The Secret of the Sealed Mine
“A coal mine? You’ve got to be kidding!”
“I’m afraid that ‘kidding’ is exactly what’s happening.”
I say it with a hint of sarcasm, but it’s technically just a mine. It’s not just coal; it’s packed with all sorts of useful resources. Miroa’s eyes widen in genuine shock.
“Are you truly suggesting we head to that legendary mine in the village?”
This mine is currently sealed off. Abandoned ruins are notorious for spawning monsters—it’s just the nature of things that crawl out of forgotten civilizations. Miroa, who knows this better than anyone, is horrified. But I made my decision a long time ago. I answer firmly.
“Of course.”
“I shouldn’t have mentioned the mine.”
Miroa has been hearing all sorts of stories while providing support to the villagers. Naturally, information about the village trickles down to me. Solanium Basin is a poor, rural area. If there’s any source of income outside of subsistence farming, it’s that mine. Or rather, what used to be a mine.
A few days ago, Miroa explained it like this:
“They say there was a mine from an ancient civilization here. The mine was closed when the civilization declined, but they say you can still occasionally find useful minerals in the surrounding area. I heard the villagers make a living by processing these minerals into magical tools or weapons to sell in nearby cities.”
Even though the mine is sealed, you can still find resources on the mountain. The quartz Gwen gifted me was found exactly that way. According to Miroa, the villagers have been scraping by by processing these scraps...
‘Wait a minute.’
A strange thought struck me then.
“Then why is it a closed mine? If there are resources just rolling around on the ground, there must be even more ore left inside. Shouldn’t they have kept operating it?”
Even for a romance-fantasy world, that doesn’t add up. If useful minerals are lying around on the dirt path, wouldn’t it make more sense to keep the mine running instead of farming? Miroa provided the answer to that, too.
“The villagers say the entrance to the mine is sealed.”
“Sealed? Is it ancient magic?”
“Yes. I heard it’s so tightly sealed that they can’t even find the entrance. Unless you find the entrance to the abandoned mine, digging a new one into this solid bedrock is impossible with current technology.”
So, the technology level has fallen below that of the ancient civilization. Of course! It’s true that ancient magic has been almost entirely lost. Early in the Empire’s history, they had a massive book-burning purge, which left the ancient mages and their books quite... well, crispy. Everything burned. That’s why it’s Lost Technology. But hasn’t a significant amount of time passed since then? What is wrong with these romance-fantasy people?
“Then I just need to find the traces of the sealing magic.”
“Do you intend to break the seal?”
“It’s the village’s source of income, so I’d like to look into it if possible.”
At the time, I gave a vague answer on purpose. It was only a matter of time before the seal broke according to the system anyway.
[Tutorial: Mining Explained]
- Mining requires a pickaxe.
- The first spring after arriving at the territory. You can enter the mine through the entrance that opens behind the territory the day after a night of rain.
A few days have passed since then. I haven’t shown any signs of looking into it, nor have I brought up the mine again. ‘Actually, I was just busy worrying about other things.’ Farming, fishing, activating the Spirit Net, trading with alchemists, and so on. I had planned to do the mining properly when the time was right, so I put the whole thing on hold. I suppose that’s why Miroa let her guard down.
But the situation has changed completely now.
CRACK!
Lightning continues to strike, and the sound of thunder rolls across the sky. It’s quite violent for a spring rain. “It’s rare to have a thunderstorm this intense in the spring, especially in a basin surrounded by mountains. Furthermore, with the frequent spring rains lately, the mountains are prone to landslides. I’ve protected the water pipes leading to the village with magic, so there’s no need to worry, but ancient magic is particularly vulnerable to this kind of shock.”
The Empire’s modern magic doesn’t care much about the weather. On the other hand, ancient magic is heavily influenced by weather, environment, terrain, and the surrounding atmosphere. I’ve even participated in a related research paper.
[Speculations on Ancient Magic Properties Based on Past Knight Literature]
- Authors: Avant C. Clementine, Riberio von Solanium
It’s a paper I collaborated on with the Academy’s History Department, and it explains it very well. Traces of ancient magic only seem to remain in old novels. Anyway, lightning flashed again. It’s the perfect condition for the seal to weaken. Miroa might be frustrated, but for me, this is something I absolutely cannot pass up.
“I’ll likely be able to find the sealed entrance by tomorrow morning.”
“We don’t know what kind of magic might be dormant, or what monsters might emerge.”
“That’s exactly why we’re going, isn’t it?”
Honestly, I’m extremely excited right now. Plus, I’ll get to see traces of ancient magic. “I can’t not go.” How could I possibly resist? It’s a golden opportunity for a mage to analyze ancient magic!
Miroa flinched, but she didn’t say anything more. Even though she shows a softer side in front of me, she’s fundamentally a person whose true thoughts are impossible to read. Instead of prying, I decided to leave her with simple instructions.
“I’ll handle the magic, so you take care of the monsters, Miroa.”
