Chapter 174: 174

[You have discovered the secret jewel mine hidden beneath the Kolod Abandoned Mine!]

[This is the largest among the 63 secret jewel mines spread across the continent.]

[It is impossible to measure the value of the entire mine.]

[You may receive a high-ranking explorer class from the Exploration Guild due to your achievement of finding countless mysterious locations on the continent.]

The secret mine was vast, its walls covered in nearly endless quantities of precious gemstones.

“Pyrokinesis,” Shaneth muttered with a gulp. A flame lit up on her index finger and illuminated their surroundings.

The party members were left in total awe by the jewel mine.

“Wow… This really is…”

“My wife would probably faint if she saw this right now.”

The light from Shaneth’s flame reflected off some of the gems, bouncing between all the other gems on the wall and turning into a dazzling cascade of light.

“It’s so beautiful,” Iris murmured in awe.

The men hurried over to the walls and began mining the gems.

“Haha! I could buy a castle with just ten of these gems!”

“This one is for a ring if I get a girlfriend… Or, I could even make a necklace out of it.”

They had dreaded mining when they were locked up, and had never imagined that they would one day mine with such bright smiles on their faces.

Henrick scratched his chin as he observed the men mining excitedly and remarked, “Hmm… Something’s not right.”

“What is it?” Shaneth asked.

“I don’t think all of these luxurious jewels will just be given to us for free, based on our previous experiences,” Henrick said.

Meanwhile, Iris already had her hands full with gems. She smiled brightly and said, “I feel really happy right now.”

“When did you manage to collect so much?” Henrick asked.

“Henrick seems to not be excited at all,” Iris remarked.

“Well, I’m sick and tired of jewels from my days working as a Royal Artisan,” Henrick said, clicking his tongue.

While the party members were enamored by the gems, however…

Slither…

Kang Yoon-Soo quickly drew his magic sword and halberd. When they saw that, Shaneth, Henrick, and Iris’ faces paled. They began preparing for combat, vigilantly inspecting their surroundings.

Swemer, whose pocket was filled with jewels, tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What are you guys doing?”

“Damn it... Can’t you tell from looking? That bastard just raised his weapons,” Henrick grumbled.

Swemer looked even more confused, replying, “What about it?”

“Whenever he prepares for combat, that means an enemy is going to show up,” Shaneth calmly explained.

Swemer snickered and asked, “What are you talking about? We didn’t sense anything.”

Danesh crossed his arms over his chest and laughed at them, adding, “What are you guys so worried about? I’ve gone through countless life-and-death situations before, so I can sense whenever there’s a monster around. Relax, I didn’t sense any monsters in this…”

Baaaam!

A loud sound rang out as part of the jewel mine’s walls broke, revealing a black-scaled monster that rushed at the party. The men who had been mining busily almost fainted from surprise.

“Euaaaak!”

“Nooo! My jewels!”

“You stupid bastards! Those jewels should be the least of your problems! Look ahead! It’s a drake!”

A Black Drake with a chain around its neck appeared from behind the wall. The men were slightly slow to react, as their hands were full of jewels.

Drakes were high-leveled monsters that had tough scales protecting their entire bodies. They were considered some of the most difficult monsters to deal with on the continent. There were people who called them flightless dragons because of their overwhelming power, speed, and viciousness.

The scales on the drake’s body rose threateningly as it let out an earsplitting roar.

“Kruuwaaaaah!” 

It was then that Quishow, who was still inside the glass bottle in Kang Yoon-Soo’s pocket, shouted while slamming on the glass, “Blackie! Kill them all!”

“Kuuuwaaaaah!” The drake let out another roar, seemingly reacting to Quishow’s command. It turned to look toward where the fairy’s voice had come from.

The Black Drake was a slave of the corrupted fairies, tasked to watch over their jewel mine. It roared and charged toward the party.

“That’s right! Blackie! Kill all these humans!” Quishow exclaimed while balling its fists.

The Black Drake did not even spare a glance at the men mining the jewels, going directly for Kang Yoon-Soo. Soon after, Quishow entered its sight. It roared once more. “Kruuuwaaaah!”

