Chapter 233: [233] Mine Exploration

Although they waited at a very respectable distance away from the action, so far back that they could not even see the attack team, the echoing sounds of explosions were more than enough to send a chill down Rodolph’s spine.

There were even times when gusts of wind would reach them, accompanied by harrowing snarls.

Occasionally, Kenny, who was there to make sure the Frost Bears did not act up, would stand up and stare into the distance.

She looked... worried.

Harold rubbed his fingers and blew steam into them as he waited. Olivia had instructed him to wait for a sign before approaching, so that was what he would do.

’But what if there is no sign?’

Harold felt his insides twist. If there was no sign, then the choice was simple: they would turn back and run. That was the plan they had agreed to, after all. If Olivia’s team could not defeat the monster, then the support team would sure as hell fail.

Running was the most logical thing to do, and yet, for some reason, the idea did not sit well with Rodolph.

Could he really run? Leave his best friend, Mountain, behind? Leave Olivia to be eaten by the spider? Could he really do something like that?

’Damn it.’ Rodolph hissed in his mind. ’What the hell is wrong with me?’

It seemed he had been hanging around Ark’s party for far too long. Their bad character was beginning to rub off on him.

Rodolph smiled slightly, then stared in the direction of the fight. "I hope they are alright..."

In that very moment, as though on cue, yellow lightning streaked high up into the sky, colouring the world in an amber hue.

"Everyone get in!" Rodolph commanded excitedly as he got back into the sleigh, quickly finding the driver’s seat.

Agneth and Constant, the dwarf, hurried into the sleigh and shut the door.

"Thank goodness." Agneth smiled. She had been anxious throughout the battle, but now, a little of the anxiety had melted away. "I hope no one got seriously hurt."

Constant stroked his beard. "Same, same. I hope they are alright."

"We will find out soon enough." Rodolph whipped the reins, and the bears charged full speed ahead, the sled’s board sliding over the snow.

When Rodolph saw the monster the attack team had fought, he froze right where he stood, his jaw so wide open that snow drifted into it, nearly causing him to choke.

"What the hell?"

The monster was not just large, it was massive! A single leg would have been enough to crush him into paste, and it had over a dozen.

None of the support team members could move. The monster was dead, and yet, they did not dare approach it.

Rodolph had always seen Olivia as a careless, lax person. He had been concerned when she was told to lead the party, but now, he could not help but see her in a new light.

’Olivia commanded the party that killed this beast...’

The girl in question was sitting atop the monster’s corpse, trying to force Cici to drink a vial of green liquid.

"Come on, drink it already, you need it to heal!"

"Mm mmm!" Cici kept her mouth tightly closed and her head down low to obscure her concerned face. Yrsa, on the other hand, sat down opposite them, giving both girls a blank look.

"Why are you being so stubborn? You probably have internal injuries. Do you want to die?!" Olivia brought the liquid to her face.

Cici’s face blushed red. "It looks like spider blood! Get... get out of my face—?!"

But just as she opened her mouth to speak, Olivia held her cheeks tightly, preventing her from closing it.

The petite mage’s arm flared in the air as she panicked, trying to shove Olivia away. But it was no use. Olivia was much stronger than her.

Drops of the healing potion touched Cici’s lips, and she suddenly began to shiver as though she had caught a cold. Cici reached down—

And grabbed her staff.

Olivia’s eyes widened as mana began to condense around it. "Yrsa, help me hold her down!"

Rodolph watched them with a dumbfounded expression, all his admiration vanishing in an instant.

After Cici had been forced to drink the entire bottle, the three girls finally got down from the monster.

"We don’t have much time left, let’s go inside. But be careful..." Olivia turned in the direction of the cave. "I don’t think there will be any monsters inside it, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious."

Rodolph nodded as he grabbed his pickaxe and mining bag, strapping them to his back.

"I’m ready..."

The inside of the cave was lit up by little shimmering rocks that could be found at every corner.

They were glow stones. Most caves that had any sort of magic ore often had them in troves. They were not particularly expensive, but they were very useful for navigating caves.

Olivia stood in front of the party, slicing through thick spider webs that blocked their path as they went deeper and deeper.

"How far do we need to go?" she asked as she sliced apart another thick web, cringing as it went to the side.

They had killed the monster, but they still needed to gather enough Frost Fall ores to take back to the village, as well as enough to carry back to Eden...

Frost Fall ore was a special type of magic crystal that could also be used to refine weapons.

It would be a waste to leave them all here since the dungeon would vanish shortly after they cleared it, so they would spend a good couple of hours mining.

Ark had extended their stay in the village for three days for this reason. After all, that was one of the reasons they had a support team with them.

Yrsa’s expression stiffened. "Actually... we are supposed to have gotten to them by now." She said, answering Olivia’s earlier question

Olivia paused. "What?"

Yrsa glanced around the cave, then walked up to the wall, running her hand over it.

"This part of the cave... I don’t recognise it. It’s entirely new."