Far From Vanilla: Modded Game Reincarnation

 “This pick will cost you ten silver."

 I looked at the kid, whose name I learned to be Cody, and he gave me a thoughtful look. 

 It’s been three days since we talked about making money, and I’ve been recuperating my strength since then. I’ve lived in this world for eleven days in total, and in the past three of those eleven days, I learned plenty of things about Ironhold.

 “That should do,” Cody affirmed. Admittedly it was pricey, but for the work I was going to do, it was the best option.

 I laid the ten silver pieces onto the counter and the blacksmith counted them. He was a tad slow about it, seriously it was only ten, but education was not exactly common. 

So I can’t really blame him. Hell, Cody can read only the most basic of things. He can’t write at all.

 “That should do.” The man said, throwing in a leather sheath for the pickaxe. 

 I put it on the item and slung it on my back. I was clad in full gear, minus the longsword. 

I was still too clumsy with it, so instead, I opted for the ax and the remaining knife I had. Furthermore, a weapon like that wouldn’t be suited for my destination today.

 “Are you really sure, mister?” The boy looked at me with a worried face. “The mines are very dangerous, you know? The rumors...”

 I chuckled at his remark, ruffling his head. Funnily enough, I’ve grown fond of this young boy. He’s very useful. In fact, he’s my eyes, ears, and legs. I even asked him to deliver a letter to Rudolf and Eric. 

 “You’re just saying that because if something happened to me, you wouldn’t be earning so much.”

But he’s quite the money-grubber, but that simply was him being an entrepreneur. I can’t blame him for that. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. 

 “Yep!” The boy laughed, answering without skipping a beat. “I like money, mister! Would be a true shame if something happened to you!”

 “You cocky kid,” I grinned, slipping a copper coin into his hand. “Now, go back to the inn, I’m going to work now.”

 It was still early in the morning and I already knew where to go. 

With this kid’s help I managed to get a rough feel of the city’s layout. I know where the Church, the inn, and the library are located. 

But I didn’t get a chance to scope them out, since I had other things to do.

 Knowing where they were was enough for me. For now, at least. Money is my current problem, and I can't afford to procrastinate on it.

***

 “Are you here to mine?” The man at the desk looked at me with a somewhat surprised and confused expression. His eyes looked me up and down. “You’re just asking to die.”

 “Whether or not I kick the bucket, is not up to you.” I replied.

 After parting ways with the kid, I left for the west gate while passing through the industrial district. 

 That part of town was very advanced, in a sense. Factories stretched from the gate to the central clock of town, their tall smokestacks bellowing steam and minor pollutants. If I were to guess, they were the reason as to why it rains so heavily at times.

 The steam that they produce is nothing to scoff at.

 But something detrimental was happening in the mines west of the town. The Excavator Company operation has slowly grinded to a turtle’s pace. They apparently were using steam-powered drilling machines to mine the mountain when they bumped into a monster infestation deep within.

 The decrease in the supply of iron, coal, and other minerals coupled with the great demand drove the prices up significantly, so the blacksmiths around Ironhold have been suffering quite a while now. 

 So they put forward an incentive. Normally, all the ore would come from Excavator Company, but since their demand couldn’t be met with the small supply, some shops have resorted to privately hiring their own mining personnel for the ore.

 Since Excavator Company didn't have a title deed, or contact with the city and were in essence, merchants, the mines west of the city were free land. They don’t have the right to dissuade private groups.

 So instead, they’ve been working alongside them to deal with the monster infestation, for most of the private groups were mostly made of adventurers.

 In summary, these parts were filled with only people looking for money. 

 But my goal is slightly different, because of what is truly happening.

Cody wasn't being paranoid after all.

 “Who’re you working for?” The man at the desk sighed, my name tag in his hand, writing my name down onto a ledger.

 “I can’t say.” That’s all I’ll say for now. I won’t reveal my cards to anyone I can't trust. Especially not these guys, since I’ve heard unsavory rumors about them. 

 They might be lies, but lies cannot be made without the truth. There definitely is something amiss going on here, not that it matters much to me. 

 “Heh, you’re all the same.” The man rolled his eyes, tossing me my nametag, “Don’t die, Hyun.” 

 The way my name rolled off his tongue rubbed me the wrong way. There definitely was something going on here.

 I pull my hood back up after I wear my name tag again, holding my axe and pickaxe on either hand, still sheathed of course. Funnily enough, after going a week without my right hand, I learned how to use my left.

 I followed the path beyond the checkpoint and carefully listened to the others that walked alongside me. I purposefully walked slower than them to force them to walk around me, and when they did pass, did I snoop into their conversations by keeping the pace.

 This was a trick Cody bragged about using. I was curious as to why the brat was very knowledgeable.

 Adventures about my age, and slightly older said the same things.

 Dungeon. Monsters. Valuable loot. Ancient technologies.

 I concluded that the mining operation was drilled into a hidden dungeon deep within the mountain. 

 The ores weren’t the goal but the equipment of the previous eras that came before.

 I followed them up the mountain and looked onto a quarry. The mountain was practically cut in half and peeled layer by layer for operations, until they discovered a ruin hidden underneath.

 “Hm…” I hummed to myself. “That… is different from what I remember…”

For one, it was grand, for a ruin.