Finn guided her back through the tunnels he had come from, keeping his pickaxe ready just in case. The path was familiar to him now, every twist and turn memorized through weeks of constant exploration. Pebble had returned to his shoulder, his glowing eyes serving as an additional light source in the darker passages.
"So," Aria said as they walked, her voice strained but curious. "SSS-Rank Miner. That is not something you hear every day. How does someone even get a rank like that?"
"Long story involving death, reincarnation, and a very talkative rock," Finn replied. "I will explain everything once we get you fixed up."
"A talkative rock?" Aria glanced at Pebble, who blinked his glowing eyes at her. "Oh. You mean that is actually alive?"
"Hey! I am not just alive, I am a highly sophisticated system guide with advanced analytical capabilities and extensive knowledge of mining operations!" Pebble announced indignantly.
Aria stared at the rock for a moment, then started laughing despite her obvious pain. "This day just keeps getting weirder."
They emerged into the main chamber that served as Finn's base, and Aria stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes went wide as she took in the sight before her, and Finn heard her sharp intake of breath.
"Holy shit," she whispered.
The chamber was illuminated by carefully placed light crystals that cast a warm glow over everything. The organized shelves of resources gleamed in the light, each ingot and gem arranged with meticulous care.
The crafting station dominated the center of the room, its polished surface reflecting the crystal light. Tools of exceptional quality hung from the walls, each one showing the kind of craftsmanship that took years to master.
But what really caught Aria's attention were the materials themselves. Her professional eye immediately picked out the rare metals and gems that most blacksmiths could only dream of obtaining.
"Is that mythril?" Aria moved toward one of the shelves, forgetting her injury for a moment. "And orichalcum?"
"Finn, do you have any idea how expensive these are? A single ingot of mythril costs more than most people make in a year!"
Finn rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his collection. "I guess? I just mined whatever I found."
"The SSS-Rank system gives me bonus drops pretty frequently, so I ended up with a lot of rare materials."
"A lot? A LOT?" Aria turned to face him, her brown eyes blazing with excitement that temporarily overshadowed her pain. "You have enough mythril here to equip an entire royal guard!"
"And is that star silver? I have only seen that in history books!"
She moved to another shelf, her uninjured hand hovering reverently over the materials without quite touching them. "Elemental crystals, dragon scales, phoenix feathers, and are those mana-infused diamonds?"
"Finn, this is not just a collection. This is a treasure vault!"
Pebble hopped down from Finn's shoulder and landed on the crafting station. "I told him he should be more careful about security, but does he listen?"
"No. He just leaves the entrance wide open for anyone to wander in."
"To be fair, most people are too scared of the Crimson Stalkers to come this deep," Finn pointed out. He gestured to a chair near the crafting station. "Aria, sit down before you fall down. Let me get the medical supplies."
Aria reluctantly tore her gaze away from the materials and sat down, wincing as the movement jarred her injured arm. Finn retrieved a wooden box from one of the shelves and opened it to reveal various healing potions and bandages he had either crafted or found during his mining expeditions.
"This is going to sting a bit," Finn warned as he uncorked a red healing potion. "But it will close the wound and prevent infection."
He poured the potion directly onto the gash, and Aria hissed through her teeth as the liquid bubbled and fizzed against her skin. The wound began to knit itself together, the torn flesh mending at a visible rate. Within minutes, only a faint pink scar remained.
"Better?" Finn asked.
Aria flexed her arm experimentally, then nodded. "Much better."
"Thank you." She paused, then looked around the chamber again with renewed wonder. "Now that I am not bleeding out, can we talk about how you have all this? You said you have been here for seventeen days?"
"Closer to eighteen now," Finn corrected. "I have been mining pretty much nonstop since I arrived in this world."
"Nonstop mining for eighteen days and you managed to collect enough rare materials to make a dragon jealous." Aria stood up and walked back to the shelves, her professional curiosity overcoming her usual restraint. "As a blacksmith, this is like walking into paradise."
"Do you have any idea what I could make with these materials?"
