Becoming a Stubborn Miner
After checking the items in her bag, Yan Yiqiu ate the last two grilled fish and gulped down half a bottle of drinking water.
Her fullness rose from 56 to 80.
Even after eating, she didn’t rush to start mining. Instead, she memorized the location of the iron vein and walked around the surrounding area.
Earlier she had vaguely heard the sound of running water and guessed there might be a spring nearby.
After searching for about ten minutes, she indeed found a clear mountain spring bubbling up from the ground.
Yan Yiqiu refilled her half-empty water bottle, then took out a pot, spatula, wood, and flint, preparing to cook braised pork here.
She only had ten portions of sugar, which meant she could make ten servings of braised pork.
First, she used ordinary white-quality meat without energy to make two portions.
[Braised Pork ×2 (Restores 25 Fullness), +20 Cooking EXP]
[Congratulations! Cooking has reached Level 1.]Rewards:• Cooking Recipe – Meat Soup (White)• Cooking Recipe – Crispy Fried Pork (White)• Cooking Recipe – Braised Fish (White)
As expected, no special attributes appeared.
Yan Yiqiu wasn’t disappointed and immediately learned the three new recipes.
Meat Soup (White)Restores 10 Fullness+10% cold resistance for 10 minutesIngredients: Meat ×1, Water ×1
Crispy Fried Pork (White)Restores 12 Fullness+5% agility for 20 secondsIngredients: Meat ×2, Flour ×1
Braised Fish (White)Restores 20 Fullness+2% damage for 1 minuteIngredients: Fish ×1
Except for Crispy Fried Pork, which required flour she didn’t have, the other two dishes were craftable.
Satisfied, Yan Yiqiu took out energy meat and continued cooking braised pork.
[Braised Pork (White) ×8]Restores 25 Fullness+10% movement speed for 30 seconds
She tossed the eight buffed braised pork servings into her backpack, then cooked five bowls of ordinary meat soup.
After cleaning up the area, she walked briskly back to the mine.
She still had 45 stamina and 30 energy left.
She planned to rest two hours, then start mining.
Time to transform into a hardworking miner!
The mine was naturally formed—about two meters wide and three meters high.
Silver glints shimmered along the rock walls, like a miniature galaxy sparkling in the dark.
“Still beautiful.”
No matter how many times she saw it, Yan Yiqiu always found the mine dreamlike.
She sat down and opened the game interface.
Besides her personal stats, there were two options:
• Chat Channel• Marketplace
The marketplace was still grayed out, but the chat channel was glowing.
Players inside the dungeon could only talk to other dungeon players, while players outside could only talk among themselves.
The chat was extremely lively.
Examples scrolled quickly:
• “Any combat players want to team up? I’m a chef! When I level up I’ll cook buff food for you first!”• “There’s a rampaging wild boar in the southeast—be careful if you’re nearby!”• “Anyone want to trade materials? I’ll trade wood for meat!”• “Looking for a tanky warrior to join our team!”• “Brother! Did you enter the dungeon? Message me if you see this!”• “If people couldn’t die in this game, it would actually be pretty fun…”• “Please someone team with me! I randomly got a life profession!”• “I’m Ou Hongyuan, third place in the Male Idol Selection. Anyone take me—I’ll serve you well, male or female!”
Yan Yiqiu rolled her eyes.
Trading favors—or even bodies—for protection or resources was extremely common later in the game.
In her previous life she had encountered plenty of people offering themselves.
Men and women alike.
But she had zero interest in that.
She had been busy grinding dungeons every day.
She barely had time to rest.
Back then she had been exhausted like a dog.
Actually—worse than a dog.
At least pets owned by life-class players didn’t have to farm materials. They just needed to act cute all day.
Yan Yiqiu closed the chat.
Maybe near the end of the dungeon she could trade food for wood.
Then she wouldn’t need to chop trees anymore.
She could devote all her stamina to mining.
Three hours later, Yan Yiqiu opened her eyes full of energy.
She took out the starter chisel and began mining.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
[Obtained: Level-1 Iron Ore ×5, +3 EXP]
Clang! Clang! Clang!
[Obtained: Level-1 Iron Ore ×3, Iron Thread Grass (White) ×5, +3 EXP]
Iron Thread Grass was one of the main ingredients for stamina and energy potions.
More mining results followed.
Eventually:
[Obtained: Level-1 Iron Ore ×3, White Chest ×1]
Later:
[Obtained: Level-1 Iron Ore ×6, Ring (White) ×1]
Yan Yiqiu mined until her stamina dropped to 5 before stopping.
She sat down and reviewed the harvest.
Total gains:
• Level-1 Iron Ore ×104• Level-2 Iron Ore ×3• Iron Thread Grass ×20• White Chest ×1• Ring ×1
It was her first piece of equipment.
