“So, what do we do now?” Kyle asked. “Should I dig around it?”
“Do you know where it is?” Theodor asked.
“No.”
“Then, you can’t dig around it. For all you know, it might be at a height of 50 meters or at a depth of 50 meters. The density of the Ether Pebbles is somewhat of an indication of its location, but it’s not very accurate,” Theodor explained.
Kyle groaned.
Why couldn’t stuff just be simple?
He just wanted to go south!
Was that too much to ask?
“Fine,” Kyle said before he continued digging.
After a couple of hours, he found another Ether Pebble.
Then, it became too late, and Kyle went to sleep in his rebuilt hut.
The night was quite scary, but luckily, nothing happened this time.
“Alright, back to work, boys!” Kyle shouted after waking up.
Kyle was completely covered in grime and dust by now, but he had long since stopped caring about his cleanliness.
For the entire day, he kept digging.
During this day, he unearthed six Ether Pebbles.
It was a nice bit of wealth, but it was also worrisome.
Another day passed, and Kyle started his next day of blue-collar work.
By now, he had gotten into a comfortable rhythm of mining.
In a way, it was relaxing.
The feeling of constant progress being made, achieved by nothing but sweat and hard work, was nice.
“I can feel something up ahead,” Kyle said as he stopped digging. “There are a bunch of Ether Pebbles.”
“How many?” Theodor asked.
“Like five to seven. Do you think we’re close to the source?”
“Possible,” Theodor said. “We are near the middle of the mountain. It’s possible that this is simply the upper edge of the Ether source or the center. It all depends on how strong the Ether source is.”
“Do I continue?” Kyle asked.
“It might be dangerous,” Theodor answered, “but if this is truly the source of the Ether, it isn’t as strong as I assumed.”
Kyle took a deep breath. “Welp, guess it’s time to jump right into danger.”
“Hello?”
Kyle stopped his swing and turned around as he heard someone shouting from outside.
’What the fuck? There’s a guy?’ Kyle thought.
“Don’t answer!” Theodor said.
“Why not?” Kyle asked.
“This is lawless land, and people that traverse the wilderness are more powerful than you! They can kill you and steal all your wealth without being found out!” Theodor explained.
Kyle furrowed his brows.
His instincts weren’t warning him of the owner of the voice.
Additionally, if they wanted to kill Kyle, why would they announce their presence?
“Yes, hello!” Kyle shouted back as he walked to his hut.
“Where are you?” the man asked.
“In my mine,” Kyle said as he arrived in his hut.
The next moment, he saw a gigantic man with a two-handed sword coming down from the stairs.
The man wore thin metallic armor and looked at Kyle with narrowed eyes.
“He’s here,” the man said in his low voice, which was much lower than the voice Kyle had heard earlier.
“I’ll be right there,” the first voice said.
Kyle looked at the man, who looked at Kyle.
“Good job,” Theodor said sarcastically. “Your life is no longer in your hands.”
Kyle couldn’t answer with the man glaring at him.
Talking to himself would make him seem insane, and that would probably not help his chances.
“That is an Early Knight,” Theodor said. “Your life is in his hands now. You should have followed my advice.”
’Dude, they would’ve found me anyway!’ Kyle thought, unable to answer. ’It’s not like the entrance to my mine is hidden.’
Some seconds later, a middle-aged man wearing luxurious robes walked down the same set of stairs.
When he saw Kyle, he smiled brightly.
“Ah, based on your getup, you’re a miner, right?” the man asked.
The gruff man kept glaring at Kyle while the middle-aged man talked.
It was obvious that the gruff man was some kind of bodyguard.
“Kind of,” Kyle said. “I actually am an Adept, and I want to go to the Big Bazaar.”
The gruff man raised a brow, while the middle-aged man looked confused and surprised.
“Then, why are you in here?” he asked.
“Don’t travel in shady areas,” Kyle said. “Don’t travel through the open. I’m kinda forced to dig through the mountain. Also, I need some starting capital since I want to join a Fighter Guild. Mining is a nice side hustle.”
The middle-aged man rubbed his chin as he evaluated Kyle.
“Spencer, how strong is he?” the man asked the gruff man.
“Late Adept,” Spencer answered.
“Oh, that’s not strong enough to travel through the wilderness,” the middle-aged man said.
Kyle became nervous.
“I told you!” Theodor shouted. “But you wouldn’t listen!”
The middle-aged man smiled at Kyle, and Kyle felt like a beast was looking at him.
And yet, his instincts didn’t alert him of danger.
“Want an escort to Fire Coast?” the man asked.
“Fire Coast?” Kyle asked.
“Oh, you don’t even know about Fire Coast?” the man asked.
“Nope,” Kyle answered.
“It’s a Cradle to the southwest of here. It’s about 150 kilometers from here,” the man said.
Kyle was pleasantly surprised.
He had barely moved one or two kilometers away from the cradle within the last several days.
This would save him days or even weeks of travel.
However, Kyle’s honed business skills from Earth kicked in.
“What would that cost me?” Kyle asked.
“Do you have ten Ether Pebbles?” the man asked.
“I’m not sure,” Kyle said. “I have three Ether Pebbles with me, but I also found a lot of Earth Stone in here. I don’t know how much it’s worth.”
“Earth Stone?” the man asked, scratching his chin as he fell into thought.
After some seconds, he turned to the top of the stairs.
“James, is Storm Sky one of our destinations this time?” the man shouted up the stairs.
“Yes, sir,” a distant person shouted back.
The man smiled and looked back at Kyle.
“You’re in luck. I’m interested in your Earth Stone.”
“Show me what you have unearthed so far.”