Finn smiled, recognizing the same obsessive gleam in her eyes that he saw in his own reflection whenever he found a new ore vein. "Actually, that is part of why I want you in my party."
"I can mine and craft basic equipment, but I am not a specialized blacksmith. My crafting skill is decent, but I know there are limits to what I can make without proper training."
He walked over to the partially completed projects on his crafting station and picked up the enchanted mining helmet he had been working on. "See this? I can make it functional, but I know it could be better."
"The enchantment array is basic, the metal work is just adequate, and the overall design is purely utilitarian."
Aria took the helmet from him, turning it over in her hands with a critical eye. "The craftsmanship is actually pretty good for someone who is self-taught."
"The enchantment placement is solid, and the weight distribution is well balanced." She looked up at him. "But you are right. With the materials you have here, this could be a masterwork piece instead of just a good one."
She set the helmet down and picked up the reinforced gloves, examining the stitching and metal plating. "These too. Good quality, but there is room for improvement."
"If we worked together, combining your mining bonuses and material access with my blacksmithing expertise, we could create equipment that would make master crafters weep with envy."
"That is exactly what I was thinking," Finn said. "I can provide unlimited materials and a safe workspace. You bring the specialized knowledge and combat capability I lack. It is a fair trade."
Aria walked over to a shelf containing various gems and picked up a large ruby that glowed with inner fire. "This is a fire-aspected mana stone. Do you know what this is worth?"
"A single stone like this could buy a small house in most towns. You have at least twenty of them."
"I found them in a lava chamber about three levels down," Finn said casually. "There were more, but I ran out of inventory space."
Aria carefully placed the ruby back on the shelf and turned to face him, her expression serious. "Finn, I need you to understand something."
"What you have here is not just valuable. It is dangerous. If the wrong people find out about this collection, you will have every thief, bandit, and corrupt official in the region trying to steal from you or worse."
"That is why I need a party member who can fight," Finn replied. "I am good at mining and decent at crafting, but my combat skills are terrible."
"You saw how I dealt with that Stalker. I had to drop a ceiling on it because I could not fight it directly."
"And it was brilliant," Aria said with a grin. "Unconventional, terrifying, and probably not recommended by any combat instructor, but brilliant nonetheless."
She extended her hand again. "Alright, Finn. You have got yourself a permanent party member."
"I will handle the fighting and the blacksmithing. You handle the mining and material acquisition. Together, we will make the best equipment this world has ever seen."
Finn shook her hand, feeling the party bond strengthen through the system connection. "Deal. Now, are you hungry? I have some dried meat and bread that I picked up from a merchant caravan last week."
"Starving, actually. Fighting giant wolf monsters really works up an appetite." Aria paused, then looked around the chamber again. "You know, for a cave in the middle of monster-infested territory, this is surprisingly cozy."
"Have you thought about adding actual beds? Or maybe a proper kitchen area?"
Finn laughed. "I have been focused on mining and crafting. Comfort was not exactly a priority."
"Well, it should be. If we are going to be working together long-term, we need proper living spaces." Aria walked over to an empty section of the chamber and gestured broadly.
"We could set up sleeping quarters over here, a kitchen and dining area near the entrance, maybe even a proper forge if we can vent the smoke correctly."
Pebble's eyes brightened with enthusiasm. "Oh! And we could install a water collection system using the underground stream I detected two chambers over! And proper storage rooms for food supplies! And a training area for combat practice!"
Finn watched as Aria and Pebble began planning improvements to his base with the same intensity he applied to mining. He realized that for the first time since arriving in this world, he was not alone. He had a party member, a partner, someone who shared his passion for crafting and understood the value of what he had built.
The system notification appeared again, this time showing updated party statistics.
[Party: Unnamed]
[Leader: Finn Grayson - Level 25 SSS-Rank Miner]
[Member: Aria Vorka - Level 22 Blacksmith/Warrior]
[Party Bonus Active: Crafting Efficiency +15%]
[Party Bonus Active: Combat Coordination +10%]
Finn smiled. This was going to be interesting.