Chapter 31: The Dwarf’s Apprentice and the Coal Rabbit

Well, I came to buy a pickaxe, but it looks like I’m about to become a dwarf’s apprentice?  

“Such strength! Such passion! You’re bound to become an exceptional craftsman!”  

His eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.  

“An apprentice?”  

“Yes! I’ll teach you all the skills I’ve honed over a lifetime! Don’t you need blacksmithing skills to handle the minerals mined from the Floating Island?”  

It felt a bit overwhelming, but there was no reason to refuse a skill that people would pay a fortune to learn, especially when he was practically begging to teach me.  

“Alright. If I’m going to learn, I’ll do it properly.”  

When I said that, the dwarf craftsman grinned with a childlike innocence.  

This feels a bit unsettling.  

“But, um, I have my own work to do, so I can’t stay here all the time.”  

“No problem at all. Just come by and learn whenever you have time.”  

Saying that, he waddled excitedly to a corner, rummaging through something.  

“You’ve already got the strength and stamina, so you can start learning the techniques right away. Just don’t forget to review what you’ve learned!”  

“Yes, understood.”  

“No time to waste—let’s start today. We’ll make a pickaxe, so watch closely what I do.”  

The lesson began immediately.  

“This is steel. It’s stronger than regular iron. We’ll add this to increase its durability even more.”  

He showed me the contents of a leather pouch—a deep red powder.  

“When you mix ruby powder into steel, it enhances its strength.”  

“Rubies? Is it okay to use such an expensive enhancement stone for a pickaxe?”  

“For a pickaxe meant to mine Floating Island minerals, this is the least it needs.”  

He seemed especially excited whenever he talked about the Floating Island.  

Then he began the demonstration.  

“Pay attention here. If you hammer it wrong, it’ll shatter and become useless.”  

Clang! Clang!  

He hammered with precision, and I watched intently, committing every move to memory.  

The sight of a craftsman carefully forging an item in the intense orange and yellow glow of the forge was nothing short of awe-inspiring.  

Clang! Clang! Sizzle—  

The sounds of hammering and quenching rang out like music.  

“There, it’s done.”  

“That was so thrilling to watch, my hands were sweating!”  

“This isn’t a job for the faint-hearted. One mistake, and it’s irreparable. That’s why expensive materials are entrusted to craftsmen like me, and equipment made with such care is worth a fortune.”  

I closely examined the finished pickaxe.  

It gleamed with a dazzling silver sheen, and gripping the handle, I felt a reassuring heft in my hands.  

Even I, who knew little about tools, could tell this was no ordinary pickaxe.  

“How much do I owe you?”  

“Money? Just take it.”  

“What? You’re giving this to me? The ruby alone must be worth at least ten gold coins!”  

“Can’t I give my apprentice a pickaxe as a gift?”  

“Really?”  

“If you’re that grateful, bring me some minerals from the Floating Island later. They’re useful in many ways.”  

The dwarf craftsman rubbed his nose, looking a bit embarrassed.  

Even if he had ulterior motives for gifting the pickaxe, it was a generous offer.  

“Thank you! I’ll make good use of it!”  

“Feel free to use the forge whenever you want to practice. Even if I’m not here, you’re welcome anytime.”  

And so, I unexpectedly became the apprentice of the dwarf craftsman, Kadu, and returned to the Floating Island with an enhanced steel pickaxe.  

***  

Back on the Floating Island, I headed straight underground.  

Ting! Ting!  

“Whoa! This is amazing!”  

Just changing the tool made mining noticeably easier.  

Before, no matter how much force I used, the pickaxe would dull or fail to dig into the ore properly, but this one transferred my strength directly to the rock.  

Ting! Ting!  

In my excitement, I mined a ton of coal.  

Crack.  

As I stretched my shoulders after finishing, I heard my bones creak.  

The rocks were quite tough, and a few hours of work left my shoulders stiff.  

Still, the satisfying feeling of coal breaking off cleanly was exhilarating.  

I decided to keep going.  

“I’ve checked this side already, so the other side’s next, right?”  

I moved to the remaining area and started working.  

The first underground level was larger than I’d expected, with coal scattered throughout, so it took quite a while.  

Ting! Ting!  

Then—  

I froze.  

“Huh?”  

Something sparkled in my field of vision.  

Leaning in for a closer look—  

A red stone the size of a bean.  

“…A ruby?!”  

A ruby was embedded right there in the rock!  

I stood there, stunned, for a while.  

“Now it’s producing expensive enhancement stones? Floating Island, you’re kind of incredible!”  

Ding.  

[The Floating Island is feeling proud.]  

Now the Floating Island even expresses its feelings from time to time.  

Is this a sign of growing familiarity?  

It almost feels like the Floating Island itself is a living being now.  

I mined carefully to avoid damaging the ruby.  

Finally, I picked up the bean-sized ruby from the crumbled rock debris.  

Sparkle.  

Its red glow shimmered brilliantly—at least, that’s how it looked to me.  

It was small, but it should be enough to enhance a pickaxe.  

I carefully tucked the ruby into my coin pouch and set aside a sack full of coal.  

