Endless Extraction in a Game-Like World

Chapter 292: Opening of the Origin Ore Vein and Wonder of The World’s return?

The golden light erupted from the Genesis Town, illuminating the entire place with a brilliance that made even the sun seem dim in comparison.

Caelus and Sylvia immediately sprinted toward the source, their enhanced bodies carrying them across Genesis in seconds.

The ground beneath their feet trembled violently as they approached the sealed construction area, the stone monument that had displayed the countdown now cracking apart as the earth itself began splitting open.

A massive fissure tore through the ground with a deafening roar, the crack widening rapidly until it revealed something far beyond what anyone had expected.

The earth had opened to reveal a colossal underground entrance, stone steps descending into depths that seemed to stretch endlessly downward.

Golden light poured upward from the chasm like a beacon, dense Origin Energy radiating outward in waves that made the air itself feel thick with power.

Players and Non Players rushed toward the spectacle from every direction, their voices carrying shock and disbelief as they witnessed the impossible sight before them.

"What is that?"

"The light is coming from underground!"

Caelus stepped closer to the edge and looked down into the massive opening, his eyes widening as he finally saw what lay beneath Genesis Town.

A gigantic underground cavern stretched far below, so vast that the distant walls disappeared into shadowy depths.

Enormous veins of glowing ore embedded themselves throughout every visible surface, the luminescent minerals creating a network of golden threads that covered the underground walls like the roots of some impossibly large tree.

The veins pulsed with visible energy, each pulse sending ripples of light cascading through the cavern and illuminating sections that stretched farther than anyone could see.

This was not an ordinary mine.

This was something on an entirely different scale, something that defied the normal expectations of what a resource deposit should look like.

Sylvia stood beside him with her crimson eyes reflecting the golden glow from below, her expression carrying the same shock that Caelus felt.

Before she could say anything, a familiar chime echoed through his mind as the Origin Network released a new series of notifications.

[Ding!]

[Special Discovery Confirmed.]

[The Origin Ore Vein beneath Genesis Town has been classified.]

[Classification: Wonder of the World]

Caelus froze completely after reading those words.

Wonder of the World.

He knew exactly what that classification meant because he had possessed several Wonders back in the Abyss, The Tavern of Endless Food and Drinks and other extraordinary structures that had provided massive benefits to his territory.

But he had never expected Genesis to receive one this early.

This was only a Tier 1 Regional Lord Territory, a beginner’s starting point in the grand scheme of the Origin Ascension Domain.

Wonders of the World were supposed to be rare beyond measure, treasures that entire guilds would wage wars to obtain in this world.

Yet here one sat, directly beneath a town he had conquered less than a week ago.

He immediately focused his thoughts toward the Origin Network, his mental voice carrying genuine curiosity.

"What is the rarity of this Wonder?"

The response came almost instantly.

[Ding!]

[Wonder Rarity: Transcendent]

Caelus’s eyes widened even further seeing this.

Transcendent rarity placed this Wonder among the highest tier of discoveries possible in the Origin Ascension Domain or at least that’s what said in the internet.

His earlier concerns about Genesis’s survival suddenly feeling much less pressing.

With a Transcendent Wonder beneath his town, Genesis had just become one of the most valuable territories in the entire Tier 1 Regional Lord Territory.

His mind immediately shifted to his other assets, the Wonders he had accumulated during his time in the Abyss that had not crossed over with him.

"When can I bring the Wonders I owned in the Abyss back into the Origin Ascension Domain?"

A brief pause followed his question before the Origin Network provided its answer.

[Soon.]

Caelus frowned at the vague response, his lips twitching with mild annoyance.

He wanted to press further and demand a more specific timeline, but before he could formulate another question, additional system notifications began appearing in rapid succession.

[Ding!]

[Wonder of the World: Origin Ore Vein]

[Rarity: Transcendent]

[Description: A living geological formation that continuously transforms ordinary underground rock into Origin Ores. The transformation process is perpetual and requires no external input. When Ran out of Underground Rock, the Origin Ore Vein will reset back to its prime state.]

[Special Function: The Town Lord may freely select the ore grade produced by the Wonder.]

[Current Maximum Grade: Grade 5, Rookie Rank]

[Note: Maximum selectable grade automatically increases whenever the town advances in Tier.]

Caelus read the notification once.

Then he read it again.

Then he read it a third time because he was absolutely certain he had misunderstood something.

"It transforms rock into ore continuously?" he said in disbelief.

The implications were staggering.

Most mines eventually depleted their resources, forcing towns to constantly search for new deposits or trade with other territories for materials.

But this Wonder would never run dry because it actively created ore from nothing, transforming worthless stone into valuable resources through some process that defied normal logic.

His mind immediately began calculating the true value of what Genesis now possessed.

Ore grades directly corresponded to equipment progression throughout the Origin Ascension Domain, the quality of materials determining what level of gear could be crafted from them.

Grade 1 Ores were suitable for Level 1 through 10 equipment, the basic materials that every new player needed during their initial progression.

Grade 2 Ores were suitable for Level 10 through 20 equipment.

Currently Genesis could produce up to Grade 1-5 ores, which perfectly matched their current population’s needs.

But the real value lay in what would come later.

Once Genesis reached Tier 2 Regional Lord Territory status, the mine would naturally become capable of producing ores suitable for Elite Rank equipment.

The Wonder would grow alongside the town itself, scaling its output to match whatever Genesis became.

Caelus finally understood with perfect clarity why Shadow Halberd Guild and Crimson Fang Guild had targeted Genesis so aggressively.

They had known about this Wonder before it even surfaced.

They had tried to destroy Genesis from within specifically because they wanted to claim this mine for themselves.

And honestly, if Caelus had discovered that someone else possessed a Wonder like this, he would have been tempted to take it as well.

The value was simply too astronomical to ignore.

But that realization immediately led to another problem, one far more pressing than defending against external threats.

Possessing the mine meant absolutely nothing if nobody could actually extract the resources.

"Sylvia," he said immediately. "We need miners, and we need them now."

Sylvia nodded and immediately opened the town workforce information, the management interface appearing before her eyes with updated statistics.

[Genesis Town - Workforce Overview]

[Registered Miners: 17]

Seventeen miners.

For a Wonder of the World that could transform the entire town’s economy, Genesis had fewer than twenty people capable of extracting its resources.

Caelus clicked his tongue seeing the pathetic number, his expression darkening as he understood exactly what had happened.

"The chaos from Shadow Halberd Guild and Crimson Fang Guild must have scared them away," he said bitterly.

Before he could begin thinking of solutions, rapid footsteps approached from behind.

Mason rushed toward them with visible excitement on his face, his usual composure replaced by barely contained enthusiasm.

"Sir Caelus!" he called out while struggling to catch his breath. "You need to see this immediately!"

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[A/N: don’t forget to leave some Powerstones and Comments... they’re basically the life support keeping this book alive.]