"Do you want to learn Disassembly skill? Sure, no problem!" Nina readily agreed when she heard Jake's request. Jake was instantly moved to tears.
Why is there such a huge difference between people? Look at Nina, so generous and kind. Then think about Mason at the general store and the village chief—what a stark contrast.
"Thank you, Nina," Jake expressed his gratitude.
"Why be so polite with me?" Nina said. "By the way, are you interested in learning cooking from me?"
"Well..." To be honest, Jake wasn't very interested in cooking. However, seeing the hopeful expression on Nina's face, he couldn't bear to refuse and nodded, saying, "Sure, I've always thought your cooking skills are excellent, and I'd love to learn from you."
"Really? That's great!" As expected, Nina was overjoyed to hear that Jake was willing to learn. "My cooking skills are not just empty talk. They are top-notch on the entire continent. It's just a pity that nobody in this village wants to learn from me. But you're willing, and that's fantastic. I'll teach you wholeheartedly."
"Congratulations! You have obtained the teachings of culinary grandmaster Nina. You have learned cooking and disassembly skills, both of which have been upgraded to advanced level!" The familiar mechanical voice rang in Jake's ears once again, leaving him stunned. Another master? Although it was a culinary grandmaster, it was still a grandmaster. It's extremely difficult to become a master in any field, even in the culinary world.
Could it be that what the village chief said earlier was true? That these people in their village are top-notch in their respective fields on this continent? Is it not a lie? What kind of place is this? A "beginner's village," yet it has so many masters?
Jack leaves Nina's house in shock, Jake reluctantly spent one gold coin to buy a cutting knife from the general store. He realized that knowing the disassembly skill alone wouldn't be enough without the proper tools. Despite his reluctance to interact with the swindler, Jake had no choice but to go to the general store.
With everything prepared, Jake was filled with enthusiasm as he prepared to leave the village to hunt monsters and make money. However, at the village entrance, he saw someone standing there sighing in frustration.
A quest? Seeing this scene, Jake immediately thought of quests. This person clearly had some trouble, and if the villagers were in trouble, it meant there might be a quest he could undertake. Jake quickly ran over.
"Grandpa Glen, do you need help with something?" Jake asked as he approached. The person sighing in frustration was none other than Glen, the village blacksmith.
"You're Jake, the newcomer?"
"Yes."
"Well, here's the thing. I'm running low on ores for my blacksmith shop, and I wanted to go mine some, but there's a group of monsters occupying the mine ahead. With my old arms and legs, I can't defeat them, so I dare not go mining. I'm worried about the lack of ores," Glen said with a troubled expression.
"Is that so? What kind of ore do you need? I can help you collect it," Jake said. It was clearly a quest, similar to the herb gathering quest from Clark before. Jake understood it naturally.
"You? No, no, those monsters are too powerful. It would be dangerous for you to go," Glen looked at Jake and shook his head. Unexpectedly, this quest wasn't as easy to accept.
"I'll be careful. Besides, if I find it too dangerous, I'll retreat," Jake said.
"That's how it is. Alright, go ahead, but be extremely cautious," Glen was still worried about Jake's safety, but he was also anxious because he didn't have any ore in his shop. After thinking for a moment, he agreed, "I'll teach you Ore Identification and Mining Techniques so that you won't make any mistakes."
"ok!" Jake was delighted. Glen was an understanding person who took the initiative to teach him without Jake even having to ask.
Soon after, Jake successfully learned Ore Identification and Mining Techniques from Glen and received a mining shovel from him. Seeing Glen casually take out a mining shovel, Jake suspected that he had been waiting here for Jake to leave the village. Otherwise, how could the mining shovel be prepared in advance?
The mouth of the mine Glen mentioned wasn't far from the newbie village. Since Jake didn't have a clear goal before, he decided to go directly to the mine. He could mine while killing monsters at the same time.
Jake wasn't particularly interested in monster hunting. After all, earning money for leasing the land on the mountainside was his priority. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't want to leave the village. Getting injured here was just as painful as getting injured in reality. The only advantage was that once he returned to reality, his injuries would heal completely, without leaving a trace.
Otherwise, Jake would be even less willing to go monster hunting. Before long, Jake arrived near the mine. There was an obvious entrance, and upon inspection, there were no monsters around. He cautiously walked inside.
Inside the mine, there were signs of previous mining on both sides. This mine seemed to have been around for a long time, and most of the ores had been extracted. After searching for a while, Jake finally found an area that hadn't been mined yet.
Ore Identification came in handy at this moment. "Inferior Iron Ore: Iron ore with a high impurity content. It can be used to forge weapons after refinement." "Inferior Copper Ore: Copper ore with a high impurity content. It can be used to forge weapons after refinement." "Inferior Silver Ore:..."
Jake found that this area mainly contained iron ore, followed by a small amount of copper ore and silver ore. This wasn't the real world, so there wasn't just one type of ore in the mine. However, the quality of these ores was not very good, as they all contained many impurities.
Glen had mentioned this before. The good ores had already been collected, and what remained were ores of average or poor quality. After collecting them, Glen would refine them before using them for forging. Fortunately, Glen seemed to be skilled in refining, so it shouldn't be a problem for him.
Since he had found the ores, Jake began to dig. Mining was clearly a labor-intensive activity, much more tiring than herb gathering. "Why can't it be like a normal game where I can just sit here and click on a progress bar?"
Jake swung the mining pick while complaining. Just at that moment, he suddenly heard a noise. His expression changed, and he stopped his movements, becoming tense as he looked towards the direction from which the sound came—the depths of the mine. Was there a monster?