“No way, Herz, Ian really didn’t contact you?”

“Yeah. I just came out of the dungeon, but it looks like he has closed out all the personal messages too.”

“OMG… isn’t it weird?”

“Yeah. The last time he contacted was on the evening of the day before yesterday…”

In the Pyro residency.

Fiolan and Herz who were comfortably seated in the near table sighed.

“… today is Saturday, that means yesterday was Friday. Didn’t you start school? Or is Ian not feeling well from Friday?”

“No, it’s not about health, but he didn’t come to school.”

“…”

“This happens sometimes.”

“Aha…”

Fiolan shook her head.

In the meantime, there wasn’t much need for Ian, but today was a different scenario.

‘Uh, I’m a little nervous that Ian isn’t here…’

Then, about an hour later, the Red Crowe guild which was in the 13th rank of the guild ranking was starting a full-scale war.

And the Guild ranking of Lotus Guild has been the 15th, and the guild was one step higher than them.

The current guild ranking of the Lotus Guild, wasn’t so important for them, nor did it matter to them.

For the past one month, the head of the Lotus Guild had been working to let the ranking of the guild fall down, purposefully.

They had abandoned the form of guild activity from the side of the Lord Manor.

Besides the guild ranking points and the loss of fame points of the guild, but strategically it wasn’t a bad option.

Even after they had merged with the top guilds in the past, like Oaklan and Splendor, their rankings still fell.

The purpose of deliberately dropping the rank of their guild was to avoid the situation of a union of guilds coming against them.

If not, then the all-powerful Lotus Guild which was on the top rankings would attract the other guilds to unite against them.

There were times when several ranker guilds merged and the other guilds who felt insecure—crisis went against them.

But that was a lost situation.

If a few of the low guilds are taken out with full power, then the lost guild usually join the fight of the other guilds.

The Lotus Guild was now hiding.

Herz spoke,

“Well, Is it because of the Red Crowe Guild? Even if we don’t have Ian with us, we will win over them.”

Fiolan nodded and responded.

“I don’t think that we’ll lose either. But I just can’t help but wish Ian was here.”

Herz chuckled a little.

“But… if Ian was there the variables itself would disappear…”

Fiolan slowly got up from her seat.

It was the time she should check the guild power and start the preparation for the war.

“Phew, so what if Ian isn’t going to be there for the guild this time.”

* * *

“Hehehe.”

In the Northeastern side of the 25th division of the Devildom.

Inside the magic mines that belonged to Ian, the sound of gentle laughter could be heard.

And the one who was laughing was the owner, Ian!

“Master, even the slaves who work, take rest after 8 hours of work, what is happening in here?”

At those words from Kaka, Ian immediately responded.

“You’re so noisy, b*tch. It doesn’t sound like it, but are you complaining?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Where I live, if I go to work, I need to work for 12 hours a day.”

“…”

“But the subject of only the slavery is for 8 hours.”

Kaka asked with a flustered expression.

“Then the place you talk about, it is the world I heard of, Hell…!?You here are working much harder than the slaves!”

And gazed at Ian with a grim expression.

“So, is that why my master is working like this…?”

After fighting with Kaka for a while, Ian picked up the axe and started to work again.

‘100 lesser spirit stones. Just that much and I’ll get out of here…! If I’m going to fail at digging out the legendary magic stones, I’ll have to find another way.’

Ian had already been working in the mine for 20 hours, without a single break.

And Ian’s inventory had minerals piled up in it.

Ian looked into the inventory.

[Lesser marble stone – 267 ]

[Lowest grade marbles – 97]

[Lowest grade Iron – 879]

[Lesser Iron – 142 ]

[Intermediate Iron – 8 pieces]

[Lowest grade magic stones – 479]

[Lesser grade magic stones – 139]

[Intermediate Magic stones – 43]

‘Damn, I would’ve felt a little better, if I had obtained one of the higher grades…’

In the list of the mined minerals, it was clearly stated that there was a chance of getting the legendary stones.

However, the reality was different, it was a fortune to have a couple of intermediate items.

Kang – Kang- Kang-

Even while checking the inventory, Ian didn’t stop picking.

‘But I don’t want to stop. If I sell off what I have now, won’t they at least get me a little of 20 million gold?’

But right then.

In the pile of ore, that was being picked by Ian, a white light suddenly began to escape from the cracks.

“…!!”

And Ian looked closer to it.

‘This is it! just like Han had said, a high-grade mineral stone has a special light in them…’

Ian picked up his axe and started to carefully pick it.

And at last, the source of white light was finally revealed.

“Oh my… this is so beautiful…!”

Ian dropped the pickaxe he was holding and took out a small-sized mining equipment.

It was like an item that looked like half of a pickle and a shovel.

