Grace's cheerful announcement sent a surge of joy through Kael. Could there truly be such fortuitous news?
His gaze swept across the others, noting their unmistakable delight—especially Finn, Lone Wolf, and Jett, whose eyes practically glowed with excitement.
"What exactly happened?" Kael's curiosity deepened at their collective euphoria.
Grace dropped the playful act, her gem-like eyes fixed on him. **"Senior Brother, our scouts discovered a vein of 'Aquamarine Spirit Stones' in the territory's mountain valley!"**
A mineral vein!
Kael's heart leapt, his eyes flashing with realization. **"You mean an Aquamarine Spirit Stone deposit?"**
These stones were prized magical gems—not top-tier, but brimming with potent water elements, ranking among the finest of their kind.
Unlike the Fire Crystal vein he'd once obtained from Simon, this discovery was exponentially more valuable. Beyond comparison.
A single Aquamarine deposit could yield millions of gold coins at minimum—and if it proved to be a high-grade vein, that figure might soar past ten million!
Of course, mining wouldn't be completed overnight. Yet the revelation alone was electrifying.
An Aquamarine Spirit Stone vein.
"How was this never detected before?" Kael frowned.
"Call it your legendary luck," Grace laughed. **"Lafei's terrain is strategic but historically resource-barren. No ore deposits were ever recorded. This was found purely by chance—by a patrolling guard."**
Kael rubbed his nose. So fortune had finally smiled on him. The territory once mocked for its poverty now held a treasure trove beneath its soil.
Kael could hardly wait. "Where's the vein? Take me there!" With The Book of Immortality in hand, he was a veritable expert in magical ore appraisal—who knew what hidden treasures might lurk there? Perhaps even companion veins of rarer minerals.
"Knew you'd bite," Amelia smirked. Few understood Kael better, and she was well aware of his encyclopedic knowledge of magical minerals.
"Lucky for you, I know the spot. I'll lead the way," Finn chimed in with a grin.
Kael nodded eagerly. Of course he was interested.
With the news delivered and Kael confirmed unharmed, the group dispersed, leaving only Ella and Finn to accompany him to the Aquamarine deposit.
The trio moved swiftly, the distance trivial for their abilities.
"Kael, why'd you drag me out? I was napping!" The kitten sprawled across Kael's back, swiping her paws in protest.
Given her innate sensitivity to treasures, Kael had yanked her from her gold-lined nest, much to her indignation.
The entire journey, she'd grumbled, alternating between **"this lady"** and **"mere human"**—a spectacle that had Finn and Ella stifling laughter.
"We're here," Finn announced.
Before them lay a secluded valley, its paths rugged and cliffs sheer—no wonder the vein had gone undiscovered.
"The water elements here… they're denser than outside," the kitten remarked suddenly, her petite frame leaning forward as she sniffed the air.
Kael's brows rose. The elemental shift was imperceptibly subtle—even to his heightened senses. Yet the kitten had detected it instantly… and she was absolutely right.
With an Aquamarine vein buried deep below, a richer concentration of water elements made sense. Yet the difference was minimal, given how deeply the ore was embedded.
The valley was riddled with spiderweb-like caves—some narrow as mouse holes, others vast enough to swallow a carriage whole.
"The guard found the Aquamarine Stones in this very tunnel," Finn explained. The cave was pitch-black, but Kael conjured a flame with a casual wave, illuminating the interior. After studying the walls intently, Finn pointed ahead.
Kael's gaze sharpened as he traced the mineral veins in the rock. The Aquamarine deposit clearly ran along this tunnel, stretching deep underground...
His pulse quickened. **"This could very well be a high-grade vein!"** Judging by the rock formations, the quantity here was staggering.
The stone surfaces bore a faint blue hue—the telltale glow of water elements. Kael was certain: beneath this rock lay Aquamarine Spirit Stones, and high-quality ones at that.
"It's definitely an Aquamarine vein, and likely a rich one. The yield should exceed five million gold coins at minimum," Kael declared after a moment's analysis.
"That much?!" Ella and Finn were stunned. As a former wandering mage, Ella found the sum unimaginable—she'd never seen such wealth in her life.
"Absolutely."
"So much gold! Kael, no—fifty coins a month is too little! You owe me at least a hundred!" The kitten, though clueless about finances, sensed an opportunity and pounced. (Though honestly, demanding only a hundred coins? She's practically giving him a discount.)
Kael agreed without hesitation. The kitten's worth far surpassed a paltry hundred coins.
The vein's potential was undeniable. Kael confirmed it was high-grade, capable of yielding premium Aquamarine. He extracted several palm-sized stones—still rough with impurities, yet their water element purity dwarfed common gems by orders of magnitude.
"The deposit is vast. Mining will be challenging, but the profits are monumental. Lafei won't face financial shortages for a long time," Kael mused with a smile.
Grace was right: this discovery would secure the territory's finances for years.
Currently, Lafei relied on tariff revenues to sustain itself, but rapid expansion—let alone raising a formidable army—required massive gold investment.
"We're rich!" The kitten waved her paws gleefully, already daydreaming about Kael's promise. A hundred coins would buy her a personal gold pile to nap on.
Kael chuckled. Such simple joys.
Kael gently stroked the kitten's head before turning his attention to surveying the perimeter of the vein. Typically, companion minerals should be found near such deposits—he wondered if any existed here.
As Kael meticulously scanned the surroundings, the kitten lounged lazily on his back, idly licking her paws.
Suddenly, the kitten jolted upright.
"Danger, Kael! Trouble ahead!" Her ability to sense threats was unparalleled—yet another reason Kael had brought her along.
This tiny creature had once detected Zev, a tenth-level powerhouse, as effortlessly as a radar pinging a target. Her alarm now could only mean one thing: real peril.
Kael's eyes narrowed. A deafening boom echoed through the cavern, followed by an immense shadow looming into view, radiating crushing pressure.
The terrifying aura sent shivers down their spines. While Kael remained composed, Ella and Finn paled, their expressions taut with tension under the overwhelming force.
A ferocious beast approached—its tenth-level might bearing down on them...
Then it emerged: a serpent, its purple-scaled body coiling over ten meters long. Its armored plates gleamed menacingly, and its crimson eyes—glowing like twin lanterns—locked onto Kael and his companions with unmistakable malice.