Into the healing farming game

17th Day of Spring

When I enter the mine, the musty air greets me first. There’s a rough feeling from breathing, as the dust is spread everywhere, making it a place where your lungs feel worse the longer you stay.

The humid environment of summer, not spring, unfolds. If your clothes become wet with sweat due to the humidity, they won’t dry because of the unpleasant moisture. It is an unpleasant place in many ways. An underground mine is such a place.

Kang-

“Sigh…”

Combat has a short concentration time. Every moment is filled with tension, requiring you to focus all your attention, which consumes a lot of mental energy, but it is brief. So, in an instant, you lose all your stamina and then replenish it with appropriate rest.

Logging and mining are a little different. It is a job that continually wears down your stamina. Depleted physical strength does not easily recover even with adequate rest.

Particularly in mining, the slow recovery of physical strength due to the environment is a variable.

So it is difficult to work for a long time. It was like that when I first started working, and it continued to be like that even after I entered the mine.

It’s a little different now. I feel like I’m losing less stamina than before.

Kang-

Kang-

Iron ore that splits easily like tofu. Proficiency reached an intermediate level. A monster that poses no real threat.

There’s nothing you can do about the unpleasant environment, but other than that, there’s nothing that poses a major threat. This was a thought I had after realizing that I had already surpassed the 15th floor.

It’s easier than you think.

There may be good equipment, but it is also important to know the mining work itself well and do it efficiently. It was the power of a skill that reached an intermediate level.

How to find an unblocked tunnel.

How to check the way the wind comes in.

How to see the passage going down.

How to remember directions without getting confused.

The knowledge provided by various experiences leads me down steadily and quickly.

20th Floor

This was the floor where Mithril appeared in the existing game. It is the most frequently visited place out of a total of 50 floors.

It’s worth going down, and going up doesn’t take too much time. If you go too deep, you have to prepare for camping and conduct strict safety inspections with the intention of staying for a few days. Otherwise, for a one-day mining operation, it is more efficient to stay around the 20th floor. If you work all day long and do a good job, you can get about 150 to 200 mithril ore.

And if you mine mithril ore after reaching the intermediate mining level, you can obtain gems with a certain probability. Ruby, sapphire, topaz, and other precious stones. It’s not that expensive in the original game, but I have expectations that it might be a little different in reality. Jewelry is rare and therefore usually expensive.

“It feels a little different.”

Upon reaching the 20th floor, the dark atmosphere changes to a bluish place. Normally, it should get hotter as you go down, but thanks to the power of a mineral called mithril, there is a sense of coolness. A cold chill creeps up and chills my body.

Environmentally speaking, it was very good. Cold is better than hot.

Blue light.

Silver luster.

It is hard and cannot be easily dug out.

After wandering around the edge of the 20th floor, I encountered mithril ore easier than I thought. After approaching naturally, I applied the pickaxe.

Kang-

A strong plosive sound echoed through the narrow passageway several times. It is not easily dug up, and only a few crumbs fell. I put a lot of force into my hand and struck again.

Kang-!

The results were not much different. Stone debris was falling, and there was no sign of the ore coming out easily.

Okay. This isn’t mining.

I remember the first time I dug up a rock. The memory of getting a stone after using hundreds of pickaxes. It was a painful memory that would not be easily forgotten even if one wanted to.

Pickaxe work that will be repeated countless times to mine mithril. It was a future clearly drawn to me.

I think it’s because I have decent stamina and equipment that I’m this efficient. If I had come roughly prepared, I might have spent the whole day picking up one mithril. After 15 minutes of constant pounding, the ore crumbles and spits out mithril one by one.

Compared to the cold temperature, my body was already overheated. The exposed arms were soaked with sweat and shining brightly.

I continued digging with the pickaxe without stopping. Only the bursting sound that I heard clearly in my ears acknowledged my efforts. Mine work continued like this all day.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Uh…?”

“Hi?”

