Chapter 115: Welcome To… (7)
IckNThere is a saying.FF1Ip
HT2MPe“Spend all day digging in the dirt. Let’s see if you find even a single coin.”WLurN02
57cQU3LIt means to stop thinking about making money through nonsense and get to work doing something real.NqEj
mCA5In reality, all kinds of things can appear when you dig into the ground.ElrVBU
9ORDREAnd among them all, the best is oil.DCPlQ
zzLsvlLIf you find oil, becoming rich is only a matter of time.fpeU
9qEaTc└DwarfPassingBy: Uh. I think that really is mithril.Mfp7
poDwQz└WildGrills: ?sR3
lR7But I don’t need money.ZtC
XpaemyWhat I need are useful things right now.eoBGOmK
QhLITx7Even if oil started gushing out of the ground, a simple steel bar would still be more valuable to me.TZS
wHgxAxThat’s why I couldn’t help but be stunned by the appearance of something supposedly rarer than steel—mithril.FlLl8C
QB7fiTl‘What the hell is wrong with this forest? Even weird things appear when I dig the ground.’wPriuWe
CFi3I had no idea what kind of structure this place possessed.Qqv
EeqW9It wasn’t enough that there was an orichalcum cave right nearby.bcQe
74NyJNow mithril was appearing when I dug.Gn2iT05
wSDOf course, I first had to rigorously confirm whether it was actually mithril.PUIH
EUYrvUcBesides, the gallery was already overflowing with speculation, so it was better to proceed cautiously.DMKaBu
rktQ4j5└Is that mithril? Isn’t it way too shiny to be mithril?hEw7WwT
qAw7tT└It doesn’t even seem mixed with rock. It looks like pure mithril.x0KTa0
sItaid└The orichalcum cave was orichalcum from end to end too. It wouldn’t be impossible.6lomhZq
FaK└Speak precisely. That’s impossible outside the Four Seasons Forest.aTy
Y4sn9KA└Ah, I get it now. Just like the animals grew abnormally large, the minerals did too. That’s why they ended up like this even before refinement.XNdC0f
nh7T└That actually sounds pretty convincing. Then why are the gorillas still normal?Xpl
N8V8└No idea.xufRuMO
u2u└DwarfPassingBy: Anyway. Break off a small piece and send it to me. I’ll examine it.iLSNc
JZrvs└And then you’ll disappear to go drinking again like always. Hahaha.E14
RmWhGf└DwarfPassingBy: They caught me. Haha.vG2R
YPFYzdv└What do you mean they caught you, you drunken dwarf? Hahaha.U5nmF
5iq└A race that drinks alcohol every time they take a break. Hahaha.ZbLql
hWXgyxAmong all those comments, one caught my attention.3RKJR
JLmNaWas it really mithril in ore form?xr7A
br9NMost minerals, including mithril, are usually mixed with rock.JKn5
kLqJz2That’s why refinement exists—to separate and obtain the pure material.Q6MC5br
8ZDcqWhat I had found looked like a mass of pure material that required no refinement at all.ljk8rI
0y4vvLGIt was natural for people to have trouble believing it.cy30
nUSciOf course, there are exceptions like diamonds.ZTt
qCKkP6HBut mithril wasn’t one of them.sKSuV
nKfQGSj‘Although everyone seems to accept it because I already found the orichalcum cave.’Na2qaRO
zRI0Orichalcum is also a mineral.BzI5
f9JGxtaAnd yet I discovered an entire cave made of orichalcum.gDiOe
gqTygThere was no reason to think mithril would be any different.R5jT2H
jZMgEven if it appeared right beneath my house.YVCX
qCMFVL6Either way, I would have to give at least a fragment to the dwarf.AulD
72DP6I stared at the shining green ore.3oFb
7Ia‘Hopefully a Guardian doesn’t burst out of the ground or something.’vIn3
BmZrFIf that happened, not only would the entire cave collapse.O899SMo
DO4RFMy soul would collapse too.q5VlA
FKdUnlike the orichalcum cave, there wasn’t any hidden space here.WxF4AJ
omD2And there was another problem as well.p3J5uW
onNTJ‘Why the hell is it so hard to break?’tfA1P
kkm4GExtracting it was incredibly difficult.ylN4uJ
W52P9No matter how many times I struck it with the pickaxe, not even a scratch appeared.YyBt831
h72pIf I remembered correctly, mithril had durability similar to steel but was much lighter.PIkIIBK
ZlaYfFIf it were mixed with rock, that would be one thing.CeIM
2ReBut most of this mass was pure mithril.KTn
RwRMqClang! Clang! Clang!g08rbpC
JmGI2Even so, I had no other choice.LtO
MvmAll I could do was keep mining.RryNB4
