Unknown shook his head and smiled wryly, feeling both amused and helpless. If he had known he would run into something like this, he might as well have stayed in the village, relying on his left hand and throwing stones to hunt—it would have been much easier. Now, if he left, the dwarves would probably travel three hundred miles to another village just to find him for another competition.

Lost in his thoughts, Unknown was led by Tom into the busy dwarven mine.

Compared to the short houses, the dwarven mine was actually much taller, and its ventilation far exceeded Unknown's expectations, though the lighting inside was rather dim. Fortunately, Unknown's eyesight was as extraordinary as he was; even in the darkness, he could see everything around him with perfect clarity.

Chapter Four: Astonishing Strength Leaves All Speechless (Part 2)

“Unknown, watch carefully how Tom mines the ore.”

With a basic mining tool in hand, Tom worked steadily and methodically, causing hard chunks of ore to fall from the wall one after another.

Too bad there’s no drilling machine… Wait! What’s a drilling machine? Unknown was once again puzzled by the strange term that flashed through his mind. After adjusting his grip and strength, he began to dig with the mining tool in his hand.

Ding… dang… ding… dang…

The monotonous and chaotic sounds of mining in the pit gradually died down. All the dwarves stopped what they were doing, staring in astonishment at Unknown's completely absorbed way of working.

Since using just one pickaxe was too slow, after a few swings, Unknown borrowed another pickaxe from Tom and started digging with both hands.

With a pickaxe in each hand, Unknown swung his arms like high-speed windmills, quickly drawing the attention of the other dwarves nearby.

The dozen or so carts used to carry ore were soon completely filled with the ore mined by Unknown.

“Tom, are you sure the one you brought back is a real human?”

Sam had already stopped digging, watching with great curiosity as Unknown worked even faster than a dozen dwarves combined.

“Well… I think so…”

Crack… clatter…

Both pickaxes in Unknown's hands snapped at the same time, tracing a graceful arc through the air before landing on the ground, cutting off Tom's reply.

“They broke…” Unknown stared blankly at the strange red metal ore in front of him, not realizing that he had already moved far from his original mining spot.

At first, all the miners were working along the same line, but now Unknown had advanced five meters deeper into the wall, leaving the other dwarves far behind.

“What a huge chunk of Windfire Copper!” Tom patted Unknown on the back. “Metal refined from this ore is even harder than steel. It can’t compare to the legendary metals, but it’s still considered high-grade.”

“Is that so?” Unknown smiled. “I only need to forge a dagger for skinning game. I don’t need the rest of the ore. You can have it all. As for the other ores, after deducting what I need to pay, the rest can go to everyone in the village.”

The dwarves in the mine erupted in noisy excitement at Unknown's generosity. Uncle Sam looked at Unknown in puzzlement for a long time. “Looks like you really are just a hunter, not a soldier or a ranger here to ask me to forge weapons.”

Unknown chuckled. “I am a hunter, after all.”

“Did you become a hunter after leaving the army?”

“Left the army?” Unknown once again felt an inexplicable aversion to the term. After a brief pause, he said, “I’ve never served in the military.”

“With a bearing even more upright than a soldier, and yet you’re not one.” Sam shook his head and walked out of the cave. “Today I’ll have to be extra careful forging these tools.”

Excitement flashed in Tom's eyes, and while there was anticipation in Unknown's gaze as well, there was even more hope that he wouldn’t end up with another tool broken by his own hands.

The dwarves pushed their carts full of ore back to the village. Along the way, many dwarves came up to Unknown, trying to persuade this human excavator to stay and live with them. Some even suggested marriage alliances, hoping to marry their daughters to Unknown to keep this upright and generous young man in the village.

Unknown declined these invitations with a wry smile. Compared to the dwarven village, there was another village that needed him more.

Ding… dang… ding… dang…

The sound of hammers striking metal rang out all over the dwarven village. To forge the weapon Unknown needed, and for the honor of the dwarven race, the dwarves worked more seriously than ever, putting their all into every hammer blow.

With Tom's explanation, Unknown learned that to forge a truly fine tool—whether a weapon or a hoe—was not something that could be done in just a day or two.

In this large village, everyone except Unknown was working hard to make the tools he needed. As a result, the task of providing food for the entire village each day naturally fell on Unknown's shoulders alone.