[Jaque POV]
'I knew it, I f*cking knew it. That bastard of a master! Why bother to do all this?'
After Sir Earnest said that they had run out of Fonotavic Dust, I knew for sure that Master Doherty had bought it all out. I can already see that punchable smile on his face. That's why he gave me the pickaxe.
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"Crybaby, I have something to tell you before you and Arius go."
"What is it, Master?"
"I'm not sure if there will be enough stock of everything so take a pickaxe just in case."
"I think it's fine, I've never heard of the depot running out of stock, especially for these lower-ranked materials."
"There's always a chance, I've heard that this month's mining is much below average for some reason. Here take it."
"Fine, I'll take it. Hmmm, did you really forge a smaller pickaxe specifically for Arius?"
"Of course, it's his task! So he should mine the ores. So YOU will not help him mine or obtain any materials. Understand?"
"Man, I don't see why you're making such a fuss about thi-"
"UNDERSTAND?"
"...Yes, Master..."
"..."
"Also, take this sack of supplies with you."
"...*sigh*"
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'I'm not sure there's enough stock- MY ASS! What's the point of doing all this? Just when I thought I could get a day off.'
Seeing Arius eagerly taking the pickaxe and paper and running down towards the mining site, I already knew that the next couple of days were going to be long ones.
...
[Arius Pov]
Running down into the valley with a pickaxe and paper in hand, I wanted to explore how the terrain changed. Reaching the area of the landscape that got affected by the S.T.A.'s effect, I suddenly feel lighter, not expecting it, I missed my next step causing me to tumble and roll down the hill.
"GAAAAAAAAa....OOF!"
Landing upside down with my back against the ground, feeling the cool ground as I looked into the sky in a daze, I get up a little annoyed. I turn my head as a hear one of the miners nearby walks toward me while questioning me.
"Hey, kid! You alright? You shouldn't be here, get back to town"
"Yeah, I'm alright and I am supposed to be here because I need to get materials for my task from Master Doherty."
"Kid, you can't fool me. Every day there's a kid here saying that they're Master Doherty's apprentice. Just pack it up and pretend back in town."
"BUT I'm not lying!"
Feeling increasingly frustrated by this miner that stood between me and the various ores I needed to collect, I was going to snap. Then I feel a hand being placed on my shoulder and I look up to see Big Brother Jaque grinning and a little sweaty. It seems like he hasn't fully recovered yet.
"It's true this little kid actually has a task that Master Doherty gave him."
"Fine, I guess I'll allow you to continue. But be warned, the situation around here has gotten stranger. Something might happen in the near future."
After saying that the miner went back to mining, I didn't really understand the warning but Big Brother Jaque has some concern on his face which he quickly hid.
"So... Arius, the lower gravity caught you off guard, right?"
"Yeah, it was crazy! Outside the terrain, it's normal but as soon as you take a step in it's a lot lighter. Look I can jump so much higher!"
I was capable of jumping almost a meter while inside the terrain's effect. It felt like I could almost fly! As I was having fun, I would tap the pickaxe on the ground every time I landed to see if I could find my precious materials. Every time, it would only tell me that I hit some iron.
"Big Brother Jaque, why is there only iron?"
"You gotta be patient Arius. Look how big the affected terrain is, you'll need to get a little closer to find what you're looking for. You should be able to find some if you get closer to the S.T.A."
Hearing what Big Brother Jaque said, I look around and see that it was true. The S.T.A.'s terrain was around 2 km wide with the S.T.A. at its center. The stone towers were around 100 meters tall and around 10 meters wide. It was a HUGE space.
"This is going to take all day!"
"Well, you got at least the whole day to do it. So you might as well keep going. I'm going to find materials for myself, lets's meet up at the entrance of the S.T.A. at noon."
...
Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap...
As I continued to tap on the ground for ten minutes now, I felt as if I was getting nowhere. Sitting down to take a break, I decide to Dakria to see if there's a faster way to find ores.
'Dakria, do you have a way to make things go faster?'
