"Yahoo!!!" [Diana]
"Yahoo... Yahoo... Yahoo..."
"Woah! There really is an echo!" [Diana]
"First time, I guess? Then you should see the cave in my land" [Oreforged]
"Biggest cave in the world, right? Can't wait to see it one day!" [Diana]
"Aye! I'll take you there one day, if the dwarf king allows it... No, he will allow it... If I wanted to go back there, that is" [Oreforged]
"?" [Diana, Fie]
"Nothing. Well then, let's start mining!" [Oreforged]
"Let's go, go, go" [Diana]
It's a really big cave. I don't know how big it is, but if a dwarf like Oreforged says it's big, then it's really big.
Unlike the cave in Emas, which is also a dungeon, this one is just a cave for mining. Sure, there are monsters nesting here, but you won't find monsters spawning left and right. It's relatively safe.
The cave here contains powerful traces of Mirage, Space, and Dark Magic, which is rare because these elements can harmonize with each other perfectly, but they can also antagonize each other perfectly. As Brokkr said, it's like siblings, always fighting, but they knew each other best.
"A little girl?"
"A leopard? It's drooling!?"
"Fie is an elemental cat, so of course an ore-rich environment is like a buffet for him, so he won't eat you!" [Diana]
"Meow!" [Fie]
"Then I guess we have another way to detect ore with rich mirage mana" [Oreforged].
"Besides your eye, we can use Fie's stomach, right?" [Diana]
"Exactly. Counting on you too, cat" [Oreforged].
"Meow!" [Fie]
I'm really glad that Oreforged is here. If it's just me, I might just blast away any ore that contains a trace of mirage mana. With him and his eye, which he enhances with a sight spell, he can see the strength of the mirage mana on the ore, the purity and impurity in it, and how to mine it properly, which he will demonstrate now that we have found a mirage ore of good quality.
I try the same spell he does. Focusing all my mana into my eyes, I can see the silver color of mirage on this ore. There are other impurities, but I'm not sure what they are. He says it's the impurities from the earth itself that make the ore satisfactory, but not great. He picks up his pickaxe and explains that unlike mining regular ore, you need to hit it in the area with the lowest mana concentration first. If you hit it in the area with high mana concentration, it will "leak" out, making the ore lose its value even more. It's also important to minimize damage and if possible not use any of your mana. Mixing mana will also decrease its value.
"And done" [Oreforged]
"Bravo! Bravo! You're great! I'm glad Alice picked you up!" [Diana]
"Girl knows best man for the job. Keen eye from her" (Although if you ask me, I'm sure that witch already anticipated this when she asked for Diana's help) [Oreforged].
I quickly put it into the special item bag I was given. Oreforged stopped me from touching it directly, instead he took the bag and let the ore slide into the bag without his hand touching the ore. He wanted to preserve the purity as much as possible.
"But Brokkr will touch it later as well" [Diana].
"True, but who do you think he is? Surely he will have the right tool to minimize contamination, like a special glove" [Oreforged].
"This is more complicated than I first thought" [Diana].
"Trust me, there's more" [Oreforged].
"Wow!" [Diana]
I'm impressed! I'm really impressed! I've learned so much since I came to Amleth. From Master Merlin teaching me about the soul and my blessing, to the school, to Auntie Amleth teaching me tips and tricks for speaking, and now this! I wanted to try it next! I begged Oreforged to let me do it and he allowed it. Yay!
Sensing an ore with mirage mana, I pick up the pickaxe. It is small, but it looks really heavy. I might as well use body-strengthening magic to crack it. Let me see... There's the area with the lowest concentration of mirage mana. It's color isn't as deep silver as the rest, so I swing the pickaxe with all my might.
"Opps... that's what you mean by leaking" [Diana].
"Hard, isn't it? Don't worry, you'll get better" [Oreforged].
I accidentally swing too hard, and the pickaxe plunges right into the center of the ore, causing the mirage mana distribution to go haywire, as well as some of the mirage mana leaking into the air. Since it's not a good quality ore, Fie is happy to eat it.
"Meow? Meow! Meow!" [Fie]
"What's the cat saying?" [Oreforged]
"Really! A good one! Let's go, go, go!" [Diana]
"Hey wait!" [Oreforged]
Fie's stomach rumbled as it sensed a good quality ore in a direction. I quickly rode him as the three of us went to the direction Fie's stomach sensed, but
"It's a dead end?" [Diana]
"Are you sure this is the right direction?" [Oreforged]
"Meow!" [Fie]
"Hmm..." (Blessing of the Fairy Queen Titania and the Earth Fairy Gaia, help me) [Diana]
I can really sense the ore that Fie is slobbering over, it really is there, and as for the path leading to it, with the help of the Earth Fairy's blessing, I am creating a path. A staircase, to be exact, leading underground, and what do you know?
"A dungeon!?" [OreForged]
"Hehehe... Mr. Oreforged..." [Diana]
"That's a devilish smile, kid, but... Hehehe..." [Oreforged]
"Meow... Meow... Meow..." [Diana]
We will be the first to explore this new dungeon! I'm sure I'll be scolded later, but the temptation is strong, strong enough to make us enter the dungeon! Let's go, go, go!