Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 249: Sherfilia Steals Milk Tea

Finally reached level 10!

At this moment, the gap in base attributes between Strength and Mana was only 4 points left. Next, magic could also be mostly unrestricted, starting to be used synchronously with warrior skills.

Everyone tidied up the battlefield, mainly retrieving the spoils of war, which were the "Rock Cores" from the Shattered Rock Golems.

The one that was first pierced through the chest by Lin Mo's [Mountain-Shaking Fist] was a pity;

its "Rock Core" was shattered along with it.

However, the rest were preserved intact, ultimately yielding a total of 12 Rock Cores.

Easily resolved, time to go back and rest.

The journey here had been quite arduous. Although you couldn't see the sky inside the mine, outside was probably already nighttime.

The remaining tasks would be left for tomorrow...

When everyone walked out of the mine shaft carrying those shattered rock cores, the guide hiding in the carriage, trembling and only daring to lift the curtain a little to check the situation outside, was utterly dumbfounded.

Listening to the "intense" sounds of battle coming from the distance, he had just been wondering whether these adventurers could actually handle those powerful monsters. When the sounds of battle disappeared, he even worried for a moment that they had lost, and those monsters would immediately charge out and finish him off too.Looking at the result, he had clearly worried too much.

But... how long had it even been?

Those giant-like monsters with incredibly hard bodies had all been wiped out just like that?

It wasn't until Dirk returned to the carriage with the spoils and waved at him that this guard finally snapped back to reality, a look of joy appearing on his face. "Congratulations, esteemed adventurers!"

Having the problem solved was naturally a great thing for the guards stationed at the Boulder Mine.

Moreover, even though he had only acted as a guide, he had still contributed to this incident and might even receive a bonus later.

"No need for formalities. Let's head back early and get some proper rest."

Soon, everyone returned to the camp area.

The camp conditions were somewhat rudimentary, but at least there were places fit for people to stay, allowing Dirk and the others to settle in.

As for Lin Mo, he naturally stayed in the carriage, which was much more comfortable than outside.

But before that, the dinner problem needed to be solved.

Unlike in the forest before, most of the monsters in the Boulder Mine were inedible types, so it wasn't easy to just go out and catch one to eat. The conditions at the guard camp were also quite limited, with food consisting of simple bread, pickled vegetables, or dried meat and such.

Fresh meat and vegetables were unavailable. The mine area was desolate and far from the city. The cost of transporting fresh food here was too high, so it couldn't be helped.

Therefore, Lin Mo and the others also used ingredients brought from the city, something they hadn't done in a while.

Ever since obtaining the Spatial Ring, Lin Mo often carried a portion of food inside the ring.

This included some meat, vegetables, and fruit.

The variety was fairly rich, but the quantity wasn't too large. After all, although the space inside the Spatial Ring was big, it was still limited. He also had to consider storing alchemical tools, spoils of war, weapons, and equipment.

The ingredients stored outside the Spatial Ring were probably only enough for the few of them to eat for about a week.

Fortunately, they probably wouldn't stay in the mine that long, so they could manage.

Lin Mo shared a small portion of ingredients with Dirk and the others. The amount wasn't huge, but it could slightly improve their meals, preventing them from eating too poorly.

As for the guards, there were too many of them, so he was truly powerless to help.

But there was no need to worry too much about them. Due to the special nature of their posts and their own not-weak strength, these guards' income was actually quite high. Their rest days were also relatively plentiful. When they returned to the city on holidays, they naturally could eat very well.

Lin Mo lit a fire on an open patch of ground in the camp, simply grilled some meat, added vegetables and the indispensable cheese slices, making upgraded versions of his secret-recipe Little Burgers.

Compared to the version made with dried meat during times of haste and less-than-ideal conditions, the new version of the secret-recipe burger obviously tasted much better.

Ellie praised it endlessly;

Finnie just focused on eating, stuffing her mouth full;

Sherfilia took small bites, her expression as cool and detached as ever, but compared to when they first met, her eyes were clearly much softer.

In short, after a rather decent dinner, everyone returned to the carriage to prepare for rest.

Sherfilia had already tidied up the carriage in advance, clearing out enough space.

This time, there was no need for night watch. At the camp here, it should be relatively safe. Moreover, after the previous mission, they could now place a fair amount of trust in Dirk.

