We relied on flag semaphores and optical light signals to communicate between the Universal Ship and the airship.
The flags involved moving two banners into various positions to convey letters, while the optical signals used flashes of light to transmit messages like Morse code. Since both methods required significant skill to send and receive properly, it was often faster to just have an Angel fly back and forth. Having a crew of people who could naturally fly certainly had its perks.
With those thoughts in mind, I turned in for the night. We reached our destination shortly after noon the next day.
According to the map, we had arrived at the location where the Sword Demon Crystals were supposed to be. The airship and the Universal Ship descended into a wide, open clearing. Immediately, Kuro’s pups and a contingent of Zabuton’s spiderlings scurried out to secure the perimeter.
"Don't go too far," I called after them. "If you get lost, stay somewhere conspicuous so I can come get you."
They signaled back that they would be home by dinner. I hoped they would be all right.
Once the area was confirmed to be safe, the ten men we had recruited from Howlin Village—whom I officially dubbed our "Trial Digging Team"—began their survey.
The plan was to spend a single day here. Tomorrow, we would move to the site for Silver and Fire Demon Crystals. The day after that would be for the Beast Demon Crystals, and finally, we would head to our primary target: the Wing Demon Crystals.
In reality, trial digging wasn't usually something that could be finished in a single day. Normally, miners spent anywhere from six months to several years at a single site. They didn't just pick a spot and start digging on a whim; they would spend ages searching for exposed veins or looking for mineral fragments washed into nearby rivers to narrow down the most likely deposits. Digging was supposed to be the last resort.
Because of this, our team focused their efforts on surveying the landscape and searching for old mining ruins rather than starting fresh excavations. However, both the Universal Ship and the airship were fully loaded with digging equipment.
Why?
"Here. This spot looks promising."
"No, wouldn't this side be better?"
The answer was simple: because I was the one doing the heavy lifting.
I used the Universal Farming Tool to excavate the spots Lu and Tia pointed out. I dug at a downward angle to ensure the tunnel remained easy to traverse. Once I reached a sufficient depth, I left the rest to the two of them. I didn't actually know what the specific minerals we were looking for looked like, after all.
While they were inspecting the first hole, they already had me starting on the next. I did as I was told. By the time I had dug about twenty holes, the sun was beginning to set.
We hauled the monsters and magic beasts hunted by the wolves and spiders into the airship’s cargo hold before settling in for an outdoor dinner. We gathered around a bonfire, making the whole thing feel like a camping trip. We could have eaten inside the airship, but I wanted to make sure we had a chance to socialize with the Trial Digging Team staying on the Universal Ship.
"We found three very old mining ruins," the team representative reported. "All of them were dug quite deep, so today’s survey wasn't enough to be thorough. If possible, we’d like to stay for one more day."
The ruins were essentially a network of tunnels. Since it was dangerous to enter unknown shafts that might be home to monsters, Kuro’s pups and the spiders had gone in first to scout. They had spent most of their time marking paths and stringing ropes through the various forks in the tunnels to prevent anyone from getting lost, which meant the actual survey had run out of time.
Our schedule was already being thrown off, but Lu and Tia were eager to accept the proposal. After all, the holes I had dug had already yielded ore containing tiny Sword Demon Crystals and small Silver Demon Crystals. We had also found several pieces of ore containing other rare minerals.
There was a high probability that more time spent here wouldn't be wasted. I agreed; I wanted to bring some samples back for Hiichiro, so extending our stay by a day wasn't an issue.
"Thank you very much," the man said. "Also, um..."
"What is it?"
"There’s a suspicious spot we’d like you to dig for us tomorrow, Village Head..."
"Alright. Show me the way in the morning."
"Thank you!"
The following night arrived.
Based on the evidence we gathered, the mining site we found was clearly abandoned. It didn't look like it had been vacated in a hurry due to war or monster attacks, but rather in an orderly fashion. Usually, that meant there weren't many minerals left; people didn't typically abandon a productive mine.
"Not necessarily," one of the miners explained. "Even if mining is still possible, sites are often abandoned if the volume of the yield drops below a certain point."
He told me that if one disregarded profitability, there were often minerals still to be found. In fact, by digging further into the ruins, we had discovered several pieces of ore containing small Silver Demon Crystals.
"Mining is always a gamble, so I can't promise we'll strike it rich. However, I’d say the odds of a win are high."
The value of minerals could fluctuate wildly compared to the era when the mine was first closed. That meant it was harder for us to truly "lose" on the venture. Still, I wouldn't rush into a decision. I decided to wait until all our surveys were complete before deciding whether to establish a permanent mine.
"Understood," they replied.
By the way, this was supposed to be the location for Sword Demon Crystals, right? Yet we were finding more Silver Demon Crystals. I wondered if the map was wrong, but apparently, it was rare for minerals to exist in isolation. The map likely only listed the most abundant mineral as a representative of the site. In other words, finding silver here wasn't unusual.
We eventually moved on to the location marked for Silver and Fire Demon Crystals. They were in separate spots, but since they were relatively close, we moored the ships roughly halfway between them.
The results were discouraging.
"We found the silver mine, but this one is completely tapped out."
"It looks like another group came in and dug it out thoroughly after it was abandoned."
"You can tell that much?" I asked.
"Yes. There were spots where the digging was done carefully by hand, and other spots that were blasted out roughly with magic."
So that one was a bust. What about the Fire Demon Crystals?
"This one is no good either. It was also stripped bare with magic."
"I see. That's a shame."
Finally, we moved to the location marked for the Beast Demon Crystals.
The mountains here were split—not just in one or two places, but with countless cracks running through the rock.
"The veins were likely located in those crevices," the miner observed. "See how the cracks in the mountains connect in lines?"
He was right. I could see three distinct lines running along the fractures in the peaks. If those lines represented where the veins used to be, then logically, there should be more nearby. I pointed to a spot beyond the end of one of the lines—a place where the mountains leveled out.
"Unfortunately, the strata shifted midway through," the representative said.
"So it's no good?"
"Well, we predicted where the shift would lead, and it brought us right around here... We tried a test dig, but the bedrock is incredibly hard. Three of the tools we brought were ruined, and we have nothing to show for it."
At the miner’s words, Lu and Tia gave me a firm push on the back. Understood. I’d do my best.
We extended our stay by one more day. I thoroughly excavated the area they had identified, digging quite deep. Thanks to Lu and Tia’s magic, there were no issues with the air supply. However, we found absolutely nothing.
"Based on the layers, it should have been right here..."
"Well, geology is three-dimensional, not a flat plane," I said, trying to cheer them up. "Predictions can be wrong."
"Our apologies, Village Head."
The miners and I were ready to call it quits, but Lu and Tia were persistent.
"Over here," Lu said. "The color of the stones in this spot is similar to the mountain peaks."
"She's right," Tia added. "Please try digging straight through here."
I sighed and got back to work. I kept at it until the two of them were finally satisfied.
The result? We actually found what appeared to be a vein of Beast Demon Crystals.
The strata were clearly different from the surrounding rock, and we began finding ore containing the crystals at regular intervals. However, the crystals were small—the largest were only about the size of a pinky finger. We also found ore containing Silver, Wind, and Wing Demon Crystals, though those weren't very large either.
Lu and Tia immediately began mining the area aggressively using Earth Magic.
I watched them work, realized that this was exactly how sites ended up stripped bare.