That’s right… Magic and Alchemy were both forms of sorcery. And Alchemy could generate heat with mana. I did have a power that could stand in for fire magic!
People often thought that Alchemy cauldrons were magical devices, but that wasn’t true. A cauldron was just a vessel made of special material that could withstand the intense heat produced by Alchemy to melt metals. The heat didn’t come from the cauldron itself.
It came from Alchemy magic.
That meant if I could imagine this entire cavern as a giant cauldron, I could melt the solid ice. After all, there wasn’t any rule that said I couldn’t use Alchemy in battle. No matter where the golem’s core was hidden, there was no way it could remain concealed if I melted the ice into water.
I couldn’t help but grin as it all became clear to me. Alchemy could break this stalemate.
“Melt, ice!”
So what if I couldn’t use fire magic? I had Alchemy magic! And that was all I needed. The cavern was my cauldron, and the ice was my material.
I closed my eyes and remembered exactly what it had felt like when I’d melted the metal.
I channeled my mana through the cavern. It was so vast that pulling all the power I needed from the reserves deep in my belly felt like being emptied. Little by little, I raised the temperature inside my imagined cauldron.
Droplets of water started to drip from the tips of countless icicles. The frozen walls and floor began to soften and melt.
The golem disguised as the cavern tried to stop me, launching the remaining icicles my way, but my Guardian Ring of the Nature Spirit King shielded me completely.
Thank you, Nature Spirit King!
“Unbelievable…” Mark muttered.
The three of them stood there in astonishment as the ice turned to liquid all around us. Between the rising heat and the thick humidity, we were all drenched with sweat. Before long, the thinning ice dissipated and something appeared beneath it: a magic circle with a red mana crystal set at its center.
“There it is,” Letia muttered.
She took a step forward, raised her katana, and thrust the tip straight into the mana crystal, shattering it instantly.
The remaining ice collapsed into water all on its own without needing any more of my mana and flowed out of the cave in a rushing stream.
We’d somehow managed to survive.
“Phew…” I sighed. All the tension drained out of me, and I was left exhausted. “My mana’s almost completely drained,” I said, letting them know how close to collapse I was.
“Yeah, well you just heated up the entire cavern!” Mark walked over and tousled my hair. “We’ll rest once we grab whatever’s here. Great job, Daisy.”
Suddenly, a treasure chest appeared over the magic circle. We all gathered around it, but then, I saw dozens of little yellow fairies staring at a section of the now-dripping wall. Lynn watched it too, her eyes shining.
“Should we open this chest—wait, what’s Lynn doing?” Mark tipped his head in confusion, probably wondering why we were both staring at a blank wall.
“Mineral Extraction!” Lynn shouted, pointing at the wall. The yellow fairies all raised their arms in unison. A golden light shone on the far wall, glittering particles floating free until they filled the air like a shimmering cloud.
“Mineral Recrystallization!” Next, the fairies all pointed to the same spot in the air.
The glimmering dust rushed together and condensed into a pale blue, oval-shaped gemstone, then dropped neatly into Lynn’s outstretched palm. Then all the fairies vanished.
Lynn turned toward me, holding the gem so I could see it. “It looks like an ice elemental gem.”
“Can I see?” I stepped closer and peered at it.
Divine Gem (Frost)
Classification: Mineral, Material
Quality: Good to Supreme
Rarity: S
Status: A gemstone imbued with Frost attributes. Its quality improves even further when combined with other elemental gemstones.
Feeling: You can use me alone, but that would be such a waste!
“There seem to be other elemental gems like this. If you collect more, the effects get stronger,” I said.
“In that case, we should probably gather the set of all the elemental gems if we plan on using them. I wonder if you can synthesize them to boost their quality?” Lynn mused. She shrugged and handed me the gem. “You hang onto it for now.”
“Okay, I’ll store it in the vault at my workshop until we can find the rest,” I said, tucking it carefully into my satchel.
“All right, let’s open this thing!” Mark called us over, and we ran over to the treasure chest.
“I’ve never opened a treasure chest before! This feels like a real adventure now!” I exclaimed as I crouched down next to him, my heart pounding.
“You really are like a kid sometimes,” Letia laughed as she tousled my hair.
I puffed out my cheeks at how everyone kept treating me like a child, but the next moment, all I could think about was the thrill of what might be inside of the chest. What could it be?
Mark opened the lid with a creak and revealed its contents. Inside was a clear stone the size of his fist and a cloth pouch.
Permafrost Stone
Classification: Mineral, Material
Quality: Best
Rarity: A
Status: A stone imbued with Frost attributes. Contains the power of “Eternal Freeze.”
Feeling: It’s a secret.
A secret? Really?
I picked up the pouch and peeked inside.
Agility Seed
Classification: Seed
Quality: Good
Rarity: B
Status: Will grant enhanced agility for a short time when consumed raw. Plant the seed to grow more.
Feeling: Do you want to eat me now or plant me to grow a whole crop? You can even use me in potions!
Is it just me, or is Appraisal teasing me a lot today?
No one was sure what to do with the permafrost stone, so I agreed to hold onto it as well for now. It didn’t look like something we could use at the moment anyway.