What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 166. The Ore Mining Site, The Apprentice Returns

As soon as the ground began to shake, Kroya had already extended all of his mental and magical power underground.

He was quite certain that this was a sign that the underground magic veins were about to erupt with magic power—otherwise, how could the octopus have erupted so soon after it crawled out?

So when the ground shook, Kroya appeared to be making no movement, but her magic had already been channeled and taken over from the magical energy surging from the underground.

"There are quite a lot."

He sensed it for a moment, frowned, took out the Gopher wood harp, and gently plucked the crimson string.

"~"

The gentle and soothing music flowed out.

When he plays his music, even the earth and nature are listeners, and are naturally affected by the power of the tranquil serenade.

The raging winds and relentless snow gradually subsided, transforming from howling blizzards into gently falling snowflakes.

The magical energy that was about to gush forth from underground softened, eventually flowing out like a clear spring. It flowed towards Kroa, quickly forming a stream of magical energy.

Only then did Kroya realize just how immense this flow of magic was—definitely more than level one—and during this process, he also sensed something below him.

"A very familiar fluctuation."

After tracing the flow of magic, Kroya put away the Gopherwood Harp, looked at the ground, and with a flick of her finger, magic immediately spurted out what was below.

It was a bright blue light.

The octopus's eyes widened the moment it appeared.

It stretched out its arms and legs, but dared not snatch the treasure from Kroya. It could only watch furtively from behind, unable to hide its longing and disappointment.

However, Kroya didn't seem interested in paying attention to it anymore.

At that moment, Kroya reached out and caught the burst of light in his hand, then looked down at it.

These are... rhomboid blue crystals, shimmering with the brilliance of water, as if a small piece of the deep sea has been cut off and placed inside.

"Water Crystal." He took a deep breath, and it was indeed as he had sensed earlier.

His gaze as he looked at the ground was filled with barely concealed excitement—there was a vein of water crystals here!

It's been far too long since I've seen a Water Crystal. The last time was when that angel sheep dropped it, and there were only a few crystal fragments, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.

Water Essence is beneficial to water-attribute magical plants and magical beasts, and can even accelerate their reproduction speed, not to mention it can be sold directly for money.

It's absolutely a great product.

Even compared to the Magic Vein and Magic Crystal Ore, they seem somewhat insignificant.

Therefore, he immediately decided to build a base here. The magic veins, water crystals, and magic crystal mines were enough for him to invest a great deal of resources.

After looking around and thinking for a while, he decided to build a dam here to block the seawater and then build a ore mining site.

"However, let's deal with the octopus first."

Kroa put the matter aside for the time being and glanced at the octopus that was sitting to the side, staring longingly at the Water Crystal.

The latter's eyes were filled with longing for the Water Crystal; if Kroa hadn't been so powerful, it would have already snatched it.

"You want it so badly? Then I can use it to tempt you."

This guy definitely wants the power of the Water Crystal, so I can use the Water Crystal to subdue it. With a level three magical beast octopus here, many things will be easier.

He quickly separated a drop of Water Essence using the Seven Luminaries Separation Technique and waved it at the octopus.

The octopus was eager to pounce, but ultimately held back.

Kroya can now separate the essence of the Water element without the aid of the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array. He even suspects that the array is a super-enhanced version of the Seven Luminaries Separation Technique.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. After all, Archmage Eurydice was originally an apprentice of the legendary mage Ilister, so it's normal for him to create a secondary version of the Seven Stars Separation Technique.

Of course, the power of the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array can separate all Luminous Crystals, but if you need to process them in large quantities, it would definitely be more convenient to use a magic array.

"Do you want it or not?"

He directly tempted you and made his own conditions: "I will provide you with this essence, but you need to obediently follow my orders."

If you don't want to..."

He didn't say anything more, but simply activated his magic, and three-colored light intertwined behind him, even forming a halo.

It emitted extremely powerful magical energy fluctuations.

This is blatant coercion and enticement. If you don't accept my good intentions, then you can only die.

The octopus immediately understood what Kroa meant. As a level three magical beast, it already possessed an intelligence no less than that of a human, not to mention that the octopus had a full nine brains.

That's equivalent to nine times the will to survive.

It immediately and obediently submitted, even extending its tentacles to deftly retrieve the magic crystals scattered in the soil and pile them in front of Kroya.

This is to prove that they are obedient and capable.

"That's more like it." Kroa nodded in satisfaction, casually tossing the drop of Water Essence to the octopus, which immediately caught it and swallowed it.

Compared to its body size, this essence of water is really insignificant, but after it swallowed it, all eight of its tentacles shook and trembled together, almost like it was dancing after drinking too much.

Finally, with a "thud," it slumped softly to the ground, and it took a while for it to return to its original shape.

After taming the octopus, the efficiency of collecting ore increased significantly. During this time, Kroya also conducted a preliminary investigation of the situation beneath the soil.