'Sadly, I don't have anything currently that could help. However, you do!'
'Wait, really! How don't I know that I know?'
'Well, check your info sheet.'
Opening my info sheet with a flip of my hand, a blue screen opens up and I look through the information shown until I found what I was looking for.
<------------------:+:------------------>
Legacy of Duargeinhelm
Name: Arius *********
Race: Dwarf
Sex: Male
Official Occupation: Craftsman Apprentice
Titles: Last Hope, Survivor of the Forgotten, ************
Stats:
...
Skills:
Spectacles of A Youngling: A layer of colourless mana covers the eyes, allowing the user to see the trace amounts of mana that are emitted by various mana-infused ores. (Skill evolves as the user gets older and progresses as a creator)
...
<------------------:+:------------------>
'Spectacles of A Youngling?'
'Yes, it's your skill, quite a unique one. This skill is what allowed you to see the impure Mythril ore that allowed you to gain access to Dungeinhelm.'
'Wow, that's amazing! So I can see this thing called mana. What is this mana?
'No one understands what is truly mana, but to be brief, it is a medium that powers many different things in the world.'
'You don't even know!'
'Of course, knowledge can always be improved upon.'
'Alright, smarty pants... Umm, you said that it's a skill that you can use after you awaken so how did I use it when I wasn't awakened'
'The only reason you could use it before you awakened was because of your pendant.'
'This thing?'
Pulling out the pendant that I always kept around my neck, I see it shine in the sun's rays. Holding it in my hand, I try to open it by pressing the button on its side. But it didn't open.
'I don't know how you managed to get one of the master keys to Dungeinhelm but when it sensed the impure Mythril, it mimicked the skill's ability to allow you to see it. It's really what allowed you to enter Dungeinhelm in the first place.'
Holding the pendant in my hand, I felt it become so much more precious to me. Hiding it back in my shirt, I get up ready to start working with my skill.
'So, Dakria, how do I use the skill?'
'.Just think about it and it will happen.'
'Alright, mmmmmmmm...Spectacles of A Youngling!'
'....You don't need to say it inside your head, just a thought will be enough.'
'I kinda like it this way.'
'Please don't. I don't need to hear you shout your skill every time you use it.'
'We'll see!'
'...'
...
As I activated the skill, I feel a slight breeze wash over my eyes before I'm suddenly hit with the sight of many different colours in different patches and intensities. The air itself has a very light blue glow to it, while the many stone towers were also glowing a white tint. Seeing a patch of glowing light a few dozen meters in front of me, I quickly rush to go and tap it.
Tap...Bizzz
"YES! It's green!"
With the pickaxe showing that the ore was Karthin, I quickly started hitting the rocks into smaller pieces with feverous might.
Clack Clank Smack Bang...
Before I knew it I had a pile of Karthin next to me and a small hole in front of me, putting my pickaxe down, I slowly started looking through the pile of ore choosing which ones I would put in my bag. I looked at their size, shape, feel, clarity, robustness, and many more characteristics to choose the best of the best, obviously.
Putting the ores that looked the coolest into the bag, I got up quickly running towards the next patch of glowing light on the ground.
...
After many holes later and a bag full of ores, I made my way toward the entrance of the S.T.A. to meet up with Big Brother Jaque. Getting closer to the entrance, I was forced to turn off my Spectacles due to the mana being so concentrated in the air that the skill blinded my surroundings. After a bit more wandering, I saw Big Brother Jaque waving to me in the distance.
"Arius, over here! You finally decided to show up, did you get the materials?"
"Yeah, I did! I got a ton of Karthin and Exerac, so are we going in to find the Fonotavic Dust?"
"Yep, let's go in!"
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Dakria's Fun Fact: Skill
Skills are abilities that are unique to an individual and require no effort to gain. The skill you are given is based on your personal affinity. Once a member of a pure race awakens, they are capable of using a racial skill immediately. Demi-onics awakens their skill upon their first kill. Half races when they turn 11 years old. You can only ever have one skill, but it can be honed and evolved.