Mining Ores

"Mythril, Adamantite, and Orichalcum are the three most powerful metals known in T'reah."

As Eve began, her tone was authoritative yet patient. 

"As you already know, Mythril is a pretty lightweight metal with a glass-like glowing sheen, highly prized for its Magia conduction and storage. Its durability is very low, and it gets heavier the more it is filled with Magia. It's often found in places with high concentrations of Magia—which is typically where a lot of Horrors are gathered."

Mythril shimmered in the dark too, so it was pretty hard to miss.

"The interwoven caves of those Bat Horrors are chock-full of Mythril. I got my first batch from them, so… I suppose that will be where you'll be getting your daily quota of Mythril. Probably after or before your daily training procedure there."

"Understood!" Des responded, remaining silent once again so he could fully internalize everything she was teaching him.

"Orichalcum, on the other hand, is dark and dense, almost black. It's known as one of the toughest metals, incredibly difficult to mine, but unmatched in durability—well, except when compared to Adamantite. It's very light too, especially when considering its durability… ah, look at me rambling on. You already know most of this stuff."

Eve focused on how to identify it and Mythril. This included their texture, smell, and even taste. 

Everything was properly covered by her.

She stopped for a moment, her fingers brushing against the rough stone walls of the cave, and she smiled before talking about the last on the list.

"Adamantite is the rarest of them all, a brilliant black with a faint purple hue. It's a metal of legends, versatile, and absurdly useful in many ways. Unlike the other two, this one requires a longer period to form—especially a high-quality one."

How to know the quality of Adamantite was by noticing how the metal warbled, and the quality of the purple light that emanated from it.

Based on her description, the one Des was looking at beneath him was of the best quality.

What else would he expect from the bottom floor of the world's deadliest Dungeon?

"A man could make a fortune if he could provide a pound or two of Adamantite. Imagine being surrounded by so many treasures, yet being stuck here…"

Based on the resources at their disposal, Des calculated that he and Eve were probably the richest on the Mainland.

It was rather unfortunate that they couldn't leave their prison.

"So how do we mine them?" He asked, after listening to Eve's basic explanation.

She smiled upon hearing this.

"Each metal requires a different approach," she explained. "For Mythril, you need a delicate touch. Use a pickaxe with a mythril tip, striking gently to avoid damaging the veins. Adamantite demands brute strength and a pickaxe reinforced with enchanted steel. It's a slow and arduous process, but patience will be rewarded. As for Orichalcum, it requires precision and a bit of magic. A pickaxe made of mythril and imbued with elemental energy will do the trick. Channel the energy through the pickaxe to resonate with the metal's natural frequency, making it easier to extract."

"E-eh…?"

"Basically, each of those requires unique degrees of care and varying equipment. I'll teach you about making those equipment later, but for now, you can use the ones I have already made."

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"Why does it sound like Orichalcum is the hardest to mine?"

"You think so? No… it's definitely Adamantite. Since Adamantite absorbs any energy used to mine it, the use of energy will only make it more difficult. It's why the Enchantment on the steel has to be used primarily for reinforcing it, and not to strike. That's why the Mythril tip is necessary, since that properly conducts the energy and makes sure none is lost to the Adamantite. For Mythril in particular, you have to be careful when mining it, so the quality isn't lost. If you strike a vein before purification, it'll lose its natural luster. In my opinion, Orichalcum is the easiest."

"With the right equipment… it's the most straightforward."

"Exactly!"

Des smiled, feeling a strange sense of pride for being able to understand what Eve was saying.

"Well, since you pretty much understand it, why don't we begin? Where's the bag I told you to carry?"

"Now? Already? I still have more questions!"

"You'll understand a lot more once you begin the actual process." Eve beamed in response, smiling crazily as she burst with excitement.

"There's no better way to learn!"

"O-okay…" He had to give in. "I'll go get the bag where I kept it."

And that was how Des began.

With Eve's guidance, they carefully mined the metals, each strike of their pickaxes echoing through the cavern.

As one would expect, the difference in their level of skill was like day and night. The sheer speed, accuracy, strength, and overall dexterity that they displayed was utterly disproportionate.

To compare the two of them would be an unfairness of the highest order.

Des made a lot of mistakes at the start—especially when it came to mining Mythril.

He kept trying to adjust his strength, and Eve would never let him advance to the next point until he fully understood the right angle and frequency to hit the material. 

Just as Eve said… Orichalcum was the easiest.

Then, there was Adamantite.

~CLANG!~

~CLANG!~

~CLANG!~

Several of those echoed before Des could obtain even the smallest fraction of Adamantite from the ground. Despite utilizing his Horror Aspect, and already getting the hang of mining from his prior experiences, he still took absurdly long in the mining process.

It was too unreal how difficult it was.

"Of course, I haven't forgotten about the Red and Blue Crystals, and then the Luminous Crystals. Those ones are… well, they are not metals, so they require a different explanation. Once you're done with this one, we'll switch things up a bit."

Eve's voice kept echoing in Des' head as he drooled and gushed out sweat—all so he could mine the barest minimum of each item on his list.

As expected, Adamantite was the lowest in quantity.

"You should be proud of yourself. You did great on your first day." Eve congratulated him, perhaps noticing how disappointed he was at his limited ability.

"It takes dozens of experts to mine what you have, and they do it for the whole day. It's also more difficult to mine minerals of this level of quality, so you really did well."

Looking at things from that angle, Des could take more pride in himself.

But… that was rather difficult to do, considering the huge pile of minerals that stood behind Eve as she said those words to him.

It was like comparing a skyscraper to a bungalow.

"Haaaaaaa!!!"

**************

[Moments Later]

"Let's go!"

Once their sacks were filled with the precious ores, Eve led Des to a hidden passage that wound further into the depths of the Dungeon Cave. 

After a short trek, they arrived at a large, well-lit chamber that housed a state-of-the-art refinery. The walls were lined with intricate machinery and alchemical apparatuses, all meticulously arranged and maintained by Eve herself.

"W-what the hell?" Des was beyond flabbergasted by what he was looking at.

How could such things exist in the depths of a Dungeon?!

"This is my refinery!" Eve declared loudly, her eyes sparkling with a mix of pride and anticipation. 

"Here, I'll teach you how to process and purify the ores into proper ingots."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

This chapter could be boring for a lot of you, but I just felt it would be important to explore all these important bits too. 

Hope you enjoyed some aspects of it, though…