With a steady stride, Leora walked forward, stopping at the edge of the cliff. Kreyn stood beside her as a sweeping view opened up before them: the multi-level mines, the blazing torchlights, and a multitude of men working up a sweat.
"Welcome. These are the Orazit Mines. They’re the main source of all the Crooked Horn’s wealth. As you must have already figured out, I’m in charge here, and you’re now my assistant."
"Hmm? An assistant right away? Are you saying there aren’t any other blacksmiths among you?"
Leora smirked.
"Of course we have a few, but they mostly repair rather than create. And they’re ordinary people, not a Hunter like you - that’s the key difference."
She waved her hand as she headed toward a tent set up off to the side, like in a military camp.
"Come on, I’ll show you. You still don’t understand where you’ve ended up. I can’t work with you if your head is empty."
Kreyn walked silently behind her, gazing at her shoulders and neck. Then a question came to his mind, and he didn’t hesitate to voice it.
"Why are you walking ahead?"
"What do you mean?" Leora’s calm expression didn’t change. "Obviously, you don’t know the way."
"No, I’m not talking about the way. Aren’t you afraid I’ll attack you from behind?"
"Kha!" Leora chuckled, tossing her head back. "You can try, but I assure you, faster than you can realize it, your teeth will be scattered across the ground."
Kreyn gave her an emotionless look. "You’re quite confident in your abilities, aren’t you?"
"There’s no other way to survive here, rookie, and I’m not talking about the Crooked Horn, but our world. Well, unless, of course, we’re counting the weaklings from the wealthy sectors of the cities, like that bitch you came with."
"Got it."
With a sweeping gesture, they entered the tent, which, oddly enough, was full of high-tech gadgets.
On the left was a map on which, in addition to the Crooked Horn, several other Nodes were marked. Each had its own designation. In the center was a table with several phones. On the right was equipment: pickaxes, lanterns, explosives, and so on.
Standing at the table with a tablet in his hands was a young man with curly blond hair and glasses. He was intently watching something and only a moment later noticed that Leora had arrived.
"Oh! Miss Leora! Did you take care of those fugitives?" The young man’s eyes lit up brightly.
"Yes, Old Hargod turned it into a useful competition, you could say, and here are the results." She pointed to Kreyn, who was standing next to her.
The young man immediately frowned, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes?" He raised his head irritably. "And who’s that one-eyed guy? He could at least hide his scar, for heaven’s sake."
’Oh...’ Kreyn sighed inwardly. ’He’s a bitter one, isn’t he? I didn’t expect that.’
Leora pointed at the young man. "That’s Nario. He’s my first assistant, sort of. He also oversees the work in the mines, makes sure we’re collecting enough ore, and manages the trade."
"Trade?" Kreyn turned to her.
She nodded deeply. "How do you think the Crooked Horn survives? The raids Garius loves to go on aren’t enough for all of us, to put it mildly. Our main source of income is actually the Orazit Ore, not monster carcasses or people."
"People? Are you telling me that the slave trade is struggling?" Kreyn was puzzled, and the very fact that the Crooked Horn was involved in the slave trade didn’t seem to bother him.
Leora spread her arms wide.
"You won’t believe it."
Then, she regained her serious expression.
"Anyway, Nario, this is Kreyn. He’s the blacksmith Garius brought along. I wanted to show him around before we head down into the mines. How are things going?"
Nario shot Kreyn a piercing glance and moved on to his report.
"Everything’s within normal range. We extracted another 35 metric tons of ore today, but the commander of the fourth squad complained that the Rahta Beasts are roaming near Mine C11 again."
"35 metric tons a day?" Kreyn tilted his head. "Isn’t that too little? How many people are actually working in this mine?"
Nario frowned.
"Miss Leora, I think your assistant is an idiot. Are you sure he should be working with us?"
"Relax, sweetie, he’s from the city, so he’s probably never even seen a mine up close."
"Pffft! City folks are always the most trouble. They think of us, the Renegades, as second-class people!" Nario complained.
"No."
"Agh?" Nario blinked.
Kreyn shrugged. "I only found out about you guys a few hours ago. But I’d like to hear more about the mines. Is 35 metric tons a day really enough to support the whole Crooked Horn?"
Nario was ready to keep arguing, but Leora gestured for him to get to the point.
"Well, if we were talking about iron or copper, you’d be right. But Orazit Ore is rarer and more valuable. We have an average of 250 people working here, and considering the constant problem with the Rahta Beasts, that’s a very good result."
Nario walked over to the table, touched it, and continued as a graph appeared before him.
"Out of 35 metric tons of ore, only about 5% is Orazit, that’s roughly 1,750 kilograms, but after processing, we’re left with about one and a half metric tons of pure material. And yes, that’s more than enough to provide for everyone here, since Orazit is a valuable material."
A few moments later, Kreyn nodded as something else caught his attention.
"What’s that?"
He pointed to a device off to the side. Above it, a simple stone hovered over a light-colored platform. It was blank until a task was assigned to the device.
"That’s an analyzer," Leora replied as she stepped forward and approached a chest off to the side. "It’s the best way to determine the purity of the Orazit. After all, even after the ore is processed, the material itself varies quite a bit in quality, it’s really a matter of luck."
Crack.
She opened the chest as a bright green light poured out.
Leora picked up a crystal and placed it on the light platform as the crystal glowed.
Soon, a holographic window appeared:
[75.48% Purity.]
"Is this Orazit?" Kreyn asked, looking at the floating crystal.
"Yes." Leora nodded.
"Can I touch it?"
Nario frowned as he was about to refuse, but Leora just shook her head.
"Go on, you need to see what we’re working with."
Something about this crystal drew Kreyn in, something more than mere curiosity.
Tap.
The moment he touched the crystal, he knew.
[The Gene Forge’s flame flared brightly in anticipation.]
[Find 99% Orazit to level up the Gene Forge and unlock new capabilities and the ability to work with new materials.]
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