Chapter 117

Mining (4)

One obstacle after another. That was the perfect way to describe how I felt right now.

After all the trouble I had gone through to mine the mithril, even the dwarf told me he couldn’t melt it.

The moment I heard that, a crushing sense of futility washed over me, but I barely managed to pull myself together.

I had no idea what was so special about this damned mithril, but I needed an explanation.

[Wild Grylls: Explain it in detail. Is it really just because it contains so much mana?]

[Passing Dwarf: Yeah. It’s difficult to melt, and even if you do melt it, an ordinary furnace can’t withstand it.]

[Wild Grylls: Explain why. I don’t think I’ll be convinced otherwise. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just the situation.]

[Passing Dwarf: I get what you mean. Most ordinary metals...]

I carefully read the dwarf’s explanation.

Most metals were buried underground, so they naturally absorbed mana from the earth.

Ordinary soil didn’t contain much mana, so there was no issue with putting metals mined from it into a furnace.

However, the deeper one dug—or in places like the Forest of Four Seasons, where the earth contained an abnormally high amount of mana—the situation was different.

Minerals mined from such places generally contained highly concentrated mana, so a special furnace was required.

He explained that using an ordinary furnace instead of a special one could cause an explosion.

[Passing Dwarf: It’s basically just a furnace that consumes an absurd amount of mana.]

[Wild Grylls: Can’t an individual own one?]

[Passing Dwarf: The furnace is bigger than an entire mansion, you human ;; It’s not something we use often in the first place, so the state manages it directly.]

[Wild Grylls: What kind of ridiculous inefficiency is that?]

[Passing Dwarf: Do you think our dwarven technology is a joke? Do you have any idea how cutting-edge that thing is?]

[Wild Grylls: A cutting-edge joke.]

[Passing Dwarf: Anything becomes a bomb if you forcibly compress it into a confined space and then let it burst. Naturally, the mithril gets blown away too.]

[Wild Grylls: What the hell is the special furnace made of, then?]

So there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was sigh.

Building an ordinary furnace would already be enough to drive me insane, but now I needed a special furnace?

He had even said it was much bigger than an entire mansion, so constructing one was completely out of the question.

At this rate, the mithril I had worked so hard to mine would become a useless burden.

I needed to find some way to use it, but nothing came to mind.

[Passing Dwarf: Why don’t you try making something yourself? Since you’re in the Forest of Four Seasons, it should be no different from ordinary metal there.]

[Wild Grylls: Didn’t you say it could only be melted in a special furnace?]

[Passing Dwarf: That place is already overflowing with mana. So just give it a try.]

[Wild Grylls: I don’t know how to build a furnace.]

[Passing Dwarf: It’s a solid chunk of mithril, so just heat it in a forge and hammer it into shape. If you want to use a mold, build a furnace, melt the mithril, and pour it in.]

[Wild Grylls: Isn’t that contradictory? You just said I needed a special furnace.]

[Passing Dwarf: Is your brain actually an anvil? It explodes because the mana escapes when the material changes state. I was going to cast it because I wanted to finish quickly, but I noticed in time. If I’d realized any later or started hammering it, I’d be in the hospital right now.]

[Wild Grylls: Aha. Got it.]

[Passing Dwarf: This is seriously upsetting. I only tried to finish it quickly because I felt bad for you, yet you don’t appreciate my sincerity at all...]

[Wild Grylls: Sorry ;; Is there anything you want?]

[Passing Dwarf: Just give me one crab shell, hehe.]

[Wild Grylls: Damn it ;; Fine.]

He had taught me something valuable, so I was perfectly willing to give him one crab.

I ended my conversation with the dwarf and contacted the registered users to whom I had given mithril.

It was necessary, if only to prevent an unexpected accident.

[Heavenly Demon: Dost thou mean true silver? This lady still possesses it.]

[Wild Grylls: That’s a relief. Apparently, it might explode if you try to make equipment with it. Could you return it to me?]

[Heavenly Demon: Is it because true silver contains an immense amount of qi?]

[Wild Grylls: Huh? How did you know?]

