The morning at the mine came early.
As a martial artist, I’m used to facing the dew of dawn, but this was around half an hour earlier than that.
If I were to put it in terms of time, around 4 a.m., I guess.
“Younger Brother! What’s your name?”
“Oh, my name is Park Daegu.”
“Alright, Daegu. The head will probably pick on you, but don’t get riled up. Being a rookie means you’ll just have to take it.”
“Yes, I’ll rely on you, Brother.”
Yeo Gwang-soo, who was with me, seemed to be a veteran of the mining industry as he was throwing all sorts of tips at me.
“In the early morning, the places with two candles lit are mostly offices. Do you see that place with ‘Hiring New Miners, Daily Wage Guaranteed’ written on it? Those are the guys set on scamming rookie miners. They’re the kind of morally bankrupt folks who might pay half, or maybe even a quarter of the wage.”
“Oh… If you hadn’t told me, I would have fallen into that trap.”
Yeo Gwang-soo grinned at the flattery. This was the kind of thing that would drive a veteran completely nuts.
“Ugh, normally I should tell you how to find decent offices… but there aren’t any around here.”
“Are you saying you don’t see any that catch your eye?”
“Not that… Ugh. Well, a decent office would pay you properly or at least give you some conveniences or take a smaller cut of your wages, you know?”
“That makes sense.”
“But here? You won’t get work unless you have connections through the higher-ups, or unless it’s one of those offices that pays bribes! So how could they possibly operate ethically?”
Right from the start, I had caught wind of the situation.
It wasn’t like it was some big scandal. Recruitment based on connections—academic, geographic, or familial—was the norm nowadays, after all. This was not a public institution run by the Moyong Clan, so they had no reason to maintain a clean image.
“It’s all the same crowd! Ugh. Just head in here today.”
“Yes!”
As I walked into the office, the smell of sweat and soot hit me. Miners were sitting on the floor, waiting for work.
Yeo Gwang-soo knocked on the door of what seemed to be the head’s office.
“Head! Oh~ How are you doing?”
The person who appeared to be the head looked exactly like a ruthless employer. He had the build of someone who must have worked on-site in the past but now sported a hefty belly and double chins, dressed in neat silk clothes that screamed he was raking in the dough.
“Hm, isn’t that Yeo? What brings you here?”
“Hasn’t the amount of work increased lately? So I brought a rookie along with me.”
“A rookie?”
The head scanned me from top to bottom. I quickly bowed my head.
“He looks… a bit suspicious… but he also seems like he would run away quickly, doesn’t he?”
As I stood there, chiseled by martial arts, the head quickly changed his tune.
“Ha ha, I’ve had my share of labor at other places.”
“Cough… It’s not really the season for hiring, you know? We didn’t plan on taking anyone on. So this unexpected visit makes it tricky.”
The head’s purpose in rambling on was straightforward.
“You’ll only get 60% of the wages! Otherwise, I can’t hire you.”
I nodded as if I had no choice, and Yeo Gwang-soo frowned as we left the head’s room.
“Sorry, man. That pig of a guy just has too much greed.”
“It’s okay, Brother.”
“Alright! Gather up!”
A total of twenty miners gathered in front of the head. He pulled out what looked like a token from his pocket. It seemed to be some sort of identification for entering the mine.
“Today’s work site is Tunnel No. 27! Everyone move out!”
The twenty miners rushed outside toward the mine.
Were miners from other agencies leaving around the same time? The path to the mine was bustling with miners.
As we climbed the mountain, Yeo Gwang-soo kept talking to me. It seemed like he had boasted a bit, and now that he had dragged me into this office only to have my wages cut, he felt guilty.
Well, since the head had already made up his mind to cut wages, Yeo Gwang-soo didn’t have much to say either.
“Still, Tunnel 27 isn’t a bad job for today. It hasn’t been dug too deep yet, so we shouldn’t go too far in.”
“Is that so?”
“Since there’s a mining cart ready at the entrance…”
After a considerable climb, we arrived at the intended tunnel and stood in line to receive tokens from the supervisors.
“You’ll need to pay three coins for the rental fee for the tools you’ll be using today.”
Wait, they charge a rental fee for tools too?
As I turned to question Yeo Gwang-soo, he started to speak.
“Hey! What are you talking about?”
But he quickly zipped it under the intense glare of the supervisor.
I handed over three coins and received a ragged basket and a pickaxe, then lined up to enter.
“Today’s quota is ten carts! It’s not a light workload, so you better hustle!”
The miners murmured.
“What? Ten carts?”
“No matter how new the veins are, even if the route is short…”
“Shut it! Move already instead of complaining!”
Hearing the supervisor’s pressure, we entered the tunnel.
The thick, stagnant air of the underground met me.
Yeo Gwang-soo came over and grumbled.
“Today feels like a real disaster.”
“Really?”
“Why do you think those lazy guys are glaring? Looks like some important people are visiting the new tunnel. That’s why they’re acting so high-strung.”
Important people visiting, huh?
Given the supervisor’s unusual demeanor, it wouldn’t be surprising.
“Move quickly!”
With the supervisors urging us, we started working in a tense atmosphere.
“I’d love to teach you about the techniques, but in this atmosphere, I can’t stick with you. Since this is an iron vein, just focus on mining here while watching your surroundings.”
“Understood.”
I settled into a suitable spot and struck the wall with my pickaxe at a pace similar to the other miners. As I shattered the rocks, a miner with a candle approached, gathering the iron ore from the shattered rocks and putting them into his basket.
“What? Why is there only this much iron ore?”
“Come on, does iron ore just pop out if you hit it?”
“Then you’d better dig somewhere else!”
The supervisor, barking at the workers gathering the ore from the fallen rocks, came up to me.
