Hostility?
Ian was sure he hadn't imagined it.
But it was strange. This was his first day here. How could he have offended this Wizard?
Ian grew wary. Looking at the two men, he said, "I'm Ian. Supervisor Magnus, Supervisor Grayson, it's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed calmly, neither servile nor arrogant.
"There's nothing to teach you. Just follow the rules," Magnus said evenly.
"Until you take over the quality inspection area completely, Grayson will continue to manage it. Now that you're here, he'll hand it over to you. First, I'll show you around the mine."
"All right."
Ian nodded.
From what Magnus had said, he suspected the inexplicable hostility had something to do with the position.
Magnus turned and led Ian toward the mine shafts, with Grayson following alongside them.
"The Molten Fire Abyss has three levels," Magnus explained as they walked, speaking quickly. "We're on the first level now. It's the main area for living quarters, storage, and preliminary processing.
"Mining takes place mainly in the tunnels dug into these rock walls and in the shafts extending downward. The rock here is relatively stable, and the heat is bearable. It produces mainly Zero Ring lava crystals and a small quantity of low-grade First Ring lava crystals."
Ian looked ahead.
Before him lay a mine shaped like an inverted funnel. Its uppermost level was the widest, over a hundred meters high and several kilometers across, with broad platforms, tracks, warehouses, and barracks carved into it.
Under the overseers' shouted orders, countless miners and low-ranking apprentices pushed mine carts and carried tools along the crisscrossing walkways, hauling raw ore to various destinations.
The air rang with the roar of machinery, the clatter of ore, the overseers' curses, and other sounds.
Clearly, this was the first level.
Then Magnus