Magic Farm 77
by CristaeChapter 77: I Am a Country Mage
Clearly, there had been so many people entering the green zone together, but the moment Qi Yu stepped through the light gate, all the figures and noise vanished.
He saw a man in a green robe, wearing a warm, enthusiastic smile. On his chest was a badge—he was probably a staff member of the resource zone.
“Hello, Mage. Please hand me your resource card.”
As Qi Yu handed over his card, he studied the man with a hint of suspicion.
He had a faint sense that something was off about this person, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
The staff member smiled and asked, “Mage, would you like to enter the resource zone on the left, or the one on the right?”
Qi Yu asked, “What’s the difference?”
The staff member maintained his flawless smile. “The left side is the regular zone. You may enter directly. The right side is the premium zone, where the resource quality is higher.”
Qi Yu’s instincts told him it wasn’t that simple. He asked cautiously, “Is that all? Wouldn’t everyone just pick the premium zone?”
The staff member replied, “Oh, yes. From a subjective standpoint, everyone would prefer to enter the premium zone. However, there is a fee.”
Qi Yu: .
Once the condition was laid out, it all made sense.
“How much is the fee?”
“5,000 gold coins, or 2,500 level-one beast crystals.”
…It seemed the resource zone used the same currency as mages.
Qi Yu didn’t decide immediately. He asked, “What’s the difference between the three colors of resource zones? Are there any precautions I should know about when entering?”
The staff member said, “Answering those questions isn’t part of my job. There’s a fee for information. Of course, if you choose the premium zone, I’ll provide you with a free resource zone information guide.”
Qi Yu: “…How much for the answers?”
Throughout the conversation, he’d been observing the man in the green robe. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him—he realized what felt off.
“You’re not a real person. You’re an alchemical automaton, aren’t you?”
The green-robed staff member’s smile remained unchanged, and he answered with perfect candor, “Yes, Mage.”
His appearance, expressions, and even subtle gestures were flawless. His eyes shifted focus with the topic as a real person’s would.
If Qi Yu hadn’t quietly probed with his spiritual sense while the man spoke—and discovered that from start to finish, there was not a trace of emotion or spiritual fluctuation—he’d never have noticed anything wrong.
He’d always thought alchemical automatons looked obviously “alchemical,” like the ones in his own territory. He hadn’t realized they could be this lifelike.
“It’s 100 gold coins to answer a question.”
Qi Yu took 5,000 gold coins from his backpack. The golden coins piled up at his feet like a small mountain.
The automaton’s eyes actually lit up, just like a real person seeing a fortune. He exclaimed happily, “As expected, it’s always easy to make money from mages!”
Qi Yu: ???
He watched as the automaton beckoned, and the coins flew into his sleeve as if summoned, vanishing instantly.
Then, the automaton handed Qi Yu back his green card. Qi Yu saw that the once semi-transparent card now had a golden border.
Along with the green card, he was also given a piece of parchment.
As soon as he took the parchment, a flood of information poured into his mind.
It was information about the resource zone.
The resource zone was a special existence in this world, akin to a series of separate pocket worlds.
Resource zones were divided into several types.
One was naturally occurring resource areas, such as mineral veins or magical plants.
Another was trial grounds, usually created by powerful individuals, filled with layers of challenges and rewards for those who passed.
The third was chaotic zones. No one knew what they would encounter before entering—perhaps a once-in-ten-thousand-years treasure, perhaps a demigod-level mutated beast.
The three card colors didn’t represent the type of resource zone, but rather the safety level.
Green meant safe zones, red was moderately dangerous, and black was uncontrollably high risk.
In safe zones, explorers were forbidden from killing each other. Other zones had no such restriction.
Each resource card allowed 24 hours inside, counted from entry, after which you’d be teleported out.
You could use multiple cards of the same type for a longer stay.
Qi Yu had two green cards, meaning he could stay in the resource zone for 48 hours.
But for now, he wanted to see what the “premium” resource zone had to offer.
He bid the automaton farewell and headed down the right-hand passage.
The moment he stepped out, he distinctly felt himself pass through a profound barrier.
The density of magical elements made him want to sit down and meditate on the spot.
He saw a mountain—no, a mountain range.
His vision followed the range as it stretched on without end.
The rich magical elements were leaking out from within the mountains.
What was this place?
Qi Yu hurried to the mountainside—was something hidden inside?
He pulled out an ordinary dagger and tried to chip off a piece of rock to see what was inside.
Crack.
The dagger snapped in two; the mountain wall didn’t budge.
That hard?
Qi Yu stepped back a few paces and cast Fireball at the stone.
