Chapter Text
These mines seemed like they were never ending. What had the elevator said again? Level 45? Sabine checked the claymore on her back and stepped out, exhaling. She really needed better armor for this than just farming equipment.
She’d never expected the letter from her grandfather, nor had she expected to inherit a farm. Some days she wondered what else she could have been doing besides just farming for a living. There seemed to be a never-ending list of things to do on the farm, though.
Then she had run into Linus late one night and he had told her about the mines. How no one went down there because of the monsters. She’d hefted her rusty sword and gone in without a second thought, even with the glasses she wore on her face.
Now she was spending money through the adventurer’s guild to get better weapons, though they never seemed to have any armor. Meant she just needed not to get hit, right? She’d gotten quite good at it, though every level seemed to have its own challenges.
Every morning it seemed to be the same routine. Get up, feed her dog, water the plants, and then jog to the mine for another go at getting deeper. The Adventurer’s Guild had readily accepted her and Gunther always looked delighted when she came in hauling her latest bag of treasures. Clint didn’t mind breaking her geodes open, and it was a decent life.
At least, until she met the clay creatures. She hadn’t been expecting anything in the darkness, so when something wrapped itself around her torso and started to constrict her throat, she was caught off-guard.
The claymore was trapped on her back, and there was no way to get a good swing in with her pickaxe. She didn’t know any of the other townspeople well enough to ask for a backup, and now she was going to die down here.
Stars swam in front of her eyes as she clawed at the creature’s arm to no avail. She couldn’t even get enough air to call out, not that there was anyone out there to call to.
An explosion threw her and the creature backwards, slamming them both against the wall. Sabine gasped for air, reaching up and pulling the claymore from her back. Three good strokes dispatched the clay creature, and it was only then that she fell to her knees, chest heaving to get a good breath.
“Are you okay?” a concerned voice asked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else was down here when I threw the cherry bomb.”
Sabine looked up through pale purple hair to see her savior. The light of a torch glinted off of brown hair and glasses.
“You’re that new girl,” her savior said. “The one that moved into the unused farm.”
Sabine nodded, pushing herself to her feet and holding out a hand in introduction. “Sabine. You are?”
The other girl smiled. “Maru.”
“You live with Robin and Demetrius right?”
She brightened. “Yeah. And Sebastian. He’s my half-brother.”
“What are you doing down here in the mines?”
“Conducting experiments. What about you?”
“Fighting monsters and collecting ore.”
Maru raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you have a farm to run though?”
Sabine chuckled. “I do. Some days I don’t make it down here, though I could certainly use a hand when I do.” She studied the other girl for a long moment. “You come down here alone?”
“I do.”
“Don’t suppose you could use someone watching your back while you conduct said experiments.”
She felt Maru’s gaze upon her. “I tend to be farther down in the mine,” she finally said simply. “You may want to get better with a sword before you come down there.”
“...ah,” Sabine nodded with as much dignity as she could manage. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Do you need help back to the surface?”
“I think I’ll manage. Wouldn’t want to interfere with your experiments.”
The two just looked at each other for a long moment, not sure how to bridge the awkwardness between them.
“Well, I’ll be off then,” Sabine finally managed, sheathing her claymore and squinting her way to the elevator.
“See you around.”
Now she had another reason to be in the mines, if her beating heart was any indication.