kBcRThey say no tree can withstand ten axe blows.Dmb
bXP4AMithril shouldn’t be any different.aQpP
BuwtwBesides, I had aura.raX
iyeHiSo I continued extracting it while reinforcing the pickaxe with aura.KMuQdlm
hQBeCClang! Crack!lSh
A1i34lZAfter a long time, I finally managed to obtain a tiny amount of mithril.3cF
wVIbI had been mining so long that sweat was running down my forehead.1Z9
GlW‘I barely extracted a little, and the pickaxe is already almost dull.’XErCuu
v3wNot even aura could prevent the tool from wearing down.WFCFC
WpotTAura increases a tool’s performance, but it isn’t omnipotent.L81v
O32HRIt doesn’t increase the durability of the weapon itself.2rxOdh
Vd3tqk8HeavenlyDemon’s sword is also durable because it was forged from a material called Thousand-Year Cold Iron.eN38Guc
jmR8ZJiWhile looking at the small green mineral the size of my thumb, I entered the gallery.GNAJE
QsQWH5wSince I was already there, I wanted to try getting a higher-quality pickaxe from the dwarf.fiqC9
vwDz0NX[WildGrills: I already extracted this. Take a look.]ij17j
Wfh1btl[DwarfPassingBy: Ok.]40d
Yf0c[WildGrills: And if you disappear again to go drinking, I’m never giving you anything again.]evpl3
VsXeS1L[DwarfPassingBy: You’re so cruel. ;; Anyway, understood.]s22ZI6
E2U4[DwarfPassingBy: Checking it is easy.]kPI6LwE
U3n[DwarfPassingBy: I’ll tell you what it is soon.]97dnrXv
5pqrSince the dwarf said he’d post the results, I decided to examine the rest of the mithril.f6MqLXi
aCwk0Although I wasn’t sure if I should really call it ore.glHEHn
2FJOMBut for now, I would.fhjJA
WIOUnlike orichalcum, mithril can be used to make weapons and all kinds of equipment.tYlOJ
4mMPGOgIt would undoubtedly be a huge help to me.LRRiup
tpvThough before that, there was something I had to do.3Mrc
4UCQbu‘I need to give a portion to HeavenlyDemon and SunForEver.’81Ie9w1
SajIf it turned out to be genuine mithril, there were two people I needed to reward immediately.L94D7Kr
jOZEEHeavenlyDemon, who had given me an absurdly powerful item.C0DG4lE
A9fvQpAnd SunForEver, who had gifted me shields again and again.kBx
q66o5I felt that not even an adult mandrake would be enough to repay such kindness.ORmFNTt
Rr34Ahx‘Besides, I ended up breaking the shield SunForEver gave me.’NYA2
4vRG6TLike orichalcum, mithril is a mineral that can’t be easily bought even with money.nKyLzjC
qCjS6JMaybe someone like SunForEver, who appreciates rare items, would like it.Yo0uGMs
c5e8h7‘First, let’s find out how far this extends.’iP2kVbl
sbIfDIf the entire cave floor was mithril, that would also be a problem.vVfnJ3
8QyxyANI couldn’t just leave it there forever.ndwasmS
34pNBut I couldn’t destroy the entire cave either.8C8FY
mUQAfter thinking about it for a bit, I decided to continue with the original plan.oWX4mN
LYXRAfter all, I still needed a hiding place.CnA
5EW0KUIt would be enough to keep excavating the spot I had already started.sZeO
SHb‘Just this much is already enormous.’sWRJFxw
aarFVU1I don’t even aspire to make armor.T11
jKlI only need a few spare tools.8q8
V8bnkWith that goal in mind, I continued swinging the pickaxe to create a storage space.8JPANBF
MCk‘Damn it. What if I just ask him to make me a mithril pickaxe instead?’wuN0iDq
RZXxFive minutes of mining and I was already bored.K2I2NA
eOuKlkjI wiped the sweat running down my body and entered the gallery.rXDD
kuDMPBy now, DwarfPassingBy should have finished examining it.3s1B
hhNIG[DwarfPassingBy: Hey. hey, hey. Look at this quickly. It’s urgent. Whenever you’re needed, you’re never around, damn it. This is extremely urgent, so hurry up and look.]WfSZ
b7gZThe moment I entered the gallery, I saw a message from DwarfPassingBy that seemed rather rushed.yHwC8j
U2RCIt had arrived only a minute ago.fwul
44povXESeeing it, a doubt crossed my mind.rfh8
0Swhsuu‘Could it not be mithril and actually some other mineral?’oXC1
zWleThis was the same guy who showed up late saying, “Yeah, that’s definitely orichalcum,” while drunk.ITaxj
WPhY3For someone like that to send a message like this was quite strange.QbLkV3X
