Chapter 5 – 6

Chapter 5 – I Tried Using a New Stone!

After saving the goblins, I engrossed myself in digging deep underground.

"Phew… I can dig out a lot more at once compared to before."

I muttered while wiping the sweat from my forehead.

I just needed to swing the pickaxe once, and I could gouge out a space that was the size of a small bedroom.

As for resources, it was now normal for me to get Rock x 100 in one go.

"Did I get anything rare this time…?"

The only new rare material I had found recently was Marble.

I was starting to hope that something new would show up soon.

And so I asked the Advisor to show me the Inventory.

◇ Inventory

Rock x 5963

Iron Ore x 79

Copper Ore x 96

Gold Ore x 5.9

Silver Ore x 9.1

Coal x 124

Limestone x 131

Marble x 14

…

Ruby x 1.8

Saphire x 1.7

Crystal x 29

Turtle Stone x 89

Purification Stone x 1

Shining Stone 4.5

All of them were increasing…but there were two that were unfamiliar.

And so I had the Advisor activate Ore Encyclopedia, which was one of the features of Cave King.

<<Shining Stone…A stone that never loses its luster.>>

I see. So it's a stone that keeps on shining.

Maybe I could use it as a torch to light up the cave.

But as the Cave King, I had a mining support feature called Night Vision, so I didn't need it.

<<Purification Stone…Use it to purify all manner of curses.>>

Curses…

There were several spells that used the dark attribute that were categorized as curses.

One of the most famous ones was called 'Erosion,' and it slowly ate away at your body like a poison.

Normally, if you wanted to purify yourself of these curses, you would have to call a priest who was good with magic that used the holy attribute.

However, there were different methods depending on the type of curse and poison, which meant you not only had to have great magical ability but also advanced specialized knowledge.

…That being said, how useful would it be in an empty cave like this?

Still, I wasn't an expert in purifications, so maybe it would come in handy one day.

"…Oh, well. At least I got something new today."

Yes, whether I could use it or not wasn't that important.

It felt good finding new things that you'd never seen before.

"Yes, let's continue! …Huh?"

As I rolled my shoulders back excitedly, I suddenly heard the echo of dripping liquid.

This sound… It was the sound of a hopping slime.

And so when I turned around, I was not surprised to see a slime hopping energetically in my direction.

"Shiel? Did something happen to the goblins?"

Shiel didn't even nod. It just spread out its body as if to say, 'hurry up and get on!'

Well, I suppose I would have to stop for now and return.

I was getting hungry, anyway.

And so I got on top of Shiel and returned to the cave entrance.

Just as I could see the light pouring in from outside, I heard a deep voice echo through the cave.

"Please let go of me, Princess!!"

I heard a weak voice shouting back as if in reply.

"Stop that, General!! You cannot eat someone else's food without permission!"

"The Princess is right! We must negotiate first, General!"

A low voice joined in.

It seemed like they were fighting.

And it was over my food.

I got off of Shiel and appeared before them.

They were indeed the goblins that I had saved earlier.

The goblins all turned to look at me.

"Wh-who are you!?"

The goblin with the deep voice…the one that was tall as an orc, was now pointing a short sword at me. So, this must be the General.

But his expression seemed less hostile and more fearful as he looked at me.

The other small, rounded goblin and the wrinkly one also looked like they were afraid.

However, the rounder goblin quickly admonished the General in a weak voice.

"Ge-general! This must be the man who saved us! Put down your weapon!"

"Princess…I cannot do that. This man…he is dangerous."

In spite of this order by the goblin that they called 'Princess,' the General continued to point his short sword at me.

The reason that we could understand each other was likely due to the fact that these goblins were from the same Barleon Continent that the kingdom of Sanfaris was located in.

There were several human countries in Barleon.

However, there were places out of human reach, such as the mountains and deep forests, which the monsters made their home.

And the Barleon speech was used by both humans and monsters. It was the official language of Sanfaris.

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However, it was quite rude of him to call me dangerous…

In any case, I had to tell them that I meant no harm.

"Wait a second. I have no intention of doing anything to you."

"As if I can believe the words of a human!"

The General roared.

Humans were untrustworthy… I suppose these goblins were not on good terms with any humans.

Still, the Princess and the wrinkly goblin were desperately trying to stop the General.

It was quite possible that they at least wanted to avoid a fight.

"You must be plotting something… If not, why would you have been laughing at us!?"

I tilted my head to the side at this unexpected accusation.

"…What?"

I hadn't been laughing at all…

I picked up Shiel and stretched its body out.

And then, Shiel reflected my face like a mirror.

