Open-air Mine

Linsey did not try to persuade Anrui or offer her own opinion.

Because he knew it very well.

As a Lord has managed Border Town for a century, Anrui must have a rather deep-rooted will in some aspects.

His words could not sway Anrui's mind.

Moreover, the purpose of coming to the Lord's Manor today is to find out what the other party is thinking.

Linsey has achieved her goal and confirmed the current state of the town; that's enough.

So after the conversation ended, he stood up from next to Anrui.

Before leaving, Linsey asked one last question, "Uncle Anrui, I'm planning to try sharpening some arrowheads myself. I heard there are places around town where you can find ore. Could you tell me where they are?"

Anrui raised an eyebrow:

"Why don't we just leave this to the blacksmith in town, or go find Qiao Er?"

Linsey readily replied, "I'd like to try it myself too."

"..."

Anrui glanced at Linsey with great interest.

Because of their shared adventures in the Black Mountain World, he knew that Linsey's skills were incredibly diverse, and now he naturally connected everything.

However, this time Anrui didn't delve into it further, and simply replied:

"That place is just north of the town."

"Go straight from here, and at your pace you can get there in two hours."

After telling Linsey the location of the mine, Anrui also pointed to the manor kitchen behind him. "By the way, some nut cookies were baked in the kitchen today. You can take some to eat on the road."

Linsey nodded her thanks:

"Okay, Anrui."

After ending the conversation, Linsey walked towards the manor's kitchen.

It was still early, and only the cook, Leina, was busy in the kitchen.

This person is also an old acquaintance of Linsey's.

Because in the early stages of his Culinary Skill, he learned from others.

Seeing Linsey walk into the kitchen, Leina, who was washing radishes, immediately smiled. She put down the vegetables, wiped her hands on her apron, and warmly greeted her.

"Linsey, what brings you here?"

Leina's welcome was not just a formality, but came from the heart.

Because Linsey always respected her a lot, and she was humble and serious when learning to Culinary Skill.

A cook who is just an ordinary person.

How could Leina not like such a young awakened individual?

Linsey greeted him with a smile, then explained her purpose, "I'm planning to go north."

"Uncle Anrui said there were some baked nut cookies here, and told me to take some to eat on the way."

"Okay!" Leina nodded, then turned and took a few nut cookies from the basket next to her, handing them to Linsey. "Here, have some. Oh, and I also cooked some porridge this morning. Would you like a bowl before you go?"

"I ate breakfast before leaving home, so I won't have any porridge."

Linsey declined a few times, said goodbye to Leina, and prepared to leave the kitchen.

But just then, the cook called out to Linsey from behind: Leina walked up mysteriously and whispered to Linsey, "Linsey, you should be careful when you come here lately."

"Lord Anrui has been in a bad mood these past two days. Last night he even had an argument with someone in the manor, and I could hear it all clearly downstairs!"

"..."

Linsey nodded, her feelings as she left were made even more complicated by this little incident.

Rena's reminder seemed to be just a well-intentioned piece of advice.

Moreover, she herself did not harbor any ill will towards Anrui.

But this is actually a subconscious change. People in the Lord's Manor would never tell anyone about Anrui without permission, even if it was Linsey. This should not have happened.

The changes in the town are subtly altering everything.

Two hours later.

Linsey found the mine that Anrui had mentioned on the north side of town.

This is an open-pit mine, but it is hidden deep in a dense forest.

In recent years, the Border Town has not assigned anyone to clear the forest, so mining has been quite difficult.

Linsey learned about this history while studying under Finn.

Given the size of this Border Town, the demand for ore was very small in the past.

During periods when communication with the outside world was smooth, the town could meet all its needs with just a small amount of imported iron ore.

The Border Town is just an outpost and does not need to develop its economy.

Given the lack of urgent needs in many aspects, this place is basically abandoned.

Until they lost contact with the outside world.

The town was only redeveloped after it lost its source of imported iron ore.

Even so, the mine still retains a very primitive appearance. Linsey walked in and, following the open-pit mine vein, could see several large open-pit pits that had been cleared out.

If needed, the town will organize people to mine here.

Thirteen years have passed, and not much ore has been mined here; unprocessed reddish-black rough ore can even be seen on the surface.

Linsey walked a little further in.

I spotted a familiar Hunter Cabin by the roadside.

This simple wooden hut originally belonged to the hunter, but it has now been converted into a temporary hut by the guards who were sent to live in the mine.

Linsey knocked on the door and greeted them.

The other person's Suna, and he was also an Awakened One, but only at the Second Stage. He was strong enough to deal with some wild beasts, so he got this job.

Suna also knows Linsey.

After explaining his purpose, he stopped paying attention to this place and went back to the Hunter Cabin to take a nap.

Linsey didn't intend to trouble the other party any further.

He took out the pickaxe he had prepared and walked to a nearby large pit that had been dug.

Linsey picked up the pickaxe, then stopped moving.

He didn't even need to dig deep! Right there on the bare ground, Linsey spotted a dense, steel-gray block of ore. He bent down, grabbed the surface, and with a simple pry, pulled the block out.

[Ore: Hematite]

[Common ores can be refined into metals.]

[Common crude minerals on the market have low value.]

"This is much simpler than I thought."

Linsey remarked, then began digging in the pit.

Before long, four pieces of ore were placed in front of him.

Linsey then took out the furnace he had prepared in advance and placed it on the ground. As soon as the ore was put into it, the corresponding formula appeared.

4 iron ore stones = Iron Ingot

Linsey immediately chose to Smelting, and a perfect Iron Ingot appeared in his hand.

"Since we've come all this way, let's make sure we get everything we need before we go back."

Linsey weighed the Iron Ingot in her hand, stuffed it into her backpack, and turned back to continue digging.

This Open-air Mine does not only produce hematite.

It also contains small amounts of magnetite, limonite, and very small amounts of ilmenite.

Linsey didn't want to make the scene too dramatic.

So after he mined some ore in this pit, he moved to another pit to minimize his alteration of the Open-air Mine.

After all, given his efficiency.

If you focus your digging on one spot, you'll quickly create a spectacular scene.

Even so.

By the end of the morning, Linsey's hands were piled high with ores of various shapes.

Based on a Smelting efficiency of four to one, these harvests are sufficient for his planned usage.

I had originally planned to spend the whole day here, but I was able to finish work and go home early.

"Um?"

Suddenly, Linsey felt a chill on her hand.

He looked up at the sky.

I noticed tiny white snowflakes falling from the sky, the gloomy sky resembling a gray curtain pressing down.

This scene signifies only one thing:

Winter is coming...