Kays Translations

Chapter 70: Becker the Mining Man

Day 161 of my life in another world

First thing in the morning, I got on the wagon and headed for the northern mountain range with the guys working in the mine.

Yesterday, one of the bears who was involved in the mine had developed the occupation of "miner" and the skill of "mining," so we were there to confirm this and also to inspect the mine.

“We're here, chief.”

"Everyone work as usual. I'll be free to look around for a while."

"Oh!”

With a cheerful shout, each person went off to his or her own work.

Mining is hard physical work, and it is always dangerous. Therefore, we told them not to overdo it. The bear who was giving the orders seemed to understand this and was managing the situation well.

“The bear who received the mining skills is Becker over there, right?”

"He is good at digging, you know. we can't lose to him!”

"Yeah, I'm counting on him.”

After saying this to the foreman, he headed in Becker's direction.

“Becker, I'm sorry, but can you show me how you use your skills right away?”

“I'll show you how to use it. What should I start with?”

“Anything that you feel has changed.”

“I'll start with this.”

Becker then swung his pickaxe with a "kam". Then a crack appeared in the bedrock, and a chunk of rock crumbled away. No matter how you look at it, the amount of digging was odd, and it didn't look like he put a lot of effort into it. A chunk the size of a large pickled stone had been dug out with a single swing.

“I could tell where to dig with that one swing.”

“This is great ....... Does it glow where you need to dig?”

“No, but it's like a natural focus.”

“That's kind of cool. What else?”

“Next, is this.”

This time, he lifted the rock he had just dug out lightly. He was a strong man to begin with, but the rock he had dug out seemed to be even lighter, and he picked it up with one hand as if it were a small pebble.

“Thanks to this, I can carry it easily. It works well whether you carry it by hand or on a cart.”

"--That reminds me, the wheels and frame of this cart are made of iron. What's wrong with it?”

“The headman of the Bears made it. He is also making a special rail for it.”

"Wow, he's doing a great job.

It seems that they are carrying it by laying wooden planks on the ground now, but it will be possible to carry it more smoothly in the future.

The key effect of "Mining Lv 1" is that "the efficiency of the mining operation will be corrected upward. In fact, it seemed to be quite effective, and as the skill level increased, we could expect to see additional capabilities.

“With such a high efficiency, can't you dig at a considerable speed?”

“Yeah, that's right. But, well, after seven days, the tunnels we've dug will be blocked up as they were before.”

“I've heard that before, but I guess that's the way things are done here.”

“At least it is in the beastmen's territory.”

“Where the mine is restored to its original condition, the ore can be extracted again, right?”

“After a while. I don't know why that is.”

It is said that after about seven days, the tunnels created in the great mountain range are restored to their original state at a moment's notice. We don't know how it works, but it seems impossible to dig a tunnel to reach the eastern region.

"There's never been a single case where a tunnel collapsed halfway through. However, if you keep digging for too long... Burying alive is the number one cause of death."

“Wow, I hope that's not the case.”

“Yeah, totally."

At the time of this story, I had an unusual flash of inspiration for me. I wondered if a dug tunnel, or rather a large mountain range, could be made into a village site .......

If possible, the dug tunnels could be maintained as they are. If we went deeper, we might be able to find some rare ore.

"Hey, Becker, how many days has this tunnel been here today?”

“Five days. We were going to finish today if we could afford it.”

"Hey, I'll try to see if I can set up a barrier here. Let's go outside just in case."

After the two of us went outside, i imagined the expansion to be 10 meters wide and 10 meters long, facing the rock face.

Then, the barrier became blinking and expanded, and it splendidly hollowed out the rocky surface of the mountain range. The height of the barrier is 20m, so when viewed from here, it felt like a huge cave with its mouth open.

""Wow ......""

Everyone who was working around us also let out a cry of surprise when they saw the cave that had suddenly formed.

“It seems that barriers  are possible even in the great mountain range.”

“It's amazing, isn't it? It's the village headman after all.”

“I don't know. There's also a barrier, so there's no need to worry about it collapsing.”

“I think we should extend it a little deeper anyway. To be honest, I'm curious to see if there are any treasures buried deep inside.”

I'm sure you're right. lets extend it to 30 meters this time.”

I was curious myself, so I extended it a little deeper and fixed the barrier.

Just in case, though, the hole might revert back to its original state. I'll keep it off limits for a week or so and see what happens. If nothing happens after that, we will use this place as a base for excavation.

“This is a dream come true!”

“No one has ever dug this deep before, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we find.”

Both the foreman and Becker were very excited.

"But it's dark in there," said Becker, "so get some streetlamps from Merrimus.”

“I'll see you later, chief!”

The visit was a satisfying one, with some unexpected gains. I don't intend to go there right now, but I can use it as a route to progress to the human territory and the eastern region. I am sure it will come in handy someday.

In the end, I spent the day observing the mining operations and expanding the site that had been narrowed due to the big hole. The cat man and dog man who volunteered to do the mining work were also doing their work in a relaxed but serious manner. Besides, I was able to copy their mining skills and get a general sense of what they were doing.

I was looking forward to ...... seeing what kind of treasures I would find on my way home.

◇ ◇◇◇◇

When we returned to the village that evening, we received a happy report from Tsubaki. It seems that a baby chick was born to the Crook Bird that is kept in the village. When I went to the chicken coop, I found several chicks chirping cheerfully.

“They were born around noon today.”

“They are so cute, aren't they? They remind me of the chicks we used to have in the countryside.”

“Is that Keisuke's parents' house?”

“Oh, my grandpa took good care of them. --I wonder if he is doing well over there.”

We had only been in touch by phone for the past few years, but I was sure that Jii-chan, who seemed to be a bundle of energy, was still doing well in Japan.

“By the way, is there a special way to raise them?”

“I heard from Marise-san that they don't need any special care. I heard that if you keep them with their parents, there will be no problem.”

“I see. That's a relief.”

“It is the first life born in the village. I hope it will grow up well.”

"That's true. I will take good care of it.”

The dungeon group returned and discussed today's results over dinner. During the discussion, the livestock led to a discussion about securing water for living and drinking, and it was decided that a waterway would be constructed in the center of the village.

Sakura also goes out to the dungeon every day, and it would be bad to rely on water magic forever. Fortunately, the water quality of the river is good, and there is no worry about water pollution since the river is covered with a boundary all the way from the source in the north to the village.

Since the construction work itself is not that urgent, we decided to do it singlehandedly, mainly myself and the agricultural team. Once the waterway is made into a site, we don't have to think about cutting down trees or removing roots, and construction should proceed rather easily using our farming skills and earth magic.

“I'll take care of the baths for you!"

“Sakura-san, you're so helpful!”

“Natsuki takes a bath in the morning every day.”

“What, Touya? What are you complaining about?”

“No, nothing at all. ......”

You idiot, you’ll learn the hard way that the topic of baths is best left in silence. ......

For a while, Touya preached to the women, but there was no chance that a man would come to help him, and one by one they ran away.

By the way, i was the first to run away.

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