NOVPUB'It actually feels refreshing here…' Shane mused.
The two of them descended deeper into the mine and felt the dense spiritual energy—less pure than the Fairy Realm's mana, but potent in its own raw, unfiltered way.
The narrow tunnel eventually opened into a vast, well-lit chamber. Its walls were embedded with veins of azure crystals or the High-Grade Spirit Stones.
There were also plenty of Light Orbs installed, casting a steady source of light over the space.
At the center of the chamber, two figures sat on overturned crates, sharing a simple breakfast of what seemed like a biscuit and smoked meat.
Mew, the former slave turned mining foreman, was now a muscular man after consuming a few Dragon's Veil Elixir and other potions.
Beside him was most likely Hassan, the recruit who had come from the Mysterious Gray Fog. He was younger but had the same hardened look of someone who had worked as a laborer for a long time.
Both looked up as Shane and Minerva approached.
"Boss!" Mew scrambled to his feet, wiping his hands on his trousers.
"Didn't expect you down here before the Wave."
Shane gently smiled as he handed them a Tier 4 Miner's Set. It also included a new helmet and the two were immediately elated upon seeing this...
They were something that he had obtained from the store and had been stuck in his inventory for a long time.
"Wear them… In any case, I could say the same about you two. Shouldn't you be resting?"
Hassan wryly smiled as he took a sip from his canteen before accepting the new set of clothes.
"Thank you, Lord Shane. Sir Mew figured we'd grab as many stones as we could before the undead came knocking. Once the Wave starts, we'll be on barricade duty like everyone else."
The Silver Mine Camp had Zombie Grinders, Turrets, Flamethrowers, and several Watchtowers. Nonetheless, it was indeed normal to have more defenders carry the advanced weapons that they had recently created.
For now, Shane's gaze shifted to the pickaxes leaning against the wall.
They were Epic-grade, they were initially Rare-Grade pickaxes if he recalls it correctly, and were simply upgraded using an Item Upgrade Stone.
Normally, such tools would have long since shattered if continuously used to extract High-Grade Spirit Stones—but these two made it work for a long time, probably due to their skills…
"Still holding up?" Shane asked while gesturing to the tools.
Mew grinned as he lifted one of the pickaxes.
"It's doable... Though, truth be told, it's not just the metal doin' the work." He then tapped his temple. "It's knowing where to hit. These stones got weak points, like joints in rock. Hit 'em right, and they come clean."
Hassan nodded. "And if you hit them wrong?" He gestured to a shattered pickaxe head in the corner. "That happens."
Shane gently nodded as he watched the two miners return to work with their new Tier 4 Set.
"Ohh… Moving with these new clothes feels so good…" Mew commented.
He then pressed his calloused hand against the stone wall, and started tracing the invisible fissures. "There…" he murmured, then swung.
The pickaxe struck with an echoing chime, and a chunk of High-Grade Spirit Stone cleaved free…
It looked quite a simple move, and he could probably collect a lot of High-Grade Spirit Stones with ease. However, it actually takes some time to do this process. After all, if he just hit anywhere, his efficiency would go down, and there would be a chance for his pickaxe to be shattered. Furthermore, he would easily get exhausted if he just struck aimlessly.
In the meantime, Hassan's technique was different. He seemed sharper and quicker. He didn't search for weak points like Mew. Instead, he created them… He would strike with rapid blows until the stone yielded.
He would use his special ability to coat his Pickaxe with Spirit Energy. This seemed to be a faster method, but it was exhausting.
"They're good," Minerva said quietly. "Best I've seen. The other miners we hired could never match their skills.
Shane agreed. But he also saw the problem.
"With just the two of them, this is really too slow," he said. "Even with both of you working nonstop, we'll be unable to extract this whole vein even for a hundred years."
Shane commented as he confirmed with Cloud the size of his deposit. Perhaps, he could have his Super Soldiers or other stronger Survivors work here, but that would be too inefficient and would waste the potential of such valuable people.
This should be handled by the skilled miners instead.
