Crafting Gear From Monster Genes

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The strikes of the pickaxes echoed through the cave as several miners toiled away, working up a sweat to reach the green light emanating from a fracture in the wall.

To the left of the chasm lay a vein of Orazit Ore, which the experienced miners spotted immediately. It was in the wall, a few meters from the edge.

"Alright, guys, just a little more!" Gukard’s powerful voice boomed as he raised his pickaxe with both hands.

With the next strike, Gukard broke through the wall as the green light fell on his face.

"Heh, there they are!"

There was only one reason why Gukard and the miners decided to start mining Orazit right now, even though their mission was something else - they were supposed to extend Mine C11.

Leora wanted to check the quality of the Orazit near the chasm.

She wasn’t doing this for Kreyn, who needed 99% Orazit to upgrade his ability, but for the Crooked Horn. If they could actively mine even a small amount of Orazit with a purity above 90%, their profits would at least double.

Crack.

Gukard broke off a chunk of ore as he tossed it to the ground and pulled a small hammer and a chisel from his belt.

"Tsk. That’s a pretty rough method, and it even hurts my heart to do it, but we don’t have any other option right now."

With one blow after another, he chipped away the rocky layer, and soon only a bright, green crystal remained before him. In the process of cleaning it, Gukard slightly damaged the crystal, but it was worth it.

"What do you think?" Leora approached him, her hands crossed over her chest.

They didn’t have an analyzer here, so it was impossible to determine the purity accurately, but given Gukard’s experience, his eyes alone served as analyzers.

"Hmm..." Gukard hummed as he turned the crystal over in his hands. "It’s definitely at least 75%, maybe higher. There’s one way to find out for sure, I hope my eyes don’t let me down."

After that, Gukard placed the crystal on the ground and, without mercy, brought his hammer down hard on it, shattering the crystal into pieces.

The green energy burst out, sweeping past Gukard like dust.

"The color is rich and vivid... What’s more, I don’t see any dark impurities at all."

Gukard turned around.

"Leora, this can only happen if the crystal’s purity is over 80 percent."

Then, he pointed at the wall.

"Sure, we’ve already found a few crystals like this, but something tells me that if we dig through this wall down to the very last stone, we’ll find something truly valuable."

Leora pondered, tapping her chin, as Kreyn’s calm voice rang out from the side:

"So this really is the way to their nest?"

He gazed into the chasm, at the dense green light that concealed the stone bridges and the Rahta Beasts on the lower levels.

Leora nodded. "It looks like they’ve built their nest around the main and most valuable ore deposits. Though it couldn’t be any other way. They were here long before us."

"What are we going to do?" Kreyn asked, still looking down.

Leora glanced at the shattered crystal, then at the miners. A plan of action quickly formed in her mind.

"Gukard, send your guys to get some ropes. When Kreyn and I return from the chasm, we might need to get out of here fast. We’ll need at least four ropes, just in case."

"Huh." Gukard grinned. "Already eager to jump into battle and not afraid to take a little one with you?"

"Not into battle, but on a scouting mission. If there really are deposits of pure Orazit there, then we simply have to go there and clear all the caves of monsters. Also, extract all the ore from the wall and then seal the passage with dynamite."

In an instant, Gukard’s expression turned serious.

"Do you think they’ll come after you?"

She nodded deeply. "They were guarding a simple breach, imagine what they’ll do down there. If there’s a chance to get rid of a bunch of beasts at once, we have to do it."

"I see."

Clap.

Gukard clapped his calloused hands together.

"Alright, you’ve all heard her! Hurry up, in half an hour, I want ropes, explosives, and a whole mine cart of ore here!"

"YES!" The miners replied in unison and scattered like ants to carry out their tasks.

Leora stepped to the edge - their target was the nearest bridge below them.

"Hey, don’t rush," Gukard called out to them as he tossed something to Kreyn.

The throw was precise, Kreyn only had to reach out his hand.

"What’s this?" Kreyn looked at an old nail with a broken tip.

"Think of it as my good-luck charm. Give it back when you return, with my charm, you’ll definitely make it out of there!"

A slight smile spread across Kreyn’s face as he clenched the nail and nodded.

"I see. Thanks, I’ll try not to lose it, but I can’t promise anything."

Gukard shrugged. "That’s more than enough."

Then, Leora gave him a cold look.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just have one question. Are we fighting them or going all the way down?"

"We’ll fight them, one bridge at a time, gradually. A few beasts aren’t a threat to us. We’ve got plenty of time."

Kreyn tossed the broken nail into the air, catching it deftly.

"Got it."

Exchanging a glance, they jumped off the cliff at the same time, landing on the first bridge.

The bridges were quite thin and round, as the Rahta Beasts moved across them, but there were enough of them that even an ordinary person could jump from one to the next.

"Onward."

Thump. Thump.

They jumped from one bridge to the next until the Rahta Beasts noticed them.

"RGH!"

The two beasts lunged at Leora, but she was faster. She leaped forward as the monsters’ claws sliced through nothing but air. Then, her palms struck their heads as electric shocks seared their trembling bodies.

When one beast attacked Kreyn, he took a simpler approach.

BAM!

He kicked the beast that had leaped at him, sending it plummeting to the very bottom of the chasm.

Leora watched the receding shadow as she placed her hand on her hip.

"Didn’t you need genes? You just lost one."

"I’m just focused on the mission. On the way back, I’ll pick up everything I missed, and—"

THUMP!

The shadow swept past as two heavy paws slammed into Leora’s shoulder.

Her eyes widened as she reached out, trying to grab the edge, but... she was too far away, and her fingertips only grazed the surface.

CLUTCH!

At the last moment, Kreyn’s hand gripped her wrist tightly.

Their eyes met.

He could let go of her hand right now. It didn’t matter that she was a Hunter: falling from that height would mean broken legs at best, and such an injury while surrounded by monsters was certain death.

Still, without hesitation, Kreyn’s grip tightened as he lifted Leora.

"Kha!" Leora gasped, feeling the ground beneath her feet again.

"You know, you’re damn heavy." Kreyn glared at her.

"Ha, do you think that’s supposed to hurt my feelings? My body is healthy and strong, and that’s what matters."

"A lot of women would disagree with you on that."

"I don’t care what others think. And..." Her gaze fell on him. "You should work out more - you barely managed to lift me."

"Huh, is that how you thank me for saving you?" Kreyn threw his head back.

But the next moment, their expressions turned serious as they looked around.

Neither Leora nor Kreyn saw who pushed her. Still, the shadow was lurking somewhere nearby, and it was definitely not an ordinary Rahta Beast.

"It seems," Kreyn furrowed his brow, "we’re actually heading in the right direction. The nest is close."

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