"Ha! What a haul we got today!"
"Yeah, yeah! Who would have thought we'd get so lucky? Brother Chuan really is amazing! Praise him!"
As the sun was about to set, the group that had entered the mine at dawn finally emerged from its entrance in a grand procession. Everyone was covered in dust and dirt, but excited smiles lit up every face, all because the carts pulled by the Filolials behind them were packed with rare ore-
Today was their first trip into the mine since the monsters lurking in its depths had been dealt with. Chuan Wenwu accompanied the miners as their guard, checking for any threats he might have missed. Sure enough, some monsters skilled at hiding had escaped his notice and seized the chance to ambush the miners as they worked, but Chuan Wenwu intercepted and dispatched them all in time. Their corpses became materials absorbed by the Shield of the Hero, feeding his growing strength.
Among them, however, a mole monster adept at burrowing underground granted him a support skill called [Mining II], which was stronger than the mining skill he had obtained from the Pickaxe Shield. Since the surroundings were suitable, he gave it a try, and the results were astonishing! A single strike of his shield pulverized twenty-seven cubic meters of rock!
Moreover, while using the skill, he stumbled upon an undiscovered offshoot of an ore vein buried deeper in the rock. The mine, which should have been nearing abandonment, unexpectedly gained a new lease on life. Naturally, the miners with him dug up a considerable quantity of ore as well. They emptied all the common ore from their baskets and replaced it with the far rarer "light metal ore"-a peculiar metal of lower density and greater hardness, with some resistance to magic.