It was only then that the fairy finally realized what was going on. “Kyaaahk!” the fairy screamed, then shouted, “Why are you trying to attack me? You stupid drake!”

Kang Yoon-Soo retreated a few steps, and the drake smashed into the spot where he had been standing. However, the drake quickly stood up again, seemingly without a single scratch on its body.

“Kruuuwaaah!” The drake let out an enraged roar as it charged at Quishow once again.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo read its attacks and nimbly avoided all of them. Thus, he was able to buy time for the rest of the party members to prepare for combat due to the fact that the drake seemed to be only aiming for Quishow.

When they were ready, the party unleashed a barrage of attacks at the drake. Shaneth used her flames, while Iris used her black lightning. Rick’s tiny fists and the men’s weapons smashed into the drake’s tough scales. Kalriven swung its sword and dealt a critical blow to the drake, although a lot of undead were sacrificed in the process.

Lastly, Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed his magic sword and halberd into the drake’s skull.

[You have killed the first protector of the jewel mine, the Black Drake!]

[Your level has risen.]

“Let’s go deeper inside,” Kang Yoon-Soo said before shoving the drake’s bones and leather into his backpack.

More kinds of rare gems appeared the deeper they went into the mine. However, they had to fight against guards that had been stationed by the corrupted fairies, that would be stronger the deeper they ventured into the mine.

“Swiiiiiik!”

“Kyaaahk! Don’t come near me!” Quishow cried as a King Snake charged toward it with enraged eyes.

Underground tunnels were perfect environments for snakes to move around in. No matter how agile Kang Yoon-Soo was, there was a limit to how many of the snake’s attacks he could avoid. Thus, he took out an old medal and put it on. It was the reward he had obtained after clearing the fourth trial. A bright light shot out from the old medal as he scratched the King Snake’s scales with his halberd.

[The medal has awakened in your fight against a powerful monster.]

[The spirits of the mercenaries of old have awakened.]

[The mercenaries have materialized as ghosts and will fight alongside you.]

[The number of ghost mercenaries will increase the more powerful monsters you slay.]

[However, the ghost mercenaries will be hostile toward you if you run away.]

[The cooldown time for summoning the ghost mercenaries will last an entire day.]

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[The cooldown time will increase every time you summon the ghost mercenaries.]

[A strong fighting spirit that didn’t back down in the face of a powerful foe has awakened me.]

[The underworld is too boring. I want to feel the thrill of battle once again.]

[Is that my opponent? It’s nothing more than a baby snake when compared to the Basilisk I hunted when I was alive.]

Five translucent mercenaries appeared from the medal and fought against the King Snake, bravely displaying their skills. Kang Yoon-Soo did not have to issue any commands as they surrounded the snake and swiftly turned the tide of battle in their favor.

Soon, all the scales were torn off the snake’s body, and Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed his magic sword into its head to deliver the final blow.

[You have killed the second protector of the jewel mine, the King Snake.]

[Your level has risen.]

Kang Yoon-Soo obtained an astounding amount of experience points after slaying the King Snake. He checked his level through his wrist device, and found that he had already reached Level 302. He thought to himself, ‘It’s still not enough.’

His level was bound to rise if he went to the forbidden areas of the continent. However, it would be impossible for him to survive in such places without the knowledge from his previous lives. Fortunately, he was armed with rare items, and retained many of his skills from his previous lives.

Kang Yoon-Soo was much stronger than others of his level. Even if they were also at Level 302, his abilities would be leaps and bounds ahead of theirs. However, it would still not be enough. He had to become stronger than anyone else. Thus, he thought to himself, ‘Let’s hurry.’

As the party went deeper into the jewel mine, the gem-encrusted walls suddenly shook. The walls themselves began to transform into monsters. Soon, a pair of the powerful boss monsters known as Jewel Golems appeared in front of them. This time as well, their attention remained fully on Quishow.

The party members managed to crush the Jewel Golems through their joint effort, along with the ghost mercenaries and the sacrifices of the undead.

[You have killed the third protector of the jewel mine, the Right Jewel Golem.]

[You have killed the fourth protector of the jewel mine, the Left Jewel Golem.]

[Your level has risen.]

[You have obtained ownership over the jewel mine after killing all of its protectors!]

