[In order to unlock the basic system abilities, please complete the setup mission!]
[Would you like to proceed?]
[Yes] [No]
"What? -"
Ron didn't know how to react, but his instincts say that this is an opportunity.
"What do you mean by setup mission? What exactly would I have to do?"
[The system cannot disclose this information; please confirm if you'd like to proceed.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
[Yes] [No]
Ron gave it some thought and decided to proceed; he then suddenly lost his vision as everything became cloudy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Huf…Huf…Huf… Just a few more points, and I should be able to complete this hell of a mission... Huf…"
Ron mumbled as he swung his pickaxe with all his strength. He is inside a dark mine, a few light crystals were placed here and there to illuminate the mining area. Ron wasn't the only one there, there were tens of other people who were either mining the spirit stones, carrying the load back outside or overseeing the entire process.
For every group of miners, an overseer is assigned to make sure that no one steals any spirit stones while mining and to also note down how many spirit stones someone has mined to give them bonuses.
"Hey, do you think that kid is crazy? He has been working in this mine for 5 months straight, without a day's rest!"
"The salary here is meager; he must be trying to suck up to the supervisor and get some extra money."
"You know what? I heard that our supervisor, who is known to be always cold to everyone, gave a treat to Ron! Given how close they became, it's fishy, and I'm sure that something is cooking up between them. Hehe."
The other miners murmured as they continued to do their work.
If Ron heard them, he would vomit on the spot and beat the hell out of them. The supervisor of this mine, has been nice to him because he is a friend of his grandpa, who was the one that helped him secure his work here. Out of respect for his hard work and his relationship with Grandpa, the supervisor often tries to give him a treat or help him out.
As Ron kept mining, a black crystal with a light shimmer came into his vision. He controlled his strength to strike around the crystal to dig it out safely. Once it was loose enough, he used his hand to pull it out and after dusting it, he passed it to the overseer.
The overseer nodded and took the crystal to examine it, then placed it into a box, with many other spirit stones already placed in it.
"It appears that your luck hasn't run out kid! You're the only one in this mine who always mines the most spirit stones per day. Keep it up!"
The overseer encouraged Ron as he noted down in his records.
Ron turned around to continue mining, but this time, he first hit the area around the place where the spirit stone was located and out came a large chunk of rock.
He sneakily took a quick glance to make sure no one was noticing, and touched that stone making it disappear into thin air.
Ding!
[7 KG of ordinary rock infused with spiritual energy has been collected. Would you like to convert it to points?
'Yes'
Ding!
[You have gained 0.125 points!]
'Status'
[ Ron Rogers (SilverSurfer)]
[ Cultivation: Mortal]
[ Vitality: 1]
[ Focus: LOCKED]
[ Storage: LOCKED]
[ Marketplace: LOCKED]
[Points: 988.46]
[Task Progress: 988.46/1000 points]
'Phew… I'm almost there'
Ron looked at his status panel, which was floating in front of him and sighed. But no one else was able to see this.
Ron has been teleported into this world four years back, and was found unconscious at a river bed, where an old man from the nearby village found him.
Ron was flustered when he gained his consciousness, and when he realized that he had been teleported to another world, he regretted the choice he had made.
In order to better understand this world, Ron acted as if he had lost his memories, which melted the heart of the old man who saved him. The old man lost his only son many years ago. He thought that if his son was alive, then his grandson would be around Ron's age. So the old man decided to adopt and take care of him.
Ron really hated the system and also himself. He got a second chance to be with his family again, but his choice had made it all go away.
After a tiring day at the mines, Ron cleaned himself up by the river and headed towards the market.
His old man was sick, so he decided to buy some fish to make soup for him.
When he initially came into this world, he tried to look for any way out of here into his own world, only to be disappointed. Completing the system task seemed to be the only way to get an answer.
This world is comparable to the ancient era on Earth, but the difference is that there are no Espers in this world, but instead people cultivate spiritual energy and gain strength, even leading to immortality. In Ron's mind, the only people who can cultivate, are the ones who are either geniuses, privileged or just lucky.
His village, along of hundreds of other villages, are under the protection of Zhang sect. Every year there is a selection test for entering the outer sect, he thought of attending it, but just the travel alone would take weeks or months, and he didn't really have the capital to live a standard life in the village, let alone travel to Zhang Sect.