“You have to be kidding…”

I couldn’t help but mutter as the royal palace filled with laughter.

The High Priest did his best to stifle his laughter as he repeated the contents of the royal writ.

“Through divine revelation, it has been decided that the territory to be ruled by Prince Heal will be…heh…the Sheorl Reefs!”

After that, loud, taunting applause and whistles could be heard. And there was contempt in the expressions of the spectators.

…I am Heal.

The 17th prince of the Kingdom of Sanfaris. And now, I was the man who had just been made the lord of a far off, deserted island. The Sheorl Reefs.

I had very little magic ever since I was born, and had no particularly great skills. And so I was ridiculed by my father and brothers and was seen as the shame of the court.

However, the biggest reason that I was looked down on, was my ‘crest.’

Every human came into this world bearing a crest.

It was the thing that gave its owner physical abilities and other gifts.

In the royal family, one could expect such dashing crests as ‘Sword God’ or ‘Magic King.’ And of course, they would have abilities that did justice to those names.

And while my brothers carried such stylish names, I had been given the crest ‘Cave King,’ and no one knew what its effect was. Of course, my father and brothers treated me like a fool.

Apparently, God hated me very much.

Not only was I give such a crest, but during the ceremony where I was to be granted land, after having turned 15 and was considered full-grown…

The other princes and princesses sneered and chortled.

“Hah…a reef? Did you hear that? Well, it suits him very well.”

A thin man with red hair who was in his twenties…Balpas, the 11th prince, could not hold back his laughter.

He was 5 years old than me and had mocked me all of my life.

However, it seemed that I was so unfortunate in every way, that recently, his looks carried more pity than before.

On the other hand, the beautiful girl with long, olive-colored hair…Saria, the 9th princess, muttered questioningly.

“Oh? But doesn’t it sound like an interesting place? Sheorl Reef? I wonder where it is?”

While she was calm in her ignorance, there were others who were louder in declaring that they knew of no such god-forsaken place.

The Sheorl Reef…it was no wonder that few people knew of it.

It was a journey that took 10 days by ship to the south of the royal capital.

The Sheorl Reef was in the center of the great sea.

It was a route that no merchant vessels would pass through. Even pirates would not approach it.

There was no visible shore for ships to dock. There weren’t even any trees or plants…

It was just a giant rock.

A large man with a great white beard…my father, Louie. The king of Sanfaris, stood up from his throne.

“My child…Heal, 17th prince. I order you. Take your post at Sheorl Reef, and govern the land!”

Like that, I would leave the palace, which I had lived in for fifteen years.

In order to become the lord of a wasteland, the Sheorl Reef…

I was now heading to Sheorl Reef alone.

As the angry waves surrounded me, I rowed my boat forward.

To my post…well, this really was just a form of exile.

The ship that had taken me offshore had already turned around and was heading back to the capital.

They weren’t even going to see that I landed safely…

That being said, I was heading to some barren rock. Sooner or later, I would be dead. That was the obvious way to see things.

But I didn’t want to die.

And so, in spite of the shame it brought, I had asked my father and brothers to allow me to stay. After all, receiving land didn’t necessarily mean that you had to go and live there. You should be able to give some vague orders and send a representative to govern the place. 

However, all this talk of divine revelation was just for show. They really wanted me away from court and as far away from them as possible. And so they not only rejected my request, but forced me to go and live in my new lands.

Yes, my abilities were weak.

Still, I had done my best to study magic and politics in order to fulfill my duty as a prince. All my other brothers did was flaunt the talents they had been born with and satisfy their own greed.

And yet, the result of all that was me being sent to a deserted island…

It had seemed very small from far away, but it was actually quite large for a human.

If it were flat land, you would be able to build several houses on it. And it was about the height of a church tower you might see in the countryside.

Of course, you could not build houses here, as the terrain was like a small rocky mountain.

As the water splashed around me, I rowed the boat closer to the shore.

Well, here was my first problem…

I was scared that the waves could crash against my boat and eventually smash it against the rocks.

I had a month’s worth of water, food, and tools inside of the boat.

If I wanted to survive, I could not lose a single thing.

I had to find a flat area so that I could go ashore.

A good…ah, there.

However, it was very narrow. It looked like my boat would barely fit in.

In order to slow down my boat a little, I used wind magic to create a wind that pushed from the front.

However, the wind that I created was just a gentle breeze.

Yes…that was the power of my magic. Most people would have been able to create a stronger gust of wind, but I didn’t have enough magical energy for that.

