It is me

Darius headed to the gate of the city and confirmed that it still was open. It soon would close, though, so he wondered if he should head out now or go during the day. Trying to access the mines in the dark when he didn't even know the creatures that he would face seemed like a terrible idea.

While Darius was thinking about that, he got weary of the stares that he was receiving. It seemed that his thinking pose and expression didn't help him look less suspicious.

"Oh, it is you!"

When Darius turned around, he saw the girl from the blacksmith shop carrying some bags filled with charcoal. It looked like her grandfather was busy enough to send his granddaughter to do some errands for him.

"Yes, it is me, Mari… Darius," Darius corrected himself. "Thank Norse gods, someone, normal. This place is like Tiktok… a mental wasteland, when it comes to people judging others for no apparent reason."

"I don't get what you are saying… are you troubled because people are suspicious of you?" The girl asked. "You arrived just at a bad time, and thanks to your appearance…"

"I heard something about the mines… is that the reason? What is happening there?" Darius asked.

"Some weird creatures are showing up in those places… many people lost their mines in the last few weeks thanks to it," The girl said and then sighed. "I only saw their silhouettes from a distance when I went to give my grandfather his lunch… but they were big and quite bulky. They were at least four meters tall, and their steps made the ground vibrate. Rumors say that they are almost impossible to kill, and low-quality weapons can't do much against them."

"I see…" Darius muttered while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I didn't introduce myself, did I?" The girl asked while forcing a smile. "I am Leina."

"When was the last time they appeared, and in which direction was the first mine they appeared?" Darius asked while ignoring the girl's introduction."

"... Three weeks ago, they appeared on the largest mine south of here, which was ours, but we couldn't enter since then," Leina said after another long sigh. "The mines aren't connected, but even though the monsters aren't leaving, they still are appearing in other mines…"

That was another interesting thing; since they didn't show up, they probably dug toward the other mines. The slimes looked like they came from different places, but maybe their base was a single one connected to the well. The same thing could be said there.

"By the way, aren't those weird creatures common in these parts?" Darius asked.

"No? There are some rumors that beasts are attacking other cities, but they are too far away to confirm," Leina said after she tilted her head. "That is why the guards are having a hard time dealing with them."

That didn't make any sense; why would they make such walled cities so far away from each other when their only worries were animals in the vicinity… something was off; maybe Darius should ask someone who was alive during the time the city was built. Like the old blacksmith… but that could be done later; he had to check the mines.

"Thanks for the info, but I need to get going," Darius said. "You need to deliver the charcoal as well, right?"

"Right… right! I am late!" Leina said and then turned around and began to run. "Until next time."

Darius headed toward the exit of the city, and the guards didn't stop there, even though they were readying themselves to close the gates. The direction that Leina mentioned was on the same path as well, so Darius didn't mind. Still, the area got so dark at some point that he could barely see the path ahead. Never mind fighting; Darius won't be able to walk without tripping like that.

A red slime would come in handy in there, an obedient one… they could eliminate the area around almost like a torch, but they also would burn all the grass that they touched. In the end, Darius looked a bunch for branches that he found around, and then he enveloped them in some plants… impaling a slime slowly to death probably could do the same job, but he waited for several of them to attack him with Fireballs instead. And then he lit the improvised torch.

Before the light could go out, Darius increased his speed and then approached the mountain on the southern side of the area. The light of the stairs illuminated them a bit the area, so Darius found a bunch of mines around, but the largest was pretty close by, and he headed toward him.

"If I free their mine, I bet that they won't mind if I get some of their ores here… come to think of it, the old blacksmith was quite surprised by the black steel," Darius thought. "His other things were low quality if compared to it, but I imagined that it was because he couldn't mine anymore."

Once Darius reached the mine, he tried to illuminate the path ahead. Still, it didn't work that much… he couldn't hear anything come from the interior either… the place sure looked ominous.