Amadeus worked tirelessly, not stopping to breathe, astonishing all the other slaves. When a blue crystal fell from the stone he was mining and when he picked it up, a window appeared in front of him:
[Item Identified]
/Low-tier Mana Crystal = A crystal that holds a small amount of mana. It is very valuable because it can be used in weapon upgrades and to slightly increase the user's mana.
Amadeus smiled." Maybe I'll gain more than just followers in this place", he thought.
Time passed, and the sun began to set.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, a guard began instructing the slaves to deliver their collected items to the deposit. Amadeus followed the guard, along with the other exhausted, starving slaves.
The deposit area was overseen by a guard with a scale. A long line of slaves stood before Amadeus, giving him extra time to observe the quarry. Now that it was time to eat, all the guards came out, and it seemed like there was no end to them—all fully armored and armed with swords, some with bows or wands.
Amadeus scratched his head, thinking to himself, "This might be a bit more complicated than I thought".
Eventually, it was Amadeus's turn. The soldier pointed to the scale and said, "Put it here, and I hope I find a normal rock so I can have fun beating you." As the scale began to work, Amadeus secretly looked around.
Behind the scale was a giant armored door guarded by two seemingly stronger soldiers. This must be where they keep all the crystals, Amadeus thought.
The soldier recorded something in a book and said, "150, not bad for a rookie." The slaves behind Amadeus were astonished that a single man could collect so many crystals.
The soldier handed Amadeus a piece of paper with " 150 credits" written on it and called for the next slave. Amadeus noticed a large man behind him who had collected only one crystal. A guard approached Amadeus and said, "Do you not want to eat? If not, I have no problem taking you to the sleeping quarters now." Amadeus moved to where they were distributing food.
The line for food was short compared to the deposit line. When it was Amadeus's turn, a fat guard with a pile of bread behind him demanded, "The credits." Amadeus handed over his paper, and the guard gave him two loaves of bread.
Amadeus was shocked. "Why? How much for one loaf of bread?" he asked.
The fat guard, annoyed, replied, "That's why I hate new slaves. One bread equals 75 credits." Amadeus now understood why the line was so short. To get one loaf of bread, you had to collect 75 crystals.
Behind Amadeus, the large man with one crystal received 10 loaves of bread after handing over his credits. "I need more information on this place, and fast, " Amadeus thought as he walked away.
Amadeus and the other new slaves were taken to the sleeping quarters, which were essentially a large prison cell full of other slaves with nothing to sleep on. "I hoped for something better when he said 'sleeping quarters,' but it was just a fancy name for a prison cell. It seems slavery is the same in any world," Amadeus thought.
He sat on the ground, leaned against the wall, and looked at the moldy loaves of bread. "Good thing I don't have to eat", he thought, then noticed an old man slave eyeing the bread.
Amadeus lifted one of the loaves and said, "Here, you can have it. I'm not hungry." The old man, surprised by Amadeus's kindness, moved forward, took the bread, and began eating like a wild animal.
While the old man ate, Amadeus asked, "How long have you been here?"
Nearly choking on the bread, the old man replied, "50 years."
Amadeus smiled secretly, having found a potential source of information. He asked the old man, "What is this place exactly?"
The old man, initially surprised by the question, understood its deeper meaning. "This place is an illegal quarry for mana crystals that are sold at an auction in the black market inside the capital to the highest bidder."
"Are these blue crystals worth all this?" Amadeus asked.
"The blues are worthless, but the other colors are much more valuable. The scale at the deposit calculates the mana inside the crystals and gives you credits for it. For example, a blue crystal is equal to 1 credit, and a red crystal is equal to 750," the old man explained.
The old man's words made Amadeus remember the man who deposited one red crystal and received many credits. So that's why he had more credits, Amadeus thought.
He then asked the old man, "Tell me everything you know about this place."
The old man looked at his stomach and said, "Well, you see, I'm an old man, and I'm hungry, so I can't talk for long."
Amadeus understood what the old man meant. So he won't talk for free, he thought, and handed over the other loaf of bread.
Seven days passed.
For the past seven days, Amadeus had been working hard to feed the old man, who supplied him with valuable information as they walked through the quarry. The information Amadeus gathered included:
First, the quarry was built after destroying a whole city that once stood above it.
Second, the man who gave the rules was named Geoffrey, a retired mercenary who used to go on crusades. The old man mentioned that while Geoffrey was strong, he was not the leader, just a commander.
Third, there were two commanders: Geoffrey and a man named Thurstan, who was currently outside the quarry.
Fourth, escaping the quarry was nearly impossible. It was a hole in the ground, so the only way out was up, through guards stationed everywhere, with archers and mages above, not to mention the commanders and the leader.
Finally, the leader of this place was called "The Pig," a huge and fat man, but all of it was pure muscle. He wore gladiator clothing and a helmet, wielding two giant battle axes. He was also not in the quarry at the moment.
At the end of the eighth day, Amadeus lay on the ground, trying to sleep when the Crown spoke in his mind," Don't you think it's time we got out of here? It's the perfect time since the leader and a commander are outside the quarry. its clear that were not ready for this "
Amadeus opened his eyes and replied, "Not yet. There's a lot more I can gain from this place".
"Are you talking about the mana crystals? "the Crown asked.
"Smart as usual. My mana is very low, and this is my chance to enhance it," Amadeus replied.
"And how do you plan to get to the warehouse, and even then, how are you going to break into the vault without being noticed by the guards?" the Crown questioned.
Amadeus closed his eyes and rolled over to sleep, saying, "I'm still planning that part."
"I understand that it's a high-risk, high-reward situation, but I want you to think carefully before you do anything," the Crown advised.
On the ninth day, Amadeus ran from work and spent all his time observing the warehouse, trying to formulate a plan. Finally, he saw a little slave kid entering the warehouse, where the door was opened for him.
"This kid must be the loophole I was looking for, " Amadeus thought.