Chapter 279: Act 46 – The Silver Mine (7)
Cold iron ore is a highly valuable mineral. According to past lore from the game, incorporating cold iron into a metal weapon would proportionally increase its damage against magical creatures.
A pure cold iron longsword would deal twice the damage to magical creatures compared to an ordinary longsword.
In any country within Vaunte, they have had to face the troubles caused by magical creatures for a long time, leading to a tremendous demand for cold iron. However, this mineral only exists in silver mines, copper mines, and as byproducts in certain crystal mines, making it often valuable yet hard to obtain.
On the market, the value of cold iron is nearly equivalent to the same weight in gold; however, its density is much higher than that of gold, making it truly precious.
When Brendel mentioned there was cold iron here, it naturally caught the attention of these youths. If they could mine some cold iron and find a way to discreetly sell part of it to a suitable buyer, it would be unimaginable wealth.
Of course, in reality, people like them often had some connections that allowed them to engage in a bit of under-the-table work. As for the mines, they weren’t ignorant of them; rather, they simply couldn’t be bothered to inquire given the limited number.
After hearing the maiden’s question, Brendel glanced at them, thinking that using a little favor to win their hearts wasn’t a bad strategy, especially since he might need their help later. He pointed at the inclined textures on the rock wall and replied, “Just dig down along these lines. I can’t guarantee you’ll find any, but there is definitely a rich ore layer further down.”
Kewen nodded in agreement, and at his suggestion, Mahler picked up a pickaxe and began digging in that direction, followed by the others.
However, Brendel had no intention of mining himself. Instead, he turned to look down the dark tunnel, which extended into the distance out of sight. “Where does that lead?” he asked.
“There’s another layer below,” Kewen replied. Due to his physical condition, he wasn’t working, but it seemed the others didn’t mind—Brendel noticed someone sharing some of the mined ore with the frail boy. “But that layer has been abandoned.”
Brendel knew very well why the lower layer was abandoned, as the youth had mentioned last night that it was because a passage to a large beehive was broken through when they were mining, leading to an outpouring of creatures. They had managed to force the creatures back after much effort; since then, no one dared to go to the lowest level of the mine.
After listening to Kewen, he glanced that way and simply walked deeper into the tunnel.
“Wait,” Kewen called after him. “Sir, you should wait a moment before going in.”
Brendel stopped.
“Why?”
“The foreman will come to check soon; it’s better to wait until he leaves,” the youth replied.
“When will he come?”
“In about fifteen minutes, sometimes half an hour.”
Brendel furrowed his brow. “Will he come back after that?”
“Yes, the foreman comes around every few hours, but I can’t say the exact time.”
“A few hours? That should be enough—” Brendel thought. Then he nodded in response, “Thanks.” He also thought this was the benefit of winning hearts.
He lifted the pickaxe and struck the rock wall a couple of times. Under the power of the golden realm, the rock seemed to crumble down like a landslide. But what amazed Joeka and Mahler and the others was Brendel’s skilled technique; the pickaxe almost followed the vein of the ore without a hint of deviation.
Low-quality silver ore slid down to Brendel’s feet. He idly moved it aside, initially a bit interested, but soon he just sat to the side, listening to the clinking sounds of the pickaxe.
Mahler and the others were mining quickly, the light purple rock wall being stripped away in no time, revealing a grayish layer behind it. At this point, Brendel signaled for them to stop and had Joeka pry a small chunk from the rock and toss it over to him. He picked it up, examined it for a moment, then raised it to speak to the others.
“This is banded quartz; keep digging down!”
“Does that mean we found something?” Kewen asked from the side.
Brendel nodded.
Excitement began to show on the youths’ faces. If they wanted to venture into the outside world, they would need a substantial amount of money, and it seemed like this was an opportunity to get rich.
The pace of the picks increased, the clinking sounds echoing endlessly. Brendel watched as the youths tossed aside one piece of unwanted rock after another, some rolling down to his feet. However, when he glanced down, he noticed that the quality of the banded quartz was improving.
Brendel was startled; this wasn’t normal. Banded quartz is a product formed through magical influence, and usually, only high-purity crystal mines would yield higher quality specimens, unlike metal mines.
