Chapter One Hundred and Ten: The Journey Goes On… Endlessly… With Occasional Breaks
Steel mole… According to Survival, it is just "edible." It’s an omnivore with strong carnivorous tendencies, so it often has a strong gamey smell. Its dull-colored fur is true to its "steel" name, hard enough to deflect dull weapons…
It’s beyond "If it doesn’t hit you, it doesn’t matter" and more like "even if your attack hits, it won’t do any damage"!?
W-wait a minute… is everyone going to be okay…?
“Burn it all up!”
With Mr. Ed’s shout, the mole seemed to be enclosed by an invisible wall, and then it was being incinerated within that space. As it burned, the space itself crumbled away, disappearing in the blink of an eye without even leaving ashes behind. Not even the usual black mist remained.
…I see. If physical attacks don’t work, magic is the way to go… Come to think of it, I wondered this in the dungeon too, but how exactly does Mr. Ed’s magic work?
Seeing that the steel mole had completely vanished, Mr. Ville and the rest put away their weapons and came back to me.
“G-Good work…! Are you injured… you don’t seem to be… but are you okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Is everything okay in here?”
“Gomamiso, the Camping Car, and I are all fine. So when you said it would get dirty, you meant that rain of soil…”
“Right. Usually, they hide underground and ambush their prey when it passes by, jumping out from below. I’m glad Aria noticed it.”
“Mm! I won’t let my guard down again!”
Although there was no noticeable dirt, everyone cast cleaning magic on themselves "just in case" before getting back into the car.
Ms. Aria returned to the passenger seat, puffing out her chest proudly.
…Yup. When Ms. Aria… um… puffs out her chest like that… well. I won’t say what, but it’s quite something, yup!
But seriously, if I had tried to pass through there and been hit by that upward attack… it’s terrifying to think about… There could be other monsters or magical creatures that attack like that. Just as how some attacked from water or underground, there might be enemies in the trees… I should proceed carefully.
For now, let’s avoid that big hole and get back on the path marked by the wheel tracks.
After that, we don’t encounter any more ambushes and I continue driving under a clear sky.
‘Bird! That’s a bird, right!? I know that!’
“Goma, do you like the outdoors? That bird does look tasty… doesn’t it?”
‘I like fish, but I also like birds.’
In the passenger seat, Gomamiso, held by Ms. Aria, is meowing while following the scenery outside with its eyes, and Ms. Aria is talking to it.
It’s really peaceful… except for Mr. Ed’s glaring eyes from the living area… yup.
As I drive through the beautiful weather, feeling a slight chill down my spine, I start to see a more firmly packed road ahead. It seems we’ve merged onto the main road heading towards Melnoa Volcano… or rather, the town of Melnoa.
Rhielle Lake was a lot of fun for me, but it doesn’t seem to be a major location. This is probably more of a branch road connecting to the highway rather than the highway itself. Still, it’s well-managed enough to be regularly cleared of monsters. This country must be pretty amazing…!?
“I was thinking of stopping for the day after we go a bit further. What do you think?”
“Sounds good… If we can prepare for camping before it gets dark, that would be best.”
“Thank you. If I find a good spot for camping, we’ll stop there for the night!”
Looking at the navigation progress, it seems we’ve covered about a third of the journey. Considering the battles and breaks we’ve taken, that’s a pretty good pace, isn’t it?
With Mr. Ville’s approval, I think it’s time to call it a day soon.
It looks like the sun will be setting soon, so I should decide on a camping spot.
As I continue driving with these thoughts, I see an area ahead with a decent number of trees, though not quite enough to call it a forest.
Hmm. Wouldn’t that area be just right…?
It’s just my personal opinion, but don’t you feel more at ease psychologically when camping near trees or rocks rather than in a wide-open space with nothing around? Even fish tend to gather around structures like that… maybe it’s instinctual?
Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any other travelers around, so let’s camp there today. Checking Survival, there aren’t any specific warnings either… so I think it should be fine.
“Ms. Aria, do you sense any enemies in that area?”
“…Hmm… I don’t sense anything… It’s okay!”
“Alright! Let’s stay there for tonight!”
I asked Ms. Aria just to be sure, but it seems safe!
Let’s camp here today!
I turn the steering wheel towards the small grove.
The sky is starting to turn a faint red.
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