‘Well is it the time, for me to finally use this?’

Mithril pickaxe, the mining equipment that Han had lent to Ian before returning to his break.

Within two days, the affinity of Han with Ian was to the extent of lending him a precious mining equipment.

Ian carefully picked up the equipment and began to shave off the surrounding mud around the mineral.

Shak- Shak-!

Along with the uncomfortable movements, the ore began to shatter.

[Due to lack of finesse, the durability of the ore is damaged by 5!]

[Due to lack of finesse, the durability of the ore is damaged by 7!]

[The durability is less than 80%, hence the grade dropped one level.]

[The durability of ore is less than 70%, hence the grade dropped another level.]

After more than thirty minutes, Ian succeeded in mining it out.

[You have successfully mined out the mineral!]

[Insufficient finesse has damaged the minerals.]

[Intermediate grade magic stones obtained.]

“This… this…”

When Ian saw the messages that were emerging, he had a blank expression.

Due to the absence of the mining skills of Ian, a huge disaster had happened.

Kaka came over and watched the message from Ian’s side.

“You just took a highest grade stone and then made it drop two levels to an intermediate level… Master just had the chance to receive at least 10 million gold.”

“…”

“This is really… you have the finesse of a monster, my Master.”

While Kaka was beside him trash talking, Ian just couldn’t get himself to talk.

‘I just want to cut off my hands…’

Even Ian was starting to resent himself.

If two grades fell off due to the mining, then it would have been the highest grade of stone, as Kaka just said.

“Haa…”

Ian, who had been standing there with a blank expression, soon recovered the mining equipment.

“What is it, master?”

“Let’s just stop and go.”

“We still haven’t got 100 low-grade stones, master.”

“No matter what, I don’t think this will do.”

“If you think so.”

“I have been betrayed…”

Ian who was wounded stepped out of the mine.

Even then, that didn’t mean that he was disappointed in the mine.

‘Now I know what a mining system means. It’s a huge amounted capital, needing a lot of money… and when it works properly, it is a jackpot!’

The gold that Ian had invested so far in the mine was about 30 million gold.

However, looking at the system, as the mine level rose, the need for gold rises exponentially.

‘Once I get the money that is in the manor, I’ll take the mines till the third level. If it takes about 230 million gold… will I end up with all the slaves in the ministry? I don’t have the gold to raise the level to the 4th…’

Ian started to make plans.

Ian was not agitated, even though thinking of a whopping 230 million gold.

This was because he was all prepared for it.

‘It all depends on my ability, but just assuming that I’m hiring a higher grade… Ghor mined around 100 minerals a day.’

Ian began to look at all the possible variables, including the per miner and the slaves that would be available.

‘The maximum number of slaves I can hire at level three is around 20… need to think about it…’

As he was in these thoughts, the entrance of the mine could be seen.

And soon he was out of the mine with calculation in his head.

“Nice. Even though I got only a minimum…we can probably break-even in a month or so!”

Kaka was puzzled while looking at Ian making a fist and mumbling.

“My Master just blew up a high-grade stone, and now he turned weird…!”

Ian didn’t care about the words from Kaka but just opened the portal using the Dimensional Beads.

‘I need to do all the settings of the mine, and then go to that ‘forgotten soul’ place. And need to find a Balrog… and maybe try to mine a weird mineral from it?”

Ian directly headed over to the Lotus Manor through his portal.

The plan was set up, and all he had to do was keep himself busy.

Wheeing-

But then.

Ian heard a familiar voice.

“Uh, Ian Hyung?”

And turning his head, he saw two familiar faces.

It was Hoonie and Canoel.

“Oh, what are you guys doing here?”

“Canoel Hyung had something to do in the Summoners Valley, and I just tagged along for a while. Hyung, are you coming back from the hell-like place?”

Ian was a bit puzzled.

“Hell-like place?”

“That place. Was it the Maurya Empire? It was a place you took me, which got me scared.”

Hoonie thought that Ian could open the portal only to the Maurya Empire.

Ian who understood Hoonie’s words laughed.

“Ah, no. I am coming from Devildom.”

And with that last word, Hoonie’s eyes grew bigger.

“What, what? The Devildom?”

“Huh. I opened the portal and came back.”

“You can open it anywhere?”

Ian answered by shaking his head,

“No, not like that. Only to places that I’ve been to once.”

“…!!”

“Huh…”

Hoonie was surprised at this while Ian just yawned.

Well, he was in the mine for over a day searching for minerals.

Hoonie held Ian’s hands and shouted.

“Hyung! Hyung you’re the only one I have!”

And seeing this Ian’s yawn stopped midway and turned to fluster.

“This, why this again? Yah, Noel-ah. Why is this guy being like this?”

At the question, Canoel just laughed and shook his head.