Still, I desperately continued to make it blow.

“Please…please…yes!!”

The boat slowly slid up onto land.

Then I got off of the boat and tied it to a jutting rock so that it would not drift away.

“Phew…now, that’s one problem out of the way.”

There was no one here, but I still talked to myself.

Yes, it was to distract from how lonely I felt.

While I was looked down upon, I still exchanged a word or two with others before.

Besides, it also made a difference if you could at least see that there were other people around you.

But now, the only thing that I could see was the ash-colored rocks.

It was too late to try and return now.

The ship that had carried me was disappearing at the horizon.

I might have been better off disobeying the order so that I could be executed instead.

Well, no. I didn’t want to die…

I shook the thought out of my head and began to carry my cargo out of the boat.

“I’ll need a safe place to store it…”

The food would be ruined if the rain or waves got at it.

I would also have to find a place I could sleep in.

“That cave looks like a good spot.”

I found a single empty cave in an elevated area.

It really was the only hole that I could even find.

And so I picked up a barrel and headed to the cave.

However, when I reached it and looked inside, a chilling scene awaited me.

Woah…

It was a small cave that perhaps ten people could have slept in. And inside, were numerous skeletons.

And they weren’t just human skeletons. Some were from beasts and monsters.

Judging by the old tools and wooden boxes, they must have all been living here.

Had they been exiled too? Or did they drift from somewhere else?

Still, they must have eventually run out of food and water and then died.

You will meet the same fate…the bones seemed to say to me.

I didn’t mean to be stingy, but sleeping with the dead was not my thing.

However, there really wasn’t any other place to go.

At the very least, I would have to keep my supplies here.

“I guess I’ll just carry it all here for now…”

After some time, I managed to finish carrying everything.

Even though it was a short distance, it was very hard to walk on the uneven ground.

I would have to rest for a while.

And so I sat down inside of the cave and looked outside.

The sea from here looked incredibly beautiful.

Unlike the royal capital, the only sounds I could hear were the ocean waves and the seagulls.

What a wonderful place…no, no, that’s not right.

Right now, I had to focus on my survival.

I didn’t come here without thinking about that.

In fact, my intention was to be rescued by a passing ship.

And then I would hide and live somewhere where my father couldn’t find me.

So it couldn’t be any ships from my home country.

They all knew that I was not to be allowed to leave this place.

So, that meant I would have to rely on foreign ships or pirates…

But even if they took me off the island, they would just sell me off as a slave. That was obvious.

In the first place, this was not along any routes for trading vessels. And it was much too far for fishermen to come close to. Besides, it was also dangerous to come so close to the reefs.

“Hahh…what should I do…”

I only had a month’s worth of food and water.

As for water, I could use the barrel to collect rainwater.

That is if it even rained.

In an emergency, I could gather moisture from the air with water magic.

However, with my power, it was all I could do to make a few drops…

Perhaps I could catch fish for food.

I had a fishing pole. However, it would be hard when the tide is high.

As for anything else I could do now, I could clean up the cave.

As there were bones and old tools everywhere, I would have to make this place a little more comfortable.

However, I didn’t want to be disrespectful either.

But then again, I couldn’t exactly offer them a proper burial here…

I picked up a pickaxe, that I had brought with me.

“I guess I could try digging with this…”

An amateur trying to dig into rock…maybe it would be a waste of strength…

You possess a tool that makes mining possible.

“…Huh?”

I looked around me.

However, there was no one there.

Well, maybe there was. But they were all dead.

Besides, it hadn’t echoed throughout the cave.

It was like I had heard it inside of my head, rather than through my ears.

And so without saying it out loud, I willed it in my head.

…Say it again.

You possess a tool that makes mining possible. Do you want to start mining? 

I knew it. There was something talking to me inside of my head.

…Who the hell are you?

This is the advice feature for the crest, ‘Cave King.’ Not a lifeform.

‘Cave King’…it was the crest that I had been born with.

As I had stayed in the royal palace most of the time, I had never gone to any caves. To think that it had such an effect all along…

I wonder what else Cave King could do…

As if reading my mind, the advisor answered.

Currently, aside from the advice feature, there is the raising of mining skills and support effects. Furthermore, abilities and skill ranks used in caves will be boosted.

I wasn’t able to catch all of that…

But, in other words, it was an advanced ‘mining’ skill?

So anyone who had a mining crest would have their mining ability raised.

But as I was Cave King, I also became stronger inside of caves. Something like that.

