"This is all mana stones!?" Rachel exclaid, her eyes wide in disbelief.
Nathan's jaw dropped as well. If all these enormous gems were truly mana stones, how much would they be worth? Judging by the colors, they didn't seem like low-grade stones either.
"No, these aren't mana stones," Ethan answered before Justin had the chance to speak. He was still running his hand over the crystals, his expression stiff. "Mana stones only co from the hearts of monsters. You can't find them in mines like this."
"Exactly. According to the lore, mana forms within the hearts of living creatures," Justin added.
"But… the heat coming off them feels so similar," Rachel asked again, with a hint of disappointnt.
Ethan shook his head. "These aren't mana stones. They're elental stones."
"Elental stones?" Nathan echoed in confusion.
"Yes. In the lore, elental energy gathers in certain minerals and forms these gems," Ethan explained.
"So, we can't sell them in shops?" Rachel and Nathan's faces fell. They had both thought they were about to strike it rich, only to find out they had discovered a different kind of stone.
"No, that's not true," Zachary, who had been half in a daze, answered. "You can sell them in shops and exchange them for mana stones. And they fetch a very good price."
"Really!?"
"Elental stones are much rarer than mana stones. If you sold the sa amount, you'd get several tis more," Zachary clarified.
Rachel and Nathan imdiately turned their gaze to Justin, as if asking for confirmation. Justin chuckled and nodded. "That's right. They're far more valuable than regular mana stones. Elental stones are used for enchanting."
"Enchanting?" Nathan asked, still a bit lost.
"It's when you imbue magic into equipnt. Think of it like permanently adding a new attribute to a weapon or armor," Justin explained. "An ordinary weapon can beco as strong as a rare one, and a rare weapon can get close to the level of a unique-grade item. But of course, you need a skilled artisan for the enchantnts. Without these materials, even the best artisans are useless."
"And they're not just used for equipnt. So of the highest-grade potions also require elental stone dust," Ethan added.
"Exactly. But those potions can only be crafted after soone reaches their third-tier profession."
"Wow. I figured the Dark Elves would have sothing to offer, but I never expected it to be an elental stone mine," Zachary mused, still in shock.
The other experienced adventurers who had been through world rebuilds seed equally stunned. After all, coming across an elental stone mine was a rare occurrence, even in a hundred runs. If soone had the right skills, they could achieve a massive power boost, and even without those skills, the money alone was enough to turn things around.
Especially for players who chose artisan professions, finding an elental stone mine could completely reverse the outco of a losing ga. For anyone who understood their value, the discovery was nothing short of extraordinary.
But Nathan, still unsure of the significance, scratched his head. "So… we can sell so of this and use it for developnt, right? Like, upgrading the entire territory?"
"Absolutely not!" Ethan, Zachary, and Derek all shouted at once, their eyes nearly bulging out of their heads.
"Do you have any idea how valuable these are!? You can't just buy them with money!" Ethan said, exasperated.
"Think about it! We could outfit every pioneer with rare-grade gear if we play this right!" Zachary added.
"Mines have limited resources! Once it's mined, it's gone! It's not like we can plant more and grow them back!" Derek finished, his face red with frustration. Read exclusive adventures at empire
"I-I'm sorry!" Nathan stamred, backing away from the three n who were practically foaming at the mouth.
Satisfied that Nathan had backed down, the three n returned to discussing how to handle the elental stones. But before they could settle on a course of action, Justin intervened.
"No, we still need to use so of it. If we need money, we'll sell a portion of the stones," Justin said firmly.
"Brother!?" Ethan gasped.
"Lord Justin!" Zachary added, just as shocked.
The three of them tried to plead with Justin, but he brushed them off with a light push. "If we hoard them, they'll end up being useless. We can't wait until we reach our second or third-tier professions to use them. Besides, we need to stabilize the city first. If we've acquired a proper city, we should also make it look like one."
Now that they had a real city, Justin had to think about the cost of maintaining it. It wasn't about living lavishly—it was about presenting the city with the dignity and authority it deserved. That ant hiring servants for the mansion, guards for the walls, and doorkeepers for the gates. Even Emily, who had surrendered and given up her power as a pioneer, needed to be compensated handsoly to preserve face.
Where would all that money co from?
At first, Justin could cover the expenses with his hunting earnings, but as the population grew, there would be a limit. "Do you really want to see this massive mansion and city walls with not a single guard to protect them? Or do you want the mansion to beco an empty, haunted shell because we couldn't afford staff? Is that what you want?"
"..."
"Do you want people to see that we've gained a city but are too weak to manage it? If you don't want that, then we'll have to use so of these stones. We're at the point where appearances matter."
Unable to argue with Justin's logic, the three n bowed their heads in defeat. They knew full well that without selling so of the elental stones, there was no way they could cover the growing costs of running the city.
"But don't worry. We won't run out anyti soon," Justin said, turning to look at the vast elental stone deposits stretching deep into the mine. "Even if we sell so whenever we need, it'll be years before these veins are depleted."
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