Murim Recurve

Gro Mining Village; it was evening by the time Re'Kha reached the place. It was located halfway up a hill that was situated in steep terrain. So, it was hard for her to traverse, especially when the path was very narrow.

Thankfully, she could still travel through it with her horse. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reached the place even after nightfall if she were to traverse on foot. The mining village wasn't anything special. It was situated in front of a cave, the entrance into the hill's mineral deposits.

And, the cave seemed to tread downward like a long shaft, swallowed up by darkness. It was hard to mine under such conditions. But, there were numerous mirrors embedded into the walls to reflect the sunlight deep into the cave.

And, there were four large mirrors outside the cave to direct as much of the sunlight into the cave as possible. From the cave was a protrusion of the hill, acting as a flat plain on which around twenty houses were constructed.

It was followed by a steep cliff that touched the ground. So, if anyone were to slip, they would fall to their doom. And, just a glance proved that the edges of the cliff weren't sturdy, evidenced by the cracked pieces of the land that looked on the verge of falling.

As there weren't any trees in the place, the erosion of the place was steep. There wasn't even a speck of soil in the place as the floor was rocky. It was a wonder why the village folks lived in such a location in the first place.

There was a small path along the side of the hall that traversed from the foothill to the village and stopped there. There wasn't any path that headed towards the peak of the hill. It hadn't been constructed yet.

'Even if they wished to live away from the cities, they could have picked better locations to settle.' Re'Kha thought at first before looking around, noticing the barren rocky surroundings, nodding as she realised why they had picked the place, 'As this place doesn't have any vegetation, no animals would prefer to live here. And, there would be no predatory animals in the place. So virtually, they don't have to live in fear of the beasts and animals.'

"But," She frowned, "Living in this place is even more difficult."

Even though she had other thoughts, she knew why the village existed. One way or another, the cities needed mineral resources for a variety of things. And, someone had to take charge and mine them.

And, this was the chance for those who were kicked out of the settlements to make a living. In this manner, both parties obtained what they sought. Even though it was difficult, as long as they mined enough resources, they were able to exchange them for food and water.

And in a place where they didn't have to live in fear of beasts or animals attacking, it was almost the best option the villagers could ask. Thinking as such, Re'Kha patted her horse, treading over the final stretch of the narrow path as she appeared before the village.

Hearing the sounds from the horse's hooves, the people in the village exited their houses, gazing at Re'Kha. Having lived in the mining village, mining daily, and without enough water, the appearance of everyone was quite dirty.

And in such a situation, Re'Kha appeared like an imperial envoy. Moreover, they habitually gazed at her Tikka jewellery, noticing the bright blue glow of the gem, kneeling on the ground immediately as they showed their respects.

To them, a Harmoniser was something they couldn't even fathom, living in a different world from theirs. Re'Kha stopped at the entrance, speaking, "Who's the village head?"

"It's me, my lady." A middle-aged man that was gaining in on years walked out from the crowd and bowed.

"Alright, tell me in detail about the problem you face." Re'Kha didn't beat about the bush, directly stating her task. As it was already evening, she didn't wish to delay. If she wasted a day here, it would hinder her in the subsequent missions.

After all, the missions with a Sha would take considerably longer due to the trickiness of the situation involved. As for the problem in the mining village, they had reported that a creature of some sort was hiding in their mines, terrorising them. They had already lost two people to it.

"We don't know what that creature is, but it suddenly appeared ten days ago. At first, we chased it away deeper into the mines as it was only the length of our arms." The village head said, "But, a day later, it had already grown to our height. And the same day, it had dragged one of us deeper into the mines. Four days later, we lost another person."

"Did it display any special abilities?" Re'Kha then pointed at the ground, motioning for the village head to make a rough sketch of its figure.

The village head nodded as he began to draw on the ground using a sharp rock, speaking, "It has tough teeth that allow it to drill into the earth like it is no big deal. And, when attacking us, it spits out a sludge of earth. The one who was attacked by it screamed that it burned before his death."

As he drew, the village head shuddered in fear. And once he was done, Re'Kha looked at the image, frowning to see its sheer size. It was a head taller than her, but its body length was thrice her height. It sported two large stumps at the front for legs while the rest of its body was serpentine.

And, the shocking thing was its mouth that was capable of expanding as big as its height. It would easily be able to swallow Re'Kha if it so desired.

Its size made it a difficult foe to face, even for her. Moreover, there wasn't any light in the cave as it was already late in the evening. The night was fast approaching.

"Was it the only beast you saw?" Re'Kha inquired, noticing the village head nod in response. She noticed that everyone else was bowing, facing their line of sight to the ground. After a moment of thought, Re'Kha looked at the village head as her eyes swirled with jet-black radiance.