The Cristo Hills were located at the edge of the Mana Hill Plains, connecting to the Titanini Mountains. They also served as a buffer zone between the Forde Commercial Alliance and the Dwarf Kingdom. Legend had it that during the End Times, the remaining mages, for the future and development of humanity on Galentea, opened a spatial gate and sent all the other intelligent races of Galentea to other sub-plane worlds. But somehow, they overlooked this dwarven tribe in the Titanini Mountains. Over two thousand years, this tribe slowly developed, establishing the Dwarf Kingdom centered on the Titanini Mountains.
This was the only civilized intelligent race resembling humans discovered on Galentea so far. However, the dwarves preferred to inhabit mountainous regions. Though they had contact with humans, no conflicts had arisen—on the contrary, there was even occasional trade between them.
Nominally, the Cristo Hills fell within the Commercial Alliance's sphere of influence, but in reality, the Alliance couldn't effectively divide or administer the area. To put it bluntly, the mountain folk here were inherently stubborn and combative—a joke, a bump, and it could escalate into a bloody mass brawl. Currently, the Alliance had adopted a policy of appeasement. It was said that someone had proposed dividing the Cristo Hills into parcels and awarding them as fiefdoms to those who had rendered service to the Alliance, but this proposal was still under consideration.
After three days and two nights,
As it turned out, Bam was actually a senior alumnus of theirs, a graduate of
After returning home, Bam spent five or six years combining his theoretical knowledge with practical experience before finally discovering a mineral vein beneath a small ridge near Baka village. After mining, it turned out to be a silver-tin ore deposit. Although the output wasn't large, this small mine became the lifeline for five or six surrounding villages. Thanks to this mine, over the past decade, none of the surrounding villages had experienced starvation—they could basically ensure food and clothing. And Bam used the mine's profits to send all the talented children from the village to study in
After chatting with Bam, everyone greatly respected this senior alumnus. Being able to give up the opportunity to develop in Morant City and return home to change the poverty wasn't something just anyone could do. And after establishing the mine, using the earnings to send village children to study was even more remarkable. Lorist and
Senior Bam was very forthright. He explained that traces of Gold Devouring Rats had been discovered deep in the mine a year ago. As a
However, the purge operation failed to achieve its goal. Bam's team was met with a frenzied attack from nearly a hundred Gold Devouring Rats inside the mine. The fourteen-person team was caught off guard, and virtually everyone sustained injuries. Although they managed to kill over thirty rats, they couldn't withstand wave after wave of attacks from the rat swarm. In the end, they barely made it back to the surface, paying the price of nine severely wounded.
At this point, Bam realized the Gold Devouring Rats in the mine had become a plague. The only solution was to post a commission to hire mercenaries to eliminate them. But he was a bit tight on cash—after paying compensation to the miners' families and medical expenses for his people, he had less than thirty gold coins left. Moreover, because the mine had been closed for over a month with no income, he needed to reserve some money to buy grain for distribution to the surrounding villages. So the bounty he could offer was only a dozen or so gold coins. And the information he'd gathered from the Mercenary Guild was disappointing—for a commission like his, the guild alone would take five gold Forde coins in fees, leaving barely enough to pay the mercenaries.
Bam suddenly remembered that when he was studying at Dawn Academy, students would often form adventure teams to take on commissions for extra income. So he had the children studying at the Academy make some inquiries, and that was how they found Fatty Shi.
After hearing the full story, everyone relaxed—this private job shouldn't be too risky, and they trusted Chief Bam's character. Fatty Shi analyzed the situation for everyone: based on the intelligence Senior Bam had provided, there should be around two hundred to three hundred Gold Devouring Rats in the mine below—a small swarm that was growing toward medium size. If it were a large swarm, the group that attacked Senior Bam's party would have been at least close to a thousand. Against nearly a hundred rats, their five-person team of three Silver and two Black Iron rank fighters could handle it. Even if they couldn't wipe out all the rats, they could at least kill the Rat Queen and force the remaining rats to leave the mining area.
He would help carry everyone's luggage—all free of charge. Most importantly, all the spoils from this mission would belong to the adventure team. In the Gold Devouring Rats' nest, valuable metal ores were often found. People had previously discovered large nuggets of native gold—excellent stuff. So this adventure was very much worth it. Everyone should rest well tonight, and they'd set out tomorrow.
