The bear's head was locked forever into that snarl thanks to Kuch's swift strike. Even if their greatsword was just made of wood, the strength behind the swing more than made up for it with the sheer force applied. The body flopped to the ground moments after the my doll had decapitated the monster and after a few test prods, it was confirmed to be very well dead.

  I was still surprised that it had been that easy, even though this wasn't the first time by now. I had watched Kuch deal effortlessly with the aggressive wildlife who didn't take kindly to their passage to the mountains, likely crossing a lot of their territorial lines to anger them. Each and every time, my upgraded doll didn't break a sweat.

  Well, I mean they actually couldn't, but that wasn't what I meant!

  I was starting to guess that maybe the relative monster levels in this area was launch day content, but not even what had been the endgame areas for back then. Maybe a mid-game section? Or, if I even dared hope, a starting area?!

  No, absolutely no way. Because if was, then surely that fortress city wouldn't exist. I didn't really want to think that they would struggle with such weak monsters so much that they needed to build such a massive wall. That was ridiculous.

  Because if it was, then I would have to revise my estimations of civilization in this current iteration of Shin. And I didn't want to bring that bar lower than it already was.

  Refocusing on Kuch, they continued walking north and left the bear carcass there like all the others. As much as I hated letting those materials go to waste, I had to prioritize bringing ore back above all else if possible. The basket my doll was carrying only had so much room. If I didn't find any, I'll swing back around and try to collect the bodies then. If other wildlife got to them first, oh well.

  Kuch then noticed for me that the forest was thinning out. We were likely approaching the base of the mountain, good. Now to see if this expedition had been all worth it- woah. Okay, didn't expect this.

  There was an entire ruined settlement here!

  Given the location, it could have only once been a mining town. But I could see the wooden walls that faced the forest had been ripped apart and breached. My doll grimly climbed through one of said holes and I sighed, thankful I had no stomach to lose anymore.

  Skeletons, strewn across the place. Many still clad in gear and clasping weapons from where they fell. A few in light clothes. Some of them were, tragically, juvenile.

  FLOW wasn't afraid of showing dead bodies when story moments called for it, so I supposed maybe I was already desensitized to this. Or maybe my new body's biology simply couldn't relate. Either way, I simply glanced and carried on, intent on seeing how through the devastation had been.

  The answer was quite a bit. Not a single building still had an intact front door and there were more bodies inside, all bone and ragged cloth now. From the fact that they had completely decomposed, I could guess that whatever destroyed this mining town was long ago. Had there been survivors? I did find what looked to be a small stable and there weren't any horse bones. So perhaps.

  Had they gone off to fetch help, or just warn others of the incoming danger? I couldn't say. I wished Eagle was with me, he could probably take a single look and described how the battle unfolded. Ironfist could also probably have estimated how long the siege would have lasted, had there been any. But I think all of them would agree with Joan on one thing.

  We had to set their spirits to reset.

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  Making graves for them all was made easier when I found what was likely their tools of trade for working in the mine. They weren't great and Kuch broke many a shovel in the process. But when I ran out of those, their greatsword still sufficed in moving great quantities of dirt. Something that they did pick up from digging up so much clay.

  I didn't know their names. I didn't know who they even were. But I knew what had been their livelihood. So I stuck my bone pickaxe into the ground before all the mounds to mark the crude graveyard. With that, maybe some semblance of peace would atone for their violent end. If not, then it was unfortunately beyond me- Noel didn't know any holy magic.

  It was the best I could do for the moment. That was good enough for Lighthouse.

  Kuch stood there in silence for a minute, then turned away to pick back up the basket they had set aside. Inside, there was an assortment of old but workable tools. I could very well likely smelt them back into their base materials to reforge unlike the completely ruined tools in my manor. No weapons and armor, it felt wrong to take those so they were buried along with the dead. I'm sure all Ten Lights would agree it was a sensible sacrifice.

  Along with the tools Kuch was taken, there was the real goal of this entire trip: raw ore. It was likely the last bounty of various ores that the mining town had ever dug up before tragedy struck. I like to think they would be grateful for me being able to make use of it instead of letting it sit and gather dust. There weren't any crystals, so likely no crystal deposit in that mine. A pity.

  I wished I could at least pay them a bit, for all I was taking. Maybe if I could, I'd help sponsor or fund rebuilding the town should civilization wish to reclaim this place. But given how much time had apparently passed without anybody ever returning to at least recover the dead, I suppose they had given up on it. While Kuch made their way home, I started to consider on why that was the case.

  The fortress city was clearly made to defend from whatever incursion came from the west, maybe those deep woods. Would it have been unreasonable to say that this mining town was likely a victim of one of these said incursions? Possibly. Maybe even one that predated that big wall they built even. It was highly unlikely they would found a settlement here knowing the danger, even if it was to get valuable materials- ah!

  Was that why things in that city were so badly made? Even their iron? That made sense! If they had lost their only source of it a long time ago, then they'd have to be working with whatever they could buy from trade. Yet if the incursions continued and maybe even intensified, then the need only intensified in which a limited supply would be painfully felt!

  That didn't even account for the possibility of traders knowing how much in demand this gear could be, and then jacking up the price to take advantage of these precious wares. I'd even give them kudos for good business- then subtract a whole lot of points for exploiting what maybe a nation's defensive line in the name of higher profits! What greed!

