"Speaking about becoming stronger, I will have to learn how to fight properly," Taylor said when they were not far from the entrance of the mine. He had been walking for more than an hour by now and the path slowly led him to a small mountainside, where his goal was located.
The path was not leveled anymore, it rose slightly, and the path narrowed down drastically. In no time, the flourishing greenery around him became scarce with all kinds of stones covering the surface. The stones were tiny at first but they became larger the longer Taylor walked toward his designated goal.
It was quite an interesting sight.
"Having you by my side gives me reassurance but I don't want you to protect me whenever something happens. Just in the worst-case scenario, it would be great to know that there is someone who can save. Nonetheless, I need to become stronger, otherwise, I will never be able to stand up for myself!" Taylor declared, looking kindly at Eris, hoping that she understood what he meant.
He was happy to have her by his side and it was reassuring to know that she could protect him, but he had to grow for himself without any shortcuts, otherwise, he may miss certain lessons about life that could be important in the future!
Taylor was also aware that he might be overthinking and that he could learn the same lessons of life with Eris' financial support but he was actually excited to start earning a fortune from scratch, literally.
It excited him and he didn't want this excitement to be taken from him.
"Okay okay, I get it!" Eris sighed deeply and she shook her head before she pointed out the obvious once again, "Just tell me if you need some help, whether it's my knowledge, strength, or finances."
Taylor was thankful for everything Eris did for him and he felt bad that he had doubted her for a short moment.
Fortunately, he was distracted by a Guard, who approached him with a small wooden board in his hand. A bundle of papers was stapled on the wooden board.
He shoved the wooden board in Taylor's hand that carried the mining pickaxe, while a ballpen appeared in his other hand.
"Sign, if you want to enter the public mine," The Guard said nonchalantly. He was not particularly interested in Taylor, that his clothes had several burn marks, or that the young man looked barely 18, and his eyes showed pure boredom.
Taylor tilted his head and he began to read the contract, which caused the guard to groan in displeasure.
"I skimmed through it, the contract is fine," Eris' voice resounded in his head and Taylor signed it just a moment later.
He returned the wooden board and the pen to the Guard before bypassing him.
"The contract was about the Fair-profit-Share regulation, right?" Taylor asked quietly and Eris nodded her head faintly.
"Interestingly enough, the punishment for breaking the contract will most likely be to become the government's Miner for one to three months. Seems like they're lacking far more resources than expected," Eris seemed amused and Taylor just nodded his head.
If the punishment for breaking a contract with the government was merely to work as a miner for up to three months, they were probably lacking resources just like Eris guessed. Taylor could only think of that reason and another one.
"Ore the government cannot afford enraging Awakened by punishing them any harder," Taylor voiced out the other possibility he imagined to be the case. From his knowledge normies were usually harder punished than Awakened for breaking the same law.
In fact, as long as Awakened had enough power or connections, they may not be punished at all!
"That…shouldn't be the case…I doubt it…" Eris said but she didn't sound that certain.
Taylor shrugged his shoulders after a while. He didn't plan to cause trouble with the government, not for now. His only task was to collect enough Ufnir Iron ore to do everything he had in his mind.
After Taylor passed two additional areas where guards safeguarded the area, he ended up in front of the mine.
The entrance was less than five meters in height and only around eight meters in width. Large black wooden pillars supported the mine and two railways led inside the cave.
He ignored the railways and walked inside the mine, carefully staying inside the two-meter path that existed between the railways. Slowly but steadily, the tunnel lead downward, and with time passing a few carts passed through the tunnel.
They didn't influence Tayor much and he found his way toward the first side tunnels of the mine's higher levels. Everything was lit up by illumination crystals, the cheapest way to bring light into dark places.
Taylor could see guards every now and then, but they didn't scare him. Taylor knew that underground monsters in the deeper levels of the mine. Guards protected the miners and the ores simultaneously. This made him feel quite reassured that nothing would happen to him.
His fight against the Frozen-talons Hawks had been quite intense for someone, who had never fought against ferocious monsters.
Taylor ended up more careful around areas where monsters may be. The only weapon he had was a mining pickaxe. It was better than nothing but a proper weapon would still be better, which was something Taylor would work on…later.
Right now, his senses were pricking up. He believed that he could smell the Ufnir Iron ore through his nose, and his heart began beating widely. His skin all over his body began to itch and he was being pulled in a specific direction.
The higher levels of the mine were already emptied and there shouldn't be anymore deposits of Ufnir Iron ore.
However, Taylor's instincts told them that this was wrong. He moved into a completely empty mining tunnel. There were only a bunch of illumination crystals left behind and even those were already flickering.
The mining tunnel he had entered by crossing one of the railroads looked just like any of the other tunnels but Taylor began to grin and his crimson eyes cleared up.
"I can see it…" He uttered quietly as he approached a specific direction, where he presumed to see something.
Eris couldn't detect anything but she followed him quietly.
In front of a perfectly ordinary earthen wall, Taylor stopped. His eyes were glistering and he licked his lips impatiently as he moved the mining pickaxe above his head.
'Will he really find something?' Eris wondered, still quietly looking at Taylor, who struck down with some force.
Earth and tiny stones were dug out with Taylor's first strike. Nothing else happened but neither Taylor nor Eris said anything.
Taylor repeated the same process over and over again. He dug more than half a meter in the earthen wall, and Taylor had yet to find anything.
"Don't you think we should go downwa—..." Eris was just about to propose to change their location when the loud noise of metal colliding with metal resounded in her ears.
Her eyes moved between Taylor and the small hole he dug in the earthen wall. Silverish-gleaming stars appeared in an abyss of black as a deposit of Ufnir Iron ore unveiled itself in front of her.
"I told you that I can see it," Taylor merely said with a dazzling smile on his lips.
"Yes, you did…"