"...Generally speaking, Gold Devouring Rat meat is slightly sour but perfectly safe to eat. It tastes better if made into jerky. The organs and blood must be thrown away entirely—they're inedible and contain heavy metal toxins. The most impressive feature of Gold Devouring Rats is their two large front teeth, which are incredibly hard. On the market, each tooth can be bought for a small silver coin. However, their fur is pretty useless—the main problem is that the smell can't be completely removed. No matter how well you tan it, there's always a stench resembling sewer sludge clinging to it, which attracts mosquitoes and flies. So the fur is always discarded..."
Deep in the mine, El had been assigned to scout ahead. Fatty Shi, Yuri, and
"Yes, that's right. This is a research finding published last year by Professor Schnader Bog, the instructor of the Magical Beast Studies program at our Academy—his latest discovery. For this, he received the Forde Research Award: two hundred thousand gold Forde in prize money. Instantly wealthy! This discovery is a blessing for every mine owner. As long as you regularly apply the potion in the mine tunnels, it will drive the Gold Devouring Rats away from the mining area and prevent attacks."
"The price isn't high—just three gold Forde for a large bucket, and it lasts a full month. In fact, if you use it long enough, the mining area will naturally retain the pine scent. After a year or two, you won't even need to apply any more. It's really quite a bargain! Senior Bam, think about it. If you want to buy some, just send me a message. Right now, the potion is in high demand—the Academy's production is limited, and outsiders can't get their hands on it. But based on our friendship, I'll definitely get some for you."
Lorist was quite pleased with himself. As long as Senior Bam took the bait, he'd earn a one-gold-coin commission per bucket sold. Twelve buckets a year—that was twelve gold Forde for practically no effort. This was a great deal. Maybe after returning, he should go around to all the mines and sell this potion?
As Lorist and the others ventured deeper, they encountered two waves of Gold Devouring Rats—over two hundred slain by the adventure team's swords. Setting aside Fatty Shi, El, and Terman's Silver-rank prowess, just the performance of Yuri and Lorist—both Black Iron rank—was enough to leave Senior Bam and the two Bronze Swordsmen slack-jawed.
Yuri positioned himself within the triangle formed by Fatty Shi, El, and Terman. Facing the swarming Gold Devouring Rats, he didn't take on the main offensive role—instead, he picked off stragglers and covered gaps, freeing the other three from worrying about their backs so they could cut freely. And Lorist was even more impressive—alone with his sword, standing off to one side, one stroke per rat, killing dozens without getting a single drop of rat blood on himself, and not any slower than Fatty Shi and the others.
Bam and his two men felt ashamed. Their fourteen-person team had entered the mine, encountered a swarm of similar size, and been thrown into complete chaos. Not only had they been chased out by the rats in a panicked rout, but nine of them had suffered severe injuries. Now watching these others—it was like a casual sword drill.
After dispatching these two waves of rats, Fatty Shi decided everyone should take a break to catch their breath and sort through the spoils. Yuri grabbed a pair of large pliers and prepared to pull teeth from the dead rats. Senior Bam asked if everyone was done with the rat carcasses. Remembering what Lorist had said about the meat being edible, he sent a Bronze Swordsman back to the village to find people to carry all the rat carcasses back and provide some extra meat for the villagers.
After eating some rations and taking a short nap, Fatty Shi decided to split into two groups. He'd take Terman and Yuri down the left fork, while Lorist and El would take the right fork. There shouldn't be many rats left—they just needed to find the nest and kill the Rat Queen, and the job would be done.
Lorist carried a bag containing the rat-repelling potion, applying it casually as he walked.
El asked, "What are you doing?"
Lorist gave a brief explanation of the potion's effects. Since El didn't operate a mine, he didn't bother with a hard sell.
El was skeptical of the potion's effectiveness, and the two started bickering again.
After walking for half a day without finding anything—they were nearing the end of the main mine tunnel with neither discoveries nor rats in sight—El said, "Let's go back. There's nothing here."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the rock face ahead suddenly bulged outward, then collapsed with a thunderous crash. A massive dark head burst through, sniffed the air a few times, and charged straight at Lorist and El.