M7D6C[WildGrills: Why? Is it mithril? Or is it because you haven’t been able to drink alcohol?]cvN
YAEf0[DwarfPassingBy: I’m being serious, so stop making alcohol jokes.]o1m
l6hL[WildGrills: Yeah, yeah. ;; Then why the urgency?]R2WC
MUbzclg[DwarfPassingBy: It is mithril. But it’s completely different from what I imagined.]lLE
kw5[WildGrills: What’s different about it?]4dhTUd3
N6izm[DwarfPassingBy: It’s a solid piece that barely needs any refinement. ;;]OmH
MzjTXA solid piece?jbPQh
sKWMbI tilted my head.Lxqfjtn
fkTbh5[WildGrills: If that’s the case, isn’t that a good thing?]sHo
imSm7aL[DwarfPassingBy: Are you saying you have absolutely no idea what you found?]HcL6h
gDOIu[WildGrills: Yeah. None at all. Doesn’t it just mean it’s something good?]X4kL5Sg
E7V1B2z[DwarfPassingBy: Ah, damn it. ;; Did someone hit you in the head with a hammer instead of using it as an anvil or what? ;;]EEmltQp
89XMWzo[WildGrills: Stop insulting me and explain it. …I come from another world, I don’t know anything.]VfByO
97LPr[DwarfPassingBy: I’ll explain it assuming your head is an anvil.]MPxHnO
uBgmMDwarfPassingBy’s explanation was as follows.CcpZu
iTbqQ8Originally, minerals are found embedded within rock and can increase their purity through refinement processes.e4znZmH
t1zThe same applies to mithril.lq2SL
E1lQAMoreover, the amount present within rock and the frequency with which it appears are lower than those of other minerals, so its value inevitably increases.WEJ
sNFRUIkEven if what I had found were raw ore, the quantity alone would be absurd because of its size.Y7YU1JK
em1us[DwarfPassingBy: The weapons that claim to be made of mithril are actually alloys. There are no tools made entirely of mithril. Not even the rich people of Setan can afford something like that.]5ks
CmgrSb[WildGrills: Oh. Then I really could do it.]Ngtl
vOl[DwarfPassingBy: Yeah. If it had been raw ore, I would’ve sent it back.]UqItWu
SGshO7[WildGrills: Huh? Why? Didn’t you say you’re a dwarf?]lTa4
6Rc6[DwarfPassingBy: I am. But normally it would have to go through a special refining process. And to use that furnace, I need authorization from my superiors.]Mf39iP4
FflSSXn[WildGrills: Because they’d find out you spend your time in the gallery?]UOhtoe
TgyO5u[DwarfPassingBy: That’s a separate issue. My real life would become a massive pain in the ass.]QYdk74l
pWtIf he needed authorization from his superiors, the refining process must have been quite complicated.4q8xdF
fPdWell, we’re talking about mithril, an extremely rare mineral.APM
BZTv6bIt made sense.21ZFh4V
3gpAiAt least, since it was a solid piece, it only needed to be melted down.ncji
2RACdEG[DwarfPassingBy: By the way, how the hell did you extract it? And more importantly, did you really get it by digging? Considering mithril’s hardness, it’d make more sense if you told me you found it lying around.]c6hyKb
Bbm[WildGrills: What are you talking about? It was hard, but it broke pretty well. Like a rock.]o95b
7Tj2T[DwarfPassingBy: What are you talking about? What you sent me is solid mithril. Solid mithril. It’s literally a block of metal.]YQLZfTh
9Q7tzjWhat the hell was he talking about now?HylaL
sIKk9BI frowned.MWTbt
JZSAlthough the mithril vein was hard, from my experience it was never anywhere near the level of iron.b6kXA
ufxIf it really were, I wouldn’t have been able to mine it with a pickaxe in the first place.8tth
bR6It was a rock that could be broken one way or another.ppm2U1
UuIHiThat’s exactly what I was mining right now.Ln2H
iF1KFw8[WildGrills: That’s strange. It mines just like a rock. Isn’t that normal?]agUHN
q4rB9Y[DwarfPassingBy: Stop talking nonsense. You couldn’t even cut it with a saw. ;;]YWC5m4T
KrfEVZn[WildGrills: No, I’m serious… I’ll record a video so you can see. But first give me a pickaxe.]yMQlLVj
ArE9x[DwarfPassingBy: I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but I’ll give you one. I made it as a spare for myself, so it’s good.]jt7cV
oaskFs[WildGrills: Oh, and make me a mithril pickaxe too. It’s really hard to dig.]euX
GkrwaC[DwarfPassingBy: Damn it, hahaha. Is the world’s first solid mithril tool really going to be a pickaxe? Hahaha.]xovJP
