Munch. Munch.
Hikari munches down on her dried rations.
The chewy taste of ivory berries that she hates but must eat to replenish her mana.
She wolfs down two in a row.
A warehouse compartment in the mine shaft.
It was big enough to house her though she had to share it with several crates of unshipped ore.
Common iron for making steel. Limestone for buildings.
Nothing that would be worth a raid party's time.
Her inanimate roommates left her enough room to be housed comfortably.
She stretches out her legs, bent forward and touches her toes.
She had marched all the way from the mine entrance.
Time is hard to estimate without seeing the daylight cycle inside the mines.
But if she counts the ration packs, she reckons she had marched for a full day carrying that heavy shield.
Her back hurts just a little.
The soreness in her legs was manageable.
It was thanks to the salamander skin.
She feels it synchronizes well to her movements.
It was an additional layer of muscle that shared the pressure on her joints.
Stretches her sword arm.
Still in fighting condition.
The sword of a previous RazenHeir.
It feels much better than steel swords.
The best sword she has had so far.
The rare runium that makes up its core was dense.
It responds well to her mana.
When she swings, the telekinetic force behind its weight allows her to cut clean through the queen spider's legs.
The softer outer layer of black steel was scratched but the blacksmiths could replace it easily.
It's the runium core that makes the sword unavailable on the common market place.
It alone makes for a sword worth passing down the generations.
She checks the rest of her gear.
A lot of her steel balls were gone.
They got lost in the spider swamp.
Not hard to replace.
So are most of her throwing daggers which she overloaded to burn the hive.
She swallows the last bite.
Her hair hits the hard stone.
Nothing more to do than sleep.
Right outside her warehouse, she hears the miners working.
Pickaxes hacking away at the queen spiders carapace.
Shovels clearing away the rubble and loading it into mine carts.
Flamethrowers torching away at the remaining spider webs.
The constant banging of hammers.
They were assembling the drill that would bore through the mountains to the queen wyvern's lair.
Rey walks in.
He approaches cautiously, staying close to the wall.
If the giantess rolls over, he would get crushed.
But he won't.
Hikari senses him.
She turns her head and opens her eyes.
Rey was still getting used to standing in front of a giant face.
"Ahem! Sorry to disturb your rest. Would you mind a word?"
"Sure."
Rey clears his throat.
"Thanks a bunch for saving me back there. A queen spider. I was not ready to deal with that. If you didn't come along, I would have become a womb for baby spiders."
"It's nothing."
"You're quite humble, you know. Anyways, good job. Splendid job. Excellent job."
Hikari feels good about the compliment.
"Rey."
"Yes."
He flinched as Hikari's gaze turned to him.
He begins to sweat.
"How do I take it off?"
"Take- take it off? "I'm not sure what you-."
"My armour."
"Ah…"
He breathes a sign of relief.
"Nothing to it. You just peel it off. It's just how salamander skin is. It sticks to its host for warmth and mana. It hates letting go so you have to put some muscle behind it."
Rey was engulfed in Hikari's telekinetic aura.
The loose pieces of stone around him chatter.
The piece of her wyvern skin comes up, floating into a pile.
Rey's eyes opened wide.
It was his first time witnessing Hikari disassemble her armour.
A thick layer of black viscous goo underneath.
Rey had seen various adventurers with salamander skin, but never at this size.
Hikari pushes her fingers into her salamander skin.
She tears away at it.
The salamander skin tries to stick to her.
She pushes it outwards with her telekinesis.
Large swathes at a time, she pulls the salamander skin out and piles them in a corner.
Her soaked layer of cotton clothing underneath.
"Ahh.."
Hikari felt a wave of relief as the cool air in the mines relieves the heat trapped in her tight armour and begins drying her soaked inner clothes.
She looks down at Rey.
He hugs the wall tight.
His crotch armour securely fastened.
"So what now?"
Rey shrugs.
"Nothing. We're done. We cleared the way to the mine shaft. We just have to hold it until the slayers conclude the raid."
"Nice."
"I have some good news for you, the soup kitchen is set up at the mine entrance. When the next supply run comes, you'll be able to taste hot stew."
Hikari smiles.
The stew is nothing special.
But a day of eating the chewy rations already makes her miss it.
"We just have the inspection to go through."
"Inspection?"
"Yes, I hope your Lady briefed you ahead of time. We are not legally cleared to attempt the mana veins by the adventurer's guild. If you bring back evidence that you've been there, you'll get us and your lady in trouble. I know its routine for the Moradale houses to ignore that and send their expeditions anyway, but on this occasion, your lady does not wish to tangle with that."
Hikari keeps quiet.
