Chapter 278: Act 45 – The Silver Mine (6) (First Update, Seeking Support, If No One Supports, I’ll Be in Trouble)
The morning at Graham’s Mountain was revealed by a light purple-blue backdrop fading into white at the horizon—the stars gradually disappearing as the light of dawn illuminated the forest on the mountain in a unique silhouette.
However, the time in the mining area was much earlier, still shrouded in darkness, when the sound of wooden whistles echoed.
The flickering light of oil lamps cast deep shadows on the ground, and Brendel, like the others, was called out of the camp—into the cold air of the mountain forest before dawn—he looked somewhat bewildered at what he held in his hands.
It was a pickaxe, its rough wooden handle nearly four feet long, having passed through many owners, its surface smoothed from use, without a single protruding splinter, the deep gray tip of the pickaxe was somewhat dull.
But that wasn’t the key point; what struck him was that he never expected to have a day where he would become a miner again. Generally, those who experienced the primitive era of online games often hold a fondness for mining in their hazy memories, and Brendel was no exception.
He had worked as a miner for a long time in the game, mining day and night in dark mines, selecting ores, and then selling the quality ores in the market.
Looking back, it was unimaginably tedious, yet at that time, it was a source of endless joy and motivation, as he watched the money he earned gradually arm his character and grow stronger, filling him with a sense of spiritual satisfaction.
Although this was merely an achievement gained in a virtual world.
Brendel weighed the pickaxe in his hand, unable to suppress a moment of self-mockery. However, he raised his head and carefully distinguished the figures in the distance—he quickly found Juliette, Xi, and Medisa among familiar figures; they had clearly seen the signs he left in the forest at night and were now disguised as miners, blending in with the workers.
They wore headscarves, which were common among mountain folk, but their dirty clothes were purchased by Brendel from a few boys; they had good connections here, providing him with great convenience.
Still, the biggest gain was the news he received from a frail boy named Kewen—the rumor that the Schafflund mine was connected to the underground world; when he heard the other speak, a vague idea formed in his mind, and afterward, he connected this idea with his plan.
As for whether this plan would succeed, it all depended on the actual situation today.
Brendel himself hadn’t anticipated that the opportunity would come so quickly.
However, while he was thinking about these issues, he felt someone elbow him from behind. He turned alertly and found it was Joeka.
The boy had noticed him daydreaming and had specifically run over to remind him:
“Be careful, grab your tools and head in, or you’ll get whipped for being late,” he whispered as he passed by.
Brendel first checked if his money pouch was still on him before he turned back and indeed saw the frail boy nodding at him from a distance, clearly signaling Joeka to remind him.
After a brief interaction the day before, the boys were no longer as wary of him as they had been previously, and Kewen’s willingness to help him was evidently out of gratitude.
Brendel sensed that the boy was actually reluctant to owe him a favor and to get entangled with him, which was within his expectations, but he didn’t anticipate that this frail boy seemed to have a decent standing among the group.
He contemplated briefly, then turned back, quickly following behind Joeka while quietly asking, “Where should I go?”
Joeka was already aware that Brendel was merely making a pretense for being here, so he was not surprised by his question, responding quietly, “Since you don’t know, just follow us; I know where the ore is more plentiful.”
“Thanks.”
“This isn’t a free service,” the boy turned back, seriously rubbing his fingers together, “You have money, right?”
“Of course,” Brendel smiled slightly.
Once they entered the mine, the light naturally became softer and dimmer—humans at Schafflund had exhausted the shallow veins and dug several deep wells to mine the layers below.
The tunnels of the mine intertwined beneath the layers of Graham’s Mountain, but only a few oil lamps cast light and shadow at great distances, outlining the winding paths.
Yet, it wasn’t just Brendel and Joeka who were going deeper underground; workers entered the tunnels from several main entrances, quickly dispersing. He looked around; when he glanced in a certain direction, he saw Juliette, Medisa, and Xi silently blending into the crowd, which slightly eased his mind, and he refocused his gaze to quietly follow Joeka ahead.
Joeka’s destination was far from the surface, but not the deepest part of the mine. According to Kewen, the deepest part connected to Jotungrund; however, in Brendel’s mind, it might also connect to the uppermost layer of Jotungrund, the so-called ‘Great Hive.’
The paths there were interconnected, making it hard to find the way out once one got lost; this was one of the greatest barriers between Jotungrund and the surface world. Moreover, the Great Hive itself was a chaotic area, home to many monsters, not a safe and peaceful place.
