Published: August 25, 2025
Today, four chapters are posted simultaneously.
This story is chapter 3.
Riding on the slimes, we climbed the mountain and reached a mountain cabin near the summit in about 30 minutes. This place was used by cursed sorcerers who periodically managed the land to rest and sleep, and it was still away from the area where the miasma was occurring. Therefore, it was unaffected by the miasma and planned to be used as our future base of operations.
But before anything else,
“First, it needs cleaning.”
As Lord Rosenberg said, “Cursed sorcerers come to manage the land only a few times a year,” the mountain cabin hadn’t been well maintained. Since this place officially became my experimental site, I decided to thoroughly refurbish it for the future.
However, securing a place to sleep was the top priority, so I released the cleaner slimes and asked them to clean. Then, I surrounded the cabin with the sticky slimes and sent spider slimes into the attic and under the floor to exterminate any pests or rats that had settled inside.
But wasting time just waiting around during that was pointless.
“Everyone, how about giving me a hand with some work while the cabin gets ready?”
“Of course! We’re here to work anyway, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ms. Wellanna said so willingly, so I didn’t hesitate to request some work.
“First, just a light patrol around the mountain cabin, please. I’d like a detailed environmental survey later, but for now, check around the base for any undead, wild animals, or other dangers.”
“Got it! Leave it to me, nya!”
Led by the enthusiastic Miya-san, the adventurer team divided up the patrol areas. Meanwhile, after confirming, I coated everyone’s weapons with mana of the light attribute. That would make fighting undead easier if any showed up.
“Lord Ryoma, we will prepare lunch.”
“I’ll make some ready-made foods and simple sandwiches.”
“I can help with washing dishes or cutting ingredients.”
Mr. Sebas, Mr. Eudam, and Ms. Eleonora gathered the supplies they transported with spatial magic in front of the mountain cabin and started preparing the meal.
That left only Lord Rosenberg and me.
“If there are no urgent matters, let’s review the documents to prepare for future work. On lands without resident cursed sorcerers, reports can become outdated over time.”
We had already experienced situations where conditions worsened unexpectedly in the ghost town. The materials I received were last updated six months ago, so reviewing them would help us notice any abnormalities.
First, this mountain was somewhat oval-shaped, stretching northwest to southeast, with the miasma-infected land on the west-southwest mid-slope. As seen from the foothills, the area had withered vegetation and signs of some landslides.
Apart from the landslide, the west-southwest slope was steep, while the east side was gently inclined. The ground was solid, so it was safer to ascend and descend from the east side. We also came up this way, taking a slight detour.
Since Ms. Wellanna and the others had confirmed the surroundings, I decided to wait for their report...
“I’m curious about the source of the miasma and its surroundings. There were no undead on the way here, at least.”
According to the documents, a small settlement once existed there long ago. However, the residents were people expelled from towns or villages for unknown reasons, who survived by acting like bandits against merchants passing along the footpath.
Apparently, they didn’t attack those who paid a toll; rather, they assisted as guides or bodyguards. In times when roads were poorly maintained, this was tacitly accepted. Merchants were willing to pay a little for safety.
But once safer, more convenient routes were built, merchants stopped using the toll road. Having lost their advantage, the settlement became outright bandits, soldiers were sent against them, and the settlement was burned down.
Thus, the residents disappeared with their settlement, and the “graveyard” where bodies were buried was left neglected for years, eventually emitting the miasma.