Chapter 13: Mining? Bronze? I’ll help! 1

Luna finally let her mind drift back to her two clones near Gordak, she was surprised that he looked like he panicked himself.

“Are you alright? You looked out of it, like terrible, do you need to take a pause?”

Her head was fogged by not knowing how to tell him without being crazy. Maybe he knew something she didn’t. It was with a heavy heart she told him her feelings.

“It was… Like I had lost something when I was thinking about something that does not exist… It felt like someone had done something to my mind. I’m not crazy.”

Hearing her plead her anguish and suffering, he could not help her. But can only tell words of consolation.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but I feel you are in pain. Let's stop this night hunt for now. You can take those two bows, those are gifts from me. Use it however you want, for now, it’s self-training for this week. I’ll need you later for the cave. Is it okay?”

“Yea.. Yes.” Feeling a bit dispirited. Gordak continued in a more amused tone.

“I need you to cook with me, it’s not every day we can cook a whole deer.”

“Really? I can help?”

“Yeah, you were perfect, you could go hunt some other creature. But be careful of monsters like this Antler Deer, their power doesn’t always reflect in your Identify.”

Feeling new joy and finally forgetting her bad memories, with energy they hung the deer on a carrying pole and lifted it as one. Even a heavy creature was not a problem if she wanted something. Carrying their price with real joy, pauses were taken midway, but she insisted on taking it home.

It didn’t take long before it was cooked and eaten. It was by Luna's evaluation ‘the best’. Without a real objective, she asked Gordak about the cave and led her inside. Inside, for anyone else, it was darkness, for Luna… It was okay she could see like any creature that could see in the dark it amplifies the visible light. In a dark cave, she could see, it was sufficient for her, even from that she could see the metal visible on the rock, it was a fortune but those were high in a vein. This cavern looked like an old vein from a magma pocket, moss stalactites, and stalagmites made columns she wasn’t a geologist, but it didn’t take more than an idiot to know it was a really old cavern. Near the other end of the cavern, we can see some sign of collapse, someone had tried to go deeper. Luna could only frown at the idea it reflected on Clone 1

“I see why you have so many problems, it’s cramped and the cave ceiling is high. A good way to get a cave-in and you want me to work here and risk my life ?”

“It’s a bit shameful but I can’t permit myself to lose people, it’s dangerous work and even I can’t take tons of rock on my head without really dying. I would pay whatever you want for this, once I could get my people some of this and make tools, I will get people to help you.”

She didn’t like the feeling of being less important than his people, but it was maybe more correct to have someone who could not die working in something where people could die instantly even with power. Luna also feels pain, a pain equivalent to dying; it's not something someone healthy could accept as something correct. On the other way, anyone would die, and Maria would maybe try something in this way, Lucina it’s not her work but she cannot object to the idea that everyone needs to help in the development of the tribe. The other worker? Men are too thick and big, women too weak for this, and children, she didn’t even want to think about it. For her, it was just maybe a way to die, but for them, it was their future and a way to fend for themselves. Maybe to fight back against those monsters.

“I’m okay with it, I’ll think about what to get later then.”

Waiting for her approval she was his only element that could save them. Accepting help means she would still be in pain and maybe only gain minor things. But he had found a way to pay her for her work. And this is something that could help her more than anyone. Her positive answer made it a project to help her in many ways.

“I know you will do a lot for us so I will teach you a way to increase your mana, and also help you expand your inventory.”

“You mean… You know how?”

“It’s simple, expand your mana pool by absorbing the ambient mana around you. Working around with inventory also helps with it, putting things in then out will increase its proficiency and later its uses help expand it.”

Even by him not telling it she felt he was more than just a normal chief of a tribe. But even if she tried to probe it, she would only get ‘I know about it because of this idiot’ It was true but also he knows so much about Chosen and heroes. It was his way to maybe tell her it was not something he wanted to say. Following his instruction, something was different in this cave, she felt magic from the ground itself like magic leaking out of it.

After minutes of meditation, she felt her mana pool a bit more full and expanded. But she finally found out why beastmen’s mana is difficult to gain more. Like in a cup of milk, people without any tolerance fall sick, as for mana it is the same it’s a question of tolerance the more you are used to, the more you can absorb in one time.

“It’s not the only way, but I would say it’s easier with it and later you’ll need to find a better way. People can’t grow by only mana meditation, I know that. Once at my level, you need to absorb mana from the mana heart of creatures.”

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‘What did he just say? There is mana heart?’

“What do you mean by that? There is mana heart?”

“Only on creatures with mana heart, they are more dangerous and most of the time, they are creatures more magical than a living being some of them are manabeing. I’ll show you one once I’ve found a living one. I’ve killed the most to protect this tribe.”

It was to be expected, but she could only deflate at the idea and come back to her job. Mining. Looking above her it was cramped but the metal was here and near the rock pile a cramped tunnel entrance, looking closely it was darker, but on the other side, a tunnel of 2 meters long made a straight way to another part of the cave. Curiosity and cupidity made it interesting.

‘So it’s how felt gold miner? Time to dig in… I mean it’s time to test my flexibility then.’

Seeing the cramped tunnel entrance, the other side felt dangerous, this is another reason he sent her than other people. With good equipment, it would be mined in less than a day for a single person, but with the high ceiling, it was a risk. Then an idea came to her, with clone 1 forcing her way inside with a test of flexibility, her body came inside more easily feeling her body becoming tighter, her bones being more flexible than human ones she could go inside with more ease feeling happy about her incredible body like a cave explorer.

Once inside, her eyes could glow with crazy curiosity, inside they were more than just a little oxide copper the cave itself was a vein. It’s stink sulfur and it’s difficult to breathe deeply but it was correct, once she mine it would become dangerous and the air would become dusty.

