A skelettoooon?! H-Human bones are movingggg!"

A cackling skeleton, armed and leaping out from the corridor!

If someone isn't scared by this, they must be incredibly brave!!

Calm down!!

They're just regular undead—common in dungeon-like tombs...

"S-Skeleton?!"

"No!! They're Skeleton Knights!!"

After providing the correct answer, Klaus and the girl found themselves cornered at the edge of the corridor they had just come from.

S-Skeleton Knights?

Skeleton Knights, if I recall correctly—

"Huh?! That's an intermediate-level monster..."

"Ko-kakakakakakaka!!"

Eeeeek!!

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