17 – The Miner is Happy (2)
If you’ve done wrong, pay with your body!
Something an unscrupulous boss would say.
But the person who said that wasn’t someone like an unscrupulous boss.
It was none other than the head of the academy herself who spoke those words.
To prove that, if you make a mistake, you don’t get punished with penalties or detention, but with labor at the scene itself.
Just like me.
“This is the Cloud Mine.”
I had seen this scenery many times in games, but seeing it firsthand felt different.
The distinct musty air of the mine, the sharp cracking noise that pierced my ears.
And even the voices of men showing off their strength.
I couldn’t help but admire the realism that I couldn’t feel in the game.
“Wow, you’re the student from the academy?”
“Ah, yes. My name is Ron.”
As I turned my head following the deep voice,
I met the muscular man who slowly approached me.
A middle-aged man stood before me with a pickaxe in hand.
He scanned me up and down as if evaluating me,
then nodded with a satisfied expression on his face.
“I was worried some useless guy would show up. But it seems like a decent one came!”
The satisfied man chuckled and provided a brief self-introduction along with the work details.
“My name is Hobu. I am like the leader of these miners. And this is the bag you’ll use.”
“I see.”
If things went well, even an adult male could fit in there.
I had to fill that bag with ore.
Ordinarily, students would feel overwhelmed at the thought, but personally, it seemed too small.
I had at least three or four mines in mind to excavate.
This bag wouldn’t even make a dent.
“Don’t worry too much. You’ll fill it up in no time!”
Contrary to my worries,
warm comfort came as if to console my fear.
Thankful for the consideration, I replied and took a step forward.
“Your goal is 100kg of ore. Though I called it ore, coal is also acceptable, so don’t worry too much.”
“If I’m lucky, I might even find 50kg coal.”
“Oh? How do you manage that?”
Naturally, I knew.
I have used this place numerous times.
Cloud Mines yield 80% coal, 18% iron, and a 2% chance of silver.
Among those, the probability of coal, which is more abundant, is not a far-fetched story even at 50kg.
“Can I start right away then?”
“Well, I’ve seen many students, but you’re the first one to get started like this. Sure, if you don’t need any explanations, let’s get started!”
Whether he trusted me or thought of it as youthful enthusiasm, I couldn’t tell.
Without any suspicion, they handed me the pickaxe.
“If you need anything, just let me know. And this is a secret, but if you keep digging after achieving your goal, you can get more money.”
“… Yes, thank you for the good information.”
It’s already information I know.
That was one of my purposes for coming here in the first place.
After finishing the guide with that, we entered the mine, and a different dimension of air hit me from the outside.
Although I covered my mouth with “Cheon” fabric,
This isn’t a modern mask, can I block it with this piece of cloth?
If there was time, I would have bought Cheon which has Purification power, but it’s regrettable that there isn’t enough time.
“Well, let’s start appropriately then.”
I found my place and started mining.
Every time the pickaxe was struck, a small flame rose up,
Small rocks fell apart, creating little holes.
Tang-tang! Tang-tang!
“I can hear it! The sound of muscles screaming!”
Going to the mines is worth it for strength training. It’s no wonder they say that going to an academy prison will help increase magic.
The pressure felt every time the pickaxe was struck.
It’s not the same as swinging a sword.
“As expected, there aren’t enough sacks.”
How long could it take for the sack to be filled so quickly?
It’s distressing if this happens when I haven’t even started yet.
Should I ask the person I met earlier to borrow a mining cart?
I should borrow at least two or three mining carts.
Otherwise, it won’t do anything else but disturb.
“It hasn’t come out yet, and only a little bit of iron has come out.”
With a full sack on my shoulders, I headed toward the outside.
Fortunately, it seems that time didn’t pass too much because the position of the sun was not significantly different from when I went in.
“As expected, a student is a student. How hard it must be for you to come out.”
Turning my head at the voice of contempt,
The miners who were taking a break happened to make eye contact.
The other miners near the one who spoke first seemed to sympathize with him.
They started muttering and openly giving me dirty looks.
“Must be some fancy kid from a good family. Always quick to give up.”
“These days, kids have no perseverance. None at all!”
Since there was no need to engage with them or to be friendly, I ignored them and looked for the man I had met earlier.
It wasn’t difficult to spot the man as I casually glanced around.
From Noble mtl dot com
But he was standing near the miners who had been giving me dirty looks, with an angry expression on his face.
“You seem to be quite popular here, huh?”
