Chapter 206: Power Drilling (1/2)
One hundred and eight pickaxes, one hundred and eight miner hats and one hundred and eight eager killer rabbits ready for some mining action were stationed at the entrance of the dwarven mines.
The other killer bunnies who couldn't join were 'too big', according to Noir. Rino felt slightly bad for the killer bunnies who evolved into the superior human-monster hybrids. Kamiya begged the black cat for a chance, but Noir remained unmoved, and Rino let the black cat do whatever it wanted.
As Rino was unable to fully set up the mana web array in the unexplored parts of the mines, he decided to place an urgent order with the weavers back in Spudville to sew together one hundred and eight miner hats that he could sew light-emitting runes into.
Dark vision was useful if one did not need to differentiate colours. Rino wouldn't put in so much effort preparing for this excavation expedition if dark vision worked. Sadly, these killer rabbits could only see outlines of objects in the dark with their dark vision, and Rino needed them to see more than just the outline when mining. Thankfully, the ores that mattered most when digging with magic were colours that the killer rabbits could see and avoid.
Rino did not realise that some monsters and animals could not see the full spectrum of colours. Noir pointed out that smelling ores might be easier than looking for them because the rocks looked the same to the rabbits who had not evolved yet.
New arrangements were made, and Noir would spearhead the mining operation to tell the monster rabbits where to dig while Rino and some of the genesis fairies extended the mana web array and created the lighting they needed.
Knowing that the monster rabbits would work very quickly and efficiently, Rino estimated that he would only need an hour at most before they found their first bit of tin and iron ores. Noir did not understand why those miner hats were necessary, but he soon will.
”Remember to reinforce the tunnels with earth magic. The last thing we need is for the tunnel to collapse in itself. Wait for Noir to give you the go-ahead to dig and listen to his instructions,” Rino told the leader of the rabbit squad.
Saluting, the hundred and eight rabbits split themselves into teams of nine and spread out. Noir led the team to follow him through the small tunnel that he dug using magic as the others started to widen the passage so that even the hobgoblins could comfortably walk through it.
Steps and slopes were created by the teams who were not expanding the path, and a team was reinforcing the tunnel structure with earth beams as if they had done this before. The coordination of these espionage experts never failed to impress Rino. He still could not understand how they were able to work so seamlessly without verbal communication. They reminded him of a colony of ants when they worked. Everyone knew what to do and filled in any holes that needed filling without getting told.
Leaving the path-building to the rabbit clan and Noir, Rino checked his quest. There was still almost a day before the deadline, so they should be able to make it.
The genesis fairies spread out to take an unlit mineshaft each to extend the mana web array from the main teleportation circle that Rino created. It was slightly sneaky, but Rino used a trick he learned from the earth gnomes and laid the mana web circuits beneath the mountains using the small air cracks.
Rino used this chance to tie the mana web array to the secret vault when everyone was busy. The lich checked his surroundings frequently while setting alarm spells that would alert him if someone strayed from where they were meant to be. At the same time, he created multiple barriers to restrict mining activities and exploration. The dwarven facilities such as the grand furnace room and cafeteria could be repurposed after Rino found someone to take on the huge renovation project.
Slowly but surely, Rino could feel the zapping of his mana reserves as everyone worked. It was only ten minutes into the mining project, but already, Rino could see a significant dip in his mana reserves that were usually very full. There was no doubt now that the mana depletion he experienced after contracting Kamiya's clan was due to his subordinates' mass use of magic. The more intelligent the monster, the more mana it took to summon them and support their activities.
Still, it was a small price to pay for efficiency. He could rely on the killer rabbits to finish his tunnel and for Noir to get to the tin and iron ores before dusk today. On the other hand, he wasn't so sure about his personal progress with this private project. The dwarven caves were huge, and Rino had so much ground to cover, even with the genesis fairies helping him light up the mineshafts.
Thankfully, these communal spaces had wider passageways and higher ceilings. Ignoring etiquette about riding mounts indoors, Rino summoned Mutt and told the sabre tooth wolf where to go so that he could connect the mana web array quicker.