Versatile: Alternate World

My curiosity after seeing the shard of the Alpha Rodola Ore was ignited. After all, I have never seen anything like the Alpha Rodola. That thing didn't exist in the past timeline and has never been mentioned in any textbooks in the game, nor have I even heard of this ore from blacksmiths. Seeing this from Almira, made me want to witness what it really was. Since it was a shard, it should have limited effects and yet it has an effect that can replace any kind of gemstones as a replacement and give the accessory a similar power to the gemstones or even much stronger than the original, that is already a big thing. Then what about the actual ore?

"I know you are all still not convinced until the actual ore appeared but I don't have it since the actual ore has been used a long time ago."

"So that means, this ore has existed since then and we didn't know about it? How come there are no records of this thing existed?" Queen Tori examined the shard closely.

"Because that thing was considered to be a forbidden knowledge in the past. Right now, the only people who know that this ore exists who are still alive should be me and one more blacksmith who I don't know where he is now. Currently, we are the only two people left in this world who knows how to use this ore, that blacksmith guy I told you all earlier, and of course, me."

When everyone heard it, Queen Tori suddenly got interested in her a lot more. However, she didn't voice her reaction and just showed it on her face. As for Queen Tanya, it seems she is no longer suspicious of Almira anymore but she seems to have still some qualms about her. Still, I am not going to say anything that would make Queen Tanya doubt her. After all, Queen Tanya didn't want any amateur blacksmith to handle this especially if the enemies are behemoths. The blacksmiths that she needed are those skilled enough that would make weapons and armor that would keep the army alive from the expedition.

"Since you will be hunting the Rodola Ore in advance, take this pickaxe. Alpha Rodola Ore will not be mined easily if it was a normal pickaxe used. The pickaxe would be broken first before you can even chip a single shard of it. Of course, I am not giving this to you. I am just lending it to you for you to be able to mine the item right away. After you have fulfilled the mission, you will give it back to me and of course, I will give you some compensation as a reward for your troubles."

Almira then placed an eyecatching pickaxe on my hands and I almost instinctively throw the item away if not for immediately regaining composure before I do so. Why do I get startled? Because the item that I got is something that can rival my Versatile Weapon.

[The Pickaxe of Hephaestus]

Type: Mining Equipment

Tier: God Tier

Info: An item that belongs to the blacksmith Almira. A pickaxe that was previously used by the God of Fire and Forge, Hephaestus. It was meant to be a normal pickaxe but due to how Hephaestus created it, it became a sort of relic that can mine anything. Since he didn't need such a convenient tool, he decided to give to leave it behind after mining the ore he needed. After years of being abandoned, it was soon recovered and was identified to be the pickaxe he once used. There is no ore that cannot be destroyed by this Pickaxe and it will never break.

Note: Is this perhaps a pickaxe from Mine*raft?

Owner: Almira

Queen Tanya and Queen Tori were also about to collapse on their seats when they saw the pickaxe. After all, a relic from the ages of Gods appeared before them and it was just casually lent to me, a pickaxe of a God Tier Level. That is not just for the sake of getting the attention of the two queens but to make sure that they knew that she is not just an ordinary blacksmith.

After giving me the pickaxe, a quest board appeared to me.

[Mine the Rodola Ore]

Type: Fetch Quest

Difficulty: Very Difficult

Rodola Ore delivered: 0/1

Reward: Pickaxe of Hephaestus Replica

Info: Almira has tasked you to mine the legendary Alpha Rodola Ore. With the special pickaxe, you are now to find a vein that houses the legendary ore. The vein is easy to find but the area is hard and dangerous. Caution and vigilance are recommended. Fighting against enemies is also not recommended. Your main tactic on this one is to find a way to get the ore without being disturbed by enemies.

Location: Rodola Ore Mines: Secret Chamber

Accept the Quest? (Warning, declining the quest will cause the quest to not appear again, and your favorability points from Queen Tanya, Queen Tori, and Almira will drastically decrease)

Yes/No

Seeing all the downsides of not accepting it, I quickly clicked Yes.

"I am sure you can do it, Bladeheart. Although the enemies are strong in that place, I am confident you can easily get that piece easily. Be sure to be back this day too since it will be needed as soon as possible," Almira added making the quest reveal a time limit. I only have a 12-hour real-time limit.

There is no way I want to fail the quest, that is why without saying a word, I rush outside and summoned Leona, immediately heading towards the Frozen Region of Sandurk. I have never been to the Rodola Mines but I have seen a map before that detailing where I could find the Rodola Mines in the past timeline, so I am confident about getting there. The only problem is that I have not explored the place just yet and it is an uncharted land for me.

Don't tell me I am going to begin the expedition alone? No, that is not the case, it was a quest, and from what I can see on the map where the quest will appear and the expedition will happen, they are too far apart. However, since it is still a place where strong enemies will appear, there is no way this will be an easy quest. I must make a proper plan on what to do or maybe I should scout ahead.

...

...

[You have discovered: Rodola Ore Mines]

Because the Rodola Ore is useless, this mine was never used again and was abandoned by the people who dug through it. Countless years passed by and the mine became a den of countless monsters and used it as a den for themselves. And since this is going to be my first visit to this place, I needed to map out this place. Thankfully, I already got the Cartographer Ex Job so I can easily finish mapping this place as soon as possible.

My only problem will be the enemies.

"Guys, are you all up?" I asked my followers who are resting in the summons area.

"We are waiting for the command anytime, Master."

"Good. We will be heading to an uncharted region and I will be mapping this place. Since it will be very hard for us to fight without any knowledge about our enemy, I will need your assistance in this matter to finish the job quickly."

"Yes, Master!"

"Cotton, come out. Your webs will be beneficial here."

Cotton immediately went out of the summons area and rested on my head.

"Shoot a web on the ceiling every time I tell you, okay?"

Markings were necessary for mapping an uncharted area. To avoid getting lost in your direction, Putting the markings anywhere is necessary. If I didn't have Cotton, I will have to use some flying knives as a marking instead as that was what I am using in the past to make a marking on places I am planning to map. It saved me many times before.

And with everything ready, I started mapping the whole place. The Rodola Mines is big and I can see that there are signs that miners were once present in these mines before due to some miner equipment like pickaxes, box for loading ores, and some mining helmets with headlights too. There are also some pieces of wood scattered which are probably used to make support beams to avoid the mine from caving in due to unstable ceilings. But since it was discontinued, the materials were also left behind.

I continue to map the place and I occasionally find some ore veins but I can tell from the veins that they are all just veins of Normal Rodola Ore which means I don't need them.

So far, I haven't detected any enemies. Might be because I decided to put a monster repellant that will make monsters smell me bad and will make them get away from it. Since Cotton is not qualified as monster, it seems Cotton is not affected by its effects in any way.

I thought I wouldn't find a monster in the mines until I spotted in a nearby intersection a group of Mine Imps and a color blue Goblin.