According to the exploration, there should be a lot of mineral deposits below, and it would take a lot of effort for him to mine them all by himself using magic.

Therefore, we still need to mine slowly and make use of the magic veins along the way.

After chatting with the giant octopus for a while, he left with a bunch of magic crystals and water crystals that had been washed out, looking thoughtful. As for the seawater... it had long been blocked by the wall he created with his earth and stone shaping technique.

There is no seawater left in this U-shaped bay.

After leaving, Kroya didn't linger and went straight back to the castle with her spoils.

However, before leaving, he left behind enough building materials and instructed his apprentices to work with the local farmhands to complete the construction of the mine.

In his view, an apprentice should not only be able to fight, but also be able to manage the territory, or at least be able to handle these matters skillfully.

Having tasted success this time, he has decided to send his apprentices to visit the surrounding nobles one by one, at least to bring the area around Hanjiao Island under his control.

As for the outside world, let's leave it to Baron Camoyer. It's just a matter of transferring from one hand to the other, and it will ultimately still belong to him.

……

After he left completely, the apprentice Lina and her friends gathered all the farm servants in the area.

Looking down at the ragged, somewhat timid people below, she said loudly, "The lord has something for you to do. Listen carefully to what I say. If you can accomplish it, you will have no problem eating and dressing warmly!"

As a former farm servant, Lina certainly knew what "she" wanted. Nothing more than to have enough to eat, wear, and live in peace.

Although it sounds simple, only Kroya and their powerful mage lord could do it.

As she spoke, apprentices brought out buckets of food, which were really just boiled potatoes—the simplest kind of food.

With the help of the harvesters, the yield of this yam has skyrocketed, and it continues to produce even in snowy weather.

For the people on Han Reef Island, these were already considered everyday foods, so there was nothing surprising about them.

But it was different for these farm servants.

The farm servants' eyes widened at the smell of the steaming food, knowing that when the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, it was always the people at the bottom of society who suffered.

Their lives cannot withstand even the slightest disturbance, let alone a natural disaster of this magnitude.

Everyone had gone hungry for a few days, more or less. Now, smelling the aroma of food, only reason and fear of Lina kept them from fighting over it.

They looked at Lina standing on the platform as if she were a savior—and she didn't launch into any further long-winded explanations, simply saying, "Eat! No fighting over it!"

The farm servants were initially hesitant and timid, but once they saw the apprentices had scattered, they immediately pounced on them and began to wolf down the hot soup and thick potatoes.

However, they remembered Lina's words and did not try to steal it.

For a moment, the entire castle was filled with the sounds of people slurping soup and chewing.

Lina waited patiently until they finished eating and drinking. She clapped her hands, and the farm servants immediately looked up at her with hope and expectation in their eyes.

She won over these farm servants with just one meal, making them completely obedient to her.

"listen to me……"

She picked up a pile of white clay and demonstrated twice how to build a house, then gestured for the farm servants to try it.

The results were surprisingly smooth; enticed and motivated by the food and her promises, the farm servants learned very quickly.

In just ten minutes, these 300-plus people learned how to use white clay to build structures.

Immediately afterwards, they left the castle and went to the seaside to begin construction. Centered on three intertwined veins, they worked day and night and soon built a huge building.

It is the same height as the ten-meter-high dike that Kroya casually built to block the sea, and it looks like a castle, except that it has no windows.

The interior is divided into three levels. The bottom level is a crystal pipe for mining two types of ore and transferring magic power from the magic veins. The second level is an indoor field where some magical plants are grown. The top level is a teleportation array that periodically sends the ore to the castle on the reef island.

The castle's only entrance and exit is on the dike built by Cloa, and everyone has to cross a bridge over the deep sea to enter or leave.

The seawater was unfathomably deep, and it seemed that some terrifying monster lurked beneath.

That's the last barrier; the octopus prevents anyone from sneaking in through the entrance and also keeps out anyone from taking things they shouldn't.

If someone actually does that, it will not hesitate to indulge in its culinary adventure.

……

The continuous supply of Water Crystal Magic Crystals from White Gull Island was transported to Kroya's castle. The quantity was quite large, and several hundred crystals had already been mined as soon as mining began.

This made Kroya realize that even if he could explore the sea, he could not let go of the resources on land.

A larger territory means more possibilities and more resources, which are all beneficial to him.

In particular, after a detailed conversation with the giant octopus, he learned that the appearance of these mineral veins was very likely related to the merfolk.

The giant octopus has lived in the ocean for a long time and is very sensitive to the magic of mermaids, even more so than the sea dolphins that have received the blessings of mermaids.

It was initially lured ashore by the magic of the mermaids, where it discovered minerals—a product of the conflict between two types of magic.

It is the magic of mermaids from the ocean and the magic of the land.

He had already been suspicious of the cause of the snowstorm, and now that he knew it was related to mermaids, a gloomy feeling settled over him.

Keep in mind that this snow covers the entire Northern Territory!

