The Long Mining Grind

[1 Meteor Fire Brooch + 1 Ice Shield Emblem = Emblem of Ice and Fire]

The crafting recipe for the Meteor Fire Brooch is quite simple.

However, this other Ice Shield Emblem...

Linsey guessed that it should be obtained from ice-type Elemental Creature, which are the opposite of Meteor Fire Sprite, but that was definitely out of the question at the moment.

"Ah--"

At that moment, Linsey opened her mouth and yawned.

First, they climbed mountains, then mined, and finally they schemed against these Meteor Fire Sprite.

After this experience, which took more than a day, mental fatigue began to show.

If we're talking about continuing to push through, Linsey's stamina is certainly not a problem.

However, these Meteorite could not possibly escape from beneath his feet.

Linsey decided to leave the dangerous Meteor Crater and return to the scorched earth at the top of the mountain. He chose a relatively warm spot and set up camp to rest.

Considering the situation in the Meteor Crater below them.

Linsey summoned the Snow Wolf to keep watch for him again before finally falling into a deep sleep on the mountaintop.

When Linsey woke up again, the sky was pitch black.

He was still a little dazed after waking up, not realizing that it was night again.

"I just fell asleep... wait, what time is it now?"

Linsey scratched her head and pulled out a self-made iron Pocket Watch from her pocket.

Then he discovered that the time on it was completely inaccurate.

I've been so busy lately that I forgot to wind my Pocket Watch. Since Pocket Watch's a purely mechanical timekeeping device, it's naturally long since stopped working.

"I 'Resource Conversion for you too..."

Linsey curled her lip and began to use the Pocket Watch in her hand as Resource Conversion.

The Essence replaced the Pocket Watch's internal mainspring mechanism, allowing it to keep accurate and stable time. A single application of the Resource Conversion Skill enables it to maintain precise timekeeping for approximately six months.

"Now we won't be without a way to keep track of time anymore."

"We can find someone to check the time when we get back to town."

Linsey stretched, dug out the extinguished campfire and relit it, then used the lean meat from her bag to make breakfast.

He then picked up the Meteorite Pickaxe and continued working in the Meteor Crater.

The purpose of collecting Meteorite is simple, but it will certainly take a lot of time.

Linsey continued to mine Meteorite mainly because this type of ore was difficult to obtain.

In addition to preparing the subsequent equipment on the synthesis list, he also had to deal with the stockpiling of Titanium Alloy.

In synthetic systems, Titanium Alloy are a Special Metal.

Linsey can't synthesize other high-level equipment right now, but it's always good to do more preparation.

A rough calculation was performed.

The synthesis of Meteorite Ingot requires one less piece than the four-in-one Iron Ingot; three pieces are needed to synthesize one.

However, this was due to the subsequent demand for equipment such as armor, which consumed a great deal of resources.

It also requires the extraction of at least a hundred Meteorite.

"..."

"So, I might have to stay here for two days?"

The Meteor Crater itself makes it difficult to move around, and the distribution of these ores is also extremely irregular.

Muttering to himself about how long it would take, Linsey continued downwards along the circular path he had dug the day before.

In addition to continuing to work.

Linsey casually canceled the summoning of the Snow Wolf and replaced it with bats to keep watch outside.

After all, he was in Meteor Crater.

If something really happens up there, he won't be able to sense it down there.

Linsey ventured deeper into the Meteor Crater, while the sky outside gradually brightened.

Meanwhile, with the constant influx of Meteorite as motivation, I didn't find the work tedious.

They even watched as the number of Meteorite in their luggage kept increasing.

Instead, it gives you a sense of accomplishment like when you're collecting resources and accumulating them in a game.

The only regret is those Meteorite that harbored the Meteor Fire Sprite.

Most of the energy contained in the Meteorite is concentrated in this Elemental Creature, causing it to lose its original Meteorite characteristics and become waste.

Half a day passed.

Linsey faced another Meteorite that was now dull and lifeless, inhabited by Meteor Fire Sprite. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "It's one thing that the Meteorite is gone, but the Elemental Creature just vanished after they died, making it impossible for me to collect materials."

"Can't we have some other benefits?"

Muttering a complaint, Linsey flipped open her Hunting Notes again.

At this moment, we are still a long way from achieving the level 2 achievement of 150.

However, due to continuous kills and encounters, the [Weakness Survey] skill began to take effect, and new hunting suggestions were updated in the notebook.

— [Low temperature, freezing]

For Linsey, who has unlimited water, this hint is of little use.

But when Linsey mentioned the "weakness: the core of the flames," his gaze became quite interested.

"The core within the flames..."

"If we don't extinguish it directly with water, but instead use other methods to destroy the core, will the result still be nothing but ashes?"

"Moreover, we can also take this opportunity to test and confirm the nature of Elemental Lifeform when facing various attacks."

Linsey had an idea in mind and immediately began preparations.

He checked his equipment, considering the Meteor Fire Sprite's immunity to physical attacks and its fire properties.

"Ordinary physical attacks definitely won't work, so we need special effects provided by the Essence..."

Linsey first took out the Iron Horn Great Bow.

The arrows fired from this powerful bow can inflict a corruption effect.

Subsequently, the Ice Badger Mace and Ice Fang Dagger were also taken out.

Both of these items clearly have a freezing effect, which will likely be effective against Meteor Fire Sprite.

"A dagger seems too short."

Linsey gestured.

Using this Ice Fang Dagger to stab the Meteor Fire Sprite would likely result in burns to myself first, so it would be better to use a large weapon like a Wolf Tooth Club.

With his current agility and strength.

Controlling this heavy spiked Wolf Tooth Club is a piece of cake.

With his gear ready, Linsey continued digging.

This time he was lucky and soon dug up another Meteorite that was on fire.

"Get out here!"

Linsey swung his pickaxe up, then turned and ran a few steps to create distance.

Turning his head again, he saw a streak of fire break free from the Meteorite and prepare to attack him.

Snap! The bowstring snapped, and the arrow shot out.

The arrow, now possessing a physical form, undoubtedly pierced through the body of the Meteor Fire Sprite.

But at the same time, Linsey also noticed that the original orange-yellow core of the Meteor Fire Sprite was now covered with a layer of dull gray after being pierced by the arrow.

The corruption effect can indeed pose a threat to Elemental Lifeform.

However, with the power of the Iron Horn Great Bow, a single strike was not enough to kill it.

Enraged by the arrow, the Meteor Fire Sprite became even more agitated than before, its flight speed suddenly increasing as it continued its assault on Linsey.

"Let's try this next..."

Linsey instantly switched to Ice Badger Mace.

The Meteor Fire Sprite is a life form that senses its environment entirely through temperature. It was startled to discover that the humanoid creature before it suddenly held a huge, cold, rod-like object in its hand.

However, before the Meteor Fire Sprite could react...

The massive Wolf Tooth Club whistled as it struck the creature, then crashed into the scorched earth above the tunnel, creating a small crater.

Click!

This time, at the spot where the Ice Badger Mace struck, Linsey heard a very clear sound of core cracking.

Moreover, there was a scraping sensation from beneath the Ice Badger Mace, as if something had been smashed.

Linsey smiled.

He had a feeling that the task of gathering materials was about to be accomplished!