Unexpected

The only blacksmith shop in Black Crow Town was owned by a middle-aged human cripple with a foul temper. He worked with several apprentices through the night, cursing and berating them constantly. Everyone knew his ironworking skills were terrible, but since there was no demand for fine weapons here, and most of his customers were lowly orcs like them, he could sell a common iron pickaxe for ten or even dozens of times its value elsewhere. What more could he ask for? Even as he berated his apprentices, he couldn't stop grinning at the thought of the hefty profits he was making from selling so many iron picks and axes.

Bata brought the only two hundred copper coins from their tribe and managed to buy only five iron picks and one iron chisel. Considering that it was the price of several hundred pounds of fire copper ore, getting so few tools left Bata visibly frustrated. Seeing Bata struggling to contain his anger, Ba'alor couldn't help but say, "You humans are truly despicable, trading fire copper for mere iron."

"You damned orc brat, what did you say?" the crippled blacksmith immediately turned hostile, his previous smile replaced with a scowl. "Dare insult the humans? You're asking for death. Looks like I need to teach you some respect!" He grabbed a freshly forged iron sword and thrust it toward Ba'alor, with no intention of bluffing; he truly intended to kill him.

Ba'alor pushed the stunned Ba'awel aside, narrowly avoiding the sword's thrust. It left a gash on his arm, and blood started to flow immediately.

"Kind sir, my companion is a fool. Please forgive his words," Ba'alor said respectfully, his face turning red, either from anger or fear. He gestured toward the speechless Ba'awel. "Your sword is truly sharp. Look, just a light scratch on my arm and so much blood. I believe our previous transaction was fair. You are an honest human." Ba'alor's tone was deferential as he spoke, shielding the visibly shaken Ba'awel behind him. "I have a small request. Since this sword was just forged and has tasted blood for the first time, could you give it to me as a reward?"

Perhaps it was Ba'alor's respectful attitude or the blacksmith's rare generosity after the shady deal earlier, but the crippled blacksmith casually tossed the longsword to Ba'alor. "You're not bad, kid. Take this sword as a gift. Keep an eye on your idiot friend; not everyone is as kind as I am."

Ba'alor took the sword, pulling Ba'awel away. He thanked the blacksmith repeatedly and rushed out of the shop with the relieved Bata and others. As soon as they stepped outside, Bata slapped Ba'awel, knocking him to the ground. "That blacksmith was right. You're an idiot. You nearly got us into trouble back there. If it weren't for Ba'alor, you'd be dead by now, beyond anyone's help."

"It's not Ba'awel's fault; humans are just cruel and heartless. Chief Bata, stop scolding him. Let's leave quickly. This wasn't a bad trade; at least we got a sword out of it," Ba'alor intervened to prevent Bata from continuing to beat Ba'awel. He looked calm, casually wrapping a piece of animal hide around his arm to stop the bleeding. "Now I understand the true nature of humans; they don't see us as equals."

Bata nodded, eager to leave. They left town that night, with Ba'awel remaining silent, truly shaken by the experience.

In the rowdy atmosphere of the tavern in Black Crow Town, Misa and his companions entered to witness a spectacle. A drunken man, completely naked, was engaged in an indecent act, to the uproarious cheers of the crowd. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol, simmering meatballs, and tobacco, along with the nauseating scent of the act being performed.

As if it were a routine occurrence, Misa cursed under his breath and sat with his companions at a wooden table, waiting for the spectacle to end.

Soon, with a roar, the drunken man shuddered and stopped moving.

"Damn it, one-eyed Kasim, are you even a man? Can't last half an hour, and now I'm losing money!" someone shouted.

"It's not Kasim's fault; it's our Marti who's more talented. I praise you, Marti. Just like I praise your juicy butt...!" The surrounding crowd booed, some cursing and throwing copper coins on the table. Others cheered, picking up the coins and stuffing them under Marti's body or on her ample chest. Marti didn't mind their actions; she flirted shamelessly with the onlookers, unabashed about her nudity. Collecting all the coins on the table, she wrapped her short, tattered skirt around herself. This kind of performance happened regularly, and this time it was Marti's turn. Today's earnings far exceeded her usual income from half a year's work. The other half-naked performers standing nearby glared at her enviously.

"All right, show's over. Marti, if you have the energy, bring us some beer and food. But wash your hands first; I don't want you touching my food with hands that just touched Kasim's filth," Misa called out.

