episode_0035

“Wow… … . It’s not in good condition.”

The entrance the prospectors created was quite a mess. This was because it was made sloppily due to a lack of materials and tools from the time it was made, and because it was not easy for people to access, it was not managed.

The only structure near the entrance that was holding up rocks and soil to prevent it from collapsing was intact. The inner tunnel was half collapsed.

“I guess I’ll have to dig a new one starting from the entrance.”

Because the entrance was so narrow that a person could not crawl through it, skeletons were immediately deployed. To be exact, skeletons for transporting minerals.

Several transport skeletons entered the mine entrance, moving their spider-like legs steadily. And, the skeleton that approached the collapsed wreckage immediately moved its hands at the end of its legs.

Using his hand like a shovel, he began putting rocks and dirt into the basket on his back. Although the hand itself was small, the amount actually scooped up was quite large. This is because, like a skeletal horse, in addition to the bones, there was transparent material surrounding the hands. It was about the size of an ordinary shovel, so it was scooping out quite a lot.

The skeletons, who had scooped up dirt and stones while making noises, came straight out of the mine and poured them out at the place I had designated.

Although they were very small in size, they were fast and efficient at work, so the transport skeletons quickly dug through the tunnel. It was nothing more than a tunnel dug without any structure to prevent it from collapsing, but it didn’t look like it would collapse right away thanks to the dirt floor being compacted by hand.

“Well, even if it collapses, just dig a new one.”

Even if the tunnel that was built collapsed and became sealed, the skeleton had no problems. Since it was made using a monster that had already died, it was possible to move even without air.

“… … Now that I think about it, if it doesn’t require air, wouldn’t it be possible to develop something like an underwater mine?”

I thought it might be possible to develop an enormous ocean by using skeletons. There was no need to breathe, and the resistance of the water was enough to make it move with stronger force.

Anyway, I am thinking of developing a mine on the sea floor someday, so the transport skeletons have finished restoring the entrance. The tunnel had been solidified, and the remaining parts that had not collapsed were connected.

“Then, let’s check inside.”

To check what the inside of the mine was like, I decided to use the transport skeleton that had returned to my side. No matter how well it was built to prevent it from collapsing, it would be difficult if it collapsed when you entered it.

They shared the view by connecting dark magic to one of the transport skeletons. Since the dark magic power is stretched out and connected like a thread, there is a limit to the distance, but since the mine, which is rarely developed, is not that long, it was not a problem.

I looked at the world that the transport skeleton was seeing in my head, and immediately moved the skeleton. The skeleton moved forward, busily moving its eight legs, and fell into the black tunnel.

It was in the darkness where nothing would have been visible through human vision, but through the skeleton’s vision, it was clearly visible. This was possible because it was not something you could see with your eyes in the first place.

It wasn’t as clear as daylight, but I could still see the dimness of dawn. There were traces of temporary digging by prospectors to check whether there was a mine or traces of where they rested for a while.

As I passed those things and went deeper into the last part of the prospector’s dig, I saw something shining slightly on the wall. The light emitted from the natural flower in the skeleton’s eye socket was reflected.

There was also something like that in the rocks that fell on the floor, so I moved the skeleton to get them out.

After disconnecting from the skeleton and waiting for a while, I saw a transport skeleton sticking out of the mine entrance. In the basket on the skeleton’s back was a rock half the size of my fist.

“Oh… … . The iron ore quality is pretty good?”

It was iron ore that looked to be of good quality at first glance. It must have contained a considerable amount of iron, so much so that what appeared to be iron had crystallized and had grains embedded in it.

“Well, this is the level at which the profitability of mines in such places can be evaluated as poor.”

The fact that iron crystals can be seen in the mined iron ore itself means that there is a lot of iron, and smelting it costs less. Of course, the price of the iron ore itself was bound to be expensive, but the reason for the poor profitability was that access to the mine itself was difficult. They said that there would be slaves who died on the way to and from here, and that the cost was greater than the profit that could be gained from mining the iron ore.

However, since high-quality iron ore could be mined, the profitability could be evaluated as poor. Otherwise, it was clear that the Crown Prince would have described it as atrocious or useless, not as unprofitable.

Of course, it didn’t apply to me, so the smile couldn’t disappear from my face. It was obvious that the skeleton would be fine even if it fell off a slope that could almost be described as a cliff, and moving the iron ore was not difficult. For me, it wasn’t that the profitability was bad, it was closer to crazy good.

Anyway, unable to hide my smile as I checked the iron ore, I decided to begin development of the mine in earnest.

He took out a dozen bone fragments from the pouch he always kept in his arms and threw them toward the oyster. Then, the miner skeletons, which suddenly grew in size from thin air, stood up from the floor with a clattering sound.

“Go and dig up iron ore.”

He gave instructions to the skeletons standing still. Then, the miner skeletons began entering the tunnel through the mine entrance. About a dozen skeletons entered the tunnel making a clattering sound, and the clattering sound inside echoed through the walls of the mine shaft.