When I returned home, now covered in dust and sweat, there was a woman covered in gold. It was Anne. Because I hadn’t even thought about it, I greeted her with a dumbfounded expression. It was inevitable that half of my face would melt from exhaustion.

“What happened?”

“Every time I see you, you seems to be exhausted.”

“Ha ha…”

I won’t deny it.

We’ve met a total of three times so far, but the only thing I showed Anne was an exhausted look.

Anne laughed. Because I was truly exhausted, I didn’t respond. The work I did in the mine is, without any lie, very difficult.

“It’s nothing special. I received daffodils as a gift the other day…”

Anne lengthened her speech. She looked like she was up to something.

“Huh.”

I pretended not to know and answered briefly. It’s obvious to me, but I tried to pretend I didn’t know.

“So I prepared this for you in return. I thought you liked fishing.”

There was a chair where Anne pointed. It was a folding portable chair. My eyes widened.

“Chair?”

“Yes. Last time I was fishing, I saw you just sitting on the ground.”

“So you prepared this as a gift? Thank you so much.”

“Heh. It’s just a gift in return.”

A unique laugh. A refreshing and lively voice woke up my tired mind and body.

Anne’s hand gestures called me. She tapped the chair and motioned for me to sit down. I nodded and carefully placed myself in the chair.

A sense of stability that supports the weight appropriately. It was a chair like no other—a bit small and portable.

My body drowsily drooped. When you walk around and relax like this, your body naturally cries out for rest.

“I will carry it with me every day from now on.”

“If I go to the lake, will I be able to see you sitting there every day?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Please put my gift to good use.”

Anne smiled brightly. That sight was so heartwarming that I smiled too.

“What did you do to be so tired? It doesn’t seem like fishing…”

“I came back from doing some mining.”

“Mining? Do you need to dig up stones?”

“No. I dug up some ore from an abandoned mineshaft.”

“Huh? Abandoned mine? Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s okay. I’m doing reasonably well.”

“So you came here soaking wet, like a mouse that just fell into the water! Somehow, fishing didn’t seem that difficult compared to mining.”

“Hm…”

Hearing those words, I looked down and checked my appearance. Clothes covered in dust, soaked with sweat and sticking to the skin. It didn’t look very nice to anyone.

“That’s right.”

“But why did you go to the abandoned mine?”

“To make the tools I use from the ore found in the abandoned mine.”

“Make it yourself!?”

Anne’s eyes shone brightly. Due to that active movement, my body sitting in the chair slightly leaned back. Anne didn’t hesitate to close the distance, as if she didn’t mind coming near me, where I could smell her.

“It performs better if you make it yourself.”

I couldn’t bear to talk about anything related to the game system. What is the intermediate mining level and equipment level? Enchanting blah blah blah…

Well. I’ll be lucky if you don’t treat me like I’m crazy. It’s better to just have the image of solving everything on your own.

“You were a very talented person. You used the things you made, sold the crops you farmed, and sold the fish you caught. Is that how you live?”

“Yes. Use what you want, sell what you want to sell.”

“Will it continue like that from now on?”

“That’s right. I’m good at these things, so I’ll keep going.”

“I’m jealous…”

Anne, with her mouth sticking out, moved slightly, and flopped down on the steps of my house. She tapped the side with her hand, urging me to come.

“You’re going to stink.”

“It’s okay. I’ll always smell good.”

“Ha.”

I laughed at her ridiculous confidence.

“What should I do with my life?”

Anne’s tone of voice showed a hint of concern. The reason I was interested in her weak tone of speech was not just because she showed favor to me.

“Are you already worried about what you’re doing for a living?”

“I’m all grown up now. It’s not my dream to be unemployed. Of course, that would be nice.”

Anne stuck out her tongue.

Is this a sign of embarrassment?

“Luna is really good at singing. She’s famous, and she said she’s going to make it her career in the future. Evangeline is good at cooking. She used to be a chef. My friend Alice is really good at making clothes. She has a sense of fashion and is good at decorating…”

Anne’s words stopped for a moment. She made eye contact with me and then slowly resumed her words.

