Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Frost Mine (2)
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Having completed his seventh sword, Hyun-soo immediately headed over to the vicinity of the mine.
Banya, who had been carrying water, approached him.
“…I heard the story. That my father gave you an impossible task.”
Banya sighed.
“The mine is so dangerous that he doesn’t like to let anyone in unless they’re a skilled miner. Please understand.”
“I understand. Should I head in this way?”
“So you’re going to try it after all? The time…”
Banya was worried but swallowed his words. A calculator was running in his head.
‘The average time it takes to mine a single ore is three hours.’
Hyun-soo only had two days left.
That was the nature of ore. It was surrounded by incredibly hard rock, making it difficult to mine.
Just then, the sword at Hyun-soo’s hip transformed into a pickaxe.
[Damascus Pickaxe]
[The item's information is changing.]
[It can be converted back into a sword at any time as needed.]
Surprisingly, the Damascus Longsword had two item windows in total, which could be viewed by transforming it.
(Damascus Pickaxe)
Grade: Unique
Durability: 12,000/12,000
Attack Power: 64
Restriction: No restrictions for the creator, Level 50~200.
Special Abilities:
·Mining Power +230%.
·Critical Hit Chance +40%.
Description: A Damascus Pickaxe made solely for mining.
It was excellent, functioning as both a sword and a pickaxe.
“That looks like a fine pickaxe, but Sir Hyun-soo, I think you should just go back…”
Hyun-soo struck the rock with the pickaxe.
*Shhhk-*
‘Instead of a *clang*, it went *shhhk*?’
Normally, a pickaxe hitting stone should make a ringing sound. But this pickaxe slid smoothly into the rock.
*Shhhk-*
*Shhhhk-*
*Shhhhk-*
In just thirty minutes, Hyun-soo had mined one.
[You have acquired Iron Ore.]
A single piece of ordinary iron ore was worth 5 gold.
[A 2x effect is currently active.]
[You have acquired additional Iron Ore.]
‘Oh?’
Hyun-soo was currently under the effect of double experience and drop rates as a reward for entering the Frost Mine.
In other words, two pieces in thirty minutes was 10,000 won!
‘Not bad at all.’
Hyun-soo continued mining without stopping.
[You have acquired 1 Dexterity.]
[You have acquired 1 Dexterity…]
[You have acquired Cold Iron.]
‘Nice…’
Ordinary Cold Iron. Hyun-soo had used it before.
Ordinary Cold Iron was a rare-grade mineral that traded for about 60 gold, which was 60,000 won.
Hyun-soo didn’t stop, mining through the night.
By the time he was scheduled to meet Rek, he had acquired a whopping 91 ores.
Eighty of them were iron ore, and eleven were Cold Iron.
In three days, he had earned a hefty sum of 1,060,000 won.
He came out and poured the ores in front of Rek.
A startled Rek asked Hyun-soo.
If he was a legendary miner. Hyun-soo, who took great pride in his profession, answered.
“I’m a blacksmith.”
[Your affinity with Rek has increased.]
Rek looked at the pickaxe slung over Hyun-soo’s shoulder.
“I see. As a blacksmith, you found your own way to handle the work of a miner.”
Rek gave a bitter smile.
“I apologize for underestimating you. My perspective was too narrow.”
The other miners also approached Hyun-soo.
“Truly, that’s incredible! You’re an excellent miner!”
“Did you do it with that pickaxe? You’re a skilled miner and a skilled blacksmith.”
Hyun-soo heard the sound of his affinity with them rising continuously.
[A story will begin shortly.]
‘This sound again?’
It seemed he would have to wait and see what it was about.
He had heard this sound during the Orc Warrior incident and Kasel’s territory battle.
In other words, a regularly occurring story existed. But since Hyun-soo was the first to enter, he had no idea what it was.
“A newcomer mined this much… my pride is so stung I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“You too? Same here! It makes me think I need to improve my skills as a miner.”
“Chief Rek, please permit us to work the night shift today!”
Rek looked at the miners, their faces burning with motivation, and smiled wryly.
“Go ahead.”
It was a good thing that the miners’ spirits were fired up.
[Chain Quest: Mine 40 Ores in a Week has been completed with an astonishing result.]
“I promised you the Ten-Year Cold Iron, but you’ve achieved something absurdly amazing. This is the Hundred-Year Cold Iron I have.”
[You have acquired Hundred-Year Cold Iron.]
