Let’s Play Minecraft in a World of Swords and Spells

(Walson)

"Inferno Aurum! Found a vein of Inferno Aurum!"

"It's Inferno Aurum, a real Inferno Aurum!"

Accompanied by the continuous echoes of shouts from the depths of the corridor, the resounding footsteps of heavily armored figures started to reverberate.

Belle and Derisha exchanged a glance. Leading the way as the vanguard, they hastened the pace with the crowd. Melon, positioned at the rear of the group, kept a watchful eye on the surroundings and followed suit.

The seemingly endless corridor underwent a change after a sprint of more than ten minutes. Through the [Mini-map], I could see that a network of paths appeared at the end of the corridor. Hundreds of green dots, indicating neutral targets, were swiftly converging in a certain direction.

“The vein is huge!"

"We're going to be rich!"

# Turn right up ahead. Let's take a shortcut # I immediately found a route to catch up with the exploration team based on the information from the [Mini-map].

# I didn’t expect an ordinary [Villager] like you would have a skill like that # came Belle's response through telepathy.

...Even though she's running ahead of me and not looking at me, I can imagine the disdainful expression on her face.

‘Come on, don't casually expose my secrets. The [Mini-map] is one of my trump cards’ I complained silently inside my mind, but I didn’t dwell on this matter much longer. Soon, I began to think of other things.

Based on my experience with video games in my previous life, dungeons usually have multiple layers for adventurers to explore. However, it seems that this dungeon goes all the way to the bottom.

“What the-”

When we stepped out of the convoluted maze structure and entered a spacious room, the darkness that had been following us disappeared. The field of view suddenly opened up. Unlike the brick structure before, this room was a massive cave filled with stalactites. In the middle of the cave, a ten-meter-long vein structure emitting a red light was exposed.

Adventurers in large groups crowded forward with crosses in hand, and the scene descended into chaos.

Returning to the point mentioned earlier, the dungeon goes all the way to the bottom—yes, I surveyed the surroundings and found no way leading to the next layer.

...Guess I'll just have to watch and see what happens?

Looking at the chaotic exploration team, many were pushing forward with crosses, completely driven by greed, lacking the composure that an exploration team should have.

But not everyone was reckless. Should I feel relieved? Through the [Mini-map], I could still see some people calmly observing from the side.

Yeah, I paid a little attention and saw a group of five high-visual white-robed girls, like idols, forming a priest group, as well as a team that seemed to be carrying a lot of alchemical equipment. Are they planning to sell potions when needed? There are traders wherever there's a market.

...Hmm, they all seem to be backliners? Because they can't squeeze in, that's why they're not rushing in...

Huh? I thought they were all part of a team, but it seems there are solo players too? Isn't it better to explore dungeons together?

From the [Mini-map], I saw a lone green dot. Looking over, I found a figure wearing a tattered cloak, and their profession was unclear.

Seemingly sensing my gaze, the cloaked figure also looked up and gazed in my direction, but due to the distance, their face couldn't be clearly seen.

I suddenly realized that staring at someone like this was somewhat impolite, so I made an apologetic gesture and looked elsewhere.

In any case, it seems that there are no clues to be found like this... or is this one of those levels where you need to find a hidden entrance?

Just then, I noticed that Grace and Belle were suddenly staring intently at a certain place, precisely at the vein being excavated by the crowd.

"Wait, something's not right!" Belle suddenly shouted, gripping the hilt of her sword and assuming a defensive posture.

"...It's a bit strange," Grace added, and an invisible magical barrier appeared in front of us.

Then, Barella, Derisha, and Melon also adopted corresponding defensive postures. As a [Villager], the least sensitive to magic, I finally noticed something peculiar.

A strand of red magic was spreading from the vein's center, covering the entire ground in just a few seconds.

One adventurer noticed the anomaly, stood up, but upon seeing others still digging head down, afraid of being slower than others, he raised his cross and struck down!

Clang!

"Dammit!" I let out  a curse.

We were fooled by the greed of these people!

In an instant, a fiery red flash overwhelmed my vision, and my body suddenly hung in the air, consciousness gradually dissipating.

...

...

...

Struggling to open her eyes, Grace supported her sore body with a staff.

As consciousness gradually cleared, Grace confirmed her location.

"..."

She is in a similar place to the previous corridor, but the bricks used for stacking had a strange dark brown tint, stacked "neatly."

The visibility in the corridor was slightly better than the previous one, and the path ahead was covered in a reddish mist.

The temperature around was scorching, making breathing a bit painful.

Grace attempted to use telepathy to contact her party member via [Party Telepathy], but received no response, Focusing on her status, she discovered that she had been kicked out of the party at some point.

"Ah... My head hurts so much..." Turning around, Grace saw Derisha, who had just awakened as well. "Ah, Grace-chan! Why were we kicked out of the party!?"

"...I don't know." Grace frowned, grasping Derisha's hand and attempting to use the [Ender Pearl] to teleport to Walson... but she couldn't feel the presence of that pearl.

A sense of foreboding spread in Grace's heart, she instantly awakened [IRIS], The magical world covered by a thin mist revealed a scorching red that overwhelmed everything.

After taking a glance to her surroundings, Grace immediately exited this state, her expression somewhat terrified.

This was the first time she witnessed such a dense concentration of fire attribute fairies!

Looking again at those dark brown bricks, regardless of the material, they were clearly soaked in dried blood. These bricks seemed to have been soaked in blood!

This is like a fortress made in hell, just what exactly is this place?

____________

Tn: Nether Fortress(?)