Chapter 761. Mining the Runic Metals
‘An eternal-grade guardian?’ Jack’s eyes went down there. There was an eternal-grade being down there? ‘Wait! Does that mean the Council of Virtus also has a guardian?’
‘Yes,’ Peniel said.
Jack thought for a bit, he then sent a message to Jet, ‘Ready your runic metal pickaxe.’
‘Finally!’ Jet replied. ‘I am about to tell you that I will just stay and mine the one here if you still want to go further down.’
Jack decided to not take any further risk. After seeing that eye, he was unsure if going deeper would have a trial involving that eternal guardian. He didn’t think the guardian would show its eye for no particular reason. One huff of its breath was enough to send him to heaven. The runic metal at this depth should also be not bad already.
Once the vortex dissipated, the two rushed out and headed to the glowing deposits below them. The green glow emitted by these deposits was much brighter than the first ones they encountered while descending. The two also sensed intense mana from them.
Yep. Not bad already, Jack thought.
He glanced down. There were several more glows down there. Those glows were so bright they were as if beacons of a lighthouse. Jack was tempted for a beat to dive down there. Yet, the temptation soon passed. He had decided to mine the one here. He would stick by that decision.
Both Jack and Jet took out their green pickaxes. They picked the deposits next to each other and started mining. When their pickaxes hit the hard shells of the deposits, an HP bar appeared. The bar showed that the hit just now was not even 1% of the bar.
‘What?!’ Both of them were confounded
‘Shit! I thought this is like normal mining where it only takes two or three hits to break the deposit?’ Jack cursed.
The two looked at one another. Then as if in agreement, they started hacking the deposit frantically.
It seemed that their attributes affected the damage they dealt because Jack’s every hit devoured more HP than Jet. Jack tried using a skill, Flame Strike. The resulting damage was the same as when he did a normal hit. So, skills didn’t make any difference. Hence, Jack continued hacking with just normal attacks. He activated Adrenaline Rush though, increasing his already fast attack speed to even faster. The HP bar of his runic metal deposit decreased at a visibly faster rate compared to Jet’s.
Jet stole a glance at Jack’s and was dispirited to see how slow he was compared to jack. It was fortunate though that they had decided to mine the deposit here. There was still a bit over one minute of his panda form. If they continued down again, he would be hacking the deposit with the weaker attributes of his normal form.
After frantic mining, the shell of Jack’s deposit finally cracked. Light seeped out from the crack. Jack delivered one more hit and the shell broke, revealing a brilliantly shining plate. The shine lasted for a while before dimming, but the glow didn’t disappear. It stayed around the plate as if a cloak. Jack used Inspect on the plate.
Runic Metal (Unique material)
Special usage. Link with: Storm Wind.
‘Unique grade!’ Jack celebrated after seeing the description. ‘Special usage? So, not just for pet armor?’ He thought. He looked at the other deposits. The green pickaxe he used to get this runic metal had crumbled. He wondered if he could use a normal pickaxe to mine the others? Since there was still time till the next vortex appeared, he decided to give it a try.
He swam to the nearest one and took out a normal pickaxe. He hammered onto the glowing shell.
*CLANK*
A crisp sound was heard. No HP bar appeared. Jack hit it a few more times. Still no HP bar.
‘You need a specialized pickaxe for these deposits,’ Peniel confirmed.
Jack stored his pickaxe. He had always been counting since descending this vertical tunnel, the next vortex should hit in around fifteen more seconds. Jack looked in Jet’s direction.
‘F*ck! You just managed to lower it down by half? You won’t make it before the vortex hit!’ Jack sent him a message.
‘I’ve been trying my best!’ Jet replied without slowing down the hits.
‘Have you used Strength of the Wild?’ Jack asked.
Jet paused for a beat before resuming his hits. His swings became faster than previous.
‘You forgot and use it just now, didn’t you?’ Jack said.
The HP bar was now decreasing at a faster rate. Jack tried to estimate the time they had left.
‘It’s still not enough before the next vortex happens,’ Jack informed.
‘Uh… How about we take a pause and hide first? We resume again once the vortex ended,’ Jet offered.
‘We can’t! Hedite said before that this pickaxe will break if we stop the process halfway, remember?’ Jack said.
‘So, how?!’ Jet was starting to panic.
Jack thought for a beat. He then said to Jet, ‘Continue hacking. Even if the vortex appeared.’
‘What are you planning,’ Jet asked, but he didn’t stop.
Instead of answering, Jack put his large dragon form body behind Jet. He then cast a spell on the wall surface. Fifteen crimson chains appeared from the wall. Jack then planted his clawed hands and feet on the wall, pinning Jet between him and the wall.
With the mana manipulation he had trained diligently, he manipulated the chains to wrap around his hands and feet. The chains moved slowly. When the energy pillar shot out, they were still wrapping Jack’s limbs.
The vortex was soon formed. Jack felt the pull. It got stronger by the second. Jack activated Gold Scale Armor.
Jet also felt the force, but since he was protected and pinned to the wall by Jack’s body, he could continue hacking at the green deposit.
‘Faster!’ Jack exclaimed. He could feel his claws were already ripped out of the wall. His chains were now straining to keep him tethered. The vortex, in the meantime, was growing stronger with each second.
After almost ten seconds after the vortex was formed, the green shell finally broke. The brightly glowing runic metal came into view. Jet didn’t wait for the glow to dim. With closed eyes, he thrust his hands and touched the plate. He immediately stored it in his storage bag.
‘Got it!’ Jet uttered.
Jack had been straining his concentration to keep his chains holding him in place. He let go then and use one hand to grab Jet. They were sucked into the vortex. They swirled inside the vortex while being pushed upward. Damage numbers appeared one after another above their heads.
Jack’s Gold Scale Armor allowed him to remain somewhat stable inside the vortex, so he could direct his flight up, utilizing the vortex’s updraft to give them a faster ascent.
Jet’s panda form was out of duration in the middle of their ascent. His total HP decreased by half, which meant each damage by the vortex ate a larger portion of his life compared to before.
When his HP was dangerously low, Peniel came out from her hidden dimension and cast Fast Heal and Group Fast Heal back to back before phasing back into her hidden dimension. Jet’s HP was up to full again.
Once he saw that they were out of the sinkhole, Jack immediately directed his flight out of the vortex. He found out that the longer he stayed inside the vortex, the harder it was to leave. He struggled with full effort as he beat his wings fiercely inside the vortex. He was again saved by his Gold Scale Armor, if not for it, he would be tossed around inside the vortex without knowing where is up or down. Even someone who had the flight spell would still be unable to save themselves from this vortex if they couldn’t resist its twisting force.
After much hardship, he finally tore out of the vortex. Jet’s HP was again being dragged down to critical by then. Jack swam up with his dragon’s flight, bursting out of the water. In the air, he could fly faster without the water friction. He shot directly at the beach.
The animals that were gathering by the beach were genuinely startled by a scary-looking dragonman who suddenly came at them at high speed. They retreated a healthy distance away.
Jack landed on the beach. Jet was just glad that his feet were on the ground already. His heart was still beating wildly, he had enough flying and swimming for today.
Grace came to them while the two were lying on the ground and resting. She had been waiting by the lakeside after leaving the two. She spent the time talking to the animals while practicing her combat skills from time to time.
“Do you succeed in getting the runic metals?” She asked.
Jack and Jet were still panting on the ground. Instead of answering, the two gave her a thumbs-up.
