Jason was astonished about the sheer quantity and quality of the ores and crystal the third cavern hall harbored.
However, it felt somewhat weird to him. Every single cavern hall had something unique about it, and none of them was the same.
Even if that may happen coincidentally, Jason couldn't help but look at everything with doubtful eyes.
'I must have been inside this maze-like cave for at least two days, if not longer, but I have yet to face a beast head-on, let alone find a way out of the cave...just where did I land?!'
Despite the treasure trove he had just found, Jason couldn't really be happy about it.
Rather than finding the elemental ores and crystals, he would be more pleased with a cavern tunnel that led him upwards.
It was not even important to reach the surface right now, just a single sign of him making some headway would be enough for him.
Unfortunately, that was easier said than done, and Jason began to take a look at the third cavern hall.
He appraised everything and looked for other tunnels that may lead him somewhere else.
As long as he was not at a dead-end it was already fine, and Jason could only hope against hope that he wouldn't be stuck there forever.
That was not too much to ask for after having been forced to enter a world he didn't even want to be right now.
Even if Manyr had many world bridges with Argos, Jason would rather be somewhere else.
In his opinion, every place with a society where he could procure information, without being forced to stay underground was much better than this situation.
At least, knowing a way out of the cave would be quite helpful.
Jason was slowly noticing that his bad mood was further plummeting and that he had to do something against it.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Because of that, he took Byakur out of the soul world before inserting a little mana into it.
Adjusting its length, he turned Byakur into a broad dagger before he used it to dig out one of the high-quality crystals.
After enveloping it with his mana, Jason took a proper look at it.
Using his senses and Emperor Eyes, he could perceive everything about it, which made him smile.
'At least I won't have to forge a new pickaxe for now…' He thought before storing the crystal away.
Then, he took a look at the elemental ores. Slowly, he inserted a large amount of mana into Byakur, and it vibrated lightly.
Making use of this, Jason cut out a small piece of one of the ores.
With a few kilograms of the element ore in his hand, he repeated the same procedure as he had already done with the elemental crystal.
Nodding to himself, he stored the ore away too.
Reaffirmed about his earlier thought, he accessed his spatial ring to take out a pickaxe made out of green metal.
It had multiple runes inscribed on the tip, and by inserting mana into the pickaxe he was holding, it glowed lightly.
Using his physical strength, Jason first lifted the pickaxe over his head before he struck the element ore in front of him.
Though he could pack a punch, it was impossible to destroy the ore with a single strike. However, he was happy to note that a large crack had appeared on it.
'If I can't cultivate properly, and I'm stuck in this stupid place, let me at least reap some benefits!'
Knowing that his situation was only temporary, Jason wanted to gain a fortune in order to make use of it once he encountered other beings.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})There had to be a society somewhere, and they would most certainly use currencies to trade with each other.
Thus, he required something to barter with, in order to obtain what he might need in the future.
Other than that, he could sell the high-ranked crystals and ores in order to earn the new currency.
With that in mind, Jason started to mine, ignoring the fact that the high-ranked crystals were, in fact, materials at the peak Lique and low Prismar rank.
They had been rare on Argos, but that was unlikely to be the case on Manyr, where he had already perceived the outlines of horrifying beasts he wanted to avoid encountering at all costs.
Despite the possibility of the crystals and ores not being rare, their quality would increase their worth, nonetheless.
Furthermore, Jason had to release his stress and frustration right now.
As such, he couldn't help but feel glad to have found the third cavern hall.
However, what astonished Jason a little bit, was the fact that it looked like the third cavern hall was the beginning of a new part of the cave.
Through his Emperor Eyes, he could see a total of three cavern tunnels, and all of them had the same element transmuted mana currents as well as the unmoving outlines of the transmutation process's origin.
As such, the entire part of the cave he had entered was filled with elemental crystals and element ores.
This was interesting to know but also told him that there were no intelligent races that had harvested these materials.
Not even beasts that normally devoured those crystals to cultivate could find them, which made Jason both happy and sad.
After several hours of mining, Jason slumped to the ground with a faint smile on his face.
Even if he was still frustrated, the tension weighing on him had subsided through the arduous physical task.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})His entire body felt sore, but it was a feeling that calmed him down.
'Not a single beast attacked me while I was mining, and the noises I made were by no means low. Does that mean the surrounding beasts simply don't care about me and what I do, or is there a different reason?'
Jason was not sure about the final answer, but that was not something he could influence either way.
Because he hadn't been attacked even after the clang and clamor of his pickaxe that had echoed through the cavern hall, and in turn the entire cave, Jason decided to release the restriction on his soul world.
Thus, only a moment later, Petri and Solaris appeared next to him.
Petri was in one of the smaller forms he could take thanks to use Artemis' size-altering ability, while Solaris had taken a liking to use the miniature form of the golden-eyed black flame dragon.
Smiling lightly when he felt their overjoyed emotions, the frustration within him slowly dispersed.
Astonishingly enough, Artemis had also decided to leave the soul world.
She had sensed Jason's joy and that the reasons for his happiness were Petri and Solaris.
Thus, driven by jealousy, Artemis ignored her discomfort of narrow places as she squeezed herself on Jason's shoulder.
Through this, she wanted to clearly show who Jason belonged to.
Yet, contrary to her expectations that Petri and Solaris would accept this, they began to cling to Jason as well.
In the end, Jason's shoulders were occupied by Solaris and Artemis, while Petri had coiled himself around his entire abdomen.
'I'm pretty sure that I can't continue mining like this,' Jason thought with a faint smile on his face.
He had to change his plan now, but that was not a problem because there was something else he had wanted to do!
