Kanzaki Yuzuki had no intention of digging a mine directly under his house.
At least, not yet.
The reason?
No torches.
Descending into pitch-black tunnels without light was practically suicide. If he stumbled into a zombie nest in the dark... well, that'd be his last "adventure."
First things first — find a natural cave, mine some coal, and make torches.
Fortunately, the landscape was on his side. The mountains behind the village practically guaranteed caves, and even if those weren't promising, there'd be some tucked into the hillside or near the peak.
Before setting out, Kanzaki paid another visit to one of his "good brothers."
Naturally, he left with another borrowed bed.
If you're heading into the mines, you never know how long you'll be down there. Any experienced cuber knows the golden rule:
Always carry a bed.
Mature square men knew the trick — set your bed in the mines, rest whenever you need, and keep your respawn point safe.
As Kanzaki walked, he glanced back at the village.
This place was dirt poor — barely enough loot to make it worthwhile. Worse still, the villagers were all cheapskates.
What was Kanzaki supposed to do with a bunch of useless crops?
With a workbench and furnace at home, he could steal vegetables when needed. If he wanted meat? A quick visit to the pigpen solved that.
Why pay when buffet-style theft was free?
Today's mission wasn't about diamonds or obsidian — that was asking for trouble without an iron set.
Instead, Kanzaki's goal was simple:
Iron. Lots of it.
Enough for full armor sets, tools, buckets, shears, and most importantly...
An Iron Golem.
With an Iron golem guarding the village, Kanzaki could sleep soundly at night.
And if luck was on his side, he'd snag some redstone and lapis lazuli — both invaluable for crafting and enchanting later on.
He also had his eye on spiders — string meant bows, and bows meant firepower.
Sure, a crossbow sounded cool, but that thing couldn't be enchanted with Infinity or Flame. What a waste!
Why bother when my AK47 mod's on the way? Kanzaki thought smugly.
All in all, Kanzaki estimated he'd need six full stacks of iron ingots to pull it off.
The workload was huge.
But thankfully...
He had two hardworking teammates who could make this grind a lot more fun.
"Hey, Kanzaki!"
Keqing's voice rang out as she hacked away at a tree up ahead.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"I scouted a cave nearby," Kanzaki called back. "It's not far — we'll be there in a few minutes."
"Alright!" Keqing grinned. "Then I'll cut down a few more trees first!"
She spun around and resumed her enthusiastic chopping.
Kanzaki had taught her well — never pass up wood. Every tree you see? Chop it down.
Thanks to Kanzaki's partial power synchronization, Keqing and Ganyu could now carry nine full stacks of materials in their inventory.
Sure, it wasn't quite as insane as Kanzaki's twenty-seven-stack limit... but it was more than enough for them to hoard resources.
"Wood for crafting, planks for building... Yep, Keqing's got the right idea," Kanzaki muttered.
Meanwhile, Keqing's mind was busy calculating.
One log becomes four planks... and each plank can be split into dozens of smaller materials...
That's enough to build an entire fleet of ships or reinforce Liyue Harbor's walls!
The only downside? Inventory space.
With nine slots, Keqing couldn't afford to hoard too much wood — just two stacks at most.
The rest needs to be reserved for minerals...
"If only I had a storage system like the Adepti's realm…" Keqing sighed quietly.
Hearing her, Kanzaki's eyes lit up.
"Wait... Ganyu!" Kanzaki called out.
"Hmm?" Ganyu turned, still on alert for any dangers nearby.
"Can you ask Granny Ping to craft me one of those portable Adepti realms?"
Ganyu blinked, a little surprised.
"Oh! Of course. I'll talk to her when we return to Liyue."
Kanzaki grinned. "Perfect. Thanks, Ganyu."
Ganyu smiled sweetly.
"It's no trouble at all. After everything you've done for us, this is nothing. Besides…" She paused. "I think Granny Ping will be happy to help once she hears how important this world is to you."
Kanzaki chuckled.
"That's great. I'll owe you one... Hmm..." He smirked.
"I'll repay you with some golden apples when I find enough gold."
"Golden... apples?" Ganyu tilted her head.
"Yup," Kanzaki nodded. "They're rare, but they taste amazing. Plus..."
He lowered his voice, eyes gleaming mischievously.
"No matter how many you eat... you won't gain weight."
Ganyu's eyes widened.
"R-Really?!"
"Yup!" Kanzaki grinned.
"Then... I'd like some..." Ganyu muttered shyly.
Kanzaki chuckled.
"Sure, sure. Consider it a gift. But... you have to let me touch your horns in return."
Ganyu's face went red as a Pyro Slime.
"M-my... my horns?"
"Well..." She fidgeted, cheeks glowing. "If it's you... then I guess... I can..."
"KANZAKI!"
Keqing's shout cut through the air, sparing Ganyu from answering.
"There's a cave up ahead! Looks pretty deep — is this the one you meant?"
Kanzaki's eyes lit up.
"Bingo! That's the one!"
He grabbed Ganyu's hand and sprinted toward Keqing.
"Let's move!"
Ganyu's heart raced, her face still burning.
H-he's holding my hand?!
She barely heard Kanzaki's excited rambling about ores and achievements — her thoughts were spinning in every direction.
Does Kanzaki... like me?
No... maybe he's just... being friendly... right?
Meanwhile, Kanzaki was entirely focused on the cave.
"Keqing, don't go inside yet!" he warned.
"Caves in this world are dangerous — stick close."
He let go of Ganyu's hand, gripping his wooden pickaxe tightly.
As Kanzaki stared into the dark, winding tunnel ahead, he couldn't hide his excitement.
"Finally..." he muttered, voice low.
"After a whole year... I'm finally going home."
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