The expected shower of fragments didn’t appear. The Fireball hit the strange stone and dissolved silently, as if a drop of water had fallen into the sea.
“It’s a magic crystal mine! I finally hit the jackpot! I’m rich, I’m rich!” An excited voice reached Qi Yu’s ears.
Two figures appeared, one after the other, just in time to see Qi Yu attacking the wall with Water Arrow.
They both looked at him oddly.
Hearing strangers, Qi Yu tensed for a moment. But he quickly recalled what the parchment had said: no killing in the safe zone. He relaxed.
He continued his attempts while pondering what a magic crystal mine was—could it be a mountain filled with magic crystals?
Thinking of the dense magical elements, Qi Yu’s breathing grew heavier.
But Water Arrow was still useless.
He quietly moved a little farther from the two, then gave the wall a slash with a Wind Blade from his Heart of the Greatwood staff.
The two had planned to leave when they saw someone else here.
But Qi Yu’s mysterious actions made them pause, watching silently as he tried Water Arrow, then Wind Blade.
It was clearly ineffective. Seeing Qi Yu about to gather magic for another try, one of them called out:
“Hey! Rookie mage, is this your first time seeing a magic crystal mine?”
“Magic crystal mines are immune to magic attacks.”
Qi Yu turned around.
The speaker now noticed the badge on Qi Yu’s chest, paused, and looked even more exasperated:
“You’re a level-three mage and you don’t know this?”
Qi Yu recalled what a player had said to him on the island earlier.
He answered naturally, “Hello, I’m a mage from the countryside. This is my first time leaving home, and my first time seeing a magic crystal mine. I really don’t know anything. Could you tell me why magic doesn’t work on it?”
The two warriors: “…”
They were both stunned, unsure whether to comment on his unique self-introduction or be shocked that even “country mages” were this wealthy.
After all, the premium resource zone required a 5,000 gold coin fee to enter!
When they didn’t reply, Qi Yu thought he understood. He took a small pouch of gold from his backpack and handed it over.
“Is there a fee for answering questions?”
The two: “…”
“Do all country mages talk like this?” the man muttered. “Just toss gold coins at the slightest thing?”
Despite his words, he quickly grabbed the pouch, counting roughly a few dozen coins.
The girl beside him smacked his shoulder and protested loudly, “Watch your mouth! This is clearly a wealthy and generous mage!”
She beamed. “Generous mage, you may not know this if you’ve been focused on your studies, but magic crystal mines have nearly absolute magic resistance. Most spells are useless on them.”
So that was it.
Qi Yu asked, “And what’s inside a magic crystal mine? Magic crystals?”
The answer was yes.
“How do you usually mine them?”
He’d heard their excited words upon arrival—they clearly knew about magic crystal mines in the resource zone, so they must know how to mine them.
“You have to use brute force, really. Or, you can use specialized tools.”
The male warrior produced a silver, hammer-like object.
“This is a Breaking Hammer. It’s forged with spessartine, specifically for magic crystal mines.”
The girl added, “Usually, you don’t see mages at magic crystal mines. We were surprised to see you here.”
Qi Yu looked at the Breaking Hammer in their hands, then at his own Heart of the Greatwood staff.
He wondered if a staff could be used as a hammer.
The two misunderstood his gesture. The man cheerfully handed over the hammer. “If you don’t mind, this Breaking Hammer is yours.”
Afraid Qi Yu would offer more gold, he added, “Spessartine isn’t worth much. This tool is only good for magic crystal mines, so it’s kind of useless otherwise. The info we gave you, you’d pick up just by traveling a bit. Think of the hammer as a bonus.”
Safe zones didn’t allow killing, and it wasn’t every day you met a wealthy country mage—making friends was always a good investment.
Qi Yu accepted it. “Thank you.”
Because they wanted to be friendly, after a brief farewell, the two didn’t go far—just picked a spot nearby and started pounding the wall with their own Breaking Hammers.
Qi Yu watched for a moment and concluded: the way warriors hammered the wall looked no different from how he chopped trees.
He stowed his Heart of the Greatwood staff, gripped the hammer with both hands, and struck the mountain wall.
It felt off.
If he put away the Heart of the Greatwood staff, he’d lose its +15 attack bonus.
So he took it out again, letting it float quietly at his side.
Then he resumed hammering the rock.
The two nearby: “…”
“Bro, do you think the staff floating at his side is some kind of weird ritual?” the girl whispered.
The man replied without hesitation, “How should I know? I’ve barely met any mages, let alone a country mage who doesn’t even know the basics.”
His eyes gleamed with wisdom. “If a mage is mining magic crystals himself, I guess anything he does makes sense.”