Chapter 14: Dog and Rabbit

Approaching 11 o'clock.

The train arrived at the Sugg Black Iron Mine, located on the north side of the Sugg Ruins.

Just as he stepped off the train,

Gunie heard the thunderous roar of steam-powered ore transporters.

Looking around, the entire Sugg Black Iron Mine was a scene of bustling activity.

Tall steel steam transporters shuttled back and forth, carrying excavated ore to extraordinary steam locomotives.

At the several huge mine shafts, each a full twenty meters high, extraordinary high-pressure steam engines used mechanical wheels to pull conveyor belts, continuously hauling vast amounts of ore from deep within the mines.

On one side, extraordinary steam pumps constantly drained accumulated water from the shafts.

Excavation, drainage, transportation, and a series of other operations could all be carried out using steam-powered machinery.

In his previous life, coal fuel and steam could hardly support the massive and complex mechanical energy demands of an entire era.

But the problem was,

this world was not the world of his previous life.

It was an extraordinary world with supernatural powers, extraordinary metals, and special energy sources.

First, after the water in this world was subjected to simple "water element mana infusion" through special energy towers,

the expansion ratio and force of the steam produced by burning it under high pressure were terrifying.

Moreover, combustion chambers built with extraordinary metals could lock in the energy released from burning coal, preventing its dissipation, so that more of the coal's energy heated the steam rather than escaping.

Second, "mana-source coal" formed through similar "fire element mana infusion" released an extraordinary amount of heat when burned due to the attached fire element.

In fact, Gunie had heard that "high-source coal," produced by mana infusion with a specific ratio of fire and wood elements, released even more terrifying energy.

These new, efficient energy sources and utilization methods were the reason the great era of extraordinary steampunk had arrived.

Confronting these steampunk steel machines,

Gunie could feel the powerful strength of these massive machines and the rough beauty of the onrushing steel torrent.

Gunie was not alone; his classmates also stopped to watch, though most of them had seen such scenes before.

…

After lunch,

while the other students were still preparing to enter the wilderness under the teacher's guidance,

Gunie's team had already advanced into the wilderness ahead of schedule.

After crossing a ridge, the mechanical roar from the mine became barely audible.

Deep in the jungle, the mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse.

The group of six, each carrying a pack, advanced cautiously.

The burly and powerful Paul Korchagin, wielding a sharp machete, acted as the vanguard, clearing the way ahead.

At the rear was the shadow, Eli.

Gunie and the other three young women were in the middle.

All six were very cautious, speaking little to avoid distraction and wasting energy, following Paul, who led the way, moving quickly.

The six, all experienced in exploration, knew well that

as soon as they entered the extraordinary wilderness, many extraordinary creatures had already noticed them.

These wilderness creatures—

extraordinary creatures were not that numerous,

but semi-extraordinary creatures were quite abundant.

For example, certain birds of prey, whose bodies were no different from their kind, but possessed extraordinary vision.

For example, certain mountain wolves, whose physiques were similar to their kind, but had stronger and fiercer bite force.

Another example: some mountain apes, which looked little different from ordinary apes, but might possess intelligence no less than humans.

Facing these "semi-extraordinary creatures" with partial supernatural abilities,

if one did not remain vigilant, injuries, serious wounds, or even casualties could easily occur.

…

Not until around four or five in the afternoon

did the group finally reach the foot of a mountain covered in a forest of thick, low, sharp-branched, more-branch-than-leaf stump ancient trees.

"It will be dark soon; we'll rest here tonight," Eli said quickly after surveying the surroundings and returning to the group.

This was not the first time the group had entered the wilderness, so they naturally knew what to do.

The division of labor among the six was simple: the three young women fetched water, while the other three handled all the remaining hard and heavy work.

The task division was clear and straightforward.

As Gunie prepared to gather firewood, passing by Eli, he suddenly thought of something.

"Have those two stalking withered grass wolves been dealt with?" Gunie asked in a low voice.

The withered grass wolf was a semi-extraordinary wilderness creature. Its fur resembled withered grass and changed color with the seasons for camouflage, making it a highly evolved semi-extraordinary species in the extraordinary wilderness.

However, most of the time, these withered grass wolves came into human sight during the bleak autumn season.

Hence, withered grass wolf became the name of this creature.

Within a withered grass wolf pack, a withered grass wolf king could appear.

That was a true extraordinary species, as strong as a calf and as swift as the wind.

With one bite, it could easily crush a human skull.

Gunie did not want to face even an extraordinary first-rank withered grass wolf king.

During the afternoon's mountain trek, Gunie had detected two withered grass wolves stalking the team for a while.

"I dealt with one; the other escaped injured. Withered grass wolves learn their lesson and won't come back," Eli replied softly.

"Good," Gunie nodded.

While maintaining vigilance, Gunie gathered firewood nearby, his eyes quickly sweeping over those hard-to-find corners.

From time to time, Gunie would slip into those quite hidden corners.

When he came out, there was already an extra medicinal herb in his hand.

The herb, in Gunie's hands, was like magic—quickly processed and then thrown into the corresponding blackthorn wooden box.

The whole process took no more than ten seconds.

As an apothecary with a bone-element potion secret incantation as high as level six,

and with years of experience handling large quantities of herbs,

Gunie was completely adept at herb processing techniques.

In the stump ancient tree forest,

behind a stump ancient tree, having just processed a herb,

Gunie first paused, then gently rubbed his fingers, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Interesting."

The next moment,

With a "whoosh!"

In a flash, a gray blur suddenly burst out from a position ten meters away from Gunie.

So fast it caught one off guard, it reached Gunie's side almost instantly.

It was a plump gray rabbit, but as strong as a hunting dog.

It also had four sharp fangs, a ferocious face, and cruel, murderous eyes.

Now, its fanged mouth lunged straight for Gunie's neck, aiming to kill him in one blow.

Facing this ambush, Gunie moved his feet lightly, his body nimbly dodging the creature's attack.

At the same time, Gunie casually snapped his fingers.

"Snap!"

As the snap fell, purple arcs of lightning burst and spread from Gunie's fingertips.

Arc Lightning was a common spell.

It could be cast with just two syllables.

For Gunie, who possessed four Secret Crossing Runes,

a single thought sufficed for instant casting.

Unlike ordinary Arc Lightning, which could only emit thin, thread-like arcs with low density of interwoven arcs,

Gunie's Arc Lightning had arcs as thick as an arm, densely interwoven like a tangled ball of yarn.

Each level of an extraordinary spell brought a significant qualitative leap in power.

Level four Arc Lightning meant four such leaps.

A two-syllable common spell, after four leaps, was quite formidable.

Hum!

The Arc Lightning completely entered the body of the creature Gunie had dodged.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…

Along the path of the creature's flight, electricity flashed everywhere.

After tumbling on the ground, its four legs twitched slightly, then stopped, completely lifeless.

If Paul and the others had seen this Arc Lightning, they would surely be astonished.

This was no Arc Lightning; it was damn well more terrifying than Lightning Strike.

"I was worried they wouldn't catch any game, but you delivered yourself to my door," Gunie said softly.

His gaze swept briefly around, and Gunie felt somewhat relieved—no other extraordinary beasts were spying on him nearby.