Just call me Thor

Shadow Nine's warning echoed in Mike's ears.

"You'd better not accept [Apollo]'s spoils of war."

This was no joke. In fact, Mike sensed a hint of danger from this advice.

Shadow Nine didn't elaborate further; both were wise enough to understand the implications.

Currently, Mike was a mage of relatively low rank. In terms of output alone, he could match a Battle Lord, but he was lacking in other areas.

He was like a canoe equipped with a massive cannon—high firepower, but with clear disadvantages. Supreme Beings were far beyond the current Mike.

Mike nodded in acknowledgment, "I understand."

He knew the importance of heeding advice. Mike was well aware of the principle: if you don't court death, you won't die. Missing out on [Apollo]'s spoils of war might not be a loss for Mike.

The matter of [Wind's Reach] was settled for now. Mike glanced at the time; it was still over an hour until midnight.

"Shadow Nine, my mine has started operating. Who should receive the ore output, Maxen Stoneheart?"

"You take the goods to the Trade Secret Realm. Someone from Mystic Market will meet you there for the transaction." After saying this, the surroundings returned to normal, and Shadow Nine faded back into the shadows.

"Alright." A flash of white light streaked by as the Tower of Truth mark activated, and Mike vanished from the spot.

...

Inside the Mysterious Mine, two mining rigs roared deafeningly, the mine bustling with activity as everyone worked diligently.

"Boss, you're here!" The head miner rushed over to Mike's side to report, "The diagram you drew yesterday was miraculous! I've never seen anyone detail every aspect of the underground so precisely!"

[Thank you for the compliment.]

With the Eye of Truth, the Mysterious Mine held no secrets from Mike.

"Let's talk about the output."

"Yes, we're operating in three shifts, people rest but the machines don't..."

The mining team was well-staffed, and with the top-tier mining equipment provided by Shadow Nine, not much manpower was needed. Even with three shifts, each person only worked eight hours a day, and there were still spare hands.

"Boss, I've roughly calculated that we've mined about 20,000 tons of raw ore. As for the Storm Forge, Dwarf, come here!" The head miner called out.

All the dwarven craftsmen near Storm Forge stopped their work and approached.

Mike: .....

The head miner quickly corrected, "The shortest one!"

All the dwarven craftsmen turned around and returned to Mike.

"The one with the longest beard... you!" After some effort, the head miner identified a dwarf and apologized to Mike with a smile, "Sorry, boss, they all look alike, dress similarly, and their names are particularly tricky."

"Nonsense! Our names are both pleasant and concise. Boss, I am Bromli Grumblebeard Aleforge Goldenshield, Warden of the Deep Mines, Master Brewer of the Mountain Halls, and Honorary Guardian of the Ancient Gemstone Vault.... (200 words omitted)."

"Alright, Bromli, stop there, no need to continue," Mike interrupted, "You're the leader of the dwarves, right?"

Bromli was pleased with the title 'leader,' his long beard quivering with joy, "Yes, boss, and my brother wants to know when the fine wine will arrive?"

"Today. But first, let's discuss production capacity." When the topic turned to his expertise, Bromli showed great professionalism.

"Boss, Storm Forge is fantastic, better than any furnace I've ever seen! We've just started it up, and once the temperature was right, we smelted 10,000 tons of raw ore, yielding 5,000 tons of B-grade ore and 1,500 tons of A-grade ore."

"Higher-tier ores are deeper in the Mine and haven't been produced yet, but it won't be long!"

Bromli led Mike to an open area where piles of metal blocks were stacked. The cooled ores were formed into bricks measuring about 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2 inches thick, each feeling heavy in hand.

B-grade ores were silver, resembling piles of silver ingots, while A-grade ores were golden, making them easy to distinguish.

"99.99% purity!" Bromile boasted proudly.

Although it was all thanks to Storm Forge, he was proud of his achievements.

"You've done well. I'll bring back wine and food next time I visit, and if you have other needs, feel free to mention them."