Rey fishes something out of his pocket.
Hikari sits up.
She recognizes it.
"Ria's letter. We have been in the shaft for more than two days now. She must be anxious for a reply."
Rey opens the letter and places it in her palm.
The invisible ink of the RazenHeir house.
Ria's meticulous handwriting.
To Hikari, if this letter finds you, I am overjoyed that you are alive and well. The inspectors have just arrived. Normally we hate them but they are a sign that the raid is near its end. I have ordered a feast for you. The famed Herdial bird said to be the favourite dish of the goddess Herda. Hope to see you back at the camp. P.S. Please don't go around looting the place. You'll get us in trouble with the Herdial adventurer guild. Your lady Ria.
Hikari quietly reads the letter.
She hands it back to Rey, indicating that she has finished reading.
"Come, let us write a reply together."
Rey takes out a blank piece of paper and a quill.
"You first, after all, you're the star of the raid."
Hikari scratches her cheeks.
"We are doing good."
"That's it. There's still plenty of room on the paper. Do you want me to write it in bold to convey your booming voice?"
"Yes."
The general looks at her with dead eyes.
"I'll fill up the rest then."
He scribbles on the paper.
Once he's done, he holds it up for Hikari to read.
Unlike Ria, his handwriting was borderline readable.
To my porcelain princess Ria. Your letter has indeed found us well. Hikari says 'we are doing good'. She is sitting right before me in good condition as I write. We have successfully reached the mana shaft. The drill is being assembled as we speak. We are scheduled to be back within the week. P.S I am deeply jealous you have not ordered a Herdial bird for me. Yours truly, the baby fawn general Rey.
Hikari giggles.
Her mid pitched voice reverberates through the tight warehouse where she was housed.
Rey covers his ears.
Hikari calms down.
Rey composes himself.
"Now, I suppose I should leave you to rest now. But listen closely."
Rey whispers.
"There's a mine shaft leading upwards to over to the top. From what I've seen, you can scale it easily. The second mana vein is close. Go in. Absorb some mana. Get out. Don't bring anything back."
Hikari pursed her lips and nodded.
"Now! One last thing, I'd like to take stock of your remaining rations so that I can plan the supply schedule better."
He walks behind Hikari towards her harvest sack.
It towered over him.
"It looks rather bulky, is it all your ration packs inside?"
"Yes."
"It looks like you have enough then."
"Yes."
Rey stares at the harvest sack.
"How many ration packs do you have?"
"Enough."
He turns around and looks at Hikari with his dead eyes.
Hikari looks away.
Her finger scratches her cheek.
"Hikari…"
"Yes?"
"Open the sack…"
…
Rey stood before the most impressive haul he had seen.
Mana crystals even bigger than he is.
Glowing so bright that it overwhelms the lantern light.
They seem to freeze the air around them.
Exotic fruits harvested from the mana veins.
Vivid colors.
Some of them could fetch a year's wages of a common soldier.
Wyvern parts.
The skin and bones could keep long after the meat decays.
Particular the wings that would fetch a decent price at the Herdial exchange.
Imbibed weapons and armour.
Enough to equip a full party of gold ranked adventurers.
Rey could recognize many of the insignias etched into the armour to identify the house to which it belongs.
He turns to Hikari.
His dead eyes stare at her as she looks away scratching her cheek.
He turns and runs for the warehouse entrance.
There was an iron gate.
He pushed it with all his strength.
Hikari helps him with her telekinesis.
The gate slams shut.
Rey catches his breath.
"Herda's tits. I thought I told you not to bring anything back. If a miner with a loose tongue sees it, we'll be in big trouble."
"Sorry."
Hikari scratches her cheeks.
Rey begins frantically sorting the fruit into two piles.
"These are edible. You can eat them straight away. The other pile is mildly poisonous. I think you should just feed it to your salamander skin."
"Hmm..?"
"Yes, in the wild, the salamander skin grows by absorbing various decaying plant matter that its host tends to roll itself in. Crush it and sprinkle it over your salamander skin. By the way, you can take some of the spider carapace. They aren't as valuable as her egg sacks and venom glands and they are a pain to transport so you can take as much as you want."
"Yes."
Rey backs off.
He drinks another potion.
This one boosts his mana defense as he was exposed to the huge crystals from the mana vein.
"Consume it all, I'll watch."
Hikari grabs a mana crystal with her barehand.
The cold was biting.
She pops a fruit into her mouth and begins absorbing the mana crystal.
Physique : 787 -> 812
Mana : 807 -> 873
Defense : 762 -> 785
Height : 4.8 metres -> 4.9 metres
Weight : 2600 kg -> 2700 kg