I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 87

Episode 87: At Vermis Canyon

There are several types of monsters that, if defeated alone, signify sufficient combat ability to qualify for the Silver-ranked promotion exam. Among them, the one residing closest to the royal capital is the ogre.

To provide Seneca with more opportunities to fight ogres, “Moonlit Vow” decided to make Vermis Canyon their next activity site. For the foreseeable weekends, they would be heading to the Canyon.

Vermis Canyon is known for its abundance of rare mosses and lichens, many of which are highly valuable materials. Plautia maintained a deal with the alchemists at the magic academy—providing them with the materials they sought at a discounted price in exchange for useful information.

Thanks to their sales of practice-made potions, the alchemists were relatively wealthy. However, acquiring rare materials while preserving their freshness was an expensive endeavor, making Plautia a highly valued supplier.

Both Maior, Plautia, and Gaia aspired to become Silver-ranked adventurers. Defeating an ogre was a goal they all shared, fueling their determination. Their preparations were thorough.

With eager anticipation for their new adventure, the four of them set out for Vermis Canyon.

For the first week, they decided to spend their time surveying the area and gathering materials.

No matter how much research one does beforehand, the situation on-site often differs. It was important to travel between different campsites and gather information from fellow adventurers.

They also aimed to quickly complete the simpler material collection tasks. Their primary goal was combat, so anything that hindered that needed to be resolved swiftly.

Maior activated her 【Detection】 skill.

Her level had increased, allowing her to use more mana to detect poisons. Some medicinal ingredients were highly toxic, so she could now locate such materials with ease.

Despite multiple monster attacks, the four steadily advanced through the Canyon, fending off threats without trouble.

Ogres were more frequently sighted deep within Vermis Canyon, but they occasionally appeared in the shallower areas as well. However, Maior’s skill didn’t pick up any signs of them this time, and soon, it was time to return to the capital for their lessons.

Starting in the second week, they ventured deeper into the Canyon.

Navigating the Canyon required walking along narrow cliffside paths. There was always the risk of falling rocks or the paths collapsing. They had to remain vigilant.

Flying monsters could also attack. Even if Maior’s skill detected them in advance, a large swarm would still be dangerous. The group naturally maintained a heightened sense of caution.

Seneca led the way, assessing the path’s stability. Whenever she deemed a section unsafe, she would create makeshift footholds with her skill, 【Sewing Pin】 .

Even if she lost her footing, she had a high chance of recovering by 【Sewing】 the air. To prepare for emergencies, Seneca had trained at the academy by deliberately falling from high places and using her skill to recover. To her fellow students, this training seemed like bizarre behavior, earning her many strange looks.

Though Seneca was at the front, the others weren’t complacent. If necessary, they would have to navigate the path without relying on her, so they remained observant, constantly considering how they would handle the terrain on their own.

As they progressed, a small mountain came into view—one known for frequent ogre sightings.

Maior used her skill.

“Hmm… I don’t sense anything.”

Since there were no ogres within her detection range, they pressed on deeper into the Canyon.

Although they encountered and repelled various other monsters and beasts, they found no trace of ogres.

“This is as far as we go for now.”

With their return to the capital approaching, Seneca and the others left the Canyon, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

In the third week, they took extra care in gathering information before resuming their exploration.

Ogres were never common, but they hadn’t expected them to be this elusive. Their expectations had been too optimistic.

This time, they restructured their plan to maximize the range of Maior’s detection ability.

Previously, since they were preparing for battle, they had physically traveled to areas with high sighting frequencies. But if their goal was merely to locate the ogres’ habitat, they could use Maior’s skill from the opposite side of the cliffs instead. With this new approach, they selected a route and proceeded with their search.

Yet, no matter how much they searched, they found no ogres. It was as if they had gone extinct.

They cut their exploration short and reported the situation to the local guild. The guild also found this unusual and decided to launch their own investigation. That week, Seneca and the others returned to the capital with no new discoveries.

