And so, Rest ventured into the mine shaft where the centipedes lurked, accompanied by Isis Carbelt and Urla Lavender.
The shaft had originally been dug as a well, it seemed. However, once the rainbow crystals were discovered, it had been expanded to allow people inside.
"The centipedes here are said to be weak against light. At the entrance of the shaft where outside light filters in, you won't spot any of them, but..."
"There's plenty of them, all right. Squirming everywhere."
"Gross."
Isis spoke with a guarded look, and Urla nodded vigorously in agreement.
All three of them here were capable of using presence detection magic.
When they extended their senses to probe for the presence of monsters, they immediately picked up the squirming signatures of creatures writhing all around.
"They're coming...!"
"Sshaalalalalalalalalalala!"
A massive centipede came scutting out of a side tunnel.
Not just one. Two, three, four — the numbers kept multiplying.
The centipedes that emerged ranged from two to three meters in length, their entire bodies clad in black exoskeletons that resembled armor.
Each bore enormous fangs at the front, and the sight of countless legs scuttling in unison was enough to provoke a visceral revulsion.
"Everyone, stay sharp!"
"Sshaalalalalalalalalalala!"
"Wind Edge!"
The first to cast a spell was Isis.
Rest's mana reserves were overwhelmingly greater, but when it came to casting speed, she had him beat.
"Sssh..."
The centipede at the front had its head split open and perished.
But before long, another centipede emerged from behind and lunged at them.
"Water Edge!"
"Wind Edge!"
Rest and Urla cast their spells, cutting down the centipedes closing in.
But no matter how many they felled, centipedes kept appearing one after another.
"What a nuisance... Each one isn't strong on its own, but there are just so many..."
He would love to use powerful magic and blow them all away in one go, but unfortunately, that wasn't an option.
This was a mine shaft — deep underground. If they used magic on too large a scale, there was a real risk of the ceiling collapsing.
"Do we really have to take them out one by one, slowly grinding through...?"
"It's tedious, but that's about the size of it."
Isis answered with a sigh.
The three of them fought their way through the centipedes. After taking down around thirty or so, the centipedes finally stopped appearing — at least for the moment.
"A brief reprieve, I suppose... But there are still plenty more down below."
When he probed with his mana, he found swarms of them remaining below.
The thought of this many monsters lurking underground was a terrifying one.
Could it be... that beneath the very spot where Rest was building his town, similar dangers lay buried?
Rest felt a brief chill of fear.
"When we get back, I should survey the area thoroughly with magic... The last thing I need is some kind of monster mole popping up."
"But with this many centipedes around, won't this go on forever? Eradicating every last one has to be impossible, right?"
Isis said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Exterminating several hundred centipede monsters without leaving a single one behind was simply not realistic.
And yet... if even one was missed, it could lay eggs and multiply.
"That's true... What should we do...?"
"Parent."
"Hm?"
While Rest and Isis were fretting, Urla murmured a single short word.
"What did you just say?"
"Parent."
"Oh...?"
"Mm... Queen."
"Queen?"
"Could it be that they have a queen, like ants or bees?"
Rest furrowed his brow in confusion, while Isis snapped her fingers as though everything had fallen into place.
"Right, there are definitely those kinds of species among insect monsters."
"But... how would you know that? Do you perhaps know about these monsters?"
"Eyes."
Urla pointed at her own eyes.
They were mysterious pupils in which countless colors swirled together.
"Eyes. Good."
".............."
Did she mean because his eyes were good?
No matter how good his vision was, he shouldn't be able to understand the ecology of insects.
"But... now that you mention it, there is a big one among the centipedes."
When Rest carefully searched for their presence, he noticed a centipede that stood out with an exceptionally large amount of mana.
He hadn't noticed it because it was hidden among the presence of the other centipedes, but could that one be the queen?
"I see... so if we defeat that queen, no new centipedes will be born. That certainly simplifies things."
Exterminating all the centipedes might be difficult, but just defeating the queen seemed manageable.
"In that case, let's head toward that large presence. You two are fine with that?"
"Yeah, no problem at all."
"Mm, I'll follow... forever."
"Alright, let's set out then."
Urla seemed to have said something, but... Rest paid it no particular mind as he pushed the centipede corpses aside and made his way deeper into the tunnel.