Chapter 132

There are three tunnels in the mine. In the style of the dungeons in the Labyrinth of Ulysses, there are three tunnels: one for “Beginner”, one for “Intermediate”, and one for “Advanced”.

Each of these three tunnels has a different depth. This is because the “Intermediate” and “Advanced” tunnels have a magical elevator right after you enter, and the former can go down to 1100 meters underground at once, while the latter can go down to 2100 meters underground.

Furthermore, each time you descend one floor using the stairs installed inside, you can go down an additional 100 meters underground.

The three labyrinths all have eight floors, so if you descend to the deepest level, the “Advanced” level, you can go as deep as 2,800 meters underground.

I’ve asked Kanayama-Hiko and Kanayama-Hime to adjust the ore reserves so that the deeper you go, the more rare the ore is likely to be mined.

So, the scarlet gold that surprised Yuri so much the other day will probably be found mainly in the depths of the “Advanced” level.

“Of course, you can collect copper and silver even in this beginner’s course.”

After explaining this, I looked at Kanayama-Hiko and he nodded in response.

“If the alteration occurs as Yuri-dono taught us, the silver ore produced in this labyrinth will probably turn into ‘magic silver’ ore.”

“Ah, that’s right―――”

“The idea of immersing silver in dense magical power and causing a transformation in the form of ‘Adapting to Magical Power’ in advance to prevent other transformations such as blackening, etc., seems to be quite a novel idea. I think I can see the intelligence of whoever invented it.”

“Fufufu. The girl in front of you, Kanayama-Hiko, is the inventor of that ‘magic silver’.”

When Yuri told this with a smile on her face, Sofia also smiled somewhat amusingly and made another curtesy towards Kanayama-Hiko.

Seeing how the two of them responded, Kanayama-Hiko seemed to be quite surprised.

“Dear Lord…! Like Yuri-dono and the craftsmen of Kikyou-dono, The women in this world may look like young children, but they are unfathomable… That’s quite a feat.”

“Well, I’m glad you said that.”

Yuri also responded to Kanayama-Hiko’s praise with a smile.

To put a finer point on it, I think it’s a bit odd to include Yuri and the rest of <Kikyou> in this world’s women・・・・・・・. It would be foolish to interfere with the words of praise from a person with good intentions.

“I’ve heard that magic silver is a material with the same properties as regular silver, except that it does not tarnish or darken.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“If the weapon is plated with silver, it will have excellent performance as a weapon against the undead, but what will happen if it is plated with magical silver? In addition, the fact that it contains magic power means that it could be a useful weapon against demons that can only be effectively hit with magic weapons, don’t you think?”

“Huh? Umm… sorry, I haven’t looked into it that far…”

When Kanayama-Hiko asked her a series of questions, Sofia, the developer of the magic silver, was flustered.

This is because Sofia only uses magic silver as a material for ornaments. I guess they haven’t tested the practical use of ‘magic silver’ in such armor.

In『Atros Online』, silver-plated weapons increased the damage done to undead demons by 10%.

I don’t know if the same principle can be applied to this world. At the very least, Yuri’s silver-plated weapons will be effective against beasts from『Atros Online』used in this labyrinth.

Kanayama-Hiko is indeed right about how the amount of damage dealt to undead would change if it were plated with ‘magic silver’ instead of silver. Yuri is also a bit curious about this.

It’s also important to note that non-undead enemies, such as ghosts and wraiths, can only be effectively damaged by weapons that have been given magical effects.

In a sense, you could say that a weapon gilded with magical silver is a [Magical Weapon] because magical silver is a material that combines magical power with silver.

As Kanayama-Hiko said, this is definitely something worth considering. 

It would be quicker to ask the <Rindou> to make one of the magic silver-plated weapons later and actually test it.

“It’s all very interesting, but we’ve arrived in front of the deposit.”

Since the demons had not yet been deployed, travel through the mine went smoothly.

Yuri arrived at the nearest deposit from the entrance, as she had confirmed on the map she had received from <Kikyou> beforehand. I interrupted the conversation between Sofia and Kanayama-Hiko, who were still exchanging opinions about the ‘Magic Silver’.

“Ah―――I’m sorry, Master.”

“I’m glad to hear that you two have gotten to know each other. In the meantime, I hope you don’t mind if I ask Sofia to dig into this deposit.”

The tunnels are basically caves with exposed soil. The only part of the tunnel where ore can be mined is the ‘ore deposit,’ which is easily identified by its rocky walls.

Of course, the original ‘ore deposit’ is not something that is so blatantly obvious. The mineral resources were collected by the grace of the two Gods of Mine, Kanayama-Hiko, and Kanayama-Hime formed the ore deposits so clearly and densely along the walls of the tunnel.

