Greg started making mining equipment the next day. He was determined to make things that were useful and practical without being too strong or having strange properties.

He began with three pickaxes, one for each person who would use them, with sturdy steel heads, reinforced wooden handles, and the right weight balance. He added simple durability enchantments, nothing fancy, just enough to make sure they wouldn't break from normal use.

The notification from the system showed up.

[CRAFTING COMPLETE!]

[ITEM MADE: PICKAXE OF TIRELESS MINING]

[RANK: SSS]

[PROPERTIES: NEVER BREAKS, PERFECT WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, SHARPENS ITSELF, RESTORES SOME STAMINA, AND CAN FIND ORE UP TO 50 FEET AWAY]

[NOTE: AT LAST, SOMETHING USEFUL THAT'S NOT STRANGE]

Greg looked at the message. "It's SSS-rank."

"Of course it is," Marina said from her chair.

"But it's not strange! No dancing, no rating system, and no strong feelings! It's just a really good pickaxe!"

"That's character growth," Seraphine said. "You're learning how to use your skills in real life."

Greg said, "I made a pickaxe that finds ore. That's really helpful."

"Don't act so surprised," Lylia said. "You can make normal things. You just usually pick chaos instead."

Greg made two more pickaxes that were the same as the first two. Then he moved on to lanterns. These were simple structures made of metal frames and magical crystals that would give off steady light without needing oil or fire.

[CRAFTING COMPLETE!]

[ITEM MADE: LANTERN OF ETERNAL LIGHT]

[LEVEL: SSS]

[PROPERTIES: INFINITE LIGHT SOURCE, BRIGHTNESS CAN BE ADJUSTED, DIMMING WHEN NOT NEEDED, AND LITTLE HEAT GENERATION]

[No comment]

"Yeah, that last one is really helpful, thanks." Greg said with a sarcastic tone.

"But... this lantern is even SSS-rank," Greg said. "Ehh... who cares? It's still helpful and not strange."

"You're on a roll," Marina said with a smile.

Next came the safety gear, starting with hard hats crafted from reinforced leather and metal, magically protected against falling rocks and impacts. Gloves designed for comfort that also helped you maintain your grip and stay secure. Sturdy boots with reinforced toes.

Every item got an SSS rank, but they all worked just fine. Useful, protective, and helpful. No side effects apart from being really, really good at what they were supposed to do.

Greg looked at his mining tools and said, "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Felix said, "Don't jinx it."

"How would I mess it up?"

"You might accidentally make something strange."

"I've made seven different things, and none of them have been strange."

"That's when the strange one shows up."

"Alright, fuck this, I think we've had enough gears for the mining. "I don't want to continue forging items that could potentially become strange." Greg was hesitant to create anything else, fearing that Felix might be correct.

...

The three of them left early the next morning. Marina had packed them enough food to feed a small army. Lylia had added several containers of healing stew "just in case," and Seraphine had given them a notebook to write down any intriguing geological formations they found.

Greg told the workshop, "We'll be back in three days. Four days at the most, and please try not to set anything on fire."

Marina kissed Greg goodbye and said, "We'll be fine. Don't get lost in a cave, you three."

"We won't get lost!" Bork said with confidence. "I'm a dwarf! We don't get lost underground!"

"Dwarves also don't get drunk, but I've seen you after you've had the good stuff," Marina said.

"That's not the same!"

It took about three hours to walk to the caves. Felix discussed his block-building game the whole time, going on and on about the best ways to mine, how mobs spawn, and something called "strip mining" that Greg was pretty sure was just organized digging.

Felix said, "You can find diamonds at Y level 11 or 12, but you have to be careful of lava. Oh, and please keep in mind a bucket of water! Always have a bucket of water with you! It's like the most useful thing in the game!"

Greg said for the fifteenth time, "Felix, I don't think real mining works like your game."

"You don't know that! What if it does? What if we find a dungeon with spawners in it? We could build a mob farm!"

"What is a mob farm?" Bork asked.

"It's a place where you can farm mobs, but it's difficult to explain. But believe me, if we find a spawner, we're going to build a farm."

"Felix, I'm not going to build a farm in a cave."

"You say that now, but just wait until you see how much you can learn!"

...

Greg had to admit that the caves were cool because of the giant holes in the side of the mountain that would usually be filled with water, but because of the winter drought, they were now open. Bork took them inside with the ease of someone who had done this a hundred times before.

The Lanterns of Eternal Light lit up the cave system beautifully, casting steady light that showed off beautiful rock formations and sparkling ore veins in the walls.

"Wow," Felix said. "This is way cooler than the block version."

Bork said with a smug smile, "I told you. Nothing beats mining for real."

They made a small base camp just inside the cave entrance to store their extra food and supplies. Then, with pickaxes in hand and lanterns to light the way, they went deeper into the cave system.

The Pickaxe of Tireless Mining was precisely what the system said it would be. It cut through rock like butter, never got dull, and seemed to point Greg's strikes at the best places to break things. Even better, he could feel a soft pulse when there was ore nearby.

Greg said, "There's copper to the left," following the feeling.

"How do you know?" Bork asked, wanting to know.

"The pickaxe tells me."

"Holy shit! That's actually helpful! Usually, you have to prospect the old-fashioned way!"

They broke through the wall to find a large vein of star copper, which glowed faintly in the light of the lantern. Bork let out a loud shout of joy and began mining it with a level of enthusiasm that was almost religious.

"There it is, baby! This is the finest stuff," Bork said as he carefully pulled out pieces of ore. "Star copper is as rare as hen's teeth. This amount is enough to make the trip worth it."

Felix was mining nearby, and Greg could hear him humming something that sounded a lot like music from his game. He'd stop every few minutes and look around nervously, as if he thought monsters were going to jump out of the shadows.

"Are you okay, Felix?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for mobs. You can never be too careful in caves."

"There aren't any mobs, Felix."

"You don't know that! What if there is a spawner close by? Let's light up the area!"

"The lanterns are already making the area bright."

"But what if that's not enough? You have to put torches all over the place to stop mobs from spawning in the game."

"This isn't the same as your game!"

"But what if it is?!"

The mining went well, even though Felix was paranoid. They gathered star copper, deep iron, and even found a small vein of mithril silver over the next few hours. Bork was so happy he almost cried.

"Do you have any idea how much this is worth?" Bork kept saying, carefully digging for the valuable metal.

"We could live off this for a whole year!!!"

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