【Mining City: Uratnarota】

＿＿＿＿About the Mining City "Uratnarota"

There is a reason this place is called a mining city.

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The most prominent feature of Uratnarota is the mysterious ore known as "Log" found throughout the city.

Log was discovered in old excavation sites in a fossil-like state. Whether it is truly an ore Its true nature has not been fully explained even today.

Log possesses a property called Self-Destruction, where it shatters and spreads, multiplying like a plant taking root wherever it lands. It anchors itself to various inorganic materials such as concrete, metal, and glass.

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Its most significant trait is how it is intensely influenced by its surroundings, changing its properties accordingly. The stronger the influence, the more unique and superior its qualities become.

Log grown in environments filled with human happiness, vitality, and good conditions takes on bright hues and can acquire properties usable as energy resources like food, electricity, or gas. Because it brings blessings to life, it is called the Stone of Gratitude.

Conversely, Log grown in environments where strong negative emotions or ill effects accumulate—such as garbage dumps, wasteland, or places of abuse and neglect—often becomes dark and turbid, emitting toxins. Furthermore, neglected Log can absorb surrounding matter and transform into monsters with the ore as a core. These are known as the Stone of Retaliation.

Humans can stop the proliferation of Log by breaking it before it turns malignant. However, neglected Log spreads further through self-destruction, forming Toxin Isolation Zones.

In the era before Log's properties were understood, many areas left Log in their living spaces out of ignorance, leading to widespread damage once toxins began to generate.

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This is how the "Toxin Isolation Zones" were born.

【Toxin Isolation Zone】

These zones are the old city districts where ordinary people once lived. Since houses, roads, and shops remain, they look like nothing more than ruined cities—if not for the Log.

However, because malignant Log has been left for long periods, the toxin concentration is extremely high; humans cannot operate there for long even in hazmat suits. Machines also become immobilized as Log anchors to them, risking becoming breeding grounds for monsters, making internal investigation and recovery incredibly difficult.

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Present-day Uratnarota is a vast metropolis consisting of the former Old Town and the New Town, which has gained rich resources through Log.

On the other hand, the Toxin Isolation Zones grow Log of such high concentration and massive size that it cannot be found elsewhere. This is because they remain influenced by the environment for long periods without human interference.

Thus, there is a demand for Log recovery despite the risks.

Requests regarding the Toxin Isolation Zones include recovering high-concentration Log, retrieving important documents or valuables left in the Old Town, searching for missing items, and surveying the area. Because it is so dangerous, many requests are impossible not just for civilians, but even for professionals.

＿＿＿＿In Uratnarota, the blessings of Log that bring wealth and the "unwanted past" of the city—the Toxin Isolation Zones—exist right next door to daily life as we know it.

While the demand for the Toxin Isolation Zones is high, they are extremely dangerous. However, if you absolutely must obtain high-concentration Log or something left behind in the Old Town, you should look for a person named "Alterna" on social media.

Real name unknown Gender unknown Age unknown Race unknown...

An existence shrouded in total mystery. Yet, their success rate for Toxin Isolation Zone requests is always 100%.

Surely, they will be able to help you. ＿＿＿＿Good luck.

Or perhaps, you reading this... 　　　　　Are you the one called Alterna?

From "The Witch's Travelogue," page 840, by ××