The sled raced through the snowy field.

On the rather large sled were myself, Russell, and the Dran blacksmith. In addition, there was a huge load piled on as well.

I asked the blacksmith,

"How did you come here without even sending word?"

"I DID send word! I sent a letter a month ago through a wandering merchant who was headed north! That merchant must have swindled me!"

"How have you been in the meantime?"

"I've been wandering here and there! I was searching for a place to call my own, but there were only people who wanted to take advantage of me! Going back to my homeland didn't seem easy either!"

"Fortunately, you received the letter!"

"It was Donnie's friend who delivered it! I was just about to set out on a journey—almost missed the letter!"

"That's really lucky!"

"I'm the lucky one! Even Drans who have adapted to human society still have trouble trusting people, you know! Honestly, except for Hader's people, I don't really like humans all that much!"

The blacksmith had arrived at an astonishingly perfect time.

So I explained the situation to him right away, a bit shamelessly, but there was no helping it.

The 30-year cold snap was about to hit.

As he spoke, the blacksmith stared at me.

As if something seemed off.

"Our little young master seems a bit different, doesn't he?"

"I was seriously ill, and after waking up, I changed, apparently!"

"Really? Feels like you've become a different person!"

"Everyone's been saying that!"

The blacksmith eyed me, then looked over at Russell. As if to ask if it was true.

Russell only shrugged as if even he found it surprising. I had no idea how or what exactly had changed.

This time, Russell asked,

"Urald, do you know anything about the other craftsmen?"

"I don't! Everyone's scattered! I heard some friends were attacked just because they were with the Hader family! Hader gave the craftsmen a good sum of gold before letting them go!"

"Did nothing happen to you, Urald?"

"I headed straight to a friend! There's a friend of mine who lives alone in the central mountains! I'm an equipment expert, but he's a jewelry expert!"

My ears perked up.

"Urald! Can you call that friend?"

"He probably wouldn't come, even if I did! Why else would he live alone in the mountains? If I call him, he might pop by for a visit, I suppose!"

"Please invite him sometime!"

"I won't mind at all!"

Six wolves exuberantly dashed across the snowy plain, pulling the sled.

Despite the headwind and colder air than before, my heart felt refreshed. That's how crucial the Dran blacksmith was to my plans from now on.

In the last expedition, it took three days on foot, but now, riding the sled, we'd probably arrive in half a day.

I could get things ready ahead of time, and when the miners arrived tomorrow, we could begin extracting the firestone.

"By the way, you said you'd be mining fire-element ore?"

"Yes! Russell has never actually seen it himself!"

"That stuff is extremely hot. How are you planning to dig it up?"

"Is it so hot you can't even touch it?"

"Touch it? You can't even get near it! You have to use magic, plus bring specialized equipment, right?"

"Do you have to use magic?"

Urald, the blacksmith, looked at both Russell and myself.

I knew we needed to enchant the stones. Since I had the Essence of Frost, I was planning to use its power to ward off the heat.

"How would you transport it if you didn't enchant it?"

"Can't we just load it onto the sled?"

"Hahahaha!"

Urald laughed heartily.

Within that laughter was the certainty he had another way. Otherwise, he would have told us to turn the sled back.

"Do you have another way?"

"Of course! Do you know the difference between a human blacksmith and a Dran blacksmith? Not just manual skill!"

"Magic!"

"Exactly! Every Dran blacksmith has a magic tool! You two should be grateful I arrived at just the right time!"

"Yes, thank you, Urald!"

"Hahaha!"

While Urald laughed heartily,

The sled didn't stop running.

Well, even if Urald hadn't come, it probably wouldn't have been a huge problem.

/ / /

"Oh! It's nice and warm here."

Those were the first words Urald uttered as soon as we entered the cave.

This was not the entrance Donnie and I had used before, but the spot where the group had stayed the night after I disappeared.

"Do you know where it is?"

"How could I not? The fire-element ore is inside a huge boulder. If you break open the rock, you'll find a red crystal-like ore. Let's go a bit further in. It's not far."

We followed Urald into the cave. There were several forks, but Urald accurately chose the paths that kept getting warmer. After about twenty minutes of walking—

Ting, ting. Tong—

Urald, who'd been tapping on the cave walls with his hammer as we walked, finally stopped. He knocked a few more times, then struck the wall with a loud bang.

