The next day, 6 AM, the back mountain, Mines entrance.
Marisa had been here for several days, and the house, originally belonging to the Adventurer’s Guild, had been converted into an Apothecary by her, with shelves displaying various unlicensed potions produced by her private workshop at home.
In order for Kawashiro Nitori to modify her house, Shiki was preparing to enter the Mines today.
The back mountain Mines is located above the Mine Cave Lake to the northeast.
This place is central to the daily life of the entire Stardew Valley; upgrading tools requires minerals, crafting sprinklers requires minerals, crafting kegs, building structures, and renovating the farm—all of these require minerals.
It can be said that everything in Stardew Valley is connected to the Mines.
If you want to get rich, you must Mines first.
The Mines is the only way for Shiki to liberate productivity and achieve automation.
But after so many days in Stardew Valley, why hadn’t Shiki gone into the Mines?
Because he was afraid of the dark.
Alone in the silent, deserted Mines, he could hear every sound clearly—walking, breathing, even the friction of bones and the flow of blood.
If a second sound appeared then, Shiki would instantly perform a ‘die on the spot’ maneuver.
There was one more crucial reason.
When Shiki listened to Qing Xue’s audiobook version of ‘The Grave Robbers’ Chronicles,’ there was a segment where the main characters were trapped in an underground cavern, and dark shadows appeared inside the rock, slowly squeezing out of the stone, trying to kill the people in the cave.
That atmosphere of oppression, eeriness, tension, and helplessness.
That segment!
Even though almost 10 years had passed, it remained Shiki’s psychological trauma.
Therefore, before anyone else moved into Stardew Valley, Shiki would never enter the Mines, even if he died.
But today was different.
“Thank you for commissioning Kappa Heavy Industries.
I will provide you with the highest quality service.” Kawashiro Nitori, carrying a large backpack, followed beside Shiki, curiously observing the interior environment of the Mines.
For Kappa Heavy Industries, who had dug a massive pit in Gensokyo that went straight through to Hell, arriving here was like coming home.
Commission: Find a bodyguard to protect me while mining Commission Details: Protect me until I reach the 20th floor of the Mines within one day Commission Reward: 3000 Yuan This was the reason Shiki dared to come to the Mines today.
He had found a mining partner, and this was no ordinary partner.
“Boss, rest assured.
With me here, you can walk sideways down here.
No matter what danger arises, I can handle it for you.
You just need to sit aside, drink tea, and enjoy the scenery.” “If I can’t reach the 20th floor of the Mines you mentioned within a day, I will personally pilot a mech and blast through the Mines for you.” One of the Demon King’s Two Guardians, Kawashiro Nitori, reporting for duty!
Fear?
Dark shadows?
Desperate situations?
Don’t joke with your Kappa Sister.
Even if a dark shadow were to appear, Kawashiro Nitori could smash it into dust and use it to patch the wall.
As for the other Demon King’s Guardian, that would be Marisa.
She doesn’t charge money; she’s purely a companion, essentially hitching a ride.
Her purpose for accompanying Shiki is to see if there are any ores here that can be used to make magic potions.
Marisa’s magic potion-making is full of imagination.
Whether it’s plants, animals, or minerals, they are all on her list for creation.
If she were in ancient times, she would definitely be a charlatan selling immortality elixirs to the Emperor.
“Your mission is to provide me with light while I Mines, and keep me company so I don’t feel like I’m the only one in the Mines.” Shiki refused Kawashiro Nitori’s offer to help Mines.
Kawashiro Nitori, who hadn’t unlocked the invitation, couldn’t Mines, and besides, he needed to Mines to increase his profession proficiency.
“A companionship service?
Understood, Boss.
Rest assured, I am a professional companion.” The three walked into the Mines.
Shiki held an iron sword and a pickaxe in his hands.
Kawashiro Nitori took out a large mining lamp from her backpack, illuminating the pitch-black Mines, and thoughtfully walked ahead to scout the path for Shiki.
As for Marisa, she was responsible for cleanup, weakening monsters so Shiki could deliver the finishing blow.
“Boss, look!
There’s copper ore here.” “Boss, your mining posture is so cool.” “Boss is so strong, only took two swings to get the ore.” Every time Shiki swung his pickaxe, Kawashiro Nitori would praise him, absolutely ensuring the atmosphere never became awkward.
With this level of service, was 3000 Yuan expensive?
Not at all!
No wonder Yakumo Ran said that the people of Gensokyo were almost being pampered into babies by Kappa Heavy Industries.
“Little brother, is that thing over there one of your local monsters?
It looks like a felted blob without fur.
It feels nice and soft.” While Shiki was mining under Kawashiro Nitori’s encouragement, Marisa found a green Slime in a corner of the Mines.
The green Slime immediately entered combat mode the moment Marisa entered its attack range, contracting its body before bouncing and crashing into Marisa.
First, we must understand one thing: Shiki is an ordinary person.
Although he has a health bar and stamina bar, no matter what damage he takes, as long as his health bar remains, he can recover by eating something.
Even if he is killed, he will wake up in bed the next day, and he can move swiftly in Stardew Valley even while carrying 36 stacks of 999 stones in his backpack.
But these are mechanics, the mechanics of Shiki’s Stardew Valley world.
Marisa, who came from Gensokyo, did not have these mechanics; she only had numerical values.
Seeing the green Slime throwing itself into her arms, Marisa, who often dealt with all sorts of strange things, thought the creature wanted to get close to her.
She held the struggling Slime and started kneading it.
Indeed, the texture was quite good, like a stress ball—cold and smooth.
“The monsters here are quite affectionate.
Can I keep a few?” Regarding the Slime struggling in her arms, Marisa just felt the little guy was very enthusiastic, constantly acting spoiled.
“You…
forget it, do as you wish.
The one in your hand without a cowlick is female; the one with a cowlick is male.
Besides green, there are other colors and various mutations.
You can try raising them; they only need water.” Shiki looked at the Slime struggling in Marisa’s hand and suddenly realized that these people were all superhumans who weren’t afraid of the monsters in Stardew Valley at all.
“Is that so?
That’s quite interesting, very valuable for research.” Marisa took an empty bottle from her apron, put the Slime inside, and ran off to another area carrying the eight trigrams furnace to look for more monsters by herself.
Shiki continued to dig stones under Kawashiro Nitori’s encouragement.
As the stones shattered, a staircase leading downward appeared before the two.
“Boss has good luck.
I’ll go down first to scout the path for you.” Kawashiro Nitori didn’t use the stairs; she jumped straight down from the opening.
Only after confirming it was safe did she call Shiki down.
“Keep it up, Boss!
It’s only been half an hour, and we’re already on the next floor.
We’ll definitely reach the 20th floor today!
Are you tired?
Would you like a sip of water?
I have some freshly brewed tea here.” ————————
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”