Chapter 4: Mining Marvels

“Hephaestus’s Mine!” 

Vroom-

In a world where gates appear out of nowhere like lightning in a clear sky, and monsters pour out, common sense no longer applies once you awaken. 

“Phew, let’s do this!” 

After a short deep breath, I stepped into the entrance of the mine. 

It was clearly the wall of my studio apartment, but as I entered, a dark, characteristic mine passage appeared. 

Broken rails, shattered carts—it was unmistakably a mine. 

Though it looked like an abandoned one, long unused. 

[Remaining Time: 2:00:00] 

The countdown began. 

My instincts as a shut-in gamer kicked in, telling me I had to mine as much ore as possible within the two-hour limit. 

But there was one problem. 

“What? No pickaxe? Summon pickaxe! Summon Hephaestus’s Pickaxe! Seriously, nothing?” 

I needed to mine, but I didn’t have a pickaxe. 

Since becoming a blacksmith granted me the “Summon Hephaestus’s Hammer” skill, I assumed the mine would provide a pickaxe similarly. 

No such convenience existed. 

Should I go back and craft a pickaxe? 

But I’d already disassembled everything usable to make the “Kitchen Long Sword.” 

Do I need to buy something to craft a pickaxe? 

As these thoughts swirled, I spotted a pickaxe leaning against a broken cart. 

“A pickaxe!” 

I knew it! They wouldn’t send me into a mine without a tool. 

But as I picked it up— 

Snap. 

All I held was a long wooden handle. 

The pickaxe head, the crucial part, had detached and fallen to the ground. 

It was so old its durability had hit rock bottom. 

Slightly flustered by the head breaking off as if it were only natural, I quickly thought of a solution. 

“Repair!” 

Ding!

As I used the skill, a point appeared above the pickaxe. 

Just as I expected. 

Thrilled, I swung my hammer with gusto. 

Thanks to devouring a whole chicken, I had plenty of energy. 

Clang, clang, clang! 

Like playing a rhythm game, I swung the hammer in time with the points. 

After hitting points over a hundred times, I’d gotten a sense of their timing and patterns. 

My swings grew faster and more precise. 

As I swung, the cracked wooden handle mended, and the detached pickaxe head reattached. 

Moments later— 

[‘Pickaxe’ repair completed.] 

[Successful repair increases the pickaxe’s attack power.] 

[Successful repair upgrades the pickaxe’s rank.] 

“Alright!” 

The pickaxe was successfully repaired. 

Thanks to the repair skill, it shed its aged appearance and gleamed like new. 

It felt satisfyingly heavy in my hands. 

[Old Pickaxe] 

Type: Pickaxe 

Rank: E 

Restriction: Level 1 or higher 

Description: A pickaxe so old its wooden handle had rotted, and the head had fallen off. Now well-repaired, it can once again serve its purpose. 

Attack Power: 20 

Ability: 1. Sturdiness – Increases weapon strength, and durability decreases more slowly. 

Sadly, it was only E-grade. 

But considering the broken pickaxe wasn’t even considered an item before, this was a win. 

Turning a worthless object into an E-grade item with just a repair? Not bad. 

“Now, shall we swing it?” 

Mining isn’t just about swinging a pickaxe anywhere. 

You need to hit spots rich with ore, which requires an eye for veins. 

Naturally, I had no such skill. 

Since I knew nothing, I figured I’d just start digging from the entrance. 

But then— 

[Ability ‘Heir of Hephaestus (SSS)’ activated.] 

A system message popped up, and— 

Flash! 

My vision changed. 

“Oooh!” 

The dark passage, lit only by faint torchlight, began to glow. 

The left wall, right wall, even the ceiling and floor in some spots radiated light. 

The colors and intensity of the light varied by location. 

A normal person might not understand, but as a self-proclaimed shut-in gamer, I knew exactly what it meant. 

“That’s the spot, right?” 

Ore points. 

The glowing spots were veins. 

I moved to the nearest vein and swung the pickaxe. 

Thud! 

I may be a shut-in gamer, but I’m also a proud army veteran. 

My body still remembers the labor of those two years. 

Thud! 

Mining isn’t just about brute force. 

You lift the heavy pickaxe slowly, then let it fall carefully. 

Yes, it’s about letting it fall, not swinging. 

Add a slight snap just before the head hits the target, and— 

Crack! 

You can mine with minimal effort. 

Of course, mining in a real mine differs from surface work, as you often swing at walls. 

Still, thanks to becoming an awakener with a status window and stats, I had an unbelievable amount of energy for someone who’d been cooped up all day. 