"What the hell?!" Lorist was so startled he dropped the torch in his hand. This thing was enormous—the head alone had a diameter of two meters.
"Run! Now!" El grabbed Lorist, spun around, and bolted.
"Dammit, I knew something bad would happen around you. The last two times were bad enough, and when you insisted on joining, I've been on edge the whole time wondering when my luck would run out. Well, I can stop worrying now—killing rats and we stumble into this thing. If bad luck has a limit, I've hit it." Lorist ran behind El, grumbling all the way.
"You haven't even thanked your big brother for pulling you back. Otherwise, you'd have been swallowed whole. Didn't you see how stunned you were? You even dropped your torch!" El shot back.
"I just suddenly remembered the legend of the One-Horned Rock Python from the old mining incident. I was afraid what was behind us was that thing. When I saw the head and its long body, I froze thinking it was one of those." Lorist's face flushed slightly—he had indeed been frozen in fear. Luckily, El had pulled him out of it.
El glanced back as he ran, and after a moment said, "I don't think it's a One-Horned Rock Python. That thing behind us isn't fast. Its head is round, and it doesn't seem to have eyes. No scales on its body either..."
"No way. In this pitch darkness, you can actually see all that? Don't treat me like a child—do I look that gullible? And don't run so fast, we can't see anything. Careful you don't run into a wall," Lorist said.
"Ha ha," El grinned proudly. "You know I cultivate dark-attribute combat force, but you probably didn't know that cultivating dark-attribute qi grants night vision. It may be dark in here, but to me it's just like daylight. That's my innate ability. Pretty impressive, right? Envious? Unlike you, who goes blind the moment you drop a torch."
"Dammit, I've got plenty of gold coins. I can afford lamp oil. Not like you, who never lights a lamp..." Lorist was simultaneously envious and exasperated. El's night vision didn't seem much inferior to his own dynamic vision—and in the dark, it gave a massive advantage.
"So with that kind of vision, you probably got quite an eyeful that day you snuck into the women's bathhouse. I know the light in there is dim, but that wouldn't be a problem for you," Lorist asked between gasps.
"Can we please not bring up that day? I swear I was facing the wall the whole time—I didn't look at those women..." At the mention of that incident, El recalled those four aggravating words and panicked. In his distraction, he tripped over a stone.
Lorist rushed over to help him up. El grabbed Lorist's arm and pulled himself to his feet. "Huh? Lorist, are you hurt? Why are you all wet?"
Lorist startled, feeling himself all over. "Oh, it's not me—it's the potion bag. It's torn and the potion spilled all over me. Are you okay? I think I hear something behind us again."
"I'm fine, but that thing is catching up. Run!"
Before long, they spotted Fatty Shi and the others waiting at the rest area. Both of them were so out of breath they couldn't speak, so they just waved frantically, urging everyone to run. Fatty Shi and the others, watching Lorist and El gesticulating wildly, thought it was funny and just stood there laughing—until they saw what was pursuing the two. Then all hell broke loose. Everyone scattered like startled chickens, scrambling back toward the mine entrance.
Fatty Shi was fat but the fastest runner—he led the charge out of the mine. Behind him came Yuri, Terman, Senior Bam, and one Bronze Swordsman. El and Lorist brought up the rear. The other Bronze Swordsman outside the mine and the villagers who had been loading rat carcasses onto carts stared in bewilderment at the disheveled survivors. What had happened now?
Fatty Shi shouted at them, "Run! Scatter! Don't stand at the entrance—there's a magical beast coming out!"
Everyone scattered instantly. Fortunately, the creature chasing them from inside seemed afraid of light and retreated back into the mine just before reaching the entrance.
Fatty Shi let out a sigh of relief and turned to Lorist and El. "What the hell was that thing? How did you run into it? Puh, puh—Lorist, what's that smell on you? Did you pee yourself?"
Lorist said, "No, the potion spilled on me. It's the rat-repelling potion invented by Professor Schnader Bog at our Academy. Since this job was about killing Gold Devouring Rats, I brought a bucket along."
"You son of a—you brought that potion here? Now I know what that thing was!" Fatty Shi jumped three feet in the air, shaking his fist at Lorist in fury.
"Wait, Fatty Shi, explain yourself. The potion repels Gold Devouring Rats—that's a good thing, isn't it?" Lorist dodged and asked.
