Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 3 Chapter 14    The Land of Duality

After a week-long break, we returned for the collection of warm chocolate.

This time, Asada would once again carry the storage containers, but they wouldn’t be the usual ones used by ordinary people. We planned to have her carry larger containers.

To be honest, this place isn’t particularly dangerous, and as long as you know the collection method, you can finish it in one go without any practice.

Well, warm chocolate is popular enough to be sold on its own, so I intend to visit this place today and tomorrow to ensure an ample supply, just in case.

“The name of the dungeon is ‘The Land of Duality.’ It’s a world made of frozen soil and a volcanic region within it. In the frozen soil, there are chocolate pools resembling marshes, while in the volcanic area, chocolate forms like stones. Today, we’ll be collecting those.”

Unlike regular chocolate, warm chocolate solidifies when it’s warm and melts when it’s cold.

Therefore, when collecting it, we have to go to warm places—or rather, hot areas.

If it melts even in cold places, we could still find chocolate, but it would be mixed with mud from our shoes or monster blood, making it unsuitable for use as a product.

Some unscrupulous stores target the easier and more accessible collection method rather than entering the volcano, but they risk getting caught.

It’s considered a violation of food safety regulations, and for some reason, chocolate that is already melted from the start tends to have lower quality. So if they try to sell it as regular chocolate, it would be considered fraud.

Crimes committed using dungeon materials are punished more severely than usual, so basically, no one does it.

Well, unless they’re extremely foolish or desperate for money.

“Ugh… It’s so coooold.”

To give us an idea of what it was like, we entered the gate without any precautions, but we quickly retreated because of the cold.

However, even after returning from the gate, the cold sensation we felt earlier still lingered, and Miyano and the others were rubbing their arms.

It was just a momentary experience, but I guess that’s what would happen if you went to the Arctic in your regular clothes.

“Because of that, we’ll have Abe warm the surroundings for us as we progress here.”

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

Abe can use fire-based magic, so as long as she warms up the surroundings, we should be able to proceed without any issues.

There are snakes and bears that approach under the cover of blizzards, but they’re not particularly strong monsters.

However, what makes this place a Class 1 dungeon is primarily the environmental change between the blizzard and the subsequent volcanic region.

But if we prepare countermeasures for that environmental change, the difficulty level would significantly decrease.

“The real challenge comes once we enter the volcano. It’s not just hot, but scorching, so be careful.”

While saying that, I handed out a specific item to Miyano and the others as a precautionary measure.

They’ve probably done their research on this dungeon, and I assume they already have it, but it’s not something bulky or inconvenient to carry around, so it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra.

“It’s a Froststone. I assume you already have one, but just in case… Do you have it?”

As a double-check, I asked them, and everyone nodded firmly, putting my mind at ease.

If someone had said they didn’t have it, I would have given them a stern lecture about being properly prepared.

“Do you know its effects and how to use it?”

“Well, we did some research and prepared it, so we have the knowledge, at least. But we haven’t actually used it.”

Although they said they had the knowledge, it’s not because the Froststone I just handed them is rare or valuable enough to be untouched. Quite the opposite.

In Japan, and I’ll preface this by saying, Froststones generally have no demand.

The reason is that they only have one effect: to cool the surrounding area when impacted, depending on the quality of the stone.

While it may seem convenient at first glance, it hasn’t gained widespread popularity among the general population.

After all, there are refrigerators and freezers readily available, so you don’t need to bother taking something like that from a dungeon. If a room is hot, you can use an air conditioner. Commercial use is the primary market, while the average person hardly uses it.

“After entering the volcano, use it individually. It should last for about an hour, so you should be fine during the chocolate collection.”

After discussing the details, we had Abe create a cold-resistant barrier, and then we passed through the gate and proceeded towards the volcano.

“So, we’ve made it this far… but how do we search for it?”

Although we encountered monster attacks several times along the way, we arrived at the volcano with ease, without much trouble.

There are several volcanoes in the snowy field, but we searched for a place where there were no other adventurers. After a few attempts, we finally reached this volcano.

