Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

As Shane left the Toxic Zombie section, the door slammed shut behind him, and he took out a canteen from his inventory, splashing cool water over his face and clothes, washing away the toxic residue that clung stubbornly to his gear.

”Whew… That was dangerous…” Shane muttered as he really felt that he was about to succumb to the poison.

He then looked up to see Ibrahim, Tieria, and the others, who had damp scarves covering their noses and mouths as a precaution.

’Right… There’s that method.’ Shane mused.

”Are you alright?” Ibrahim asked. Concern was evident in his voice as he eyed the sludgy water that pooled at Shane’s feet.

Shane gave a weary nod. ”I’m good. But don’t even think about going in there without full Poison Immunity, or you’ll end up like one of those Toxic Zombies yourself.”

He only had Poison Resistance and not Immunity, so he didn’t dare to stay longer in that place.

Nonetheless, the group shuddered after imagining themselves being helpless as they turned into Toxic Zombies.

Even without entering the room, they could actually tell how dangerous the Toxic Zombies were. Furthermore, after seeing Shane return covered in sludge, none of them even thought of exploring it...

It was already more than enough to know about this hidden dungeon…

”Anyway, I’ll probably have Shinja clear this place sometime.” Shane muttered as Shinja possessed the Poison Vein, which gives him complete Immunity to poison.

It was such a blessed physique for this type of dungeon.

Anyway, Shane then gathered his team together, giving a quick debrief, and ultimately, they agreed that the underground zombie den was a challenge best left for another time.

They would need more than just one level 50 fighter; they’d need a whole squad at that strength to even dare to venture further inside.

”I guess we’ll just build a small resting area around this place to ensure that no other Survivors would dare to explore this place and take our treasures.” Shane muttered.

Everyone nodded since they knew that it was only a matter of time before they could build a squad that could brave this dungeon.

After that, they soon climbed up and closed the metal door.

Then, everyone turned to leave after covering the door with dirt and leaves… They could start fencing this place on the next day.

Returning to Silver Mine Camp, they didn’t have a moment to settle in before one of the miners came sprinting up to Shane.

”Lord Shane!” the miner panted, his eyes were filled with excitement…

This made Shane heave a sigh of relief since it didn’t seem to be bad news at all.

As he waited for the man to speak, Shane confirmed that his guess was right.

”Sir Mew is looking for you in the mine. He said it’s urgent!”

”Oh? What’s going on?” Shane asked, intrigued.

The miner glanced around before leaning closer, whispering, ”It seems we’ve struck something... unusual. This place might be more than just a simple silver mine.”

A thrill ran through Shane as he glanced back at his team, nodding to dismiss them to rest.

Then he followed the miner down into the depths of the mine, curious about what they had uncovered.

’Is it another type of ore? Perhaps another dungeon?’ Shane mused as he continued moving.

They walked through narrow corridors and past walls gleaming with silver veins until, deep in the heart of the mine, they reached a massive, open chamber.

’They really opened up something…’ Shane thought as he knew very well that there wasn’t anything like this yesterday.

Anyway, the cavern was illuminated by a radiant, ethereal glow emanating from clusters of stones embedded in the walls.

”Hmmm?”

These stones were a vivid blue, shining with an inner light that illuminated the room.

’Beautiful…’ He commented in his mind. He was still unsure what these stones are…

Anyway, Shane immediately recognized Mew standing nearby with a handful of miners, all mesmerized by the sight.

As he stepped inside the cavern, a system message appeared before him in a faintly glowing text.

[ Congratulations! You have discovered the Spirit Vein within your territory. ]

[ Spirit Vein: A rare and powerful underground formation born from the mutated energy of a world filled with life and death. The Spirit Vein is a reservoir of pure spirit energy. This potent energy, stored in crystalline Spirit Stones, can be harvested to fuel high-level skills, enchantments, and rituals.

[ Spirit Veins are rarely found and fiercely coveted, as they provide a renewable source of spirit energy critical for advanced Survivors. ]

[ Effects:

Resource Type: Provides Medium-Grade Spirit Stones and, rarely, High-Grade Spirit Stones, significantly boosting spirit energy supply for those able to extract and utilize them.

Regeneration Rate: Gradually replenishes Spirit Stones over time, making it a sustainable but limited resource.

Environmental Influence: Causes minor spirit energy saturation in the surrounding area, affecting low-resistance entities with light fatigue over prolonged exposure. ]

”Spirit Vein?” Shane muttered, scanning the chamber with interest…

To be honest, he already had some sort of idea about the Spirit Veins’ existence. After all, he already used Spirit Stones before.

He even has hundreds of Low-Grade Spirit Stones in his possession. However, he didn’t expect that his silver mine would actually produce such a great resource for him!

Now, this made him decide to double, or even triple, the defense that he planned for this camp. He needed to ensure that this place would never be taken by the Vampires or destroyed by the Zombies.

This place would make him the wealthiest Survivor, and he just needed some time to do it!

After all, unlike the Silver Ores, which could hardly be sold unless they were already processed as swords or weapons, the Spirit Stones could be easily sold since everyone uses Spirit Points and wants to recover them safely.

During his time in the Fairy Realm, there was also a concept of Spirit Veins, but because he wasn’t a Territory Lord of that time, he couldn’t have an access to it.

Perhaps the Spirit Veins were also within the A.I. Rebellion’s world, but because of the path he had taken, he didn’t have a chance to find them.

”Ahem… These aren’t your average Spirit Stones… They’re Mid-Grade Spirit Stones like what the description said…” he murmured after picking up one of the smooth, cool stones from the floor. He marveled at its weight, feeling the energy within it.

”These Spirit Stones were indeed more potent than the ones you distributed, Lord Shane.” Mew whispered. He wasn’t looking down on the stones he received from Shane, but it was simply his genuine thought.

”We weren’t sure at first, but when we got close, we felt the energy similar to the ones you have given to us…” Mew added. Well, he didn’t seem to receive the system’s confirmation that they found the Spirit Vein, unlike Shane’s system.

Shane gripped the Spirit Stone tighter, sensing the raw, concentrated spirit energy inside.

He really felt excited about this.

”You’re right, Mew… We’ll split our miners then… Form a group that will mine these Spirit Stones. Don’t worry. I will recruit more people later, so there might be a few helpers who can help mine this Spirit Vein.” Shane said. He decided to use most of his remaining recruitment stones to increase the number of residents of this camp.

The miners felt excited after hearing that they might have more people here soon.

Shane then continued to explain the importance of this Spirit Vein and his plans to protect it. For that, he needed to ensure the integrity of these tunnels and decided to reinforce the path…

The miners let out murmurs of excitement as they began to understand the true weight of the discovery. If they could extract these stones safely and store them, the camp would not only gain immense resources but also strengthen its fighters significantly.

Having stronger fighters means having a safer camp, after all.

”Is it safe to just mine them? Do we need special equipment” Mew asked, casting a wary glance at the stones. He was actually worried that smashing them with a pickaxe would make these stones explode, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

Of course, this wasn’t a baseless guess.

”The energy here is… overwhelming. Some of the younger miners felt faint after just a few minutes.” He added.

”Good question.” Shane ran his fingers over the stone walls, focusing on the energy flow around them. ”The energy here is dense, which could affect people without enough resistance to Spirit Energy. Make sure only experienced miners enter this area, and they should work in short shifts. And we’ll need to guard this area carefully… I’ll come up with a solution to mine them safely.” he added, glancing back at Mew.

Anyway, Shane also had to make sure that no outsiders would know about this place since if word spreads that they found a Spirit Vein, it could draw unwanted attention.