"Good my foot! Yes, the potion repels Gold Devouring Rats, but it also attracts Earth Dragons! That thing in there was an Earth Dragon, drawn here by your potion!"
"Do you even know what an Earth Dragon is? It's a magically mutated variant of an earthworm, and it absolutely loves this pine-root-extracted potion. If you don't believe me, go dig under a pine tree yourself—I guarantee you'll find a whole nest of earthworms. People at the Academy have even been using this potion specifically to hunt Earth Dragons."
"Professor Bog originally invented this potion to make a fortune, but it repelled the Gold Devouring Rats and attracted Earth Dragons instead. He lost every bit of that two hundred thousand gold prize money. The produced potions piled up at the Academy with no buyers—you didn't know about that? Dammit, only a fool like you would fall for the professor's scam!" Fatty Shi was apoplectic.
Damn it. No wonder the professor had promised him a one-gold-coin commission per bucket sold. There was no such thing as free money in this world! Lorist crouched on the ground, holding his head. "Go ahead, hit me. Everyone come over and punch me if it'll make you feel better."
Nobody came to hit him. Since things had come to this, they needed to figure out a solution. Compared to other magical beasts, Earth Dragons were relatively easy to deal with. After much discussion, everyone agreed that fishing it out was the most reliable approach.
An Earth Dragon was essentially a giant earthworm—it feared water and light, and was a fairly docile carrion-eating magical beast with no aggressive tendencies toward active, living targets. This was partly because of its massive body, slow speed, and sluggish reflexes. Fatty Shi led everyone, with the help of Chief Bam and the villagers, to spend six days crafting a thick rope nearly a hundred meters long, along with a massive iron hook shaped like a ship's anchor. Then Lorist, making amends for his mistake, shouldered the rope-and-hook assembly and entered the mine alone.
"What are you doing here?"
El said, "Of course your big brother's here to keep you company. If Fatty Shi hadn't needed Yuri and Terman to help pull the rope, they would've come too. Because we're companions."
Lorist was moved to the point of tears on the spot.
After walking for a while, El said that should be far enough. They set down the large iron hook, wrapped it in rags, and Lorist poured the remaining half-bucket of potion over the hook and cloth.
Soon, the mine tunnel once again echoed with huffing and snorting sounds. El shouted to run, and the two dashed toward the exit.
They hadn't even reached the entrance when the thick rope on the ground suddenly leaped into the air, pulled taut at a height of about a meter. Lorist cheered, "It's hooked!"
Outside the mine, Fatty Shi was directing the villagers in a tug-of-war with the Earth Dragon using several large winches. From morning to afternoon, they finally dragged the creature to the entrance—but the Earth Dragon had braced itself against something inside the tunnel and refused to come out. Finally, amid shouts of "One, two, three—pull!" Lorist watched as the mine tunnel erupted like a flash flood—black, stinking blood and mucus gushing outward, the massive iron hook flying out, still tangled with tubular strips of various sizes.
Fatty Shi walked over for a look and nodded with satisfaction. "Good—all the innards came out. That Earth Dragon is dead for sure. Tomorrow we'll go back in and drag out the skin."
Earth Dragons had remarkable regenerative abilities—damage to their exterior bodies healed easily. So people had devised this fishing method, exploiting the Earth Dragon's tendency to swallow food directly into its gut. Once you pulled out the Earth Dragon's innards, it was finished.
The Earth Dragon's body didn't have much of value—the only useful part was its thick outer hide. People cut the hide into pieces and threw them into a pot. Once boiled down into a broth, it became an excellent adhesive. Mixed with sand and mud, it could be used to build walls and lay foundations. Once fully dried, it solidified into an incredibly strong, unified structure.
Because it was Lorist's fault the Earth Dragon appeared, Fatty Shi gave its hide to Senior Bam, which delighted him greatly. With the Earth Dragon hide as adhesive, he could build proper houses for the villagers.
It took another three days, but Lorist and his companions cleared out every last Gold Devouring Rat in the mine. They hung iron cages in the corners, placing a rat corpse inside each to decompose naturally. This way, any future Gold Devouring Rats passing through would smell the death scent left in the cages and naturally avoid the mining area.
With everything completed, the group bade farewell to Senior Bam and set off on their journey back to the city.