However, most of the people who will be using these tunnels in the future, aside from the former citizens of Dakart, will have no experience in mining.

The deposit itself should be so obvious as to say, “Dig here and you’ll find mineral resources!” It’s not going to work unless the deposit itself says, “Dig here and you’ll find mineral resources!”

“Let’s see… I can use the monocle first, right?”

“Yes. Try fitting them into your eyes.”

This is a magical tool called the [Miner’s Monocle] that is to be loaned to explorers. When worn, it will highlight any mineral resources in your field of vision.

When you wear it, it will glow and highlight mineral resources in your field of vision. Copper will glow brown, silver will glow silver, and so on.

If you narrow your eyes and try to look deeper, you can see through the mineral resources up to 50 cm deeper than the surface of the deposit.

“Ah, I see some silvery lights in the lower-left corner of the deposit. Does that mean we can get the magic silver by digging in that area?”

“You’ll have to dig to find out.”

Another item that will be loaned to the explorers is a magic tool called the [Magic Pickaxe]. When you hit the bedrock with this item, it will consume all of the magic power stored inside and crush all of the bedrock within a 50 cm radius of the point where you hit it with one shot.

Since it can crush rock no matter how hard it is, even amateurs with no mining experience should have no problem digging with this magic tool.

“Wow, this is so easy…!”

When Sofia struck the rock with her ax, the rock immediately crushed into a beautiful hemispherical shape, and the mineral resources that were inside fell.

The mined mineral resources will slowly disappear on the spot. This is because, by slightly changing the settings of the【Recovery Ward】, which automatically dismantles and recovers the materials of demons defeated in the “Labyrinth”, the minerals mined here are also automatically recovered.

“The mined ore is sent to the counter as a whole, so you’ll be able to see what minerals and how much of them you’ve actually extracted when you go to the counter after you’ve finished exploring.”

“I see. It’s great to not have to carry heavy ore around…”

Without the automatic retrieval by the warding system, she would have to carry the hemispherical rock with a radius of 50 centimeters, or a diameter of one meter, all the way back to the ground.

This is a very difficult task for the weak Sofia.

“…… Really, once you use it, the stored magic power goes to zero, doesn’t it?”

Sofia tried a few more times, hitting the bedrock with the protruding part of the ax, but there was no crushing like before.

This is because the magic power stored in the pickaxe has already been reduced to zero, making it unable to function as a magic tool.

“This labyrinth is surrounded by a【Demon Ward】and the magic concentration is high, so if you explore for half an hour or so, you can use the pickaxe again.”

The magic pickaxe can absorb the magic power of its surroundings and store it inside.

So after 30 minutes, it can be refilled and reloaded to be used again.

“Thirty minutes… That’s quite a bit of time.”

“If you kill fairies, spirits, magical creatures, or undead demons, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to refill and reload. If you can afford it, you might as well go for it.”

Fairy and spirit release a large amount of ‘Yang Magic Power’ into their surroundings when they are defeated, while magical creatures and undead demons release a large amount of ‘Yin Magic Power’ into their surroundings when they are defeated.

Either type of magic power will help the [Magic Pickaxe] stores magic power, so the more you hunt these demons, the less time it will take to refill.

So in this labyrinth of tunnels, the more efficient you are at killing demons, the more efficient your mining will be.

“Is it possible to bring normal mining equipment into this labyrinth to dig?”

“I don’t mind, but I wouldn’t recommend it for amateurs. It’s too hard for anyone but miners to dig.”

The bedrock of the deposit, which is formed by having Kanayama-Hiko and Kanayama-Hime collect the ore resources, is much harder than that of ordinary bedrock.

If you are a miner, you can probably dig it. An amateur would probably end up with bloodstains on their hands if they tried.

“Hmmm… By the way, are copper and magic silver still the only things that can be mined in this mine?”

When this mine was controlled by the duchy, it only produced copper and silver.

I think that’s what Sofia would have thought if she had known that fact.

“No, you can dig anything here.”

“Anything…?”

Sofia tilted her head at Kanayama-Hiko’s immediate response.

Well, it would be hard to tell from just that one word.

“I’m a God of Mines, you know. I can add any mineral resources to this mine if I want to. At any rate, we are currently increasing our reserves of gold and platinum to a certain extent.”

“Even if we were able to dig up platinum, we probably wouldn’t have the furnaces to process it, though…”

“It’s not up to a certain person to know that much.”

Kanayama-Hiko was laughing hilariously as he said this.

Sofia, on the other hand, revealed her astonishment with her mouth wide open.