Without activating Blood Mania, Kieran first created some space between him and the wall before dashing forward. Once he was within one meter of the wall, Kieran swung his blade and unleashed a mighty attack, producing several deep cracks in the process.

The deep cracks erupted toward the sky, soon becoming chunks of large rocks that remained in place, but would crumble with the lightest brush of a finger.

Upon witnessing the harrowing display of immense striking power, the members of the Godhand Consortium were left with their mouths agape, staring at Kieran in complete befuddlement.

‘That attack was so damned frightening! If this was the real world… such a strike would be enough to collapse a mine. I wonder… would we have to worry about such a thing here as well?’ Pixus asked himself, scratching his cheek sheepishly.

Like many who chose a Lifestyle class, Pixus possessed real-life mining experience, so he understood the dangers and some of the tricks to getting the job done professionally.

Of course, since there was no heavy machinery for him to operate, it relied solely upon his attributes to turn his body into somewhat of a machine.

Fortunately, the logic of the mining here wasn’t identical to Earth, but it bore some similarities in that mining in the wrong place could produce some unfortunate circumstances that many would want to avoid.

After unleashing his strike, Kieran lifted his hand and extended his finger. Holding his middle finger back with his thumb, he then released it, flicking the center of the severely damaged wall.

Bang!

Once he flicked it, a slight tremor filled the area as the wall fell apart before everyone’s eyes.

pan,da-n0v el Because of how it fell, Kieran took a step back, watching and preparing to make a move if the direction of the rocks changed, shifting toward them.

However, before Kieran could make another move, a wave of mystical pressure passed by him, assaulting the rocks nonstop until they were pulverized, becoming fine dust that resembled sand on the beach being blown by a zephyr.

“We don’t have time to let nature take its course. Have them situated quickly so we may depart,” Agatha voiced, panning her gaze over the collection of astonished people.

“Ah, in such a rush that you ruined all of the fun. Then again, that’s understandable,” Kieran replied. At the moment, his expression was complex because it seemed like he was chuckling, yet at the same time sighing simultaneously.

Heeding Agatha’s suggestion, Kieran led everyone within the mine, taking them deeper and deeper.

〈System: You have entered an exceptional Low-Grade Mana Deposit. Inside, you’ll find strengthened material.〉

‘So it is a Mana Deposit,’ Kieran thought to himself, nodding subtly.

Everyone had acquired the same information from the system notification. However, Kieran was aware of this matter in greater detail because Mana Deposits were something necessary when handling a large force of players.

In other words, if a guild wanted to be considered high-level and successful, it had to possess at least one Mana Deposit to extract resources from.

Mana Deposits were naturally formed underground mines that, through the years of amassing and being saturated by Mana, produced metals and minerals strengthened by Mana.

According to the system and what Kieran discovered in the past, Mana Deposits were only one form of the Mana Structure that was present within the world of Xenith.

The deposits were separated into gradings, low, mid, high, and peak.

But the quality of these grades was further determined by words like exceptional, superior, inferior, etc.

Seeing as everything had only recently begun and knowledge of Mana Deposits was nonexistent, Kieran was satisfied by the fact that this Mana Deposit was only a low-grade one.

Though it was low-grade, it was considered exceptional.

‘To be considered exceptional, it needs to both have a decent supply of minerals and metals inside. On top of that, the density of Mana inside has to support the additional formation of crystals post-mining. If I’m not mistaken, it also needs to be structurally sound, so the risk is minimal,’ Kieran thought to himself.

As he led the others through the mining path, Kieran discovered various shades of blue crystals and different colored metals with various shades of blue covering them.

Despite being covered by layers of dense rock, Kieran could see the collection of Mana thanks to his True Unveiling Eyes.

‘Unveil what’s underneath. I suppose this ability works on physical matters obscured by physical obstructions. How convenient,’ Kieran inwardly muttered.

Afterward, Kieran scouted the mine while standing in place before nodding. “I’m sure all of you have figured out your task at hand after reaching this place. I need not explain in detail, correct?”

In response to the question, as Acting Mining Captain, Pixus stepped forward. “We understand, Union Leader Aatrox. We’re to mine this place.”

“Correct, but more specifically, I want to see at least a few of you becoming Mining Masters. As for the rest, if you don’t reach it, you’ll at least need to be no more than a few steps from achieving those goals. I want proper extractions. Damaged items will be logged and docked from your pay,” Kieran said, adopting a stern attitude.

