”Master, did you kill him?” The disciple frowned as he finally asked.

”What do you think?” Jack gave a mysterious smile.

”Why?!” He seemed more perplexed than angry.

The youngster had managed to piece the rumors together to draw a picture of the whole incident.

Woodcutter —> Talks ** about Jack

Woodcutter’s Friend —> Asks for help from the military

Only witness to a potential crime —> Mysteriously disappears

”Are you familiar with the concept of subjective truth?” Instead of replying, Jack asked another question of his own.

”?!?”

”What he “saw” was me turning into a Deer into a Macabre. Truthfully, the whole thing was a coincidence as I was simply trying to kill it. Wrong place, wrong time.”

”Then why not just explain that?!”

”The Holy Church is coming and they do not care. Even a coincidental connection is enough for a guilty verdict. I fear not what they will do to me, but what they will do to others….”

The man sighed as he nodded. Still, there was one thing that he couldn’t understand.

”Won’t they guess your involvement in this matter?!”

”Perhaps some will have doubts. But without proof, there will only remain the objective truth that I saved the Town from a Macabre rat army….”

¯

_(ツ)_

/¯

”I did hear about that….”

”Anyway, pack your bags. We’re leaving for the Eternal Mines.” Derek’s face twisted just hearing the name. “Just see it as an opportunity to better your skills.”

In fact, they were going there to find a lich…

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The cave before them seemed as if the dark maw of a giant creature. Eternal Mines: metals, crystals, and dangers!

The burly group of miners chuckled as they saw the face of the youngster journeying with them. Sword Genius? Pfft— He was freaking shaking!

”Hehe, are you scared, tiny metal waving guy? You should learn from your master!” One of them remarked.

The members assembled were part of MTG, and one could only describe them as recklessly brave. They journeyed in the most dangerous areas and prided themselves in it!

They had a saying: “FF wants peace, WC wants money, but we want adventure! Our hearts are valiant and our fists mighty!” They were the life-skill equivalent of the adventurers.

”Grab your torches and grasp your picks! We’re going in!” The expedition leader, Gorat, led the way forward courageously.

”Grabbing my dick, Boss!” One playfully replied as they all followed, heading underground in the mine shaft. It was dark, stuffy, oppressive, and hella confusing!

There were more tunnels in here than hairs on a gorilla’s chest, and yet they hadn’t brought any map. They knew this place like the back of their hand, after all.

Gorat suddenly stopped the march, pointing toward a silver flash.

”Iron?” Derek whispered.

The miners all gave mocking smiles. As if any would remain so close to the exit! All ore deposits nearby had long since been mined!

”You take care of it.” Jack handed a pickaxe to his disciple, pushing him forward.

The miners shook their heads as they saw the way he gripped his new weapon. Those fancy sword peeps didn’t even know how to hold a pick properly! Still, he had to learn.

Swords in Eternal Mines = Useless!

Derek came closer and swung at what looked like an iron vein with all his strength. That’s when the monster awoke!

< Iron-Devouring Snake Lv 25! :link:>

It had a long scaly silver body, one incredibly sturdy. The creature sprung toward Derek as his pickaxe met it in mid-air, striking it right on the scales!

— Clang! —

Sadly the attack lacked power. The youngster had to roll out of the way before he got devoured. Those creatures wouldn’t mind feeding on the Iron in one’s blood.

What happened next was an incredibly pathetic display.

Derek had identified the creature’s weak spots and was targeting them, but he just couldn’t seem to deal any damage!

He kept rolling on the rocky floor until his entire body was battered. While he was getting his ass handed over, the miners simply kept laughing their asses off.

”You need to swing, boy!”

”This kid really likes rolling, doesn’t he?”

”Hehe, the trick is to use something called muscles!”

After what probably felt like an eternity for the fighter, Jack finally stepped in. “Watch and learn.” He chuckled.

Step 1: Take the aggro

Step 2: Roll around like a dumbass

Step 3: ?

Step 4: Profit

At first, the miners were confused. Why was he just rolling? Why wasn’t he attacking? Even when he did, he kept missing too!

But then they were hella confused when the creature suddenly died by itself. One second it was happily slithering all over the place, and then it was dead!

”What happened?!”

”Did he use magic?!”

”He barely ever attacked!”

