Cthulhu Gonfalon

Inside the dark tunnel, a group of workers dressed in heavy protective clothing who looked like ordinary workers out of a science fiction game were brandishing picks and shovels, digging hard.

They used shovels to dig out the soil piece by piece and used picks when they encountered stones. Both the picks and shovels were equipped with semi-enchantment technology that saved them labor when digging the soil. They could only feel it was a little harder when they encountered stones, but they could break through eventually.

The excavated soil and gravel were shoveled into the two carts nearby, and once a cart was fully filled, someone would push the cart forward along the inclined tunnel, pushing it up to the treatment station near the exit, then return with an empty cart.

As for the soil and gravel sent to the treatment station, the magician-in-training who worked there would launch a magic array to purify them. After the purification, other workers would take over and send them to the ground for other purposes.

This work was too hard for ordinary people to do. Even if they did it, they would feel as tired as a dead dog and become sick in a few days. These excavators had been carefully selected from the pioneers. They were all relatively strong and had also received training and conditioning for half an month, with meat everyday. Now, their bodies were in their peak form, and even the new adventurers were unable to fight with them.

The one whose protective clothing was most conspicuous in color among them was their leader.

He was shorter and less robust compared to the other strong men, but his work efficiency was higher than anyone else. That was because he used tools more skillfully, and his digging posture was more proper. It was this technical gap that resulted in the gap of working ability.

What was more, he could also pay attention to his surroundings while working. For example, he would see whether the sticks that were used to support the top of the tunnel were strong enough or not, and he would also use the plumbing lines to match the digging direction and check everyone’s protective clothing to see whether there were any hidden dangers.

In a word, he was not only a worker, but also a patrol inspector and nurse. He could deal with a few things smoothly at the same time. Although he didn’t dare to say that he was outstanding in dealing with these things, at least he could cope with every situation he met.

This was his ability!

At first, these strong men were very dissatisfied with their leader, who was obviously shorter than them, especially when they knew that he was just a miner, not a retired adventurer or former nobleman. Like them, he was just a broken pioneer from the south who had gone there only a few years earlier than them.

But they all respected him after a month.

The leader was able to do more work at the same time, and after work, he wasn’t tired like them, still making time to take care for others.

What was this? This was his ability!

What was more, he could even read and write. These workers had to sign the contracts before they went to work, but they couldn’t. It was he who had explained the contracts and signed for those who could only put their handprints on the contract.

The general education level in this world was very low. Although a God whose clergy was knowledge and education had appeared several years earlier, he could only do little things for those who didn’t even have enough food to eat. These pioneers were relatively poor. They didn’t even have a decent signature, let alone advanced reading and writing skills.

For them, the skills of reading and writing were too high-end to obtain.

These pioneers had dared to cross numerous hills and streams to live in the legendary barren land where skeletons were said to eat people, but no matter how brave they were, they were still ordinary people, not risk-takers who licked blood off of knives, or aristocrats and officials who were accustomed to deceiving and blackmailing each other. They were just simple and honest people and faced with such an outstanding person, they would certainly admire him and bow down.

Therefore, the authority of the leader was established, and everyone became accustomed to his leadership.

It was so dark in the tunnel that they couldn’t see the sun or the sky. There was only a shining magic stone on the top of the cave. Fortunately, there was a clock in the corner which told people the time.

At about five o’clock in the afternoon, the leader would call everyone to stop working for the day.

“It’s still so early that we could continue working for a while,” some people suggested.

“Yeah. Didn’t we just rest?”

The workers all wanted to do more since their pay was directly linked to their workload, but their leader would certainly disagree. He emphasized “safety first” and urged workers to finish their work, then return to the ground.

Of course, they had to be purified before taking off their thick protective clothing.

‘Safety first’ was an iron rule at the construction site. Anyone who didn’t understand and obey this rule would be dismissed immediately.

A group of people stood in the purification array, looking at the milky white light flowing through their bodies like water, and laughed at each other.

They remembered that the first time they had received purification, some people had shouted loudly and worried that they would drown, so they stirred up trouble in their team that even their leader was unable to suppress. Later, they found that their worries were superfluous, making the supervisor laugh at them for a while.

The supervisor was a young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although he was young, he had already become a formal magician, which won him everyone’s admiration.

As a spell-caster, his social status was very high, and according to the social rules, he could even beat someone to death on the spot, not to mention laughing at someone. However, this young man was actually very kind and approachable, which made him no different from ordinary children.