Even when he was confined to his own territory, he could imagine how many people were affected by the snow disaster and eventually died from hunger and cold.

Having collected so many musical sounds, he was bound to be influenced and naturally able to perceive the emotions within them. He couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow and thought the merfolk had really gone too far.

He had initially thought he was being helpful to the merfolk, and that they might not mind his exploration of the seas. But now he was a little confused.

He decided to temporarily halt the development of the ocean, at least until the merfolk appeared and he could see their attitude before making any further plans.

Since expansion at sea is not feasible for the time being, we must take better care of things on land. He has already instructed the teams outside to secure any mineral resources and supplies they find and bring them to Hanjiao Island.

Bring whatever you have; the current heavy snow provides the best camouflage.

"I'm just waiting to see what they get."

After considering these matters, he glanced at the clock on the wall and muttered to himself:

"Come to think of it, it should be time for it to arrive."

No sooner had he finished speaking than King Muyao Quteng reminded him, "Master, a castle is waiting at the dock of Hanjiao Island. Apprentice Ryan requests an audience with you."

"Oh." Chloe nodded slightly and leaned back. "Let him in. I also want to know what else happened."

Although the mushroom man was monitoring the whole time, he wasn't actually there, so he still needed to observe things before making any decisions.

"Okay." King Mu Yao Qu Teng responded.

A short while later, Ryan walked in from outside and immediately bowed to Kroya, saying, "My lord! I'm back!"

"Hmm." Kroya glanced at him and noticed that the guy's aura was becoming increasingly fierce, and he had already reached the power of a first-level knight.

That's to be expected, considering he really put in the effort this time.

However, the thorn of justice inside his body... seems a bit strange.

Kroya raised an eyebrow and said, "Come closer."

Ryan immediately took a few steps forward, and only stopped at Kroya's signal, when he was less than half a meter away from the latter.

At that moment, Kroya casually cast a spell, and a dazzling golden light, wrapped in wisps of strange magic, landed in front of Kroya.

That was the power of orange, filled with greed and desire.

"Mammon's boundless greed."

Upon receiving this wisp of magic, the hidden chapter of the Orange Song within his heart stirred slightly, but after absorbing this power, it quickly subsided.

"I imagine we need even more of this kind of power."

He had some guesses, but put the matter aside for the time being, and asked Ryan curiously, "You're actually able to draw on this kind of power, do you sense anything is amiss?"

Ryan shook his head: "No, it's no different from usual."

"Is that so?" Kroya stared at the Thorns of Justice inside his body, finding the thing rather absurd.

Although he had learned from the Baron that these thorns could draw power and transform it into his own, he hadn't expected that even the power of this emotional demon could be transformed.

If we follow this line of reasoning, could it be that even higher powers, such as divine power, can be transformed?

He was very curious, so he decided to try it out—he took the power of the Earth Mother Goddess from the bottle, wrapped it in his own golden magic, and handed it to Ryan.

"Try to draw upon these powers," he said.

"Yes." Ryan immediately did as instructed.

The young knight apprentice began to absorb the golden-green magic power within the golden magic power according to the breathing technique, and surprisingly, he actually managed to absorb a wisp of it.

Although it was only a barely perceptible wisp, he did absorb it nonetheless. That wisp of magic was transformed within his Thorns of Justice, becoming an extremely terrifying power.

If Kroya hadn't reacted quickly and helped him suppress those forces, he probably would have exploded.

This shows just how extraordinary the quality of these divine powers is.

Kroya pondered, "It really can absorb... but it seems my power suppressed it. This magic, representing eternity, can so easily suppress even the fluctuations of divine power?"

He had seen it clearly just now: when these divine powers entered the Thorns of Justice, they were about to erupt, but his golden magic suppressed them.

It is obvious that the golden eternal magic is more powerful than divine power.

"In other words, we can just let them absorb this divine power from now on. The quality of divine power is so extraordinary that it doesn't need any other magic power at all." A thought flashed through his mind.

This is certainly a good thing, as it allows him to consume the divine power that is of little use to him and also solves the problem of the knight apprentice's magic consumption.

After resolving that doubt, he inquired whether anything had happened on the way back.

Of course, there was no result.

With such a large mobile castle as their means of transportation, they encountered absolutely no trouble, and the man named Gitte even treated them very well.

The food inside the castle was also distributed to the farm servants by Gitte, and his manners were impeccable.

Finally, Ryan even pleaded with Kloa for Git's life.

"My lord, although Jite has been tempted by the demon, he seems alright to me now. Will you kill him?"

"Let's see."

Kroya didn't give a clear answer, but simply stood up. "Let's go see that Gitte and the priest."

He soon arrived at the Hanjiao Island pier and saw the castle supported by flowering vines. The moment he saw the castle, the light in his eyes turned a deep orange.

Around him, small orange flowers grew at his feet, stretching endlessly.

Music began to play unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)