Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Mining Quest
“Ah, it’s you guys again. You must really love this quest to take it over ten times now. Adventurers sure are a curious bunch.”
“Haha, that just means it’s a great quest!”
When you take the same quest multiple times, it seems like people start to remember your face.
Despite the exasperated look from the gatekeeper of the underground dungeon, Sora and the others accepted the quest and were handed the ?Fine Pickaxe?, a testament to the many hours they’ve already spent on this challenge.
By the way, at the beginning, they were given a ?Worn-Out Pickaxe? that had a 50% drop rate for “rock,” so it was quite a journey to get to this point.
In front of them was a long staircase leading down into the underground.
With Sora leading the way, the three of them cheerfully descended the wide stairs.
The materials used by the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Kingdom primarily come from the vast underground dungeon that lies ahead.
The quest that we adventurers take on— ?In Search of Ores?— is one of those supply quests. The objective is simple: mine the ores in the dungeon and bring the required amount back to the gatekeeper.
Only proper ores like “Iron Ore” and “High-Quality Iron Ore” count toward the total. Naturally, junk items like the “Rock” you easily find in the beginning are excluded.
The minimum reward is around 50,000 El.
However, if you exceed the required amount, you can hand over a certain number of additional ores to upgrade your reward.
By using the full five-hour time limit and upgrading from the lowest to the highest rank, the reward can increase from 50,000 El to 200,000 El.
Even with just the lowest-rank ores, you can raise the reward to the maximum, and by selling the high-rank ores you’ve kept, such as “Steel Ore” or “High-Quality Steel Ore,” at the tool shop, you can consistently earn an additional 400,000 to 500,000 El.
All in all, the maximum income from this quest totals around 600,000 to 700,000 El.
When it was discovered that this quest was incredibly lucrative, hundreds of top players flocked to it. Grasping the?Worn-Out Pickaxes? lent by the dungeon gatekeeper, everyone swung with all their might at the walls.
Although the rush has calmed down since then, dozens of adventurer groups still face the walls with pickaxes in hand every day.
Among the top players of Astral Online, this quest is affectionately known as ?In Search of El?.
In terms of difficulty, if you’ve made it this far into the country, it’s not too challenging.
The enemies that appear during mining are mostly skeleton types, and facing just one at a time isn’t much of a threat.
“…Oh, there it is, just as I thought.”
Using her ?Perception? skill, Sora spotted the skeleton monster in advance. In the dim dungeon corridor, she gripped the hilt of her ?Silver Sword? and activated ?Sonic Sword IV?.
With a speed so fast that even Shin and Rou had difficulty tracking her, Sora dashed down the corridor, infused her blade with light energy, and slashed in one swift motion.
The skeleton, struck by the blindingly fast slash, was split in two from its crotch to its head. The damage, doubled by the weakness to light, obliterated its HP in an instant.
The skeletal monster disintegrated into particles of light, granting a small amount of experience points.
“Alright, I think the next good spot is just a bit further ahead.”
When Sora turned back as if nothing had happened, she noticed that her two friends were strangely horrified.
“You’ve still got that crazy reaction time, huh?”
“That was definitely a move no human should be able to do. I think we’d only barely be able to react to it ourselves.”
…They’re treating me like I’m not even human…
By the way, the skeleton earlier was level 30, which is fairly high. Mid-level players who haven’t properly leveled up would struggle and wouldn’t be able to focus on mining ores.
Even so, because this is the top earning spot at the moment, it’s not uncommon to see adventurers wearing gear that suggests they’ve just reached mid-level.
Well, as expected, within minutes they get surrounded and pummeled by skeletons, and I’ve had to help out a few times…
In most cases, these are usually players who have just reached level 20 and are no longer beginners. No matter how much El you can earn, it’s not wise to challenge front-line quests without any chance of success.
Seeing these inexperienced players in action makes me think that clans like the ?Sword Princess Support Group?, which help beginners, are probably necessary.
As I was thinking about that, we arrived at our destination.
According to the mining status displayed on the map, this area hasn’t been touched by anyone today.
“So, let’s work hard on mining today too!”
“Yeah!”
Switching gears, I raised my pickaxe once again today.
My target was the dungeon wall in front of me.
There were glowing spots here and there in the dim light, and when I swung the pickaxe down with all my might, a high-pitched sound echoed from the point where the pickaxe struck the glowing part of the wall.
…Wait, what?
What reached my ears wasn’t the usual “Kiin” sound I had heard countless times before, but a heavy “Giin” sound instead.