In any case, it was clear that I was specialized in mining.

As there was not enough room to sleep here, I decided to start digging a little.

…So, if I said that I wanted to start mining?

Understood. Mining optimization will begin through the mining support effect.

…Optimization? What?

I then noticed that there were numerous white lights floating on the cavern walls.

Why were they glowing?

The white lights are recommendations for where you should hit with your pickaxe. It is calculated to be the easiest way to dig without causing a cave-in.

“Huh. Well, guess I’ll try it out then.”

And so I tried hitting the spot with the pickaxe.

And then, in one strike, I was able to dig out a rock that was about the size of a person’s head.

I didn’t feel any of the impact in my arms, so the advice had been true after all.

“Also, it seems strangely bright in here in spite of it being a cave…is that also a support effect?”

Yes. It is the Night Vision effect.

“I see. Well, I’ll be able to keep going then… I’ll just make some space to sleep for now.”

And so I struck the wall again with the pickaxe.

As I knew where to hit, I was able to make good progress really easily.

Besides, there was something comforting about the sounds of the rocks breaking.

“This…is sort of fun…”

Before I knew it, I was very engrossed in my work.

I had forgotten my plans to just make an area to sleep in, and I kept digging much farther.

There was now a lot of rocks around my feet.

Hmm… Was it just me, or was I able to dig out more with every hit now?

The rocks that came out seemed to be getting bigger.

“Still, I’ve dug quite a lot now…”

According to the Advisor, my current position was about 30m below the surface.

And so I checked my inventory.

◇ Inventory

    Rocks x 1230

    Iron ore x 21

    Copper ore x 19

    Gold ore x 0.6

    Silver ore x 2

    Coal x 15

    Limestone x 10

    …

    Ruby x 0.3

    Saphire x 0.2

    Crystal x 90

    Turtle stone x 6

There were some materials that didn’t even amount to 1. Apparently, this was because the mined materials were displayed as ingots.

However, Turtle Stones displayed the number of uses.

Two silver ingots… I had mined that much silver in just a few hours.

What would happen if I continued to mine…

Well, I would have no use for any of it unless I got out of here.

Besides, the ones that interested me the most were the Crystals and Turtle Stones.

I had never seen or even heard of them before.

The Turtle Stones extended your lifespan and were something I could probably use in an emergency.

As for the Crystal, they increased your magical energy.

While my magic was very weak, I was quite confident in my knowledge of it.

And so I had high hopes that they might allow me to use mid-range to advanced magic…

Well, how were these used?

Will you use Crystal x 90?

The advisor suddenly asked.

Apparently, there was no need to take them out of the inventory.

I nodded, of course.

Crystall x 90 have been used.

The Advisor said, but no matter how long I waited, I didn’t feel any change.

Uhhh…were they used?

Yes, the Advisor answered.

Apparently, the crystals really had been used.

I suppose it was true that just a shift in energy wasn’t going to cause any changes to the body.

They did say that brilliant magicians were able to detect the flow of energy inside of people.

But of course, I had no such advanced skills.

So novices like me would have to use magic to find out.

And so I decided to cast Wind, which was minor magic that used the wind attribute. I would clean out the dust that had accumulated in my path. 

ly, whenever I used this magic, people in the palace would mock me and say that it was just a gentle breeze.

I hoped that it would have improved a little, at least…

“Wind! …!?”

As I chanted with my right hand extended in front of me, the dust was blown away in an instant.

The wind roared and did not lose momentum until it escaped through the exit.

“What? …What?”

I couldn’t help but look around, but there was no one else there.

Without a doubt, it had been me who had just unleashed Wind.

This was what happened after 90 Crystals collected in just a few hours.

If I gathered more, would I be able to use advanced magic?

…I can’t stop digging now!

Before I knew it, the pickaxe was in my hands again and I was swinging it.

“Alright! I’ll continue digging! I’ll dig all the way to hell if I…huh?”

As I shouted to myself with excitement, I realized that something like blue liquid was jiggling at my feet.

“What the hell?”

As it was moving, it clearly wasn’t any normal liquid.

This thing…I believe they were monsters known as slimes.

I had never seen one before, but it had the exact features I had once read in a book.

They were monsters that preferred dark and damp places.

While they were usually mild-mannered, there were some that were more aggressive.

Would this one attack me?

No, it was just moving around me in a circle while hopping and looking in my direction.

Perhaps it had been alarmed by my wind magic and had come out to see what it was.

If it lived down here, I might be the first human its ever seen.

What should I do with it?