What I saw, was a man with wide eyes whose mouth was curled up at the corners…

My mouth was always opened and my back was hunched.

Oh, now that was the image of someone dangerous.

If I looked like this while telling them I had no ill-intentions, who would believe me?

While it had only been a few days, I was here all alone.

And I had done little but swing my pickaxe like I was possessed.

Perhaps I was losing my humanity and turning into someone who enjoyed nothing but mining.

I shook my head in dismay and fixed my posture and facial expression.

"…Sorry about that. But more importantly, aren't you hungry? If you want food, you can eat what I have here."

Even after I said this, the General's expression did not soften at all.

"…You poisoned it, didn't you?"

Ah, I suppose he would be suspicious…

A human had creeped out of the shadows with a pickaxe and that smile.

Getting him to trust me might not be easy.

"Hmm. Alright, how about this?"

I pulled out some bread from the barrel and ate it in front of them.

And with my other hand, I offered some to the General… But he wouldn't take it.

I had meant to prove that it wasn't poisoned, but it didn't work.

Alright then. I thought as I walked out of the cave and unleashed a mid-range lightning bolt into the sea.

Fish floated to the surface of the water, and I used Wind to blow them to the shore.

The five fish flapped around on the ground.

"What about this?"

I turned around and waved at the general with a fish in my hand. But he looked even more suspicious than before.

"If you can use magic with that much skill…why didn't you kill us immediately? If you have to kill us, do it quickly!!"

Damn it… It seems that my magic only strengthened his distrust.

…Was I that bad at persuading people?

As I tried to think of something to say, the goblin that they called Princess suddenly exploded with anger.

"General! You are always so quick to judge… Uhhh…"

"Princess!"

And then the Princess collapsed onto the floor.

The General quickly started to shake her.

"Princess! Princess! Please wake up, Princess!"

However, she did not open her eyes.

Next to them, the wrinkled goblin shook his head.

"…General. Unfortunately, the Princess has reached her limit. She's already lost consciousness many times on the way here. It is without a doubt, due to the life-shortening curse cast on her since birth… Yes, perhaps this will the final resting place for all of us."

"But… She is the last surviving member of our royal family…"

"That is true, but I cannot bear to see her suffer any longer… Don't you agree, General?"

Tears fell from the General's eyes, but still, he nodded.

"…Aye. A peaceful end is the only gift we can give her now. May her ancestors punish us in the afterlife…"

Ummm… Why were they suddenly plotting a mass suicide?

Uhh. And they seemed like they would be furious by an interruption.

Oh, right. There was something about a curse.

And so I quickly interrupted them.

"Hey, hold on! If it's a curse, I might be able to fix it."

"How dare you lie to us! We already tried everything! I have never begged humans before…and yet, it was still no use."

"Well, well, there's no harm in trying…"

And so I told the Advisor to use the Purification Stone I had recently acquired.

And then, the Princess's body was enveloped in light.

"…Wh-what is this light?"

The General asked. I told him what I had learned from the encyclopedia.

"It's called a Purification Stone and it's supposed to be able to break all kinds of curses. But I've never used it before."

"…A stone? Where did you get such a thing?"

"Oh, uh…"

That was going to be a long explanation.

Would they even believe me if I told them about the Inventory…?

"Ah, more importantly, you said her life-span was shortened, right? Wait a second…"

And so I decided to use the Turtle Stones as well.

I would keep 10 for an emergency and use the remaining 79.

Using the Turtle Stones didn't result in any reaction or glowing light.

Instead, the Princess opened her eyes with a 'Huh?'

"But…why? I thought that I had died… And also, my body doesn't hurt anymore…"

The Princess sat up and blinked.

Apparently, the Purification Stone and Turtle Stones had worked well.

"Princessss!! I'm so happy!!"

The General cried as he rejoiced over her recovery.

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Chapter 6 – The population increased!

"I'm so sorry!!"

The goblin that was called General slammed his head to the floor.

"Even after you had saved us, I pointed a weapon at you! Argh! Why am I always such a fool!"

He said as he repeatedly bashed his head against the floor.

"We-well, well. I'm also sorry for laughing…"

"Don't apologize! You broke the curse that was cast on the Princess!! While we must apologize and be grateful to you, you…"

As the General did not know my name, he paused.

"…I'm Heal. Hey, why don't we do the introductions while we eat? I'm pretty hungry myself."

"O-of course! I am General Ere of the Berdan Tribe!"

As if to follow him, the goblin they called Princess continued.

"And I am 'Ri,' daughter of King Rowdan of the Berdan Tribe…"

"I am the Shaman of the Berdan Tribe. I am called Bari."

