Miner Job Change
Jinhyuk's semi-basement room.
"I'm attached to it, so thinking about leaving makes me sad!"
"I'm not leaving. The lease still has time left. Today, I'm just moving the essentials, so I'll pack minimally."
"Got it!"
With a booming response and even a salute, Kancho dashed off.
I wonder what that guy's even packing?
Pushing the mild curiosity aside, he threw himself back into packing.
'I need to hurry.'
Dozens of udom ores left abandoned in a heap.
The sun had already set, and considering the location at Inwangsan Peak, no one else would likely come up here, but that didn't stop his heart from racing.
They weren't high-value minerals, but they were still money all the same.
'Should I take just this much?'
Butane gas for the burner, 20 packs of ramen, 5 cans of beer, 10 cans of tuna, and a sack of rice.
This should last a week, right?
If it runs out, I can always buy more at the convenience store down the mountain.
"Seira, here."
"Got it."
He handed the heaviest sack of rice to Seira, who had the most strength.
He stuffed the rest haphazardly into his backpack and slung it over his shoulders.
"Let's head out. If we buy a pickaxe and shovel on the way, we're all set."
As Jinhyuk turned to leave, he paused for a moment.
Kancho was standing in front of the shoe rack, ears perked up, waiting.
Kancho was holding two large bags.
He'd been rummaging around for a while, apparently packing something.
"Hmm."
After a quick scan, he picked out a few snacks from the bag that Kancho liked.
"The rest is out."
"Out?!"
"Yeah. We don't need it right now. You'll have to carry a shovel soon anyway, so just take this."
"Got it!"
After stuffing Kancho into the pet bag, he stepped out of the room.
It was late, so there were hardly any people around.
Good, he thought.
A duo hauling this much stuff at this hour? Anyone would think we were fleeing in the dead of night.
Jinhyuk pulled out the udom he'd mined from Inwangsan.
It was ore in the form of udom embedded in ordinary rocks.
Thanks to that, impurities were caked thickly around the udom crystals.
-Only purchasing refined ore ready for immediate sale.
He probably couldn't sell it as-is at a general store.
He'd need to find a place that refines minerals.
'Damn, that's expensive.'
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue as he opened the site.
Minimum 20 percent fee? And that could go higher depending on the case.
He let out a low groan and rubbed his chin.
Doing it ourselves is the best option.
Not just for the price—wherever there's profit involved, conflict is bound to arise.
"Seira. Can you peel off everything except the shiny crystals?"
He handed it over to Seira, the strength specialist, for now.
She nodded and started applying force to her arm.
Crack!
"Oh."
As expected, her absurd strength.
She'd shattered not just the impurities but the crystal too.
His fortune had just gone minus 200,000 won.
Seira's out.
It didn't seem like something brute force alone could handle.
The moment he thought he'd have to look it up online again, the pet bag behind him rustled.
"I'll give it a try!"
He went to a nearby bench and pulled out Kancho.
Crack, crack.
Kancho stretched dramatically, rubbing his hands together.
Somehow, it felt like his fortune was about to take another hit.
"This can't be done with brute force!"
Kancho pulled a small carving knife from his pocket.
It must've been something he'd snuck in from the rejected luggage.
Kancho hunched over and began pressing the knife firmly.
Peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck.
Jinhyuk and Seira leaned in close to watch.
At first glance, it looked like he was drawing lines without any particular guide.
It almost resembled making dalgona candy, in a way.
"Got a hammer?"
He pulled an iron hammer from the toolkit he'd packed.
Just like before, Kancho swung it along the lines he'd drawn.
"Done!"
"Ooh."
He let out an exclamation, just like when Seira had tried.
The difference was that this time, his fortune had gone plus 200,000 won.
Jinhyuk gazed at Kancho with a face full of emotion.
This guy—his hands are surprisingly deft, despite appearances.
"The essence of explosives crafting is delicacy! One slip, and I'd blow myself sky-high! This is child's play, like eating cold meat!"
He had no idea why it was cold meat instead of cold rice this time, but anyway.
The 20 percent fee was saved.
The next afternoon, near the summit of Inwangsan.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A cheerful clanging echoed out.
Seira and Jinhyuk had been mining udom nonstop since morning.
Peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck.
On one side, Kancho was taking the ore and refining it.
A simple but efficient udom refining conveyor belt in action.
Jinhyuk wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced sideways.
Seira wielded the pickaxe one-handed, like it was a mere switch.
It didn't seem to tire her at all—not a single drop of sweat on her forehead.
Meanwhile, his entire body was soaked through with sweat.
'This is tough!'
His muscles ached all over from the unfamiliar pickaxing he'd started last night.
'But it's fun!'
His mood was fantastic.
Earning hundreds of thousands of won with just a few swings of the pickaxe.
He couldn't resist that.
And on top of it all.
[Your muscles scream in delight! Strength and stamina stats increase!]