[You may become the rightful owner of the mine if you sign a contract with a merchant company.]

[The dwarves are bound to come running and offer up their services for free if you place a recruitment ad.]

[The price of jewels might drop if you fully develop the jewel mine.]

[You have completed the legendary quest.]

[The legendary quest has been updated.]

The ghost mercenaries had bitter expressions before they disappeared after the battle, and there were only around seven hundred of the undead left after most of them had been sacrificed in the battles against the mine’s protectors. However, the rewards were incredible, and Kang Yoon-Soo collected all of the special jewels in the mine.

[Magma Ruby]

A very pure ruby made out of magma. It is filled with heat and emits a bright light.

+You may imbue a piece of equipment with a special fire attribute if you use this jewel to craft it. However, you will need skills on par with the best of the best on the continent to craft it.

[Frozen Sapphire]

A sapphire made out of frozen blood, containing a chill that never fades.

+You may imbue a piece of equipment with a special ice attribute if you use this jewel to craft it. However, you will need skills on par with the best of the best on the continent to craft it.

[Bright Moonstone]

A moonstone with an aura different from that of ordinary moonstones. It resembles a miniature full moon.

+You may imbue a piece of equipment with a special moonlight attribute if you use this jewel to craft it. However, you will need skills on par with the best of the best on the continent to craft it.

Meanwhile, Henrick tapped on the glass bottle where Quishow was stored as he asked, “How the hell did you treat the monsters, for them to be so hostile toward you?”

“That’s not true…! Quishow was a nice fairy! Everyone else was mean to them except for Quishow!” Quishow protested.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored its ranting and said, “Hand over the booze.”

“Sniff…! O-Over there… The alcohol is all over there…!” Quishow said while sniffling.

Kang Yoon-Soo walked over to a plain wall that had no jewels on it. The moment he extended the glass bottle containing Quishow toward it, the wall opened up. Inside was a secret place that the corrupted fairies had used to stash their treasures. It was filled with ancient gold, winged artifacts, feather-light swords and shields, and shining robes.

The men drooled greedily while looking at the treasures. They intended to take some for themselves, but they were stopped by Kang Yoon-Soo.

“There are curses placed on the corrupted fairies’ treasures,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Haha! Which treasures on the continent don’t have curses on them?” Hawk replied before greedily putting on a pair of winged shoes.

Subsequently, however, Hawk ended up having to tap dance until he fainted from exhaustion. Upon witnessing the sight, the rest of the men backed off from the corrupted fairies’ treasures.

Kang Yoon-Soo took out the only items that had not been cursed by the fairies.

[Hard Liquor of the Corrupted Fairies]

A strong liquor made out of fermented apples by the corrupted fairies. It is very bitter and strong. Anyone who manages to drink the entire bottle and take five steps will be recognized as a true drunkard.

+It can serve as a very effective antiseptic.

Kang Yoon-Soo stored all of the bottles in his backpack.

Danesh approached him and asked, “What floor is the dragon’s lair on? We’ve already climbed down quite a bit, you know?”

“The two hundredth floor,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

They were on the hundredth floor, which meant they still had to climb down a hundred more floors.

Danesh sighed in resignation and grumbled, “We have to walk all the way down there…? We might die of boredom on the way…”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, shaking his head. He continued, “We’ll fall.”

“What…?” Danesh muttered with a confused expression.

Kang Yoon-Soo kicked the treasure stash. Hidden behind it was a large golden jewel that shone more brightly than any other jewel in the mine; it was larger than the others as well.

As he walked toward the golden jewel, Quishow screamed as loudly as it could, “Don’t touch that!” It started to smash its tiny fist desperately against the glass bottle while yelling, “No! Don’t touch that jewel! You crazy human bastard!”

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored the fairy’s ravings and took out his sword, then stabbed and broke the golden jewel.

The entire mine started to tremble, and the others jumped in surprise and clung to the walls. However, nothing seemed to have happened.

“What the? Nothing happe…”

At that moment, however…

The ground suddenly collapsed, briefly leaving the party in midair. Then, the powerful air pressure created by the hole sucked them in.

“Euuuuaaak!”

“What the hell?!”

“We’re falling!”

The entire jewel mine began to fall.

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