[Ding!]
[You have discovered Netherveil Ore]
The sudden notification caught Ethan's attention.
"Netherveil Ore!" He blurted out in delight as he heard the notification.
He leaned closer and glided his fingers across the screen.
Just as he glided his fingers across the screen, the scene shifted to another location. This location wasn't far from the village, just at the border of the mountain range.
He zoomed in.
There on the screen, a few wolf-kin came into sight. The wolf-kin were gathered in a dark, narrow, cave-like location, holding onto what looked like a stone pick-axe.
"What is this ore?"
One of the wolf-kin, standing before a dark ore that seemed unusual than other stones, mumbled in surprise.
This dark stone seemed to be emitting a faint aura that made him uncomfortable.
Thwack!
He swung his pickaxe again, attempting to break it.
But as he swung, the tip of the pickaxe blunted. He felt the rebounding force, and his hands went numb.
"What is it?" He mumbled as he felt its toughness.
"Step aside… Let me try."
Pushing him aside, another wolf-kin stepped in.
Just like the previous one, he swung his pickaxe with his entire might.
THWACK!
The ore produced a loud, crisp sound before the wolf-kin felt a jolting pain coursing through his arms. The stone pickaxe also crumbled.
"Argh!"
He billowed as he stumbled.
The sound caught everyone's attention, their gaze turning their way, startled and worried.
This bunch of wolf-kin was mining for stones.
"What happened?"
Echoes of concern echoed as the other wolf-kin came to a halt.
"I don't know… There's something unusual over here… I couldn't break it. So, Naz took a shot, but his pickaxe shattered."
The wolf-kin who had discovered this unusual stone explained as he took hold of his companion.
The others, upon learning of this, couldn't help but feel confused. Naz was one of the strongest miners, known for his brute strength. But there was something even he couldn't break?
What could it be?
Could it be adamantine?
The wolf-kin hadn't come into contact with a lot of ores. However, there was one particular ore in their previous village with excellent toughness— Adamantine.
Could they have stumbled upon adamantine?
"Pass me the torch. Let me have a look."
Other wolf-kin stepped up to inspect. He leaned closer with the fire torch in his hand. However, just as he leaned closer, something unusual happened.
The stone didn't look anything like the adamantine he had seen before.
Instead, it had a dark hue, similar to obsidian, but it bore no resemblance to obsidian. The strangest part was that it appeared to be absorbing the light.
When he brought the torch closer, its surface shifted like flowing smoke, while at the same time, the torch in his hands dimmed.
Dumbfounded, he brought the torch away.
But as he brought the torch away, its glow returned. There wasn't anything wrong with the torch.
He became even more curious, and he couldn't help but suspect that something was wrong with the dark ore before him.
To test his suspicions, he once again brought the torch closer to the stone.
But just as he did, he noticed the same difference he had noticed before. The torch dimmed as if its light was getting sucked.
"What is it, Gale? Is that adamantine?"
Others asked as he inspected the stone.
"No… It's something different…" Gale responded with a thoughtful look on his face.
He nudged at the stone, attempting to test its toughness. The crisp sound he heard when nudging onto the stone assured him of its toughness.
He could tell that this stone was different.
From his inspection, his intuition screamed at him to mine this mineral. Hence, he shouted, "From this moment onwards, we have to mine this ore. But make sure to remember that you can't break it with your weapon. So, thrust your weapon around it and mine it."
Gale commanded the miners.
Though Gale and the others might be oblivious of this rare mineral, the same couldn't be said about Ethan.
He knew what this mineral was.
[Netherveil Ore]
[Rarity: Legendary]
[Description: A dark, mist-wreathed ore that seems to drink in surrounding light. Its surface shifts like flowing smoke.]
There were some rare minerals available in the game, and the tools crafted from such minerals provided special effects. For example, the sword crafted from adamantine could shatter other metals like glass, and adamantine also granted enhanced strength bonuses.
To be able to find one such ore, Ethan couldn't help but feel excited.
"Now, only if we can refine this ore into weapons…"
Ethan was glad to stumble upon this discovery; however, he still couldn't help but feel vexed. Finding this ore was a great achievement, but refining it was another hassle.
The ore would be useless without refining, and the wolf-kin lacked the knowledge and equipment needed for refining.
[Ding!]
[Refining has been unlocked]
[Your craftsmen can now begin refining rare ores]
[The time taken to master refining is relevant to the skills of the craftsmen in your tribe]
Just as Ethan was pondering about its usage, another notification rang. This notification was like the chime of heaven, the ointment to his injuries. It was just as he needed.
"Refining has been unlocked?"
Ethan's face bloomed as he heard the notification, his gaze sparkling with joy.
Previously, he couldn't unlock it.
Perhaps, he couldn't unlock refining before because he hadn't met a certain criterion. But now that he had met the criteria, refining had been unlocked.
However, the last phrase left him a bit baffled.
There wasn't a set time to complete the research.
"Then… does it mean it might take me a decade to refine this mineral?" Ethan's expression became complacent.
"First, it doesn't even provide a hint to unlock new research, and now this?"
Ethan flared up, his brows furrowing. He couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with the working mechanisms of the system. The system didn't provide even the slightest hint to unlock new research, and it also provided vague answers to complete the research.
"Just how realistic do you have to make it?"
Ethan scratched his head in frustration.