Mew nodded at this as he also knew that it would be tough to rely on just the two of them. "Aye. But unless you've got a way to mine these things without 'em exploding or melting our faces off, this is the only way."
Shane studied the chamber again. The Spirit Stones here were unlike the others—denser, almost alive in their glow.
"What if we didn't mine them?" he mused.
The others frowned.
"You mean… leave 'em?" Hassan asked.
"No." Shane's fingers brushed the wall. "I mean, what if we harvested them differently?" He turned to Minerva. "Get Rylen down here. If anyone can figure out how to extract these without breaking them apart, it's him."
Mew and Hassan exchanged glances. "You think that'll work?"
Shane smirked. "Only one way to find out."
***
Rylen was already awake when the knock came.
Most children his age would still be curled under blankets. But Rylen wasn't like most children. His Talent—Ore Whisperer—was restless whenever rare minerals were near.
So when someone arrived informing him that Lord Shane was waiting for him at the mining site, Rylen immediately dressed up. His little sister Aria, on the other hand, was still snoozing in the bed near him.
"Rylen, Boss Shane doesn't want to hurry you. Just take your time." The guard said from the door.
"It's alright. I'm coming." He replied…
However, before he left the room, he scribbled a note for Aria, "Gone mining. Don't eat my breakfast."
He was then escorted by the guard after handing him a new jacket to warm his body in this cold weather...
***
When Rylen reached the High-Grade Spirit Stone chamber, he couldn't help but adjust his breath as the energy inside was too immense for his small body.
Shane, Minerva, and the two miners stood near the vein while observing the two miners with their work.
"Rylen," Shane said as he faced the young man. "Good. You look better than the last time we've met."
The boy smiled as he felt relieved, seeing how Lord Shane still sounded nice and approachable.
"Y-You needed me, sir?"
At this time, it was Mew who approached, ruffling Rylen's hair. "Kid, we're stuck. These stones ain't budging fast enough… Boss thinks you might have ideas."
Rylen blinked. "Me?"
Shane crouched to his eye level.
"Your Talent lets you sense ore, right? Not just find it—understand it." He gestured to the wall. "These stones aren't like the others. They're… living… reacting... I need to know if there's a way to harvest them without pickaxes."
"Let me try…"
Rylen had already seen this vein, and as a matter of fact, he was the one who found it. After that, he just left all the work to the professional miners.
However, it seemed that Shane was expecting more, so he wanted to do his best.
He then approached the vein, and his small hand touched the crystal surface.
After that, he closed his eyes.
Just like that, his talent was activated…
To others, the stones were just pretty rocks. To Rylen?
They give off some sort of vibration that could help him find them.
This vibration was like a pulse, slow and steady, as if the stones were indeed alive, waiting to be discovered.
"They're… connected," he murmured. "Like tree roots underground."
Hassan was a bit confused… "So… Do they have some sort of core we can destroy to easily shatter and collect them all?"
"No! Wait… I just sensed something… There are some rocks holding them." He muttered.
Shane's brow arched. "Explain."
The boy scrambled for words. "I think if we dig around them, then we soften or destroy the rock holding them—"
"—they'll pop free?" Minerva asked.
"I think so… The sizes of each Spirit Grade stone were about my size… Instead of crushing them little by little, we can consider taking them whole. Even if we needed a smaller size, then it would be easier for us to process it."
"Should we try some Acid…" Shane realized. "Not to melt the stones—just the rock holding them."
Rylen then shared more information about what he had sensed, including the immense size of the vein itself.
In the end, the easiest trick would still be using brute force to collect the High-Grade Spirit Stones.
However, Shane decided to leave the decision to Mew and the others on how they would proceed with this.
"I'll leave the decision to you Mew…"
Then, Shane gave them one Legendary Pickaxe, since his Item Upgrade Crystals were now only about six hundred pieces.
After that, he reached into his Inventory System and pulled out a small cloth bundle.
Unwrapped, it revealed four honey-glazed Thunderbolt Pepper candies—a rare treat, spicy enough to make your tongue tingle but sweet enough to keep you coming back.
"For you," he said as he handed it to Rylen.
