Exploring the Mine

As the sun rose, two pairs of boots stepped into the dusty mine, each step kicking up clouds of yellow dust.

Fran walked ahead and saw this slightly messy scene.

It looked like a battle had just taken place; the scene was covered in traces of fighting.

Skeleton bones and bone weapons were scattered all over the ground, and many skeleton bodies lay on the ground with blue burn marks on their bodies.

Anyone with eyes can see that a battle had taken place here:

As the sun rose and began to burn the undead, someone attacked the skeletons that were trying to hide, killing some of them.

At this moment, Anna, standing behind Fran, deliberately raised her voice, speaking with a hint of confusion:

"Huh?! What's going on here? Why are people coming this way? Aren't they afraid of the undead?"

Anna deliberately opened her mouth wide to show her surprise, while Fran merely glanced at her sideways and said:

"So what if there are people? My only task is to confirm the death of that undead creature. If these people kill it, that's good enough."

"Let's go down with them."

Anna looked at Fran and called out to her.

"Um... should we be careful when we go down? What if those people attack us?"

"Moreover, the number of undead here is a bit strange. How come there are so many undead corpses here? Judging from the marks on them, they are all First Order skeletons."

"That undead creature here doesn't look quite right either!"

Fran glanced back at Anna, drew her longsword from her waist, and said:

"You're right, we should be careful." She emphasized the word "careful."

Then she walked ahead and stepped directly into the dark mine pit.

Anna followed Fran, her face showing unease and a hint of nervousness, and stepped into the mine.

The mine was pitch black. Fran used [Light Prayer], a spell she hadn't used in a long time, and infused it with only a tiny bit of her Mental Power.

The sphere of light emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating anything within three meters; beyond that, it remained completely dark.

The moment Fran stepped into the mine, she had a strange feeling, a feeling she had never experienced before.

Even she couldn't explain the feeling; it was as if she didn't have the organs to feel it. The feeling lingered in her mind, but she couldn't find its source.

Fran summoned her Panel and examined it carefully. She found nothing unusual, but the feeling still lingered around her, growing stronger as she moved forward.

Fran shook her head, briefly putting that indescribable feeling out of her mind, and began to listen carefully to the sounds coming from inside the mine.

From the moment she stepped into the mine, she heard faint sounds coming from inside the mine, as well as slight tremors on the ground, thanks to her exceptional physical and Mental Power.

Based on the traces she had seen earlier, the sound should be from the team that had just been clearing out the skeletons outside, and they were now engaged in a fierce battle with those inside.

Fran channeled a bit of her Mental Power into her longsword, slightly activating the angelic runes on it, causing the sword to emit a faint glow in the darkness.

As the two of them continued walking forward, even Anna, who was following behind, could clearly hear the sounds of battle ahead.

She called out to Fran, a troubled expression on her face.

"Um, I feel like something's not right. You know, I'm Ranger, I can sense the enemy's situation ahead."

"I sensed the Undead reactions of at least ten First Order skeletons ahead. Isn't that a bit strange?!"

Fran, in the dim light, slightly curled the corners of her lips and said to Anna:

"Then what should we do? The target is right ahead."

Anna's eyes lit up, and she immediately said to Fran:

"I think we can go out first and keep watch outside..."

Seeing that Fran was about to speak, Anna immediately said:

"I'm not saying we should give up on this goal; after all, the situation inside is far too complicated right now."

"Think about it, wasn't your original mission simply to defeat a single Undead? But the current situation has far exceeded our expectations, hasn't it?"

"I think the Alliance Battle Mage shouldn't be like Mercenary. When they encounter difficulties far beyond what's described in the mission, they should have support, instead of just rushing in headfirst."

As she spoke, Anna looked at Fran with expectant eyes, and then she continued:

"Furthermore, I think the team in front is also struggling. There are only two of them, and they can't withstand the attacks of these Undead at all."

Fran lowered her head, as if in thought. After a while, she raised her head and said to Anna:

"The situation is still unclear. Let's go ahead and take a look. If it's really as you say, I'll call for support from the Alliance."

"I have a way to directly call for remote support from the Alliance. Don't worry, if we encounter any danger, I will definitely call them immediately."

Fran possesses a magical device given to her by Iris, which allows her to connect with the magical devices at the Northern Lands Society.

Under specialized operating procedures, the device periodically sends its location back to the Northern Lands Society, and Fran must also use a special method to check on it daily to show that she is doing well.

This device is an enhanced version of what Battle Mage Battle Mage usually use on missions; their version only needs to be checked every three days.

Only with this thing did Iris dare to let herself out.

Fran could, of course, directly call upon the Battle Mage Corps of the Northern Lands Society for support; this was a privilege granted to her by Iris.

However, it's too early to say anything now. Fran gripped her longsword and continued walking forward.

Anna stood there for a moment, then sighed softly and continued to follow.

The two stopped communicating on the road. They both knew that it was best not to make any noise in this situation, since ambushing someone still had a significant advantage in combat.

Even when the sounds of battle reached a considerable level, Fran deliberately lowered the brightness of her light sphere to avoid being detected by the enemy.

After they turned a corner, they both saw seven skeletons holding bone weapons in a passageway some distance away, their backs to them, seemingly blocking the way and preventing the people inside from coming out.

Anna was moved by what she saw and was about to grab Fran's hand to pull her back and persuade her to use the support quickly.

Unexpectedly, in just a moment of distraction, Fran had already stealthily approached the seven skeletons, seemingly about to launch an attack.

Seeing this, Anna didn't dare to speak up and could only suppress her excitement as she carefully stepped forward.