「My bad, little brother.」

「…」

「But you're also at fault. Why did you crawl in here while I was still inside?」

「That's because you weren't responding at all!」

「My bad, my bad. I was just captivated by the skill orb for a moment.」

We got out of the raccoon hole and headed down the tunnel towards the exit.

Walking next to me was Lark. She was a few centimetres taller than me. Her long, blonde hair was casually tied behind her back, and her mischievous eyes shone violet. Under her pointy nose was a mouth with thin lips, which never stops talking.

Sometimes when we encounter adventurers, they go "Whoa!" when they see Lark. Maybe she's the type of girl who will grow into a beauty in the future. Though, I am not so sure about that because mining slaves like us have been "castrated", in a magical sense, by contract magic to suppress our desires.

…Hey, little brother. You kinda know a lot of sophisticated words for your age, don't you? Where did you learn them from?, Lark once asked me that, but I could only answer that I didn't know. I am not really lying about my age or anything. I am a genuine 10-year-old.

The mine branches out each and every way like the branches of a large tree. The walls are rugged, but the surface is wet and slimy. The skill orbs we mine for, grow out of them like bubbles.

Conversely, since the mine branches out like a tree, if you continue to follow the wider tunnels, you will eventually reach the entrance. However, that only applies to the "upper level" that we're currently at. Whereas the "middle level" and "lower level" each seems to have an entirely different layout. Monsters are usually spotted at those two levels, so adventurers and miners who used to be former adventurers, venture down there. And, of course, the skill orbs found in the middle level and lower level increase in quality.

「Captivated?? Well certainly, skill orbs are beautiful, but we see them everyday so I've gotten used to them.」

There were nine skill orbs in my backpack. The colors vary from red, blue, yellow, etc. Each one was about twice as large as my fist.

The skill orbs we found today came to my mind.

One of them was a faint red. The light was emitted from within, and these words were suspended inside. ー【Leg Strength Enhancement★】

A few days ago, we found a rare, blue skill orb which we don't come by often. ー

【Fire Magic★★】

I wonder what Lark found today.

「Gotten used to them, you say? This is why you're hopeless, little brother.」

「Stop acting haughty and just tell me. Did you find a 3-star skill orb?」

The more stars a skill orb has, the more rare it is, it seems. From my understanding, the chances of finding a 2-star is 1 in 100 skill orbs. Whereas, finding a 3-star is 1 in 1000. But the chances of finding them in the middle layer and lower layer are much different.

I've only ever seen a 3-star skill orb once. A 3-star skill orb shines much brighter than a faint 1-star skill orb, as though putting it to shame. When it comes to 3-star skill orb, it is sold at a fairly high price, but the selling price is not something a slave like me can know.

「It is not a measly 3, little brother. Well, since you insist so very much, I'll show it to you…」

「No, that's alright. We'll have to show everything to the inspector at the entrance, after all.」

All the skill orbs excavated by slaves are seized at the entrance. And there they will check whether today's quota has been completed.

「Urggh, you're so boring!」

「Doesn't matter even if you pout.」

「But don't you wanna see it? You do wanna see it, don't you?」

「Fine, fine. I want to see it. So stop grinding your knuckles against my temple. O-O-Ouchhh!」

「Phew, honesty is the best policy, little brother.」

Lark then took it out of the pouch hanging from her waist.

Until this second, I was thinking that, at best, the skill orb Lark could've found was a super rare 4-star.

Therefore I was caught completely off guard.

「WHOA!」

I inadvertantly turned away. Because the light emitted was too bright.

The light was rainbow colored. The intensity of the brightness makes a 3-star skill orb look like a joke.

「A 4-star skill orb? …It's dazzling.」

Moreover, the colour of its light was rainbow. Which means, it is a skill orb with "unique characteristic".

「Idiot little brother. You think this is the light of a 4-star? This is…」

Lark whispered in my ear.

ーA 6-star, little brother.

I couldn't suppress the joy, the excitement. The desires within that should have been castrated.

And in the middle of its dazzling glow, these words were suspended. ー

【Shadow King★★★★★★】