However, most of the mining operations were concentrated in the middle and upper layers. After Brendel and Joeka took a simple lift deeper underground, they traveled along the low mining tunnels for about ten minutes until they reached their working area.
But once they delved into the depths, what happened next surprised Joeka, who was walking in front.
The boy had thought Brendel would struggle to adapt to the low, oppressive environment of the mine; in fact, he had prepared to slow down to allow Brendel to keep up—here, the underground tunnels were not as spacious as on the upper levels, and if one wasn’t careful, they could easily get injured.
Yet, what he saw was entirely beyond his imagination; Brendel arrived here as if he were a fish in water. The young man walked forward effortlessly, even utilizing some techniques during his passage that were more skilled than Joeka’s, and there were even a few techniques he had never seen before.
The boy was almost dumbfounded; in his view, this was no novice—after decades in the trade, old miners couldn’t hold a candle to Brendel.
As the two continued forward, they took even less time than Joeka typically needed; in the end, Joeka didn’t even know how he managed to keep up with Brendel. The underground was incredibly hot, and when he stopped, he couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his brow, panting heavily.
Joeka had never imagined he would find himself chasing someone down here, gasping for breath; it had been a long time since he last felt this way after quitting his apprenticeship.
Then Brendel lit up a light source.
The air down here was already quite thin, making it impossible to use an open flame; instead, Brendel pulled out a glowing crystal meant for illumination—harsh mining costs had forced the use of the poorest quality crystals, which could only be bought for a few copper coins on the market. The light from the crystal was dim enough to be described as poor, even less than a weak candle flame, but the light gray halo sketched out the uneven shadows of the surrounding stone walls.
However, it must be said that the place Joeka chose was quite good; the rocks were coated with a faint lavender tint, which certainly wasn’t the color of silver ore itself. Brendel guessed it might contain some magic-infused minerals within the rock.
This wasn’t uncommon; in the veins of Vaunte, various types of magic-bearing minerals often coexisted. Judging by Brendel’s extensive experience, behind this layer of rock should lie a rich ore layer, where the quality of the ores would be quite good and could even yield some high-value companion minerals.
As a seasoned miner with “over a decade” of experience, Brendel naturally didn’t doubt his judgment.
At this moment, he heard a series of footsteps approaching from behind, turned around, and discovered that it was Kewen and Mahler along with several others. The group looked surprised upon seeing them: “Joeka, you’re here so soon?”
Joeka, panting, glanced at Brendel and nodded to his companions.
“You’ve chosen a good spot,” Brendel remarked to the boys and then looked at the rock wall.
“Hmph,” Mahler snorted quietly, “Can you really tell?”
“The lavender rock indicates that the ore layer contains cold iron components, a rare companion mineral,” Brendel looked at the sloping patterns on the rock layer and casually asked, “Have you mined any banded quartz here?”
“Banded quartz?” Mahler stared, surprised, “What on earth is that?”
“It’s also called blue quartz,” Brendel answered.
“Isn’t that just fake quartz? How could there be such a thing in a silver mine?” Mahler shook his head dismissively, “If you were looking for that, you definitely came to the wrong place.”
But Brendel shook his head.
Banded quartz wasn’t actual quartz but a mineral that could produce a moonlight effect, so it could also be classified as a type of moonstone; this mineral was widely found in various veins, and while low-quality banded quartz was worth next to nothing, the top-tier type was called a magic eye gem, typically used as the most critical part for magic rings.
Although the banded quartz in silver mines usually had poor quality, they were indeed companion minerals for cold iron. Looking at the glowing rock wall, Brendel said, “Then you dug in the wrong direction; if you dig in this direction, you might find cold iron ore.”
Mahler and the other boys exchanged glances. “How do you know? Why tell us this so kindly?” If this were before yesterday, they definitely wouldn’t have believed Brendel. But now it was different, and it seemed Brendel had no need to deceive them.
Brendel genuinely wasn’t deceiving them; he was merely speaking from the experience of an old miner.
“So how should we mine?” This time it was the girl behind Kewen who asked.
(PS: Tragedy—when I wrote that chapter yesterday, I was momentarily distracted and accidentally miswrote the name of the King of Flames; if you see it, just ignore it, haha… I’ll definitely pay more attention next time…
Also, seeking support; I seem to have caught a disease where if no one supports, I’ll be in trouble. Looking at the stagnant subscriptions and collections, I feel a bit weak.) (To be continued. For more details, please log in; there are more chapters and support the author, support legitimate reading!)
