Chapter 3: Into the Depths
Ethan sat cross-legged on the cool stone floor of the barracks, his back pressed against the rough wall. The sound of the other miners shuffling into their bunks echoed through the dimly lit room, but Ethan paid them little mind. His thoughts were elsewhere—focused entirely on the strange, glowing interface that hovered in the corner of his vision.
The system had been there since the moment he arrived in this world, but until now, he hadn't truly explored its depths. At first, it had been a tool—useful but mysterious—helping him identify ores and enchanted objects. But as the days passed, he began to realize it was much more than that. It was something powerful, something that no one else seemed to have.
And he needed to understand it.
Leaning back, he took a deep breath and willed the interface to appear fully before him. The familiar blue screen flickered into view, the letters and symbols sharp against the dim light of the barracks. His heart raced slightly as he gazed at the tabs now open in front of him, each one brimming with possibilities.
[System Interface]
StatsAbilitiesStoreInventoryMapQuests
The first tab caught his eye—Stats. It was something he hadn't given much thought to before, but now it seemed essential. With a flick of his mind, he opened the tab and studied the screen that appeared.
Stats:
Strength (STR): 10 (Average human level)Intelligence (INT): 12 (Slightly above average due to his studies in geology and agriculture)Wisdom (WIS): 11 (Decent insight, but untested in magic)Agility (AGI): 9 (Not particularly fast or nimble)Endurance (END): 10 (Average stamina)Luck (LCK): 10 (Fortune favors the neutral)
He was a bit surprised by how... ordinary he looked. His stats weren't anything special—just a normal human baseline, with a slight edge in intelligence. It made sense, given his background. He'd always been more of a thinker than a fighter, and his studies in geology and agriculture had honed his analytical skills. But here, in this world filled with magic and monsters, he knew he needed more than intellect to survive.
He focused on the small notification that flashed beneath his stats—Free Stat Points: 4. Every time he leveled up, he would receive points to distribute, allowing him to shape his growth however he saw fit.
I need to think carefully about this, Ethan mused. Dumping points into Strength might make me more physically capable, but...
His mind wandered back to the Magic Apprentices booth he had passed earlier, where students with an affinity for magic had been tested and guided. He had felt the pull of magic ever since arriving here, the faint thrum of power in the air calling to him. But magic wasn't something he could just jump into blindly—it required understanding, discipline, and, most importantly, training.
If I focus on Intelligence and Wisdom, I'll be better equipped to handle magic when the time comes. But I can't ignore my physical needs, especially if I'm going to be working in the mines.
After a few moments of quiet deliberation, Ethan decided to split his points between Intelligence and Endurance. He needed the mental sharpness to unlock the mysteries of magic, but he also needed the stamina to endure the physical labor of the mines without collapsing from exhaustion.
[Stat Points Distributed: Intelligence +2, Endurance +2]
Satisfied for now, he closed the Stats tab and moved on to the Abilities section. Here, things were already familiar. His Identify skill had proven itself invaluable, and Earth Sense was quickly becoming one of his most useful tools for navigating the mines and detecting hidden resources.
Abilities:
Identify (Level 3): Able to identify materials, ores, enchantments, and magical properties with increasing accuracy.
Earth Sense (Level 2): Can detect vibrations and sense the structure of the earth, allowing detection of hidden resources, caverns, and magical anomalies.
Ethan paused for a moment, his mind drifting back to the faint pulse of power he had felt deep beneath the mines earlier. The system had recognized it as something powerful, but it couldn't determine the exact source. Whatever it was, it was beyond his current abilities to fully comprehend.
I need to level up these abilities further, he thought. If I can sharpen Earth Sense and Identify, I'll be able to detect things others can't even dream of.
With a sigh, he closed the Abilities tab and moved on to the next—Store. The moment he opened it, his eyes widened.
Store:
Buy Abilities: (All prices in system currency)Basic Magic Rune Training (Cost: 500 system currency)Basic Combat Proficiency (Cost: 300 system currency)Beginner Mining Techniques (Cost: 200 system currency)Magic Affinity Boost (Cost: 1000 system currency)Sell Materials:Low-grade Magical Ore (Value: 1 system currency per 5 ores)Enchanted Crystal Shards (Value: 5 system currency per shard)
The prices were staggering. 500 system currency just to learn the basics of magic rune training. Even the mining techniques, something he thought might be within his reach, would cost him 200 system currency. Ethan frowned. He had no system currency at all. And worse, he had no idea how to even begin earning it.
The Sell Materials section offered some insight—he could trade ores and magical shards for system currency—but the yield was minimal. Five ores for one system currency, and even the enchanted shards only fetched a small price. He'd have to gather a mountain of materials just to afford a single ability.
It's going to take a long time before I can even think about buying anything from the store, he thought grimly.
Still, knowing the store existed gave him something to aim for. If he could find a way to gather valuable resources in the mines, perhaps he could sell enough to buy the magic rune training. That, at least, would bring him closer to the magic he so desperately wanted to understand.
His fingers itched to close the store tab, but he hesitated. Inventory was still there, a new tab he hadn't explored yet.
Inventory:
Empty.
A strange sense of relief washed over him as he stared at the empty screen. It was like a backpack, but infinitely larger. No weight limit, no space concerns. He could store anything he wanted in here, and it would remain safe, out of reach from prying eyes.
This could be useful, he thought. Very useful.
He filed that information away, knowing it would come in handy later. For now, he needed to focus on the bigger picture—how to level up, earn system currency, and figure out what his next move would be.
Ethan closed the interface and leaned back, his eyes drifting toward the other miners in the room. Most of them had already fallen asleep, their heavy breathing filling the air with a low, constant hum. He hadn't spent much time talking to them—most were too busy working or too tired to chat at the end of the day. But his mind wandered to his classmates. They, too, were out there somewhere, scattered across the kingdom, each trying to carve out a place for themselves.
I wonder how they're doing, Ethan thought. Greg was eager to throw himself into battle as a mercenary, and the others... some of them are probably training as mages by now.
The thought filled him with a mix of curiosity and unease. While he had chosen the safer path of working in the mines, his classmates were likely gaining strength and experience in other ways. They might already be discovering new abilities, forging alliances, and learning the intricacies of magic or combat.
But that was fine. Ethan didn't need to rush.
I'll catch up, he promised himself. But I'll do it on my own terms.
For now, the path he had chosen was one of caution and strategy. But as the mysteries of his system unfolded before him, Ethan knew that he wouldn't remain in the shadows forever.