She checked its stats.
Ring (White)+2 Movement Speed+3% chance to obtain higher-grade ore while miningCannot be upgraded
The movement speed bonus was negligible.
But the high-grade ore drop rate was incredibly valuable early on.
“A great item.”
She immediately put the ring on.
It was a simple silver ring—plain and understated.
Barely noticeable on her slender finger.
Next she opened the white chest.
Rewards:• Cotton (White) ×5• Wheat Seeds (White) ×10• 200 Copper Coins
“Seeds!”
Yan Yiqiu’s eyes lit up again.
Once a territory reached Level 5, farmland would unlock.
Players could grow materials themselves:
Wheat, sugarcane, soybeans, cotton, fruit trees…
But seeds were extremely rare.
The first dungeon was the only place where seeds were relatively easy to find.
In her previous life she had seen fruit seeds and even fields of wild cotton.
But she hadn’t understood the importance of farming.
She just picked fruit and left.
Later she regretted it terribly.
Future dungeons had harsher environments and higher difficulty.
Sometimes even normal plants were impossible to find.
In short:
The first dungeon was irreplaceable.
Her eternal favorite.
After stretching her sore wrists, Yan Yiqiu reopened the chat and typed a message.
“After upgrading territories, farming might unlock. Everyone should collect seeds when possible.”
No one paid attention.
Messages about trading and food scrolled past.
Yan Yiqiu didn’t mind.
She waited until her stamina recovered and resumed mining.
Thanks to the ring, higher-grade ore drops increased noticeably.
About once every five or six swings.
If stamina ran out, she rested.
When it recovered, she mined again.
The sound of metal striking rock echoed in the cave all day.
By nightfall she finally stopped.
She had mined roughly 300 pieces of Level-1 ore.
Still not enough stamina.
She hadn’t found many stamina potions either.
The starter pack potions restored only 20 stamina and energy each.
Even two bottles barely helped.
She decided to stop mining tonight.
Instead she would gather potion ingredients.
With enough materials, she could grind potion experience until success.
Thanks to her past experience, she knew exactly what materials were needed.
She drank meat soup to refill her fullness and left the cave.
Medicinal herbs grew abundantly on the mountain slopes, often hidden in cracks between rocks.
Harvesting herbs required skill.
First loosen the soil carefully around the roots.
Then pull the plant out whole.
If leaves or roots were damaged, the quality dropped and potion crafting could fail more easily.
Yan Yiqiu worked like a professional.
Soon herbs filled her backpack.
Examples included:
• Primordial Grass• Red Lotus• Jade Bloom• Glimmer Grass
She focused only on stamina and energy potion ingredients.
Other herbs could wait.
Soon she had gathered forty plants.
“That should give at least two successes… right?”
She took out her alchemy furnace and medicine pot, lit a fire, and tossed in the ingredients.
The bright fire attracted nearby mutated beasts.
All of them eventually became materials in her backpack.
If mutated beasts could talk, they’d probably accuse her of baiting them illegally.
Yan Yiqiu just smiled.
^_^
Potion crafting began.
Failure.
Failure.
Failure.
Black smoke poured out of the furnace as herbs turned into burnt sludge.
She dumped the waste and tried again.
Failure.
Failure.
Again and again.
Finally—
Success!
[Obtained: Stamina Potion ×1, Energy Potion ×1, +20 Alchemy EXP]
Her spirits lifted.
With experience, success became more frequent.
After using all the herbs, she counted the results.
From 40 plants, she created:
• Stamina Potions ×10• Energy Potions ×10
Her Pharmacist level reached 1, unlocking two new recipes.
Nourishing Pill (White)Restores 5 HP per second for 1 minute
Qi Boost Pill (White)+10% damage for 2 minutes
Yan Yiqiu rubbed her chin.
Her plan needed adjusting again.
Plans were meant to change.
Now she needed more stamina and energy potions.
If she mined while constantly drinking potions, she wouldn’t need to mine one hour and rest three.
Time was the most precious resource right now.
She drank two potions and continued gathering herbs.
Eventually:
Pharmacist Level 2
New recipes unlocked.
Finally she checked her backpack.
Inventory (12 slots):
• Meat Soup ×2• Braised Pork ×2• Braised Pork (Buff) ×8• Wood ×475• Level-1 Iron Ore ×319• Level-2 Iron Ore ×26• Water ×3• Biscuits ×3• Bandages ×3• Stamina Potions ×20• Energy Potions ×20
Yan Yiqiu stretched her stiff shoulders.
“Twenty bottles should be enough for now.”
Dawn was approaching.
She had spent the whole night gathering herbs, brewing potions, and killing mutated beasts.
Her body wasn’t tired, but her mind was.
She returned to the mine, covered the entrance with weeds, and closed her eyes to rest.