The Ancient Mine and the Efficiency Build

There it is. A gaping hole in the middle of the mountain. It’s a cave that looks suspicious to anyone with eyes, but the status window is already floating right in front of me.

So, this really is the entrance to the mine. The traces of ancient magic are still clearly present. 'It wasn't just hiding the entrance; it was erasing its very existence.' In manga terms, this is a reality-warping effect. Does this mean the entrance has been visible all this time, yet everyone just walked past it? It wasn't just me; the villagers who have traversed this mountain for years were the same. No, the more important part might be that it even deceived a mage like me.

'Interesting.' It’s not like I didn't use detection magic or perform investigations. I just couldn't find it. Not until the magic was on the verge of destruction. So, I want to investigate! And I want to take my time doing it! It feels like the passion I had as a scholar, which had been chipped away by those academy romance-fantasy types, is being reignited. Maybe I didn't hate magic as much as I thought? Actually, if I really hated it, I wouldn't have been able to write all those papers or conduct research. Researching incredible ancient magic in a quiet, rural village, regardless of money—it feels like the romanticism of my childhood is coming back to life.

However. 'You can wait for later.' Right now, the priority is to get my ruthless, extreme maximum-efficiency build on track. Once that's done, money will print itself, and I'll have time to spare. It won't be too late to investigate leisurely then.

The regrettable part is that this ancient magic has almost completely dissipated. All that remains are the traces that it once existed. It was already aging magic, and then it got smashed by lightning. Well, the weakness of ancient magic was firepower, after all. Whether it's lightning, cannons, or physical force, it's all included—it's even written in the Imperial history books.

Even for me, I can't get anything out of magic that's been smashed to this extent in one go. But since there's an eyewitness right next to me, I should ask her. "It seems like lightning struck last night. Is that the cause? Or should I consider the impact of a landslide as well?"

When I asked with a tone of regret, the redhead popped out from one step behind. It’s Gwen—my lovely source of quartz fragments, village resident number one, and aspiring knight. "Yes! I'll explain right away!"

For some reason, she feels much more respectful than when I saw her before. Back then, she didn't really know who I was, and I hadn't properly revealed my identity. Now, it's different. Since I seem to be clearly recognized as the Lord among the villagers, her attitude has no choice but to change. It’s quite funny how she tries to mimic a knight's posture, even if it's awkward. 'Is this her attempt at showing proper etiquette?' Gwen is a girl from a rural village. She probably hasn't learned the etiquette of nobles or knights, but I can feel that she's trying her best. She keeps glancing up at Miroa, looking nervous. "Um, Miroa-nim, am I doing this right?"

"You may continue speaking." Even the ensuing conversation with Miroa seems quite cute. Anyway, Gwen says she had been investigating the mine entrance for the village's safety. Fortunately, she didn't damage anything; she just kept an eye on the surroundings in case any monsters appeared. "Because if you enter a sealed facility carelessly, you never know what evil magic you might be hit with."

"Good thinking. That's a relief." From her perspective, it's good that she kept things safe. From my perspective, I'm glad the site wasn't tampered with. It's a relief in many ways.

"Yes! And regarding the lightning..." The story that followed was quite useful. For instance, she pointed out the traces where lightning had struck the rocks. "If you look here, there's a smooth part on the rock; that's the trace of the lightning striking directly! And there are parts that look cracked, too. It seems like the lightning struck over and over again. If the magic is broken, it's probably because of this."

It seems things like this are better clues than scorch marks. After all, rocks don't contain flammable material. "I'm also curious if you saw any special phenomena before or after the lightning."

"I saw a black-red flash flickering in all directions, and that... it was really ominous."

"Ah...!" A sigh escaped my lips involuntarily. That black-red flash is like the blood shed by destroyed ancient magic. After being struck directly by lightning several times, the ancient magic was completely shattered. No, my precious research samples! Is this how the Northern royals felt when their country was snatched away by the Empire long ago? I feel like I've lost a country too.

"Lord..." Gwen, who was explaining, also became gloomy. Why is she like this? It can't be because she's a mage; she's probably just gauging the Lord's mood.

"Anyway, there's no impact from a landslide?"

"Yes."

"That at least is a relief." All that remains now are the traces of ancient magic. If a large-scale physical force party like a landslide had overlapped, I might not have even been able to salvage this much. After placing a simple preservation spell on the site, I decided to investigate the interior. "Miroa. Let's go in."

"Yes. I will follow."

"Wait! Are you two really going to enter inside?"

Uh-oh. It's not good for a knight to question me like that. Even if she's just an aspirant, it's the same. Miroa, who was looking at Gwen cutely just a moment ago, is now sending a chilling glare. I decided to send her back at this point. "You should head back now."

"Yes..."

"You said there was no landslide, so you can return to the village and reassure the people." I decided to prevent any 'sweet potato' plot lines where she secretly follows us. "Don't talk about the mine separately."

"Why is that..."

Miroa doesn't just cut down bandits. Under her cold gaze again, Gwen's words were cut off mid-sentence. "Ah. O-okay! I understand!"

Gwen left the mountain with quick strides.