Mike stored all the ores in prepared storage items, inspected the Mysterious Mine to ensure everything was running smoothly, and then departed.

...

Trade Secret Realm.

"Fourth Bro, long time no see!" Mike looked at the person receiving the goods and couldn't help but laugh.

Foreskin.

The familiar Foreskin seemed a bit embarrassed and chuckled apologetically, "Fourth Bro, I'm really sorry, I work for that big shot. Without orders, I can't just reveal my identity."

"Let me reintroduce myself, Mystic Market Manager Foreskin, at your service, Mr. Thor. Here, you can speak and act freely without any worries."

From the day Mike entered the Trade Secret Realm, Foreskin, who dealt with him, was no ordinary person but the Mystic Market Manager!

Before coming here, Mike had already had his suspicions. When the truth was revealed, it wasn't really a surprise.

"Why didn't the Eye of Truth see through Foreskin's real identity?" Mike wondered to himself.

[You didn't ask.]

Can't you be a bit more proactive?

Mike felt he needed to take some time to properly school the [Eye of Truth].

But there was another question Mike couldn't figure out, "With so many people that day, how did you manage to find me?"

The Trade Secret Realm was bustling and everyone was disguised; finding Thor was no easy task.

Mike hadn't been in the Trade Secret Realm long before Foreskin found him, showing incredible efficiency.

Could he also be a possessor of a similar type of talent?! But when Mike used the Eye of Truth, he saw that Foreskin's talent was an S-tier in metal forging.

Since it wasn't a matter of talent, it was clear he must have had [Apollo]'s permission.

As Mike had guessed, Foreskin quickly revealed the answer, "When the announcement of your SSS-tier rating conquering the newbie instance was made, [Apollo] imposed a restriction that only you could enter the Trade Secret Realm."

Mike's expression changed slightly, genuinely impressed, "That's big league."

Apollo's research into the Tower of Truth was profound, far surpassing the other two Supreme Beings, perhaps only he had such capability.

"Let's check the goods."

5000 tons of Grade B, 1500 tons of Grade A.

"Wow—"

Even with mental preparation, Foreskin was utterly shocked when he saw so much ore.

"This, this is like a year's output from a major Abyssal Plane mine!"

"Gulp—"

As the Mystic Market Manager and a confidant of [Apollo], what hadn't Foreskin seen?

Even so, he was stunned for several seconds before he could gather his wits.

"Master Thor..."

"Just call me Fourth Bro."

"Fourth Bro, is this a day's output?"

"Yes."

"That can't be right..."

Digging through the metal blocks, Foreskin suddenly looked up at Mike,

"Are there no Grade C ores?"

"No."

Mike searched himself thoroughly, finding only 30 kg of Grade C raw ore, which he needed for summer camp.

"You're not saying... the worst ores in the Mysterious Mine are Grade B?!"

Foreskin's voice was shrill, almost breaking. "75 million tons of Grade B raw ore... this output..."

He quickly regained his composure and hurriedly apologized to Mike.

"Inventory complete, Grade B ore, market price 500,000 gold coins per ton, Grade A 1 million. That totals 4 billion gold coins, which converts to 4000 Battle Lord merit points."

Foreskin handed a black card to Mike, casually remarking, "That's equivalent to the merits of slaying a demon race Battle Lord."

"Ah, having too much money can be a problem too, not knowing how to spend it."

Mike pocketed the 4000 merit points and asked seriously,

"Can this money earn interest in your Mystic Market?"

"You're joking..."

"No worries, I was just asking, not planning to deposit it yet."

Then, Mike purchased some miscellaneous items, preparing for today's challenge in the change class realm.

The items he chose included: fire element skill books, two sets of level 60 equipment, commonly used scrolls, and puppets.

Having just conducted a 4 billion gold coin transaction, Foreskin generously offered to waive the fee.

"How can I accept this?"

Saying this, Mike pointed to the Mystic Market goods list and said,

"In that case, I'll take another set of the items I just picked out."