Hyun-soo was filled with awe. When he had received it from Barad, it hadn’t truly felt like his own, so the feeling wasn’t as strong.
But now, a thrill coursed through his entire body.
“This is a secret from the kingdom.”
He got to the main point.
“Somewhere in this mine exists a Cold Iron that has endured a thousand years. It must be deep inside, but its chill is so strong you can feel it from afar. It must be incredible.”
“Can it be mined?”
“I almost did, but it was dangerous, and I, too, failed.”
Rek gave a bitter smile.
“Can you tell me its location?”
“I will. I said I failed, but you might not. Go to the end of Mine #7.”
Hyun-soo immediately entered Mine #7. And when he went to the location described, he felt a chill so intense it gave him goosebumps.
‘It’s here.’
He estimated the distance. He would have to mine about 40 meters deep.
Hyun-soo tried striking with his pickaxe.
*Shhhhk-*
Repeating the motion several times, Hyun-soo made his way inside.
[Time limit exceeded.]
[The wall is regenerating.]
Hyun-soo was dumbfounded. He scrambled out before the regenerating wall could swallow him.
*Grrrrumble-*
Watching the wall become completely sealed off again, Hyun-soo let out a hollow laugh.
‘Is this why it can’t be mined?’
But Hyun-soo loved a challenge. He didn’t back down and swung his pickaxe.
After swinging continuously, he stared at the regenerated wall and stroked his chin.
‘Still, I should give it a try for a few days.’
Hyun-soo started walking to take a break. He had almost reached the exit.
*Ruuuuuumble-*
Suddenly, the mine began to vibrate violently.
“What’s this?”
[The story is beginning.]
The moment to finally uncover the identity of that mysterious story was at hand.
[100 years ago, the mage Balun formed a barrier in the Frost Mine, which is structured like a dungeon, because miners were unable to get inside.]
Hyun-soo recalled his conversation with Banya.
Exit 11.
The monsters were concentrated there.
[All the monsters gathered there, and because the barrier prevented them from crossing into other areas, it became possible for the miners to enter.]
[Now, 100 years later, Balun’s barrier has weakened.]
[The monsters that have been trapped for 100 years are going on a rampage.]
“…!?”
*Thud, thud-thud-thud, thud-thud-thud-thud-!*
Hyun-soo heard a tremendous roar from outside.
The sound of the monsters inside the mine running wild.
And then.
*Craa-a-a-a-ack-*
The sound of the barrier shattering reached him even from here.
[The barrier will be destroyed in 2 minutes.]
*Tiring!*
[Quest: Evacuate to a safe place with the miners has been generated.]
‘Ah…’
Hyun-soo quickly read through it. The quest was to lead the miners, who were ignorant of combat, to safety as the monsters poured out.
Then, Hyun-soo’s face hardened.
‘Wait a minute…’
He felt a sense of foreboding.
‘They can’t escape.’
This story was likely set to trigger late at night.
“The miners are currently inside this mine…?”
Even at a full sprint, it took five minutes to get from the inner sections to the outside.
[The barrier will be destroyed in 1 minute and 30 seconds.]
*Thump-thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump-!*
The entire mine was shaking.
*Ruuuuuumble-*
From the shock, the mines began to collapse.
*Cruuuunch-*
*Fwoooosh-!*
Hyun-soo, who had escaped outside, watched the mine spew out clouds of dust.
All but four of the mines had collapsed.
“The-the miners are buried…!”
“Let’s go in and save them!”
“Everyone, grab your pickaxes!”
Hyun-soo shouted urgently.
“You have to evacuate! Quickly! The monsters will be here soon…!”
“You get out of here! If you were in our shoes, could you leave behind comrades you’ve shared everything with, buried in there?”
“Nearly fifty of them are buried in there. They’re not dead yet. The magic designed by the royal mages in case of a mine collapse should have activated.”
“We have to get in and bring them out within the hour!”
Hyun-soo frowned. A blazing madness shone in the miners’ eyes. This was something he couldn’t stop.
So what should he do?
The mines had collapsed, the miners wouldn’t evacuate, and over fifty of them were buried.
The core of this story was to evacuate the miners. All he had to do was lead them out safely.
He probably would have clashed with a few monsters along the way.
But the situation had changed. Instead of running away, he now had to approach the danger.
Hyun-soo began to walk toward Exit 11. The barrier was there.
*Tiring!*
[A new story is beginning.]
[Emergency Quest: Save the Miners has been generated.]
[Emergency Quest: Save the Miners]
Grade: A
Restriction: The one who triggered the new episode.
