Magic-Sealing Ore

29th year of Shinshi Era

Zeom Wetlands in the Northern Lands.

Morning.

Rienta and Stark returned to their campsite arm in arm.

Rienta held in her hand the simple fish trap she had set in the river before resting the night before.

There were quite a few river shrimp inside.

Stark, on the other hand, was carrying a rather small fish.

After seeing Fern starting a fire.

"We're back from fishing!" Stark shouted excitedly.

At the same time, he waved the fish in his hand at Fern a few times to signal.

Rienta's face darkened, and she silently walked to Fern's side, taking the river shrimp out of the trap.

"Emmmm..."

Fern glanced helplessly at Rienta was engrossed in preparing the river shrimp.

He said to Stark, "Leave the fish here for now, we'll cook it together later."

Suddenly Rienta spoke up, "Let's cook this fish three ways."

"?" Stark looked at the fish in his hand and said, puzzled:

"Fish of this size are acceptable?"

"Hmph," Rienta snorted lightly and said indifferently:

"Three ways to prepare it is already very cheap for this clueless fish."

"..."*2.

Stark handed the fish to Rienta, then looked at Frieren, who was rummaging through the grass, and said:

"That's strange, Frieren's up so early."

Fern explained, "Lady Frieren said there was something in this area that she was very interested in, so Frieren got up and started looking for it while you were out fishing."

At this moment.

"Found it."

Frieren looked at the glittering ore in her hand with satisfaction.

"Hmph~, this piece is quite large."

They then took the ore to the vicinity of Fern.

Stark, who couldn't cook, came to Frieren's side and asked:

"What is this? It's a beautiful stone."

Frieren handed the stone to Stark and explained:

"This stone is called [Demon-Sealing Ore], a type of ore that can nullify magic."

"Huh? Why can't I use fire magic?"

At this moment, after seeing the fire go out, Fern, who was preparing to relight it, discovered that he could no longer use fire magic.

Upon hearing this, Frieren said to Stark:

"Judging from the purity and size of this [Demon Sealing Ore], it can probably nullify all magic within a three-meter radius."

"Stark, try standing further away."

Upon hearing this, Stark took the [Demon Sealing Ore] and walked a little further away.

"Ah, it works now." Fern relit the fire.

Frieren said smugly:

"This ore is extremely rare, so even a small piece is worth several gold coins. A piece of this size of [Demon Sealing Ore] could almost buy a mansion."

Rienta, who was preparing ingredients, also heard Frieren's words.

Approaching Stark, he said, "I'll try to put it in my Personal Space."

Stark handed the ore to Rienta and said, puzzled:

"Didn't you say it would nullify magic? Rienta, you..."

As they were talking, the [Sealed Demon Ore] in Rienta's hand disappeared.

Frieren was stunned by what she saw.

"Huh?"

Rienta approached Fern thoughtfully and retrieved the [Sealed Demon Ore] again.

The fire that had just been lit went out again.

Fern: "..."

"I'm so sorry."

Rienta an awkward smile and took the sealed magic ore, moving a little further away.

Fern said, "Stop playing with that rock. If we keep doing that, we won't be able to make breakfast."

Rienta nodded, preparing to put the [Sealed Demon Ore] back into her Personal Space.

"Wait a moment." Frieren reached out her hand to Rienta and said:

"Rienta, don't put it away yet. This stone has another property."

"It's so much fun!"

Rienta was taken aback, then handed the [Sealed Demon Ore] to Frieren.

After receiving the [Sealed Demon Ore], Frieren said softly:

"If we infuse this ore with magic..."

As soon as she finished speaking, a dazzling light emanated from the ore in Frieren's hand.

Frieren proudly held up the ore and continued:

"Hmph~, it will emit a particularly bright light."

Stark stared blankly at the scene.

"It's really bright..."

Rienta approached Frieren with a serious expression and said:

"Lady Frieren is amazing!"

"This [Demon Sealing Ore] is indeed quite good, both in terms of its glowing property and its value."

Frieren became even more smug.

At this moment.

Fern held the spoon, looking at everyone with a cold expression.

He said:

"Quickly put it away."

"Receive it immediately!"

The four of them enjoyed a delicious breakfast.

They then resumed their journey.

On the road.

"Speaking of which, are we almost at the Northern Plateau?" Stark asked.

"It's still a long way off," Frieren said, without stopping.

"We still need to cross another forest and then a volcanic region before we can reach the Northern Plateau."

Rienta also spoke up, "A volcanic region? That sounds a bit dangerous."

Frieren explained, "That volcanic area hasn't erupted for centuries, so it's not a dangerous place. It's now a relatively safe hot spring area."

"Hot springs... places where you can soak in hot water are quite attractive."

Upon hearing that there was a hot spring ahead, Fern's steps became lighter.

Rienta and the others walked for a while longer.

Suddenly.

"Huh?" Frieren landed behind them and looked at the ground, saying:

"Could it be that the ground here...?"

Frieren had barely finished speaking.

The ground beneath Rienta and the others suddenly collapsed.

Everyone plummeted into the pit. Fern, carrying Stark in both hands, flew through the air.

But it was somewhat shaky.

Beneath the feet of the four was a large expanse of [Demon-Sealing Ore].

"... Frieren, that's..." Fern said, looking down at his feet.

"Hmm... maybe we're in big trouble."

Just as Frieren was pondering how to solve the problem...

The three people paused in their descent.

"Looks like I'll have to step in."

Rienta used her Telekinesis to make everyone float in mid-air with a smug look on her face.

Then, looking down at the vast expanse of [Demon-Sealing Ore], he excitedly exclaimed:

"Lady Frieren, if we were to move all the ore from this area..."

Frieren looked at her disciple, who was completely unaffected by the [Demon Sealing Ore].

After a moment of silence, he smiled and said:

"Then you might become the richest person in the world."

"!!" Rienta exclaimed excitedly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's start mining the ore!"

After saying that, Rienta controlled everyone to fall down.

Below, besides a large quantity of [Demon Sealing Ore], there is also a cave entrance.

After landing.

Rienta couldn't wait to take out her cooking utensils from her Personal Space and try mining.

Unfortunately.

Even Rienta, who possesses the power to uproot mountains, would be powerless without the right tools.

There was also no way to mine the [Demon Sealing Ore].

Undeterred, Rienta tried to break it off directly again.

But it still didn't work.

Rienta returned to sit down next to the others, dejected.

Looking at the [Demon Sealing Ore] in front of him, he began to sigh.

Seeing this, Frieren chuckled and said:

"Rienta, [Sealed Demon Ore] is the hardest substance discovered to date."

"Furthermore, due to its unique characteristics, it cannot be cut or processed using magic."

"Unless you can make other magic work like your [Telekinesis], ignoring the properties of [Sealed Magic Ore], it will be impossible to mine it."