A narrow circular clearing.
Barely enough room for the convoy of steam tanks jamming up half the ravine lead into it.
Hikari stood in front of the entrance of the mine.
Shut tight by a wall of stone.
It was hastily blasted shut during the hasty evacuation.
It was at least tall enough for her to duck into.
"Cmon, we gotta set up the observation post up top."
Rey walked up to her.
He looks up at the giantess from boot height.
"Observation post?"
"Yep, the same one you set up at the mouth of the ravine. Really helped us see the wyverns coming so that we can hide in the cave."
Behind him, the man unloads a pulley from the steam tank.
Hikari's back faces them and bends down on one knee.
The men loads the pulley system onto her back and straps it tight.
Hikari looks up, scanning the side of the cliff for a way up.
The uneven mountain side offers plenty of stepping points even for a giant like her.
She stands up and strides towards the cliff side.
The miners clearing the rabble get out of her way.
"Oh, before you go up."
Rey catches up to her.
He was panting.
Running after her stride wasn't easy.
"Yea?"
"Do you mind if you take me up there with you?"
Hikari looks at him.
He's about the same size as Ria.
An idea came to mind.
"You sure?"
"Yes. I want to be the first to see the wyvern peaks for myself."
"Alright."
Hikari bends down and scopes him up with one hand.
"Eh? Where are you-."
Before he could react, the wyvern skin on Hikari's chest opens up, revealing a dark abyss inside.
"Wait-!"
Rey was trapped between her chest and her wyvern skin.
Hikari looks up.
She bends her knee.
Up she goes.
The first jump with her salamander skin.
She overshot her first stepping point.
She uses her telekinesis to adjust her course.
Hop. Hop.
Diagonal jumps from face to face.
She lands at the top.
There was nothing but a thick fog.
She knelt down and unloads the pulley on her back.
The wyvern skin on her chest opens and Rey drops out.
Bleh! He vomits.
Bleh! He vomits again.
"Are you alright?"
Bleh! He vomits a third time.
He coughs.
He turns around and lays flat on his back, breathing heavily.
"Bad idea?"
Deep uncontrolled breaths.
He coughs.
He managed to regain enough strength to take a gulp of water from his canteen, clearing his throat of the sour feeling of his vomit.
"Phew! That was intense. How did you manage that kind of maneuver? I almost fainted."
"I train."
Rey coughed a few more times.
As he recovers Hikari tries to find a spot to anchor the pulley.
"Put that down for a while won't you?"
Hikari listened.
She strided back to Rey and sat down.
"The view here is bad."
She stares into the thick fog.
Pulse.
The earth sense she learnt from Sheela.
It was not as easy to perform on the mountain stone as with the sand in the training arena, but it allowed her to see the rock formations beyond the fog.
Nothing of interest.
"Yeah, I know. I just want a word with you in private."
"Oh?"
"Listen carefully. There are three mana veins in the wyvern peaks. Adventurers used to come here all year round to absorb their mana and get stronger."
"Interesting."
"It's not just the vein. There are uncommon fruits that grow around them that have absorbed its mana. That'll give you a nice boost."
Hikari listens with interest.
"Here's the catch though. Don't bring anything back. You actually need a signed permit from the adventurer's guild to raid the veins. At least, they are going to give your lady a lot of trouble if they catch you. But they won't, as long as you don't bring back any physical evidence. If you do, eat them before the official inspection comes."
"Trouble?"
"Yep. Trust me. It's going to be worth it. You should have heard that we're going to slay the wyvern queen. Officially, you're not going to fight it. But just in case you have to, I think I'd feel more comfortable if you get a power up first."
"I see."
Rey takes out a map and compass.
"You're on watch duty tomorrow night after we set up the camp. The watch duty itself is just a procedure. The wyverns will never dive into such a narrow space."
He checks his compass and map.
"The first mana vein should be in that direction."
He points at the fog at an angle to his compass.
Hikari memorizes it.
She could make out the shape of the stone formations around them.
"Good Hunting. Remember, don't bring anything back. I know your lady spent a bomb on that salamander skin of yours. We have other ways to make money and getting into trouble with the adventurer guild is not going to help."
Hikari nods.
…
Hikari pressed her hands against the inside of the cavern.
"Shatter."
Her mana pulses outwards into the cave she had been digging.
"Move."
The small pieces of stone chatters on the ground as she telekinetically pushes them out.
The miners position at the entrance shovels the stone into a steam tank.
Its engines rumble and hum.
The steam tank closes its doors and moves off to dump the excess stone at the mouth of the peaks.
Hikari makes her way out of the cavern.
She tilts her body past a support column.
On the other side of the columns.
The miners were piling up supply crates against the newly evicted space.
Hikari goes back to her rest area.
It was inside the mines.
The first zone was an administrative area.
The miners had cleared out just enough of the rubble and dust to carve out a semi-livable area for themselves and her.
Hikari rests in her armour.
It was reasonably comfortable with the layer of salamander skin.
She practices the mana movements Sheela had taught her.
The range could be better, but it's usable now.
She finds that if she wants to extend the range, she could pump more mana into the cast.
It's not efficient, but it will do for now.
The efficiency will improve as she keeps using it.
"Ah.. so this is the Razenheir knight."
She hears an unfamiliar voice.
She opens her eyes to see a man in white robes and a straw hat.
He carries an impressive sword.
Sharp edge, perfectly balanced, a series of intricate runes.
The man leans towards her and studies her intently.
"Slayer master, the frontline is not safe. Please return to the main encampment. "
Rey tries to interrupt the man.
"Slayer master?"
"Shh…!"
He raises one finger to try to silence Rey.
The general stares at him with annoyed dead eyes.
A pair of assassins flanked the slayer master.
Highly skilled.
The gear was not something that would be just on sale on a merchant stand in a trading town.
Rey could only stand there as the man stared Hikari down.
"Hikari of RazenHeir."
Hikari greets the general.
He raises an eyebrow and responds.
"Slayer master of the dragon slayer guild. Apologise for disturbing your rest. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
The man bows and leaves the mine entrance.
"Who is he?"
Rey shrugs.
"The man in charge of slaying the wyvern queen."
Hikari thought for a bit.
"He can't fight."
"You can tell? Yea, I suppose for a seasoned knight like you, it's easy to see through his little get up. But he is in charge of the force that will storm the queen wyvern's lair. I don't know if you noticed the parade of giants while you're training with Sheela."
"I didn't."
"Well, then you didn't miss anything. If you visit the Herdial capital some time, they are everywhere."
"Ah."
"Just go back to rest, don't let him disturb you. He's probably taken an interest in you because he wants to figure out your biology."
"Biology?"
"The man's an alchemist. He studies that stuff all day. A giant like you will certainly catch his interest. If I were to guess, I bet he's angling to get a blood sample from you. He'd pay pure Herdial gold for it."
Hikari nods and goes back to sleep.
Rey goes back to supervising the construction of the keep.
"Pure Herdial gold?"
The thought stayed with her.
She opened her eyes seconds later.
Thud. Thud.
She catches up to him within several strides.
He was just about to board the steam tank.
Hikari senses his body guards channeling their mana.
"Ah! Hikari, what can I do for you?" He was pleasantly surprised.
"My underwear. Buy it."
"Umm What!? come again!? Your underwear? Surely you can't be serious?"
Hikari nods.
"It has my period"
For a brief moment, Hikari saw his eyes open wider than a mutant goldfish, before his face turned back to outrage.
"What do you take me for!? Some kind of pervert? I had good impressions of you when I first heard of your achievements! Begone now!"
He disappeared into the steam tank.