Bazt reacted in a typical—almost frightened—way.
The well? Why in the world would Brush want to go there?
"Hey, Brush, I know things are tough, but ending your own life isn't the solution," Bazt said in a clearly worried tone.
The only conclusion he could reach was that his friend had fallen into a deep depression and was planning to end it all by throwing himself into the well.
Poor guy. Lost his memories and only knows he's a slave. That's gotta be a heavy blow, Bazt thought with sadness as he looked at Mihon.
Mihon couldn't help but sigh. He knew it was a crazy idea, but his intuition had never failed him.
He had been mining non-stop in different areas, yet he had never seen any sign of rare stones. This was slowing down his mission.
[Time remaining: 3 days and 21 hours]
There was no doubt—maybe if he went deeper, he could find something to help charge his phone.
But why, out of all places, the well? Wasn't it supposed to be the place where you were guaranteed to die?
Mihon didn't like the idea at first either, but after reconsidering everything, he reached a simple conclusion: the well was the only place worth searching.
After all, he had already searched the mines with no success, and the few other accessible places—like the river or the barn—weren't exactly likely to hold any strange metals.
There was always the idea of standing out in the rain and hoping for a lightning bolt to hit him, but Mihon didn't like that plan much either.
So, following that train of thought, the well became the most logical place to start searching seriously.
"It's not what you think, Bazt. I don't want to die," Mihon said calmly.
He wanted to reassure Bazt as much as possible, to make sure he didn't think he was insane. Then he continued:
"I heard the guards say there's a secret treasure hidden inside the well," he lied.
His career as a streamer made Mihon a master of selling believable stories—a skill that was now proving extremely useful.
"Oh… Look, Brush, I really recommend you don't risk your life over some so-called treasure. It's not worth it, and you don't even know if it's real," Bazt said, still clearly concerned.
"Come on, bro, what's really waiting for us? Keep swinging pickaxes until we drop, or until they no longer need us? At least let me take a shot at something."
Mihon's words had an effect. After taking two deep breaths, Bazt replied:
"Look… I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's obvious you've been different since you fainted. To get into the well, you have to earn yourself a severe punishment—that's the only way."
So the well is basically a type of execution, Mihon thought without interrupting.
"So, all you have to do is something bad—really bad—and they'll throw you into the well. No one's ever come back from that place, so it's a guaranteed death."
The circumstances had changed. Mihon knew that searching the mines gave him almost zero chance of completing his mission, but going into the well carried enormous risk.
If his theory was wrong, it would be instant suicide.
He took his time before answering, faced with a huge dilemma at the very start of his journey.
"Thanks for the info, Bazt. It'll help me decide," Mihon said with a smile.
Bazt gave him a curious look—it was obvious he wanted to ask more—but he simply shrugged and went back to his spot.
"No other choice… It's risk it all or live as a slave forever," Mihon murmured to himself before falling into a deep sleep.
***
Sunlight flooded the barn, signaling the start of a new day.
Some woke to feel the warm rays gently striking their bodies. The soreness and muscle pain soon made themselves known to those just waking up.
"Enough sleep, vermin! Time to get up!" shouted a guard from outside the door, waking everyone completely.
Mihon, who had slept soundly, slowly opened his eyes and followed the guard's orders.
The routine was the same as the day before—this time they were only given a piece of bread for breakfast before being sent straight to the mines.
But Mihon had no intention of following the same pattern today. He had spent the whole night deciding what to do.
He could have chosen to just work hard in the mines and hope that luck smiled on him, that somehow he'd find what he was looking for.
But the universe doesn't reward cowards—and Mihon knew it. If he was going to fail, he'd fail big.
So, when they were ordered to start mining, Mihon didn't obey. He gripped his pickaxe, adjusted it, and then leaned on it instead.
"Hey, you! Get back to work!" shouted a guard, approaching with a whip in hand.
Mihon felt a flicker of panic, but he didn't run. He took a deep breath and ignored the order.
"Oh, you think you're brave? I'll teach you a lesson!"
The guard swung his whip, striking Mihon hard on the left shoulder.
He had to admit—the pain was incredible. He would've preferred to walk barefoot across a bridge of nails than take that hit.
But he just clenched his teeth, and with iron determination, he raised his pickaxe and struck the guard.
Shhh!
A stream of blood hit the ground—the pickaxe had slammed into the guard's leg.
"You bastard!" the man roared, swinging his whip at Mihon again.
Wham!
The blow tore into Mihon's skin, but he didn't give up. He struck the man again with his pickaxe.
The scene drew everyone's attention, and within seconds Mihon was surrounded by guards.
"Come on, all of you!" he shouted arrogantly, still holding his pickaxe tightly.
***
"I can't believe he hit my leg."
"Yeah… I'll admit, he looked pretty threatening for a moment."
Two guards—one of them the one Mihon had attacked—were talking as they rode in a carriage.
Once the guards had surrounded Mihon, it had taken them only two minutes to capture and knock him out.
They had to admit, the kid had landed some good hits, but once they rushed him together, he was no threat.
The carriage stopped in a dark, secluded place, far from the barn. The injured guard wasted no time opening the back.
"Get ready for your punishment, kid," the man said bitterly as he saw Mihon sitting tied up in the back.
Today, Mihon was going into the well.