Dungeon Miner Slave

The moment everyone arrived back in Ilioven, Flinx noticed from their movements that the first thing they did was access their system panels. He could see a mixture of delight and dismay on the faces of his fellow Earthlings, who were the first group to return to Earth.

He knew that although they were able to access their systems, all of them had returned to level one. Still, the first eight people were the ones who wanted to return to Earth the most, so he assumed they were willing to trade their systems just to return to their families.

The only reason they had returned with him to Ilioven was so they could convert their items into resources that would be useful on Earth. It was only practical that they would gather enough wealth to support themselves as they tried to return to their normal lives.

Everyone rejoined their previous groups so they could assist each other in converting their assets into something useful on Earth, such as gold or gems.

After a couple of hours, Mark and Paul joined Flinx so they could talk.

“One of those who returned to Earth was carrying a magic item. The moment he retrieved it, the item disintegrated. That means even magic items are destroyed by Earth,” Mark said.

Flinx grew alarmed when he heard that, so he immediately checked his own magic items. He found that all of them were still intact. That meant his shield probably extended its protection to his belongings.

“My things are fine,” Flinx told Mark.

His fellow Earthling sighed.

“That gate really did you a favor,” Mark said.

“Us as well. Because of the blessing Flinx received from that gate, he managed to level up enough to rescue some of us,” Paul whispered.

Flinx still regretted that he wasn’t able to rescue more of the dungeon miners. Even though the others were grateful, he knew some of them probably wondered why it took him so long. However, he also knew they would never say such a thing aloud because, in truth, no one could say for certain that they would have done better if they were in his position.

“The shield will only protect me for less than an hour,” Flinx told Mark and Paul.

“It’s still enough. Since we can communicate through the internet, you can still help us if we encounter any danger, as long as you’re willing,” Mark said.

Flinx could tell that Mark understood how much he was asking of him.

“I’m willing. We all went through the same catastrophe. At the very least, I can still cast my spells during the time I’m protected by the shield. When the durability becomes low, I can simply return to Ilioven to restore it and then return to Earth again. I have to be extremely careful, though. If I exceed the time limit and lose the shield, we will lose access to magic,” Flinx explained.

Both Mark and Paul nodded.

The three of them then discussed the best ways Flinx could assist them. The first issue they needed to solve was communication. They needed a way to communicate with each other in real time through the internet, even though they were in different worlds.

The best solution they came up with was to use a web-based messenger that would allow Flinx to receive real-time notifications. After searching online, the three found the best messenger they could use. They would continue using the forums they had relied on for general discussions, but for emergencies, they would use the messenger.

Mark asked Flinx and Paul to register and use their real nicknames as identifiers instead of usernames. He then created a group and asked everyone to join it.

The group’s name was Mana Stone Miners.

Once they returned to Earth, they would need to rely on smartphones to communicate with Flinx.

Mark and Paul told Flinx that the most valuable help he could provide for now was resources. With his ability to travel between worlds, he could acquire resources that could be converted into wealth to help everyone in the group.

Not only that, but they could also rely on Flinx’s Cleric abilities for healing if anyone in the group was ever in serious need.

Paul then told Mark and Flinx that the return to Earth would most likely be delayed for more than a day because everyone needed additional time to convert their assets.

It had been an exhausting day for everyone, so Flinx returned to his room to rest even though it was still early.

When he woke up the next day, Flinx joined everyone for breakfast.

“I thought you and your countrymen were leaving?” Olivia asked while everyone else listened with curiosity.

“We encountered some complications, but we’re still leaving. It will probably be tomorrow or the day after,” Flinx replied.

“Will you be gone for a long time?” Olivia asked.

“No. As you know, I can teleport, so I can travel back and forth instantly. More than likely, you won’t even notice that I’m gone.”

Flinx saw that everyone looked relieved after hearing his answer. He knew everyone would be busy that day, and he needed to remain in the compound to keep things stable.

At the very least, Flinx knew it would be easy for Mark and the others to convert their mana stones into gold coins, gold bars, or gems. The Adventurer Guild or Merchant Guild would likely be willing to exchange all of their mana stones for what they considered to be simple gold.

When noon arrived, Flinx was surprised to see Olivia returning from the store.

“What happened?”

“Your countrymen are causing chaos. They’re trading a huge amount of mana stones for gold, and no one understands their reasoning.”

“Did you really need to return from the shop just to ask about that?”

“A lot of the merchants I know wanted to understand why they were doing it, and they asked me to find out from one of you.”

“I didn’t realize my countrymen had such a large amount of mana stones. Still, it has something to do with where we’re going, and it won’t affect Ilioven.”

Flinx didn’t explain further. Even if he told Olivia that Earth valued gold more than mana stones, she would probably never believe something like that.

Thankfully, during their short time on Earth, only a small number of mana stones stored in the others’ fourth tab spaces had disintegrated.

After Olivia returned to her shop, Flinx thought about the fact that he couldn’t truly return to Earth yet. If his shield weakened to the point that his protection disappeared, he would lose access to his system, and that was something he could not allow to happen.

Flinx theorized that once Earth awakened, its consciousness would no longer attack him. The only problem was determining when Earth would awaken.

He also theorized that once Earth awakened, magic would return. Along with magic, monsters, and dungeons would likely appear as well.

At the very least, the fact that he no longer had a family on Earth was almost a blessing. He wouldn’t have to feel guilty about not wanting to return permanently. He could simply live his life as a powerful wizard in worlds where magic existed and only return to Earth occasionally to help his fellow dungeon miner slaves.

Once his fellow Earthlings returned to Earth, Flinx could finally begin living for himself. He could travel the world, study different kingdoms, and learn about various cultures.

He would not stop delving into dungeons, since they remained the best way for him to increase his strength. Once he became powerful enough, he could finally begin his goal of destroying the Torbal Slavers.

Flinx was only saddened by the fact that no one would be able to help him with that goal. Once his fellow dungeon miner slaves returned to Earth, they would no longer have the strength to fight alongside him.