Identifying raw Mithril ore with the naked eyes isn't too difficult due to its distinctive appearance. The ore also glows faintly under certain lighting conditions. As such, I distribute disposal torches amongst the children, allowing them to search every inch of the walls for me.
They take to the task with enthusiasm, and it removes all the gloomy atmosphere surrounding them.
And as to how I know Mithril – or traces of it – can be found within the dug-out chamber, it is because I am standing on an iron deposit. More like inside an iron deposit. A small deposit, not big enough for commercial production, but big enough for Mithril to transmute from irons.
Most if not all magical minerals and metals are transmuted from natural elements usually found within the earth. This is all thanks to the premutation of magical energy throughout the universe.
And the transmutation usually happened the instant a Zone is formed, and due to the number of Zones available relative to the size of Earth, the amount of magical minerals and metals are limited on Earth itself.
Since that is case, whichever country manage to mine and make good use of the new resources would be leading the world in the new era. Or more like which individual, and I prefer it to be me.
The new resources are only limited until Spatial Magic becomes fully understood and implemented in such a way that instant teleportation or transmission would be possible. Traversing the universe would no longer be a dream of many.
And Earth is just one of countless of worlds now stemming with life in the transformed universe. Hell, even now, I am sure some sort of lifeform is beginning to grow on Mars, Mercy, Venus and so on. Life that adapt to the harsh conditions of those planets.
The harsher the conditions, the faster intelligent lifeforms evolve, and one day, they will invade Earth, and unlike the first time around, I will make sure humanity is ready by then.
It is also the reason why I am not hiding what I am actually doing from the Major and her men as well as the civilians. Doing so would only repeat the mistake of the past, preventing the rapid utilization of the new resources.
The Rulers might be the cause of the extinction of the human race, but it is done by Greed more than anything. And that is something coming from me, a Merchant.
One of kids calls out to me when she founds something on the ground, and from the glow, it is certainly Mithril. A tiny fragment of it, but that is all I need thanks to the Shop System.
The only problem was the ownership. Since the girl has found it, she is the owner. I had believed that the State would be the owner due to the land it was found on, but only Gods or above can own planets or natural resources on the planet.
And the God here is Gaia. She is dead, however, and therefore, there is really no ownership. The Shop System knows this, and as such, selling lands will not net me anything. And that alone tells me quite a bit about the Shop System.
In any case, I offer the girl compensation for the raw Mithril, and what do children usually likes?
"I want 5 toys, mister," the little girl barters with me, and for the first time since returning to the past, I am shocked. Not surprised, but shocked. "I want to choose each of them."