HTLCCBFT Chapter 75

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 75

From the day his memories merged, Oliver regretfully realized that the game system he carried was incomplete.

There was no general store selling various high-yield seeds; no master carpenter who could erect a multifunctional farmhouse in just three days with some wood, stone, and gold coins; no seasonal resources that would naturally cluster without deliberate searching; no shaggy horse that would automatically return to the stable the next day no matter where it was left, requiring no feeding; no wealthy fishmonger who would happily buy any fish he caught at high prices; and no bearded village chief who would diligently help him sell countless barrels of brewed alcohol at premium prices without charging any commission fees…

But what he missed most—without a doubt—was the mine with over a hundred levels, filled with countless adorable and fascinating minerals and monsters, where resources regenerated at an astonishingly fast rate.

Pitifully, despite having many recipes, he constantly faced the dilemma of being unable to find materials.

Especially for the three most commonly used metal ingots and basic ores—gold, silver, and copper—he could only rely on the offerings from the Cat God statue, with no other stable sources available.

Among all the professional skills, the one that started the most difficult but now progressed the smoothest was undoubtedly Farming.

The two professional skills currently stagnant were undoubtedly Combat, which was too demanding to level up, and Mining, which suffered from resource scarcity.

Over the past month, Oliver had practically covered every inch of Laina’s land, tirelessly using his pickaxe to break every visible rock, yet he only barely managed to raise Mining to Level 2.

Apart from the pitifully weak explosive egg[mfn]
I don’t think I mentioned it before, but he’s talking about the cherry bomb that was unlocked at Mining level 1.[/mfn]—which he never considered making due to material scarcity and minimal power—reaching Level 2 in Mining unlocked another rather useless recipe for him.

Green Bull[mfn]绿牛 – a play on red bull the energy drink.[/mfn]: Just one can! This single can will make your pickaxe-swinging posture more handsome and composed. (Mining efficiency increased by 20%, with a very low chance of yielding two stones per strike).

This extravagant dark cuisine required a whole radish, a portion of sugar, and a portion of milk to make, yet provided such meager benefits.

Most crucially.

Oliver thought helplessly, what he lacked wasn’t time or efficiency… but the mineral resources themselves!

He hadn’t overlooked even the most ordinary stones, let alone ores.

Under Fosse’s indescribably complex gaze, he personally extracted every rock within sight.

At least around the current Laina City, there wasn’t a single wild stone that could survive under his pickaxe.

Fosse had noticed this long ago.

When walking behind his young master, whenever Oliver happened to spot a slightly larger rock along the way, he would instantly pull out that gleaming pickaxe, calmly break it, and immediately collect all the broken stones without batting an eye.

After numerous occurrences, Fosse had gradually adapted and no longer reacted excessively.

Now, seeing thick rock layers after so long, Oliver found himself unable to look away.

Moreover, the color of these rocks… although mostly dark gray, they were interspersed with reddish-brown and sparse bright red spots!

Could it be that he was finally able to mine other metal ores?

At this thought, Oliver felt both nervous and expectant.

Right now, he only hoped it would truly be as thick and durable as Farmur had described.

Under everyone’s gaze, the beautiful Lord of Laina City somewhat impatiently lifted the pickaxe that looked heavy but seemed weightless in his slender arms, walking up to the rock layer.

Without any concern for getting dirty, he stepped into the excavated pit, faced the rock surface, and without blinking, swung the pickaxe down hard for the first strike!

“Clang—”

The moment metal struck stone, a deafening sound that made everyone present instinctively frown echoed, and a bright spark burst forth!

Although the spark vanished in an instant, the result of that clean, decisive strike was enough to leave everyone stunned.

The hard rock layer that the strongest prisoners had taken turns striking with the best pickaxe, only managing to chip out a shallow pit after much effort, now seemed as soft as cheese licked by flames.

They all clearly saw that where the pickaxe had just landed, a depression deep enough to submerge an ankle immediately appeared!

The tip of the pickaxe sank deeply into the reddish-brown rock, and fragments flew violently to the sides, only to disappear without a trace in an instant!

—That was, of course, because they had entered Oliver’s game backpack.

The Lord glanced at the 3 pieces of copper ore newly added to his backpack, then looked back at the vast rock layer of varying colors… his beautiful blue eyes already gleamed with fervent light.

“Fosse.”

He suddenly spoke.

The butler, who shared a deep understanding with the young Lord, sighed silently and instructed the others in a low voice, “Take the prisoners away and assign them to other areas.”

This was to completely clear the space for His Lordship.

Still bewildered, the prisoners were already clutching their hastily packed bundles and being reassigned to other prison areas.

“Will we ever come back?”

After leaving the stone-enclosed area, someone asked while walking with the others toward the new living quarters, gazing longingly back at the recently built houses.

Although constructed from materials even slaves would disdain, with bizarre appearances and undeniable simplicity, they were still places that could shelter them from wind and rain—far more spacious and comfortable than the cold, damp prison cells.

Yet after only two days, they had to temporarily squeeze into rooms with former companions… It truly made them reluctant to leave.

“Who knows,” another said pessimistically. “That rock layer is so thick, with our strength, we can’t break it. Disappointing His Lordship on the very first day… Perhaps the Duke will deem us ‘hopeless beings’ judged by the great Cat God and send us all to the gallows!”