Every now and then, a stat or two would go up.
The genius of growth embedded in the Black Knight Order's basic swordsmanship.
What an incredible thing.
"Seira. No one's coming close, right?"
She nodded.
"No need to worry. If anyone crosses the sign I put up this morning, I'll notice right away."
Last night, the first thing they'd done upon arrival was make a no-entry sign.
There was already a "frequent accident area" placard at the base, so most people wouldn't come up anyway, but they'd taken extra precautions just in case.
Jinhyuk gave a thumbs-up and resumed his pickaxing.
Truth be told, even if someone did come, the chances of reaching this house safely were slim to none.
The hallucinatory fog from the udom still hung thick.
As he was lost in his pickaxing.
"Boss!"
Kancho, who'd been refining, came running over in a fluster.
"What? Someone coming?"
Seira had mentioned it once.
Kancho's innate presence detection, as a Yodel Ranger, was far superior to hers.
Kancho rushed right up and caught his breath.
Then he bellowed.
"I'm hungry!"
He didn't have to shout it with such a serious face.
Shaking his head at the thought, Jinhyuk set down his pickaxe and stretched.
He was feeling peckish anyway.
"Shall we eat something?"
"I could go for chicken."
"I'll grab some tonight. Ramen for now."
"Again with tuna ramen and rice!"
"No choice—delivery doesn't come up here."
He glanced at the solitary mansion standing there.
He'd been serious about moving in, but a single day had already shaken that resolve.
The greatest convenience of the 21st century—delivery—not reaching here was a fatal blow.
They were jury-rigging water from the existing tank and power from the generator, but the inconveniences weren't just one or two.
Boil, boil, boil.
They sat in a circle, staring at the ramen as it began to bubble.
"Now."
The moment he lifted the lid, the chopsticks of Kancho and Seira—who had learned the joys of chewy noodles—flew in.
They'd complained about wanting something else, but once it was boiling, they devoured it like it was nothing.
Twitch!
After slurping away for a while, Kancho turned his head.
"Someone's coming this way! They're wandering back and forth from the direction without a sign, so they must be lost!"
He'd only placed signs along the paths.
Meaning they were climbing up a treacherous route.
"I'll go check."
Seira stood, slipping on the fluorescent vest she'd prepared in advance.
In one hand, she held a flashing safety baton.
"But will those two really work? They might get suspicious."
Jinhyuk set down his chopsticks and shook his head.
"You'd be surprised. With that vest and baton, you could sneak into most concert halls for free."
Those two items would make anyone assume she was some mountain fire official.
"But couldn't we just leave them be? The fog'll stop them anyway!"
"That's true, but."
As Kancho said, ignoring it would be easiest, but the hallucinations raised the risk of an accident.
Injuries were bad enough, but the fallout would turn the whole area into a circus.
Better to prevent anything that could halt the mining operation before it started.
'And ignoring it feels a bit off, too.'
Jinhyuk scratched his cheek.
The 44th-floor transfer, whose start he couldn't even pinpoint.
He could've cleared it easily, but he'd put it off to mine udom.
If an accident happened, he wouldn't be free of responsibility.
"I'll head out."
Seira, now fully masked up, started down toward the base of the mountain.
Then, as if remembering something, she turned back.
"You can finish the noodles, but leave some rice porridge for me."
"Okay! I'll make it tasty."
As he prepared the rice for the next pour, he surveyed the udom ore mid-process.
Roughly three or four days, and it'd be done.
He needed to wrap it up as tight as possible.
Before any more variables cropped up.
Two days later, in the morning.
Jinhyuk alternated glances between his phone and Seira.
A variable had popped up in the worst possible place.
Lost on Inwangsan, but this super pretty noona guided me down—spilling the tale.
@ Welcome, delusional patient.
@@ Not delusion. For real. Got lost with my girlfriend and thought we were screwed, then this tall, super exotic-looking noona suddenly shows up to guide us.
@ Keep your fabrications in check. Why would someone tall and stunningly exotic be up there?
@@ I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I kept staring without thinking, and my girlfriend cussed me out.
@ My mom and dad saw her too, apparently? They walk Inwangsan often, and the day they got lost up high, that noona helped them. She had a mask on, but they remembered her eyes being insanely pretty.
@@ See? Blood-red eyes, like she jumped straight out of an anime.
@ Blood-red eyes my ass lolol Dweebs conspiring together.
Even after that, the comments were a battlefield of arguments.
They weren't fully convinced yet, but additional sightings were popping up here and there.
Among the creepypasta YouTubers, some were already forming teams to climb up tonight and check it out themselves.
Jinhyuk looked at the fluorescent vest and safety baton he'd shown Seira.
The props were solid.
What was lacking was plausibility.
Seira's face had demolished all plausibility.
"Hmm."
Rubbing his chin, Jinhyuk stood up.
The work was nearing completion.
Looks like he'd have to clear the 44th-floor transfer today.
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T/N:
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