IkByML[WildGrills: I’m serious. Shouldn’t it make mining easier?]QmWMiXM
fvfaA[DwarfPassingBy: It’ll be a little more comfortable, but it won’t make a dramatic difference. ;;]RUMPc5
M9bGames and reality were definitely different.GGGs
XuY58cOIn games, when you used tools made of the same material, you mined much faster.Ug9
dnv5SEven so, I had plenty of mithril, so getting one wasn’t a bad idea.VVP5
iKPoYEven if that was all it amounted to, there wouldn’t be a problem.REUFgp
ERVA pickaxe is always useful.Prs7QCk
BSB‘Will I be able to mine better with this?’KbnfdB
9MweI examined the pickaxe DwarfPassingBy had given me.56Klebf
OxkAt first glance, it looked like a completely ordinary pickaxe.n5gcW4o
odZFxThat said, the handle was a little short.8T7
WHPuProbably because it had been made according to a dwarf’s proportions.KYcNEKE
Bv4srClang! Clang!HH8mbU8
ns62rCEven so, its performance was far superior to the previous pickaxe.ELm
iCptEcIt had a suitable weight and excellent durability.Uj80
esy8W1Thanks to that, I was able to extract a considerable amount of mithril.2a2jaJ
vFTALA little later, as I stared at a fist-sized chunk of mithril, a question arose in my mind.TtZpd
CG8‘That’s strange. It definitely feels more like a rock.’GDPNpw
ymV6A3Not just because of the texture.4tuJ
Aaos1QIt also lacked that characteristic metallic hardness.JpEU
P4xI tilted my head and sent the mithril to the dwarf.QSO0V
Uj1zzZ(Video of mining mithril)01Ix
oo0I[WildGrills: Look. It breaks just like a rock.]XIvkEF7
Hjinnob[DwarfPassingBy: That’s impossible. What the hell is this? What you sent me was a block of metal. ;;]Y1O
nhNLk[WildGrills: Are you sure you’re good at your job?]ldZw
dbEw4B[DwarfPassingBy: Damn it. Say whatever you want, but don’t attack my pride. Whether it looks like it or not, I’m a master metallurgist.]KGc
AAtVY[WildGrills: Sorry. I apologize. Anyway, I showed it to you.]vCD
M2B1i[DwarfPassingBy: Damn it, hahaha. I feel like everything I know about the world is falling apart. Don’t you notice anything strange?]HSiG3LB
UGH38Just as I was about to reply, “Strange? Not at all.”03nHPYP
4mm4tSss—frVfnj
CdcT59DA fragment of mithril lying on the ground moved slightly.OrPigx
E0xFrMu‘……What?’R8A6gYI
YVjetFor an instant, I thought I had imagined it.NstTaWM
p9ZBut that idea was immediately shattered.1l2m
kDVZtnSss— Sss—lA9W5
vKgHwv7The mithril fragments scattered around from the mining began to move little by little.Lkr4P
NcTU11Toward where?5Uc
747o1CWToward the mithril vein that still shone with a magnificent glow.lhEC0KV
sjtrI left the gallery window open and stared at the scene in shock.C9UAyH8
atb9Thud—vVMw
p5otbFIt didn’t take long for the fragments to reach the mithril vein.Cyjpb
8kagqKAs if they had never been separated, they reattached themselves to the main body.ereG87
rrGWDI watched the scene clearly with my own eyes.K2xDr
CwvZdYUIt was like forcibly rejoining pieces of tissue torn from a living body.8ZU
7n9‘……No way.’rIn
7BvaZHalf in disbelief, I placed my hand on the mithril vein.Kl0BSz
bt8KqiThere was something I wanted to check.ohpMY
Cm9eFirst rule of the auction house and private trading.RmRoHe
lLMSYou cannot trade living beings.VAe5O
VXokwSecond rule.shp
RAOChJTo trade an object, all sides of it must be visible within your field of view.oUne8US
x4XrCThere was no need to worry about the third rule and beyond.pZlLRS
58zToFpThey weren’t particularly important.b5cjql
18nuw8UThe reason I specifically mentioned the first and second rules was simple.qln
cGn‘The second rule only applies after you’ve passed the first.’wc1cLdL
FKYQThat’s how the system was designed.TZv3rO
R6iIf you didn’t pass the first rule, the transaction was impossible from the start.rQ0Eh
ghq51LIf there had been any way to bypass it, I wouldn’t be trapped here.U18v6P3
4UGnYLXThe first rule allows no loopholes.T6kfmvh
gtsPs2MIn other words.3YjzOCy
Emb5You cannot trade living beings.Ago3
bUf5VmhThat was proof that the mithril vein was alive, just like a lifeform.lloH9
DkVyIn this insane forest, even minerals breathed and lived.Ef6X
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