Many grimaced in response because mistakes were inevitable, but thankfully, Kieran further clarified to ease their mind.

“I don’t mean regular mistakes that slightly degrade the material. That’s oftentimes unavoidable. What I’m referring to is completely ruining an item due to your rushed mishandling. You have time, so act and reflect upon your actions to make the best progress,” Kieran said.

Upon hearing this, many sighed in relief. Though they intended to do their best, mistakes were bound to happen. At least it appeared that they wouldn’t be punished for the unavoidable.

At first, Kieran considered mining alongside them for a while. Though, given the way Agatha looked at him, Kieran ultimately decided against it.

‘Nope. I’d be a fool. That gentle experience earlier was only one facet of Agatha’s personality. She’s like a wildcat when enraged. And those pinches… yikes,’ Kieran thought.

Simply thinking about those earlier pinches that left broken skin made Kieran shudder and inhale sharply.

Once the miners found their rhythm and gathered the bits of items extracted, Kieran eventually returned to the mine entrance. As this would be a prolonged project, Kieran gave the members rights to store items within the Union Storage so they could remain here without leaving.

Of course, before they left Aeredale, Kieran had ensured that everyone brought enough food and water to keep their Satiety Bars high. Once all this was confirmed, Kieran felt comfortable leaving them all to complete their task.

“Are you ready now?” Agatha questioned, gently placing her hand against the space beside them.

Kieran looked at her in silence initially but then gave her a nod. He was as ready as he could be.

While the spiritual exhaustion from his training was still healing, it was happening quickly thanks to the presence of the items in his Flawed Soul.

‘Whenever I chance upon Eni, or at the very least his avatar, I’ll have to thank him for these items. The consequences of their existence are irrelevant when their effects are this great—the power to warp reality and nurture a damaged soul. Truly absurd when you think about it,’ Kieran inwardly muttered.

Once he confirmed that he was ready, Agatha once again took on her Wykin-like appearance. Except this time, the aura she exuded was heavy, making it difficult for Kieran to breathe.

To alleviate some of the pressure, the Archaic Verity Compendium supplied a torrent of mystical energy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very effective, considering the disparity in Kieran and Agatha’s State of Being.

Nevertheless, upon glancing over her shoulder, Agatha smiled sweetly. “Bear with it for now, but you’re in no danger being this close to me. I’ll limit the power.”

Creating a portal that linked to the Elves’ homeland was quite difficult because doing so required that Agatha remotely locate the weakness she left in the veiling wards.

Doing so before the veils was already plenty difficult, so attempting this from afar, one could only wonder how much pressure Agatha subjected herself to.

‘Master was the first to touch this place. And because my attainments have yet to touch her shadow, I had to leave this roundabout access point,’ Agatha thought.

The mystical sparks before her soon came together to form a small opening in space that gradually fractured, becoming larger until it exposed a verdant zone on the other side.

Another reason Agatha became so spent had to do with what she was doing to the portal.

Generally, a portal linking two areas together remained of considerable length, requiring the entering party to traverse a spatial tunnel.

However, Agatha took it upon herself to collapse the tunnel, shortening it in the process until the spatial tunnel became a negligible existence.

Though not as skilled as Zaragosa in the matter, she managed well.

“It’s prepared, you may step through,” Agatha said with a strained voice.

Holding this portal open evidently put a heavy strain on her, so Kieran didn’t waste any time in crossing the threshold, setting aside any and all skepticism.

As soon as Kieran crossed over, Agatha followed behind quickly.

…

Landing inside a verdant zone, flush with towering trees of an unfathomable height and thickness, Kieran looked around at the lush foliage, which grew up to his waist.

Such a setting was sublime for a surprise attack, but thanks to the special characteristics of his subclass, the odds of Kieran suffering a surprise attack were incredibly low.

Not to mention, there was also the matter of Agatha being by his side.

〈System: You have entered the «Veiled Celestial Arboretum»!〉

〈System: You gained 150 World Fame.〉

“So this is the fabled Veiled Celestial Arboretum that acts as an entry point to the Forest of Gardenia. Beautiful…” Kieran whispered, taking in the tantalizing view of beautiful trees.

“Careful… beauty is not the only thing that lurks in this arboretum,” Agatha warned, gazing forward with her glinting eyes.