I was a bit tense, but when he turned to examine the rocks in front of me, he turned back without a word.
It seemed the spot my brother had indicated was indeed a vein.
A quick glance towards Yeo Gwang-soo met our eyes. Even though I had mentally categorized him as just talkative since he didn’t say a peep in front of the head, it appeared he was actually a skilled worker who could accurately identify veins with just a glance.
Yeah, the new kid should stick close to the veteran to soak up the knowledge.
Indeed, what a veteran!
As I nodded in acknowledgment, Yeo Gwang-soo rubbed under his nose and grinned.
Despite the cordial exchange between us, the atmosphere in the tunnel was grim.
After about an hour had passed since we started working, we had only filled one cart.
In this dim tunnel, even without sensing the atmosphere, it was obvious the miners were looking gloomy.
Why? Because of the bombshell dropped by the supervisor.
“If you don’t meet today’s quota within the time limit, you won’t receive your work tokens!”
“What is this nonsense!”
“Where does it say that?”
“Shut up! Move already, instead of whining!”
Even I, new to the mine, could see that the quotas were unreasonable, but the miners could only curse inwardly while speeding up their hands.
After all, supervisors held all the cards, and the miners were at their mercy.
Given the supervisors’ attitude, it seemed Yeo Gwang-soo’s prediction that some important visitor was coming was correct.
It was clear—they just wanted a lot of ore mined, and if they needed to extend working hours, they just would.
But the frantic insistence to squeeze the miners into finishing by a specific time hinted they aimed to finish before the visit from those high-ups.
“That’s…”
In such a circumstance, I stared at my pickaxe, the wall, and the iron ore I had mined.
What does it mean to reach the realm of Hwa-gyeong?
It means being able to wield Qi.
So what is Qi?
It’s the ability to harness the natural energy.
And to manipulate the natural energy, you must first be able to feel it.
The aura radiating from the iron ore was familiar to me.
I had learned to see the pulse of iron while receiving sword training from Tang So-yeol.
I focused on the pulse of the iron ore I’d mined while simultaneously opening my senses.
Ah! I can feel it!
I began to sense the breath of the iron ore buried within the rocks, not just on the surface, so I instantly figured out where to strike with my pickaxe to extract this large chunk of ore in one go.
Crash!
With almost a trance-like focus, I struck the upper part of the rock.
Boom!
The dense chunk of iron ore that had been securely nestled within the rock fell heavily with a thud.
“Whoa, that’s a big one! That’s a huge one!”
Upon hearing the sound of the hefty iron lump dropping, a miner transporting iron ore approached, exclaiming in awe.
I moved my hands again.
Crash! Crash! Bam!
Boom!
Although I hadn’t hit the rock many times, another solid chunk of iron fell, creating a loud noise.
Even the rock forming the mine was solid, not flimsy.
However, if the solidity of the iron ore could be seen as a stone, then the rock itself could be described as dirt. I perfectly gauged the size of the iron and accurately targeted just the rock lying above it, using leverage principles to pull it out.
Working with conscious attention rather than mindlessly striking the rock felt worlds apart in efficiency!
“Phew.”
I took a light breath and pondered.
If I kept working this way with my pickaxe, would I manage to fill ten carts by quitting time?
My instincts whispered that it was possible.
That’s why I continued to labor away in a trance.
Whack! Whap! Whack! Crash!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every time my hands moved, heavy pieces of iron ore fell! I felt the astonishment of those loading the iron ore into the cart watching me like hawks.
“Whoa! This is a goldmine!”
“Look! Such a huge chunk of iron, and there’s hardly any rock to remove!”
As the iron chunks kept falling, the miners rushed to start transporting the iron ore.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Searching for veins, striking with pickaxes.
The more I repeated that process, the more skilled I became, refining my movements to a point of fluidity.
“Whoa! What phenomenal technique!”
“How can they be so fast and precise?”
“What are you doing! Hurry and carry it!”
Behind me, more and more miners started to join in.
I could feel the atmosphere shifting behind me.
If this continued, we could fill all ten carts in time!
With a glimmer of hope that they could finally escape the situation of being cheated out of their pay, the miners moved in perfect harmony.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
So, engrossed in mining, I lost track of time, when suddenly someone gripped my shoulder tightly.
Turning around, Yeo Gwang-soo was looking at me with stirred emotions.
“We did it…!”
“Ah… Is that so?”
“Yeah! The ten carts…! We filled them all!”
Looking back, the miners were staring at me. In the dimly lit tunnel, among faces covered in soot, the glimmers in their eyes stood out.
In their eyes was a complex mix of emotions.
One feeling loomed above the rest—it was the feeling of achievement.
It was the emotion only those who have challenged the impossible and succeeded can feel.
The miners, who had achieved the feat of filling ten carts in a limited time, were high with the thrill of success.
Even the supervisors, who had been harassing us, were shrunk back into a corner, merely watching us with wary eyes.
Hmm.
Looks like I need to say something to keep the mood going.
I set my pickaxe down and said, “Let’s go. To receive our work tokens!”
“Wooohhh!!!”
“Mining God! Mining God!”
“Miner God! Miner God!”
The miners shouted, shaking the tunnel with their cries.
While I appreciated the cheers, the terms didn’t exactly sit well with me.
After all, the best god is the Daoist god!
As I was mulling over that thought, suddenly, I found myself being pushed by the miners.
I was forcibly shuffled into a cart filled with uneven iron ore that would rather be walked than ridden.
Just as we exited the tunnel,
“Great Hero, this is the newly dug Tunnel No. 27!”
“As you can see, the yield is excellent!”
“Hahaha! Your efforts have truly been commendable!”
Moyong Mo burst into hearty laughter.
