And suddenly, Mr. Finerg's eyes widened as he saw a small screen in front of him with his name, strength, and skill.
"What you need to know is that your skills will increase more and more as you use them. However, any improvement, no matter how small, depends exclusively on me. This is like a borrowed power from something called technology. All you need to do to keep it is to keep it a secret."
Suddenly, Mr. Finerg's eyes began to tear up, and, embarrassed, he lowered his head so the little Joe wouldn't see him cry.
"Mr. Joe, I don't know how to thank you for this great favor you've granted me now."
"Did you already know something about it, Mr. Finerg?"
"Yes. Our hero Heron had already talked to me about this and the advantages it would bring. However, when I asked how I could get one myself, he said that would depend a lot on each one's luck. And that it would be much easier for a dwarf to become rich or free, or even turn into a noble, than to have a status screen. Not even a place like the one Mr. Joe is looking to buy, along with this mountain, would be as valuable as this status screen. Some people, especially nobles, would give everything they have, even their own family, for something like this."
Suddenly, little Joe's mind seemed to bubble with the many ideas forming in it.
"As I said before, Mr. Finerg, don't mention this to anyone, but you need to convince the other families to yield their share of the land to me. Be assured that I'll do the best for all of you."
And, embracing little Joe in tears, the dwarf replied:
"I have no doubt about that, my young friend, especially now."
Upon learning that, at the end of the tunnel, the access to the mineral cave was blocked by a thick wall of raw rock, little Joe had an idea: to turn it all into a huge, well-structured hall, with columns and spaces where entire dwarf families could shelter as needed.
"So, now that I have your full trust, I need you to command the excavations and create spaces of various sizes within this mountain that could house several families."
"Are you thinking of making us live here, Mr. Joe?"
"No, Mr. Finerg, this will just be preparation for the future."
He had plans that would take a long time to materialize, but now, knowing how valuable his ability to create status screens was, his plans would certainly speed up in a wonderful way.
After moving a certain distance away, little Joe started doing one of the things he loved most: handling his microsubsystem to check for updates and level up his ants.
"Hey, Per Joe! How many ants can I acquire today?"
[The total is 65 ants. Thus, you'll have 215 screen ants at your disposal.]
"Hey, Florida! Send me 65 ants."
"Trik trak trik!" ("On it!")
Little Joe found it amusing that he could understand Florida's language, which sounded like small branches snapping.
"1... 2... 3... 64... 65... Done! Finally, I have more than 200 ants. Now, let's see if I can level up the ones that needed it. Hey, Per Joe!"
[To level up 119 ants from 6 grams to 10 grams, you will consume 2380 XP. Do you accept? Yes/No]
"Of course I do."
🐜 Level 0.5 / 📏 3.5 cm / ⚖️ 10 grams x 50 🦾 = 500 gr.
🐜 💨 0.327 m/s / 🤎 0.5 / ⭐⛏ 1.4 p/hr / 🙂 Total upgraded worker ants: 215.
[Your intelligence level has unlocked a new ant skill created specifically for you.]
[System Sime asks you not to forget to pay it.]
"It was too good to be free. Hey, Joe, tell Sime to wait and show me the new ant skill created for me."
[Useless ant archery skill: very expensive, short range, poor aim, and low area damage.]
"What kind of useless skill is this? Typical Sime. Tell it to lower the price or just delete it from the system."
[Sime says it doesn't bargain. Take it or leave it.]
Little Joe was furious but eventually accepted. He just pretended to be at a loss because if he praised that new skill, Sime might multiply its price by a hundred. And, even so, it was worth it.
"What are the requirements to access this new skill, Joe?"
[Increase the level from 0.5 to Level 2 = 200 XP.]
"Isn't that a bit excessive?"
[Upgrading the weight from 6 grams to 15 grams = 45 XP.]
"Acceptable. What else?"
[Other requirements will appear once you level up to 2. How many ants do you wish to give this archery skill to?]
"I'd like about 50, but I'm sure I'm almost broke on XP again. How many archers can I have with my current XP?"
[Out of 5355.9 XP, you've already spent 2380 XP, leaving you only 2975.9 XP.]
"Alright, so, Joe? I want to know how many ants can receive this new skill."
[Only 12. Do you wish to enable this new skill on 12 ants? Yes/No.]
"Of course! Release those archers; I want to take action with them."
Archer ant = 12
🦗 Level 2 / 📏 3.5 cm / ⚖️ 15 grams / Bow strength 🏹 750 grams
🎯 Hits target at 0.25 cm / 🤎 2 / ⭐⛏ 1 XP per hit.
O(╥_╥)O "Are you serious? They only hit the target from 25 centimeters away? Why do I have a nagging feeling I've been scammed? Let me get to work now, because this is so frustrating."
Little Joe grumbled, while the dwarf Finerg watched him:
"Poor boy. Looks like he's losing his mind."
As Joe watched most ants work diligently in the tunnel, he noticed a few of them digging up and collecting minerals that were entirely unfamiliar to him. So, he decided to analyze the material with the system.
"What kind of mineral is this?"
The Per Joe microsystem remained silent as the Sime system spoke up:
[There's something special about this mineral these few ants are extracting, something that could be useful to me.]
"Useful to you? What do you mean by that?"
But even Sime couldn't quite explain why.
After a few hours of intense work, the amount of mineral collected was rather small, and Joe felt it was time to ask for a better explanation.
"Sime, the mineral is ready. What can I do with it?" Joe asked, his voice curious and hopeful.
This time, the Sime system fell silent as the smaller Status screen lit up.
[Alert] [Risk of Contamination]
⬆️ on ⚒📱🔍 [...'..'...'....'...'....'...'...'...'...'...] [Adversity Detection Skill: Unknown mineral containing alarmingly high radiation levels. Keep your distance, imminent risk of contamination!]
Upon hearing this, little Joe quickly moved back, as Sime, flashing its blue screen over Per Joe's, warned:
"[I can handle it. Just use the signet ring and stay at least a meter away, extending your hand toward the mineral. I will nullify its radioactive charge. Then, you can hold it in your hand, and I will absorb it entirely.]"
Little Joe wasn't afraid and did exactly as instructed. The system flashed for a few seconds before concluding:
[Processing... Successful detection of mining resources. The extracted mineral will allow me to restore 18% of my corrupted database.]
Joe grinned. Restoring part of Sime's database meant unlocking new skills, accessing lost knowledge, and further improving his connection with the ants—and likely improving the archery skill.
"Excellent!" he said eagerly. "What can I unlock now?"
[Processing complete] Sime replied.
[Thanks to your act of kindness, you've allowed me to unlock a useless skill from the virtual store: the 'Restrictive and Multiplicative Vault x10.']
Joe frowned.
"Restrictive and Multiplicative Vault? That doesn't sound very useful. What does it actually do?"
Sime began explaining in its usual monotone:
[The Restrictive and Multiplicative Vault x10 is a unique skill that retains all your experience points (XP) gained for 10 hours...This includes XP earned through the work of ants and dwarves, if they're connected to you. During this retention period, the system multiplies the accumulated XP based on your current intelligence level.]