Well. There must have been differences between him and ordinary children, because they were still inferior to him.

It could also be said that this outstanding young man was a real ‘kid next door.’

This world had similar traditions as the earth. For example, when parents criticized their children, they often used the kid next door as an example. However, how could those children be comparable to a noble spell-caster, regardless of their excellency?

Perhaps the leader’s children could if he ever had time to marry and have children.

Reif put his tool on then tool rack and wore his protective clothing to the washroom. He flicked a switch and clean water soaked in positive energy flowed slowly through his body. Then he turned off the switch and took off his protective clothes. He returned to the tool room and hung the clothing on the drying rack.

He shook his head, turning around and moving his rigid body that had worked for several hours. After a long period of exercise, he felt completely comfortable and sighed deeply.

“It’s really tiresome to be a leader!”

Fatigue was inevitable. While the others were busy with their work, he was busier than them; and when others were having a rest, he couldn’t rest, because he had to check the tools and protective clothing everyday in order to avoid accidents. When everything was checked, if he had time after dinner, he would go to the magic school to learn something or go to the library to read books and study by himself. Compared to those who just wandered around to kill time, went to the tavern to have fun, or slept with their wives and children, he was definitely much more tired.

But it had been his choice, and he also enjoyed it.

Headmaster Felix had once said life was too short. Instead of wasting time on complaining and playing, one should do something that would make them smile when they grew old and died.

Reif felt that if he continued working like this, he would be able to smile when he was dying.

Unfortunately, he lacked the talent for magic and couldn’t become a magician. Otherwise, it would have been much easier for him!

After checking everyone’s tools and protective clothing, Reif left the tool room and saw several workers waiting outside, laughing, and was greeted with smiles.

These people had been waiting for him specially. Reif also smiled when he saw them.

“Hey, leader.”

“You’re a little late today. Is there something wrong with those tools?”

“No problem. Just some workers’ protective clothing hadn’t been cleaned.”

“Hahaha! Let me guess. Is it the straw and the wheat?”

“Yes, what else would it be?”

“Those guys! I heard that they don’t even wash their feet before going to bed at night.”

“What?! How do their wives allow them to come to bed?”

“God knows. If I dared not to wash my feet at night, my wife would definitely kick me down.”

“Wake up, brother, where’s your wife?”

“I’m just making an analogy. Leader, what do you think?”

Reif paused. “Do you want me to beat you?”

“No! Don’t! I was just kidding. Don’t get angry, leader.”

“But leader, you’re now qualified and literate. Why don’t you have a wife? I think if you wanted one, even the grocery store owner Haman’s daughter would like to marry you.”

“My God! Boss Haman’s daughter is only twelve years old! What are you guys thinking?’

“Mostly about what to eat tonight.”

“Hahaha! You’re right. What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Let’s go to the tavern. The cook at the tavern learned at Lanxiang Vocational School and is good at barbecuing.”

“Aren’t you tired of eating barbecue every day? I want fish soup.”

“Fish soup is very expensive. Two silver coins a basin!”

“Hey! Why are you all looking at me?”

“Of course, we have to look at you, leader, because you have the money! Last time we got paid together, I noticed that you had several gold coins!”

“How did I make friends like you!”

“Hahaha! I’ll treat you next time.”

“Are you sure you’ll treat me next time? Are you going to treat me to vegetable soup with black bread?

“Hmm?! You always know what I’m thinking about!”

“…I should have beaten you!”

“Next holiday, let’s go fishing on the river. My wife said she saw fish in the river yesterday.”

“Wow! We can cook fish soup by ourselves!”

“You can dare to cook, but we wouldn’t dare to drink. It’s better to find a cook for help.”

“Leader, you look down on me too much! I was able to catch rabbits in the hills and fish and shrimp in the water in past years!”

“Bullsh*t, catching rabbits in the mountains and fish and shrimp in the water, but you ended up running here for a living? You’re fooling me!”

“I haven’t finished yet. I mean, my neighbor was that kind of person, and I learned a little from him.”

“How much did you learn?”

“Perhaps… On the hill, I can recognize rabbits, and in the water, I can distinguish fish and shrimp. I know them better when they’re cooked.”

“You’re such a foodie!”

The group of people laughed while talking and walked along the newly paved gravel road to the Pyroxene Town.

In the sunset, their bodies seem to be lined in gold, shining.