Surviving the Mine (3)

When I cast the exploration magic, orbs of light began drifting through the air around me. The blue lights marked useful rewards while the red ones highlighted enemy positions.

In the distance I spotted my favorite ore. Quartz! It was beautiful even from afar. How could anything be so pure and white? What exactly was quartz? The cornerstone of automation, that's what. Gather enough of it and the farm would run itself while money piled up from simply breathing. In short, it was the fantasy world's version of a semiconductor.

Come to think of it, aren't semiconductors made from quartz? I vaguely remembered hearing that somewhere. The memory from my previous life was hazy at best.

Anyway, I needed to claim that beautiful ore. Large boulders blocked the path, so I decided it was time to apply some force.

I held out the pickaxe in my hand. "Miroa."

Miroa, who had returned to my side at some point, accepted it without a word.

"Uh… what?"

She took it because I offered, but the confusion was clear on her face. That was understandable—this iron pickaxe was something I'd secretly pulled from my inventory while she wasn't looking.

"I just retrieved it using inventory magic."

"Understood."

Only then did Miroa nod. She gripped the pickaxe and settled into a proper stance.

"Then please step back for a moment."

The very next instant—

The system called it perfect mining, but it looked more like violent demolition to me. I almost felt sorry for the boulder. As I brushed away the dust and cleared the scattered stones, Miroa rushed to my side to check on me.

"Master! Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine, but… hmm."

"I'm sorry. It seems I failed to control my strength. It's my first time using a pickaxe."

Ah. That made sense. A maid wouldn't normally have opportunities to enter abandoned mines and smash rocks.

"It looks like I should handle the mining myself."

I quickly took the pickaxe back. No matter how I looked at it, it was clearly just an ordinary iron tool. Where was all that power coming from?

The only things I obtained were a few stones. I'd already checked the information in my status window—normal rocks usually gave poor rewards.

So it's not because the boulder was crushed…

Still, asking Miroa to do it again felt dangerous. It gave off the impression of pure, uncontrolled destruction. If I let her swing that thing again the whole mine might collapse.

"Miroa, from now on focus on combat."

"Understood."

I gave the order for safety's sake and stored the stones in my inventory. After crossing the crushed debris, I finally reached my target.

Ehehe.

Fantasy-world semiconductors, all mine for the taking.

"You look incredibly happy, Master."

"Ahem."

Incidentally, quartz didn't appear as separate ore deposits. It lay scattered across the floor like crystal clumps, so I could simply pick it up and store it.

After picking the item up from the floor, I opened my status window, dragged it to the Bag tab, and that was it. Precious early-game resources, safely tucked away.

"Master."

Miroa showed rare interest from beside me.

"I learned about it while studying at the academy. I've never seen storage magic this convenient before."

Implementing inventory magic was incredibly difficult. The complexity was high, and even if someone succeeded, it would likely be extremely inefficient. That was precisely why the Solanium Basin fascinated me—under the guise of the System, incomprehensible magic existed everywhere.

If I apply Efficiency Improvement, I might be able to implement something like an inventory myself.

But for now it was still the System. Something I'd purchased with gold.

"It upsets me. Master deserves far more recognition…"

Her resentful muttering from the side left me slightly embarrassed. Maybe I should change the subject.

Scraaape. Scraaaape.

Just then, a suspicious sound echoed from the distance. It was the noise made by the monsters living in the abandoned mine, and I already knew its name.

A hybrid of crickets and cockroaches, with enormous size thrown in for good measure. The information said it produced that scraping sound by rubbing special organs on its legs, so the creature over there had to be a Bellari.

"Miroa."

I raised my hand and pointed behind a large boulder—the spot the red light from my exploration magic was indicating.

"There are several bugs clustered together over there. They all look pretty big."

"I sensed their presence too, but I require a more detailed description."

"Giant cockroach-like monsters that make bizarre noises."

Most people would have screamed and fled. I was certain my father's knights who guarded the Solanium family would have reacted the same way. Even if they didn't run, they probably would have screamed.

But Miroa readied her sword with completely emotionless eyes.

"What are your orders?"

"You're not scared?"

"The only thing that scares me is you getting hurt, Master. So please allow me to protect you."

I was genuinely moved. There was a reason northerners dominated the job markets for knights, maids, and similar roles.

Miroa added that she still needed more specific instructions. When monsters were nearby, there were two options: carefully slip past them or actively track them down for a preemptive strike.

In other words, escort or subjugation. One or the other.

If I had to prioritize, escort came first. Safety was obviously important, but mining rewards were usually better than hunting anyway.

"Focus primarily on protecting me."

"Then shall we avoid them?"

That wasn't always the case, however.

"But with bugs, we should eliminate as many as possible."

"Understood."

Miroa nodded silently, then leaped over the boulder with sword in hand. From nearby came a cool, efficient sound.

Slash—

Perfectly controlled, sharp, and efficient application of force. Completely different from the pickaxe incident. She really was meant to use a sword.

Things I should never make Miroa do: Number one, cooking. Number two, mining.

I updated my mental notes and checked the battle rewards. There was no need to interfere beside someone who was fighting so effectively. The newly appeared windows made everything simple.

Another one down. And then the next. Miroa continued swinging her sword.

Low-grade monsters that could only wriggle around on the first floor of the abandoned mine were no match for Miroa. It had become full auto-hunting without any need for me to step forward.

It might look like I was one-sidedly slaughtering Bellari that were simply minding their own business, but that wasn't entirely accurate. They were monsters, after all—they instinctively tried to harm humans. Their appearance was utterly horrifying, and they could even fly on occasion. Besides, this was a shallow section of the mine, close to the entrance.

What if a Bellari escaped outside and began multiplying wildly in the village?

My life would become a nightmare.

The same would go for the villagers. The healing farming game could transform into a biohazard horror game in an instant.

I casually used short-range communication magic to float an additional order in front of Miroa.

Miroa began taking the annihilation route as she moved across the first floor. It wasn't entirely inefficient. While she did that, I could farm safely, and in terms of efficiency I could gather far more.

Clang!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I swung my pickaxe to shatter an ordinary rock and claimed the valuable vein behind it. A large boulder marked by the blue light of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my exploration magic. Copper-colored metal fragments were embedded across its surface. Anyone could tell it was a copper vein.

This was why I loved healing farming games. So wonderfully intuitive.

Kang!

I kicked aside the debris from the shattered rock and examined what remained. Palm-sized pieces of metal rolled out.

Copper was another crucial early-game resource. To earn money I needed to process crops, and the required equipment used a lot of copper. This was what made the wheels turn.

Copper. Quartz. Stone.

And coal, the beloved national fuel. As I continued forward, pockets growing heavier, a peculiar vein caught my eye. It was a rock marked by the blue light of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my exploration magic, notable for its mottled pattern.

I raised my pickaxe high, preparing to strike it.

"Dude."

A very familiar, oily, sycophantic voice spoke up.

"Huh?"

I tilted my head and lifted the pickaxe again.

"Dude!! Don't!!"