“What should I do? I don’t even know what I’m good at.”

“If you’re worried, you’re doing a good job. It’s not easy to put in effort and show your will to improve, right?”

“Ugh…”

Anne fluttered her legs as if she was frustrated.

“Can I help you?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know if it will help or not, but would you like to follow my daily routine?”

“Uh huh…? Huh?”

Actually, she didn’t mean anything much. She also prides herself on living a hard life in her own way. In that respect, I thought that if I worked hard all day, I would learn something.

“You’re just watching what I’m doing. They say inspiration comes from unexpected places, right?”

“Me in your daily life? Uh…”

Anne seemed to be thinking of something else and fanned her face with her hand a few times, and soon she returned to her usual lively, unembarrassed tone.

“What? Are you flirting with me?”

Her bright smile looked playful.

“If you think you’re being teased after experiencing this, then you’re being seduced.”

“What? Wait a minute. I don’t think I have any talent for mining. No, I’m pretty sure I don’t have any talent.”

“Except for mining, then.”

“Okay, okay. Can I come tomorrow morning?”

“Yes. 6 o’clock in the morning.”

“What? 6 o’clock? I’ve never woken up that early before!”

“You have to be diligent if you want to spend your days wisely.”

“There’s a reason you’re always busy…”

Anne looked at her feet as if she was lost in thought about something. I slowly waited for that figure.

The cool wind slowly passed over my sweaty body. The feel was quite pleasant. As always, I prefer cold over heat.

“Okay. 6 o’clock tomorrow? Did you ask me out on a date?”

“Date? Well, it would be nice if I could feel pink like that tomorrow.”

“Hmph. What should I be prepared for?”

“No. It’s not like that. I guess I’ll know more when I see you tomorrow at 6 o’clock.”

Anne’s face straightened. Her face was free from worry. She was as fresh, lively, and pretty as when I first met her.

That look really suits her. Is it because my first impression of her left a deep impression? The words she said at the time about being a lifesaver weren’t just words. It was actually a big help.

If I could help in any way, I wanted to do so. Rather than saying there is anything rational about it, it is simply fulfilling the duty of repaying the help from the perspective of the recipient.

“See you tomorrow! Do you have to be on time too? Can’t I catch the wind?”

“Don’t worry.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Anne smiled and waved her hand. I waved back and watched Anne leave.

When she appeared vaguely in the distance, the sight of her waving her hand in the sky was very cute. Would it be that fun?

I also faced her and gave a big wave. If something comes, something has to go. Isn’t that the basics of human relationships?

Concerns about what to do.

Concerns about the future.

It’s just a problem that anyone can face. Just anyone, regardless of age. It was clear that I, on Earth, had the same concerns.

Perhaps, the uniqueness of Starwind Valley may have taken away my worries about the future. Follow the route where you saw the ending. Just as you have been doing.

That’s it for now. It’s growing well, and I have no complaints about it growing like this.

Thanks to Anne, who raised the topic of worrying about the future, it’s just a matter of thinking about the future for a moment. Someday, when I see the ending. When you reach the true ending. Maybe 10 years. Maybe 20 years.

If you spend nearly half of your life in this world, am I a citizen of Earth or a resident of Starwind Valley?

Because I feel so sentimental, all kinds of thoughts consume me. It wasn’t that bad. This is because productive thoughts that I had not considered due to being busy and exhausted were growing rapidly.

I believed so. Someday, these concerns and thoughts will come together and lead me to better results at unexpected moments.

“Oh, I’m tired.”

That’s one thing, but the reality we’re facing right now, where I feel like I’m going to die of exhaustion, is also an important issue. My body complains of fatigue. Instead of burning my brain unnecessarily, I should go to sleep quickly and pretend not to be able to overcome my body’s protests.

Just like that, the night of the 17th day of spring, when I made a promise to Anne, came to an end.