“Impossible!”

This statement was immediately met with opposition from many other prisoners.

They chattered away with great certainty, though it was unclear whether they truly believed it from the bottom of their hearts or were merely trying to deceive themselves.

“This divine messenger is truly kind-hearted.”

“Indeed, among the two new stewards he brought today, one was actually a slave!”

“His face and body are well-fleshed—he doesn’t look like a slave at all.”

“A lord who is willing to employ even a slave would surely not vent his frustrations on us out of mere displeasure.”

“And didn’t the divine messenger say it himself? We still need to atone for our sins, and the great Cat God is watching.”

No matter how uneasy their hearts felt, under the guidance of the expressionless guards, they were divided into several groups and taken to other prison areas.

Fosse’s actions indeed aligned with Oliver’s wish to monopolize the mining area.

However, in Oliver’s imagination, he would be the only one working here, with the overly concerned butler Fosse at most. There was no need for attendants and guards to stay and watch from the sidelines.

But Butler Fosse clearly thought otherwise.

“Your Grace, this place is quite far from the castle.”

Fosse pressed his lips tightly together, revealing a rare expression of absolute resolve. “Your safety is always more important than breaking stones.”

Oliver glanced at his still mostly full stamina bar, then at the mine, which seemed to shimmer brilliantly in his eyes at that moment, feeling a slight pang of regret.

If he were working alone, he wouldn’t need to worry about his safety at all—he could simply block the only entrance with a stone fence, making this the safest place imaginable.

He wouldn’t even have to worry about the time spent returning to the castle: he could dig until he collapsed from exhaustion or until the system forced him to rest, then simply fall asleep on the spot.

“Very well, my loyal butler.”

Reluctantly, Oliver nodded to the stubborn butler who was so deeply concerned for his safety.

Next, the attendants and guards standing nearby watched in astonishment as the delicate and beautiful Duke brandished the pickaxe with fierce vigor, tirelessly striking the thick layer of stone without pause.

This was the first time Oliver had the opportunity to mine such a vast area of stone. Holding the pickaxe, he had practically transformed into an emotionless mining machine.

He wore the Cat God’s Ring to illuminate his way, determined to make the most of the remaining time while the moon still hung in the western sky, striving to deplete as much of his remaining energy as possible before having to return to the castle.

Although he could now restore his energy through various dishes, making it seem less precious—in his eyes, a day without exhausting his stamina bar could hardly be considered complete!

Previously, with no mines to dig, aside from farming (which was temporarily unavailable) and fishing, there were few activities that consumed large amounts of energy, so it was understandable.

But now, with a vast mining area before him, one that could even yield metal ores he had previously been unable to obtain… how could he possibly return to the castle early to sleep and come back tomorrow?

To ensure he could lead Fosse and the others back to the castle before collapsing from exhaustion, Oliver suddenly adopted the same single-minded focus he used when harvesting mature crops from the fields.

He didn’t even spare a glance at the steadily increasing stone and metal ores accumulating in his backpack.

Amid a series of rapid, rain-like “clang clang clang” sounds, the pickaxe was swung with such incredible speed that afterimages could almost be seen.

The onlookers watched in bewilderment as their noble young lord, eyes sparkling brightly, tirelessly mined rocks of various sizes—the smaller protrusions were cleanly shattered with a single strike before anyone could even get a clear look at them; only the larger ones could withstand three or four strikes from the pickaxe imbued with divine power before instantly transforming into piles of rubble reflecting the faint moonlight.

After this frenzied mining session, Oliver reluctantly stopped only when he saw his stamina bar had dwindled to just one-sixth remaining, and his backpack now contained 32 copper ores, 15 silver ores, 12 coal, and nearly 300 units of ordinary stone.

Just this mining for most of the night had already recovered half the cost he’d invested in making guardrails… not to mention he’d gained quite a few metal ores!

It was getting very late, and Oliver regretfully stored away his pickaxe.

Taking one last look at the shallow layer he’d scraped off the mine pit through his vigorous efforts, he turned back with lingering satisfaction: “Let’s head back for now.” He’d come earlier tomorrow.

Fosse breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief.

His greatest fear had been that the young lord would insist on continuing until he collapsed from excitement, just like that time when cultivating the fields.

—Fosse had no idea he’d actually guessed Oliver’s original plan perfectly.

On the way back with the group, Oliver suddenly remembered the prayer he’d once made to that deity he’d casually made up.

Come to think of it, it was almost time.

Lovely Cat God, thank you for your generous gifts.

He thought with immense pleasure.

After mining a bit more and accumulating a batch of metal ore materials, his dependence on the Cat God’s gifts would lessen significantly.

When that time came, he’d quickly renovate the former God of Light’s temple to make it more beautiful, suitable for enshrining the statue of the God of Wealth.

That way, the adorable Cat God could openly receive the worship and reverence of Laina’s people.

The moment Oliver conceived this thought, it was captured by the newborn deity in the distant divine realm who, while feeling melancholic, had been secretly watching over him.

……

…… Enshrined…… in a temple?……

……

After slowly digesting this devastating news, those golden eyes fell into a dazed stupor.

The next instant, the previously listlessly drooping long tail shot straight up in extreme fright, all its golden fur standing on end…

……

…… No……

…… No……

…… No! ……

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