If we overlap with other adventurers’ locations, the amount of collection decreases, and other adventurers are well aware of that fact.

Avoiding overlapping locations is an unspoken agreement among adventurers who challenge this place.

Well, once we’ve arrived, our role in the snowy field is over.

Technically, we still have a role in the snowy field on the way back, but it’s not a big deal.

Now, the real challenge begins here.

In this dungeon, or rather, during the collection of warm chocolate, the most challenging part lies ahead.

“Are we really going to pick these up one by one?”

Asada looked around the inside of the volcano with a displeased expression, but that’s precisely the problem.

Warm chocolate is a luxury item, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find. In fact, finding it is relatively easy.

After all, it’s scattered around like small pebbles right in front of us.

Yes. Quite literally, they are “scattered like small pebbles.”

Small pebble-sized chocolates are scattered on the ground, and collecting warm chocolate means picking them up and gathering them.

But it’s not just a matter of picking them up.

Due to the surrounding magma environment, the color adjustment of the field is buggy, so you have to carefully examine each one to distinguish between chocolate and actual pebbles, which adds even more effort.

Furthermore, this task that requires subtle concentration must be done while being vigilant and dealing with monster attacks emerging from the magma.

Moreover, these monsters seem to have a fondness for chocolate, so if there’s a bunch in one place, they prioritize attacking that spot, which makes things even more challenging.

To be honest, it’s incredibly bothersome and exhausting because you can’t let your guard down.

“Normally, that’s how it is. Collecting them one by one.”

“That’s, well…”

“Ugh…”

“This means the price will go up.”

“So troublesome…”

The four of them seemed to imagine the arduous, or rather, bothersome task and had unpleasant expressions.

Once the actual work begins, coupled with the heat in this area, it’s guaranteed to drain their motivation.

But that’s the norm. Other adventurers collect them in the same way. That’s why they take care not to overlap their locations.

If the “pebbles” to pick up run out, the already bothersome task becomes even more troublesome.

Well, we don’t do such things.

“However, that’s fine. We’ll use it this time.”

“Is that a Froststone?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Why would you use something like that? And how do we use it?”

Upon seeing the Froststone I took out, Miyano and the others looked puzzled, which is understandable. We have already used one, and using more wouldn’t make a difference.

However, this Froststone has another purpose besides protecting ourselves from the surrounding temperature.

“Warm chocolate hardens when heated, but conversely, it softens when cooled. So, we can throw this stone, and wherever it becomes soft, it’s chocolate.”

Chocolate, which has the property of hardening when heated, is difficult to distinguish from small stones based on appearance alone.

So, if we cool it down, the shape as a small stone would change, revealing that it’s chocolate.

Under normal circumstances, if we apply the cold air from the Froststone to chocolate, it would melt and become gooey like a swamp. However, we are inside a volcano, and even if we use the Froststone, it won’t cool down completely, so it won’t melt to the extent of losing its shape.

“So, we can scatter these and find the chocolate, right?”

“Not quite.”

But that’s just the prelude. The story isn’t going to be that simple.

“The Froststone. It may be a rare stone in general, but it’s not that rare here. Look at the surrounding environment. If you search, you’ll find ordinary stones lying around. There are people who try to find and bring back something to regulate the temperature here. So, why do you think the method of using Froststone to search for chocolate chunks is unknown?”

Upon my question, Miyano and the others exchanged glances and consulted with each other, but it seems they couldn’t come up with an answer.

“The answer is simple. Using Froststone doesn’t change the efficiency.”

Using Froststone can help locate the spots where the warm chocolate is.

However, knowing the locations of chocolate pieces on the ground doesn’t lead to significant results. After all, what lies on the ground are simply small stone-sized chocolates.

Sure, it might be easier to distinguish between stones and chocolates, but that’s within the margin of error and can be ignored. Experienced individuals would be able to quickly collect them without such efforts.

Moreover, it’s a waste of time to wait until they cool down enough to be easily distinguished, so veterans choose not to use them.