“What was that…!?”
Sora picked up the rainbow-colored ore that had dropped with a plop and, upon seeing the item name, was left speechless.
“No… no way…”
What he held wasn’t just a “Stone,” “Iron Ore,” or even “High-Quality Iron Ore.”
It wasn’t even from the higher-ranked “Steel Ore” series.
This was “Magic Iron Ore.”
As far as I can recall, collecting 50 of these and bringing them to the blacksmith allows you to convert them into “Magic Iron,” an extremely rare ore that’s even higher in rank than the steel series.
I knew it was possible to mine it here, but in reality, this ore has an insanely low drop rate of about one in ten thousand, even after all the players who’ve attempted it.
No way.
This isn’t something that should drop this easily.
Sweat broke out on Sora’s forehead as she stared intently at the rainbow-colored ore in her hand.
“Magic Iron” is an item used in the crafting of weapons and armor. When used, it allows you to add a single ability to the weapon.
There are only two weapons I know of that use this special material, and one of them is the ?Sword of Dawn? that my partner Kuro owns. That sword has the ability “Fatal blow,” which increases power when a critical hit occurs.
The other is a spear with the “Self-Repair” ability, which restores durability every five seconds. I saw it in an NPC shop.
However, this spear, with its added ability, is priced at a staggering 10 million El—so expensive it could make your eyes pop out. Since spears aren’t a popular weapon category, it’s still sitting in the shop’s display case.
Buying it would be extremely difficult.
Bringing myself back to reality, I realized this ore is one of the most rare and valuable items available right now.
Even with a luck buff, if it drops this easily, it’s only a matter of time before top-tier players rush to that high-end café I mentioned earlier.
This has to be a coincidence… right?
Just to test it, I swung the pickaxe at another glowing spot on the wall with all my strength.
This time, it dropped “High-Quality Iron Ore.”
I swung again at the wall.
And once more, the same sound echoed, and another “Magic Iron Ore” dropped.
“This… is the effect of the luck boost…!”
Sora trembled with emotion.
If she could get her hands on some “Magic Iron,” she could use it as an additional material when asking Kirie to reforge her maxed-out ?Silver Sword?. That way, her precious sword, her other half, could become even stronger.
“Hey, Shin, Rou…”
Just as she was about to share this news with his friends, she noticed that Shin and Rou, who were mining nearby, had also found “Magic Iron Ore.” They were staring at her in shock and disbelief.
“This… could it be…?”
“We’ve only got 20 minutes left. Let’s mine with everything we’ve got!”
“If any skeletons show up, we’ll take turns dealing with them!”
“Got it!”
The three of them gripped their pickaxes tightly and turned their focus back to the dungeon wall.
—– —– —– —– —– —– —– —– —–
After a while, a group of mid-level student players, who had taken on the same quest to earn some El, arrived in the underground dungeon with pickaxes in hand.
Their levels had just reached 30, and they were secretly excited about encountering skeleton-type monsters for the first time.
“Man, dungeons are really this scary, huh?”
“What, you getting scared?”
“Scared? No way, I’ve cleared quite a few VRMMORPGs, you know.”
“Hey, quit bickering over nonsense.”
They continued deeper into the dungeon, checking the mining status on their map as they went.
Although they encountered skeletons a few times, the three of them were able to handle them without much trouble by working together. Afterward, they started bickering about the best way to handle the fights.
Then, after a while, they noticed three players of similar age, mining away with intense focus.
The three players were silently and relentlessly swinging their pickaxes at the glowing spots on the dungeon walls.
One of the students was about to ask if it was a good spot, but then he saw a small girl in a black coat and hood effortlessly slay a skeleton-type monster with a single strike, only to return to mining without a word.
The next skeleton that appeared was shattered by a single swing of a spear from a black-haired boy, so fast it was barely visible.
When yet another skeleton appeared, it was quickly dealt with by a handsome, brown-haired boy, who then resumed mining without even reporting the kill.
Even though these players were facing level 30 monsters, they were defeating them with a single blow, something that shouldn’t have been possible.
The secret seemed to lie in the weapons, which emitted an extraordinary glow when they used their skills. But the students had never seen anything like it before.
“Let’s… head somewhere else.”
“Y-Yeah, good idea.”
Overwhelmed by the almost mechanical and eerie atmosphere of the scene, the students decided not to say anything and chose to turn back.
Best not to mess with something you don’t understand.
For today, they decided it was best to pretend they hadn’t seen anything.
It was a rare moment where all their minds were in agreement.