Cleaning out an abandoned, rubble-filled mine shaft wasn't easy.
But with the help of a powerful mage and the secret guidance of a seasoned concrete worker who had participated in the construction of Shurima, the work was undoubtedly much easier.
After a simple period of adjustment, this twenty-person "mining team" quickly and smoothly completed their internal division of labor.
The issue of rubble clearance was self-evident; the miners present were all professionals.
As for the rocks accumulated at the mine's blockage, the miners first discussed how many stones needed to be squeezed out by ice within a large area, then consulted with Ino about the magical effects, with Klein assisting in building the spell model.
Then, parasitic magic directly caused ice to grow and expand within the cracks of the stones, forcibly pushing apart the accumulated rocks and clearing a path.
The entire process, with Benso and Klein communicating and planning, proceeded incredibly smoothly—with Klein's help, Ino, using various magical methods, always managed to successfully dislodge the most critical stone, earning the admiration of all the miners for the young girl.
They never expected that this seemingly quiet young girl was not at all ambiguous when it came to work; as long as she had sufficient magical power, no blockage could stop her, and as long as they could make a request, she could solve the problem!
Meanwhile, Lux and the four children were not idle either—although they would not directly participate in the mining work, they still had things they could do within their capabilities.
To ensure Ino could always produce enough ice and to help her conserve magical power as much as possible, the five of them needed to carry buckets, go to a relatively clean water source several miles away, and bring back full buckets of water.
At first, Vi wasn't very willing to take Lux's commands, but fortunately, Lux had already figured out Vi's personality.
Facing the stubborn Vi, Lux chose a straightforward taunt: "You wouldn't be afraid that you can't even carry water better than me, would you? Is that why you don't want to embarrass yourself?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hearing Lux say that, Vi immediately raised her eyebrows. "When I was carrying water and catching Gromps for Vander, you were probably still nursing!"
And as Vi angrily picked up the buckets, Mylo and Claggor could only shrug, then each picked up their own buckets—even Powder picked up a small bucket that Lux had specially bought and followed closely behind Vi.
"Wait for me!"
"Powder, don't fall. It'll delay Vi then, and that wouldn't be good."
"...Stop laughing, Mylo. Look at Claggor; he can carry four buckets at once!"
"..."
"..."
When the first day's work ended, the busy "mining team" was surprised to find that they had actually cleared over two hundred meters within this abandoned mine shaft—even if this was only clearing the mine and not excavating it, this figure could be said to be quite astonishing.
"Did you really do this?" Carrying her buckets out of the mine, Vi turned her head, looking incredulously at the dark, bottomless mine shaft. "In just one day?"
"We did it," Lux patted her shoulder. "You also contributed... but unfortunately, today, I carried two more buckets than you."
"...That's because your water-carrying tools are different from mine!" Vi hesitated for a moment, blinked, and forced out an excuse. "If you're not convinced, let's have a good competition tomorrow!"
"You're the one who's not convinced, aren't you?" Lux heard this, smiled, and shook her head. "Alright, let's go quickly. Let's go back and rest early. I hope you won't wake up with a sore back tomorrow morning—"
"Who are you looking down on?" Vi pouted, then reached out and pulled Powder. "Powder, let's go. Tonight, help me design something more useful. I'll show her what's what tomorrow!"
"Mhm mhm!" Powder, who had also carried many buckets of water in her small bucket today, wiped her face and then made a face at Lux. "No problem—Vi will definitely win tomorrow!"
...........
Back at The Last Drop, Lux, after showering, quietly lay down on the bed.
Beside her, Ino, exhausted from excessive mana consumption, had already fallen into a daze and was asleep—although she had used magical circuits designed by Klein today, precisely controlling these spells still consumed a lot of her energy, and after returning to The Last Drop, she simply washed up and then collapsed onto her pillow.
However, Lux, who had been carrying water all day, couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
On one hand, this level of exercise was not a problem for Lux; on the other hand, she always felt like there were some things she couldn't figure out in her heart.
Lux always felt as if she had seen some very strange situations, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't pinpoint what was strange.
In this situation, she simply grabbed her sword and asked Klein.
"Something strange?" Facing this question, Klein also paused. "What strange thing?"
"It just feels... different." Lux also found it hard to describe her feelings. "Do you remember Finn's factory? Everyone worked all day, but I always felt that today's miners were different from the workers in that factory."
"Naturally different." Hearing Lux say this, Klein said with satisfaction, "The nature of the work, the intensity, the remuneration, and the sense of accomplishment are all different."
"You mean, today's miners were so happy because of the gold hex I gave them?" Lux was still a bit puzzled. "But when I paid them today, they were all very surprised. I could tell that they didn't actually know how much I would pay them beforehand, but they still worked very energetically."
"So it's not just a matter of remuneration." Klein's tone became somewhat enigmatic, mixed with emotions Lux couldn't understand. "Actually, labor can make people tired, but it doesn't necessarily make people suffer."
"..."
"Do you remember when I first taught you magic?" Klein continued, "At first, even if you tried to concentrate fully, you would still inevitably wander off, even flipping through the etiquette guide, but when I demonstrated magic to you, your learning attitude improved a lot—and after meeting Sona, you worked even harder than before."
"Well... that's probably because I grew up." Speaking of such topics, Lux was somewhat embarrassed. "People always have to grow, right?"
"That's only one aspect." Klein didn't elaborate further on this issue. "The main thing is that you saw results—a sense of accomplishment is a very important part of labor."
"Is that so...?"
"Besides a sense of accomplishment, the purpose of labor is also very important..."
"The purpose of labor?"
"It's why you work..."
"I work to dig out Kallikan's and change this living hell—but those workers?"
"To support their families and to repay Vander's help."
"But aren't the people in Finn's factory the same?"
"No, completely different. They are Overload, and the remuneration they receive cannot support their families..."
"Is that so...?"
"Of course..."
Klein's small class · Klein the Concrete Worker:
During the construction of Shurima, Klein not only carried out the main urban planning but also enthusiastically worked there himself for a period. He called it concrete work and seemed to feel some nostalgia for it—everyone else had no idea why.