And, after waiting for a while, instead of a rattling sound coming from the mine shaft, I heard a sound like something hard hitting the rock wall. Since the tunnel dug by the prospectors was not very long, they had already reached the end and were digging anew.

As mining began, I also made the remaining transport skeletons go inside the mine shaft. The iron ore mined from inside would be collected and stacked close to the entrance.

However, no matter how steep the mountain is and how difficult it is to reach the entrance to the mine, it does not mean that no one can access it, so we decided to install an alarm. I was thinking of leaving behind the skeleton that guarded my cart and luggage when I went to the capital.

“This is the mine of Andrew Steele, a certified warlock who holds the title of Baron. If you steal mined ores, you may be cursed and lose your life. Additionally, your life cannot be guaranteed when entering the inside of the mine.”

There would be a lot of people who would be afraid just because he was a warlock, but it was clear that if he added the word noble, it would be even more effective. Unless they were very confident thieves, they wouldn’t do something stupid like messing with a nobleman.

Moreover, there would be no confident people who would enter the tunnel where clattering and clanging noises were heard and where life was not guaranteed.

Still, since there was no guarantee that there would not be people blinded by money, a goblin skeleton was also provided. If an unauthorized intruder came, the intention was to intercept it after warning. Although I had to give the permit to the official who would visit me every month on my way back, it was a better solution than getting robbed.

Anyway, after installing the alarm and security goblin skeleton, a transport skeleton came out of the tunnel. There was quite a bit of iron ore piled up in the basket on its back, and the transport skeleton moved to the place I had designated in advance, jumped up, and flipped over. Naturally, the iron ore inside the basket was piled up in a designated location.

However, perhaps because the mountain is steep, even if you chose a flat place, there were bound to be iron ores rolling down there one by one.

However, it seemed difficult to go down this steep place and find something that had already rolled. No, it was close to impossible. It had already rolled so far away that I couldn’t even see where it was.

Since we couldn’t keep letting the iron ore roll away a little each time we dug it up, we decided to compact the surrounding land. By using a transport skeleton to pound the floor firmly, we were able to flatten a fairly large space. Even if a considerable amount of iron ore was piled up, it seemed unlikely that it would flow.

“There will be no problem even if you accumulate it for about a month.”

As the ground was compacted, it had the effect of being slightly dug down, so even if mining took place for a month, the iron ore would not roll down the mountain like it did a little while ago.

Thanks to this, there were no immediately noticeable problems. There was no need to worry about thieves, and there were no problems with finding a place to store iron ore. Although there was a high risk of collapsing as there were no supports installed inside the tunnel, there was no need to worry about the skeleton being buried.

Since I couldn’t see anything that could be called a problem right away, I decided to return to the village after giving the official a permit to avoid being attacked by skeletons.

“… … Let’s take what we dug up first.”

However, as I was about to turn around to get on the skeleton horse, a place where iron ore was being piled up came into view. The transport skeleton had already visited the place several times, so there was some iron ore piled up there. Although the amount itself was not that large, including the raw materials currently in the blacksmith shop, it seemed to be enough to use until the mined items were collected next month.

It took a while to pay the 20% that was supposed to be paid to the royal family, but even if it were an issue, it would be enough to say that the part that was mined was experimentally mined and used to determine the purity of iron ore.

I immediately took out the cart skeleton and loaded the items mined so far onto the cart. The skeleton was modified again and a lid was made, so there was no need to worry about the contents falling out even when going down a steep slope. In fact, even though it came down to flat ground, not a single piece of iron ore fell from the cart.

Afterwards, he quickly went to the central city of the direct territory and gave the official a permit to prevent being attacked by skeletons, and then returned to the village again.

When I returned a few days later, the village was still the same, and nothing much happened at the blacksmith shop. As usual, people came by and bought various items, and Jiena was simply recording each item sold in a ledger and calculating how much was left for her to wear.

“If I just work hard like I do now, I could be free from slavery within 50 years… … . Ah, there’s a mercenary human! No, mercenary guest! The item next to it is two hundred med more expensive, but it will be more suitable for you! The item you are seeing may be a little uncomfortable for your body type. You can trust me because I’ve been a mercenary for 70 years!”

“Well, is that right? Then give me one of these!”

Of course, I was working hard too. To be honest, Jiena was several times better than me when it came to selling the items in the blacksmith shop.

Anyway, after returning to the blacksmith shop, which felt at ease for various reasons, I decided to enjoy some long-awaited rest. There was no particular reason to go around until the iron ore mined next month was collected.

But I didn’t intend to just play around. This is because it was clear that if we were to settle for the present, we would eventually be left behind. In order to progress endlessly, I had to collect more black magic, create more skeletons, and learn better black magic.

Rather than a blacksmith that exerts influence at the village level like now, we need to build a blacksmith that can exert influence on at least one country. It would be better if it could be exercised across the entire continent rather than just at the national level.