“Ah, Captain!”
“You still have the energy to talk back, so go back in and get back to work!”
Ah, that man is the captain.
The miners who were startled by the captain’s command once again picked up their picks and went back into the mine.
After snickering at the miners, he came over to me and bowed his head.
“Sorry. They’re just ignorant fools.”
It wasn’t even his fault, but he bowed his head and apologized to me, a young man.
This was a moment that showed the captain’s character.
“Is there something I can do for you?”
“Of course! If I can do it, I will do anything for you!”
Even though I didn’t really know what I would ask for, he willingly accepted.
In case I get cheated, I thought.
I put down the heavy sack and said, “I just need about 3 or 4 mine carts, please.”
***
‘Is it almost over?’
Professor F, who was in charge of Class F, checked the time as he walked.
A student named Ron who had caused trouble.
It had been a week since he left for the mine.
Ring boarded a wagon heading to the mine and thought deeply.
He is a truly strange student.
That’s the evaluation of Ron that Ring thinks of.
At first, when the petition came, he thought it was another problem child from Class F.
But two days after the petition came in,
A female student suddenly came and asked if she could cancel the petition.
When asked the reason, she said she couldn’t bear it even if she was asked to.
When he asked for a detailed explanation instead of vague rambling,
The answer that came back was even more confusing.
‘They asked to send a petition with a fabricated crime that doesn’t exist, and not just to anyone else, but to themselves.’
Ring’s teaching career is not that long.
But he was sure that Ron’s achievements couldn’t be surpassed.
Who would beg to be reported by crazy people?
He sighed involuntarily because he couldn’t understand Ron’s intention.
“We’ve arrived.”
“T, thank you.”
Indeed, it is scary to talk to people.
Just talking to a stableman belonging to the Academy makes him shiver,
Talking with his corpse friends is much better.
As he got off the wagon and moved his steps leisurely, he arrived at the Cloud Mine where Ron was.
‘What’s going on?’
He’s almost never been to the mine,
But he could sense that the atmosphere was not good.
As he looked around to find out what was going on, a desperate miner suddenly ran towards him.
“Are, are you the professor?”
“Yes? Yes?”
He gave a scream-like answer, startled by the approaching miner.
But the confusion about the sudden question was only for a moment.
Another miner who boasted a bigger build than the miner who approached him stepped forward and stopped him.
“I’m sorry. It’s not a usual thing.”
“I, what in the world….”
When asked by the man who was sincerely apologizing, the man answered with an embarrassed look.
“Wasn’t there a student named Ron sent here last time?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“He worked diligently without showing any sign of difficulty, and that was good.”
Was that the problem?
Ling harbored such doubts, but the problem came next.
“He worked too hard. Due to mining most of the mine’s ore, the mine will soon be closed down.”
“…What? Can you explain it again?”
“After Ron takes out all the ore, we will all be laid off.”
Ling momentarily doubted his hearing.
A small mine, and not even a small-scale mine, but one of the large-scale mines, Cloud Mine, is closing down with just one student.
As he harbored doubts about the explanation that was simply unbelievable, he heard a familiar voice from a distance.
“Oh? Professor. Have you arrived already?”
“Ron, my student?”
The one waving his hand and greeting him was indeed Ron, but what he was bringing along exceeded his understanding.
A total of twelve full ore carts.
Ron was casually pulling all those carts.
He could vaguely understand why the miners reacted that way.
“We have to go back. I still want to do more.”
Everyone present was stunned by Ron’s words.
To work like this and still want to do more.
Clearly, he had achieved his goal, but there was still more to do in Ron’s voice.
“Do you intend to make us all unemployed?”
A disgruntled voice mixed with resentment was thrown at Ron.
To that, Ron smiled slyly and calmly replied.
From the beginning, I never had any intention of getting close to that person. How does it feel to be treated like that by someone who used to ignore you?”
“That son of a..!”
Ron looked at another miner without any care for the anger of the first miner.
“I’m sorry for causing unnecessary trouble for the captain.”
“It’s okay. It’s already over, what else can we say?”
Although he responded calmly while resenting him inside,
As if he anticipated it, Ron replied with a playful smile.
“Then Professor. Is this the end of my punishment?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t know how much ore he had mined.
But even with the ore he brought now, he would achieve his goal and have some excess.
Looking at Ron’s back disappearing into the sunset, Ling thought.
“Another weird student came in…”
Surely, the people who were in the same place would think the same thing.
Ling did not doubt it.