Chapter 92: Chapter 91: Seeing Old Sutton Again, Ore Delivery

Seeing him again after three days, the Old Dwarf didn’t look any different.

Still short and stout, still slightly drunk, still wearing that blacksmith’s apron covered in furnace ash.

But he was busy right now. Very busy.

The area by the roaring forge was piled high with crude iron blanks, and the Old Dwarf seemed quite unhappy about it, muttering Dwarven curses under his breath as he swung his hammer.

"Making me forge this skill-less piece of #@!$ junk..."

"Basque, you little #@!$!"

Despite his words, Sutton was so focused on his work that he didn’t even notice Jon carrying a chest up the steps of the Blacksmith Shop.

Jon didn’t mind. He put down the chest, picked up the dustpan and broom as usual, and started sweeping the somewhat messy floor.

Hearing the rustling, the old blacksmith began to complain irritably.

"You’re back, kid? Can’t you see I’m busy? Don’t come here if you’ve got nothing—!"

But his complaint stopped short.

Because when he glanced over his shoulder between hammer swings, he didn’t see "Jon," but a young Warrior in armor, with a sword at his side.

This made Sutton’s hands pause.

"Who are you?"

Jon put down the broom and grinned.

"Uncle Sutton, it’s me, Jon."

"Huh—!?"

...

"So, you’re telling me you went to the old mine west of the village to find ore for me, happened to rescue a noble lady in distress, and as thanks, she gave you this whole outfit and even set you up with property in Birch Town?"

"That’s about right."

Jon’s expression was calm as he nodded seriously.

The Old Dwarf gave a noncommittal shake of his head, causing the large beard on his chest to sway back and forth.

"Sounds like one of those cliché stories Minstrels tell when they’ve run out of anything good to make up."

But seeing Jon’s gear, he wasn’t too suspicious.

’After all,’ he thought, ’from my perspective, this suit of iron armor isn’t top-tier, but it’s not something just anyone could get their hands on. It fits the bill for a "noble’s private collection." The only thing is, the kid probably isn’t telling the whole story.’

But Jon didn’t give the Old Dwarf any more time to think.

He directly opened the large chest he had brought.

Inside, it wasn’t ore sitting right on top. Instead, there was a top compartment filled with rows of lovely little things that shimmered with a captivating luster.

Sutton’s nose twitched, and he instantly cast his lingering doubts to the back of his mind.

"Hsss... Why is the aroma of this wine so... mixed?"

Jon chuckled, listing them off like a collector showing his treasures.

"Uncle Sutton, that’s because they’re all from different places."

"Look, this is the pre-rain wine from Hanke Vineyard, aged 60 years."

"And this bottle here is the Light-Sown Wine from the Sun Church. It’s only aged 10 years, but it’s a limited-edition goodie only available during the Sun Festival."

"And this one, the specialty from Cyan Rattan Vineyard... They’re all for you!"

The Old Dwarf listened, mesmerized. The wrinkles on his face smoothed out as he sighed repeatedly in admiration.

"Good... good... You’ve really made something of yourself, kid..."

"Isn’t that all thanks to you looking out for me? If you hadn’t helped, I’d probably be dead in a ditch somewhere by now."

As he said this, Jon couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

Having Fused with all the memories of his predecessor, how could he not know what kind of life the original Jon had lived after the plague, before he’d mastered the skill of finding food in the forest?

He was probably worse off than a beggar!

So, the helping hand the Old Dwarf had extended back then was especially precious.

This bit of wine was just a small token of his gratitude.

After looking over all the bottles, Sutton let out a sigh of admiration but resisted the urge to immediately crack one open for a taste.

"Good, these are all good wines. For you to get your hands on these, kid... you’ve done well, you’ve got skills now!"

"It’s a pity I can’t drink them right now..."

’The whole village is counting on my ironwork to fight off the wolf pack. I can’t let drinking get in the way of my duties.’

So, Sutton reached out to close the chest, afraid that one more look at these lovely little things would make him lose all self-control.

However, Jon stopped him with a grin.

"There’s more than just wine in this chest. Aren’t you going to look at what’s underneath, Uncle?"

"More than just wine?"

The Old Dwarf paused. He tilted his head to look at the chest Jon had brought, and due to his height, he only just now realized its size.

"There’s something underneath?"

"Of course."

Jon nodded. Without trying to build suspense, he lifted the compartment holding the wine, revealing the ore crystals shimmering with faint golden light underneath.

"I wasn’t just bragging when I said I was going to the mine to find ore for you. I really did find something different!"

"Look, it’s all here."

The Old Dwarf froze.

’When Jon asked me about this before, I didn’t take it seriously. I just gave him a casual answer to brush him off, like an adult placating a child.’

’But Jon actually went looking. I was a little annoyed he was running around before his injuries were fully healed, but I wasn’t too surprised. That’s just how the kid is, likes to get things done quietly behind the scenes.’

’The real surprise was that not only did Jon go looking, he actually found something!’

’And not only did he find something, it was something I’ve never seen before!’

Sutton eagerly grabbed a piece of the ore and held it up to his eye. The crystalline substance coating the outside of the ore, like a skin of stone, shimmered with a mesmerizing golden light.

"Is this... a crystal excreted by a rock scorpion after eating ore?"

"No... even if it ate gold ore, it wouldn’t produce this kind of flowing light, unless..."

The Old Dwarf muttered as if possessed, comparing the object in his hand with all his accumulated years of experience in ore smelting, only to find—it didn’t match!

It didn’t match any known alloy post-smelting, nor any unprocessed blank!

This was a truly new, unseen type of ore!

And there was so much of it, filling more than half of the meter-wide chest!

In the end, Sutton’s small eyes gleamed as he stared intently at the smiling young man beside him.

"Jon, kid! Tell me, where did you get all this ore?!"

But Jon didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he spread his hands.

"Uncle, will this ore meet your needs?"

"Of course it will! If these fine treasures won’t do, then there’s no ore in this world that can satisfy my needs!"

As the Old Dwarf’s words fell, a series of notifications began to flash before Jon’s eyes like a scrolling screen.

[Ore Sample Collection (Ordinary-Repeatable Quest), Complete]

[Completion: S, reward multiplier 6.0]

[Completion Reward: 1200 General Experience Points (200 base x 6.0)]

[Complete, Complete, Complete...]

As far as he could see, they were all S-rank completions. Each piece of ore was worth 1200 Experience Points!

Jon saw it all and was overjoyed, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Well, it’s a long story..."

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