Gwen, 12 years old. Not exactly a young age for a knight aspirant. She was reflecting on herself while returning to the village. The worries she had carried until now were nothing special. Would there be a landslide when it rained a lot? Would the crops fail this year when the weather was dry? She was even embarrassed to think about whether her chest getting too big would hinder her training. Just that much. In a way, all her worries were for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself.

But the worries the Lord had were completely different. 'The Lord was worried about the village.' The fact that he was worried about the village was the same, but the stance was different. A noble worrying about his territory. It was content I had only read about in old knight literature. A knight fulfills his duty, and the territory's people do their part under his protection. That is the noble to whom such a knight pledges loyalty. One who fulfills his duties and nobility several times over that of a knight, without showing it, and thus never losing his dignity. A rural village without a proper master. I had dreamed of serving such a person while reading old books and training.

But they said the reality of nobles was different. They said they were soaked in love games and vanity, forgetting their own nobility. The reaction around me was that even if I became a knight, I should give up that dream. Everyone knows that mines are scary. Monsters might appear, and evil magic might be sleeping there. Even if not, it's a dark, dusty place that could collapse at any moment. How many people can lead the way as a noble toward such a place? The Lord sighed when he realized the mine's seal had been broken. It wasn't a reaction shown forcibly for the sake of others. I don't think I'll be able to forget his voice even if years pass. - Ah! It was a sorrowful sigh that welled up from the heart, as if he had lost a country. A sigh not for himself, but for the people he was responsible for. And then, the Lord told me to keep the mine a secret. Saying he would take the lead in solving it, so I should reassure the villagers.

While descending the mountain, Gwen looked down at her hands. She wasn't a knight yet, nor was she in a position to serve the Lord. But disobeying someone like the Lord was out of the question. She made up her mind to do what she had to do.

"Gwen! You've returned safely!"

"What about the landslide? What if the mountain collapses again?"

"You also said you discovered something new on the back mountain. I want to hear about that, too."

As soon as she appeared at the village hall, the elders' questions poured onto Gwen. "Uhh, I checked the mountain briefly, and there was no problem. The, uh, entrance? I don't really know. I might have seen it wrong because I wasn't fully awake at dawn."

"Eh? Didn't you say it was a closed mine?"

"I definitely thought you were making a fuss that it might be a legendary mine. Am I old and misheard?"

"I was a little scared too! If it's a closed mine, monsters will come out!"

"N-no, it's not!" Gwen began to do her best to change the subject! "It's just a hole. A cave entrance! It could just be a den a bear dug? Ahahaha..."

Ancient magic is less impressive than I thought, and yet more amazing than I thought. That's probably why it's charming. 'The inside is cleaner than I thought.' Is it thanks to the skilled mages of the ancient civilization? The interior of the mine, which had been sealed for so long, was cleaner than I expected.

'Is it more of a dungeon feel than a narrow closed mine?' It's exactly as the information I secured from the status window suggested. It's not a structure where a deep tunnel continues, but a structure where spacious underground spaces repeat. It seems that if you mine the stones scattered here and there, ore pops out. If you happen to mine the right stone, a ladder to the floor below appears.

'They said the further down you go, the better the rewards.' So, the key is not to grind by mining stones recklessly. The core is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to prioritize conquering the lower floors while picking out only the important rewards. It's convenient in many ways, so it's healing. If it had really forced me to go to a mine with strict historical accuracy, it wouldn't have been a healing game. Even the lighting inside the mine is working properly. I don't know if it will get dark later, but in this case, it's correct not to use separate magic to light it up.

"I will survey the surroundings first."

"I'll leave it to you."

While Miroa explored the surroundings, I pulled up the status window and selected the bag tab. A large window popped up in front of me.

Below the bag icon is a grid-based inventory. I just need to reach into one of the slots. Swoosh. A large pickaxe came out in my hand. 'Small Bag.' It was an item I could purchase by paying a few thousand gold at the shop, and it's incredibly convenient for the large sum I spent. 'It's hard to perfectly implement something like this with magic.' Even if it's implemented similarly, the reality is that a truly satisfying inventory is impossible. There's bound to be a flaw somewhere, but here, I just solved it with a gold purchase click. The healing farming game system really is a cheat.

With the pickaxe in my hand, I focused my mind for a moment. It's time to use magic. 'Detection.' I can leave the attributes of the detection magic I used last time as they are. The essence of finding something I want is the same, so I'll leave it and just modify the calculations appropriately. I'll partially change the magic to fit the environment of a closed mine.

'Finding minerals in a closed mine.' I introduced the symbol of 'mineral' while imagining the image of precious gems. Even if the magic gets overloaded, I stubbornly add a few symbols. 'And monster location tracking, finding the entrance to the next floor, searching for precious treasure locations. Et cetera, et cetera.' Magic this greedy wouldn't normally activate. It would evaporate as soon as it was cast due to excessive inefficiency, but my case is different.

'Add efficiency improvement magic here.' I have a universal seasoning. It seems to work ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well when I sprinkle this on. Afterward, I gathered my heart and chanted. "Reveal the invisible and make it visible."

Pabababat! Then, lights began to leak out from between the rocks covering the mine. The location of useful ores. The location of scary monsters. The location of the ladder to the next floor. Everything can be displayed with magic. This is map-hack!