Chapter 56: Exploring the High-End Mining Area

Dachun hurriedly asked, "Can we go back to the second layer?"

"The vortex is flowing downwards, so we can't go back right now. We can return the next time the volcano erupts."

Dachun was stunned: "When is the next time?"

The dragon replied, "I don't know! Isn't there Lady Maria, whom Master mentioned?"

Dachun suddenly became alert. Is it testing me to see how close I really am with Maria? Oh well, yesterday it was just a giant lizard, but after evolution, it's already learning to play psychological games...

Dachun had no choice but to feign calmness: "True, with Lady Maria here, going back will be simple."

However, looking at the ongoing mission timer, Dachun felt a profound sense of eeriness. Logically speaking, since he had bypassed a level, the system should either prompt him that the second layer's trial was completed or interrupt it. Why was the timer still running?

The answer might be that the situation had gotten out of control, and the overseer didn't know he had reached the seventh layer? With so many passages at the bottom of this lake, the overseer probably doesn't know about all of them, right? Once things get out of control...

Dachun was thrilled! That meant he had evaded surveillance. Is it possible to carve out a secret territory here with the help of the rejuvenated volcano dragon? That way, even if the major financial consortiums catch up with the progress, they won't be able to steal my thunder!

Upon this thought, Dachun instantly overcame his fear of the seventh layer, filled with intense curiosity to explore this tier. He activated his barrier for invisibility and floated upward to take a look.

Invisibility became Dachun's only reliance. In various novels, invisible thieves often managed to overcome the strong with the weak and create miracles.

Just as he was floating up, Dachun sensed an abnormal fluctuation in the surrounding magma, as if something was swimming over.

What the hell?!

Dachun was so startled he didn't dare to move. The next moment, a fish the length of a half-man, its entire body radiating a purple crystal light, appeared.

There are actually fish in the magma! Fortunately, this fish was neutral (yellow-named), and after wandering around for a circle, it swam away.

Dachun breathed a massive sigh of relief, making him even more expectant for this layer. Maybe he could fish in the magma lake?

Floating up to the surface of the lake, the ceiling overhead was a brilliant, starry expanse, smooth like a glass dome. The shores around the lake were filled with pillar-like mountains of crystal glowing with purple light. What kind of scene is this?

Then he heard a rumbling sound from the ground, and indeed he saw several three-to-four-story-tall stone monsters wandering among the crystal pillars, their entire bodies radiating purple crystal light and flames. Their levels were unknown!

These must be ordinary monsters of the seventh layer, right? Not to mention having skills, even magic wouldn't be surprising, and boss-level entities would be beyond imagination.

Dachun had no intention of challenging them whatsoever; he just wanted to quietly explore this map from top to bottom.

Fortunately, the ubiquitous crystal pillars provided effective cover and shelter for Dachun's movements. Then, Dachun saw a large snowflake-like object at the base of one of the crystal pillars.

Dachun was even more astonished. Is this an ore? A plant?

Dachun tried gently shaking the base with his hand. It was very resilient, highly resembling a plant! But in the process of shaking, the snowflakes began to transform into crystalline light and scatter, looking very much like a dandelion. So he decided to dig it out with his hands.

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You activated your talent "Essence of Excavation" and successfully gathered a rare unknown mineral-plant. Your Gathering skill has successfully advanced to Expert Level 1! Achivement reward obtained: Stamina +2, Weight Capacity +2, acquired talent skill "Expert Gathering Mastery." You obtained the achievement reward of the "Newcomer Three-Day Grand Discount Blessing": Wisdom +1!

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You excavated a rare mineral-plant, your Master Mining skill has advanced to Level 2. Achievement reward obtained: Stamina +3, Weight Capacity +3.

...

What the hell!

Dachun was shocked! A double hit out of nowhere, simultaneously leveling up Gathering and Mining! But for an advanced setting where there could even be fish in the magma, the appearance of something like a "mineral-plant" probably wasn't surprising. Could it be eaten like mushrooms?

Dachun tried taking a bite, and it made a sound like eating ice cream.

—System Prompt: You consumed a rare unknown mineral-plant. Your body begins absorbing unknown energy.

---

Damn it, it's edible!

Dachun was overjoyed. This was clearly something like an immortal herb. The fact that even the unshakeable Master-level Mining finally went up by a level showed just how high-end it was.

Dachun immediately spotted another cluster of plants under several other crystal pillars!

Very well, this scenario was practically tailor-made for corporate tycoons like a rat falling into a rice jar, right? He wouldn't be polite then—mining and eating at the same time.

Next was the soaring proficiency of his Gathering skill: Expert Level 2, Level 3... But Master Mining Level 2 didn't make the slightest progress. Dachun finally understood that Master-level skills couldn't be leveled up purely by volume. Every single level-up required finding a higher-tier ore. To reach Grandmaster, he would need to find something eight tiers higher than these mineral-plants. Just thinking about it was a bit...

While thoroughly enjoying himself, Dachun suddenly noticed that there were no mineral-plants under the crystal pillars in this immediate area anymore. What was going on?

Then he spotted a flattened skeleton embedded in the ground.

Damn it, had someone else been here to mine and harvest?

Dachun stepped forward to examine it. Judging by the physique, it was humanoid, but the skull seemed to have horns, and there appeared to be bony wings nearby—definitely a demon! And the fact that a flying demon could die here meant that the stone monsters around here possessed ranged attack spells, definitely not existences that his flying shovel could dare to provoke.

Dachun began to carefully excavate, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Finally, buried beneath the unearthed skeleton, he dug out a flattened bag.

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You discovered an Ancient Demonic Dragon Leather Spatial Bag. Artifact, Durability 81/1000, Defense 50, Magic Defense 50, Weight 10, Capacity 100. (Note: You discovered alien text on the bag, suspected to be the owner's name.)

