Just standing outside would not bring him the result he was looking for. And besides, it was freezing outside, staying there for long would surely freeze him to death. Even with the thick furry jacket he was wearing, the cold was still biting his skin. It would have been better if he learned Amber's ability, which enables him to wander around this freezing climate without feeling cold.

Thinking along that line, he started stepping forward.

"Let's see what's inside…"

After saying that, he jumped on the woods that were blocking roughly the entrance.

~Swoosh! Thump!

After stepping inside, he was greeted by a dark and gloomy interior. Darkness might not be a hindrance to him at this point given his exceptional senses. The ceiling from the ground was about 25 ft. It had enough height to be called a spacious tunnel.

"So dark…"

To make matters less hassle, he summoned his translucent screen.

"—As I thought, it wasn't bright enough to brighten the area around me. In that case…"

He browsed in the [Market Section]. After a few seconds of searching for the stuff he needed, his finger stopped in front of a familiar name and a familiar image with a price of 90 Soul Points.

Last night, he spent 250,000 Soul Points for the 50,000-kiloton Tsar Bomb. But after killing thousands of monsters, his Soul Points grew over a million.

He also leveled up not only once or twice. His total level now was 54. He had 150 Extra Points after leveling up a couple of times. He decided to distribute the points to all his Base Stats. And spent some of it on his <Luck>.

At that time, after leveling up, he not only received a new title. After reaching Level 50, the Merchant Talent unlocked on its own. The effect of Merchant Talent shocked him.

Every time he sold and bought an item in his Market Interface or even outside his interface, he would receive a 10% rebate of the total price and additional Soul Points the same amount as the rebate money. Moreover, all the stuff in his <Market Section> now has a 10% discount.

Under the Merchant Talent, a merchant skill was available to unlock, so Eman did not think twice to spend some points on it.

The skill name was <Object Appraisal>. It can be used to appraise any object as the name suggested.

He already tested it while heading back to the village, so Eman already had a grasp of its uses.

Anyway, back to the present time, after tapping the <Buy> choices. An item materialized in his hand.

It was a red flashlight.

After pushing the switch button, a laser beam-like ray of light pierced through the darkness, brightening the area where the light hit.

He looked around and noticed the tunnel had enough space for a group of people to pass it. The ground and the surrounding walls were a mixture of rock and stone.

When he looked below, he saw a fist-size stone beside his feet. He picked it and used his <Object Appraisal> ability.

[<Gravel Stone> <Rarity: Common> <No other elements>…]

Eman didn't finish reading the other descriptions. He threw it after finding out that it was a normal

gravel stone only with no hidden element inside.

He continued walking toward the deeper part of the tunnel.

While on his way, he stumbled upon a broken pickaxe lying on the ground. When he used his <Object Appraisal> ability on it, he discovered it was just an ordinary Iron Pickaxe.

He continued again. While advancing, he actively used his <Object Appraisal> ability to all the objects he encountered. He even appraised the walls when he noticed a shiny thing on them. But they turned out to be just a portion of Sedimentary Rocks.

For some reason, this new ability seems fun and exciting to use.

Wait, he wasn't playing, okay?

After about 15 minutes of exploring the tunnel, "What? A dead end?" He stopped and muttered those words upon stumbling over a wall.

He flashed the light left and right, to search for another way.

"There…"

He saw an open path on his left. He turned towards it and continued advancing. So far, he hasn't encountered any abnormalities. The interior was so silent and only the slight noise of his footsteps was discernible.

Although it was scary to come here alone, he didn't feel any of those kinds of feelings. Maybe because he already experienced the same thing before. It was at that time when they stormed Sitona Town. At that time, he entered the tunnel alone, a tunnel which was occupied by Ratmen.

Anyway, that was in the past now.

He stopped suddenly.

Krustch! Krustch!

He heard a scraping noise. It was as if someone or something was scraping on something. Based on the noise he heard.

Hm…

He wondered what it was. He focused his attention ahead of him. But, he failed to sense any presence ahead.

——There were indeed presences. And those presences were coming from—!

Above!?

He hastily brought the focus of the flashlight above him.

Eh?

He saw some mammals hanging inversely. In his vision, there weren't only bats. There were also their green bars, levels, and names.

[Level 1 Bat]

Just normal bats.

The bats suddenly flew away, seemingly startled by his presence. However, because of the brightness of the flashlight, they seemed to be scared to approach him.

"Uh, sorry for startling you…"

Aside from normal bats, he also noticed some normal rats, not the ratmen. There were also some insects. If it was his old self, on earth, right here, he would be freaking out right at this moment.

While thinking that, he decided to continue moving without minding the bats, the rat, and the insects.

As he was advancing, he kept appraising the stones and rocks he encountered on his way.

<Object Appraisal>

[<Sedimentary Rock> <Rarity: Common> <No hidden elements>…]

[<Gravel Stone> < Rarity: Common> <No hidden elements>…]

Seeing that all were common minerals only, he sighed inwardly.

'This mine might have already been exhausted of valuable minerals. There's not even a speck of any rare minerals around it…'

He thought.

Anyway, he didn't want to give up without reaching the deepest part. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel satisfied.

He wondered how deep this tunnel was. The scraping noise from before did not disappear. It even looked like the noise had become stronger and stronger every time he stepped forward.

The scraping noise might be caused by another reason.

Unexpectedly, he reached a forked path along the way.

In front of him, there were three hallways. All lead to a different path.

As he was pondering which of the three paths to choose, he heard the scraping noise once again.

KRUSTCH! KRUSTCH!

EH?

It was much louder now.

"It comes from here…"

He approached the path on the right side and faced it.

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