Deep in the mining tunnels, under the mutual restraint of multiple parties, the first to complete the purple-skinned blacksmith's mining requirements was actually the single-minded Red Rose team.
Currently, three groups remained in the tunnels: Manfred's team, the Caiman Knight Order, and the elven team.
The situation for the Caiman Knight Order took a sharp turn for the worse.
Both Manfred and the elven team harbored grudges against the Grey family.
Moreover, Manfred and the elven team had fought side by side before, and the atmosphere between them in the mining tunnels was unexpectedly harmonious.
"Damn it, these elves entered the Well of Eternal Imprisonment clearly seeking the Forbidden Fire."
"The Candelabra is right there on Manfred's person; how can they still get along so well!"
Caiman cursed inwardly as he continued to mine.
The glances that the two groups occasionally cast toward him made Caiman feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.
In this stalemate, the Red Rose team was the first to reap the benefits, gaining the opportunity to enter the Lava Lake and explore ahead of the others.
The thought of this made Caiman feel uneasy all over as he swung his pickaxe.
"Caiman, your group has reached the quota for materials. You may go and purchase a fire-resistant boat now."
The purple-skinned blacksmith acting as the supervisor spoke kindly.
After all, these were high-level human miners working for free; how could his tone not be kind?
Furthermore, the purple-skinned blacksmith followed the rules strictly, showing no intention of taking unfair advantage. As soon as the Caiman Knight Order's mining task was met, he immediately spoke up to remind them.
However...
Caiman was cursing incessantly in his heart. As things stood, how could he possibly dare to leave this mine?
He could only grit his teeth and speak.
"Mining ore is very meaningful work. I would like to mine here for a while longer."
Rhine let out a sudden snort of laughter.
Hearing Rhine's laughter, the fire in Caiman's heart nearly surged out of his head, threatening to turn into physical flames of rage.
"...What a strange human. I'm warning you now: even if you mine more, we won't be giving you a discount."
"Who wants a discount from you!"
"Bastards, bastards, a whole bunch of bastards!"
Caiman's teeth ground together audibly, yet he continued to mine ore.
Just as he thought of slacking off, he heard the purple-skinned blacksmith's stern voice.
"No slacking! If you're going to be lazy here, you might as well give up your spot to someone else!"
"Don't occupy the latrine if you aren't going to do your business!"
"Aaaaaagh!"
Caiman felt as though he had fallen into a massive web of conspiracy.
Why did these purple-skinned blacksmiths cram so many adventurer teams into a single mine to work?
Could it be specifically for this situation?
Was it all to create this scenario where he would become a free, high-level miner for these monsters!
Curse them! Curse them all!
I, the prestigious knight commander of the Grey family, am actually like a tiger in the plains being bullied by curs!
Caiman felt he had never suffered such humiliation in his entire life, and now he was being insulted like this—and by monsters, no less!
Swallowing his tears of humiliation, Caiman put even more strength into the hand swinging the pickaxe, earning repeated praise from the purple-skinned blacksmith. The blacksmith remarked that he was truly a Saintly Miner Physique, a rarity seen once in a century.
If given the chance, the blacksmith thought it would be wonderful to keep such a Saintly Miner Physique working in the mine for a lifetime.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
In the lava mining tunnel connecting the eleventh and twelfth floors.
Brock's body healed faster than expected.
Under the dual effects of the Forbidden Fire particles within his body—which were actually the hidden boss, the Forbidden Fire Stone—and the wood armor monster, combined with the low-quality potion brewed by the purple-skinned blacksmith Purple Copper, Brock's recovery speed exceeded all expectations despite his heavy injuries.
However, his fireproof suit had been completely destroyed. Brock now wore a set of leather armor that Purple Copper had modified for him.
The leather armor was similar to standard adventurer gear, appearing dark red in color.
Monster scales and hardened steel plates had been added to the chest, shoulders, and waist of the leather armor.
These steel plates were forged by Purple Copper using the materials left over from the melted fireproof suit.
A pair of boots had been crafted from the same materials for his legs and feet. Both the heels and the toes of the boots were covered in hardened steel.
A dark red cloak was draped over the entire set of armor.
Once the full set was equipped, the weight was significantly lower than that of the cumbersome fireproof suit, feeling much lighter and more maneuverable.
At the same time, the entire set was tanned with special leather, granting it extremely high resistance to fire.
However, its fireproofing effect could not compare to the thick fireproof suit.
Being fire-resistant did not mean it was fireproof.
This equipment would not be easily destroyed by flames and had high fire resistance, but its heat insulation was inferior to the fireproof suit. Therefore, it required the wearer to have very high personal fire resistance.
If it had been the old Brock wearing this modified new equipment in a high-temperature environment like the lava mining tunnel, he probably would have been roasted into a dried husk before long.
But Brock, having been promoted to the second-rank and having his body mysteriously modified, was now actually able to withstand the high temperatures of the lava mining tunnel.
Even without relying on the fireproof suit, he could now operate in the lava mining tunnel for extended periods.
"My strength has increased by a large margin, and my defense, reactions, and resistances have all been improved."
"Is all of this due to the influence of those Forbidden Fire particles?"
Having recovered and changed into his new gear, Brock felt his transformed body with disbelief.
His once somewhat frail frame now appeared quite robust.
By his estimation, his physical body was now on par with a first-rank swordsman who had just entered the rank.
Of course, a swordsman's core power was Sword Qi. Although Brock's physical body had reached that level, it was obviously impossible for him to master the core ability of another class.
"Is this a blessing or a curse..."
He had gained such powerful strength, yet he could be burned to death by the Forbidden Fire at any moment.
It was hard to judge whether this was good or bad fortune.
However, if he could obtain a Forbidden Fire Container and eliminate the threat within his body while retaining his physical attributes, it would naturally be a blessing.
For a mage to possess such a powerful physical body was undoubtedly a huge advantage.
Thus, as long as he survived, it would be a blessing. If he didn't, the distinction between blessing and curse wouldn't matter anyway.
"Hmm... not bad."
"However, relying on this equipment to go to the Lava Lake to find a Sub-dragon Wyvern and forge a Forbidden Fire Container is still unlikely."
Purple Copper spoke as she looked at Brock in his new gear.
A Sub-dragon Wyvern was a massive creature that possessed dragon flame. Brock was also well aware that it would be impossible to obtain forged dragon flame from a Sub-dragon Wyvern with just this set of equipment.
Furthermore, the combat environment would be the dangerous and terrifying Lava Lake.
"What kind of equipment could possibly withstand lava?" Brock lamented.
"The twelfth floor has fire-resistant iron. If we forge a shield from fire-resistant iron, it might be able to withstand the dragon flame."
"It's also said that several pieces of magic equipment are hidden within the Lava Lake. Perhaps there's gear that can resist dragon flame there as well."
Purple Copper provided Brock with a sense of direction.
Rate on N.U.