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I sighed angrily and rubbed at my head. What a mess. They might not even have a half-decent crafter in that city to forge whatever they could afford into the very best it could be. Or maybe again, I was thinking from a position of luxury.

  There had been mention of firewood from what I recalled, not even charcoal, so this empire likely didn't practice turning wood into a higher quality. I wondered for what reason, could they perhaps have a source of coal and reserve that only for their crafts? Practical, but quite bothersome. Ugh, I needed more answers, but I didn't know if I wanted to risk my bird again in the city. For all I know, that noble mage had improved her talent since or was on high alert, ready to use [Detect] at a moment's notice to catch me next time.

  I really couldn't take the chance. I had to stay away for the time being. When I was ready, I'd probably have to make an overt appearance like showing up at their gates. Being found spying before then would definitely make whatever relationship I hoped to make very awkward.

  At least in the other cardinal directions, I didn't encounter anything just as frustrating so far. The south, I'd found the coastline and it led to a pretty big sea that was pretty scenic. Unfortunately, my bird scout couldn't go any further, needing to land at some point to rest and recover its energies. I did spy what looked like passing sails on the occasion, so there at least some people who knowledge of nautical travel. Good, I could appreciate a nice boat.

  Just as long it wasn't one of those tacky cruiser ship players homes. Damn cash shop.

  I had found, to the west, the end of the massive forest and it opened up to a massive plain that went on and on. I could actually spot occasional packs of animals moving about, likely in a migration pattern to follow wherever grass grew. I wanted to explore a bit further and see if there happened to be any more civilization I could find in that direction, just in case things with the fortress city went down real badly.

  Returning back to the north, it really did seemed like the mountain range was endless. I wouldn't be surprised if there were plenty of settlements built in small valleys or maybe even underground. I'd even spot occasional flashes of color that were undoubtedly crystal deposits. No way that those weren't going to dug up and used- hang on.

  Now that I think about it, the fortress city...didn't use crystals, of any kind. Or at least that I've spotted, but it would be obvious. Because, back in FLOW, they had been one of the core magical materials for everyday life.

  You could use fire crystals to start a fire. Water crystals for fresh water. Light crystals to illuminate a street. Wind crystals to power airships. It was, in-lore, said to be interwoven with daily life and one of the greatest discoveries that led to the age of adventure for the world with the commercialization of so much. The only limit was the quality of said crystals, making mining those dangerous deposits- protected by things like native-forming golems and titans- quite lucrative for gatherers.

  Some of the conflicts between factions in the story had even begun over finding a new crystal mine.

  So if the fortress city had none of those, could I assume maybe that the art of utilizing crystals to improve everyday life was lost? Surely not. Or maybe they were just in so short supply because of how they were apparently boxed in by this threat from beyond.

  Ugh, the more I tried to comprehend how Shin had gotten to this point of scarcity since the days of FLOW, the more I found myself feeling something like a stomachache. Yes, I didn't have a stomach, but this frustration-!

  Argh, enough is enough! I don't want to think world history or geopolitics anymore! I'm taking a crafting break!

  Kuch had finally arrived back to the manor and offloaded their haul as if to commemorate the occasion. I eagerly began to look through, first examining the old tools brought back. Like I'd noted, these ones were in pretty worn and bad conditions, but were actually intact. The layer of rust was only surface level, it hadn't seeped into the core. However, they did still decrease the quality somewhat.

  Best smelt these down into smaller, less critical crafts such as iron bands to barrel making, I noted with a quiet sigh. But my anticipation was still high when I turned to the other big find, those ores that hadn't yet been processed by anything and thus, were still mostly pure. And to my great joy, most of them were exactly what I'd been hoping for!

  Iron Ore (Item Quality: 38) (Infused Level: 148)

  Yes, this was it! If what I could get from the tools was going to be single digit result, these ones in comparison were the big catch. It was a bit low quality, I recognized, [Infuse] was doing a lot of heavy lifting. But that was fine! Iron could be processed to go even higher and even reach steel! In fact that'd been the cheapest form of endgame equipment by the time of Harbinger.

  So this would be enough to make me a very nice set of basic work tools to tide me over until I acquire better quality iron. This was definitely a massive step for me and was worth the entire expedition alone. Finally, metal!

  I shamelessly pranced about rather excitedly, humming happily as I gathered up all the iron ore. Oh, I was going to be in for a great crafting session now. I did turn to give one last scan of the other rocks to finish analyzing my haul, so I knew I did have. Copper, I could now use that for more decorative purposes. Lead and tin, good for if I decided to make something all metal and needed a solder. And-

  My eyes widened and my jaw dropped when I spotted the flash of gold and silver in the mix. I think Kuch had picked this one up from the largest ruin in the abandoned town, indicating maybe it was something that had been only recently excavated and brought to the chief for identification. But it was likely they didn't know.

  Shakily, I picked up and beheld the ore of so many colors. The gleam of gold, the shine of silver, and a core of iron- it was a fantasy material from FLOW, the rarest material in the entire game. It was said to be a rite of passage for gatherers to dig up for the first time, something that marked their ascension into endgame complete.

  For this star metal was a gift from the heavens above, being a perfect conduit for all energies.

  Solarium Ore (Item Quality: 627) (Infused Level: 703)

  Okay. I was putting this in my player vault. Very carefully. And then I was going to forget I even had this thing because- ah, too late.

  Here it comes!

  The crash-out!

  "AHHHHHHHHHHH-"

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