My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

Perhaps due to his bloodline, Char still suffers from a fear of insufficient firepower.

After all, he didn't know how many monsters were in the mine, or whether he could kill them all by himself.

For him, thousands of hydrogen-oxygen bombs are like 200GB of data per month—it seems like a lot, but if used freely, there's still a possibility of exceeding the limit.

Therefore, his statement about the sense of security derived from "minor" things is quite accurate.

Char walked in the tunnel for about twenty minutes.

The beam of the flashlight danced on the cave wall.

The mine tunnels here were much more complicated than he had imagined, with a dense network of branching paths, like an anthill.

Some places are so narrow that you can only pass sideways, while others suddenly open up, and the dome is so high that even a flashlight cannot reach the top.

And most importantly, he hadn't seen a single classmate after walking for so long.

This is a bit scary. There were over a hundred people, and we walked for more than twenty minutes without encountering them.

It's not that he was unlucky, it's just that this place is frighteningly large.

So even after looking at the map, Char couldn't tell which place was which at all.

He could only follow the approximate directions of certain symbols on the map by relying on the compass.

He stopped in his tracks.

This is a huge cave.

Dark red patterns began to appear on the cave walls, resembling veins in the ore.

Above him were many sharp rock cones of varying sizes. He didn't know how deep he had gone, but the temperature rose as he went down, and the surroundings became somewhat hot.

A strong smell of blood filled the air.

Char slowed his pace, the beam of light sweeping across the area ahead—

Crimson eyes emerged from the darkness.

Not just one, but a whole group.

Six mutated rats crowded around the bend in the tunnel ahead. They were slightly smaller than the previous one, but their numbers were enough to offset the disadvantage of being individually smaller.

Their fur gleamed oily under the light, and their lips were everted, revealing yellowish-brown teeth.

Xia took a deep breath. To be honest, he didn't really like encountering these things.

The score was too low, so he still hoped to use his magic and hydrogen bombs on what was truly needed.

"Alright," he said softly, "There are quite a few points for the first tier too."

The next moment, six rats rushed over at the same time.

He turned sideways, exerted force, and hurled the hydrogen-oxygen bomb towards the very center of the rat swarm.

The sphere traced a low, flat arc in the air and landed precisely in the middle of the running swarm of mice.

"boom--!"

The sound of the explosion echoed back and forth in the huge cavern, making Char's eardrums sting.

But the next moment, he heard another sound.

"Click—"

Char suddenly raised his head.

It's unclear whether those stone cones already had cracks, but this tremor caused the cracks to widen rapidly.

At first it was just gravel, then whole stone cones fell down.

Xia's pupils contracted sharply, and he lunged to his left.

The stone spike grazed his right leg and hit the ground.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The dull cracking sounds echoed as the rock cone, weighing several hundred kilograms, crashed down on the spot where Xia had just stood, shattering into several pieces. Shards flew everywhere, one of which grazed his cheek, stinging painfully.

Char lay prone in the rubble, his ears ringing. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.

He pushed himself up and glanced down at his right leg—his trouser leg was ripped open, but the flesh wasn't injured. A fraction of a second later, and his leg bone would have shattered along with the stone spike.

"Damn it!" he muttered under his breath.

He looked up and gazed in the direction of the swarm of rats.

The explosion of the hydrogen-oxygen bomb directly shattered the head of one of them, while the others were hit by large rocks, their bodies crushed and deformed.

One of the monsters reacted and quickly rushed towards Char.

Char raised his hand and unleashed a lightning bolt.

"Sizzle sizzle!"

"squeak!!!"

The surging electric light echoed through the cave, and the rats were electrocuted, writhing on the ground until they finally stopped breathing, leaving only some muscle twitching.

The smell of ozone mixed with the stench of burning permeated the surrounding area.

Char looked at his hands.

Paralyzing it only requires about 120 magic power, but stopping its heart would require at least three to five times that amount.

Putting aside the smell, it's more cost-effective to numb the enemy and then follow up with a burning hand.

The bracelet vibrated.

Hunting Points: Tier 1 * 6, Points: 6. Total Points: 22. Rank: 42nd.

With over a hundred people, this was roughly the upper-middle position, but it wasn't the result he wanted.

Char leaned against the cave wall and picked up the flashlight from the ground. The beam of light flickered and was still on.

He dusted himself off and sighed; the terrible terrain was really hindering his performance.

Then we continued deeper into the cave.

After walking a dozen steps, he turned back and glanced at the stone cone that had fallen to the ground.

It lay where he had just stood, its cross-section jagged.

But that one glance made him stop in his tracks.

Xia frowned slightly and approached the stone pillar. The broken edge was inlaid with some kind of silvery-white crystal, like crystal, which emitted a faint glow when the flashlight was shone on it.

Char approached the cave wall and used the metal edge of his flashlight to knock off a small piece.

The stone felt heavy in my hand, but the moment the flashlight was turned off—

It lit up on its own, radiating a soft glow like moonlight.

Xia was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what it was.

Ether crystals.

He glanced around abruptly, and as he turned off his flashlight, the scattered ether crystals on the ground began to glow naturally, like stars scattered everywhere.

He put these crystals into his storage space one by one.

Although he may not necessarily use it, submitting it can still earn him a lot of points.

He turned on the flashlight again and carefully looked around one last time, trying to make sure he hadn't missed any ether crystals.

The light swept across a corner and then paused...

The walls there were originally the same color as the surroundings, but it seems that due to the recent tremors, some of the soil layers collapsed and cracked, gradually outlining a shape.

It looks like it's been blocked with mud.

He looked up to check the top of his head, and after confirming that there were no rock cones, he raised his hand again and threw a compressed hydrogen-oxygen ball over.

"boom!"

A loud crash. Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, the soil blocking the entrance to the cave collapsed rapidly, revealing the dark passage behind it.

Xia slowly approached the cave entrance, and an indescribable stench assaulted his nostrils. He frowned, covered his nose with his hand, and shone his flashlight inside.

The space behind it is not very large, about twenty meters in diameter, and appears to have been carved out by man.

In a corner of the mine chamber, there was a collapsed worktable.

The wooden countertop was riddled with holes from moisture and insects.

Several skeletons lay nearby, dressed in miners' clothes.

After confirming that there was no danger, Char went inside.

There were some things next to the workbench: a rusty miner's lamp, a pickaxe with a broken handle, and a book with a leather cover.

Char reached out and untied the ribbon on the book cover.

This appears to be a drawing made of parchment.

When unfolded, it resembled a magic circle, and Char could recognize some of the runes on it, such as those related to energy conversion.

Energy conversion?

Xia seemed to realize something and placed the ether crystal on the magic circle.

After a brief silence, the magic circle lit up with light...