I see. They all had very short names…

Perhaps in their tribe, their office was more important than their names.

The Princess was the child of their chief, the General led their warriors, and the Shaman oversaw their ceremonies.

It would be a good society if everyone had a role.

"As I said, I'm Heal. Prince of the Kingdom of Sanfaris…or at least, I used to be."

Even now, I was probably still a prince. But I wasn't really confident in that fact anymore.

Besides, I might be considered dead.

General Ere opened his mouth as if to answer me.

"Prince? I see. So that is why you could use so much magic."

"It's nothing impressive. Besides, it wasn't magic that broke the curse. I did that with a stone I got from the mines."

"A stone?"

"Well, I guess it would be hard to believe… If you want, I could show it to you later. But more importantly, what brings you all here to these rocks?"

Ere had a pained expression as he answered.

"That…it was because our tribe's homeland was burned away by orcs. With the exception of 'Ri' here, the king and his children were all killed. Since then, we have wandered around the Barleon Continent for a year in search of a home. However, no tribe would accept us, and humans would drive us away… And so with the 800 men we had left, we built a ship and decided to attempt to reach the new continent."

But, I suppose their ship was wrecked…

Bari, the goblin Shaman continued the story.

"Currently, we do not even know if the others are alive. Yes. I knew that miserable ship was fated to sink. I tried to stop…"

It had probably been General Ere who pushed ahead with the plan.

Because he stayed silent.

Then Princess 'Ri' opened her mouth.

"Bari, please don't blame Ere about it anymore… I believe our fate would have been the same had we stayed on land."

"Indeed…Princess. Forgive me."

And then Ri turned to me.

"Lord Heal. Thank you so much for saving us… I don't know what to say to express my gratitude."

"No, it's nothing. By the way, you…"

If Ri was supposed to die today, that meant the Turtle Stones had only given her an extra 79 days to live.

As the curse was gone, did that mean it wouldn't shrink…?

Ri nodded.

"I know. Regardless, I do not have very long to live… Still, I have never been so happy in my life. There has always been a pain in my chest ever since I was born. But now it doesn't hurt at all."

Ri put a hand to her chest as if she were feeling her heartbeat.

Her expression did look peaceful.

Ere and Bari must have been feeling conflicted because they just smiled faintly.

They were probably thinking about how she couldn't escape death.

"…Right. It's true that you don't have long to live. However, it's too early to give up."

"Huh?"

"These Turtle Stones that I used…there should be many more of them sleeping underground. With these, we should be able to extend your life much farther."

Upon hearing these words, Ere leaned forward.

"I-is that true, Lord Heal!? Such a thing exists in this world!?"

"Yeah. And I can dig a lot faster now. I got all this in just three days. If I keep digging for a week, I might be able to buy you another year?"

Ere and Bari looked at each other.

"L-lord Heal… It sounds too convenient. But would you allow us to help you mine these Turtle Stones?"

"Huh? Sure."

As I replied so quickly, Ere and Bari looked like they couldn't believe it.

However, they soon understood me, and they both bowed their heads.

"Thank you! Thank you!!"

And then Ri looked at me with wide eyes.

"W-why…would you share something so valuable with us?"

"Don't worry about it. I doubt I'll have many opportunities to use them anyway. And I care more about digging than what I get from doing it. Besides, I was getting very lonely. Ah…"

I realized that Ri was crying.

Well it was no wonder. No one wanted to die.

And so she must have been very happy now that she saw hope.

Ri bowed her head and said 'thank you.'

But I really hadn't done much.

Though, I suppose I was supposed to be the lord of this land.

"You're welcome… But, how should we do this?"

I was able to dig so smoothly because of the effects of Cave King.

I did have a few other pickaxes, but I doubted they would be able to do much with them.

Besides, what if they started digging in the wrong places and caused the cave to collapse?

Advisor…uh, do you have any good advice?

<<Currently, Cave King allows you to bestow some of its effects onto tamed monsters.>>

Specifically, mining skill boost, experience boost, and mining support through the mining optimization feature. However, the boosts were not nearly as high as the person who had Cave King.

Furthermore, you could not share the Inventory, auto-gathering, and Night Vision features.

Interesting… In any case, it showed how important taming was.

However, goblins and slimes were different.

Well, I suppose there was no harm in asking.

"But, there is a condition. You have to let me tame you."

"I-in other words, we will become your subordinates, Lord Heal?"

"I have no intention of giving you orders, and you can say no to any requests I might have… Actually, I really don't mind being the only one to mine the Turtle Stones, you know? You don't have to worry. I'll give them all to you."