[Heavenly Demon: It was simple. This lady wished to absorb it, but feared it might lose its essence, so I chose to wait.]

[Wild Grylls: If you return it, I’ll forge a sword for you myself.]

[Heavenly Demon: May this lady look forward to it?]

[Wild Grylls: Hmm... No? It might take a long time.]

[Heavenly Demon: I appreciate thy honesty. This lady shall wait without expecting too much. It matters not what weapon this lady uses.]

[Wild Grylls: Thank you.]

[Allfather: So you can’t even work it, let alone hammer it?]

[Wild Grylls: I’ll ask.]

[Wild Grylls: He says engraving and cutting are fine.]

[Allfather: Then I’ll keep mine. I’m going to use it as a ring.]

[Wild Grylls: Be careful anyway.]

I received the mithril I had given to the Heavenly Demon.

Allfather decided to keep his.

When I asked the dwarf, he explained that there was only a risk of explosion when the material changed states.

There was no problem with carving it down while keeping it in the same state.

’Come to think of it, if that weren’t the case, carrying it around would be no different from carrying a bomb.’

Even if heat caused it to change shape, there was no need to worry. Why?

Because if it was hot enough to deform metal, a person would have died long before that became an issue.

After gathering all sorts of information, I closed the gallery.

’Thankfully, I don’t have to do everything myself.’

According to the dwarf, he could sharpen the blade for me.

He said all I needed to do was flatten the mithril into shape.

If that proved too difficult, I could obtain a mold and simply pour molten mithril into it.

’The downside is that I’d have to build a furnace.’

Besides, an ordinary mold might not withstand the temperature of molten metal.

In the worst case, even the furnace I had worked so hard to build could melt.

Each option had clear advantages and disadvantages, so I couldn’t help agonizing over the decision.

’Let’s eat first.’

Whatever happened, food was important. I could continue worrying about the mithril tomorrow.

When I went up to the river, I found two fish caught in the trap. Satisfactory.

I was about to clean them as usual when a thought occurred to me, and I stopped.

’Should I try cutting one with mithril?’

There were several mithril fragments that had broken off while I was mining. Some of them had sharp edges.

Just how sharp was mithril?

With that expectation in mind, I sliced open the fish’s belly.

Sliiice.

It felt similar to using a dagger.

That was all.

Although the edge hadn’t been sharpened, I couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed.

’Would it be different if I used aura?’

So I channeled aura into it, and to my surprise...

Even though I used only a small amount of mana, the aura blazed like fire.

It was possible that I had simply grown stronger, so I channeled aura into my dagger as well, but there was a clear difference.

To make sure, I tried using aura with several other tools, but the result was the same.

Compared to the mithril, I had to pour far more mana into them before the aura displayed its full power.

’So that’s what it was.’

Its mana efficiency was incredible.

That alone explained everything.

This seemed to be what the dwarf had meant when he said its performance would be exceptional.

I could be certain precisely because it was mithril, not orichalcum.

’This will be a huge help in prolonged battles.’

Aside from my fight against the Orichalcum Guardian, I had never run out of mana before.

However, mana—or rather, aura itself—was an extremely inefficient technique to begin with.

It might be different if it took a defined shape like an Aura Blade, but mine burned like flames. Anyone could see how inefficient that was.

Perhaps this mithril could be even more efficient than the Heavenly Demon’s sword. It might even accelerate my training.

’So it isn’t completely useless.’

For someone like me, whose survival was paramount, efficiency was an important consideration.

This mithril drastically improved that efficiency, making it practically indispensable.

I would have to use it to make various tools.

Its performance was comparable to steel, yet it was much lighter. It was perfect.

’Mining it is still a problem, though.’

There was nothing I could do about that. I would simply have to work my aaaass off.

I finished dinner and cleaned everything up before going to bed.

I planned to leave the section I had dug out as it was and continue mining tomorrow.

’As for the elixir... I’ll keep it above my head.’

A thief might sneak in during the night and steal something.

Namu-Ppareumbo would probably wake up and stop them, but it was better to be prepared.

