CHAPTER 19: NEW MANPOWER AND RESOURCES.

It didn’t take long for Dorian to make his way to the mining ground after sorting out his updated stats and information.

Just as she said, Maria was waiting outside for him.

However, things turned out differently than expected upon reaching the site.

"Boss! There you are!" one of the workers sprinted towards Dorian, his face etched with worry.

Another worker showed up as well.

"We’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day; we have a problem!"

Dorian wasn’t quick to jump to conclusions, mainly because before leaving the site, he had placed Diggy there to oversee the entire place.

He also instructed Diggy to dig up more holes leading to the rest of the dragon iron ores. But that wasn’t all; because of fear that people might come to steal, he had Diggy warn him when there was an intruder.

So far, Diggy had done neither of those things, so what could be the issue?

"Calm down, I can’t hear you if you all speak over each other," Dorian uttered, his voice calm in comparison to the workers. "What is the problem?"

"Well, the thing is—" the first worker paused, looking at the second one.

The second continued, "We arrived at the site to start mining, but then when we arrived there, we found a very deep hole where the site was supposed to be. It was like the entire place got swallowed or something."

"What?"

Shocked, Dorian wasted no time in taking to his heels. Everyone followed behind him.

As he ran, he could already see the rest of the workers gathered at the front, and yet, he could not see any land beyond that.

Dorian pushed himself through the gathering, and upon getting there, what he saw truly left him speechless.

"What the—"

Soon after, Maria joined; she, too, was surprised.

"The land is gone; it’s just as they said," she uttered. Her face was calm, but her voice betrayed her expression.

’An earthquake? Did our digging pressure it? If so, the entire barony might not be safe.’ Dorian gritted his teeth, his eyes scanning for answers.

Moments later, his gaze landed on Diggy, who had, by his own accord, walked towards Dorian.

"Ah, that’s right!" Dorian went to his knees, facing the summon. "What happened here, Diggy? Where did this massive hole come from?"

"Fuu~ Fuu~ Fuu~" Diggy demonstrated as he spoke.

Dorian’s eyes expanded at the newly acquired information.

According to what Diggy had told him, while he was digging to find more Dragon iron ores, the ground suddenly broke down on its own, but it wasn’t too deep.

But since Diggy could smell more resources below, he kept digging, and that was when the ground collapsed completely. He even went on to say he could smell tons of resources at the bottom, and the only reason he didn’t jump to find out was because he didn’t know how deep it was.

"I see, so that’s what happened."

Maria leaned forward. "It looks bad. Is it bad?"

Dorian turned his gaze to the massive dark pit. "Depends; the question here should be, is it resourceful?"

"How do you intend to resource a pit?"

Dorian stayed quiet as soon as Maria asked that.

The workers at the back had already begun tearing up at the thought of losing their new source of income.

But as Dorian kept gawking at the hole, desperate for a solution, he figured out a vital fact he had missed.

He already had a new set of skills.

Realizing this, he quickly activated one of them.

[You are currently using the skill, Analysis.]

[Name: Unexplored mining ground.]

[Note: After years of effective dragon mana, this sacred place has evolved into a land capable of producing dragon iron ores like plants. Beware, an ancient entity protects these grounds.]

’I figured as much, so it’s mine. The information is quite small, probably because the skill is still at Tier 1.’

Dorian sighed as he stood to his feet.

"Turns out it’s a good thing. What you are looking at right now is a mining ground, meaning chances are the dragon ores are nested at the bottom of this hole."

"There are more down there?"

"Incredible, to think our small village is capable of having a mining ground."

Every employee had a look of puzzlement on their face.

Slowly, Dorian turned to look at them.

"Yes, which should be a good thing. But right now, not only do we not know what could be waiting for us down there, but there will most likely also be poisonous gases and a lack of oxygen, so we need to take care of that first."

Since neither of them knew anything about mining, they waited to see what their young lord would say.

Even before he said anything, they were afraid of going anywhere near that hole, at least not without soldiers or any form of security.

After a while of thinking, Dorian gently slammed his fist on his palm as a new idea popped into his head.

"Okay, for now, you all can go home, and if possible, recruit more workers for us. For every worker you bring, you’ll be paid one gold coin," he uttered to them. "And by tomorrow, there will be a blueprint plan and also equipments we need for building."

Hearing that they could possibly earn yet again, the workers were ecstatic. Their faces were etched with joy as they saluted.

When they were done receiving the notes of what would be done the next day, the workers all headed back to their homes, with the mindset of finding more workers for the young lord.

Meanwhile,

"Do you plan to send the new workers into this hole?" asked Maria, as she stared into the pit.

Dorian stayed still, in deep thought.

’Once we start building a ventilation and light source, the exploration should be easier. But I have a feeling monsters will be present there, which leaves me with another issue: ’How strong is Maria against high-class monsters?’

He gave her the side-eye.

’Sure, I have heard she is strong, but I have never actually seen her in combat. Regardless, one person isn’t enough security; I need someone who is smart and not just strong, a strategist.’

[Would you like to use the skill, Resource Gathering for this task?]