I Became My Elf King Character In A Game-Like World
Chapter 118: Miners

Chapter 118: Miners

Life had settled into a peaceful rhythm here. Clustered protectively around the three immense, ancient trees that marked the heart of their new home, a charming village of elf houses had sprung up.

Built with natural grace, blending wood and living branches, these homes looked like they had grown right out of the mountainside.

Surrounding them were countless patches of vibrant, beautiful flowers in every imaginable color, filling the air with sweet scents and painting the landscape with cheerful hues. It was a truly picturesque scene, radiating peace and harmony with nature.

Near the colossal, life-giving Eternal Tree, a particularly lovely and well-crafted courtyard stood out. This wasn’t just any residence; it was surrounded by several small, bubbling Elunarian Springs, their waters shimmering with soft, magical light. Delicate stone paths wound through the space.

This was the personal home prepared for the Elf King, Renjiro.

Inside the courtyard walls, many unusual and exotic flowers had been planted, carefully tended by unseen hands. Their fragrance filled the air, a sweet and refreshing perfume far richer than common blossoms. Adding to the magic, tiny, iridescent butterflies the kind the playful Grove Spirits seemed to catch from who-knows-where danced merrily among the flower clusters, their wings catching the sunlight.

Renjiro was currently making full use of this peaceful haven. He lay stretched out comfortably on a long, cushioned bench placed right in the middle of the courtyard.

He breathed in the fresh, clean scent of the flowers, feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on his skin. His eyes were half-closed, lazily watching the patterns of the clouds drifting across the clear blue sky above.

He couldn’t help but think, if you asked anyone on the entire continent which race truly knew how to live, how to truly enjoy life and appreciate the simple beauty of nature... the answer would undoubtedly be the Elves. They just had a way of finding peace and contentment.

Just then... Bzzzzzzzzzz...

A low, insistent humming sound suddenly broke the perfect quiet of the courtyard. It grew louder quickly.

Looking over, Renjiro saw a stream of tiny, sparkling figures emerging from a newly opened hole in the ground near the edge of the courtyard. Countless little Elf Miners, glowing faintly, flew out in a continuous line. They zipped straight over to the northeast corner of the yard, hovered for a second, and then spat out tiny, gleaming gold coins from their mouths.

Clink, clink, tinkle...

Soon, the soft sounds blended into a steady metallic whisper as a large heap of gleaming gold coins piled up rapidly in the designated corner. The pile grew higher and wider with every passing second, sparkling invitingly in the sunlight.

Renjiro lazily extended a hand without getting up.

Plink. A single gold coin, tossed accurately by one of the miners perhaps, landed neatly in his open palm.

He brought it closer to examine it. The coin felt solid and cool. Both the front and the back were stamped with the exact same image: the proud figure of a human warrior holding a massive greatsword, looking stern and powerful.

Renjiro recognized the symbol immediately. He’d seen it in history texts.

This man... this was the image of arguably the most powerful human to have ever walked the continent.

His name was Fergusterly Pris, known more commonly throughout history as the Great Emperor of Mankind.

Legends told how Emperor Pris rose to unite the scattered human kingdoms, forging a vast and incredibly powerful human empire. An empire so strong, so dominant in its time, that even the fierce Orc tribes, usually so proud and aggressive, didn’t dare challenge his rule and were forced to keep their heads down. A true legend of human history.

But history has a funny way of repeating itself. Just like the ancient Elf Empire eventually fell apart because of fighting among themselves, the human Priss Empire, even after thousands of years, ended up crumbling for pretty much the same reasons internal conflicts tearing it apart from the inside.

After that big collapse...

The human lands went through a long, messy period of wars. Countless disasters, both natural ones like earthquakes and floods, and man-made ones like plagues and endless battles, swept across the continent. Finally, slowly, things settled down into the shape they have today: the three major human empires. The Priss Empire, rebuilt but smaller, is just one of them now.

To remember the great Emperor Priss who started it all...

The three human empires actually agreed on one thing: their money. They decided to use the same gold coins across all their lands. And on every single one of those gold coins, they carved the face of Emperor Priss. It was their way of making sure that future generations of humans would never forget the emperor who had once led their race to such great glory.