Once I had finished setting everything up, I logged into the gallery.

I didn’t have anything in particular to say. I was simply curious whether anything had happened.

’Tomorrow will mark exactly half a month.’

A lot had happened over the past fifteen days. Today, the leader ape had beaten the living daylights out of me.

Tomorrow, I planned to retrieve the orichalcum from the Orichalcum Cave and receive the crystal orb that would serve as a security camera.

While I was at it, I would also work on building a furnace. I could ask the dwarf about its structure.

’I have so much to do.’

Every time I finished one task, two more appeared. Whenever I finished those two, five more took their place.

Mithril, in particular, could only be processed within the Forest of Four Seasons.

With complicated feelings, I browsed through the gallery. I needed something to help me unwind.

[Wild Grylls, your shoes are finished.]

While browsing the gallery, a particular title caught my eye.

At first, I thought it was an ordinary clickbait post, but then I realized it had been posted by a registered user.

’Who is that?’

I’ll Become a Duke. The username seemed vaguely familiar.

Curious, I opened the post.

Title: Wild Grylls, your shoes are finished.

I’ll Become a Duke

(A photograph of a finely crafted pair of leather shoes)

(A photograph of the leather shoes remaining undamaged after water was poured over them)

(A photograph showing that the shoes could not easily be cut with a knife)

They were photographs of shoes.

Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten.

I had promised to give a mature Mandrake to anyone who provided me with a good pair of shoes.

The moment I made that offer, several people uploaded photographs of shoes, but I disliked most of them.

One of them had even tried to scam me, so I gave him a casual middle finger and left it at that.

Furthermore, the competition had died down after the dwarf—or rather, the dwarf’s friend—gave me a pair of shoes.

Everyone said that no matter how hard they tried, their efforts would be meaningless before the craftsmanship of a dwarven artisan.

I also liked the shoes made by the dwarf’s friend, so I had stopped paying attention to the matter.

’But this person...’

This registered user was different. Despite all the time that had passed, he had continued working on them.

Of course, if all he had to show for his efforts was a poor result, I would have ignored him.

└ There isn’t even a single scream, so they really must be sturdy, hahahaha.

└ Maybe he’s gritting his teeth and enduring it in silence, hahaha.

└ I’ll Become a Duke: (A photograph revealing his masked face) I knew you would say that, so I filmed this too. I recorded it with a crystal orb.

└ Damn, look at how thorough he is, hahahaha.

└ What’s with the mask? It looks like something you’d wear to a ball. Is he a noble?

└ Who’s the person hitting him with the sledgehammer?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: My son.

└ Hahahahahahahahaha!

└ What a devoted son, damn, hahahahaha!

└ Even if he’s your son, he’s hitting you way too hard, hahahaha!

(A video of someone repeatedly striking the shoe wearer’s foot with a sledgehammer)

└ S-Sir ;; Y-You can stop now ;;

└ How many times is he going to hit him? Damn, hahahaha!

└ At this rate, his foot is going to be completely crushed ;;

If only that video hadn’t been there.

No matter how durable the shoes were, who would strike them with a sledgehammer while someone was still wearing them?

Then again, that made him even more trustworthy. Hadn’t he risked his own body to prove the quality of his product?

After staring at it in discomfort for a moment, I hurriedly left a comment before he injured himself any further.

There were no issues with the shoes’ performance, so I could safely proceed with the trade.

└ Wild Grylls: S-Sir, you don’t have to do that. You aren’t injured, are you?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: (A video of him removing his foot from the shoe after the sledgehammer test) Correct.

└ Wow. He’s thorough as hell. Now that’s proper product verification ;;

└ Who made those? I want a pair.

└ I’ll buy them!

└ Buy me a pair too!

└ Passing Dwarf: Hey. You win. I think those are better than the pair my friend made ;;

└ The dwarf has declared defeat!

└ If even a dwarf admits defeat, they must be the real deal, hahaha.

└ Wild Grylls: I’ll buy them. It’s already late, though. Can we make the exchange tomorrow?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: That is possible.

└ Wild Grylls: I’ll send you a private message.

