Farming Games are All About Grinding

Over the next five minutes, Han Qiwu watched as the adorable, cuddly Xiao Lai in his arms transformed into a super tank Slime! With its heavy lava armor, it rampaged everywhere, quickly eliminating all the Fireball Apprentices inside.

Just as Xiao Lai finished off the last Fireball Apprentice, a massive cannon barrel several times larger than the apprentices slowly rose up from underground.

To those who knew, it was a cannon barrel, but to the uninitiated, it might've been mistaken for some sort of periscope.

After waiting patiently for a chance, Little Electric flapped its wings and darted out, launching several bolts of lightning at the cannon barrel.

"Crack, crack, crack!"

While dealing damage, the cannon barrel's attributes also surfaced.

[Fireball Master]

[Level: 95]

[Attack Methods: Chain Fireball, Flame Hands]

[Note: The Fireball Master's defense is not too shabby]

True to the description, after taking three bolts of lightning, its exterior only displayed faint scorch marks, looking barely affected.

The Fireball Master, furious from the attack, jumped up and roared, releasing a puff of black smoke before aiming the cannon barrel at Little Electric and firing off three suitcase-sized fireballs at astonishing speed.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sight of those fireballs made Han Qiwu green with envy.

Now **this** is what you call Fireball Technique.

His own? At best, it's the "Fire Egg Technique."

The flying speed doesn't even begin to compare.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Seeing the fireballs, Little Electric flailed like crazy and darted to the side in a panic.

"We can't let it keep firing like this. If too many fireballs accumulate, this place will turn into a claustrophobic deathtrap," Han Qiwu muttered, gripping his frost sword and rushing in, ready to disrupt its skills with a nerve strike.

As for Xiao Lai, with several layers of lava armor still intact, it charged straight in, fearlessly blocking the Fireball Master head-on.

Triggering an explosion early is far better than letting those fireballs fly around unchecked.

"Little Electric, lure the fireballs! Xiao Lai, come with me and take it down!" Han Qiwu shouted, stabbing relentlessly at the Fireball Master with his frost sword.

As cracks began appearing all over the Fireball Master's body, it seemed enraged. Suddenly, it emitted a surge of concentrated flames which, upon hitting the ground, transformed into three massive hands, flinging Han Qiwu, Little Electric, and Xiao Lai five meters away.

Flame Hands!

Taking advantage of the distraction-free moment, the Fireball Master began glowing red again, charging up its next volley of Chain Fireballs.

"Actually, I've got another backup. Little Cold, take him out!" Han Qiwu yelled, hurling the giant ice-cold spider puppet forward.

If not for the blistering heat in this area, he would've already unleashed Little Cold earlier. Unexpectedly, it proved to be the perfect trump card at this moment.

Little Cold sprang into action without hesitation, folding its eight spider legs together and instantly smashing the Fireball Master into oblivion.

What a beast!

The defeated Fireball Master dropped one final fragment of the Advanced Fireball Technique manual for Han Qiwu.

Bringing out the other fragments, Han Qiwu watched a flash of red light merge them into a thin booklet, its cover adorned with red fireball patterns.

[Advanced Fireball Technique Manual]

[Usage Instructions: After reading, upgrade Fireball Technique to Advanced Fireball Technique]

[Prerequisite: Must have learned Fireball Technique]

[Note: The upper limit of Advanced Fireball Technique is… limitless]

"Limitless?" Han Qiwu mumbled, flipping through the manual while walking toward the mining area's center.

Sure enough, the text within consisted of strange symbols, completely unreadable.

Fortunately, after flipping through the entire manual, a system notification appeared before him.

[You have learned the skill: Advanced Fireball Technique (Consumes stamina to release explosive fireballs; each cast requires a minimum of 5 stamina, maximum of 20 stamina, cooldown: 15 seconds)]

[Note: You can increase the maximum stamina consumption and reduce cooldown time through practice.]

"Consuming stamina to cast a skill? Am I even a warrior or a mage at this point?" Han Qiwu muttered helplessly, proceeding to claim the mining area in front of him.

[Fireball Tribe has been exterminated. Would you like to claim the current mining area?]

[Current mining skill level: 6, Claimable areas: 6, Areas claimed: 5]

[Mining Area: Level 94 mid-tier Flame Iron Ore/Iron Ore/Stone deposit]

[Mining area total capacity: Flame Iron Ore ×280, Iron Ore ×310, Stone ×665]

[Daily output: Flame Iron Ore ×35, Iron Ore ×36, Stone ×50]

[Abandoning the mining area will revert this site to standard mining mode]

"Yes."

Without hesitation, Han Qiwu claimed the mining area.

"Judging by reserves, it seems the deposits beyond level ninety in the mines boast richer veins with higher output. The areas' levels are also upgraded to mid-tier. Next time, I'll have to seize the chance to upgrade the lower-tier areas along the way."

With the claiming process complete, Han Qiwu cheerfully stashed Little Cold away, then left the mining area alongside Xiao Lai and Little Electric. Brimming with anticipation, he aimed at a few Fireball Apprentices nearby, firing off a 20-stamina explosive fireball.

Go big or go home!

Since it was the first-time attack, there was no need to charge up. A truck-tire-sized explosive fireball roared forward, its edges trailing unstable sparks, flying much faster than before.

"Boom!"

The explosive fireball struck the foremost Fireball Apprentice and detonated, creating a three-meter radius blast zone that instantly wiped out the nearby apprentices as well!

So powerful!

Luckily, Han Qiwu had acquired the dual-class compatibility potion earlier—warrior/mage combo. If he hadn't learned Fireball Technique, he would've been left drooling over the skill book.

Playing around with his new skill for a while, Han Qiwu, now in high spirits, descended the staircase to the next level.

[You have arrived at Mine Level 95]

Surveying the surroundings, he was disappointed to find there wasn't much worth harvesting.

When it comes to gatherable materials, the icy layers of the mines seem to offer more variety. Perhaps the low temperatures aid with item preservation.

Oh well, time to head home. He'd been cooped up in the mines for six to seven hours today.

Riding the cable car back to Mine Level 1, Han Qiwu tore open a Teleportation Scroll and made his way home.

By now, the sky hadn't fully darkened, and wisps of cooking smoke rose steadily above the small town, painting a beautiful scene.

He was admiring the view when a sound interrupted him.

"Gurgle, gurgle."

Han Qiwu rubbed his belly helplessly.

Hungry.

What to eat?

As he debated, his phone rang. It was Aunt Guo calling: "Xiao Han, have you eaten yet? I've made a mushroom hotpot; it's super fresh. Want to come join us? Grandpa Chen and Aunt Hong Mei are also here."

"Not yet, and I'm starving. I won't be polite then, haha," Han Qiwu quickly agreed.

Aunt Guo chuckled, "Don't worry about it. Just come over, no need to bring anything—we've got plenty here."

Han Qiwu certainly didn't hesitate to confirm.

Though, as soon as he hung up the phone, he still grabbed a carton of eggs and hopped on his bike, heading over.

Time to mooch dinner!