Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 71: Let’s Mine

Episode 71: Let’s Mine

“(So this is the Goronomea Mountain Range…)”

I muttered, looking at the mountains spread out before me.

This was the place I wanted to visit.

The Goronomea Mountain Range is a collection of massive mines.

It’s a major mining area that exports minerals across the entire Wenost region, and I’ve heard that Ergo’s family occasionally deals with products from here.

In a world filled with |Mana|, some minerals have special effects—magical minerals.

Apparently, the magical minerals used in explosive arrows and drills are mined here.

That’s why I had set this place as my primary destination. To obtain magical minerals, process them, and achieve further power-ups.

I haven’t set a specific goal. But for now, I plan to mine here until the capacity of my [Weapon Storage] exceeds 60%.

By the way, the current capacity of my [Weapon Storage] is about 20% full.

Of that, just under 10% is filled with Hydra weapons and Forest Turtle weapons, and just over 10% is other weapons.

Since I have no knowledge or know-how about mining, and considering the need for careful selection, it looks like I’ll be here for quite a while.

“(Moreover, according to Ergo, there are apparently four Sovereign Beasts around here…)”

He didn’t know their appearance or detailed abilities, but just knowing they exist is enough.

If I head towards the area with dense |Mana|, I’ll probably encounter them eventually. With my current strength, I should be able to win even without preparation.

“(But first, let’s find some minerals.)”

This mining area is even vaster than the Dwozof Forest. It seems that mining activities are concentrated in the northern part.

There are also Sovereign Beast Region in between, so I shouldn’t accidentally enter areas where humans are active.

With great expectations, I took my first step into the mining area.

—

“(Alright, let’s settle around here.)”

I had crossed three mountains within the mining area. I was now halfway up the fourth mountain.

The |Mana| here is still at a level between the Lesser Beast Region and the Greater Beast Zone, but I wanted to get a feel for mining before moving on.

“(…Is it okay to just mine normally…?)”

I was starting to feel anxious about whether I could mine properly.

“(The ground should be solidified by |Mana|, so there shouldn’t be a risk of being buried alive—no, but if I dig recklessly, it could be dangerous?)”

I thought to myself, twisting my neck.

However, without any specialized knowledge, I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer.

“(…There’s no use in thinking too much. First, let’s give it a try, alright!)”

Convincing myself that with the power of the Sovereign Beasts, being buried alive wouldn’t be a problem, I lifted up the eight forest chains.

Then, I swung them all at the rock wall in front of me.

“Sla-sla-sla-sla!”

―――Non-Notification Information Recording Zone―――――――――――――

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

>> The Weapon Born from the Fire of War, Fuwa Katsu, has acquired the [Skill:Digging]

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

As expected of a Sovereign Beast weapon. Its power was as astonishing as I had experienced many times before.

The rock wall should have been reinforced by |Mana|. But it was being scraped away rapidly, almost like foam.

However, the amount scraped away in one go wasn’t very much.

“(Should I have made a weapon specifically for digging?)”

I reflected and stopped my work.

I deactivated the imitation of the forest chains and instead took out the real forest chains and forest hammer.

I placed them on top of my body and expanded the range of my [Dominion]. I’m ready.

“(Activating [Intensified Warfare].)”

This [Skill] not only has the ability to analyze objects but also to modify weapons.

So, I fused the forest chains and forest hammer.

First, I flattened and elongated the head of the hammer, turning it into a scoop-shaped blade that’s easy to scoop dirt with. It would become a halberd.

It looked like a shovel, but despite the resemblance, it was a halberd and could be crafted with [Intensified Warfare].

Then, I wrapped the end of the forest chains around the handle of the shovel. The handle became flexible like clay and changed shape.

The forest chains were swallowed by the handle as if sinking into it.

“(—Here, like this… add a return… whew, that should do it.)”

After making a few more adjustments, a mining halberd was completed.

I used the analysis ability of [Intensified Warfare] on the halberd, which had chains growing from its base.

This was to check the performance and fulfill the activation conditions for [Replicant Form].

“(…Alright, it’s okay.)”

The performance was generally satisfactory.

Structural weaknesses were minimized, and the special effects needed for mining were preserved.

It’s inconvenient that only one special effect can be retained when merging multiple weapons.

While it’s possible with plants and metals, abilities derived from other living beings cannot be merged.

“(Well, time to resume mining.)”

I imitated four chain shovels. I stabbed their blades into the rock wall, gouged, threw them back, and stabbed again.

I continued digging with a steady rhythm.

The efficiency was incomparable to when I was using forest chains. With each swing of the chain shovel, I could dig more than a single scoop from an excavator. And using four of them made this obvious.

While continuing the large-scale excavation, I felt a strong |Mana| from the rocks on the chain shovel.

I hastily stopped myself from throwing it away.

“(That was close, I almost discarded it.)”

I knew from using explosive arrows and other weapons with magical minerals that you can’t sense |Mana| without getting close to the magical minerals.

However, the surrounding rocks, including the |Mana|, might be creating interference. It seems harder to sense here.

“(I’ll proceed more carefully next time. Activating [Intensified Warfare].)”

I activated the [Skill] on the mineral barely exposed from the rock.

The translucent light blue gem initially gave me a sense of familiarity, reminding me of the former Jewel Slime.

But, as I analyzed it, I learned this gem wasn’t an ordinary jewel.

This gem’s special ability was |Mana| storage.

While most objects in this world are imbued with |Mana|, only a few can store it.

One such rare item is Mana Fruit.

Eating it recovers |Mana| because the stored |Mana| flows directly into the body.

“(Alright, I’ll call this Mana Crystal after Mana Fruit.)”

As I made this arbitrary decision, I used [Weapon Creation].

I transformed the Mana Crystal into a dagger. Since the Mana Crystal was small, the dagger was also sized for human use.

Its performance as a weapon was average. The sharpness was decent, but the durability was lacking.

Well, Mana Crystals don’t have properties suitable for weapons, so just being sharp is enough to pass.

“(Using [Replicant Form].)”

I then imitated the light blue dagger.

Part of my body transformed into a small sword.

“(…It’s still no good.)”

Unlike usual, this imitation was incomplete.

The dagger I replicated was not light blue but a dull gray. I immediately deactivated the imitation.

“(I guess I can’t mimic the internal properties.)”

I had expected this from previous experiments with Mana Fruit, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

[Replicant Form] can mimic the storage properties but not the stored |Mana| itself.

“Well, it’s fine. It can still be used as a |Mana| battery, and there might be other uses later. I’ll keep collecting these.”

I stored the light blue dagger in [Weapon Storage] and returned to my mining work.