Furthermore, having been adventurers for so long, they all had relatively strong vigilance. When resting outside, they basically wouldn't enter a state of deep sleep, and could wake up promptly if there was any sign of trouble.

Lin Mo's left and right sides were still occupied by Ellie and Finnie respectively. At times like these, Sherfilia never competed for a spot. She just silently stayed by Finnie's side.

Seeing Lin Mo's gaze turn towards her, those golden pupils met his line of sight.

Her gaze quickly shifted away, landing on Finnie, then lifted again to look at Lin Mo.

Although many complex thoughts about this man had already arisen within her heart, Sherfilia was still unwilling and did not want to steal the spotlight.

For her, Finnie was someone just as important as Lin Mo. Compared to herself, she would rather see Young Mistress Finnie and Lin Mo make some progress.

Lin Mo did understand she was urging him, but Finnie, after all, was different from Ellie and Sherfilia. She wasn't really suited for that kind of abrupt, one-step-to-completion approach.

Of course, no matter how long a gentle stream flows, it still has to move forward eventually...

So he wasn't completely inactive either.

Like right now, Lin Mo's hand very naturally rested on Finnie, holding her shoulder, gently stroking her arm, feeling the delicate, smooth skin under his palm.

And Finnie was already accustomed to this, nestling in Lin Mo's embrace, her face slightly flushed, but without that overly shy reaction anymore.

This kind of girl required slowly raising her threshold. Otherwise, if progress was too fast all at once, she might get so shy she'd faint.

The night slowly deepened.

The camp's night was still illuminated by the glow of Mana Lamps. Torches hung on the surrounding walls. The guards on patrol diligently checked the surrounding situation.

Sherfilia stepped out of the carriage and sat at the front.

The chilly early morning air soaked into her skin. Sherfilia gazed into the deep darkness in the distance, her thoughts returning to yesterday, at the Noren Trading Company.

It couldn't be wrong, that feeling like needles in the back...

Noren Trading Company.

"Noren"!

Ever since Madam left the family, the connection between the two sides actually hadn't been that frequent. After all, their branch was considered "removed" afterwards.

It was just that Madam's younger sister, the current head of the family, often helped support them, but that was a private matter.

So they actually didn't know much about the family's situation.

At least she didn't...

So, what kind of view did the family hold regarding Young Mistress Finnie, regarding her Master, regarding the matters between them?

Indifferent? Or blessings? Or perhaps vigilance?

The Noren Trading Company was probably a trial and attempt by that Miss Noren.

She should have already discovered their existence and knew some things about them... How much did she know specifically? What attitude did she hold? Would she have any interaction with them...

The jumbled thoughts made Sherfilia uncharacteristically somewhat troubled.

She rubbed her temples, slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and finally turned and went back into the carriage.

At dawn, when Lin Mo opened his eyes, the time had already reached past 7 in the morning.

Since they were inside the mine, distinguishing day and night was impossible;

they could only determine the time through clocks.

Lin Mo slowly sat up, stretched, feeling an inexplicable sense of fatigue.

Yesterday, he seemed to have had a dream, dreaming that Sherfilia was drinking milk tea.

A bit strange, since this world didn't have milk tea...

Quickly getting up, changing into his gear, and having breakfast brought the time to 8 o'clock.

By then, Dirk and the others were already fully prepared.

Today's task was the second mission they had accepted this time, mission number D68889: Eradicate the Crystal-Eating Grubs.

Compared to yesterday's mission, this one was more difficult. Moreover, this mission was located in Area 3 of the mine, which was also farther away. Just getting there would take the better part of a day.

After that, they would likely proceed directly to the middle layer of the Boulder Mine.

So today, arranging personnel to guide them wasn't convenient.

Also, the specific location of the Crystal-Eating Grubs wasn't very precisely known by the camp currently. They only provided some additional intelligence, helping to refine the general search area.

After preparations were complete, the carriage set off on the road towards Area 3 of the Boulder Mine.

To reach Area 3, they had to pass through Areas 1 and 2 first. Therefore, before reaching their destination, they were highly likely to encounter some monsters.

Of course, Areas 1 and 2 were relatively shallow and safer places within the mine. A situation like yesterday where a stretch was occupied by Shattered Rock Golems was a special case.

Normally, while monsters would appear, their density wouldn't be that high, and their strength generally wouldn't be that strong either.

For example, the one appearing before them now...

A giant beetle living in the mine.

