“How do you do that?”
“It’s a skill.”
“I see. That’s nice.”
A few people pass below me as I mine ether crystals, and some even talk to me.
I’m currently sitting on a board that’s on a gate fixed in the air, with another board next to it, and I slowly move while carefully harvesting an ether crystal at a time.
I mostly keep the crystals in place with tongs while cutting them at the base with a nata knife. I destroyed a lot of ether crystals when I used the rock shotgun, but I can collect them cleanly like this.
After an hour and a half, I have forty in my backpack already. I have also been selective, picking ones that look like they house a lot of magic energy. This means I will not only bring back more than last time, but higher quality too.
That said, my backpack is feeling heavy, so it’s time to go back…
“U-uwaaaah.”
Oh? I just heard a scream from deep inside the cave.
Those are the seekers that just talked to me. They all seem fine, but they’re running from something.
They don’t know I’m here, because I just moved from where I was. They look desperate as they run to the exit.
Then a pack of four kobolds comes running, and they don’t notice me either. They pass right by, chasing the other seekers, and this is my chance.
I would feel bad if those seekers were killed, so I’ll take care of it.
“Guh, uon!?”
It’s hard to aim at the running kobolds with rocks, so I’ll shower them with the rock shotgun. I feel like I decided not to use it on other organisms a long time ago, but it’s been forgotten. I think it’s fine if I don’t hit them from up close.
Two have their heads blown off. Another loses its right shoulder, but stays alive, just barely.
I attack the last one with a water bullet, but it doesn’t finish it, it just sends the kobold crashing against a wall.
Well, I am twenty meters above them. It’s hard to take something down with water bullets from such a distance. I should focus on rocks.
And that is exactly how I take down the final one.
I’m also done mining, so I take my forty ether crystals and three kobold magic stones (one shattered), and finish my work for the day.
I get five thousand yen for my two hours of work, which could be said to be pretty great for a beginner, right?
I’m already making more than I did in my old job.
By the way, when I leave, I see the seeker party that was running away, and they look exhausted, but they are all right. Thank goodness.
———————————
When he became aware of his fall, Zenjurou’s instincts rejected it.
He attained power. He attained money. What he yearned for next was a life bordering death. Zenjurou will head to a wise person to satisfy his hunger, and there he will find the answer.
Thanks.