Well, since it wasn’t harmful, I could just ignore it and keep mining.

I doubt it would get in my way…

Or I could even think of it as a pet. It was just as I was thinking this, that the Advisor interrupted me.

<>

Tame?

I believe it was a skill that made monsters obey you.

All humans had this skill.

However, as almost all monsters were enemies, you were not allowed to tame them.

Furthermore, monsters were not even allowed to be brought into the kingdom of Sanfaris.

And so it was a skill that no one really used.

That being said, there was no one to blame me if I tamed a monster here…

I was a weak person.

I desperately wanted something to help me cope with my loneliness.

Of course, I doubted this slime could even talk.

…Still, I didn’t care what it was, as long as it was close by.

And so without hesitation, I gave the order.

<>

A name…

As this was the Sheorl Reef, I could call it Sheorl…hmm, but that was too obvious.

I could change it a little and call it Shiel?

<>

The voice rang. However…nothing seemed to happen to me or Shiel.

Shiel just continued hopping about.

“Nice to meet you, Shiel.”

I tried talking to it, but Shiel didn’t respond at all.

Of course.

It couldn’t understand human speech, let alone talk.

However, just having a moving creature nearby was somewhat of a comfort.

And so I left Shiel to its own devices and picked up the pickaxe again.

“Alright. Now, it’s time to get back to digging! Rocks will start falling down, so you be careful.”

After that, I continued to dig until I was exhausted.

The whole time that I was digging, I would shout with joy about getting 100 Crystals or finding an emerald.

And Shiel just watched me silently from behind.

“Ahh, it feels so good…”

I was currently sleeping near the entrance to the cave while using the slime as a pillow.

3 days had now passed since I tamed this slime…Shiel.

And during those 3 days, I did nothing but dig.

The result… 

◇ Inventory

    Rock x 4893

    Iron ore x 71

    Copper ore x 89

    Gold ore x 5.8

    Silver ore x 8.9

    Coal x 88

    Limestone 90

    …

    Ruby x 1.7

    Sapphire 1.4

    Crystal x 19

    Turtle Stone x 39

Well, in short, I had about three times as much of every material as I had on the first day.

The only reason I didn’t have more of the magic increasing Crystals, was because I was using them. In fact, I had used about 500 of them already.

And so my magic had become very powerful.

Now, I could just unleash thunder magic into the sea and catch any great fish that I targeted.

And if I was using water magic, I could make it rain enough to fill 5 barrels.

The use of mid-range magic had become very easy for me.

People had mocked my ‘static electricity’ and ‘hand sweat’ before. And so it was hard to believe that I had changed so much.

Like this, my food and water problem was solved.

And there was another thing I was grateful for. Shiel learned very quickly.

While it couldn’t understand words, it could understand gestures.

Be a bed, carry me through the dungeon, Shiel did all sorts of things.

Furthermore, I was able to tame 10 other slimes aside from Shiel.

However, it seemed that it was harder to communicate with them compared to Shiel. And so currently, they were just wandering around freely.

I did give them all names…but to be honest, I couldn’t tell them apart.

It was easier with Shiel, due to the way it moved.

Well, it was possible that Shiel was just special.

“Shiel…do my shoulders here.”

I would point at the part I wanted to have massaged, and Shiel would twist its body and massage my shoulders.

“Ahh…there. Yes…”

In short. I was living rather comfortably on the island now.

I had escaped the dangers of death and had discovered a new reason to live, which was mining.

Of course, a diet consisting only of fish would get tiring very quickly, and I was considering doing something with magic…

But to be honest, I was thinking about little outside of mining.

After all, I could mine so many rare materials with just a swing of my pickaxe.

Nothing could be more fun.

Well, to be honest, it’s not like I even had any options when it came to activities on this island.

…We’ll dig again tomorrow!

And with that, I fell into a comfortable sleep on the cool bed that was Shiel.

…Hmm? What?

My eyes opened as I felt something poking my cheek.

Apparently, it was Shiel who had woken me.

I sat up and looked outside. The sky was still glowing with the colors of the morning.

The waves were calm. It was such a pleasant way of getting up.

“Shiel. Morning… Did you wake me up?”

Shiel stretched its body so that it looked like an arrow. And then it pointed in the direction of the sea.

“Did something happen? Hmm? That…”

There was a wrecked boat near the rocks.

It wasn’t the one I had come here on. And there were scattered pieces of wood everywhere.

And around it, lay three figures that were not human.

The green skin… They were goblins.