They went deeper into the cave system, following promising ore signatures and intriguing rock formations. Greg enjoyed the simple, repetitive work of breaking rocks and collecting ore. The pickaxes never got damaged, and the lanterns never went out.

It was calm in a way that making magical things never was. No need to worry about making things that they can think of for themselves or making everyone in the village upset. It was just him, a pickaxe, and some stones.

"Boss," Bork said after a while. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure," Greg said, stopping to drink some water.

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but how are you? I mean, really, doing so far after everything that happened with the Sunken Citadel and Elias... all of that, you know..."

For a moment, Greg was quiet. "Things are getting better for me. Some days are harder than others, but it's wonderful to have everyone at the workshop, and now having Marina as my girlfriend helps."

Bork said, "She's good for you, not gonna lie. She brings you back down to earth as your usual self."

"She makes an effort, and she tries hard, but not always successfully."

"And the thing about making things weird?"

"I'm working on it. At least the equipment we used today worked well, and it's helpful without being a problem."

"That's a step forward!" Bork said something nice. "Look! You can make normal things if you put your mind to it!"

"SSS-rank items aren't considered normal because of their rarity," Greg said.

"Eh. Still counts!"

Felix yelled from further inside the cave. "Hey, guys! I found something strange!"

"How strange is it? It better not be something that comes from the games you played!" Greg called back.

"I truly mean it this time! This is something really strange! Come see this with your eyes!"

Greg and Bork looked at each other, then walked toward Felix's voice. They saw him standing in front of a wall that was covered in strange, glowing crystals. The crystals glowed with a soft blue light that made shapes that looked like writing.

"Are those crystals that work for magic?" Felix wanted to know.

Bork said, "Looks like it," as he reviewed them carefully. "I've never seen one like this before. The color is all wrong and weird..."

Greg reached out with his pickaxe, and the ore detection sense went crazy. "There's something behind this wall. And it's a big thing."

"Should we break through?" Felix asked with excitement.

Greg said, "Probably not."

"But what if it's a treasure?"

"What if it's something bad?" Greg asked back.

"That's what makes it fun!"

"Felix, we can't get through the glowing wall that we don't understand."

"Why not?"

"That's how bad things start."

"Or things about adventures!"

"We're not going on an adventure right now! We're going on a mining trip!"

"Mining can happen on adventures!"

"No, Felix."

"Yes, Felix!"

Felix swung his pickaxe at the wall before Greg could stop him. The crystal broke with a sound like glass breaking, and the wall behind it fell apart, revealing a secret chamber.

There was nothing in the chamber but a single pedestal in the middle. On that pedestal was what looked like a normal piece of ore. It was about the size of a fist and dark gray with gold streaks running through it.

"Huh," Bork said. "That's not very exciting."

"Is it magical?" Felix asked.

Greg moved slowly, still feeling something strange about the ore with his pickaxe. "Not sure. It feels different from regular ore, but I don't know what it does."

"Should we take it?" Felix asked.

"No way," Greg said.

"Why not?"

"Because that's how you start magical disasters by taking mysterious magical ore from hidden rooms."

"But what if it's worth something?"

"What if it's cursed?"

"There's only one way to find out!"

"Felix, I swear to God, if you touch that ore, I will fucking kill—"

Felix touched the ore. Currently, nothing is happening.

"Look!" Felix said with pride. "Completely safe!"

Spooked too soon because the ore started to shine.

"FELIX! WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY!?" Greg yelled.

The glow got stronger and spread from the ore to Felix's hand and then up his arm. Felix's eyes got big with fear.

"Uhh... guys...? I think I made a mistake!"

"YOU FUCKING THINK?!" At the same time, Greg and Bork yelled.

Felix blinked when the light stopped. "Oh. Forget it. It stopped, hahaha!"

"What do you mean it stopped?" Greg asked.

"I mean, it stopped shining. I'm fine. In fact, I feel great! Like, really pumped!"

Bork said, "That's not reassuring."

Felix picked up the ore, which had stopped glowing completely. "It's just a rock now. It's a strange rock, but it's still just rock."

Greg looked at Felix very closely. He looked fine, and there were no strange symptoms or obvious magical effects. The ore itself felt dead now, as if any magic it had had was gone.

Greg said firmly, "We're taking that back to Seraphine. She'll be able to figure out what it was."

Felix said happily, "Sounds good to me. Is it okay to keep mining now?"

They spent the rest of the day mining more normal ore, but Greg kept a close eye on Felix to see if he showed any signs of being magically contaminated. The younger man seemed fine, working with his usual chaotic energy and talking about his game all the time.

They went back to base camp with their load of ore and a strange rock that may or may not have done something to Felix as the sun began to set outside the cave.

"Day one was successful," Bork said as he made fire with things from their camp. "Good haul, no one died, and there was only one magical event."

Greg said, "That's actually better than I thought it would be."

Bork said, "We can go deeper tomorrow. There are paths that go to the finest deposits. "We might find Adamantine and possibly some star gems if we're lucky."

Felix said, "Sounds good to me. As long as there aren't any creepers."

"What the fuck are the creepers...?"

"Mobs that could explode. I'm not going to take any chances because only today I will sleep with my pickaxe."

"That seems too much."

"Greg, you didn't play the game. You don't know what it's like to be scared."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever floats your boat."

...

They ate dinner by the fire, telling stories and jokes while the winter wind howled outside the cave door. The magical containers Lylia had insisted they bring kept Marina's food warm, and the dwarven beer Bork had brought was just as strong as it said it would be.

Greg said after a while, "This is nice."

Bork replied, "I told you it would be good." Sometimes you just need to leave the workshop and do something simple."

"I'm having a good time!" Felix said more. "Even if there haven't been any monsters yet!"

"There won't be any monsters, Felix."

"You don't know that!"

"I think I do!"

"But what if..."

"There. Are. No. Monsters."

A long, echoing howl came from somewhere deep in the cave system. They all stopped moving and talking.

"What was that?" Felix said in a low voice.

"Probably just the wind," Greg said, but he didn't sound sure.

Another howl, but this time it was closer. "Fucking hell... why is it always us?"

Bork stood up and grabbed his pickaxe. "That's not wind," he said.

"I TOLD YOU THERE WOULD BE MONSTERS!" Felix yelled.

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