Crystal Mining
"What is this? It's sparkly and quite pretty?"
Linsey paused, while Red reached out and touched her.
Although the girl, who had only been practicing for six months, knew the name Crystal Valley, she had never actually come into contact with crystals in her daily life, so she naturally couldn't recognize what was in front of her.
Click—
The crystal cluster, which had already been cracked by the Meteorite Pickaxe, was immediately broken off by her.
The red hand held up the blue crystal in front of its eyes.
The fiery eyes and the crystal colors complemented each other, their brilliance seemingly shimmering.
"Linsey, is this crystal?"
Hong reacted quickly and immediately guessed what was in her hand.
"That's right."
Linsey nodded slightly and continued digging forward.
He smashed the Blue Crystal Cluster in front of him with a few blows of the Meteorite Pickaxe, and it shattered immediately. He picked up a piece to check the product information.
[Mineral: Blue Crystal]
Blue crystal that can be made into decorative items.
[A common type of crystal, readily available and reasonably priced in most places.]
Linsey then tried placing the Blue Crystal on the Workbench.
"An item that can't be crafted..."
Linsey pursed her lips. Ordinary Blue Crystal could only be used to make furniture such as crystal lamps, and no recipes for crafting special items were displayed.
Click, click, click—click! The two continued their digging, one in front of the other.
After digging out a few pieces of blue crystal, the area behind it turned back into soil, but a few meters later, new Purple Crystal appeared.
Crystal Valley produces a wide variety of crystals.
The excavations made by Linsey and Red alone already encompass the four colors of blue, purple, red, and green.
Ding-dong
Suddenly, their pickaxes made a peculiar sound.
Another Blue Crystal Cluster appeared before them, but it emitted an unusually dazzling light and its hardness was unlike that of ordinary crystals. It fell to the ground after being tapped a few times.
"This is... the feeling of the Essence?"
"This crystal has been fused with Essence!"
Linsey and Red exchanged a glance. As fellow Awakened Ones, they immediately realized that what they were seeing was a precious mineral.
The two immediately sped up, and after five pickaxes, they knocked off a piece.
[Ore/Material: Blue Crystal Cluster]
[A special Blue Crystal fused with Essence; holding it in your hand can enhance your senses; it can also be used as a material to craft other items.]
Natural crystals rarely contain Essence, making these items highly valuable.
Linsey was the first to hold the [Blue Crystal Cluster] in her hand.
This material appears to have only simple effects.
However, the crafting recipes for items marked with material tags are often the most valuable!
[1 Blue Crystal Cluster + 1/1/2 gold = Sapphire Ring /earrings/necklace]
[1 Blue Crystal Cluster + 3 glass + 1 metal = Sapphire Glasses]
[1 Blue Crystal Cluster + 1 Special Metal + 1 Advanced Gem Powder + 2 Magnets = Blue Lightsaber (1)]
"..."
"Some accessories, a pair of glasses, a lightsaber... a lightsaber!!!"
Linsey's heart skipped a beat in her chest.
He felt a little dizzy and opened his bag to check in disbelief.
According to the Workbench's assessment, Titanium Alloy is a Special Metal, and the magnets were already collected in the mine. As for the Advanced Gem Powder, Linsey still has [Azure Sea Powder] on hand! He obtained five of them from the artist back then.
Aside from using one to craft the [Glorious Bullet], I have four left.
"So— Blue Crystal Cluster, Special Metal, gemstone powder... it's all here!"
Linsey's sudden agitation startled Red, who was standing nearby.
She even suspected that something dangerous existed in Crystal Valley and had attacked Linsey without her noticing.
"Linsey, you..."
Buzzing—
Before Hong could finish speaking, the dimly lit underground passage was illuminated by a blue light.
Suddenly, a blue cylinder appeared in Linsey's hand. After he held it, one end of the cylinder suddenly emitted a blue light.
Accompanied by the distinctive buzzing sound of the lightsaber, the temperature in the air even began to rise.
"These... are those strange and unusual abilities of yours again?"
Linsey tried swinging the lightsaber, holding it up in front of Red, as happy as a child:
"Hong, why don't you give it a try too?"
"If you want one, I'll make one for you too. I still have the materials!"
"Forget it." Hong shook her head decisively and refused. "I still prefer weapons like guns and spears."
"..."
"You really don't even have the most basic aesthetic sense!"
[Weapon: Blue Lightsaber (1)]
[A lightsaber made of special crystal. When activated by Essence, it fires a high-temperature plasma from one end, and the magnetic field that confines the plasma emits a buzzing sound in the air.]
[A very rare and formidable weapon, of high value.]
Linsey tried slashing the wall with his lightsaber, and a scorch mark was immediately left in front of him.
Then... he had to stop the stimulation.
The power of a lightsaber is visibly strong, but the Essence it consumes is also enormous.
Based on the current reserves of Linsey's two Essence pools.
Provided that one's own safety is ensured, it should only be able to activate for about ten seconds.
In other circumstances, Linsey might have played a little longer, but they are currently in a crisis, and conserving Essence is very important.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of the pickaxe swinging continued.
This blue crystal, which incorporates Essence, is of a fairly good size.
After Linsey completely unearthed it, he ended up with four pieces of material. Since he didn't have any gold, he had to make the [Sapphire Glasses] first.
[Equipment: Sapphire Glasses]
[Equipped to enhance perception; activated by inputting Essence, allowing the wearer to perceive the emotional changes of those around them.]
Specialized eyeglasses are valuable.
"Seeing the emotional changes in others..."
These are glasses with a lightweight and simple design, lenses composed of gemstone and glass layers, and frames engraved with fine textures.
Linsey naturally brought it along, first glancing at the girl beside her.
With the activation of the [Sapphire Glasses] function, the red figure in Linsey's eyes was suddenly enveloped in a layer of blue halo.
Hong is now in a stable state of mind.
Therefore, the blue halo that symbolized her emotions remained unchanged.
Boom—
Just then, the ground beneath their feet trembled once more.
The battle between the two Sixth Stage powerhouses continued, and the ground tremors arrived as expected.
But this time, Linsey and Red encountered a small change.
Behind them, a section of crystal buried in the soil broke off during the tremors, causing a landslide.
With a loud bang, a section of the tunnel they had dug collapsed behind them.
"Um?"
Almost simultaneously, Linsey also confirmed the function of the [Sapphire Glasses].
Because of this roar, the aura surrounding the girl in front of him became much darker.
More importantly...
Following the crack in the collapsed tunnel, the two heard sounds coming from outside.
That was the roar of the Lizard Dragon and the desperate cries of the Eyeless People.