There was already plenty of coal stored above ground, so I planned to keep the rest from the first level down here.  

The area around the entrance seemed mostly cleared.  

But then—  

Zzt.  

“What’s that?”  

I felt an unfamiliar gaze.  

I looked around, but nothing was there.  

“Elenia?”  

No response.  

Of course—Elenia was probably playing with Dorori up on the surface.  

Come to think of it, didn’t she say something might pop up down here?  

Just in case, I gripped my pickaxe tightly and cautiously moved toward where I felt the gaze.  

Twitch.  

Something moved on my left.  

“Over there?”  

I swung my pickaxe in the direction of the movement, but I was a moment too late.  

Scurry.  

A fluffy white thing darted behind a rock into a small crevice.  

No way, a rat?  

On farms, field mice are a nuisance, stealing crops.  

They probably wouldn’t come up to the surface from this deep underground, but it still made me a bit uneasy.  

Oh, right—I shouldn’t be dawdling.  

The kids must be hungry.  

***  

As I emerged from the underground cave, Elenia swooped over.  

“Did you mine a lot?”  

“I’ve got something to show you. Ta-da!”  

I showed her the ruby I’d carefully stored in my coin pouch.  

“You mined a ruby? You’re lucky today.”  

“I was so shocked when I found it, I just froze! I never imagined gems would come from the Floating Island!”  

“It’s one of the byproducts the Floating Island creates.”  

“So, does it have different effects from gems mined on the surface?”  

“From what I recall, they’re said to be pure crystals without impurities.”  

“Oh! That means they’re high-purity! Kadu told me high-purity gems are more stable for enhancements.”  

Using high-purity gems meant a higher success rate for enhancements.  

In other words, even with my novice skills, I could enhance things more reliably.  

“I should use this to enhance my pickaxe further. It’s already good at breaking rocks, but with an upgrade, I could mine even tougher stuff easily.”  

Plus, if something popped up down there, I could swing my pickaxe to scare it off.  

“Just changing one tool made work so much easier. Maybe I’ll try making farming tools next.”  

“Suddenly? You don’t even know how to smelt. You can’t just hammer iron and expect results.”  

“Oh, I forgot to mention—I became a dwarf craftsman’s apprentice.”  

“What did you say?!”  

Elenia’s jaw dropped.  

By the way—  

No matter how busy I am, I can’t neglect farming.  

I’d planned to spend the whole day mining, but since I was up here, I decided to tend to the fields for a bit.  

Scrape.  

I started plowing a new patch of land.  

“What are you planting?”  

“Soybeans for making fermented paste. You can’t have Eastern Continent food without it. Yujin’s mom said she’d teach me how to make it once we harvest.”  

“Fermented paste made from soybeans grown on the Floating Island? That sounds exciting.”  

I planted the soybeans in the tilled field and watered them.  

“That should do it. Time to get back to mining?”  

“You’re going back underground? Aren’t you tired?”  

“Not at all. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find another ruby. Making money is always fun.”  

“You’re hopeless.”  

I grabbed my pickaxe and headed back underground.  

Ting! Ting!  

I checked every nook and cranny of the cave, mining the remaining coal.  

The thrill of each swing as I mined coal!  

It was like squeezing blackheads from pores—  

Utterly addictive.  

Before I knew it—  

Ding.  

[The first underground level has been cleared.]  

[The Floating Island is pleased.]  

[1 Growth Point has been earned.]  

[Current Growth Points: 1]  

Ding.  

[The path to the second underground level has been unlocked.]  

Rumble.  

A hidden staircase revealed itself in the rock wall.  

“Wow…!”  

Cleaning earns Growth Points? And it unlocks new underground levels?  

This just makes me want to work even harder.  

That aside, what’s down on the second level?  

If rubies came from the first level, maybe sapphires or diamonds will show up?!  

Well, I’ll find out when I get there.  

I strode down the stairs.  

Contrary to my expectations, the second level didn’t look much different from the first.  

It was made of gray rock walls, with glowing stones providing light here and there.  

Let’s see, any gems…  

I stepped forward, eyes blazing with anticipation.  

But then—  

Huh? 

Why is it so clean here?  

Not a single piece of coal was in sight.  

As I started to sense something was off—  

Pop.  

Something appeared in my vision.  

It was pitch black with perky ears sticking out…  

“A rabbit?”  

A black rabbit.  

A rabbit underground? Is that really a rabbit?  

I stared at the sudden appearance.  

It definitely looked like a rabbit, but its movements were a bit odd.  

And the bigger issue—  

“Its body is made of coal?”  

Yes, a coal rabbit.  

The coal was moving as if it were alive.  

Ding.  

[The spirit has played a mischievous prank.]  

[A rabbit golem has appeared.]  

[Mission! Defeat all golems to clean up.]  

A spirit?  

My head spun trying to make sense of the situation.  

No, now’s not the time to think.  

I’ll figure it out later—focus on what’s in front of me.  

I knew things were going too smoothly.  

I gripped my enhanced pickaxe tightly and glared at the rabbit golem.