“......Understood.”
After that, I approached the refrigerator that occupies a corner of the mansion’s first-floor kitchen. There were a few Plain Catfish left inside. I’d been selling everything off for the sake of extreme efficiency, but things are different now.
‘I can’t go into a coal mine on an empty stomach.’
Actually, that’s a humanitarian reason. There’s a practical one, too. ‘I need to use the cooking system to get mining buffs.’ In a healing-farming game, there’s a cooking mechanic. It’s not the type where you grind experience or level up skills, but eating delicious food grants useful buffs.
The one I’m focusing on is the Spicy Catfish Stew. Just eating it grants various buffs useful for mining. And the core ingredient? Plain Catfish: Me! Me! The plan is so perfect I can practically hear the fish in the fridge hallucinating. Naturally, it’s the Plain Catfish. It’s not like I was fishing in the rain just for the money. I was always planning to eat a few! It’s just that the recipe arrived a bit late. I secured the rest of the ingredients through the shop.
When I bought seed potatoes last time, a sack just popped into the warehouse. This time, since they were cooking ingredients, they just rained down into the kitchen. It’s incredibly convenient that things appear exactly where they’re needed.
Chop.
Some nobles think they shouldn’t get a drop of water on their hands, but rural nobles usually aren’t like that. Hunting and fishing are part of the family culture. Besides, fishing was my hobby in my past life, too. As I placed the Plain Catfish on the cutting board and started prepping it, Miroa appeared.
“Master? Surely, you aren’t cooking?”
“I learned a good recipe on the radio.”
I heard the cooking method on the radio. As soon as the cooking show started, the status window popped up, and since the recipe is saved automatically, I didn’t even need to memorize it.
“That may be, but where did the rest of the ingredients come from?”
“Magic.”
“I understand, but sitting idly by while you prepare the meal doesn’t seem like a maid’s role.” Miroa stepped into the kitchen. “Please, allow me to prepare the meal.”
“No.”
“Isn’t it wrong for a maid to act this way?”
“No, it’s fine. I just really want to make this for you.”
For the record, Northerners can’t cook. You could say they poured all their cooking ability into their combat stats. Northern food is terrible, and the people themselves are so bad at cooking that the synergy is truly terrifying. I’m not exactly a master chef, but compared to Miroa, I’m a culinary god. In relative terms, I could wear a ‘Top Chef’ sash and get away with it.
Besides, isn’t tomorrow the day before we enter the fantasy version of a coal mine? I can’t hide the truth from my most trusted subordinate who follows me the most. I conveyed my sincerity to Miroa.
“Actually, I feel bad.”
I feel bad, so please, don’t cook. At that, Miroa showed an unexpected reaction.
Sniff.
“What! Are you crying?”
“No. I am not crying.”
She’s clearly crying, though?
“It is because the chili powder is spicy. And... and...”
Miroa quickly swallowed her tears and looked up. It was the voice of a loyal Northern maid—firm, confident, and as if she hadn’t been crying at all.
“It is the fault of those who failed to recognize you, Master. I swore to follow you joyfully at all times, and I made a promise that I can never break for the rest of my life. Therefore, there is not a single reason for you to feel sorry.”
The next morning. As soon as I opened my eyes early at dawn, a status window appeared before me.
[Mining content has been unlocked.]
[You can now enter the ancient mine through the entrance on the mountain behind the village.]
‘So it was the mountain behind the house.’
This, too, is a characteristic of ancient magic. It’s fascinating how it distorts human perception, much like a hallucination or a mirage. I’ve passed by it constantly, but I never once thought something was hidden there.
[A letter has arrived.]
And a new letter had arrived. I stepped out of the bedroom, pulled back the curtains of the mansion window, and looked outside.
Coo. Coo-coo.
A super-smart turtle dove was delivering a letter at the break of dawn. It pushed the letter into the mailbox all by itself; the fact that the species itself evolved that way is a wonder. And I can see the super-strong Miroa hopping out to grab the letter and return to the house. Upon checking, the letter was from Gwen.
[My Lord! It’s an emergency!!]
Sender: Gwen
She has such terrible handwriting that I could only make out a few words in the title and body, but I could grasp the general idea.
- A new mine entrance has appeared!!
It’s content and writing style worthy of a letter signaling the start of an event in a healing-farming game. And a gift.
After tucking the gift away, I ate a hearty breakfast. Just as I had tested the night before, energy surged through my body. Along with the buff effects specified in the status window.
Luck 1 (Higher chance of better rewards from hunting and mining.)
Mining 1 (Faster pickaxe mining speed.)
Speed 1 (Increased movement speed.)
Duration: 3 hours
It’s a triple buff! I was worried the buffs might wear off in a few minutes like in the original game, but thankfully, they last for three hours. It would be good to prepare a bit more and pack a lunch later on. After that, I headed out of the house with Miroa.
“......Indeed.”
As soon as we stepped into the mountain behind the house, we were able to find the entrance to the mine immediately.