With clone 3 she made her intention clear.

“I need thick wood that could come inside the hole and my inventory, some foundation to protect against the cave-in, there is more than just a bit of copper here."

Being outside Gordak could only be impressed by her. Taking mental note, moving her clone with him to the wood stock.

“You can use it, once we can get our hands on stronger tools, wood would not become a problem.”

Thick log enough to support the ceiling, but there is a problem.

‘They are too long’

Not a problem with a master with a power that could kill big wild boars instantly with an axe he cut with a white aura the thick wood for what she needed. Then came the problem of making them go inside. Using her inventory with the two clones at once, she found something really strange. It could pass through like a portal to the other side, a really strange thing, so strange that the old man could only make big eyes. Finally laughing at something so incredible Gordak could only be impressed by this girl.

“You are something, Kitten, you are clearly breaking some rules here…”

She felt wronged by his declaration, she didn’t break anything, and her inventory can now store nearly 3 cubic meters. Her mana now?

[83/120]

She had progressed with it, taking account of the warning from the Devil, and felt if she went too far she'd go out of control. It was time for her body to accept it now. Back to the pillar factory man, she was just waiting for him to cut more wood for her. Inside the cave, a pillar was lodged between the ceiling and the ground with precision every 3 meters from each other. Once finished. Nearly half the wood stock disappeared.

“We’ll need to make more wood now, winter is near and no wood would be a disaster. Please do your best.”

Saying that he escaped to another part of the village, she didn’t pay much attention to where he had gone, going to mine for future survival. It took her quite some time with just stone to mine the rock, her hand bleeding was healed minutes later by the effect of regeneration and the pain was correct. While mining she gained her first talent in mining [Mining Mastery (E)] it helped instantly, she felt more where to hit with more effective strength feeling the action and environment less exhausting. But don’t be wrong it’s a lot of work, exhausting physically she goes back at work after 5 minutes of pause.

Now with something like 20 kg of rock with oxide copper, but it’s not pure copper, from what Gordak's knowledge was given to him about a ratio of purity of copper making, it’s more of 2 kg ground copper you only get around 100g. It was really bad, this is why not everyone could get copper and not even bronze until a very late period. Had a process to grind it, melt it on time clean it from impurities like rock, and melt it again to make an ingot or make an alloy. With it you need a whole week to get the first usable metal and tool, the consumption of wood could only make someone exhausted this is why, the whole society was working together to make weapons or use someone else to make them for them. Slave, worker, nothing is too much to make something possible.

It was only late in the morning when the sun was finally time for everyone to wake up that Gordak made another apparition, he could only see her two clones tired. It didn’t make a genie to know it was time-consuming, his only consolation was to make her break the rock from the inside and make an entrance. Something she tried to do but the rock was really hard, and her hands were numb from repetition. Only making 20 cm of advance, once she made the second half it would break easily. But Gordak had already an idea.

“I’ll punch a hole with mana, if your foundation is solid then it won’t be dangerous”

She could only think ‘This is dangerous if you too overboard.’ at his absurd proposition, she made more foundation around the opening but deep inside there was nothing. Without time to protest against his absurd idea, a hole was made and with heavy sound, a cave-in was heard. Around the entrance of the tunnel, everything was okay but less than 5 meters near it everything had crumbled. It was a bad and good thing, bad it would make the whole cave insatiable, the good part, is you just need to pick up now. Until the dust settles, no one will come inside, not until the tunnel entrance is finally solid enough to sustain a brute like this man. Luna could only be more exhausted by this man too strong for this world.

“It was a really hasty decision, what if the entire cave crumbled at the same time?”

Without any direction of who talks, Luna made precedence to only talk with the clone 1 or 2 when she wasn’t here. It was her principle when she wasn’t here. So only Clone 1 talks now and Clone 3 was just a mirror of her idea. As for the man, he didn’t feel a bit of shame to overuse but just a way to let go of his existing heart to finally progress on a stagnant project.

“If you think it’s hasty then waiting for 30 years for a safe way to exploit this mine is being patient. Losing people for my hypocrisy was a mistake I’ve already made. And If I die then people would take my place, Lucina could take after me.”

‘This guy… Why go this far?’

“Why do you think there is so little to lose from you being dead? You are their protector and chief.”

It sounded like a guy too old for his position but in this era, individual strength is saving hundreds of people why does he sound like a veteran? An individual would live for themselves but this man does everything until he dies.

“Don’t be too stiff Luna I know you are worried about me, but my strength is declining year after year. Lucina would one day take it from me, she’s stronger, her mana purer and her power is stronger than my prime. All of it made her age really slowly, it’s not a matter of fact, she would live longer than me. I use power that doesn’t belong to me anymore.”

How strong was that man then? Silence was her only answer to this, she wasn’t here to tell him how to use his life. But thinking about what he would leave after his death, could only hurt people around him. Even weakened a leader is someone who leads people to a possible future, if he falls only a select few could make it not fall. It was one of the many reasons the kingdom died overnight after the death of its leader. In a tribe, the strongest would rule, but when strength is not the only thing but an idea. This is why political people are born, they all have a desire to have something more, and with it, they would let their population get their part or would just exploit them for personal gain.

But it’s too soon to talk about politics, they need to work to get more copper and one day make bronze tools and weapons. Luna was curious about his plans.

“So… Now the mine is open and ready to be exploited. Would you let your people in if they are safe?

The old man was thinking about what to say, frowning about possibilities but only going with a simple answer.

“Only voluntary.”

So he made up his choice, now it was time to convince people to help.