Farming Games are All About Grinding

The color of the Flame Iron Essence was so red it looked almost purple. Han Qiwu felt it looked increasingly familiar as he stared at it. He reached into his storage compartment and took out the piece of Purple Magnetite that Egger had given him earlier.

After comparing the two, he realized that the Purple Magnetite appeared to be a highly refined version of Flame Iron Essence—it had a smoother surface and a much stronger magnetic property.

"Good thing I dealt with it before this thing disintegrated. It seems like this Flame Iron Essence should be able to upgrade the Faulty Compass, right?" Han Qiwu smiled with satisfaction and took out the Faulty Compass he hadn't used in days, placing it next to the Flame Iron Essence.

[Use Flame Iron Essence to upgrade Faulty Compass?]

As expected!

"Yes." Han Qiwu silently confirmed the command.

Upon receiving the directive, the Faulty Compass behaved like a ravenous bachelor, quickly clinging to the Flame Iron Essence and crudely sucking it into its spoon-shaped depression.

"Slow down, slow down."

After absorbing the Flame Iron Essence, the Faulty Compass began spinning wildly, its rotation so fast that Han Qiwu worried it might take off on the spot.

As it spun, the volume of the Flame Iron Essence in the spoon kept shrinking, gradually merging into the body of the Faulty Compass. The process changed the compass's originally jet-black color into an increasingly profound reddish-brown hue.

After spinning for two full minutes, the now completely reddish-brown Faulty Compass gradually came to a stop.

Han Qiwu noticed that not only had its color changed, but its size had also increased noticeably.

Check its stats!

[Half-Faulty Compass]

[Usage: Points out direction, highlights weak points]

[Special Effect - Directional Guidance: The incomplete compass can only be used at the top of each hour. Every use updates the regional map and shows the location of five marked items.]

[Special Effect - Weak Point Detection: During combat, highlights weak spots on marked creatures. Hitting a weak spot deals damage equivalent to 10% of the creature's maximum health. Whether hit or not, weak points refresh every 5 minutes.]

[Special Effect - Mark: Can mark creatures and objects within a one-meter radius. Current marking limit: 5.]

[Comment: Continue to upgrade, and the magnetic properties will guide your attacks!]

After reading the stats, Han Qiwu had only two words in his mind.

Freaking awesome!

The previously food-finding-only Faulty Compass, after upgrading, could now be used in combat!

And hitting weak spots could inflict damage equivalent to 10% of maximum health. As long as the fight dragged on long enough, consistently hitting weak spots could secure a win!

Moreover, the comment hinted at something intriguing—Han Qiwu suspected that continued upgrades might unlock special effects like automatic targeting for attacks.

Magnetic-guided attacks, eh!

Additionally, the marking limit had increased to five.

Lately, Han Qiwu hadn't dared to overuse the marking ability all because of his "concern" for the movements of a certain giant squirrel.

Mist Forest's Giant Squirrel: "????? When did I ask for your concern!"

"If there were weak spots, then taking down the Metal Giant Head earlier wouldn't have needed all that foot massage nonsense," Han Qiwu chuckled, lifting the Half-Faulty Compass and aiming it to mark the nearby Little Electric.

Upon marking, a spoon-shaped, purplish-red glow appeared under Little Electric's right wing. The glow point was about five centimeters in diameter, making it not exactly easy to hit.

Putting away the Half-Faulty Compass, Han Qiwu continued exploring his other earnings.

[Enemy of the Metal Giant Head] looked like a miniature figurine of the Metal Giant Head, standing 10 centimeters tall, with intricately crafted details.

This item was similar to the type left behind by the Ice Cicada titled "Unbeatable by This Man."

Preserves blessings.

"I'll hang onto this for now. When I've got more time later, I'll probably give the bigger Metal Giant Head another go to try and score some epic loot. If I don't, I can just wear this thing to ward off Metal Giant Heads. Flexible options!" Han Qiwu grinned, finding the remarks about the item rather amusing.

Saving time for both parties.

So true. For the Metal Giant Head's sake—when faced with an opponent capable of obliterating all but fifteen Metal Giant Heads in a group—it's probably better to retreat early!

The last drop item was the [Metal Roller], which looked like a massive metallic cylinder. Super heavy—Han Qiwu could barely lift one side of it using both hands.

"This thing improves crushing efficiency. Guess I'd better go back and see if I can mount it onto the grinder back home." Han Qiwu mused as he handled this type of equipment for the first time. He'd need some trial and error to figure things out.

Overall, the loot from the Metal Giant Head was pretty solid—worth the time and effort he invested in defeating it.

Now it was time to enjoy the fruits of victory!

Han Qiwu packed away the loot, carrying both Xiao Lai and Little Electric as he ventured back to the Flame Iron Ore zone. At a glance, over a hundred Flame Iron Ore deposits dotted the area once occupied by the Metal Giant Heads.

"Now this is what I call a mining jackpot." Han Qiwu pulled out the Snowman Miner figurine and placed it on the ground, readying his Mother Copper Pickaxe to strike at one of the Flame Iron Ore deposits nearby.

[Cannot be mined]

Han Qiwu: "?????"

What do you mean, "Cannot be mined"?

He looked around carefully and soon noticed a recessed circular platform at the center of the Flame Iron Ore deposits. The platform wasn't large—just enough for one person to step onto.

"Does this mean a new gameplay mechanic is here?" Han Qiwu, intrigued, eagerly ran over and stepped onto the platform.

[Metal Giant Head tribe has been eradicated. Would you like to claim the current mine zone?]

[Current mining skill level: 4. Max mine zone claims: 4. Mine zones claimed: 0]

[Mine Zone: 81st Level Basic Flame Iron Ore Mine Zone]

[Total Mine Zone Capacity: Flame Iron Ore ×152]

[Daily Output: Flame Iron Ore ×10]

[Abandoning the mine zone claim will revert it to regular mining mode.]

So it really is a new mechanic!

The Lava Mine layer is getting interesting.

Han Qiwu quickly analyzed the system notification.

From what he could tell, claiming a mine zone required eliminating the creatures residing there beforehand.

Additionally, the mine zone claim level was tied to the mining skill level.

Therefore, it was best to use up all his claim slots first and later utilize the "abandon" option to swap them out for higher-level mine zones.

To put it simply, the key advantage of the claiming mechanic was automatic resource generation. With enough mine zones claimed, he wouldn't even need to go down to the mines to secure a steady supply of ore.

Sounds amazing!

Claim it, claim it!

Mining manually costs both stamina and time.

Spending time fishing and feasting with Mr. Tang sounds way more appealing!

[Mine Zone: 81st Level Basic Flame Iron Ore Mine Zone successfully claimed.]

[Mine Zone Total Output: Flame Iron Ore ×10]

As the system notification appeared, a translucent projection of Han Qiwu slowly rose above the circular platform, touching the rock ceiling before spreading into a light membrane that encapsulated the entire Flame Iron Ore mine zone.

All sorted!

Walking out of the mine zone, Han Qiwu suddenly had a realization—this means that [Enemy of the Metal Giant Head] is even more useful!

Glancing at the map and the remaining time on his Frost Potion, 1:21 minutes left, Han Qiwu deliberated for a moment before biting his lip in determination, "I've got over an hour left. If I hurry, I can probably claim another Flame Iron Ore mine zone. Since it took so much effort to stack up my fire resistance, I'd better seize the opportunity!"

Charge, charge, charge!

Toward automatic resource generation!