Holy crap, a legendary spatial bag!!!

Dachun was deliriously happy. This truly was an advanced environment where even artifacts could be picked up!

The artifact attribute of the spatial bag was precisely this "Capacity 100," meaning that if a player put 100 weight units of items into this bag, it would weigh zero!

On the surface, players could achieve a similar effect by grinding skills to gain +100 weight capacity, but their own body weight would increase, making it hard to float in water and impossible to fly in the sky! Meanwhile, this demon was a flying demon with even stricter requirements on self-weight, so a bag with zero weight was an artifact! Even if he went to bind it at the insurance company, he only needed to bind this single bag, and all other valuable equipment could be placed inside.

Not to mention that this bag also had dual defenses and could be used as a shield! Though given this durability, it was absolutely out of the question to use it as a shield.

Dachun excitedly opened the package.

—System Prompt: Requires a magic incantation to open. Failing three times will trigger self-destruction.

Damn it, it needs a password!

Dachun was slightly taken aback before coming to his senses. Needing a password meant there were subsequent decryption events. Moreover, the text on the bag clearly indicated it was a quest item, which confirmed that this wasn't a closed space and definitely connected to the outside world—there had to be a demon town!

Could it be the main city overseen by Maria? In that case, after all this wandering around, I still can't escape her surveillance...

Anyway, activate the treasure-hunting perception skill and keep digging to unearth badges or similar items that could prove its identity. The overseer's badge was an inverted cross; if this skeleton's badge was the same, then he'd resign himself to fate, take the bag back, hand it over for the reward, and become an outstanding demon youth. If he couldn't dig up any proof, he'd assume it belonged to her household too...

Before long, a faint light flashed in the soil!

Dachun hurriedly flipped it out to take a look: a six-pointed star with a ram-horned devil's head in the middle.

It wasn't hers! That meant there was more than one faction here. The idea of evading her surveillance and establishing a small secret faction might actually be achievable.

Very well!

Right at that moment, the ground rumbled, and a giant stone monster was heading in this direction.

Dachun had no choice but to turn invisible and leave—no, wait! No matter how busy he was, he had to take the time to properly bury the skeleton and restore it to its place. After all, even the Level 1 miners on the first layer weren't ordinary wild monsters; it was uncertain whether the entities on the seventh layer counted as ordinary wild monsters. If its artificial intelligence discovered that the skeleton had been disturbed, it might sound the alarm...

Dachun hurried to cover the dirt back over, though there was no time to pack it down solidly. He immediately found a crystal pillar close to the lake to hide behind. In case of an emergency, he could still jump into the lake at any moment.

Not long after he hid, the giant stone monster indeed stopped right at the excavation site and didn't move.

Dachun was startled. Did it really notice the disturbance at the scene? This AI truly wasn't your average wild monster!

If it stares a bit longer, it might realize something and sound the alarm. What should he do?

Decisive as ever, Dachun picked up a pebble and threw it far into the distance—*Clatter!*

That giant stone monster instantly reacted, taking large strides toward the direction of the sound.

That reaction, speed, and stride length made Dachun's scalp tingle!

Finally, the giant stone monster found nothing abnormal and resumed its previous slow, rhythmic pace as it walked away.

Dachun breathed a huge sigh of relief. Thank goodness for his foresight!

Anyway, he quickly hurried back to the skeleton to pack down the soil as a remedial measure. And then, he continued scouring the entire area for snowflakes to eat.

Just as he was eating happily, the system prompt arrived:

—System Prompt: Through the soul link, you have acquired Advanced Fishing Skill Level 5, Stamina +1, Weight Capacity +1.

—System Prompt: Through the soul link, you have acquired Expert Module Combination Level 2, Stamina +2, Weight Capacity +2, Health +2, Leadership +2.

Dachun was stunned. What on earth did his main body fish up to gain levels?

He hurriedly switched over to check—

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You successfully fished up a Pearl Fish...

Holy crap, such a valuable fish! Pearl fish liked to eat pearl mussels, but couldn't digest the pearls, so catching a pearl fish was equivalent to opening a treasure chest. It guaranteed at least one pearl, and if your luck was good, there's no telling!

Dachun raised his eyes to look: around the docks, the crystal light was dazzling and fish swarmed—they were all Pearl Fish! Not only that, but on the outer periphery of the school of fish seemed to be a group of dolphins!

Seeing Dachun stand up, a dolphin leaped out of the water—it was a Demonic Dolphin! Damn it, was it leading its pod to drive this precious school of fish over to repay his kindness?

Dachun joyfully waved his hand, and the entire dolphin pod burst into joyful cries together. A rainbow light enveloped Dachun!

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You received the lucky blessing of the dolphins! Duration: 1 day.

Dachun was overjoyed and shouted: "Eileen! Eileen, look at this—"

Eileen laughed: "I see it! I'm practicing sailing here! You better try to catch more Pearl Fish, you might even reach Expert rank!"

Since he had the lucky blessing, he had to push for Expert before 12 o'clock!

As soon as she finished speaking, another Pearl Fish took the bait!

Wahahaha, awesome! He had thought his main character had nothing left to do, but it turned out fishing was the truly serious business! He was going to get rich...

...

With his main character making rapid progress, Dachun's spirit was fiercely invigorated. Switching back to his alternate character, mining and harvesting snowflakes became even more exhilarating!

And then, the effect that was bound to come finally arrived:

—System Prompt: Congratulations! You absorbed a massive amount of energy from the rare mineral-plant. Your body has undergone Earth-element strengthening, which has fused with your Flame physique. Illusion Value +10, and your Illusion Special Technique has developed the skill "Illusionary Earth-Flame Elemental."