Reward: ???
Penalty for Failure: Death of the miners.
Description: 58 miners inside the mine and 38 miners outside are in crisis. Help the miners survive.
A hologram appeared in the upper right of Hyun-soo’s vision.
[Number of living miners: 96.]
[The reward will vary depending on the number of surviving miners.]
Hyun-soo began to walk faster. There was only one way to save all the miners now.
Standing alone before Exit 11, Hyun-soo’s brain began to spin rapidly.
*Craa-ack-*
[The barrier will be destroyed in 5 seconds.]
He thought as he watched the barrier crack like a spiderweb.
His pickaxe had already turned back into the Damascus Longsword.
‘With this?’
He couldn’t handle that many monsters by himself.
What if he used the Sword King’s swordsmanship?
‘I can kill many monsters. But I can’t handle the sheer volume of them pouring out…’
*Screeeech-*
The barrier completely shattered.
“Kueeeek!”
“Kyahahahaak!”
[Mine Orc Lv. 107]
[Mine Wolf Lv. 110]
Hyun-soo’s current level was 59.
‘I can’t let a single one of them get past here…’
A strange light gleamed in Hyun-soo’s eyes.
‘Have I ever used a large amount of ore to activate Emergency Production?’
The description for God’s Emergency Production included this line:
‘If there are no suitable materials, the basic materials created by the skill will be applied.’
The basic materials were the lowest of the low, even among normal-grade materials, and would yield the weakest effect.
Hyun-soo had only used materials once recently.
When Barad first tested him, he had used Cold Iron.
‘The Cold Iron used then was just a single piece.’
In reality, a sword could not be made from a single piece of Cold Iron.
To make a single sword, a minimum of 10kg of ore was needed.
Despite this, he hadn’t used it lightly. The drawback of Emergency Production was that it was a one-time use skill, disappearing after a single activation.
But Hyun-soo believed.
‘Rescuing the miners will be far more valuable to me.’
He ended his thoughts.
‘I’ll pour in all the Cold Iron and create a sword that can deliver one powerful blow.’
Just then.
“You, what are you doing? Get away from there! Get out of here, now!”
Rek, having spotted Hyun-soo, rushed toward him.
His comrades’ lives were precious. But the life of an innocent person was precious too.
He had also realized that Hyun-soo’s actions were meant to help them.
Foolish, so foolish.
Wasn’t a blacksmith just as weak as a miner?
*Shimmer-*
Hyun-soo summoned eleven pieces of Cold Iron into the air. The blue-tinged minerals revolved in the void.
They were smelted and melted.
Refined and purified of impurities.
*Tssssssss-*
A massive red blade revealed itself.
‘Wha-what is that…?’
The blade alone was 1.8 meters long, and it was as wide as three swords combined.
‘It looks hard and strong.’
Just looking at the sword instilled such thoughts.
The grip of the sword was so massive it required two hands to hold. The moment Hyun-soo grasped it.
*Clank-*
The giant blade clicked into place, completing a greatsword that emanated a faint blue light.
*Craa-a-ack-*
The mere act of gripping it caused the air around Hyun-soo to freeze.
“Kraaaaaaaah!”
The creatures had reached him, streaming in a line from the entrance right up to him.
Hyun-soo pulled the two-handed greatsword back as far as he could.
*Craa-a-ack-*
[The 30-second usage limit is ignored.]
[It will be destroyed after one swing.]
“Kuaaaaargh!”
Just as a Mine Wolf leaped, aiming for Hyun-soo’s neck, the greatsword he held swung forward and shattered.
*Shatter-!*
*Whoooosh-*
Rek witnessed a sight he couldn’t comprehend.
‘Nothing happened?’
What had he just seen? Did he just swing at empty air? But Hyun-soo’s greatsword had shattered.
Had anything changed?
No, something had definitely changed. The wolf that had leaped at Hyun-soo’s throat was simply falling to the ground.
The moment it touched the ground.
*Thud*
*Krrrrrrrrrrrack-*
It suddenly froze solid right where it landed.
Rek was reminded of his childhood, when a cup of water had frozen rapidly in low temperatures.
When water freezes rapidly at low temperatures, the water molecules cannot keep up with the speed.
Thus, even though it was frozen, it remained in a liquid state—a phenomenon called a supercooled state.
Rek’s pupils trembled.
Dozens of monsters made of stone.
All of those monsters were like supercooled water, frozen but not frozen, suspended in place.