Only one man amongst them understood instantly. Gorat laughed heartily, seeing his colleagues’ reaction.

”Look at the walls and the ground.” He hinted.

That’s when Derek finally understood. Holy hell! Jack had used the terrain to kill the beast. There were rock spikes all over, either natural or from pickaxe strikes.

But it was easier said than done. The spikes had to collide directly with the snake’s weaker scales for any damage to be done!

This method was actually way harder than killing the creature with a pickaxe. He had shown this for his sake, to make him understand how lacking his movements were!

Derek suddenly felt a burst of pride erupt in his heart! He was so lucky!

Had Jack done this for his student? Nope. Miners were men that only two things could impress: mining technique and battle prowess. The whole show was for their sake.

They gathered around him with awe in their eyes as they observed the corpse. There were still rock fragments stuck in its body. This single kill had turned them all into allies.

On the side, Gorat wryly smiled as he noticed his true purpose but didn’t object either.

”Alright, let’s keep going! Why are you all staring so much? If you want a creature that likes shiny metal lying on its belly, get a wife!” He bellowed.

Afterward, the atmosphere turned incredibly friendly. The two newcomers were no outsiders anymore. As such, the miners spoke without restraint.

They advised on how to handle a pick.

They gave information about the best places to mine.

They shared all their knowledge about the various dangers.

All this stuff felt familiar to Jack, but he definitely had needed a reminder. The key takeaway was this:

Danger —> Proportional to Value: Iron $ , Crystals $$, Gems $$$

The deeper one went, the more valuable the resources and the more dangerous it was.

Iron was used to forge all kinds of weapons, armors, and tools. The demand for it was huge, and it would be sent to the nearby Timber City as Sprigfield lacked good blacksmiths.

Crystals were useful in their raw form to illuminate the darkness or could be processed to store magic. It was either kept domestically or sold to the Tower representative.

Gems were the true jackpot…if one could grab it alive. They contained mana and were precious not only because of their power but also because of their rarity.

”Pretty much everything valuable gets sent to Timber City or Lumbering Metropolis. It sucks, but that’s how life is.” A miner remarked while shaking his head.

”Meh, politics. Still, why should we care? We’re miners, so we’ll mine. No need to worry about the complicated stuff!” Another added.

As expected, the production means were kept away from the exploitation areas. This way, Sprigfield would have no choice but to sell cheaply to the nobles

/merchants.

All of that was a refresher for Jack, but it was entirely different for Derek.

Perhaps it was because he was from the capital, but he had always felt proud of his swordsman status. But, suddenly being thrust into this world caused him to doubt himself.

Noble Swordsman? Bull**, here his sword was worthless!

Simple Miners? The more he heard them speak, the more he realized how complex the whole thing truly was.

Swordsman > Miners? Before, he would have undoubtedly sworn that being a warrior was worth more than mindlessly swinging a pickaxe. Only now did he realize his foolishness…

He couldn’t help but glance at his master in awe of his wisdom.

”Master, thank you for bringing me here.” He gratefully whispered.

”A reality check is always good from time to time.” Jack nonchalantly replied.

Inwardly, however, Jack was laughing his ass off. He was here for his purpose, but it wasn’t bad if the youngster misunderstood some more.

They reached their objective after a few hours of navigating the darkness with the occasional skirmish. They were confronted with plenty of silver flashes as they turned a corner!

”Is that real Iron?” Derek asked suspiciously.

”Pfft— Will you ask that every time you see Iron from now on?”

”Hehe, can’t blame the kid since all he’s seen so far are Iron Snakes.”

Gorat suddenly stopped them from laughing as he explained to the youngster:

”No need to worry, MTG just scouted this place a few days ago, and it’s all Iron. Plus, Snakes are only immobile when no metal is nearby, and they never travel in such large groups.”

”I see…”

”Anyway, as per our agreement, you guys are free to explore the surroundings. But, keep in mind that we’re leaving in three days, with or without you. You should stay here instead.” Gorat advised.

Sadly, Jack had already made up his mind. He headed to a tunnel that went far deeper into the Eternal Mines with one last wave, Derek following behind.

The sighs of the miners accompanied their departure:

”Those two sure were nice fellas.”

”Shame we won’t meet again.”

”They’re dead men walking.”

”Everyone dies eventually….”