Immediately everyone noticed the huge number of tools stored here.
Many pickaxes were placed on a few racks. But was off about them. These pickaxes had a metallic handle and wooden head.
"Endgu, did they finally promote you to group leader? Congrats! Come, let's register everyone."
As a voice spoke up to the side everyone noticed a kindly smiling middle-aged woman behind a counter. She wore a standard guard armor, obviously very familiar with the old group leader.
Next to the woman was a strange wooden device which let out a light breeze, offering the woman some refreshing coolness.
Tepo rose his brow. He watched the backs of his colleagues, noticing the sweat which slowly formed. Only now did he register the higher temperatures which didn't face him as a six-circled aspirant.
High temperatures, strange tools. Finally, the dungeon shows at least some oddities or I would've doubted if this was a real dungeon.
Meanwhile Endgu stepped up to the counter. He suddenly put on a joyful smile, his changing expression showing his years of experience in flattery.
"Maruo, my dear. You are getting younger by the day! Thank you for your hard work. I try to make it quick."
"Haha, I appreciate it. You know how chaotic it has been after we had to move. We await many new groups today."
"For sure, for sure. Just hand me the documents and I will take care of the rest!"
After the amiable conversation Marou pulled a stack of paper from below her counter and handed it to the old man.
Immediately the group leader turned around and pushed his group outside, not daring to block the way for the group which was just arriving through the portal.
"All of you, get your documents here. I hope you idiots can read and write. Don't ask me anything, I'm not your nanny!
And yes, you will have to fill in everything two times. One copy for Marou and one for yourselves. Don't make any mistakes or your pay might be delayed!"
It seemed the group leader became more and more unhinged. Everyone of the newcomers had disgruntled faces as they grabbed a stack of paper and sat down to fill in their information.
Let's see… name? I surely won't write Tepo. Let's go with… Quilly… Date of birth? Group leader?
Loot during the first day? I assume that's not something we should fill in yet. I guess I'm done.
Tepo sped through the process as he wrote down nonsensical information. Soon the group gathered around Endgu again. The old man flipped through the papers. Suddenly a vein almost popped on his forehead:
"Which of you idiots wrote a question mark in the loot section? Can't you even do the basic thinking for yourselves? Do I have to do anything?!
I'm warning you guys now. Don't f*ck this up! I don't care if you get paid less but I will get paid less as well if you are too dumb to receive your remuneration!"
Hardly suppressing his anger Endgu ranted on as he did his best to correct some papers. His voice remained loud until the group returned to the tool shack again.
"Marou! Here are the documents for my group. I personally made sure that everything is filled in perfectly!"
"Thank you! You saved me a lot of work.", responded Marou with an endearing smile.
"Now, let me do the introduction real quick so you can get to work. After all time is money!"
"Of course. WE are all ears."
Endgu stressed the word we, bringing some absentminded newcomers back to reality.
"Great. Then listen up, everyone. You might've already noticed it but the attributes of some materials within the dungeon are somewhat chaotic.
For example, metal is rendered exceptionally brittle. During the clearing of this dungeon this brought us a lot of problems…"
Maruo continued with a lot of useless information. It turned out the woman stating 'time is money' was a real chatterbox. Only a soft cough from Endgu brought her back on track.
"Oh right. So, metal is brittle, wood is very strong, and stone heats up immensely on impact. Thus, you will get a wooden pickaxe from us and a small cooler. The cooler needs force crystals to work. We will only grant you five crystals per month. If you need more, you will have to earn them!"
Finally, the newcomers were brought up to speed. For the commoners the dungeon's various oddities were a new concept. They had confusion and surprise on their faces. Naturally Tepo had to do his best to act this way too.
When Endgu handed everyone their equipment they played around with it like children. Meanwhile Tepo fiddled with a small plate made form compressed plant fibers with a small force crystal in the middle.
The young man probingly pressed the crystal. Suddenly a cool, refreshing feeling mysteriously engulfed his body. He could only marvel at the creator's ingenuity.
After the entire group finally familiarized themselves with their new tools, they followed behind Endgu towards another cave. Low voices gradually reached their ears. They arrived in a cave where a few groups gathered around a bored looking guard.
Immediately Tepo's head shot towards the left. He found something he very much appreciated as a big map was placed on the wall there.
The warrior branded it in his mind, down to every big cave and tiny shaft.
Meanwhile the bored guard discovered the newcomers. He was annoyed by the discussions around him, thus he was glad as he spotted Endgu who was known for being unproblematic.
"Endgu! I give you quadrant A8, alright?"
Immediately a brought smile formed on the group leader's mouth.
"Haha, whatever you say sir Turje, whatever you say!"
As Endgu spoke with joy in his voice, a few complaints abruptly sounded out.
"No, you can't do this! Why would Endgu get such preferable treatment?!"
"Please, I have been asking for weeks for A8! Please, Turje!"
Endgu knew that he couldn't let a discussion ensue. He smiled smugly as he immediately brought his group away.
Finally, Tepo entered the real mines. They advanced through dimly lit, rough stone tunnels, soon reaching a crossing from which multiple paths spread in similar directions.
"Ok, listen up everyone! We have reached A8! This is a mineral rich place, so I want all of you to give it your all! You can mine alone or in groups, I don't care as long as you don't slack off!"
Suddenly a burly man raised his hand.
"Ehm, sir? What are we even mining?"
Endgu rolled his eyes, prompting the man to scratch his head in embarrassment.
"Just mine everything which has a different color than grey, alright? The dungeon has multiple treasures and I can't be bothered to explain every single one of them. Just make sure that you get big chunks!
Ok. Then, you all can scatter! I will patrol for a while to help you detect rich veins!"
Tith Endgu's order no one dared to hesitate. The newcomers all entered the various paths. Tepo slowed down for a moment to observe everyone's choice before he entered a tunnel alone.
Lonely footsteps echoed in the tunnel illuminated by the rocks themselves. Tepo walked up and down for a while before deciding to work on a dark red mineral vein.
He grabbed his pickaxe and took a hefty swing.
Suddenly the man's surroundings trembled faintly. The pickaxe buried itself deep into the stone before a large chunk of minerals dropped out.
Tepo flinched for a moment. He forgot to suppress his strength. He hastily put the mineral chunk into his storage bag before acting like a common miner.