As I dug into the wall— 

Clang! 

“Oooh!” 

Something caught on the pickaxe. 

I hurriedly dug around it, and an ore rolled out. 

[Tin] 

“Nice!” 

Tin. 

A common ore, but as my first mined ore in the mine, it felt significant. 

After that first ore, things sped up. 

Or rather, reaching that first ore meant I’d hit a vein, so more followed quickly. 

[Iron Ore] 

[Brass Ore] 

Various ores found in reality dropped. 

No, they weren’t quite like real-world ores. 

These were proper “items” recognized by the system, materials for crafting, unlike ordinary ores. 

Then— 

“What’s this?” 

Roll.

An ore unlike anything in reality, something only found in gates, rolled out. 

*** 

In an era of gates, monsters, and awakeners, governments struggled to manage everything, leading to the rise of guilds. 

Governments investigated gates, while guilds, formed by awakeners, cleared monsters for profit. 

Initially chaotic, awakeners quickly organized, and guilds grew into massive or smaller entities, like corporations. 

Here, in a place marked with the symbol of an Eastern dragon, was the general affairs team of Mir Guild, one of Korea’s top five guilds. 

“Min-seong, add some level 1 weapons. We got more new recruits than expected.” 

“What kind do you need?” 

“Two swords, one spear. Three should do.” 

“I’ll look right away.” 

Even Mir Guild’s general affairs team consisted of awakeners. 

Following the order, an employee opened the auction house to browse level 1 weapons. 

The list had more weapons than expected, so he filtered for B-grade or higher. 

As a major guild, Mir provided at least B-grade equipment for new awakeners. 

“Nothing good here.” 

He hit refresh. 

Level 1 weapons of B-grade or higher were rare. 

High-grade items from F-grade gates, the lowest tier, were uncommon, and craftsmen rarely made low-level weapons due to low profit margins. 

As he refreshed again— 

“Whoa!” 

“Find something?” 

“Yeah! This looks good. It’s a long sword, usable with one or two hands, with high attack power. And the ability… wow! It has fire attribute bonus damage.” 

“Fire attribute on a level 1 weapon? Is it the ‘Blazing Mantis Blade’? No, that’s C-grade.” 

“It’s a new weapon. But it looks crafted, not dropped.” 

“A level 1 crafted weapon? Let me see.” 

The supervisor joined to view the auction window. 

The item was called “Kitchen Long Sword.” 

It was unclear why it had “Kitchen” in the name, but its abilities were impressive. 

Compared to other B-grade weapons with useless abilities, this was top-tier. 

But— 

“Definitely crafted.” 

“Right? But there’s no mark.” 

Marks. 

Craftsmen usually stamp their creations with a symbol to advertise their name and prove their worth. 

This sword had no mark. 

The implication was clear. 

“A new awakener.” 

“No way. It’s a B-grade weapon.” 

“Exactly. That means a blacksmith with at least a B-grade ability.” 

The supervisor’s eyes sparkled. 

A blacksmith with a B-grade or higher ability was incredibly rare in a market already short on blacksmiths. 

Most blacksmiths worked independently, and Mir Guild only had C-grade or lower blacksmiths for repairs, not crafting. 

This was exciting. 

“Buy it, no matter what.” 

“The bid’s pretty high. It’s too expensive for a newbie weapon…” 

“I’ll report it upstairs. Just buy it. And send a thank-you message to get info on the blacksmith.” 

“Got it!” 

She moved quickly. 

A blacksmith with at least a B-grade ability—possibly A-grade, given they made a B-grade sword from low-grade materials. 

“We have to scout them.” 

Scouting an A-grade blacksmith could elevate Mir Guild significantly, maybe even to the top in Korea. 

Blacksmiths were that rare and valuable. 

[Time limit for the mine has ended.] 

“Ugh?!” 

*** 

As the two hours ended, I was forcibly ejected from the mine, sucked out like through a vacuum. 

Good thing I was prepared, or I might’ve left my hard-earned ores behind. 

“Hehe, how many are there?” 

Thanks to awakening, I had an “Item Inventory.” 

As a level 1 inventory, it couldn’t hold much, but it was enough for these ores. 

Clatter.

I mined fifteen ores today. 

Not a lot, but not bad for the first day. 

“Now, shall we start the next task?” 

I had plenty of materials. 

From common ores like iron and brass to a fantastical ore glowing quietly in the corner. 

I hadn’t decided what to craft, but one thing came first. 

“Time to disassemble?” 

Vroom- 

Points appeared above the fifteen ores.