"No-no! You've done so much for us already! I and Bari will gladly serve you! But the Princess…"

Ere said this much, when Ri also opened her mouth.

"Lord Heal! If it would not be a burden, allow me to serve you as well!"

Ere closed his mouth.

"P-princess! You are royalty…"

"Everyone is working on my behalf. I must do something as well. Besides, I have a debt to Lord Heal. I have to pay him back somehow. Though, I do not know if there is anything I can do…"

"Princess…"

"Lord Heal. Please allow us to serve you. And give us new names."

Ri was about as tall as a human child, but she looked at me seriously.

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Since she brought up the names, that meant they knew what taming entailed.

Damn it…I didn't like doing this sort of thing.

Well, I guess they could quit if they wanted to later.

"…Alright. I will tame you then."

<<There are tamable monsters. Will you tame them?>>

Well, I had their consent.

And so I named them one by one.

Ere became Erevan. And Bari became Baris.

They were just common names in the kingdom.

"From this day forth, I, Erevan, shall call you chief."

"Baris…I am honored to have this new name. While I am old, I will do my best to serve you."

"Aye, thanks."

And then Ri…

"What about Rienna?"

"Rienna…so that is my new name. I will do everything I can to serve you, Lord Heal."

And like that, I was able to tame all of them.

They all kneeled before me again.

"…Well, let's not give it too much thought. We should eat and then start digging."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

In truth, I just wanted to return to my mining as soon as possible.

My heart started to pound…when I wasn't swinging a pickaxe.

And so we had a simple meal.

But as all three of them were quite hungry, they ate a lot.

After that, I handed them the pickaxes and we went down to the undergrounds.

However, Baris said,

"L-lord Heal. Isn't it dangerous without any light?"

"Huh? Oh, that's right. I'm the only person with Night Vision…"

It would be difficult to dig without any light.

Maybe I should make a torch…ah, now that I think about it…

"Wait a minute."

I returned to the entrance and took out three wooden torch sticks from my supplies.

And then I took out three Shining Stones from my Inventory.

A stone that doesn't lose its shine…

With these, we wouldn't need to use fire or change them after they burned out.

And so I tied the stones to the ends of the sticks with string…and the eternal torch was complete.

They were brighter than normal torches.

That made me want to gather more of the stones.

"Wh-where did those stones come from?"

Baris asked me hesitantly.

"Uhh…it's a long story. I'll tell you as we dig. Here. Now it should be easier to see."

I passed them the torches and we started to descend.

On the way, I explained to them about the Inventory and about auto-gathering.

However, it was clear that they didn't quite understand what I was saying.

They all tilted their heads to the side.

It was no wonder.

No one would believe that the items were automatically stored in someplace that was invisible to the eye.

"Well, it'll be faster to just show you… I think this is a good spot. Now, watch this."

I stood in front of a rock wall and raised my pickaxe.

"Can you see the white light? It's safe if you strike there. So that's where I'll swing…oomph."

And so I started digging.

All at once, enough rocks fell away that there was suddenly enough space for a small room.

Furthermore, the rocks were immediately enveloped in light and disappeared somewhere.

The others watched in surprise.

It was still hard to believe…

Then Rienna asked.

"Wh-what just happened!?"

"Well, it won't be like this for you guys at first… But I think you'll get there once you get used to it."

However, they just looked at me with their jaws wide open.

"Oh, but you won't be able to use the auto-gathering feature…but it should be fine as long as I'm close by."

Besides, there wasn't a need to gather it all right away.

But then again, maybe it was dangerous to walk over…hmm.

And then I noticed that there were some slimes in the area.

Shiel was also among them.

"…Shiel. Do you have a minute?"

Upon hearing this, Shiel moved forward.

And so I used body language to make a request.

Without saying anything, Shiel returned to the other slimes.

I would have to see what they would do now in order to confirm that Shiel had actually understood me.

"Alright. Let's start then. Getting familiar is how you learn."

"Yes!"

And then the goblins started to swing their pickaxes.

As for me, I watched them from a short distance away.

And then, the slimes started to carry the rocks that fell at the feet of the goblins.

The slimes brought the rocks to where I was standing, where they were immediately stored through the auto-gathering feature.

Yes, Shiel had understood me well.

I had asked it to bring all the materials the goblins mined to where I was.

As the goblins swung their pickaxes, they looked impressed by the work of the slimes.

Now, they wouldn't have to worry about where they stepped…

"Alright! Let's keep digging! If you get tired, don't hesitate to rest or go to sleep!"

The goblins all said 'Aye!' in reply.

After that, we spent a lot of time digging.

It was from this day on, that the cave suddenly became a very lively place.