In the fourth week, they decided to hunt other monsters instead.

Since they regularly encountered non-ogre monsters, they chose to hunt for experience.

Seneca and her party also questioned whether there was any point in continuing their activities in Vermis Canyon if the ogres were absent. Still, after investing so much time into the search, they wanted some tangible results.

The mystery of the missing ogres was another reason they continued their exploration. The nearby guild had interviewed other adventurers, confirming that no one had seen an ogre recently.

The guild planned to issue a formal investigation request, targeting adventurers well-acquainted with Vermis Canyon. This meant that “Moonlit Vow” would not be eligible to accept the quest.

Maior’s ability allowed them to survey a broad area, but they hadn’t been able to scan the entire Canyon. Their need to return to the capital limited their exploration period, preventing them from thoroughly investigating the deepest regions.

It was indeed strange that not a single ogre had been found, but they were mobile creatures, and it was possible this was merely a coincidence. The guild maintained a level-headed response.

However, Seneca couldn’t shake a peculiar feeling. She couldn’t put it into words, but it felt as though the monsters in the Canyon were living in quiet restraint.

“Next week, we’ll explore the depths, and if we still can’t find any Ogres, let’s change locations.”

However, Seneca felt that the party’s decision was reasonable—after all, there had to be a point where they called it quits.

………

For the fifth week of their search, they decided to thoroughly explore the depths of the Vermis Canyon.

Through previous investigations, they had learned that if Maior used 【Detection】 at full power, he could sense the presence of monsters even beyond the great valley. After doing the calculations, they found that given enough time, they could explore nearly the entire canyon depths.

Because of that, the four of them decided to skip their classes. They had been studying diligently every day, so missing a few days wouldn’t be an issue.

Whenever the entire party planned to be absent for several days like this, they were required to submit an absence notice. If they didn’t submit it and failed to return, the academy would issue a search request.

The absence notice had to be submitted to their homeroom teacher, so Seneca and Maior headed to Instructor Attalos’s office.

They had already booked an appointment. The office door was half-open, so the two of them called out, “We’re coming in!” before stepping inside.

“Oh, you’re here!”

Attalos stood up from his chair and approached Seneca and Maior.

“Here’s our absence notice.”

Seneca and Maior handed over the papers they were holding.

“Where are you headed this time?”

“Vermis Canyon.”

“Vermis Canyon? Are you going to hunt Ogres?”

“Yes. But we’ve been searching for a month now and haven’t found a single one, so we thought we’d check the deeper areas.”

When Maior said this, Attalos’s expression grew slightly more serious.

“So you’re saying that even after visiting Vermis Canyon every weekend and searching, Maior hasn’t found a single Ogre?”

“Yes.”

Maior and Seneca nodded.

“That is certainly strange. But then, why go back at all? If you’re taking time off from class, wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere more efficient…?”

“You’re right, but we wanted to do everything we could before giving up… Also, we’re simply curious about why they’ve disappeared.”

“I see. Well, that’s a very adventurer-like way of thinking. I’m sure you already know, but don’t go too deep.”

“Got it!”

Seneca answered energetically.

…………

“By the way—”

Just as they were about to leave after submitting the notice, Attalos muttered meaningfully.

“What is it?”

“You know that beyond Vermis Canyon lies the Rude Mountain Range, right? I once heard a story about someone fighting a Silver Ogre past those mountains.”

“Is that true?”

Seneca spoke up. Fighting a Silver Ogre would require at least a Silver-rank adventurer party.

“Yeah. An adventurer I know told me about it, so it’s probably true. Though, it was quite some time ago. He claimed he had defeated it, but if there was one, it wouldn’t be strange if there were more. That doesn’t explain why the regular Ogres are missing, but there might be something deeper inside. Be extra careful.”

“Understood.”

Seneca and Maior decided to make even more thorough preparations.