Chapter 838 Chapter 837: Terracotta Grottos (5)
"And... that's... the... last... of... that..!"
I let out a grunt as I pulled the pickaxe back, staring at the mound of excavated ore that rested on the ground beside me with momentary exhaustion as I let the pickaxe rest on my shoulder, finally done with this vein of ore.
"Yeah, it's finally excavated completely... Gods above that took forever!"
Leraie wiped the sweat from her brow as she mirrored me, resting her pickaxe on her shoulder and nudging a chunk of the bluish silver metal that we had worked hard to mine up, which had a tinge of Water Mana within its surface.
"Did you think this was what you would be doing when you joined the expedition out into the Human Kingdoms? Mining away inside a Dungeon for an hour, all while monsters probe the area around us?"
She chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, the Demoness crouching to inspect a piece of the ore as she replied "Yes and no. There was a possibility that we would do menial tasks no matter what, and with there being a few Dungeons inside the Kingdom's borders, we knew we might end up inside one of them. Now, whether or not I thought that we'd end up in one of the more dangerous ones, no... not at all."
As she said that, we both looked towards the source of an explosion, watching in bemusement as chunks of a Goblin splattered against the wall thanks to the Fireball traps that lined an entire tunnel, something Leone had done alongside Ammit when we found out that said tunnel was incredibly populated with Goblins.
Even now the Vampire and golden Demoness were standing at its entrance, talking amongst themselves even as another landmine went off, sending a Goblin's head flying through the air just a foot away from them.
"Nor did I expect this. But, I have to say I am excited. Both because this will provide a good fight - hopefully - and because I've been wanting some better gear recently. Which might be easier than I thought considering..."
She gestured towards the pile around us, and I nodded as I bent over to pick one up, admiring its surface and saying "Anput is going to be in heaven, and we have so many damn resources already? Not great ones, but... not terrible either."
"Exactly. Begum Anput has displayed a great talent for smithing, and with all these resources, well, I hope she might forge us new gear so that we can more comfortably press deeper into the Dungeon. And since she's already forged a great shield for Lady Jahi out of that tortoise shell, I am even more hopeful."
I chuckled, glancing back towards the base we had created beside the lake and taking in its rough, yet organized walls from all the way on the other side of the grotto.
Anput's suggestion to use the shell for the outside of the base had been implemented, and with the back of the base facing against the walls of the grotto, we only had to construct a semi circle to house our loot and ourselves, alongside clearing that outcrop above us as well.
Tortoise shell and rock had been used to make the walls, and even now there were Demons covering the wall in a paint concocted from monster blood, adding to the oppressive air surrounding the base that would hopefully repel monsters.
"It doesn't look great, but we don't need looks, do we? Well, let's get this back to the base, and then we can see which tunnels haven't been scouted just yet. I want to whet my blade as well..."
Creating an ice chest - something that had now become second nature - and filling it with the ore we had gathered, Leraie glanced at me and raised a brow, asking "Yeah, that earlier battle wasn't enough, huh?"
Her amusement drifted over to me, and I smiled back at her and nodded, replying "No where near enough for me... I wanted to paint a pretty picture with that Ogre's blood..."
She just snorted and stood up, taking one of the chests and walking beside me as we went back, where we found Satanya standing around a model of the grotto that an Earth Mage had made for her; she was using it to mark out which tunnels were scouted, which ones were priority for resources, which were dangerous, and which were still unknown, all while updating the inside of the model to determine the areas that had been cleared.
Jahi stood beside her, the two bringing their minds together to make this as efficient as possible, all while Anput stood a dozen feet away from them, constructing her forge once more with a wagging tail as she constantly saw more and more materials brought in.
It almost looked like we were paying her tribute as more and more chests and bundles of things were stacked near her forge, something that made us all smile wryly as the Jackalkin danced around the area and appraised everything.
She looked slightly childish as she did so, yet also rather regal in an... odd way as she maneuvered the piles easily, getting it sorted based on usefulness; it felt like she was a Dragon organizing her hoard of treasure, despite this being all of our loot and not just hers.
"Ah, Kat, Leraie! You wanted to head into a tunnel, right? After you put those chests down, get over here."
We nodded at Satanya, doing as she said and joining her at the table, the red skinned Demoness tapping one of the markers and saying "This here is a tunnel near where you were just mining. When you were there, did you notice anything about it? More verdant, stronger mana surrounding it? Anything?"
Exchanging a look with Leraie, I pursed my lips before saying "It was a bit more verdant, yes. Had a large root growing out of it that was laden with flowers, and the moss and vines were far more abundant. Not stronger mana though... why?"
"Good... Alright, so we found a few correlations that need more evidence to be 'proof', but the gist of it is this; the more greenery by itself, the more resources. The stronger the mana, the more monsters. Both means... well, both. These tunnels here, here, and here were floral and abundant in plant life, but not super strong in mana. A cursory investigation revealed a few giant ore veins as well as some herbs in each. These had mana, and specifically this one, the one that Leone and Ammit are currently having fun with... so, our theory is the entrance of the tunnel can decide many things, and we want you to add another piece of evidence to this?
So go to this tunnel and look around. Only go in about 150 steps maximum, alright? Any signs of danger - like a horde or very strong monster - you are to turn back around instantly and return to the grotto! Got that? No heroics, no greed, no battle lust. Keep it in check!"
Satanya stared at Leraie and I for a few moments before nodding as Jahi added "Just go in and check, and come back out, please. We're trying to figure out which tunnels we should prioritize and which we shouldn't, and when we do that, we can begin harvesting them in earnest. And considering this initial haul..."
We all turned to look at the mountain of ore behind us, which Anput was beginning to smelt down into ingots to make transpiration easier, alongside another two Demons who also were skilled enough in smithing to help her.
"Well, we discussed it further, and we determined that not harvesting this now would be stupid, and as long as its safe, we should stay and take what we can. Sound good? Then get going; this tunnel here, above and to the right of where you were mining. Good luck, stay safe."
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Going to do a LOT of chapters here; some 'slow' with chats and upgrades and the like, and others with action, as well as a potential few 'fun' chapters too; don't know how many chapters in total, but it'll be a bit I think, since I have a few plans.
Enjoy~!
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