I sent him a message because it seemed we needed to discuss the matter privately.

Despite his stiff way of speaking, he was passionate. I found myself liking him.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, I’ll Become a Duke. I saw the shoes. You need a mature Mandrake, correct?]

[I’ll Become a Duke: That is correct.]

[Wild Grylls: You don’t need anything else?]

[I’ll Become a Duke: I do not. I urgently need a mature Mandrake.]

He urgently needed a mature Mandrake. I could sense the desperation in his words.

Someone close to him was probably suffering from an illness.

Otherwise, he would have no reason to reject everything else and insist solely on the mature Mandrake.

’He seems trustworthy.’

Both the video and his messages suggested that he was someone I could trust.

After telling him I would send the mature Mandrake tomorrow, I closed the gallery window.

Tomorrow would be my fifteenth day—exactly half a month—and I also planned to consume the inner core.

Building the furnace and completing my trade with I’ll Become a Duke...

I had plenty to do.

’The Guardian won’t wake up while I’m asleep, will it?’

Fortunately, nothing like that happened.

"Ah. What the hell? What is this now?"

Except that the entire section I had worked so hard to mine had completely regenerated.

I didn’t want an unlimited supply, but it looked like I was going to be forced to enjoy one.

’Is it a planarian or something?’

Planarian mithril.

I had no idea what kind of horrifying hybrid this was.

This seemed to be what the dwarf meant when he said that its performance, at least, would be excellent.

I could be sure of that because it was mithril, not orichalcum.

’This will be a great help in prolonged battles.’

Aside from my battle against the Orichalcum Guardian, I had never run out of mana before.

However, mana—or rather, aura—was an extremely inefficient technique to begin with.

It might be different if it took on a defined shape like an Aura Blade, but mine burned like flames. Anyone could tell at a glance how inefficient it was.

It might even be more efficient than the Heavenly Demon’s sword. It could also help accelerate my training.

’So it isn’t completely useless.’

For someone like me, whose survival was paramount, efficiency was an important consideration.

This mithril drastically increased that efficiency, making it practically indispensable.

I would have to use it to make various tools.

It performed about as well as steel while being much lighter, making it perfect for the job.

’Mining it is still a problem, though.’

There was nothing I could do about that. I would just have to work haaaarder.

I finished dinner, then cleaned everything up before going to bed.

I planned to leave the rear section of the hole as it was and continue digging tomorrow.

’As for the elixir... I’ll keep it above my head.’

A thief might sneak in during the night and steal something.

Namu-Ppareumbo would probably wake up and stop them, but it was better to be prepared just in case.

Once I had finished setting everything up, I logged into the gallery.

I didn’t have anything in particular to say. I was simply curious whether anything had happened.

’Tomorrow will mark exactly half a month.’

A lot had happened over the past fifteen days. Today, the leader ape had beaten the living daylights out of me.

Tomorrow, I planned to retrieve the orichalcum from the Orichalcum Cave and receive the crystal orb that would serve as a security camera.

While I was at it, I should also work on building a furnace. I could ask the dwarf about its structure.

’I have so much to do.’

Whenever I finished one task, two more appeared. Whenever I finished those two, another five appeared.

Mithril, in particular, could only be processed within the Forest of Four Seasons.

With mixed feelings, I browsed through the gallery. I needed something to help me unwind.

[Wild Grylls, your shoes are finished.]

As I browsed the gallery, one particular title caught my eye.

At first, I thought it was ordinary clickbait, but then I realized it had been posted by a registered user.

’Who is that?’

I’ll Become a Duke. The username seemed vaguely familiar.

Curious, I opened the post.

Title: Wild Grylls, your shoes are finished.

I’ll Become a Duke

(A photograph of a finely crafted pair of leather shoes)

(A photograph of the leather shoes remaining undamaged after water was poured over them)

(A photograph showing that the shoes could not easily be cut with a knife)

They were photographs of shoes.

Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten.

I had promised to give a mature Mandrake to anyone who gave me a good pair of shoes.