About half a meter long, truly terrifying for people afraid of bugs.

Ellie had actually been somewhat afraid of bugs back on Blue Star, especially in summer. When bugs of unknown species suddenly appeared in her room, she couldn't sleep unless she killed them.

But after coming to this world, experiencing so much adventuring life, and gaining powerful strength, she didn't really feel anything about bugs anymore.

Moreover, this kind of oversized bug actually lacked that mysterious "oppressive feeling" that bugs the size of a fingertip had.

But Lin Mo still didn't want to touch this kind of creature with his sword or hand.

So with a raise of his hand, he circulated mana to resonate with earth elements. An Earth Spike emerged from the ground, piercing straight through the beetle.

After obtaining the common-grade magic [Earth Spike], Lin Mo had actually grinded its proficiency before, and grinded a lot in one go, directly raising it to level 4.

But after that, he used it relatively less, especially after realizing he needed to cap his mage level.

Now that the warrior profession's attributes were gradually catching up, the Mana attribute needed to be raised along with them. Skills that were easy to level up and didn't provide too much Mana attribute gain were perfect for this.

[Earth Spike] proficiency +3.

3 points of proficiency meant this beetle's threat level wasn't even close to level 1.

Well, this was only Area 1 after all...

The carriage continued forward. During the subsequent journey, they encountered some monsters one after another.

Fortunately, these monsters weren't all insect-type, so Lin Mo also grinded a bit of [Whip Kick] proficiency.

This skill was only one level away from reaching the max level for an excellent-grade skill, which was level 6. However, the progress at the current level wasn't much. Even after Lin Mo grinded quite a few monsters, it only reached Lv5 (49/180).

At noon, the carriage didn't stop but continued moving, though it slowed down a bit. Everyone also simply ate something on the carriage.

Not long after finishing the meal, they entered Area 3 of the Boulder Mine.

This was also the deepest part of the Boulder Mine's upper layer, considered a relatively dangerous place within the upper layer.

The monsters appearing ahead could also confirm this point.

Looking at that familiar figure, Lin Mo's interest was immediately piqued.

Wasn't this the same type of monster they fought yesterday—the Shattered Rock Golem?

The strength of this monster was quite decent. More importantly, its size was relatively large, perfect for testing the new skill he had obtained previously.

Since it was still some distance from the mine tunnel the carriage was traveling on, that Shattered Rock Golem hadn't noticed them. Or maybe it had noticed but didn't have the intention to actively attack.

But Lin Mo wouldn't miss this good opportunity. So he immediately said to the others beside him, "You go ahead first. I'll catch up shortly."

After so long, everyone was quite familiar with Lin Mo, knowing he enjoyed combat, liked killing monsters, so they weren't surprised.

Lin Mo got off the carriage and immediately charged towards that Shattered Rock Golem.

Halfway there, his footsteps already slowed. At the same time, the qi and blood within his body began to mobilize.

Although, strictly speaking, the skill [Demonic Light Piercing Kill] belonged to a rather "unconventional" type of Sword Energy and could also benefit from the Frost Dragon Scale Sword's extra bonus to Sword Energy-type skills.

But since the skill description said it could be released using the index and middle fingers, how could he not try it?

Anyway, dealing with monsters of this level didn't require that much power.

So, Lin Mo brought his index and middle fingers together, raised his hand to his forehead, and vast amounts of qi and blood gathered at an astonishing speed.

[Demonic Light Piercing Kill]!

The next moment, he extended his hand, and a beam-like Sword Energy shot out rapidly.

He hadn't charged it, so there was no spiral beam wrapping around the main beam as mentioned in the skill description.

Lin Mo wanted to test the instant-cast effect of this skill first.

That beam-like Sword Energy arrived almost instantly before the Shattered Rock Golem. Without any grand sound, it simply pierced through its body with extreme ease. The Sword Energy's momentum didn't stop, continuing forward. It didn't stop even after extending several thousand meters. Upon touching the walls of the underground mine tunnel, it was like a red-hot steel ball meeting snow, "melting" the walls along its path, leaving a slender hole that continuously emitted greenish smoke.

Such concentrated power!

No flashy explosion, no diffusion, also meaning almost no waste. Everything was focused on concentrating energy to pierce through the enemy!

One could easily imagine that if the power boost from charging was added, this move could likely achieve a one-hit-kill surprise effect even when facing opponents stronger than oneself.