"This is the spot. Go in about five paces and you'll see a large rock. I'm proud of this, you know. A human would have picked the wrong spot."

"Why is that?"

"The passage on the other side feels warmer, so normally you'd check over there first. But here, the heat just leaks out through the cracks in the wall—this spot is much closer."

"Then when the miners arrive tomorrow, we'll start mining. Urald, I'll just need you to give a bit of advice now and then. The miners will do the labor."

"You can hardly call it labor."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll just prepare the groundwork."

Urald spread open his leather coat.

To my astonishment, he had tools hanging all over his body.

Around his waist were heavy, large implements, and his vest was filled with precision devices.

Urald picked out a chisel with a blue gleam from his belt. It wasn't pointed, more like a gouge.

He held it and muttered something, and the chisel began to glow.

He placed the blue-glowing chisel against the wall and tapped it lightly with his hammer.

Clang!

A deep sound rang out. He did the same in other spots, but only the sound rang out—no visible effect.

Come to think of it, he was striking in a circle. Almost as if he was making an entrance.

After striking ten points, he pulled a huge hammer head from his backpack.

He efficiently fitted the handle into the hammer head and completed a strangely shaped hammer.

From how he held and swung it, it was reminiscent of a toy hammer, though made of metal.

"Urald, is that hammer light?"

"Looks pretty light, doesn't it?"

"Not really. It looks extremely heavy."

"And it is, in fact."

"But how can you swing it with one hand...?"

Bang— Kururururung—

Urald suddenly struck the wall with the hammer.

At first, it sounded like a regular blow to the wall, but then a series of collapsing noises came from inside.

He struck the wall again. A muffled sound rang out, and the wall crumbled to powder.

Not just the wall's surface—it opened up the entire cave at once.

"Wow! That's amazing,"

"When the miners come tomorrow, I'll set a fire seal stone here. With that around, it won't be hot at all within five steps."

Urald immediately set about making his sleeping spot.

Russell and I ventured deeper into the cave.

Inside, the cave was extremely hot.

The walls were jagged from shattered stone, but I was amazed how quickly such a cave had been made.

I'd heard Drans built underground cities—perhaps they did it like this.

When we came back out, Urald was already asleep. Seeing the short old man asleep was somewhat endearing.

In fact, the Dran might look like dwarves in build, but they're also famous as warriors.

But anyway—

"Russell, there's somewhere I want to go with you."

"The task you mentioned dealing with?"

"Yes. I'd prefer only you to know about it."

When I started walking ahead, Russell quietly followed.

We exited the cave and headed for the cliffside cave Donnie and I had entered before.

Only then did Russell realize my intent.

"Don't tell me, are you planning to hunt the giant?"

"Yes."

"It's dangerous, young master."

I simply smiled. Russell knew I wasn't the type to charge in recklessly.

He'd realized my reasons only after the fact and been surprised before, too.

With Russell's help, we went into the cliffside cave. As before, it was a long way in before we found the troll's lair.

As before, the troll was sleeping, snoring so loudly the cave vibrated.

"What in the world are you going to do?"

"Only you need to know what I'm about to do. What's important is that I gained this strength during the last expedition."

"Strength?"

"Whatever happens, don't come down."

"How are you planning to do this by yourself..."

Ignoring Russell's worries, I went down the eye-shaped stairs.

I tried not to make any noise, but perhaps because of my last intrusion, the troll suddenly awoke.

Krrhaaah—!

"Young master!"

The troll rolled over and swung its hand at me. For its size, it was frighteningly fast!

Had it been waiting for me to intrude again?

It charged at me with real intent.

Kuhaak—

With a monstrous howl, the troll swung its arm again. Dodging its attacks lightly, I slipped behind it.

I was no longer the sickly child I had been before. My body brimmed with magic power and now moved as I willed.

In fact, it was far more flexible and fast than my true self.

In an instant, I was behind the troll.

As it turned and tried to swat me, I reached out and, touching its body, unleashed the essence of frost.

CRASH—SSWHOOOOO—

A deafening roar filled the cave along with a surge of cold.

A sudden flurry of frost.

That was the end.

The troll, just as it had been about to attack me, froze solid.

A layer of frost settled over its body, and its feet were locked in ice.

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