Chapter 36: Take All
"I saw that you’re not weak. You also possess a Life Element, so why didn’t you attack or help your companions? Do you feel sorry for this barbarian tribe?" he asked.
Mateo couldn’t refute it. He simply hadn’t expected the Baron to observe so carefully and remember the face of someone avoiding battle despite the chaotic fight involving more than a thousand people.
And apparently, he had been the laziest-looking one of all.
"Baron, this guy never attacked even once. He only blocked attacks and then ran away. He’s also the one who abandoned your wife in the Chameleon Nest..." someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
It was difficult for others to identify who had shouted, but Mateo knew it was Lucas’ voice.
The Baron immediately frowned, while Mateo froze with his mouth hanging open.
Now there were two separate reasons the Baron could punish him.
He wanted to scratch his head, but doing that under so many eyes would be considered disrespectful.
The question was how he could resolve this problem without using his soul power.
He wasn’t willing to waste System Points right now.
"It seems you don’t like fighting," the Baron said while nodding. "How about this? Stay here and help the miners with your power. It’s a good and safe job for a Magus."
Mateo, "..."
His expression became awkward when he heard that.
Stay here?
For how long?
That would practically slow down his growth.
Although he could send a clone, his clone’s power was limited.
Still, he had no desire to come into conflict with the nobles right now.
He chose to remain silent, wearing an expression that admitted his fault.
"You, you, and you!" The Baron pointed at several other Magi who apparently hadn’t done much either. There were more than twenty of them, but none were people Mateo knew.
They immediately looked worried.
"You’ll stay here as well," the Baron ordered indifferently.
He then turned around and waved for everyone else to follow him.
They obeyed, while about ten soldiers remained behind.
At the same time, a large group arrived carrying mining hammers.
Most of them were middle-aged men. They were ordinary humans, but they possessed large, muscular bodies.
Under the direction of the soldiers escorting them, they descended into the valley.
"What do we do now? Are we really staying here?" one of the Magi who had been left behind asked.
Mateo guessed they were all people from Earth who genuinely couldn’t bring themselves to kill other humans.
"What else can we do? Unless you want to challenge that Baron. But how? Those soldiers can seal our powers and leave us completely helpless."
"I think it’s better to obey. Even if we manage to escape, we’ll become wanted criminals."
Most of them chose obedience. They didn’t want to take risks because gaining access to this world hadn’t been easy. They had already spent a lot of money.
But Mateo still couldn’t accept it.
He thought of something and wondered whether it was possible.
’System, convert 100 System Points into Heaven Path Soul Energy,’ he ordered.
DING!
(100 System Points have been converted into 10 Points of Heaven Path Soul Energy!)
[System Point: 300]
[Soul:]
Heaven Path Soul > 10 (SSS Class Soul)
Seeing that he now had Heaven Path Soul Energy, Mateo immediately focused on his desire.
DING!
(1 out of 4 Tons of Black Iron Spiritual Stone beneath the valley has been transferred into your Inventory at the cost of 10 Points of Heaven Path Soul Energy!)
[Inventory:]
(Class A Weapon ×1)
(Spiritual Neon)
(Forest Chameleon Skin)
(Star Wheel)
(Black Iron Spiritual Stone <1 Ton>)
Mateo’s eyes instantly lit up when he saw the result.
So it was possible after all.
It simply required more energy to take everything.
He thought for a moment before making a decision.
’System, convert all my remaining System Points into Heaven Path Soul Energy,’ he ordered again.
Even though he would end up losing all his System Points again, he believed the result was worth it.
DING!
(3 Tons of Black Iron Spiritual Stone beneath the valley have been transferred into your Inventory at the cost of 30 Points of Heaven Path Soul Energy!)
[Inventory:]
(Black Iron Spiritual Stone <4 Tons>)
He lost all his System Points, but in exchange, he obtained four tons of Black Iron Spiritual Stone.
The Baron would get nothing.
If there was no Black Iron Spiritual Stone left, what exactly could be mined here?
"You, provide your Life Element to the miners," a soldier said to Mateo.
The latter nodded obediently.
He released his Earth Life Element, which immediately spread toward the miners.
They were instantly surprised by the refreshing and energetic sensation flooding their bodies.
They quickly organized themselves and began digging through the valley floor.
"You lot, help them too. Those with Water Elements, help soften the soil," the soldier ordered the other Magi.
They could only comply reluctantly.
With their assistance, the miners dug through the earth with ease.
Reaching a depth of two meters took only ten minutes.
However, confusion soon appeared on their faces.
After digging deep enough, they seemed unable to find anything.
"Sir, are you certain this is the location?" the head miner asked the captain of the soldiers.
"What is it?" the captain asked.
"We haven’t found a single piece of Black Iron Spiritual Stone," the head miner replied.
"Are you sure there’s really nothing there? Dig deeper," the captain answered, his brows furrowing.
"Yes, sir..." The miners could only obey.
The captain personally observed the excavation process.
More and more soil was removed as the pit grew deeper.
It soon reached a depth of ten meters.
Yet there was still no sign of any Black Iron Spiritual Stone.
"What is going on? There should be plenty of those black stones here. The powerful Magi from Fallen Rose City confirmed it. The barbarians also frequently collected them."
The captain muttered to himself while glancing at his subordinates.
Naturally, none of them knew how to answer.
He waited longer.
One hour.
Two hours.
The excavation had already reached a depth of thirty meters.
Unfortunately, there was still nothing.
At that point, the captain realized something was wrong.
"You, go report this to the Baron," he ordered the weakest soldier, who looked terrified but didn’t dare refuse.
Being the person responsible for delivering this news was quite risky.
The Baron might simply accuse him of talking nonsense.
The soldiers were bewildered, and so were the Magi.
Meanwhile, Mateo secretly smiled in satisfaction.
He couldn’t wait to see the Baron’s expression when he returned.
