Chapter 81: Amazing

Walter poured himself a small cup, took a sip, and nodded. "Hmm, it really is delicious. However, I still think Moonlight Tomato juice tastes better."

"Haha, I prepared Moonlight Tomatoes for you as well, Mr. Walter." Ethan pulled out the Moonlight Tomatoes he had brought along and squeezed a batch of juice on the spot.

Then, watching everyone wolf down their food, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"Alright, everyone eat up, we’ve still got work to do afterward."

Lunch ended, and everyone threw themselves back into clearing the land.

Lyra also joined in, insisting she wanted to help work in exchange for delicious food.

With everyone pulling their weight, the field was cleared in no time.

Ethan took out the Goddess statue he had retrieved from the mine.

"Meow? What are you going to do with that, meow?"

"Pray for the Goddess Gaia’s blessing, of course." He planted the statue near the edge of the field.

The Goddess statue emitted a soft glow, which faded after a few seconds.

"What’s going on? What was that light just now?"

"It should be a blessing descending, meow, right?"

"But there doesn’t seem to be any change. Oh well — let’s just get the seeds in the ground first, and then make them sprout." Ethan planted the medicinal strawberry seeds and Fairy Beans in the field, then immediately activated Growth Acceleration.

Perhaps because the environment was favorable, coupled with the soil having already been treated with Soil Fortification, the medicinal strawberries and Fairy Beans quickly began to sprout.

’If I wanted to rush the harvest, I’d have to stay here nonstop, casting Growth Acceleration and Soil Fortification over and over.’ But Ethan wasn’t in a hurry.

He decided to let nature take its course and let them grow at their own pace. He used each ability once more, then stood up.

"Alright, this should be good in a few days..."

"What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lyra, seeing Ethan’s abilities for the first time, had a face full of astonishment. She widened her eyes and stared across the field, already dotted with tender shoots, then she bounded up in front of him.

"Humans are so amazing!!"

"It’s not humans that are amazing, it’s Ethan who is amazing, meow~."

...

In the days following the planting of the medicinal strawberries and Fairy Beans, even with the effects of Growth Acceleration and Soil Fortification, Ethan couldn’t just completely leave them be.

Therefore, just like usual, he was busy working in the field today.

"I’m back!" A gruff voice rang out, Ethan looked up to find Zharok standing there with a wicked grin.

The rumors about his past conflict with the Fox Beastmen clearly weren’t baseless, every Fox Beastman nearby was glaring at him with open hostility.

Zharok didn’t seem to care, he walked right up to Ethan, clapped him hard on the shoulder, and laughed. "You actually made such a huge discovery! What a pity I wasn’t there! What exactly is in that mine?!"

"There was a Goddess Gaia statue... I’m not too clear on the details myself. You can go take a look, also, don’t cause trouble."

"It’s not like I’m a troublemaker."

"Is everything okay back home?"

"Nothing’s wrong, everything’s normal, by the way, what are these?"

"Fairy Beans and medicinal strawberries."

"Are you going to wait until they’re fully grown before heading back?"

"Yeah, I plan to stay until I’ve collected enough iron ore." In order to obtain more seeds, Ethan also planned to plant them a few more times here, he said this while inspecting the lush, green field.

Zharok was satisfied with the answer and nodded.

Pearl, who had been watching from the side, asked, "Meow-meow, is there anyone over at the cabin?"

"Bargentus and the other Minotaurs stayed behind to guard it, don’t worry." Zharok said it with confidence — those guys were more than capable of handling any monsters that wandered by.

Ethan had plenty of trust in their strength and nodded in relief.

"Then I’ll go check out the ruins first, let’s eat together tonight." Zharok waved his hand and headed toward the mine.

The Fox Beastmen glared after him in open disapproval, then aggressively chased along.

Ethan watched them go and shook his head. "That guy never changes, no matter where he goes."

"Meow, that’s just his nature, meow, speaking of which, it’s really hot today, meow~"

"It’s already autumn, yet the weather’s still this nice."

Even this late in the season, the sun was beating down hard enough to send waves of heat rising off the ground, under conditions like these, both the Fairy Beans and medicinal strawberries should thrive.

Ethan finished his work and stood. Before he knew it, noon had come and gone, he planned to check on the mine after lunch.

But just as he returned to the earthen house —

BOOM!!

A loud explosion echoed from the direction of the mine, Ethan and Pearl bolted toward the sound.

"Hahaha!! We found a new iron ore vein!!"

A group of Fox Beastmen, covered head to toe in soot, were cheering and hauling out chunks of ore.

’Good news.’ Finding an iron ore vein meant Ethan could count on a steady supply of material.

"So how long will it take to mine enough quality ore?" Ethan asked.

"Hmm, to get the really good stuff, it’ll take at least a week, probably more. Since you’re hauling it home, you should take the best we’ve got, right?" Ash’s voice carried a hint of excitement — the quality of this vein had to be something special.

"That works perfectly, my crops need more time before harvest too, so I’ll leave the mining to you."

"Mhm, leave it to me!" Ash grinned, turned, and headed for the mine.

Most of the Fox Beastmen followed him, the excavation was well underway now.

Ethan watched them leave, then returned to the field and looked at the thriving Fairy Beans and medicinal strawberries. "You guys need to grow up well too."

"Don’t worry, meow, they will grow very well, meow."

The Fox Beastmen focused on the mine, Ethan focused on the field.

A few days slipped past in a flash.

...

One afternoon, Ethan had been busy in the field as usual and was just getting ready to head back and rest, but Lyra came sprinting over, out of breath.

"Ethan! Come quickly!"

"What happened?"

"They dug up the first batch of iron ore!" She explained that before the official mining could begin, a ceremony had to be held — an offering of the finest iron ore to the gods.

According to custom, only village residents were allowed to participate in the ceremony, but since Ethan had helped them out so much this time, he was also invited to participate.

"You should go."

"Are you not going, Mr. Walter?"

"It would be bad luck for an undead to attend this kind of sacrificial ceremony."

’He actually knows about these things.’ Ethan scratched his cheek and glanced at Pearl.

Pearl looked very interested in the ceremony and stayed perched on his shoulder, refusing to come down.

"Let’s go!"

"Then I’ll be going."

"Mhm, go ahead." Ethan called out to Walter, who was sitting off to the side reading a book, then followed Lyra toward the village center.

Many Fox Beastmen had already gathered there, their expressions solemn.

This ceremony was clearly of tremendous importance to them.

"The ceremony will now commence — to offer the finest iron ore to Lord Hades, God of Minerals and the Underworld."