Misa, besides being the strongest fighter under Mayor Huda, was the only Qi warrior in Black Crow Town. Everyone respected his power. It was human nature to submit to the strong, especially since Marti and Misa were involved romantically, and her services were free. With a flirtatious look, Marti took the coins and went to a room behind the tavern. Soon, she returned, dressed as a tavern wench, carrying two large mugs of beer and a pot of badly cooked meatballs. Once again, she resumed her role as a tavern waitress!

The tavern didn't have a proprietor; it naturally belonged to Mayor Huda, given its profitability. The drunkards greeted Misa one by one. One-eyed Kasim seemed to be a particularly strong adventurer, and he was familiar with Misa, completely unconcerned about his nudity. He walked over, sat down, and lit up a crude tobacco, asking, "Misa, anything interesting happening lately? Black Crow Town is getting boring. We need something to do, or I'll go crazy."

"Kasim, I warn you not to go messing with the orcs on the wasteland. We still need them to exchange fire copper ore, which accounts for over half of our tax revenue. And I heard they recently discovered an unmined vein and are buying tools everywhere, planning to make a fortune! If you stir up trouble, I'm sure Mayor Huda won't be pleased," Misa scolded, taking a sip of his beer, his disdain evident in his distaste for the poor-quality brew.

"Oh, those poor orcs you've been exploiting have been lucky. But they surely wouldn't imagine that the price of fire copper ore has been pushed down to a terrible extent by you lot. If they knew they could sell it for a hundred times the price elsewhere, I bet they'd have other ideas. By the Light, I pity them. The godforsaken wasteland is no place to live. It would be better to capture them and sell them as slaves; it's much better than struggling here. Besides, the orcs in the southwest of the Gravel Wasteland are quite famous. Many wealthy ladies love those handsome ones with silver-gray fur. They'd treat those orcs well. Damn it, I'm even a bit jealous!" Kasim said, reaching into the bowl to grab a meatball, which made Misa frown, an expression of disgust on his face.

"You can't touch the orc tribes on the wasteland. As for whether you want to capture a few stray orcs, Mayor Huda won't care. That's our bottom line," Misa replied. Behind Kasim was another mercenary group. Although neither Huda nor Misa feared them, it was better to avoid trouble and resolve things peacefully. It wasn't worth it for a few orcs.

"Oh, Misa, I find you adorable today. I'll tell my boss about your kindness. Please give my regards to Mayor Huda, uh, should be Mayor Huda," Kasim winked, smiling happily. "This meal is on me. Hey, dear Marti, bring us a bottle of rum. Misa and I should drink something better."

The orcs in the southwest of the Gravel Wasteland had mobilized. Almost all the adult orcs had come to the mining area. The mine where the new vein was discovered had been cleared. A vein several tens of meters long, of unknown depth, was exposed, with densely packed reddish-brown ores, making hearts race.

Dozens of tribes, regardless of gender, totaling more than eight hundred adult orcs, were assigned tasks by the Norman shaman. This mine had been dug very deep, extending dozens of meters underground with a steep slope. So the strongest ones were mining below, while the others were responsible for moving the ore from the bottom of the mine to the outside. Then the weaker ones and female orcs were responsible for picking out the fire copper ore from the gravel. Everyone was busy, even the children.

Orcs were a tough bunch willing to endure hardships, and their enthusiasm greatly accelerated the progress of the work. A large pile of ore had already been stacked outside. This vein had been severely underestimated. In just a few days, tens of thousands of pounds of ore had been extracted. And the mine was only three or four meters deep; who knew how much deeper it went? Perhaps the humans who mined here a long time ago never imagined there was such a large deposit left behind. After all, they weren't dwarves, born with almost innate talents for prospecting.

During these days, Ba'alor was not idle either, but he didn't mine. Instead, he followed Norman to start learning shamanism. It was regrettable that he didn't know how to read, but Norman had spent some time in human towns when he was young (he had once been a slave, a bitter experience glossed over, and Ba'alor cleverly avoided touching Norman's sore spot), learning the common language of the continent. He had some scrolls of shamanism written in the common language. Ba'alor could only stare at the incomprehensible words.

Fortunately, it was not too late to learn now. Norman first taught him to read, and in passing, told him his scant knowledge about the world. Ba'alor learned the basic appearance of this world for the first time!