"Priss Fergusterley," Renjiro mumbled quietly to himself, thinking about the history. "A powerful human, strong enough to almost touch godhood, right at the very peak for a demigod..."

He let out a soft sigh. "...And yet, the Elf King who built the original Elf Empire back in the golden age? He was a real, true god! Even so," Renjiro’s thoughts darkened slightly, "that amazing Elf Empire is still just ancient history now, gone like dust in the wind!"

He didn’t know the exact details of what happened all those thousands of years ago. The history books were frustratingly vague on the crucial parts.

But it seemed obvious that the god-level Elf King must have vanished somehow. Maybe there was a terrible accident? Or maybe he simply decided to leave the Holy Continent behind, perhaps traveling far off into the endless void between stars to build his own divine kingdom?

Because honestly, Renjiro reasoned, if that god-level Elf King hadn’t disappeared, the Elf Empire wouldn’t have just collapsed like that, no matter how much internal squabbling the elves did. And the other races the humans, the dwarves, the orcs, and even the proud dragons they would never have dared to pressure the elves so much later on, basically ignoring the promises made in the old Five-Race Covenant that was supposed to ensure peace.

"No need to rush, though. Take it slow," Renjiro reminded himself, pushing aside the heavy thoughts of the past.

"You eat a big meal one bite at a time. First step, deal with this current Priss Empire. Then, maybe crush their centers of power (destroy the temples

likely meant hitting their leadership and important strongholds). After that, take care of the other two human empires. And finally," his eyes glinted with determination, "push back the orcs, the dwarves, and the dragons! Reclaim what was lost."

Renjiro looked up from his thoughts.

The Elf Miners had finished spitting out their latest batch of gold coins onto the growing pile. Like clockwork, they lined up neatly again, then dissolved into streaks of earthy light, phasing straight down through the solid ground to continue their tireless work digging deeper into the rich gold vein below.

This whole process had been going on for ten days straight now.

Which meant, Renjiro realized, he’d been camped out here on this mountainside for ten full days already.

In that time, though, the miners had produced a staggering ten million gold coins for him. His inventory felt satisfyingly heavy with wealth.

Still, Renjiro wasn’t planning on spending this new fortune just yet.

The number of elf troops he currently commanded felt sufficient for the moment. And besides, if a war did suddenly break out unexpectedly, he could always use his system ability to instantly summon massive reinforcements right onto the battlefield.

He estimated the miners would probably finish digging out this entire gold deposit in about five more days. Once they were done here, it would finally be time to head back to his main base, the growing territory in the forest.

Renjiro wasn’t particularly worried about the safety of his forest lands while he was away.

Even though it was a good five hundred kilometers from this mountain, he had eyes and ears there. As long as none of the special Magic Owls he’d stationed strategically throughout the woods disappeared, the Elf Huntresses back here with him would know everything was peaceful. These owls were magically linked to the Huntresses’ senses.

But if one of the larger, specifically designated scout owls were to suddenly vanish poof, just gone that would be the alarm signal. It would mean the forest was facing an enemy invasion, and they would need to rush back immediately.

For now, though, the magical connection felt calm. The forest seemed quiet and undisturbed.

The soft crunch of footsteps on the dirt nearby interrupted Renjiro’s thoughts.

Looking up, he saw Elaria walking into the small clearing that served as their temporary courtyard. She was dressed in her elegant Moon God magic robes, the silvery fabric seeming to shimmer softly in the daylight.

His elf queen, Renjiro thought again, was truly breathtakingly beautiful.

Elaria glanced over at the still-impressive pile of gold coins gleaming in the corner, left from the miners’ last delivery. A small smile touched her lips. "Your Majesty," she said, her voice like gentle music, "the elves’ natural talent for mining is really quite amazing. If I hadn’t seen them spitting out perfect, complete gold coins with my own eyes, day after day, I honestly wouldn’t have believed it was possible."

Renjiro smiled back warmly. "Elves are just born miners," he agreed simply.

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