I woke up.
Nothing was touching me.
No drooling goblin standing over me. No curious orc poking my ribs with a stick. No creature trying to turn me into a snack.
Considering my recent streak of luck, that was already a bigger win than any flaming spider battle.
I opened my eyes slowly. My body still hurt like I'd been run over by a cart full of bricks, but something was different. I felt better. My lungs weren't collapsed, my blood wasn't leaking out, and most importantly, my head was still attached. I checked my status.
STATUS UPDATED |
HealthPoints: 39 / 70
Stamina: 31 / 40
Condition: ["Stinky", "Lightly burned"]
I looked over at the spider's still-smoldering body.
She'd died like a washed-up star — dramatic, bright, and spraying goo in every direction. Still, I knew monsters like that usually kept something interesting inside. I always trusted my inner "course salesman" instinct: if it shines, it's worth something.
I started digging through the remains. Took a few minutes pushing aside scorched bits of carapace and dodging the still-warm patches. That's when I found some objects between the guts and the gunk. Items. Useful things.
More than I expected.
| ITEM: Spider Core Gem
| RARITY: Uncommon
| TYPE: Monster Core / Trade Item
| PROPERTIES |
→ A semi-purified mana gem commonly found in higher-tier spiders. Not valuable enough for enchantments, but traders and craftsmen can use it as a catalyst or component.
→ Sells better in remote villages than large cities.
| ITEM: Chitin Fragment (Burned)
| RARITY: Common
| TYPE: Material
| PROPERTIES |
→ Cracked and partially melted fragments of spider armor. Useless in their current form, but can be reforged or crushed into dust for cheap potion recipes.
| ITEM: Gland Residue (Volatile)
| RARITY: Uncommon
| TYPE: Alchemy Component
| PROPERTIES |
→ Leftover gland material from fire-aspected spiders. Contains trace volatile toxins and latent fire-mana. Dangerous if mishandled.
→ Store sealed. Ignites in open air after 2–3 hours.
I packed everything away like a seasoned thief. Actually, I wrapped it all up in my old rag like I was hiding the secrets of a new empire.
I had survived the spider. That should've been enough to close the day with either glory or a complete emotional breakdown. But no. My stomach still growled, my soul still felt heavy, and my curiosity was as recklessly active as ever.
I glanced around the scorched chamber. Among the hidden corners and stones the spider probably used for nesting or hoarding, I noticed a faint mineral trail — barely visible beneath the soot.
There it was. The glow. That almost magical shimmer only a desperate miner would spot. It wasn't just rock: it was Silvarite. And more than just a bit.
Still aching, I went for my pickaxe — the same one I'd used as a murder weapon — and gripped it like it was a cursed family heirloom.
Mining with 30% of your body in pain? That's nothing to me.
I started digging. Slowly, but focused. The shards began to fly like sparks. Sweat dripped down, breathing got harder, and eventually the system started feeding me updates:
| ITEM: Raw Silvarite
| TYPE: Reactive Ore / Heat Source
| RARITY: Medium-High
| PROPERTIES |
→ Magical Fuel – Burns for days without losing heat
→ Unstable – In contact with water, generates explosive pressure steam
| TACTICAL USE |
Used to forge heat-based weapons or power arcane forges
Ideal for creating bombs or pressure-based devices
Highly valuable in cold regions and subterranean realms
| Carrying large amounts of Silvarite may attract heat-sensitive monsters |
The stuff glowed with a yellowish aura and an irritating warmth. Dangerous and useful — my favorite kind.
I kept digging, and soon a deeper vein revealed another glow — this time soft and blue. A crystal with an organic, almost living texture.
I touched it gently and a shiver ran down my spine.
| ITEM: Hive Crystal
| TYPE: Organic Crystal / Alchemical Reagent
| RARITY: Rare
| PROPERTIES |
→ Absorbent – Stores traces of nearby emotions and intentions
→ Reactive – Becomes unstable when touched by living blood
→ Alchemical – Used in illusion potions, poisons, and psychic rituals
"Great," I muttered. "Now I'm mining voices."