As soon as I made that offer, several people uploaded photographs of shoes, but I disliked most of them.

One of them had even tried to scam me, so I gave him a casual middle finger and left it at that.

Furthermore, the competition had died down after the dwarf—or rather, the dwarf’s friend—gave me a pair of shoes.

Everyone said that no matter how hard they tried, all their efforts would be meaningless before a dwarven artisan.

I also liked the shoes made by the dwarf’s friend, so I had stopped paying attention to the matter.

’But this person...’

This registered user was different. Despite how much time had passed, he had continued working on them.

Of course, if he had put in all that effort only to produce a disappointing result, I would have ignored him.

└ There wasn’t even a single scream. Those shoes must be seriously sturdy, hahaha.

└ Maybe he’s just gritting his teeth and enduring it in silence, hahaha.

└ I’ll Become a Duke: (A photograph revealing his masked face) I knew you would say that, so I filmed this as well. I recorded it with a crystal orb.

└ Damn, look at how thorough he is, hahahaha.

└ What’s with the mask? It looks like something you’d wear to a ball. Is he a noble?

└ Who’s the person hitting him with the sledgehammer?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: My son.

└ Hahahahahahahahaha!

└ What a devoted son, damn, hahahahaha!

└ Even if he’s your son, he’s hitting you way too hard, hahahaha!

(A video of someone repeatedly striking the shoe wearer’s foot with a sledgehammer)

└ S-Sir ;; Y-You can stop now ;;

└ How many times is he going to hit him? Damn, hahahaha!

└ At this rate, his foot is going to be completely crushed ;;

If only it hadn’t been for that video.

No matter how durable the shoes were, who would strike them with a sledgehammer while someone was still wearing them?

Then again, that made him even more trustworthy. Hadn’t he put his own body on the line to prove the quality of his product?

After staring at it uneasily for a moment, I hurriedly left a comment before he injured himself any further.

There were no issues with the shoes’ performance, so I could safely proceed with the trade.

└ Wild Grylls: S-Sir, you don’t have to do that. You aren’t injured, are you?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: (A video of him taking his foot out of the shoe after the sledgehammer test) Correct.

└ Wow. He’s thorough as hell. Now that’s proper product verification ;;

└ Who made those? I want a pair.

└ I’ll buy them!

└ Buy me a pair too!

└ Passing Dwarf: Hey. You win. I think those are better than the pair my friend made ;;

└ The dwarf has declared defeat!

└ If even a dwarf admits defeat, they must be the real deal, hahaha.

└ Wild Grylls: I’ll buy them. It’s already late, though. Can we make the exchange tomorrow?

└ I’ll Become a Duke: That is possible.

└ Wild Grylls: I’ll send you a private message.

I sent him a message because it seemed we needed to discuss the matter privately.

Despite his stiff manner of speaking, he was clearly a passionate person, which made me like him.

[Wild Grylls: Hello, I’ll Become a Duke. I saw the shoes. You need a mature Mandrake, correct?]

[I’ll Become a Duke: That is correct.]

[Wild Grylls: You don’t need anything else?]

[I’ll Become a Duke: I do not. I urgently need a mature Mandrake.]

He urgently needed a mature Mandrake. I could sense the desperation in his words.

Someone close to him was probably suffering from an illness.

Otherwise, he would have no reason to reject everything else and insist solely on the mature Mandrake.

’He seems trustworthy.’

Both the video and his messages suggested that he was someone I could trust.

After telling him I would send the mature Mandrake tomorrow, I closed the gallery window.

Tomorrow would be my fifteenth day—exactly half a month—and I also planned to consume the inner core.

Building the furnace and completing my trade with I’ll Become a Duke...

I had plenty to do.

’The Guardian won’t wake up while I’m asleep, will it?’

Fortunately, nothing like that happened.

"Ah. What the hell? What is this now?"

Except that the entire section I had worked so hard to mine had completely regenerated.

I didn’t want an unlimited supply, but it looked like I was going to be forced to enjoy one.

’Is it a planarian or something?’

Planarian mithril.

I had no idea what kind of horrifying hybrid this was.