Ryan Bennett was already quite familiar with this eastern mine. Whenever he saw metal chunks emitting a faint white glow, he would chisel away at them, and before long, he could obtain ores like silver. If he was lucky, he might even dig up some mithril. Thanks to its excellent anti-magic properties, mithril had become a favorite among mechanical alchemists. They often added some mithril metal when crafting mechanical imps and gargoyles, so every piece of mithril could fetch a high price of five or six gold coins.

If the metal chunk emitted a yellow glow, it was likely copper or gold.

System: You have obtained silver ore. Quality: Normal Tier 2.

System: You have obtained iron ore. Quality: Normal Tier 3.

System: You have obtained iron ore. Quality: Normal Tier 3.

Ryan Bennett tirelessly kept digging. Every time he got one or two pieces of ore, he felt a faint sense of joy—these were all gold coins! And so, he remained immersed in his own little happiness.

After about five hours, Ryan Bennett's sixteen-slot backpack was full, so he took it to the market in Aydins to resell. These ores could have been used for smelting, but since Ryan Bennett's smelting level had increased, these metals could no longer improve his skill proficiency, so Ryan Bennett chose to sell them.

Usually, a backpack full of ore could sell for around forty or fifty gold. There were often people buying ore around the open-pit mine, but their purchase prices were generally low. The black-hearted merchants usually skimmed off 20% from the miners selling ore, so Ryan Bennett would rather travel farther to sell at the market inside Aydins Castle.

After selling the ores, Ryan Bennett checked the gold coins in his bag. There were a total of 713 gold coins left.

Having resold the ores, Ryan Bennett continued mining. From the misty morning, to the sun high in the sky, and then to dusk, today's harvest wasn't much—only about a hundred gold coins. For an ordinary miner, a hundred gold coins was a lot, but for a master-level miner, it was a bit lacking.

At night, the gargoyle guards' vision decreased, and monsters often broke into the mine. Those low-level wild monsters were still quite a threat to Ryan Bennett.

Just as Ryan Bennett was about to call it a day, a chunk of ore not far away emitted a faint purple glow in the dusk. Ryan Bennett's heart skipped a beat—could it be purple gold again?

Last time, he had dug up three pieces of purple gold in just such a situation.

Suppressing his excitement, Ryan Bennett walked over to the ore and began chiseling with his pickaxe. The hard stone shattered under the sharp tool.

System: You have obtained iron ore. Quality: Normal Tier 3.

System: You have obtained gold ore. Quality: Normal Tier 4.

After digging for a while, Ryan Bennett found nothing but these ordinary ores.

Did he see wrong? Was it an illusion? Was there no purple gold here at all?

Just as Ryan Bennett was feeling a bit dazed, a black figure rapidly approached in the dusk. Ryan Bennett was startled—he couldn't be more familiar with that figure.

Son of Grant, the legendary criminal who could transform into a werewolf when the moon rose. After transforming, he often ambushed miners here under cover of dusk. Once Son of Grant became a werewolf, he was incredibly fast—even the gargoyle guards, famous for their speed, couldn't catch him.

The Aydins Castle council of elders had sent people to hunt him down several times, but he always escaped. Ryan Bennett had encountered him before and had seen several miners die under his claws.

Should he run or not?

Ryan Bennett was only level one. Even if he died, he couldn't drop below level 0. The three-hour weakness after death didn't really threaten him, but losing 1% of his gold coins did make Ryan Bennett feel a bit pained—that was seven gold coins! He'd have to work for a long time to make that back. Plus, a random item from his bag would drop. If it was just ordinary ore, that would be fine, but if it was one of those two blueprints or the Titan's Heart, he'd be devastated. Why hadn't he thought to store his valuables in the storage chest earlier?

The moon hung high, and hazy moonlight shrouded the land. Son of Grant's body gradually grew larger, transforming into a werewolf. His sharp front claws gleamed coldly in the moonlight. Ryan Bennett had no doubt that if he let him get close, he would be torn to pieces.

The dark figure drew nearer. Ryan Bennett grew anxious, but kept swinging his pickaxe. If this was a piece of purple gold, it would all be worth it.

System: You have obtained an iron ring.

Ryan Bennett was stunned. What was this? The purple glow on the ore gradually faded. Son of Grant's claw struck Ryan Bennett's back. Ryan Bennett felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and his consciousness slowly faded.

Killed in one hit again!

If he could choose his profession again, he would never pick this frail mechanical alchemist! But the frustration in Ryan Bennett's heart couldn't change the reality that he was already a mechanical alchemist.

Volume One: The Legendary Debut

Chapter Seven: Appraising the Iron Ring

Son of Grant was a level fifteen BOSS monster, and incredibly fast—a true killer of magic classes. There was no way Ryan Bennett could withstand a blow from Son of Grant.