And finally, between fragments of quartz and charcoal, I found something even more intriguing: a metallic stone, thin, light, but strangely magnetic. It floated for a second when it made contact with my lingering mana.
| TACTICAL USE |
→ Can be sold to alchemists or necromancers
→ Mishandling may cause psychic-area magic damage explosion
→ Some say it 'whispers' with ancient voices
Requires handling with rune gloves or sealed containers
| ITEM: Ferrolume
| TYPE: Conductor Ore / Arcane Reagent
| RARITY: Uncommon
| PROPERTIES |
→ High Conductivity – Amplifies magical signals in runes or rune circuits
→ Magnetic – Attracts light metals within a 1-meter radius
→ Latent Glow – Emits a faint light when exposed to living mana
| TACTICAL USE |
→ Excellent for crafting rune catalysts and magical rods
→ Can be refined into cores for enchanted gear
→ High market value among arcane traders (elves pay well)
Three new resources.
Two hands nearly broken.
One mind already theorizing how many bombs, profits, and tricks could come out of it all.
It was official.
The real monster in the cave was magical capitalism.
My arms trembled, my breathing sounded like an old furnace leaking smoke, and even my pickaxe creaked in protest. But greed is a demanding mistress, and the rush of mining something valuable was like a second breath.
So, even with my body begging for rest, I kept going.
That's when I found coal.
Yeah. Coal.
Black, dull, dirty — the most worthless rock after my self-esteem.
"Oh, great," I muttered, almost spitting black dust from my mouth. "The trash of mining. The poor man's campfire fuel."
I tossed a chunk to the ground. It cracked easily. Pure stuff.
For a second, I thought about ignoring it. But something nagged at me. A dumb thought, deep in the back of my head. A memory from my past life.
Coal… carbon… diamond.
I froze. My pupils probably dilated.
"Wait a sec…"
Coal and diamond are made of the same thing.
Carbon. The difference? Structure. Pressure. Time. Temperature.
Useless raw matter turning into the ultimate status symbol.
Low becoming high. Dirt turning to jewelry.
Sounded familiar.
And I started thinking — if this world has magic, alchemy, arcane systems, and even goblins born out of dirt… then why the hell hasn't anyone thought of turning coal into diamonds?
Maybe someone tried and failed. Maybe the technique was a secret.
Or maybe… no one's thought about it with the desperation I have for money.
In my past life — in the world we call "real," where people think a $30,000 watch makes them better — this was a thing.
Several, actually.
Turning carbon into diamond wasn't just a magic trick. It was science.
And science that, by the way, some companies were already using to make lab-grown diamonds from human hair.
Yeah. Hair. The crap that clogs drains.
Pieces of people turning into jewels.
I always found that poetically offensive.
I remembered the basic process: HPHT — High Pressure, High Temperature.
Insane pressure. Absurd heat. Recreate the conditions of the Earth's deep layers.
They took the carbon, put it in a specific hydraulic press, and simulated hell until it aligned into a perfect crystal.
Slow. Expensive. Controlled.
But then there was CVD — Chemical Vapor Deposition.
More modern. More elegant.
You take carbon gases, deposit them on a substrate inside a chamber, and with the right conditions, the carbon organizes into diamond.
Layer by layer.
None of that was magic. Just total control over variables.
Then I looked around.
A world where fire comes from your hands.
Where stones store emotions.
Where poison sings.
And I asked myself:
Has no one thought of this here?
Or is it that no one knows enough about carbon?
Because… I do.
I might not be the strongest.
Not the prettiest.
But I was smart enough to turn trash into treasure.
Literally.
If I could figure out a way to simulate pressure, heat, and structure... maybe with runes... maybe with alchemy... maybe with enough magic and shameless ambition...
Then I wouldn't just have a new business.
I'd have a magical diamond monopoly.
I smiled again.
I stared at the coal for over a minute. Sitting there, tired, filthy, but with eyes glowing like they'd already seen the first gem.
The idea started forming like a spell.
A plan. A possibility.
"This. This could work."
And right there, covered in dust, surrounded by dead monsters and rare minerals, I had the thought that would probably change my life forever.
Now how I'd get information about those runes… that was the real question.