The rescue of the buried

It was a heated battle on the third floor and Mortis' assault squad gave it their all. But what Mortis saw would have made him cry more. Instead of them sticking together and taking organized action against the enemies, it seemed that everyone would rather brag about how well they were doing and how many enemies they could defeat on their own. But as more and more enemies came with no end in sight, Mortis let them have at it before preaching to them. But even though it was not easy for his spirits, they managed to finish off their enemies. As it seemed, Sarah and Marshal benefited the most from the fights, as Mortis constantly received messages that their level was increasing or that they had learned new skills. This pleased him as he looted the corpses and removed important mana crystals from the fallen demons.

In his sea of souls, Mortis searched for one of the miners who were here to help mine so he could summon him, or even several later, to get started when Hell was cleared. Suddenly Mortis heard pounding and cries for help in a corner, which surprised him because he thought these creatures would devour everything without even taking prisoners. But eagerly he followed the cries for help and saw three people huddled in a small hole to hide and protect themselves. One of the three in the hole asked, "Is the coast clear? Are those monsters gone?" Mortis replied, "No, not yet, but my squad is clearing them out right now. Are you one of the people who set up the tents outside the cave?" A female voice said, "Yes, we are part of the clearing squad, but when we were ambushed, three of us still managed to jump in here to protect ourselves. But because those monsters kept hitting the wall with their horns, the entrance collapsed and now we're here. Could you please get us out?" Mortis replied, "I can and I will, but be prepared to toil for it. Nothing is free, even death is paid with life. We will work if you promise us safety. So please, help us."

Mortis cleared away the stones, which took some time, as he was careful not to make things worse. When he was almost done clearing a large chunk, two large orange eyes looked at him, shining brightly like a cat's at night. This fascinated Mortis and these eyes also looked at him in wonder. When Mortis regained his composure, he cleared away the other lumps as well, clearing the way. The first to crawl out of the hole was a dwarf with silver long hair and her orange eyes. Mortis was completely thrilled. She was the first dwarf he had met in this world and since Mortis was so tall, she really only reached to his waist. The other two were a hunter and a rogue, but Mortis paid no attention to them, for he was captivated by the dwarfess and her eyes, which looked as if they could see into his soul. The dwarfess was already getting uncomfortable, even if she was staring herself, so she said, "Have you seen enough, or do you want me to do another dance?". Wait, turn yet, I haven't seen everything yet," Mortis said with a mischievous smile.

The rogue wanted to take advantage of the conversation and Mortis' inattention to sneak away. So he tried to disappear from everyone's sight with shadowwalking. But when he took just a few steps, Mortis grabbed him by the collar and asked what was the point. After all, he could put him back in the hole, too. The rogue smiled sheepishly and asked what they had to do. So Mortis first went upstairs with them, gave them food and put pickaxes in their hands. Then he pointed to the veins and said, "These things aren't going to break down on their own. So let's go, people!" The dwarf felt screwed and thought that this human believed that every dwarf was only fit for drudgery in mining. But when Mortis just glared at her a bit for not getting started yet, she pounded on the ore like there was no tomorrow. But Mortis not only put her to work, he also tried to cut off as much as he could.

After about half an hour, the hunter and the rogue were already finished, only the dwarf continued to work tirelessly, as if such work were the same as breathing. Just then Mortis' ghosts came back, scaring the others almost to death. Mortis simply asked if they were completely finished yet, but they shook their heads. Sarah waved at Mortis to follow her. Mortis had the other two ghosts watch and put pickaxes in their hands as well. He followed Sarah to see why they did not continue.

Near the end, Sarah indicated for Mortis to be quiet, which he did. Then they crept down another flight of stairs, where they saw creatures that looked even bigger and even more dangerous. However, it appeared that they were asleep. Mortis was puzzled, but he understood that these beings, covered with scales, were perhaps too much for them. They looked like black dragons on two legs.

"What kind of cave is this?" wondered Mortis inwardly. But no matter what kind of cave it was, he would clear it out and find out what else was down there.

The system told him that the creatures were doable for them, since they only had a high defense. But Mortis also wanted to train his spirits, so they should do it together, where he can also explain to them how to work together at the same time. So Mortis went back upstairs, collected all the ores and said that the three of them are free to go home. But they should not dare to show up here with others. The cave is now owned by Count Mortis of Bamberg, and if they see others, they can go ahead and spread the word. Not that anyone even gets the idea of touching my valuables. I hope I have made myself clear? The three adventurers shook their heads and made their way outside, where it was already starting to get light.

As Mortis watched them slowly disappear, he went downstairs with his spirits, where he explained that Marshal had his role as tank and the other two were the DDS. He warned the others that he didn't want to see anyone acting alone or doing anything stupid.

Marshal boldly charged forward and attacked the scaled devils, who tried to hurt or bite their opponents in the neck, especially with their sharp claws. But Marshal held his ground and slowly got used to using his defensive abilities, as well as his shield to protect himself and his comrades. Mortis, on the other hand, acted more as a ranged damage and hurled his spirit weapons that created vortexes, allowing Mino and Sarah to use just about anything to defeat the gathered enemies. Even though the fights took longer, it was good training for the other three, who slowly grew into their roles and understood that it was more effective that way, even against strong opponents.

Mortis interfered less and less and preferred to collect mana cores from the devils again. However, he realized that he had almost reached his limit of what he could take. However, since the cave was still rich in treasure, he wondered what he should do. If he tried to sell the stuff in the nearest town on his own, someone else might already be setting up shop here. Not only that, but Mortis sensed the presence of someone at the entrance and wondered if it was already a scout gathering information. So Mortis ran back to find that it was the dwarf watching him.

"What are you doing here? Was it not dangerous enough for you, or are you seeking death?" Mortis asked her as he stepped closer to her.

"I... I wanted to see for myself how you and your companions defeated those monsters and see if you were all right," she said nervously, stuttering.

"We are doing excellent. These little fish, even when they're a big school, are just fish. But it's good you're here. Do you have a storage ring? And if so, how much room does it have?"

"Yes, I have one, and it even has a cubic meter of space," said the dwarf proudly.

But Mortis didn't know why she was so proud of it. It was almost nothing. His ring alone was a huge disappointment at that moment.

The system said, "Why don't you pray to Lumina? After all, she is your wife and a goddess. Unlike you, she can handle her divinity."

"Thank you, still rub salt in the wound, but you're right. With her help, it should be possible to get everything here. I might even be able to get the whole cave near Bamberg teleported so our miners can have a go at it," Mortis said, thinking about the system.

"I don't think that's going to work. For that you would have to seduce the God of Earth, and I don't think that's in your interest," the system replied.