He raised his head and found that Mahler, Joeka, and a few other youths had stopped. After the light gray rock was completely stripped away, a rich blue ore vein was exposed—cold iron, but it wasn’t just the cold iron that halted their work; it was the gems within that glimmered with a faint fluorescence.
Magic Eye Gems!
Seventeen pieces, each the size of a thumb!
Brendel couldn’t help but be stunned. He had never heard of anyone digging up seventeen magic eye gems in one go. Not to mention magic eye gems; even the lowest-grade magic crystals, used to create intelligence headgear, like purple yellow jade, had never been extracted in such numbers.
He slapped his cheek, as if waking from a dream. But he immediately raised his head to ask, “Do you know what these things are?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Brendel looked at the vein of cold iron containing the magic eye gems—this accompanying ore vein was itself abnormal in size. With just a glance, he estimated that it could yield at least one or two tons of cold iron ore.
This amount was already quite formidable for cold iron.
Cold iron is also a product affected by magical energy, but Brendel couldn’t understand how this ore vein could have gathered so much magical influence to form such a large accompanying vein.
He shook his head to dismiss that thought and paused for a moment before saying, “These are magic eye gems; they are very useful to me.”
The youths fell silent.
“Alright, we’ll split it in half,” Mahler said immediately. In truth, splitting in half was quite unfair to them, as there was only one Brendel while there were seven of them.
But the youths knew that Brendel’s strength was considerable, and they were also worried about him getting greedy.
However, Brendel shook his head. “I want them all; you can sell your share to me as well.” He patted his waist. “I can pay you right now.”
Magic eye gems are the most important material for crafting magic rings, but not just that; Brendel knew that the White Lion Armor required this material, and even the long-lost Wind Weaver Bow of the golden elves was the same.
Seventeen thumb-sized magic eye gems were enough to create a hundred sets of armor. Brendel couldn’t help but think this truly was an unexpected windfall.
The youths were silent for a moment before Kewen asked, “How much will you pay?”
“You’re not aware of the market value of the magic eye gems. You can’t sell them easily, and I won’t hide it from you; I only plan to offer half of the market price,” Brendel said leisurely. “However, I think even half should be satisfactory for you.”
“And how much is that?” a girl standing beside Kewen asked.
“Ten square gold coins.”
A collective gasp filled the mine. Square gold coins were the most common currency used in the south, and ten of them were close to thirteen thousand Tor. That was no small sum.
“Are you really willing to offer… that much?” Joeka asked somewhat stammering.
“Of course, along with your rewards.”
The youth laughed awkwardly; he of course knew Brendel was joking. He would request at most fifteen Tor for guiding him.
The frail boy, however, listened quietly, then nodded to signal his companions to pry down the crystals from the cold iron vein and hand them over to Brendel. Naturally, Brendel readily paid up. When he handed over the bag filled with gold coins, the young people repeatedly nodded, even biting it a few times, as if they couldn’t believe it was gold.
Indeed, fifteen thousand Tor was an astronomical number for these youths; working here for ten years, they might not earn that much. Even considering selling silver ore on the side wouldn’t yield such an amount.
Brendel carefully stored the magic eye gems, only to hear Kewen ask, “Sir, do you want this cold iron?”
Brendel glanced at the long cold iron vein, thinking that he certainly wanted it, but not right now. Sooner or later, this mine would belong to him.
He shook his head.
The youths expressed some disappointment; without Brendel, it would be much more troublesome for them to get these ores out.
However, this unexpected fortune was merely a small episode in the otherwise dull process of mining.
About half an hour later, the foreman they had mentioned finally appeared. He seemed to know the youths well, greeting them and mistaking Brendel for a new member among them.
Kewen, Mahler, and Brendel all tacitly chose not to deny it. Once the foreman left, Brendel finally found the opportunity to venture deeper underground.
Bidding farewell to the youths, he stealthily made his way down the deep, dark tunnels towards the lowest level of the mine. There, the intricate passages had been abandoned many years ago, and the entire cold, silent underground bore no signs of life. A regular person would feel instinctively creeped out venturing through such places alone.
Yet Brendel felt quite satisfied walking in the darkness.
No one is best!
Eventually, he stopped by a blocked passageway, glancing around to confirm that he was deep enough before extending his hand. A pale blue fate card appeared in his palm:
It was the Wind Elemental Spider.
…
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